Southern Africa

History reminds us that xenophobia is not an entirely South African problem. Indeed, across Africa, it has been used as a policy instrument by governments, time and time again.

While Helon Habila folds history into each page of Measuring Time, he preserves an essence of what it means to be Nigerian through food, and most vividly through àkàrà.

You thought the Nigerian cryptocurrency ecosystem was confined to Lagos? Think again. Meet northern Nigeria’s ‘yan crypto and the digital worlds of volatile money they deftly navigate.

What began as a Tuesday evening service at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, turned into a live-streamed kidnapping that dragged 38 worshippers into the forest and left three people dead. Nearly 40 days after the bandit attack, Pelumi Salako visits Eruku to speak with survivors.

As daylight fades in Benin City, women step into the night to sustain families, communities and an informal economy that keeps the city alive. The women-led night markets of Benin transform into spaces of survival, solidarity and quiet resistance.

Aisha, Juliana and Hauwa escaped Boko Haram captivity, but their freedom has taken longer to arrive.

Boko Haram terrorism fits into a longer pattern of insurgency in Borno. Civilians survive through collective resistance, negotiation and uneasy compliance, and ‘peace’ in wartime is often shaped by tragic trade-offs.