Dear Fellow African,The hour is nigh, and the trumpet has sounded. After months of dilly-dallying, the levees have broken and Senegal, as we know it, is at a crossroads. It could also very well be the cradle of an African Re-Awakening. Call it the “Africa Spring”, a “Renaissance” or a…
As some of you probably know, I worked in Senegal for a while with an NGO focused on women and youth rights. I also got the opportunity to interact with many locals and to get a sense of the political situation under Wade’s government. Many Senegalese are simply fed up…
Dear Prospective Graduate Student, After “officially” completing my first semester of graduate school at JHU SAIS in Bologna, Italy, I figured it might be helpful to share some of my insights with you, especially since quite a number of your counterparts have already approached me in that regard. So, what…
It’s been a week since Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan moved to slash oil subsidies in West Africa’s largest oil producing country. Seven days on, and unprecedented protests have been the result. Nigerians argue that the increased oil prices will make overall living costs higher, particularly for food purchases as an…
I just got online after an English discussion session with the Italian kids who’s family I’m living with. First thing I see? An unpalatable, bloody image of someone who looks eerily like Libya’s ousted dictator leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Apparently, he’s been killed. And in his own hometown of Sirte too!Now,…
At 24 years, Deborah Ahenkorah is living proof of the heights a person can reach just by trying. A native of the Eastern Region, Deborah grew up with her parents in Ghana’s capital Accra. She attended North Ridge Lyceum, and later enrolled at Wesley Girls’ High School in Cape Coast.…
Finally, the first interview of the Visionnaire Series with Deborah Ahenkorah of the Golden Baobab Prize is all set! Stay tuned for the full showcase right here on Circumspect! In the meantime, here’s a small teaser/preview, what I call the “Visionnaire Development Minute”, on Debbie’s thoughts on, well, development in…
It’s funny to think that after all this time I NOW get why Muslims are encouraged to learn Allah’s 99 names. We have a guest in our home, and according to Dagomba tradition, her name for the first week of her life here on earth is “Saanpaga”, which means “Lady guest”.…
Nor say of anything, “I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow,” without adding, so please Allah!” And call thy Lord to mind when thou forgetest, and say, “I hope that my Lord will guide me ever closer (even) than this to the right road.” – Surah 18:…
In an authentic Hadith, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: “Man is influenced by the faith of his friends. Therefore, be careful of whom you associate with.”One of the distinct features of Ramadan that I have come to love is the feeling of camaraderie, of being one anther’s keeper and of going out…