This is a guest post by Mohamed Jallow, a former interdepartmental associate at the Council on Foreign Relations, and now a program development specialist at IntraHealth International. Mohamed came to the United States as a refugee from Sierra Leone in 2003. Read more »

Many Africans were proud that the continent fielded a highly qualified candidate for the World Bank presidency, Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. By the time the vote took place, serious African observers recognized that the American candidate would win. But, there was also satisfaction that the three sub-Saharan heavyweights – Nigeria, South Africa, and Angola – had come together to nominate and support her. Read more »

The Tuareg rebels on April 6 declared their independence from Mali and announced the formation of the state of Azawad. That action was condemned or ignored by the international community. Read more »

Despite reports that fighting is ebbing between Sudan and South Sudan, the situation is troubling. Last week, Sudan (Khartoum) president al-Bashir escalated his rhetoric against South Sudan (Juba) in the aftermath of the latter’s forces occupying an oil-rich region, Heglig, inside Sudan’s borders. Al-Bashir has characterized the Juba government as an “insect,” and he appears to be repudiating the independence of South Sudan. The press reports him as saying, “Either we end up occupying Juba or you (South Sudan) end up occupying Khartoum but the boundaries of the old Sudan can longer fit us together, only one of us has to remain standing.” He said that his Sudan Armed Forces will teach South Sudan “a lesson in jihad and patriotism,” according to press reports. Read more »

This past weekend President Jacob Zuma married a fourth wife, Gloria Bongi Ngema. She joins his three other wives, Sizakele, Nompumelelo, and Thobeka. The private ceremony took place at his home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, and, according to the press, Zuma paid all of the costs himself. Read more »

Asch Harwood is the Africa program research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Update: I was recently interviewed on NPR’s “On the Media.” You can listen here. Read more »

This is a guest post by Jim Sanders, a career, now retired, West Africa watcher for various federal agencies. The views expressed below are his personal views and do not reflect those of his former employers.

In his informative Financial Times piece, “BlackBerrys flourish in the malls of Lagos,” Xan Rice focuses mainly on blackberry manufacturer Research In Motion, the firm’s market outlook for Nigeria, and about what this tells us about Nigeria’s emerging middle class. Read more »

Human Rights Watch and Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency are hailing the conviction and jailing of Nigerian “big man” James Ibori. A British court has sentenced the former governor of Delta state to jail for thirteen years for money laundering and associated crimes. Ibori pled guilty to numerous counts. The judge said that if he had fought the case, “he would be looking at twenty-four years but will get a discount for pleading guilty,” according to the press. Already in jail in the UK is his wife, his sister, his mistress, and his London solicitor, all convicted of related crimes. Read more »

Since the coming of “non-racial democracy” in South Africa, ANC-led governing bodies especially at the local level have renamed numerous streets and other public facilities that formerly honored Afrikaner nationalists. Hence the country’s principal international airport at Johannesburg has been renamed to honor Oliver Tambo, a father of the ANC; it formerly was called Jan Smuts, after the twentieth century Afrikaner politician. Read more »

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said last week “The truth is that there is very little attention to the crisis in the Sahel. Most of the focus of the international committee has been on the Syria crisis.” Read more »