Africa Daily

“Without the public outcry, the mass marriage would have gone on as planned.”

There’s been a lot of debate, claim and counter-claim in Nigeria this week over a proposed mass wedding of 100 couples in Niger state in the north of the country.

Concerns were raised that some of the girls involved were under the legal age for marriage, and a petition was quickly launched. The Women's Affairs Minister, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye filed a court injunction to stop the ceremony. She’s since said that the wedding can go ahead but only after an investigation has taken place – and has offered the girls scholarships as well as gifts including sewing machines and rice. She said the girls would be closely monitored in their new homes after their marriages.

Alan Kasujja unpicks the controversy – and asks what it tells us about the marriage of young people in Nigeria.

Presenter: Alan Kasujja.

Updated 24th May to reflect Minister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye’s latest statement.

Kenyan President William Ruto is on a state visit to the US, the first by an African leader since Ghana’s John Kufour in 2008 and only the 6th state visit Biden has hosted since taking office in 2020

A state visit is the highest level of international visit, and its purpose is to confirm the good relationship between the countries concerned.

For President Ruto it's a significant display of his emergence as leading voice for Africa - particularly in the eyes of the West.

But some observers say that Washington is now playing catch up to Russia and China - which have both grown in influence on the continent in recent years - as well as newer entrants like Turkey, India, and Saudi Arabia.

In this episode of Africa Daily podcast, Alan Kasujja talks to Ambassador Martin Kimani, an international affairs expert and former Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations.

It’s expected to be a bruising election, with 70 political parties contesting for power.

During the recent floods in East Africa it became quickly apparent just how ill-prepared most cities across the region are in the face of heavy rains.

Some of the continent's major cities are located on the coast, and therefore at risk of flooding due to rising sea levels. And meanwhile, a quarter of African cities are exposed to a high risk of drought.

The continent is home to 86 of the world’s 100 fastest growing cities, with 7 billion people expected to be living in urban areas by 2030.

In this episode of Africa Daily podcast, Alan Kasujja talks to Benin’s former minister for Environment and Urban Planning, Luc Gnacadja, who's currently a consultant with the World Bank, about the capacity of African cities to withstand worsening and more frequent extreme weather events.

During Liberia’s two civil wars, it became normal for children to be abducted by armed groups, often drugged, and forced to fight. 250,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict which continued between 1989-2003.

In 2006, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission - known as ‘TRC’ - to identity individuals linked to war crimes, but as of yet, no-one has been prosecuted.

Male circumcision is deeply rooted in tradition and culture across many African communities but there’s a lot of controversy around the method that is used to remove the foreskin.

Some initiatives that promote voluntary medical male circumcision for the prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted infections have been successful, in Zambia in particular.

But the question remains, is this something that should be done on baby boys or in early adolescence, or is it something that should be left as a personal choice you make in adulthood?

Presenter: Alan Kasujja.

“The irony and the tragedy at once is that all this happened while the international community are watching it. So I think this is the time to prevent the atrocities that happened in El Geneina from repeating itself in El Fasher.”

Last week a 216 page Human Rights Watch report said it had found evidence that a genocide may have been committed in the city of El Geneina in Darfur – and that ethnic cleansing had occurred. It said thousands of members of African ethnic groups – particularly the Massalit – had been killed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces or RSF in door to door raids and as they tried to flee the city. The vast majority of Massalits have now fled western Darfur.

But now there’s grave concern that a similar massacre could happen in the city of El Fasher – the only city in Darfur not under RSF control. Thousands of internally displaced people are living in the city after fleeing RSF attacks elsewhere. Our guest today describes this as jumping from 'hot water to hot oil' as the group’s fighters have completely cut off all roads and fighting is underway within the city.

The UN has called the situation “gravely concerning”, while the United States has warned of a large scale massacre if the RSF takes the city. But is anyone able or willing to stop it?

For today’s Africa Daily podcast, Alan @Kasujja talks to a resident of El Fasher and to Adeeb Yousif, the former governor of Central Darfur.

The audio for this episode was updated at 1500 BST on 16 May 2024

The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill, drafted in 2021, was passed by parliamentarians in Ghana earlier this year. It imposes a prison sentence on anyone identifying as being LGBTQ+.

He's waiting for the verdict of the Supreme Court who will hear two cases challenging the constitutionality of the law.

In today’s episode, Alan Kasujja speaks to Ghanaian film director Joewackle J Kusi about the challenges of making his film Nyame Mma which means Children of God.

It tells the story of Kwamena a young man who goes back to his home town for his father’s funeral. It leads him to revisit the romantic relationship he had with another man, Maroof.

Joewackle says the film had a screening at the beginning of March in Accra but since the new law was passed in parliament all plans to show the film are on hold and he doesn’t know when it will be seen again in Ghana.

“We’re creating a new generation of digital entrepreneurs that we like to call digital warriors… And this new generation they’re passionate about technology – they’re going to be the ones driving innovation in our country.”

Throughout its history, the island nation of Cape Verde has seen heavy emigration – especially at times of drought and shortages. It means that now there are many more Cape Verdeans living abroad than on the islands themselves.

And while the government acknowledges the benefits that have come with that – with its diaspora sending back much-needed foreign currency – it now wants to encourage young people to find opportunities on the islands by developing the country as a ‘digital hub for West Africa’.

On today’s Africa Daily Alan @Kasujja speaks with Pedro Lopes, Cape Verde’s minister for digital economy, as well as entrepreneurs Óscar Borges and Jael Alves Monteiro.

With special thanks to producer Anne Marie Borges.

Even though they see it as something that would benefit them… they would rather put that dollar into fertiliser which they really need to boost their yields.”

Recently on Africa Daily we’ve heard about different insurance schemes for farmers and whole countries to insure themselves against natural disasters. With an increase in extreme weather events due to climate change it’s become an area of growth.

But what are the limitations and difficulties? And can subsistence farmers, who already struggle to earn enough for their basic needs, really be expected to find money to insure themselves?

Alan @Kasujja speaks with Dr Saint Kuttu, a Senior Lecturer in Finance and Risk Management at the University of Ghana Business School, and Dr Betty Chinyamunyamu, CEO of the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi - NASFAM - which represents 130,000 farmers.