Hi, Quartz Africa readers!
Nigeria decides
There are more than 70 aspirants in the running as Nigeria goes to the polls for presidential elections next week (Feb. 16). But, in reality, it’s a two-horse race between incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the opposition People’s Democratic Party.
While the dominance of the major parties remains unchanged since the last general elections, some of their methods have. In the past, campaigning revolved mainly around holding major rallies, spewing vague promises and spending heavily on advertising—via billboards, posters, and traditional media. But there is some evidence that the leading parties are learning new tricks.
The current election cycle has seen both parties make coordinated attempts to connect directly with voters and canvass for support with door to door visits, phone calls and “ask me anything” sessions on social media.
These changing campaign techniques are likely linked to improvements recorded by Nigeria’s electoral commission (INEC) in making elections more secure. With voters’ cards now electronically verified as well as growing focus from civil society groups and a more expressive electorate closely monitoring vote counting at polling units across the country, it has essentially become harder to rig elections. This means candidates have much lower margins of error with their campaign messaging and are increasingly looking into ways to connect directly with voters.
It also means some of the newly learned tricks are actual tricks. Take the recent spike in new Twitter accounts we’re seeing from Nigeria, our reporting took us to meet some of the young people hired by party operatives to spread legitimate, and at times, questionable campaign messages in a desperate push to reach younger voters.
Despite INEC’s progress, Nigeria’s electoral system still remains far from perfect: “vote buying” tactics have been brazen during state elections over the past year while the electoral commission has faced challenges printing and distributing voter cards in a timely fashion. As elections are set to hold in nearly 200,000 polling units across the country, it is likely more flaws, ranging from voting material shortages to voter intimidation, could surface again.
As ever, the threat of electoral violence also looms large. But instigating malpractice or violence will come at a price for politicians as both the United States and the United Kingdom have threatened measures against perpetrators including travel bans, assets freezes, and prosecution under international law.
— Yomi Kazeem, Quartz Lagos correspondent
Stories from this week
These photos pay homage to Ghana’s hometown of boxing champions. Just one neighborhood in Ghana’s capital city, Accra, has produced five different world boxing champions. Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu writes on the work of French photographer Antoine Jonquière, who visited nearly 20 street-side boxing gyms in Jamestown.
The mistranslation that described China-Africa relations as one of “exploitation.” The 2019 China-Africa Friendly Night in Beijing was about celebrating the growing Sino-African diplomatic and economic alliance. But one word among four buzzwords featured on a screen on stage sparked outrage, raising questions over whether it was intentional or a Freudian slip.
Mandarin is putting in extra work to catch up with European languages in South African classrooms. The South African government was one of the first in Africa to announce plans to integrate Mandarin into its public school curriculum, and since then others have followed. Yet, learning a new language especially at the national level takes more than enthusiasm, explains Lynsey Chutel.
Thanks to the world’s love of avocados, Africa’s coffee producers are pivoting. Avocados may have originated in South America, but African farmers are taking advantage of a global culinary trend to develop their agricultural markets, and the infrastructure needed to grow it. South Africa first spotted the opportunity, but in 2017, Kenya overtook it as Africa’s largest avocado exporter. Now Tanzania, deflated by the falling price of coffee beans, is beginning to branch out.
Ordinary Nigerians are leading the charge to reform the country’s corrupt police force. Even though Nigeria’s police force is the country’s most corrupt public institution and was ranked the worst globally, the government is not taking serious action on reforms. In its stead, civil society groups, activists and a tech startup, are picking up the mantle, pushing for updated laws and ensuring police detainees get adequate legal representation.
A Ugandan government plan to add “women’s curves” as a tourism attraction is demeaning. The plan to promote Uganda’s tourism industry using the beauty and curves of its women has received backlash from women’s rights advocates. Rosebell Kagumire highlights the hypocrisy of a government which has taken a firm stance on regulating women’s dressing and the criminalization of sex work.
Chart of the Week
The “debt-trap” narrative around Chinese loans displays Africa’s weak economic diplomacy. In late December, reports surfaced that Kenya put up its prized Mombasa port and any state possession as collateral for Beijing to fund a 470-km (292-mile) railway. That added to the growing chorus that Beijing was entrapping nations in debt, and, as Abdi Latif Dahir writes, it also put on display Africa’s weak economic diplomacy.
Other Things We Liked
The new wave of Ethiopian preachers who perform—and live-stream—exorcisms. Some features of American televangelism are making inroads into the heart of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. For The Atlantic, Tom Gardner spotlights the growing trend of Ethiopian monks who increasingly broadcast miracles and exorcisms on Facebook and YouTube, gaining thousands of disciples in the process.
The research for Ebola vaccines is stirring debate around “biological asset stripping.” Ebola blood samples collected by hundreds of local health workers across West African countries during the 2014 outbreak have made their way to laboratories around the world. In The Telegraph, Emmanuel Freudenthal writes on the growing row as big Western pharmaceuticals research on the samples for possibly profitable vaccines and medicines without the involvement of African scientists or the consent of Ebola patients and survivors.
ICYMI
Anzisha Prize. African entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 and 22 with a business in the continent can apply or be nominated to win over $100,000 in funding. (Feb. 2019)
Global leadership fellowship. The multi-year program by the World Economic Forum combines intensive on-the-job experience, an innovative learning curriculum, and personalized coaching to help boost young leaders. (Ongoing)
Keep an eye on
African Union Summit (Feb. 10-11). Heads of state, business leaders and the international community at large will gather in Addis Ababa for the 32nd annual summit whose theme this year focuses on refugees, returnees and internally displaced people.
Africa Tech Summit (Feb. 13-15). The summit will bring participants from across the world to network and explore the latest trends and opportunities in tech, investment and creative sectors in Africa.
Nigeria general elections (Feb. 16). Over 84 million people are set to vote in an election pitting president Buhari up against former vice president Atiku Abubakar. Voters will also vote for members of the national assembly.
*This brief was produced while listening to Yere Faga (Natureboy Flako Version) by Oumou Sangaré feat. Tony Allen (Mali/Nigeria)
Our best wishes for a productive and thought-filled week ahead. Please send any news, comments, suggestions, Tanzanian avocados and Mandarin-South African English lessons to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
If you received this email from a friend or colleague, you can sign up here to receive the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief in your inbox every week. You can also follow Quartz Africa on Facebook.