African Politics
The Scramble for Africa and the Destruction of Nigerian Sovereignty
Before Nigeria appeared on any map, there were already kingdoms, emirates, city states and independent communities across the territory it would eventually occupy.The Oba...
Umaru Dikko: The Nigerian Minister Who Was Abducted and Found Drugged Inside a Crate at Stansted Airport
On a summer afternoon in 1984, British customs officials at Stansted Airport opened a wooden crate that was supposed to be part of a...
Alhassan Dantata: The Merchant Who Built a Fortune Before Nigeria Had Billionaires
Long before Nigeria became an independent country, long before oil transformed the nation’s economy, and decades before modern Nigerian billionaires became household names, a...
Patrice Lumumba in Power, How the Congo Crisis Consumed Its First Prime Minister
On 30 June 1960, the Belgian Congo became independent as the Republic of the Congo, commonly known as Congo Léopoldville. Independence brought celebration and...
Patrice Lumumba and the Struggle for a United Congo, Prison, Politics, and Independence
By the late 1950s, the Belgian Congo was no longer politically quiet. Across Africa, independence movements were forcing colonial powers to confront demands for...
Patrice Lumumba, From Colonial Subject to National Leader
Patrice Lumumba was born on 2 July 1925 in the village of Onalua, located in the Katakokombe area of Kasai Province, in what was...
Patrice Lumumba and the Congo Crisis, From Independence to Assassination
On 30 June 1960, the Belgian Congo became independent and was renamed the Republic of the Congo, often called Congo Léopoldville to distinguish it...