Governance

In the public debate in Uganda on the new anti-gay law, as an external viewer of this society, I isolate some principal critiques. The first is linked to the international language of human rights, which emphasises the clear violation of those of a minority in the society.

As the darkest of nights
Meets the morning sun
Bodies are staged
Undressed
Despite the sunshine
Reduced
To nameless political projects
Miniskirts robbing their names
Bodies sacrificing names
To name miniskirts
Names in order for each day:
Power

‘One day two bandits entered the Summer Palace. One plundered, the other burned. Victory can be a thieving woman, or so it seems. The devastation of the Summer Palace was accomplished by the two victors acting jointly.

Kenyans are without this maddening drive and take things at their own pace; it can be very riling for an outsider or a newcomer and it can also very interesting for the social observer.

Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, will on Monday, 17 March, 2014, inaugurate the 494-member National Conference whose task is to redefine “the way forward for our nation”. The initial antipathy to the conference, it seems, has given way to cautious optimism.

The most important things about a promise, as David Graber in his book ‘Debt: The First 5000 Years’ explains, are who makes it, and to whom it's made.

Exactly two years ago, I wrote a commentary entitled, ‘The Dam and the Damned: Gi

Given the U.S.

In the spirit of John Lennon, imagine this near-future scenario.

As a Nigerian, I am keenly aware of the incessant women-focused challenges facing the country and how unfortunately this impacts on women’s rights, which is why this year’s theme on International Women’s Day could not be more apt.