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Nigeria can’t decide—yet
When the first stories broke late on Friday night that Nigeria’s electoral commission was considering delaying the election it seemed like it was yet another one of those speculative stories which make the rounds here rapidly in the social media age.
But after checks and reporting it became clear this was a real possibility and a few hours later INEC chair Mahmood Yakubu was telling the world at 2.30am on Saturday of INEC’s “difficult decision” to postpone the presidential election for a week. He blamed logistical problems laid out it in a long tweet thread later on Saturday. The election will now take place on Feb. 23.
Even though election delays have happened before in 2015 and 2011, the level of the anger and frustration around the country is palpable but understandable. Businesses closed early on Friday, schools were closed for an extended period and people have traveled from abroad and across the country to cast their votes.
And yet, in the run-up to the election speaking to people in Lagos, there seemed a lot of indifference to the presidential election given the two top candidates, president Muhammadu Buhari and leading opposition candidate and former VP, Atiku Abubakar.
“I’m not excited by any of them, they’re as bad as each other,” says Adedayo, an Uber driver who used to be a forex dealer at a local bureau de change. Like several other people I spoke with he had a voter’s card but wasn’t going to vote for a presidential candidate.
But even though that sentiment and frustration with the sluggish economy is out there, there was also real enthusiasm for the possibilities democracy could present.
There were plenty of serious discussions around the need for third party candidates to be better organized and not show up just a few months before an election and hope to be president. Some pointed to younger candidates like the Afrobeats/Nollywood star Banky W’s campaign for a national assembly seat as one way to go.
Time and again, Nigerians from very different walks of life kept coming back to the idea any serious presidential candidate trying to break the APC (Buhari)-PDP (Atiku) “duopoly” would need to start organizing now for 2023. As one executive, who asked not to be named, suggested:
“This election almost doesn’t matter, it’s all about 2023 to really change this country.”
— Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Stories from this week
The Congolese-American activist who scaled the Statue of Liberty isn’t backing down. Therese Patricia Okoumou became the first woman to climb New York’s iconic statue last July 4 to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Speaking with Chidinma Irene Nwoye, Okoumou, who is originally from Congo Brazzaville, recognizes she may be going to prison for her protest but that won’t stop her fighting injustices.
Nigerian scientists patented a sickle cell drug using a traditional remedy—then it all fell apart. Back in 1998, Nigerian scientists used a herbal remedy to develop a drug for treating sickle cell disease and even ended up getting a global patent. Uwagbale Edward-Ekpu tells the story of Niprisan and a lost opportunity for Africa’s pharmaceutical industry.
Those weren’t the first photos of a Kenyan black leopard in a 100 years. A British photographer this week released photos of a young female black leopard seen in central Kenya. But claims this was the first time the melanistic leopard seen in Africa in over a century drew vicious pushback—from Kenyans who revealed multiple sightings and photographs of the animal in the area.
Ethiopia’s ambitious plan to privatize its mobile phone monopoly faces key hurdles. Ethiopia’s sole voice and data provider, Ethio Telecom, will be the first of four state-owned firms to be denationalized in a bid to expand the role of the private sector. But as Abdi Latif Dahir reports, success of that effort will depend on how the government handles crucial political and economic realities.
At least 80% of African migrants never leave the continent, and yet the focus is on Europe. More people move from the Horn of Africa to southern Africa than those crossing the Sahara to north Africa to reach Europe, and most migrants from West Africa stay within the region. But as Lynsey Chutel finds the research is lopsided.
Zimbabwe is trying to bring back its own currency but no one seems to think it’ll work. After the debacle Zimbabwe’s central bank has had with its bond notes, many Zimbabweans are skeptical about the talk of a new currency, finds Chris Muronzi in Harare. “Currency is based on trust and confidence,” says one economist. “We need to address the trust and confidence deficit and create cohesion. If you don’t address that, you will destroy the currency.”
Chart of the Week
Two of Kenya’s biggest telecom operators are uniting to take on Safaricom. Safaricom is by far Kenya’s leading telco, dwarfing other operators in subscribers, revenue, and infrastructure. Now, India’s Bharti Airtel and Telkom Kenya are merging their operations to create a stronger challenger to Safaricom.
Other Things We Liked
The ill-served rewriting of the brutal legacy of Haile Selassie. The African Union recently erected a statue of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie outside its headquarters in Addis Ababa, a tribute to his contribution to championing pan-African unity. But as Yohannes Woldemariam argues in the Africa at LSE blog, there’s a wide chasm between the leader’s “mythological” representation and the violence he meted out during his over four-decade rule.
Unpacking al-Shabaab’s recruitment efforts in Kenya. The al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group has recruited men and women from Kenya who have helped it carry brutal acts of violence. In Kenya’s The Standard, Daniel Wesangula delves into the lives of some of these returnees and the tough choices they face once they return home.
ICYMI
Developing the next African global tech leaders. The African Development Bank along with South Korean government is offering fully-funded graduate degrees in IT in higher education institutions in Korea. (Apr. 9)
Master’s scholarships for refugees. The Mwalimu Nyerere African Union Scholarship offers refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa the chance to pursue graduate degrees in natural sciences, agriculture, health, education, engineering, and social sciences (Apr. 30)
Keep an eye on
Flintlock 2019 (Feb. 18-Mar. 1). The annual regional exercise between 30 African and Western counterterrorism forces will take place in Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
Ruling to decriminalize gay sex in Kenya (Feb. 22). The high court will deliver a judgment to repeal sections 162 and 165 of the penal code, which punishes gay sex by up to 14 years in jail.
Nigeria’s election (Feb. 23). The presidential and national assembly polls were postponed by a week due to shortages of ballot papers in some states and will take place next Saturday.
*This brief was produced while listening to CNPB (pan-African remix) by Kiff No Beat feat. Nix, Tal B, Shan’L, Minks, Banlieuz’art, Vano Baby, Widgunz, Jacky Brown (Côte d’Ivoire/Senegal/Gabon/Cameroon/Guinea/Benin)
Our best wishes for a productive and thought-filled week ahead. Please send any news, comments, suggestions, photos of rarely seen leopards and Ethiopian telco shares to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
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