AfriCan Geopardy

On this episode of AfriCan Geopardy, we discussed “Impacts and Trends of IUU fishing in the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO)” with Mr Vicente Cossa. Mr Cossa works for the World Wide Fund for Nature, focusing on processes for establishing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Monitoring Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre, which will be based in Mozambique (SADC-MCSCC). As the t...

In this episode of AfriCan Geopardy, we discussed “the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on Africa’s global ambitions/partnerships” with Liesl Louw-Vaudran, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), South Africa. She is the editor of the ISS’ monthly publication on the African Union Peace and Security Council, the PSC Report, and project leader for Southern Africa. She is al...

Although women are generally underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), they are present and doing amazing jobs in their roles. Women nurture the tech ecosystem in Africa, leading tech hubs and empowering young Africans. In this episode of African Geopardy, we discuss 'the role and contribution of African women in technology' with Aïda Ndiaye. Ms Ndiaye heads MET...

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted clinical radiography educational activities, including teaching, research, and clinical placement, globally. Like most other countries across the globe, countries across the African continent were well affected by the lockdown measures introduced by governments to slow the spread of the pandemic. This episode explores some of the disruptions to clin...

In this episode of AfriCan Georpardy, we discuss understanding ad-hoc security initiatives in Africa with Dr Andrew Yaw Tchie. Dr Andrew E. Yaw Tchie is a Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), a Visiting Professor at the University of Buckingham, a visiting Senior Fellow at King's College London and an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Insti...

Happy new year, everyone, and welcome to the first episode of Georpardy. Here, Dr Dyhia Belhabib and Dr Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood reflect on their personal experiences and the topics discussed by our guests in 2021. It's one of the longest episodes we've had and unedited because we want it to be authentic, and there's also the fact that we don't have the requisite editing skills :). Thanks so much...

In this episode, we discuss China Africa relation in the context of fishmeal investment in The Gambia with Mr Mustafa Manneh. Mr Manneh is the West Africa Regional editor at China Dialogue, based in The Gambia. He is a researcher focusing on China-Africa relations and fishmeal investment. All major fishmeal industries in the Gambia are Chinese-owned, causing devastation in the country. It contribu...

In this episode, we discuss Gender and Security in Africa: the Nigerian experience with Ruth Okugbeni, the Acting Executive Director at the CLEEN Foundation www.cleen.org.  Ruth's work focuses on improving the effectiveness of security and justice sector agencies through human rights-based approaches and improved accountability for better service delivery. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Educatio...

In this episode of Georpardy, we discuss 'Nigeria's suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Act 2019: A panacea for good maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea'. Since the law was enacted, there have been two criminal convictions, one in 2020 and the second in 2021. However, one question that begs for an answer is: can the law serve as a deterrence to criminals? Listen to find out. Discussing th...

In this episode we continue with the theme of fisheries policy or lack thereof by bringing to the fore the realisties from Ghana. The topic is discussed with Mr Kwesi Johnson, an ardent advocate for sustainable fisheries management in Ghana. He has worked in initiatives that involve local and international development organisation, academia, media, grassroots trades, farmers for fair trade, villag...

In this episode we discuss African fisheries policy or lack thereof. This is an episode NOT to be missed. The African continent does not assert itself in the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. There is still this colonial undertone with the way European countries relate with countries in Africa on fisheries. The network tried so hard to disrupt the flow of our conversation, but we won! O...

In this episode of AfriCan Geopardy, we discussed religion and development in Africa. Religion and development are often intimately interwoven for good or ill in Africa and elsewhere. For instance, religious organisations play a significant role in poverty alleviation, health care and peace and reconciliation programmes. At the same time, select religious organisations were used as a tool for colo...

Disaster risk management entails introducing disaster risk reduction policies and strategies to prevent new disaster risk, reduce existing disaster risk, manage residual risk, and strengthen resilience and reduce disaster losses. With a focus on averting conflict over water resources, we discuss disaster risk management in Africa with Thandie Mwape Villadsen. Thandie is the Humanitarian Diplomacy...

Energy security is commonly defined as the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price. However, this definition does not reflect the social realities of 600 million AfriCans who do not have access to electricity or the 900 million that lack access to clean cooking on the continent. As a result, taking this reality into account Dr Nalule powerfully argues that energy securi...

In this episode, Drs' Okafor-Yarwood and Belhabib reflects on what trolling might look like for minority expert voices and why these voices are targeted in the first instance. One important question that they pose and provides an answer for is, what should one do when one is trolled? They also share some advice on how to handle trolling. The keyword is to "not feed the trolls" and step away from o...

In this episode we discuss "Cyber Security in Africa" with Dr. Aisha Ali-Gombe. Dr Ali-Gombe is an assistant professor of Computer Science at Towson University and a visiting research scientist with the Center for Computation and Technology at Louisiana State University. Dr Ali- Gombe earned her PhD in Engineering and Applied Science with a major in Computer Science from the University of New Orle...

Dr Michael Adekunle Charles is a seasoned diplomat and an international development professional with over 18 years experience providing technical, managerial and operational support to field and country offices of the Red Cross and the public and private sector.   He is a medical doctor with a Masters degree in public health from the University of Heidelberg and Bielefeld in Germany. Dr Charles h...

In this episode, we discuss the #Almajiranci system of Islamic education practised in northern Nigeria and other parts of West Africa with Dr Hadiza Kere Abdulrahman - the male gender seeking Islam knowledge is called Almajiri, the female gender is Almajira. Dr Kere Abdulrahman is a lecturer in Inclusive Education at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln, UK. She has a PhD in Education and rese...

In this episode, we pick the brains of Dr Richard Munang on how African youths can contribute to positive change on the continent. The discussion is based on his book "making Africa work through the power of innovative volunteerism" and how the ideas therein can help the African continent rebuild better despite the many challenges.  Dr Richard Munang is the Africa Regional Climate Change Coordinat...

Women are underrepresented in the maritime sector, globally. Women represent only two per cent of the world's 1.2 million seafarers, and 94 per cent of female seafarers are working in the cruise industry. In the AfriCan continent, though women are well represented in the seafood supply chain, they are underrepresented in the decision-making process in the fisheries sector. In this months episode,...

According to the Lexico online dictionary, a coup is a sudden, violent and illegal seizure of power from a government. The coup in Mali which took place on 18th August 2020, is the third in Africa in the past three years (Sudan, 11th April 2019 and Zimbabwe, 15th November 2017). The African Union's position about unconstitutional changes in government has led some AfriCans to ask, whether it is th...

The significance of the marine environment to the social and economic wellbeing of coastal states in Africa, in particular, Small Island nations such as Seychelles, Mauritius and Cabo Verde, cannot be overemphasised. The existence of these states practically depends on the health and sustainability of their marine environment. As a result, anything that threatens this sustainability is essentially...

In this month's episode, we have Mamadou Sow, the Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Southern Africa - Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In previous episodes, we aimed to introduce the subject to our audience before handing over to our guest. However, we have not followed this protocol this time because...

At a time when the world is calling for #equality, we join our voices to the millions of people across the globe to highlight the need to embrace our diversity. Covid19 has exposed the level of inequality in medical research, as ethnic minorities are more likely to die of Covid than their white counterparts. Nowhere is this inequality more glaring than in the United States were "black people simpl...

In the June episode of African Geopardy, we are discussing "Africa's youth agency, resilience and transilience". This is an important topic as the African continent is seen to be experiencing "youth bulge" - a demographic pattern where a large share of the population is comprised of children and young adults. According to the United Nations, 226 million youth aged 15-24 lived in Africa in 2015, re...