Circumspecte

It's been a week since Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan moved to slash oil subsidies in West Africa's largest oil producing country. Seven days on, and unprecedented protests have been the result. Nigerians argue that the increased oil prices will make overall living costs higher, particularly for food purchases as an estimated 160 million Nigerians live on less than $2 a day. With ongoing protests , it would seem that finally  Africans are realizing the power of mobilization and collective action. President Goodluck's TV address on the subsidy cuts was quoted in a BBC article this morning: "Either we deregulate and survive economically, or we continue with a subsidy regime that will continue to undermine our economy and potential for growth, and face serious consequences." Reading that, the economist in me thinks "He's got a point." Manipulating the economy to ensure lower prices doesn't take away from the fact that in reality, prices ...

It's day three of the year 2012. Already! First off, I wish each and every one of you a great year ahead. May you have enough of everything you need to achieve your biggest dream and highest potential, and may you never want for the love, support, strength and confidence to get to where you want to be. Second, Youssou Ndour - world renowned Senegalese musician - just announced his candidature for Senegal's presidential election on February 26, 2012! I'll admit, the first person I thought of when I read the news was Wyclef Jean who put in a similar bid for Haiti's presidential seat in 2010. But let's not dwell on that. It's a new year and if the recent past has been any indication, it's that anything is possible. Besides, unlike Jean who didn't even meet the constitutional requirement of having lived in the country for at least five years, Ndour has been very visible on the local scene - mainly through his music - and is also a UN goodwill ambassado...

I just got online after an English discussion session with the Italian kids who's family I'm living with. First thing I see? An unpalatable, bloody image of someone who looks eerily like Libya's ousted dictator  leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Apparently, he's been killed. And in his own hometown of Sirte too! Now, with all the unrest going on across the Arab world, I can't say the news is entirely surprising. Then again, after attending a recent lecture on Libya and finding out that some of the media reports aired/published on Libya's unrest might have been concocted, I don't know what to think anymore. Politics they say is a dirty game. Well international politics might need more than a scrubbing or two. One thing the lecturer, Professor Mezran said that really stood out was this: Until Gaddafi's gone, Libya cannot move forward. As it turns out, that chapter in Libya's history had to be closed and now that it has - or is beginning to? - what...