Student Essay Winner: The Nigeria 2023 Election

Our student essay competition winner is Wisdom Adediji, an undergraduate student at the University of Ibadan! Wisdom reads his essay, “The Nigeria 2023 Election, Aftermath, and Way Forward to National Development,” for this bonus episode.  “The Nigeria 2023 Election, Aftermath, and Way Forward to National Development” By Wisdom Adediji, undergraduate student at the University of Read More…

Bonus: Travis B. Curtice’s review of “Policing and Politics in Nigeria”

In this review from The Monkey Cage’s African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular, Travis B. Curtice tells us that Policing and Politics in Nigeria: A Comprehensive History “is a must read” for anyone trying to understand #ENDSARS, militarization, and the lingering effects of settler colonial dynamics on police. The book was reviewed by Curtice in July 2022. Review read Read More…

Ep. 162: A conversation with Idayat Hassan about the upcoming Nigerian elections

Idayat Hassan is the director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), an Abuja-based policy advocacy and research organization focusing on deepening democracy and development in West Africa. She talks to Rachel this week about the upcoming Nigerian elections and all there is to be hopeful about – the possibility for change, engagement from Read More…

Ep. 124: A conversation with Tarila Marclint Ebiede about about violence and governance in Nigeria

Joining us this week is Tarila Marclint Ebiede, adjunct assistant professor of international affairs at Brussels School of Governance, Brussels, Belgium. His research examines the reintegration of ex-combatants, political violence, the impact of violent conflicts on local governance, youth and violence, peacebuilding and security in Nigeria. We talk to him about his research, the recent news of a fallen military jet plane in Nigeria, and his new Conflict Research Network (CORN) West Africa initiative.

In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about that fallen military jet in Nigeria and share updates on the books you should be reading.

Ep. 120: A conversation with Zachariah Mampilly on researching African politics

Joining us this week is friend of the show, Zachariah Mampilly! He speaks with Kim about researching and teaching African politics, as well as his Program on African Social Research (PASR) which supports junior African scholars as they work to publish in academic journals.

In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about the Islamic State in Mozambique, news from Nigeria, and political updates in Côte d’Ivoire.

Ep. 79: A conversation with Ken Opalo about political institutions, public goods, and more

In the newswrap this week, we talk about Nigeria fact-checking, Botswana’s elections, terrorist attacks in West Africa, and more. This week’s featured conversation is with Ken Opalo (@kopalo), an Assistant Professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He talks about his newly published book, Legislative Development in Africa: Politics and Postcolonial Legacies. Long-time listeners might recall that Ken was on the show back in 2017, ahead of the Kenyan elections. Have a listen to Rachel’s conversation with Ken about his book and about his next project, which examines government provision of public goods, like health services. Their conversation begins at 13:36. 

Bonus: Hear a review of three new books on power and politics in Nigeria

In this bonus recording, hear Ufahamu Africa host Kim Dionne read University of Cincinnati professor Alex Thurston’s review of John Campbell and Matthew Page’s “Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know,” Brandon Kendhammer and Carmen McCain’s “Boko Haram,” and Carl LeVan’s “Contemporary Nigerian Politics.” The review was published as the eleventh installment of the African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular, and this recording is being shared as part of a collaboration with The Monkey Cage, a blog on politics and political science at The Washington Post.

Bonus: Laura Seay’s TMC review of Ayisha Osori’s book, “Love Does Not Win Elections”

In this bonus recording, hear Ufahamu Africa host Kim Dionne read Laura Seay’s review of Love Does Not Win Elections, a memoir by Ayisha Osori. The review was published in this past Friday’s installment of the African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular, and this recording is being shared as part of a collaboration with The Monkey Cage, a blog on politics and political science at The Washington Post. 

Ep. 59: A conversation with Matt Buehler on how governments spoil opposition alliances in North Africa

This week’s episode features a lot of discussion on North Africa. In the news wrap, we cover the protests in Algeria and Sudan (as well as election results in Senegal and Nigeria). Our featured conversation for this week’s episode is with Matt Buehler, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Tennessee and Global Security Fellow at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy. Matt talks about his new book, Why Alliances Fail: Islamist and Leftist Coalitions in North Africa. 

Ep. 57: A conversation with Nicholas Kerr about Nigerian elections, citizens’ opinions about election quality, and more

Nigeria’s elections have been postponed, but that didn’t keep us from sharing our insightful conversation with Nicholas Kerr this week. Nicholas is an assistant professor of comparative politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Florida. We talk about his research on electoral management bodies in Africa and in particular about his research on election management and popular perceptions of election quality in Nigeria. Our conversation begins at 10:06.

Ep. 56: A conversation with Dr. Anta Sané and Dr. Ndongo Symba Sylla about the Senegalese elections

This week’s episode opens with a conversation about increasing authoritarianism in Tanzania, the shutdown of an independent newspaper’s website in Uganda, fake news ahead of the Nigerian elections, and more. For this week’s conversation, Rachel spoke with Dr. Anta Sané and Dr. Ndongo Samba Sylla about the upcoming elections in Senegal.