For the cultural initiative to accomplish its good intentions in Africa, it needs to take into cognizance in its plans the cultural and ethnic diversities as well as the size of Africa. The continent is too big and diverse to be treated as a mono-cultural entity

United States President Barack Obama appears to never pass up an opportunity when addressing Afrikan Americans to shift the responsibility for their success to personal effort and not the removal of structural barriers that are connected to white supremacy, sexism and capitalist exploitation

The Democratic Alliance desperately needs struggle credentials because they realise that, in order to advance the agenda of white capital in South Africa, they need to legitimatise themselves in the eyes of backs by dressing in the regalia of the liberation struggle

No matter how vibrant the so-called modern world is and how much technological development exists, it is still be over-shadowed by the impoverished and neglected world within it

In all my years in the United States and there are a few cultural tendencies I still have not been able to get used to: bagels, children talking back or ‘sassing’ their parents, and public acts of defaming a parent or sibling

Many progressive people in Africa were genuinely outraged on learning that the late President Burnham of Guyana, during whose regime the great black intellectual Walter Rodney was killed in mysterious circumstances, was set to be recognized by South Africa as a champion of African liberation. Thankfully the plan aborted

The upsurge of support in the wake of declaring a state of emergency to combat insurgency opens a much-needed window for Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, to change tactics in administering the country

Kenyans must defend the right to protest in all legitimate forms and those who used pigs in the recent Occupy Parliament demonstrations are free to do so, just as those who choose other means have the right to express their views

Genuine all inclusive, society-wide, regional, Africa-led strategies are necessary to resolve the crisis in the Great Lakes region rather than billions of dollars in aid as promised by the World Bank and UN leaders

The principal drivers of the Somali crisis are identifiable foreign powers exploiting the vulnerabilities of the Somali people rooted in clan rivalry, poverty, religion and selfish ambitious personalities

Some of President Jonathan’s close allies are threatening, or prophesying, violence in Nigeria should he fail to be re-elected in 2015. His opponents are not taking this lightly. This alarming talk is raising political temperatures in the already deeply divided nation

Youth unemployment and hopelessness pose a serious threat to development and peace in the north. Increased initiatives and budget spending on youth unemployment, poverty alleviation and empowerment programmes are quite positive. If sustained, these programmes could reduce the risk of violence

What credits one’s life is not how much wealth he has piled up for himself but how good he has done for the rest of humanity. Dr Oladipo Fashina was very careful to ensure that he autographed his deeds with excellence

The greatest enemy against achievement is negativity. And victory isn’t cheap; it’s accomplished through sweat, tears and braving betrayal from within

The government should have capitalised on a recent embarrassing incident in which an official was exposed as incompetent to mount a major PR coup against its critics. But it is too optimistic to expect state bureaucrats in Nigeria to see rare opportunities thrust right under their noses

Violence across Africa is often fueled by political elites who try to cling to power. They play on tribal historic injustices and often leave the poor to fight each other. Transitional processes in the post-conflict societies of Kenya and Zimbabwe are yet to fully achieve their goals

The American immigrant rights movement has failed because it allowed itself to be influenced by the paternalism and conservative politics of the liberal non-profit industrial complex and the interests of the Democratic Party

The unresolved land question at the Kenyan coast has continued to stagnate development, stoke negative ethnicity and create squatters. Successive governments have displayed lamentable laxity in carrying out the required reforms. The people need to push the new administration on this urgent matter

The recent ruling by the Supreme Court upholding the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya has been dismissed by a number of legal analysts as ‘shallow’, ‘unconvincing’ and based on questionable precedents. But petitioner Raila Odinga’s former aide defends it

It seems that Kenya’s middle class of shoppers at Java have become complacent with constitutional change at a time when they should be pushing for further implementation of the constitution