Hi, Quartz Africa readers!
#EndSARS
I’ve told the story before of how in August 2012, I was on the end of a harrowing kidnapping and extortion ordeal at the hands of SARS, Nigeria’s “Special” Anti-Robbery police unit in Lagos.
Three armed police officers from the unit grabbed me in front of a local bank and forced me into an unmarked car against my will. An illegal search of my wallet and mobile phone followed as the car sped towards the outskirts of Lagos—in line with the officers’ threats to “dump” me at one of their stations outside the city without contacting my family.
Two hours later, I was dropped off far away on the other side of town as the officers went in pursuit of their next target: a young man who had driven by in a newish looking car.
My experience was one of the many instances of a long-running and brazen racket by SARS officers which has now become commonplace.
But in the wake of the latest reports of killings by these officers, young Nigerians have taken their protests from social media to the streets across several Nigerian states this week, demanding for the rogue unit to be disbanded. Similar protests are now planned at Nigerian embassies in Toronto, London and New York as prominent Nigerians in the diaspora also take up the mantle of advocacy.
While SARS was initially set up in 1992 to combat a spike in armed robbery incidents, the unit has since garnered a reputation for arbitrary arrests, torture, extortion, sexual assault of women, and the extra-judicial killings of young people.
In calling for the unit to be disbanded, young Nigerians are pointedly saying previous restrictions on the unit’s activities are simply not enough. Indeed, the latest wave of protests come despite previous government “bans” on SARS which have proven to be ineffective. It’s unclear how long the ongoing protests will last but many on the ground, and close to the action, feel this is a tipping point.
So far, the government has largely played to the gallery with a tepid response, perhaps banking on the hope that the protests will fizzle out slowly. But as one of the protesters said on Friday, “the protests will not end, until they end SARS.”
— Yomi Kazeem, Quartz Lagos correspondent
China in Africa’s economy
This week we welcomed to Quartz Africa‘s virtual event stage three of the sharpest thinkers on how China’s role in Africa’s economy is evolving, They helped break down why it’s so important to understand the relationship without the dramatic headlines and emotive string-pulling narratives.
Development Reimagined’s Hannah Ryder, Center for Global Development’s W. Gyude Moore and China Africa Project’s Eric Olander more than lived up to their billing.
We started off with the hottest topic of the moment for African countries in 2020, which has become the issue of debt, due to the “accelerant” of Covid-19. But we learned the truth about Africa’s “debt problem” with China is that there isn’t one. Despite the Trump White House’s willingness to frame China’s investments as a long-term plan to willfully entrap African countries in debt, it was too simplistic to label it this way.
“Often times, we hear that there’s an African debt crisis with China but [only] about 10 African countries have a debt problem with China,” says Olander. “That leaves a majority of countries that do not have a debt problem with China.”
But of course this issue isn’t going away anytime soon, even for countries that aren’t necessarily in the worst debt situations. In Kenya its expensive Chinese-built SGR railway is racking up losses even as loans come due, explains Carlos Mureithi in Nairobi. The Kenyan parliament’s transport committee has recommended the government figure out how to renegotiate its loans with the Chinese and also cut its current Chinese-led operating costs by as much as 50%.
The speakers got into other big topic areas including the importance of African agency particularly in leadership, China’s geopolitical long-view, the need for African governments to cooperate when dealing with China, and the pluses and (fewer) minuses of the Chinese role in enabling 21st century communications and technology on the continent.
You can watch all of What China’s influence in Africa means for the global economy here. It’s a must-watch for anyone trying to understand this space. The video is available to Quartz members and you can use our special “QuartzAfrica” code to get a 50% discount on a full-year membership which includes all of Quartz’s Because China obsession and much more.
— Yinka Adegoke, Quartz Africa editor
Stories this week
Netflix is betting on boosting growth in Africa with mobile-only subscriptions. Netflix is tweaking its Africa playbook to adapt to local market realities on the continent. After initial tests in Egypt and South Africa, it is now testing cheaper, mobile-only plans widely across the continent in a bid to drive its uptake.
Senegal has licensed trawlers from a Chinese company with an illegal fishing record. Even as West Africa’s waters get depleted by overfishing by foreign trawlers, Senegalese authorities have given permission to a Chinese company to start fishing there. But even more alarming, as Chidinma Irene Nwoye reports, Greenpeace has found this company has a history of illegal fishing.
Scientists on how Africa has so far weathered the worst of Covid-19. As several wealthier economies struggle with the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, more eyes have turned to African countries to better understand their relatively better health outcomes. Scientists believe there is no one factor given the 55 different countries but there are lessons to learn.
Uganda’s banks have been plunged into chaos by a mobile money fraud hack. Uganda’s major banks and phone companies have had to shut down mobile money transactions indefinitely after a security breach saw millions of dollars spirited away via hundreds of SIM cards, reports Stephen Kafeero.
In Liberia, consumers and phone companies are both upset over rising mobile bills. Liberia’s telecoms regulator has been keen to encourage competitiveness in its mobile phone duopoly between local subsidiaries of two of the world’s biggest mobile operators. Instead, as Dounard Bondo reports from Monrovia, a move to raise price floors has infuriated both consumers and the network operators.
Dealmaker
•Tugende, an East Africa-based tech-enabled asset finance company, raised $6.3 million in a Series A investment round led by Mobility 54, Toyota‘s Africa-focused investment fund, with participation from Global Partnerships’ Social Venture Fund, Denali Venture Philanthropy, Segal Family Foundation as well as unnamed angel investors.
•ROAM Africa, the parent company of Jobberman Nigeria—the largest job portal in the country, have expanded their market reach even further. The company has acquired NGCareers, in a deal that further cements its dominance in the jobs classifieds sector.
Other things we liked
An Antwerp exhibition makes Belgians consider coming to terms with colonial abuses in Congo. A newly unearthed document reveals how dozens of Congolese people were transported to Belgium to appear in a recreated “Congolese village” “human zoo”. “It is recognized today as a crime at home to join those inflicted in Africa where Leopold II, king of the Belgians, oversaw a genocide,” writes Daniel Boffey for the Observer.
A Singaporean firm has become the go-to master planner for African cities. Kigali, Kinshasa, Conakry, Libreville…the list goes on from African city to African city, country to country, the same Singaporean architecture firm’s name keeps popping up. For City Monitor, Robert Neuwirth finds African architects are concerned that outside firms are “recolonizing” the continent’s future.
ICYMI
YouTube Black Voices Fund. The fund is aimed at acquiring and producing YouTube Originals programming to directly support Black creators. (Oct. 21)
Yale Greenberg World Fellows Program. A four-month, full-time program for mid-career professionals at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs (Dec. 2)
*This brief was produced while listening to Etcetera by Steam Down ft. Afronaut Zu (UK) [Spotify]
Our best wishes for a productive and ideas-filled week ahead. Please send any news, comments, suggestions, ideas, and #ENDSARSnow to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.
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