Circumspecte

Originally written by Jemila Abdulai for the March 2012 edition of the SAIS Observer African Elections: Version 2012 The lineup of African elections this year is impressive to say the least. Over 10 countries are slated to go to the polls to select their local and national representatives. Among them are Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Zimbabwe; each of which will either re-elect or select an entirely new head-of-state. With the occasional nod of acknowledgement from regional and global observers, local elections garner some degree of attention. When it comes to high stakes and pulsating veins however, Africa’s presidential elections are rivaled only by the African Cup of Nations. Needless to say, presidential elections in Africa tend to be an all or nothing affair. Election Day comes with both anticipation and dread. Anticipation at the prospect of new opportunities and a renewed commitment towards national development, and dread at wh...

Hi Folks! It's been a month since my last blog and a lot has certainly happened within the span of those four weeks! Of course, it's gonna be hard to recap everything that went down, so instead I'll zone in on key events in the sphere of African democracy . As you probably know, 2012 is a big year for elections in Africa. There are over 10 presidential elections slated to take place and you can imagine how antsy the whole continent is. Elections are somewhat of a litmus test for democracy and overall advancement in many African countries, and both politicians and citizens tend to be on edge when it's time to head to the polls. So, what's happened so far? Well, we need not look further than the West African region where two neighboring countries - both with presidential elections this year - have embarked on strikingly different paths. Senegal: Le Teranga, Victorious & Proud Remember how Youssou Ndour was running for president? Yeah. Well, the Senegale...

Dear Fellow African, The hour is nigh, and the trumpet has sounded. After months of dilly-dallying, the levees have broken and Senegal, as we know it, is at a crossroads. It could also very well be the cradle of an African Re-Awakening. Call it the "Africa Spring", a " Renaissance " or a "Revolution", it is here. I'm not going to use ink and paper describing what led this West African "beacon of democracy" down this path . Unfortunately, we know it all too well. Here it is in under 140 characters: It's ironic that the leader in this case is the very one who spent an estimated $27million on a copper statue which he named "La Monument de La Renaissance Africaine." I doubt Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade ever imagined that those words would be transformed into the energy that is sweeping across Senegal as we speak. The global economic crisis might have wrecked havoc in many-a financial market, but to its cred...

As some of you probably know, I worked in Senegal for a while with an NGO focused on women and youth rights. I also got the opportunity to interact with many locals and to get a sense of the political situation under Wade's government. Many Senegalese are simply fed up with Wade and want him out. His second term is coming to an end and elections are due on February 26. Like Ghana, a Senegalese president is allowed to have a maximum of two consecutive terms. However, Wade circumvented the constitution and secured a go-ahead from the Supreme Court (whose judges he appointed) to run for a possible third term in office. The result? Mass protests across the country dubbed "Y'en A Marre, Wade Degage!" (We're Fed Up, Wade Get Out!). It should be noted though that all this has been brewing for a very long while, stemming largely from the economic crisis, rising costs of living and the incessant power cuts in Senegal last March. Also, many people - myself included - do...

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...

Hi Guys! Great conversations going on at BarCamp Ghana 2011 which is happening RIGHT NOW! Here's a quick video on some of the key discussions taking place. Not in Accra? You can join in via twitter by following #bcghana . Also, BarCamp Dakar is currently ongoing. Follow via twitter #barcampdakar ! Have a great weekend and I hope you find it useful! -- Salut tout le monde! Plusieurs discussions interessantes se passent actuellement a BarCamp Ghana 2011 (a Accra) et BarCamp Dakar 2011 (au Senegal). J'ai fait un petit video (en anglais) pour expliquer qu'est-ce que c'est un "BarCamp". Si vous vous interessez, vous pouvez suivrez tout en ligne sur twitter. Faire une recherche pour #bcghana ou #barcampdakar . Je vous souhaite un bon weekend!

Beautiful sunset in Salim Sarr, Louga Dear Senegal, I don't know how I made it through this one. I really don't. It's kind of hard to imagine you'd be sitting int he waiting lounge at the airport with all one, two, three pieces of excess luggage checked in...at virtually zero cost. Something that should have otherwise been at least $300 came down to a tip of 10,000CFAs, the equivalent of $20. It's at times like this that I re-resolve to continue proclaiming "I'm blessed", or as Nikki Minaj would say, "No, I'm not lucky, I'm blessed." Aside my friend's brush in with your police force - who have apparently (and ironically) decided to use the Holy Islamic Day of Friday to arrest invidivuals who don't have their national ID cards on them, and then consequently exact a bribe of 10,000CFAs (Ha! Come try that one in Ghana!) - everything went as well as can be. Funny what 10,000CFAs can do in one night huh? Anyway, who am I to cal...

This is my first attempt at a blog since returning to Ghana a week ago. I say first attempt because I'm test driving Airtel's (formerly Zain -- I know, I can barely keep up with the updates myself) internet modem. I'm treading carefully. In my room I was on a 2G network, moved to the dining table and it got really slow before kicking up the gear to 3G. That was such a beautiful zone; totally breezy. We're back to 2G though. Something tells me this will be a bumpy ride. Come to think of it, this net connection is reminiscent of my time here so far. There are high moods and low, happy moments at returning, and sad at leaving Senegal (and the amazing internet there!), same ol' same ol' typical phase one culture shock (or in this case re-immersion) symptoms. But no worries, there'll be time to tell about my Senegal experience. So yeah, this post is mainly to let you know that I am alive and well, Alhamdulilahi, and that Circumspect is back home where it belong...

To say that the new year rushed in is an understatement. I woke up one morning on Dec. 18 and the next thing I knew, it was 2011. Sure, being engrossed in the Young Women's Knowledge and Leadership Institute (YOWLI) probably had something to do with my lack of awareness of time and space, but I gotta say, we went through 2010 really fast! Anyways, ni ti yum pali, bonne annee, dewenati, afehyia pa, HAPPY NEW YEAR! We're in another decade! We're three days in - almost 4 (11:50pm) - and I already feel extremely optimistic about 2011 :) For one thing, I've declared this year my year of positivity. For another thing, I can't explain it, but I just feel that this year is gonna be a good...no, great...one! And yes, I realize that putting this on the record means I can't come back later and complain when things are...ahem... a little off, but this is what I truly believe and feel from the core of my being. 2010: Careful What You Wish For Alors, a quick recap on 2010...

Design By Sughey Abreu Salut Tout le Monde! I hope each of you is having a restful Sunday wherever you are in the world. It's been a minute since I wrote a personal update on here and I think today's a good day as any other to resume that. So, I've been pretty busy over the past couple of months, and particularly this last month, preparing for the Young Women's Knowledge and Leadership Institute (YOWLI) 2010. I've generally been set on "GO" such that even when I'm sleeping, I find myself dreaming about YOWLI and which partners we're supposed to be following up on, whether so-so and so got their visa already, whatever happened to this or that. It's a whole lot, but I'm loving every bit of it as what was only a vision a few months ago is beginning to take shape. I'm SUPER excited!! The "Little" Things YOWLI 2010 is going to be a bit smaller than YOWLI 2008 which had over 100 people living together for a month on Goree Isl...

Scale of Preference: Water Vs. Oil? The idea of economics being a social science is no novelty and even though the notion dates back as far as the era of Adam Smith and the other fathers of economics, it still holds true today. It would seem that every being, society or entity is forever in the pursuit of that elusive – or to put it in economic terms, scarce – something. For some select countries like the United States, that elusive or increasingly scarce thing is oil. For most of the world however, and particularly the impoverished world, that commodity is oil's arch-rival, water . Nothing lasts forever and that applies especially to natural resources that tend to be used up with no thought of their replenishment. The world literally goes crazy because of this commodity oil. All things being equal (ceteris paribus), when global oil prices drop, everyone - with the possible exception of suppliers - rejoices. When the prices rise - as they seem to do more frequently given their in...