By Tolu Ogunlesi There’s no escaping Africa, no matter how far from it you are. From England’s supermarket shelves bottled water leaps at you, chanting “Buy me and save a continent!” You blink, once, twice, to be sure you’re not hallucinating. You’re not. The voices are as real as they…

By Tolu Ogunlesi Okay, so it’s that time when Nigerians gather to vote for a new President, Governors in 28 of 36 States (8 States are ‘off-cycle’, meaning their elections happen at periods other than the General Elections), 109 Senators, 360 Members of the House of Representatives (the Senate and…

By Tolu Ogunlesi A JINX BROKEN: As President Buhari formally inaugurates the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos on Monday January 23, 2023, it is worth highlighting that this landmark inauguration is taking place against the backdrop of the fact that only one new Sea Port was (partially) developed in…

Nigeria: 5 things for 2023 Tolu Ogunlesi I’m going to focus on the first half of 2023, January to June, since a new Administration will be in place from May 29, 2023. Elections & Transition: Nigeria’s next general elections take place in February (25th) and March (11th) 2023, across (according to the Independent National Electoral…

Tolu Ogunlesi 2022 is President Buhari’s final full year as President. …

One of the first things any Nigerian relocating to Europe or North America will realize — if you’re paying any attention — is the extent to which the quality of daily life depends on local / municipal governments: local transport systems (bus networks for example), waste management, emergency services, neighbourhood…

By Tolu Ogunlesi They turned up, in Addis Ababa, or wherever it is that African Big Men meet these days. Africa’s departed Despots, Tyrants, Dictators, Autocrats, Maximum Rulers, Presidents for Life, call them what you will. Samuel Doe, Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga, Sani Abacha, Siad Barre…

My #HFX2022 Notebook Another third weekend of November, another Halifax International Security Forum, a gathering of 300 persons from around the ‘free world’ — policy makers, academics, military officers, journalists, activists — for an annual weekend in Halifax, Nova Scotia, eastern Canada, to discuss the state of the world, from a global security…

by Tolu Ogunlesi (2009) Allah is Not Obliged; by Ahmadou Kourouma Beasts of No Nation; by Uzodinma Iweala Burma Boy; by Biyi Bandele Song for Night; by Chris Abani Sometime within the last decade and a half, Britain and America spotted the profit-turning potential of the lives of unhappy children…