Africa Center Commentary & Analysis

What Boko Haram’s widening war means for refugees

By Joshua Meservey

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the near- and long-term consequences of the Nigerian refugee crisis as tens of thousands of Nigerians flee across borders from the violence the terrorist group Boko Haram is meting out in the northeastern part of the country. I wrote that the world needs to surge resources into the area […]

Backstory on Kidnapped Minister Underscores Challenges in CAR

By J. Peter Pham

Buried at the bottom of page A8 of Thursday’s New York Times was a brief Associated Press report that Armel Sayo, Minister of Youth and Sports in the transitional regime of the Central African Republic (CAR), who had been abducted more than two weeks earlier, had been freed. According to the account, the exact circumstances […]

Nigeria, Boko Haram, and Election Delays

By J. Peter Pham

Bottom Line Up Front: • On February 7, Nigeria’s election commission announced a six-week postponement of the country’s tightly-contested presidential election (along with other federal and state polls); the decision came after the Nigerian military warned that it could not guarantee voter security in the four northeastern states hit hardest by the Boko Haram insurgency

Anti-Terror Financing Rules Choke Somali Remittances

On February 6, 2015, one of the last Western banks willing to transfer money to Somalia on behalf of the country’s diaspora—transfers which represent up to 80 percent of all funds sent from the US to Somalia—ceased operations, cutting off one of the diaspora’s last options to support relatives and friends still in Somalia.

Inside the US Military’s Battle against Ebola

By Africa Center

The World Health Organization recently announced that the Ebola epidemic—which has killed nearly 9,000 people in the affected West African nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia—is subsiding. 

Nigeria’s Election Postponement Can Be An Opportunity

By J. Peter Pham

Late Saturday evening local time in Abuja, Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for February 14, would be postponed until March 28, while the gubernatorial and state legislative elections scheduled for February 28 would be held April 11. The decision was taken at the urging […]

What Africa Strategy?

By J. Peter Pham

In the latest National Security Strategy released on February 6, President Obama asserts, “Today, the United States is stronger and better positioned to seize the opportunities of a still new century and safeguard our interests against the risks of an insecure world.” Yet, when specifically addressing Africa, which the President himself in an earlier strategy […]

What You Need to Know About Nigeria’s Upcoming Election

By Robert Lloyd

The February 14th presidential elections in Nigeria signal an important milestone in the political trajectory of Africa’s most populous country. Nigeria has held three successive presidential elections since its return to democracy in 1999 after years of authoritarian rule. The presidential elections, which occur on a four year cycle, have varied in terms of accepted […]

J. Peter Pham and Bronwyn Bruton Write on US Strategy in Africa

By Africa Center

Atlantic Council Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham and Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton contributed essays to a French Ministry of Defense study on US strategy in Africa.

Niger’s uprising: symptoms of Nigerien challenges

By Abdoul Salam Bello

Violent riots broke out in Niger last month following the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Ten people were killed and forty-five churches torched by protesters on January 16 and 17. Niger declared three days of mourning. The depiction shocked the majority of Nigeriens, more […]