Africa Here and NOW

In France, singer, AYA NAKAMURA faces a virulent campaign against the way she sings, the way she dresses, and her language. We ask art curator and film maker, RABI YANSANE what have so many French people got against the most listened to Francophone pop superstar?

Migration, particularly from Africa, is being portrayed as a modern day scourge by many western politicians.Yet as DR NICK WESTCOTT of SOAS explains, many Africans who’ve settled abroad are contributing successfully to their new communities and are becoming increasingly influential. Just like AYA NAKAMURA, who was born in Mali.

PATRICK SMITH, in Accra, updates us on a rather relaxed approach Ghanaian candidates are taking to December elections.

And DONU KOGBARA taps into the BOBRISKY affair. Has Nigeria’s celebrity cross-dresser been unfairly penalised for spraying, or ‘naira abuse? And is BOBRISKY’s tough prison sentence softening Nigerian attitudes to LGBQT matters?

QUESTION: Is ‘spraying’ practiced anywhere else on the continent? The practice of plastering cash on dancers at parties or events to show approval. Let me know.

Contact: [email protected]

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Africa Here and Now is back for it's second season with episode one coming next week!

We’ll continue looking at the major political and security challenges facing the continent, but we’ll also be looking at what else is going on in Africa including sport, art, film and music, in fact anything that we think you’ll find interesting!

Get in touch, let us know what you’d like to hear more of: [email protected]

Find us wherever you get your podcasts and on Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Africa Here and Now – the conversation you’ve always wanted to have about the continent.

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In this, our 12th Episode we showcase African classical music. TUNDE JEGEDE is a musical maestro who has mastered the cello and the west African kora. He explains how his training in both instruments has inspired him to produce a style of music that combines elements of African and western classical genres resulting in a unique sound that is thrilling global audiences.

Along with some of the finest young musicians on the continent, like DAVID ETIM and VINCENT HAASTRUP,  Tunde has created the NOK Orchestra which was recently performing and recording in London. He has given Africa Here and NOW exclusive access to some of the extraordinary tracks before they are released. You can hear them in this, the final Episode of Season One.

The tracks included in this episode are all by the NOK Orchestra:

Jairaby Ballad

Jairaby Le

Kaira

Let Elements Mov. III

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Five months into the war on Gaza, we ask why Egypt is so unwilling to take in desperate Palestinians. Independent Consultant HAFSA HALAWA

tells us Cairo fears letting in Islamist militants.

Prominent Nigerian political economist KINGSLEY MOGHALU warns the country's economic troubles have already become a political crisis that will only get worse. And a former president contender himself, from the east, we ask if his country will ever vote for an IGBO president.

As Ghana hosts the 13th Africa Games, sports journalist GARY AL SMITH tells us why Ghanaians are not impressed by their government's splashing of the cash - which has already seen the country achieve one unenvied title - owner of the world's most expensive hole in the ground.

Plus, DRC President Tshishikedi racks up his airmiles

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Former Nigerian President, OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, in an exclusive interview, tells us why Western-style democracy doesn't work for Africa and suggests a traditional system of consensus instead.

Political economist, MOELETSI MBEKI, explains why the ANC is facing a drubbing in South Africa's next elections; he pays tribute to OBASANJO, the elder statesman, and tells us he doesn't argue with big brother, THABO MBEKI.

Plus, How the fate of the humble mule reached the in-trays of Africa's leaders; they've now banned the slaughter of donkeys for their skins. We discover ejiao - a Chinese beauty treatment.

www.africahereandnow.com

Youtube.com/@AfricaHereandNowPodcast

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* We examine the state of ECOWAS, the West African bloc, as Senegal postpones elections and as 3 Sahelian countries announce their decision to leave. ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Dr ABDEL FATAU MUSAH admits that sanctions against Niger were 'not well handled' and that there's now a need for dialogue to get the 3 states back.

@DrFatauMusah

*Former top tier ZANU PF member, turned independent presidential contender, SAVIOUR KASUKUWERE tells us about the shrinking democratic space in Zimbabwe and where he thinks NELSON CHAMISA went wrong with his CCC Party.

@Hon_Kasaukuwere

*As AFCON reaches its finale, renowned sports journalist, GARY AL SMITH, explains why minnows Cabo Verde have done so well in the tournament, and gives us insight into the rivalry between South Africa and Nigeria - it's about more than just football.

@garyalsmith

Plus, DONU explains why so many people have been moved by the death of Namibian president HAGE GEINGOB.

@DONUKOGBARA

And PATRICK surveys the candidates in Ghana's forthcoming elections including a new, wealthy interloper.

@AF_Conf

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Mass killings and kidnappings get closer to Abuja, the Nigerian capital. Expert, Dr CHIDI ODINKALU, tells us it's not a matter of failing security forces, it's because of COLLUSION between some senior politicians and armed groups. And DONU, talks about her own terrifying kidnapping ordeal.

Plus, Should Africans who collaborated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade also pay reparations, along with their European business partners? One of the questions for British-Ghanaian MP, BELL RIBEIRO ADDY. We also asked:

* what it's like to be a socialist in a Labour Party that has drifted to the right?

* Why the Conservatives have more senior black and brown members than Labour?

*How much interest a future Labour government might have in Africa?

Get in touch: [email protected]: www.africahereandnow.com
Youtube: youtube.com/@AfricaHereandNOWPodcast

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