When soldiers surrounded the presidential palace in Niger in July 2023 and detained President Mohamed Bazoum, many Nigeriens took to the streets in Niamey to celebrate the junta. Crowds waved Russian flags, burnt French ones, and cheered the men in uniform. It was the fifth coup in the Sahel in under three years. Across the region, juntas spoke the language of popular anger, framing military takeovers as a response to popular frustration with civilian rule. But how much truth is there to that claim, and does enthusiasm for soldiers in government today run deeper in places that have lived through…
Nnaemeka Ohamadike
Nnaemeka Ohamadike
Nnaemeka served as a Senior Data Analyst at Good Governance Africa. He completed his PhD in Applied Data Science at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, supported by South Africa’s Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. His research applies data science and computational methods to questions of governance, social bias, political attitudes, human development, and disinformation. His work has been published in journals including EPJ Data Science, Journal of Computational Social Science, Social Science Computer Review, Political Psychology, and Politeia. He has also worked as a Data Consultant at DataEQ Consulting and has teaching experience at the University of the Witwatersrand, both in South Africa.
“No city in Zimbabwe operates with true devolution. Local councils remain largely hand-held by the Ministry of Local Government.” – Dumisani Nkomo, Ward 5 Councillor, Bulawayo In 2024, Good Governance Africa (GGA) launched a project to profile African cities, beginning with those in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with the overarching aim of building an African city database that addresses Africa’s subnational data gap. The city reports for Harare and Bulawayo, two of the 10 SADC cities in the sample, provide the information for this analysis and reveal what urban governance looks like when decentralisation is enshrined in law but starved of resources in practice. …
South Africa’s 2025 G20 presidency, under the banner “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability,” draws heavily on the African philosophy of Ubuntu – the idea that “I am because we are”. Yet the G20’s call for a more inclusive, rules-based global order also raises an important question: how far do Africans themselves support greater integration and openness, and how do they experience these ideals in practice (free movement, for example)? Drawing on Afrobarometer Round 8 data from 48,084 people across 34 African countries (2019-2021), this article examines public attitudes toward regional free movement, cross-border mobility, trade openness, and foreign retail participation. It provides…
“The environment is man’s first right. Without a safe environment, man cannot exist to claim other rights, be they political, social, or economic.” – Ken Saro-Wiwa The late Nigerian activist’s line has outlived him because it still describes a reality in extractive frontiers across Africa. In many mining communities on the continent, a quieter version of the same idea is shared by residents who live with the consequences Saro-Wiwa named – the dust that settles on vegetables, the borehole that runs brown, and the clinic that is an hour away on a road designed for haul trucks, not ambulances. The…
In July 2023, soldiers in Niger overthrew the democratically elected government, citing widespread insecurity and public dissatisfaction with President Mohamed Bazoum. It was the fifth coup in the Sahel in under three years, and it deepened concerns in an international community that had grown weary of the resurgence of military takeovers across parts of Africa. Despite coordinated pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Niger’s junta, alongside its counterparts in Mali and Burkina Faso, not only maintained its grip on power but also withdrew from ECOWAS and formed an ad hoc regional security alliance. Niger’s coup, like…
The adage “what gets measured, gets managed” has never been more relevant to Africa’s development. Across the continent, data infrastructure remains underdeveloped compared to other regions, and sub-national data on key socio-economic and political issues is even more scarce – especially in sub-Saharan Africa, often referred to as the “data desert”. While better data exists at the country level and offers a broad overview, it often obscures sub-national disparities that impact urban service delivery, transportation, resource allocation, and socio-economic and political outcomes. Moreover, existing data is often collected inconsistently, creating gaps in time-series data that are vital for identifying trends. …
The “wave of democracy” that swept sub-Saharan Africa after the Cold War faced widespread scepticism, with many viewing it as mere “window dressing” to satisfy Western aid donors. Yet three decades later, as Professor Rod Alence of Wits University notes, African democracies outperform autocratic ones in delivering good governance. Democracy transcends voting – it is a continuous process of public participation, accountability, and transparency. It requires robust institutions and an engaged civil society to thrive. Authentic deliberation and open debate are vital in transparently shaping decision-making processes. Academics Stephan Lewandowsky and John Cook note that one reason we trust democracy…
Leanne Manas is a household name in South African television. In late 2023, the morning news presenter’s face appeared in fake news stories and advertisements, where “she” seemingly promoted various products and get-rich-quick schemes. She had fallen victim to “deep faking”. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, a finance worker was tricked into paying out $25 million in a sophisticated scheme whereby fraudsters impersonated the company’s Chief Financial Officer and other colleagues in a video conference call using deepfake technology. Deepfakes are media that have been digitally manipulated (typically using artificial intelligence) to replace one’s likeness. This does not require cutting-edge technical…
Most Africans want the news media to investigate and report government mistakes and corruption. However, in African countries with higher corruption levels than lower ones, citizens are more concerned about the harm excessive reporting brings to their country. Over the past few decades, corruption has been an endemic issue confronting many African countries. The media is instrumental in combating corruption through investigative journalism, informing the public, and promoting accountability, as demonstrated in African countries like South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria. For instance, in South Africa, news reports on large-scale corruption and clientelism at the highest levels prompted the Office of…
Most Africans want the news media to investigate and report government mistakes and corruption. However, in African countries with higher corruption levels than lower ones, citizens are more concerned about the harm excessive reporting brings to their country. Over the past few decades, corruption has been an endemic issue confronting many African countries. The media is instrumental in combating corruption through investigative journalism, informing the public, and promoting accountability, as demonstrated in African countries like South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria. For instance, in South Africa, news reports on large-scale corruption and clientelism at the highest levels prompted the Office of…
