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Stories from this week
The media is obsessed with Nigeria’s super-rich kids. A British TV documentary, Lagos To London: Britain’s New Super-rich, showed the glamorous lifestyles of some very wealthy Nigerian offspring in London much to the consternation of many diaspora Nigerians on social media. London-based writer Walé Azeez explains why this type of coverage isn’t necessarily any better than the ‘bad news’ stories about Boko Haram and political corruption.
Swiss bankers swear they are trying to help Africa. Perhaps tired of making cameos as sleazy money-grabbing characters in Bond films, Switzerland is slowly opening the doors of its secretive, yet infamous, vaults writes Peter Fabricius. But if African countries want to retrieve their looted money, much of the onus is on their own governments to cooperate with the Swiss—not many do.
Sicilian mobsters versus Nigerian gangsters. After years of recent illegal migration via the Mediterranean, Nigerian gangs have become more prominent in Sicily and formed a fragile peace pact with the local Cosa Nostra mafia. But a continuing crackdown on the Sicilian mafia as well as the increasing ruthlessness of the Nigerian gangs means the brittle alliance may be headed for a violent showdown.
China owns more than half of Kenya’s external debt. Kenya is borrowing yet more money from China—$600 million to plug its budget deficit. The thing is, China is now Kenya’s largest creditor, accounting for 57% the country’s total bilateral debt, and raising questions about the country’s dependence on the Asian giant, writes Lily Kuo.
Zuckerberg’s big Nigerian bet. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan’s foundation is leading a $24 million series B round investment in Nigeria’s Andela. The Lagos-based company, which also has facilities in Nairobi, trains and outsources coders and is looking to expand its offering around Africa.
One African passport. Travel in Africa is difficult for most Africans. They are required to have visas for over half of the countries on the continent. The African Union is moving ahead with early plans to introduce an e-passport that will allow holders to travel through Africa’s 54 countries with relative ease.
Chart of the week
At last! Nigeria will float its troubled naira. Having previously refused to ‘kill’ the struggling naira despite the crippling effects, Nigeria’s president Buhari finally caved this week. This Monday, June 20, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will take its pegs off the naira, allowing market forces to determine its value, writes Yomi Kazeem. Meanwhile, Reuters reports CBN anticipates the currency will drop from the 197-199 naira peg of the last year to hopefully no lower than 250 naira per dollar.
Other things we liked
Kenya’s avant-garde art funding model. A group of young Kenyan artists have gone from collective to co-op, heralding an independent funding model for emerging fine artists. Nairobi’s Brush Tu studio sees artists sharing costs, promoting and exhibiting their work while bypassing any need for already scarce state or institutional funding, writes John Aglionby in the Financial Times.
China in Africa isn’t new. The Chinese have been in Africa long before ‘China in Africa’ became a 21st century economic phenomenon. The Chinese footprint in Africa could be nearly a millennium old, with shards of Chinese porcelain discovered in the ruins of southern Africa’s ancient kingdoms. The story of enslaved Chinese prisoners uncovered by researcher Karen Williams in South Africa’s Cape Colony in the 1700s delves into rarely covered part of Africa’s history.
Keep an eye on
An Egyptian court will decide if it was okay to sell two islands to Saudi Arabia (June 21). The final verdict is expected for the case challenging Egypt’s controversial maritime border agreement with Saudi Arabia is expected. There have been local protests challenging the April 8 demarcation agreement that transferred the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi control.
African energy talk in London (June 22-24). The 18th Africa Energy Forum (AEF) is a global investment meeting for Africa’s power, energy, infrastructure & industrial sectors is taking place in London with a mix of investors, public sector stake holders and technology providers.
Our best wishes for a productive week ahead.Please send any news, comments, pan-African e-passports and Swiss bank passwords to africa@qz.com. You can follow us on twitter at @qzafrica for updates throughout the day.