--- title: Africa url: 'https://www.contextura.world/africa' markdown: 'https://www.contextura.world/africa.md' date: '2026-10-16' --- # Africa [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/7/9/f/d/4/79fd44ebdb4796c7c191677df9ae836e98ebb184-resource-map-of-africa.jpeg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-poor-because-it-has-nothing-it-is-poor-because-the-world-has-learned-how-to-take-from-it) 30th Oct 2026 ### [Africa Is Not Poor Because It Has Nothing: It Is Poor Because the World Has Learned How to Take From It](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-poor-because-it-has-nothing-it-is-poor-because-the-world-has-learned-how-to-take-from-it) One of the most damaging consequences of colonialism is not simply the wealth that was taken from Africa. It is the intellectual architecture that continues to shape how Africans understand their own continent and how the rest of the world understands it. Africa is routinely presented as a place of... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/a/a/a/5/0/aaa5061513bef3b4b0ee3e2226a73f8289e23a51-screenshot-2026-10-30-at-233116.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-does-not-need-europes-permission-to-choose-russia) 30th Oct 2026 ### [Africa Does Not Need Europe's Permission to Choose Russia](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-does-not-need-europes-permission-to-choose-russia) The reaction to the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow has exposed an attitude that Africa should have outgrown long ago: the belief that African governments must justify their diplomatic relationships to European capitals. Nearly 50 African countries attended the gathering on October 28 and 29, w... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/c/e/4/a/4/ce4a4af86127d4bd555765910004ce601b719dac-screenshot-2026-10-30-at-231230.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/tinubu-goes-to-makkah-to-pray-for-nigeria-but-who-is-governing-the-country) 30th Oct 2026 ### [Tinubu Goes to Makkah to Pray for Nigeria. But Who Is Governing the Country?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/tinubu-goes-to-makkah-to-pray-for-nigeria-but-who-is-governing-the-country) **There is nothing inherently wrong with a president undertaking a religious pilgrimage. The problem arises when the language of prayer and national renewal appears increasingly detached from the daily realities of citizens struggling with electricity shortages, economic pressure and declining confide**... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/5/7/2/d/4/572d41d0c7fe0274fd661e548f8cce1b69a17c70-screenshot-2026-10-30-at-225313.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/inecs-voters-register-is-raising-questions-the-commission-cannot-afford-to-ignore) 30th Oct 2026 ### [INEC's Voters' Register Is Raising Questions the Commission Cannot Afford to Ignore](https://www.contextura.world/africa/inecs-voters-register-is-raising-questions-the-commission-cannot-afford-to-ignore) **Duplicate identities, suspicious photographs and disputed polling-unit figures have placed Nigeria's electoral register under public scrutiny. INEC says its cleanup is ongoing, but Nigerians need evidence that the problems are being identified and corrected.** Nigeria's Independent National Electora... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/1/a/e/8/7/1ae879f78209f4feee152c5bde184c87b774ef47-jean-noel.jpeg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/frances-african-problem-is-not-russia-it-is-the-refusal-to-let-africa-choose) 28th Oct 2026 ### [France’s African Problem Is Not Russia. It Is the Refusal to Let Africa Choose](https://www.contextura.world/africa/frances-african-problem-is-not-russia-it-is-the-refusal-to-let-africa-choose) **Paris is threatening sanctions over alleged Russian influence operations in Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo, but its outrage raises a more fundamental question: why does France continue to treat the preservation of its African influence as a strategic entitlement?** France’s Foreign Minister,... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/d/6/6/b/d/d66bd6a677d04b45e0e54b183941278c25f4700d-tinubu-dayo-israel.jpeg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigerias-political-elite-are-living-like-kings-while-citizens-are-told-to-endure) 26th Oct 2026 ### [Nigeria's Political Elite Are Living Like Kings While Citizens Are Told to Endure](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigerias-political-elite-are-living-like-kings-while-citizens-are-told-to-endure) **A ruling party can ask citizens to make sacrifices. What it cannot reasonably demand is endless public patience while its own political machinery celebrates luxury, distributes expensive vehicles to loyalists and offers millions of struggling people another lecture about economic reform. When sacrif**... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/a/b/1/4/0/ab140af3aa146cff2ec14ddb22bf41bf3be172c2-tinubu-second-term.jpeg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/tinubu-promised-to-protect-nigerians-money-three-years-later-can-he-justify-another-term) 25th Oct 2026 ### [Tinubu Promised to Protect Nigerians' Money. Three Years Later, Can He Justify Another Term?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/tinubu-promised-to-protect-nigerians-money-three-years-later-can-he-justify-another-term) **In 2023, Bola Tinubu warned Nigerians that Peter Obi would keep saving their money until they went hungry. Today, with poverty widespread, food insecurity persistent, and corruption remaining a serious governance challenge, the question is whether Tinubu's own record can withstand the standard he us**... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/7/2/0/f/9/720f933463846ba3010537b3aa0f61d9c6754699-food-in-africa.jpeg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-hungry-because-it-lacks-land-the-politics-of-food-failed-governments-terrorism-and-western-hypocrisy) 17th Oct 2026 ### [Africa Is Not Hungry Because It Lacks Land: The Politics of Food, Failed Governments, Terrorism and Western Hypocrisy](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-hungry-because-it-lacks-land-the-politics-of-food-failed-governments-terrorism-and-western-hypocrisy) It was floated recently in a discussion in an online group where someone living in Europe remarked that, on the surface, it appeared to be about food security but, on closer examination, revealed a much deeper problem in how the world understands Africa. The argument was that Africa has enormous amo... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/5/4/0/1/e/5401e4aa855fcb4e7349fd6672bbcfc756cac123-nipost.jpeg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-has-given-every-building-an-address-now-can-nigeria-actually-find-them) 3rd Oct 2026 ### [Nigeria Has Given Every Building an Address. Now, Can Nigeria Actually Find Them?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-has-given-every-building-an-address-now-can-nigeria-actually-find-them) Nigeria has launched a new national digital postcode system today, October 1, 2026, with an ambition that is considerably larger than the traditional idea of a postcode. The National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System, operated by the Nigerian Postal Service, is designed to give every addressable... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/1/2/2/e/3/122e3a9449832e793e24dcf79abfa1b7069d5071-nigeria-at-66.jpg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-at-66-six-decades-of-independence-but-where-is-the-nation) 3rd Oct 2026 ### [Nigeria at 66: Six Decades of Independence, But Where Is the Nation?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-at-66-six-decades-of-independence-but-where-is-the-nation) On October 1, 1960, Nigeria became an independent and sovereign country. Sixty-six years later, the anniversary arrives with the familiar ceremonies, speeches about resilience, patriotic messages, and declarations about a prosperous future. The Federal Government has designated October 1, 2026 as th... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/d/1/d/3/c/d1d3c3f07881116023d793b517128e4d678743df-dele-alake-and-christopher-landau.jpeg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-is-not-a-chessboard-stop-handing-our-mineral-wealth-to-great-power-geopolitics) 26th Sep 2026 ### [Nigeria Is Not a Chessboard: Stop Handing Our Mineral Wealth to Great-Power Geopolitics](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-is-not-a-chessboard-stop-handing-our-mineral-wealth-to-great-power-geopolitics) There is something deeply depressing about watching Nigeria repeatedly discover that it possesses enormous natural resources and then immediately begin looking for a foreign power to help us decide what to do with them. The latest example is the mineral investment framework signed by Nigeria's Minis... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/e/e/d/f/3/eedf3ed7e6f03c65129bf36a78c920849cb5b5ff-official-government-portrait.jpg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-wants-a-permanent-seat-at-the-un-but-is-africa-ready-for-the-power-that-comes-with-it) 25th Sep 2026 ### [Africa Wants a Permanent Seat at the UN. But Is Africa Ready for the Power That Comes With It?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-wants-a-permanent-seat-at-the-un-but-is-africa-ready-for-the-power-that-comes-with-it) Africa has spent decades demanding a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and the African Union has a clear position. Under the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, Africa wants at least two permanent seats with all the privileges of permanent membership, including the vet... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/1/d/6/3/7/1d63772651384b1310d26cc471ca6a2b6e41470e-ukraine.jpeg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/ukraines-war-with-russia-is-reaching-africa-africans-should-be-asking-why) 25th Sep 2026 ### [Ukraine's War With Russia Is Reaching Africa. Africans Should Be Asking Why](https://www.contextura.world/africa/ukraines-war-with-russia-is-reaching-africa-africans-should-be-asking-why) The Russia-Ukraine war was supposed to be a European conflict. Yet increasingly, the confrontation between Moscow and Kyiv is appearing thousands of kilometres away from the Ukrainian battlefield, including in Africa. The most significant confirmed example is Mali. In July 2024, Tuareg separatist... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/c/9/0/9/0/c9090f1b21d37fd1116d32dae8548a300e42afb7-nigerian-election-audit.jpg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/if-political-power-can-decide-elections-what-exactly-are-nigerians-voting-for) 25th Sep 2026 ### [If Political Power Can Decide Elections, What Exactly Are Nigerians Voting For?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/if-political-power-can-decide-elections-what-exactly-are-nigerians-voting-for) Nigeria's next general election will be more than a contest between candidates. It will also test whether Nigerians believe their votes can actually determine political outcomes. That question has become more urgent following recent comments by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike about the role political pow... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/a/0/7/5/5/a075502bd87903f2668d5121d26d6e1424c7b6c7-un-general-assembly-nigeria.jpg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-cannot-keep-treating-the-un-general-assembly-as-optional) 24th Sep 2026 ### [Nigeria Cannot Keep Treating the UN General Assembly as Optional](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-cannot-keep-treating-the-un-general-assembly-as-optional) President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is once again absent from the United Nations General Assembly, and this time the absence is particularly difficult to ignore because it is the third consecutive year that Vice President Kashim Shettima has represented him at the gathering. Shettima represented Nigeria in... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/4/2/b/9/1/42b91beb124a02335585cef9a93d9fe7d547a75e-afrika-1.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-free) 23rd Sep 2026 ### [Africa Is Not Free: The Colonisers Never Left, They Only Changed Clothes](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-free) For decades Africans were taught to celebrate independence days with flags, parades, speeches and national anthems while the deeper machinery of control remained firmly intact behind the curtains of diplomacy, banking systems, military agreements, foreign corporations, intelligence networks and pupp... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/e/0/c/5/b/e0c5b04f4cf4b44fd77afbd49bac8e3f219c643e-nigeria-failed-state.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/is-nigeria-becoming-a-failed-state-the-question) 23rd Sep 2026 ### [Is Nigeria Becoming a Failed State? The Question Nigerians Are No Longer Afraid to Ask](https://www.contextura.world/africa/is-nigeria-becoming-a-failed-state-the-question) For years Nigerians avoided using the phrase “failed state” when discussing their country because the term sounded too extreme, too insulting and too final. It belonged to places people watched on television with pity and distance, countries consumed by civil war, famine, militia rule and institutio... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/2/7/9/6/4/2796401587f70679a8a4235ac76494b7b00a2842-nigerian-public-spending.jpg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigerias-n21-billion-symbol-of-government-without-a-strategy) 23rd Sep 2026 ### [Nigeria’s N21 Billion Symbol of Government Without a Strategy](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigerias-n21-billion-symbol-of-government-without-a-strategy) There is something deeply troubling about a government spending roughly N21 billion to complete an official residence for the Vice President, commissioning it with great ceremony, and then leaving the building unused for nearly two years. The residence for Vice President Kashim Shettima was commissi... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/7/b/4/6/0/7b4608d057e7abcf5a88573ebf632b7133149187-african-union-1.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/african-union-ukraine-neutrality) 23rd Sep 2026 ### [The African Union’s Silence on Ukraine: Why Much of Africa Sees a Proxy War and Refuses to Be Drawn In](https://www.contextura.world/africa/african-union-ukraine-neutrality) When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, much of the Western world expected a swift and unified response from Africa, particularly from the African Union, whose founding principles emphasise territorial integrity, respect for borders, and the peaceful resolution of disputes, yet what followed w... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/c/8/4/8/1/c8481f38d0af07f066e005bb379f548e58cde8df-nigeria-travel-story.jpg)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/the-nigeria-we-remember-and-the-nigeria-we-fear) 23rd Sep 2026 ### [The Nigeria We Remember, and the Nigeria We Fear](https://www.contextura.world/africa/the-nigeria-we-remember-and-the-nigeria-we-fear) There was a time when travelling across Nigeria could be an adventure rather than an act of calculation. In a recent reflection, Nigerian lawyer Abdul Mahmud recalled a five-week road journey he undertook in 1998 with his girlfriend, travelling from Lagos through Benin, Warri, Port Harcourt, Aba,... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/d/8/b/4/8/d8b48ca24fa1a32c9766c52a6ca7cf02a76ba0fb-south-africa-article-header.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/south-africa-is-drowning-in-disinformation-and-that-does-not-mean-it-is-drowning-in-genocide) 21st Jun 2026 ### [South Africa Is Drowning in Disinformation, and That Does Not Mean It Is Drowning in Genocide](https://www.contextura.world/africa/south-africa-is-drowning-in-disinformation-and-that-does-not-mean-it-is-drowning-in-genocide) South Africa has a real problem right now, and it has a fake problem layered on top of it, and the two are getting mixed together so often that most people online cannot tell where one ends and the other begins. The real problem is xenophobic violence. It is documented, it is recent, and it has al... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/4/0/e/9/6/40e963be602343569d9eed21a57a0617f18a2cb6-nigeriarefuserepubliceditorial.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/the-refuse-republic-how-nigerias-ruling-class-turned-a-manageable-problem-into-a-national-disgrace-and-why-africa-is-paying-attention) 21st Jun 2026 ### [The Refuse Republic: How Nigeria's Ruling Class Turned a Manageable Problem Into a National Disgrace, and Why Africa Is Paying Attention](https://www.contextura.world/africa/the-refuse-republic-how-nigerias-ruling-class-turned-a-manageable-problem-into-a-national-disgrace-and-why-africa-is-paying-attention) Civilisations announce themselves through what they build and through what they leave behind. The Egyptians built the pyramids of Giza and left behind an architectural civilisation that humanity has spent five thousand years attempting to comprehend. The Romans paved roads that still run beneath the... [![](https://www.contextura.world/images/b/3/4/9/e/b349e2b20f7a0823c494fabb9a372d51da2e0b99-nigeriainsecurityeditorialimage.png)](https://www.contextura.world/africa/20-000-a-day-the-mathematics-of-nigerias-coming-catastrophe-and-the-political-class-that-made-it-inevitable) 21st Jun 2026 ### [20,000 a Day: The Mathematics of Nigeria's Coming Catastrophe and the Political Class That Made It Inevitable](https://www.contextura.world/africa/20-000-a-day-the-mathematics-of-nigerias-coming-catastrophe-and-the-political-class-that-made-it-inevitable) There is a question that no government official in Abuja will answer honestly, because the honest answer is too damning to survive in the morning newspapers. The question is this: if the rate at which Nigerians are being kidnapped and killed continues to climb at its current trajectory, and if the s... --- ## Navigation - Previous: [About Contextura](https://www.contextura.world/about.md) - Next: [Americas](https://www.contextura.world/americas.md) - Children: - [The African Union’s Silence on Ukraine: Why Much of Africa Sees a Proxy War and Refuses to Be Drawn In](https://www.contextura.world/africa/african-union-ukraine-neutrality.md) - [South Africa Is Drowning in Disinformation, and That Does Not Mean It Is Drowning in Genocide](https://www.contextura.world/africa/south-africa-is-drowning-in-disinformation-and-that-does-not-mean-it-is-drowning-in-genocide.md) - [Nigeria’s N21 Billion Symbol of Government Without a Strategy](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigerias-n21-billion-symbol-of-government-without-a-strategy.md) - [Ukraine's War With Russia Is Reaching Africa. Africans Should Be Asking Why](https://www.contextura.world/africa/ukraines-war-with-russia-is-reaching-africa-africans-should-be-asking-why.md) - [Africa Wants a Permanent Seat at the UN. But Is Africa Ready for the Power That Comes With It?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-wants-a-permanent-seat-at-the-un-but-is-africa-ready-for-the-power-that-comes-with-it.md) - [Is Nigeria Becoming a Failed State? The Question Nigerians Are No Longer Afraid to Ask](https://www.contextura.world/africa/is-nigeria-becoming-a-failed-state-the-question.md) - [Africa Is Not Free: The Colonisers Never Left, They Only Changed Clothes](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-free.md) - [The Nigeria We Remember, and the Nigeria We Fear](https://www.contextura.world/africa/the-nigeria-we-remember-and-the-nigeria-we-fear.md) - [20,000 a Day: The Mathematics of Nigeria's Coming Catastrophe and the Political Class That Made It Inevitable](https://www.contextura.world/africa/20-000-a-day-the-mathematics-of-nigerias-coming-catastrophe-and-the-political-class-that-made-it-inevitable.md) - [The Refuse Republic: How Nigeria's Ruling Class Turned a Manageable Problem Into a National Disgrace, and Why Africa Is Paying Attention](https://www.contextura.world/africa/the-refuse-republic-how-nigerias-ruling-class-turned-a-manageable-problem-into-a-national-disgrace-and-why-africa-is-paying-attention.md) - [Nigeria Cannot Keep Treating the UN General Assembly as Optional](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-cannot-keep-treating-the-un-general-assembly-as-optional.md) - [If Political Power Can Decide Elections, What Exactly Are Nigerians Voting For?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/if-political-power-can-decide-elections-what-exactly-are-nigerians-voting-for.md) - [Nigeria at 66: Six Decades of Independence, But Where Is the Nation?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-at-66-six-decades-of-independence-but-where-is-the-nation.md) - [Nigeria Has Given Every Building an Address. Now, Can Nigeria Actually Find Them?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-has-given-every-building-an-address-now-can-nigeria-actually-find-them.md) - [Nigeria Is Not a Chessboard: Stop Handing Our Mineral Wealth to Great-Power Geopolitics](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigeria-is-not-a-chessboard-stop-handing-our-mineral-wealth-to-great-power-geopolitics.md) - [Africa Is Not Hungry Because It Lacks Land: The Politics of Food, Failed Governments, Terrorism and Western Hypocrisy](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-hungry-because-it-lacks-land-the-politics-of-food-failed-governments-terrorism-and-western-hypocrisy.md) - [Tinubu Promised to Protect Nigerians' Money. Three Years Later, Can He Justify Another Term?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/tinubu-promised-to-protect-nigerians-money-three-years-later-can-he-justify-another-term.md) - [Nigeria's Political Elite Are Living Like Kings While Citizens Are Told to Endure](https://www.contextura.world/africa/nigerias-political-elite-are-living-like-kings-while-citizens-are-told-to-endure.md) - [France’s African Problem Is Not Russia. It Is the Refusal to Let Africa Choose](https://www.contextura.world/africa/frances-african-problem-is-not-russia-it-is-the-refusal-to-let-africa-choose.md) - [INEC's Voters' Register Is Raising Questions the Commission Cannot Afford to Ignore](https://www.contextura.world/africa/inecs-voters-register-is-raising-questions-the-commission-cannot-afford-to-ignore.md) - [Tinubu Goes to Makkah to Pray for Nigeria. But Who Is Governing the Country?](https://www.contextura.world/africa/tinubu-goes-to-makkah-to-pray-for-nigeria-but-who-is-governing-the-country.md) - [Africa Does Not Need Europe's Permission to Choose Russia](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-does-not-need-europes-permission-to-choose-russia.md) - [Africa Is Not Poor Because It Has Nothing: It Is Poor Because the World Has Learned How to Take From It](https://www.contextura.world/africa/africa-is-not-poor-because-it-has-nothing-it-is-poor-because-the-world-has-learned-how-to-take-from-it.md)