15 August 2022
Nigeria: According to the author, the five priority areas to combat rising insecurity are 1) to reform (decentralise) the national security architecture; 2) to reclaim the ungoverned, undergoverned, and poorly governed spaces which can easily be occupied and ‘governed’ by violent non-state actors – reclaiming these spaces would entail creating a “pragmatic community-oriented security governance mechanism” including vigilantes and volunteers; 3) to address the drivers of insecurity: a development strategy is necessary, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and inequality need to be addressed; 4) to depoliticise identity faultlines i.e. putting a stop to “sectionalist, ethnic, clannish or religious politicking”; and 5) to reposition the counter-terrorism/banditry drive: reinvigorate the government response by, amongst others, promoting the welfare of the troops and by using improved tactics and logistics. However, the chances of all that succeeding seem slim if the author’s summarizing the situation is not exaggerated, requiring the “reinventing a comatose state system and government, which have become mired in systemic inertia and abuse, resulting in a near fiasco of the national security”.
https://theconversation.com/nigerias-next-president-faces-a-collapsing-security-situation-five-things-he-can-do-188179
Nigeria: At 19.64%, inflation is at its highest since 2005. Food inflation, at 22.02%, is even higher.
BBC Africa Live 15 August 2022. 18:44
City Development & the Informal Sector: “(V)isions of city modernisation tend to heavily marginalise and antagonise the informal sector in their design and execution”, informal settlements may be destroyed by the authorities and informal activities like hawking displaced from central business districts. But such an approach may prove disastrous, if only for the substantial employment effect of the informal sector. The authors of the article argue that the informal sector should rather be considered as “a potential site for innovation and solutions”, not an obstacle to progress. Integrating informal workers into the mainstream economy would be the best solution – as was done in Cairo where informal waste collectors/recyclers, locally called “Zabbaleen”, were integrated into the city’s formal waste management system.
https://theconversation.com/yes-africas-informal-sector-has-problems-but-the-answer-isnt-to-marginalise-it-188234
Egypt/Mali: Cairo has announced the suspension of its participation in Minusma, the UN mission in Mali, due to security concerns for its troops there. Of the around 1,000 Egyptian soldiers mainly providing logistical support for Minusma, 7 have been killed this year.
BBC Africa Live 15 August 2022. 9:02
Burkina Faso: The Observatory of Human Dignity and the Collective Against Immunity and Stigmatisation of Communities accuse the army of kidnappings and summary executions, killing more than 40, most of them Fulani (Peulh) in Taffago (near Tougouri, Centre-North region).
BBC Africa Live 15 August 2022. 8:18
Kenya (15/8/2022 at 17h37): William Ruto has been declared winner of the presidential elections with 50.5% of votes. But 4 of the 7 electoral commission members “refused to endorse the result, saying it was ‘opaque’.” There were “scuffles and allegations of vote-rigging”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62554210
14 August 2022
Kenya (14/8/2022. 20:34): There are still no definite results for the presidential elections. According to BBC – whose source are data from the official website of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) – Ruto is still slightly ahead with 50.9% of votes – Odinga has 48.5%, the two others 0.6%. Only close to half of the results have now officially been confirmed. Still according to the BBC/IEBC, for the senate, Ruto’s coalition is thought to have won 33 seats, Odinga’s 32 with 2 seats going to others. For the National Assembly, the present count is 147 for Ruto’s coalition, 146 for Odinga’s and 18 for others with 38 still undeclared.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62534541
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62444316