Alc Pan-african Radio

Talking Africa - Leadership and nation building in S.Sudan by ALC Pan-African Radio

Les pays francophones d'Afrique de l'Ouest ont une histoire complexe et interdépendante. Ayant traversé l'esclavage, la colonisation et accédé à l'indépendance au cours de la même décennie, ils sont aujourd'hui politiquement et économiquement liés par le biais de deux principales institutions régionales, à savoir la CEDEAO (Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest) et l'UEMOA (Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine). Cependant, malgré la fin du colonialisme, la France maintient toujours une forte présence dans ces pays et certains d'entre eux ont connu un niveau d'insécurité sans précédent ces dernières années. Raïssa Zoungrana, membre de l'African Leadership Centre s'intéressant aux questions de sécurité en Afrique de l'Ouest/Sahel, elle en explique les causes et comment différents acteurs dans les pays francophones prétendent résoudre la situation.

In the age of globalization food security and stability are interlinked; armed conflicts are a key driver of food insecurity affecting regions beyond the battlefield. The ongoing Ukraine war is testament to this notion as it has created new food insecurity whilst highlighted existing systemic weaknesses in global food security. The European Union’s partial embargo of Russian oil and its plans to phase imports of Russian natural gas, creates an opportunity for African oil and natural gas-producing countries to access global market. Sara Tadesse a fellow at the Africa Leadership Centre has an academic background in International Relations and African Studies. She looks at the implications of the ongoing war in the Ukraine on food security in the continent.

In 2013, the African Union adopted its Silencing the Guns initiative with the aim of silencing all guns and ending all conflicts by 2020. For the past nine years the African Union has undertaken efforts to realise this laudable objective, guided by the AU Master Roadmap of Practical Steps to Silence the Guns in Africa. In a quest to ensure that all guns are silenced in Africa, the AU has earmarked September as the Africa amnesty month, where all Africans can return their guns without fear of prosecution. Gorata Chepete shares with us what the amnesty month means and how Africa can better prepare for its success. She is a Motswana criminologist with a Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Botswana and a Diploma in Political Economic Risk Analysis from the University of Stellenbosch. She is currently a Fellow on the African Leadership Centre’s (ALC) Peace, Security and Development Fellowship Programme for Early Career Women in partnership with King’s College London (KCL). She previously worked close

Wokedje Homawoo is a Togolese and French Leadership and Development MSc student and Peace, Security, and Development Associate Fellow at the King’s College London African Leadership Centre. She holds an International Management BSc from The University of Manchester Alliance Business School and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. With experiences in both the private and non-profit sectors, her research interests include food security and sustainable agriculture, education access, and digital transformation. Today we will be exploring notions of media and communications in the African context. What role do media and communications play in governance and culture? How can an intergovernmental continental institution such as the African Union openly admit their inefficiency in communicating with its constituents?

West African francophone countries shave a complex interrelated history. Having gone through slavery, colonization and reaching independence within the same decade, today they are politically, and economically interwined through two main regional institutions, namely ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), and WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union). However, despite the end of colonialism, France still maintains a strong presence in these countries and some of them have been witnessed an unprecedented level of insecurity in recent years. Raïssa Zoungrana a fellow at the African Leadership Centre with an interest in security issues in West Africa or the Sahel, discusses how different actors in Francophone countries are pretending to resolve the situation.

Since the years of independence, Africa has experienced more coups than any other continent. The social, political and economic conditions prevailing in different African countries are have been the driving force behind destabilising nations, creating environments for coups on the continent. Social discontent, largely expressed through protest, has been met with varying degrees of suppression, co-option and consolidation of the status quo. Chelsea Cohen, a woman fellow at the African Leadership Centre with an interest in the intersection between leadership and the socio-political factors that contribute to peace and (in)security dynamics. She examines the recent spate in coups on the continent and what these coups are telling us about our domestic affairs.

Discussion Prog on Elections in Africa by ALC Pan-African Radio

Women, power and global decision making in a world at war by ALC Pan-African Radio

The current African Cup of Nations taking place in Cameroon has been marred by controversy from the start. First, there was the chaos in the match between Tunisia and Mali that the Zambian referee decided to finish twice before the ninety minutes, then the kick-off of the match between Gambia and Mauritania being delayed by fourty five minutes and the wrong national anthem being played three times for the Mauritania team, the volatile security situation in the country and the coronavirus pandemic which has affected many players from most teams. All these challenges and more have made some people especially from several European countries and few from North Africa speak openly about the need for the tournament to be either postponed. This has angered Cameroonian football officials and well - known former players. To discuss this, we are joined by: Hubert Kinkoh a peace, security and development researcher across Africa and Research Associate and Coordinator of the Peace, Security and Development Fellowship Pro

Leonie Mills, a fellow at the ALC from Ghana looks at Rwanda's history; how the country has been able to avoid new conflicts and how President Kagame emerged. Audio Clip: Open Society Foundations & FRANCE 24 English

Fakhrriyyah Abdallah, a fellow at the ALC, speaks about Neem foundation, and how they are supporting peace efforts through psychosocial support in the North East of Nigeria. Audio Clip: BBC News Africa & Neem Foundation

Halima Ahmed, a peace, security and development early-career women fellow at the ALC from Kenya, looks at Police Brutality and Inequality in Nairobi, Kenya during the Covid-19 pandemic. Audio Clip: Global News

Abdullahi Rage a fellow at the ALC, traces Abiy's rise to power and examines how he is handling the highly controversial war in Tigray. Audio Clip: Al Jazeera & CGTN Africa

Susanne Mbise, a fellow at the ALC gives a glimpse to the journey of women’s representation in political leadership in Tanzania.

South Africa, like most countries across the globe, continues to criminalize sex work under the Sexual Offences Act drafted during the apartheid period. Sex workers therefore continue to be insecure and at risk of encountering violence and harassment by both the police and clients. Let alone stigma when they seek public healthcare services. Not to mention, how the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the situation for them. Sara Soumaya Abed, a fellow at the ALC, reflects on how two South African sex workers-led organizations, SWEAT and Sisonke, respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Audio clips: eNCA

PI Africa was launched in Nairobi in December 2019, the first of four regional hubs of Protection International, a Brussels-based organisation that supports human rights defenders. Susan Muriungi, Regional Director of PI Africa, talks about how this will help in ensuring more timely interventions where threats exist.

Dr Albert Mbiatem from Cameroon, who recently co-authored a book, Whose Peace Are We Building? Leadership for Peace in Africa, with Youssef Mahmoud, tells Desmond Davies how the project evolved. He also spoke about the current state of leadership in Africa.

Mounira Chaieb is a former BBC Arabic Service Journalist, Freelance writer and mentor at The African Leadership Centre.

Tunde Zack-Williams, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Central Lancashire in the UK, has been, for the last 50 years, at the forefront of reshaping African Studies on the continent and in the West. He shares his experiences with Talking Africa. Image: ASAUK (African Studies Association UK)