Browsing: West Africa

Few figures have left such an impression on the African music scene as Nigeria’s Fela Kuti. As we celebrate what would have been his 86th birthday,…

On this day in 1987, visionary pan-African icon and leader of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara was assassinated by his longtime friend and, at the time, minister…

Burkina Faso’s pan-African president and hero, Thomas Sankara, was assassinated on this day in 1987 in the capital, Ouagadougou.  A hit squad also killed 12 of…

Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì – the legendary musician, activist and critic of Nigeria’s military junta – was born on 15 October 1938. Nearly three decades after his…

Hundreds of Ghanaians again took to the streets on Friday to urge their government to crack down on illegal gold mines. The protests, the biggest yet,…

Ghana’s young people must urgently step up and reclaim the country by any means necessary. That’s this 70-year-old unnamed Ghanaian man’s passionate message during recent protests…

As the United States panics about supposed Russian influence and interference in the 5 November presidential election, it has no qualms about financing and overseeing elections…

Israeli strikes on Lebanon are causing distress thousands of kilometres away. In West Africa, home to hundreds of thousands of Lebanese expats, the distance from family…

On 7 October, Burkina Faso’s Higher Council of Communications suspended Voice of America (VOA) from broadcasting for three months. This comes after a 19 September programme,…

Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegal’s first president and a prominent poet, was born on 9th October, 1906. Under his leadership, the country cozied up to ex-coloniser France…