Sola Odunfa, Nigerian journalist, writes in an article on the BBC website: I often ask myself: Should Nigeria break up, how many countries will it produce? I am not aware that any three of its more than 200 ethnic groups sincerely agree so much as to come together in a peaceful independent state. There is… Read More »
I just read this on the World Bank CommGap blog: In India, petty corruption is pervasive – people often face situations where they are asked to pay bribes for public services that should be provided free. 5th Pillar distributes zero rupee notes in the hopes that ordinary Indians can use these notes as a means… Read More »
is the title of a Reuters report on Africa. Read this excerpt: The International Monetary Fund believes growth in sub-Saharan Africa will be 1 percentage point above the global average, and puts eight African countries in its top 20 fastest-expanding economies in 2010. Oil-rich Angola and Congo Republic will lead the charge with growth rates… Read More »
BBC Focus on Africa Magazine: It is early morning in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and a small independent wholesaler is doing a roaring trade. The city’s street traders and small independent retailers have come to stock up on household products, one of which is toothpaste. This wholesaler stocks two brands. The first, the so-called genuine… Read More »
In a group interview in September, 18 disgruntled truck drivers in Cotonou, Benin, vented their frustrations to two Trade Hub consultants: driving freely from Cotonou to Ouagadougou was impossible without harassment, they said. They sometimes spend three days at borders where customs officials hold up paper work when they refuse to pay bribes; meanwhile, their… Read More »
I just read from the Financial Times, through the PSD blog, that the Nigerian government is considering giving part of the proceeds of oil exploration to indigenes of the Niger Delta region. The amount is about $20 a year. According to its architects, the Nigerian scheme could make about $555m annually available – about $20… Read More »
Former American ambassador to Nigeria, Princeton Lyman, writing on today’s (ir)relevance of Nigeria. If Nigeria fails? I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence,… Read More »
H/T Jeremy For a more serious analysis. Update: From the BBC The after effects of the alleged attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a passenger plane over the US on Christmas Day continue to be felt. The Americans are introducing new rules for screening passengers before they board US bound flights. The rules… Read More »
In the BusinessDay of December 29, 2009 There is a thing about being so close to something that one does not see it anymore. Anthropologists normally refer to it as going native. You have gone native when you no longer see the obvious things anymore, when the things that an outsider notices stares you in… Read More »
Really interesting interview with Nuhu Ribadu, former head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, by the NPR Planet Money team. Check it out here.