Nigeria: Major Crackdown on Boko Haram in Yobe and Adamawa States
Last week, Nigerian security forces in Kano and Maiduguri killed at least four suspected high-ranking members of the Boko Haram sect and arrested two others. That tally includes the group’s infamous...
View ArticleBoko Haram’s Assassination Attempt on the Emir of Kano
The term “traditional” can be misleading. When talking about northern Nigeria, I prefer to say “hereditary Muslim rulers.” So I’ll say that hereditary Muslim rulers have substantial religious,...
View ArticleNigeria’s State Elections Tomorrow
Tomorrow, Nigeria will hold state elections. Although the victory of Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential vote of March 28-29 has rightly attracted major attention, it is important not to forget about...
View ArticleA Case of Alleged Blasphemy in Kano, Nigeria
Around May 15, a Muslim preacher named Abdul Nyass gave a controversial sermon in Kano, the most populous city in northern Nigeria. Nyass belongs to the Tijaniyya Sufi order. He allegedly stated that...
View ArticleNigeria’s Decamping Wave and Preparations for 2019: Spotlight on Kano
In Nigeria, a wave of “decamping” is occurring as politicians switch parties. I’ve written a little about it here and here, as have Matt Page and Lagun Akinloye. All of the party switches have national...
View ArticleNigeria: Developments in Gubernatorial Contests in Osun, Kano, and Borno
Nigeria is in full-blown election mode in advance of the 16 February* 2019 presidential vote. Some of the most consequential political developments are taking place in the states. Here we look at three...
View ArticlePost at The Maydan on a Power Struggle in Kano, Nigeria
Over at George Mason University’s The Maydan, I have a post exploring the power struggle between the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, and the state’s governor, Abdullahi Ganduje. The post also asks...
View ArticleThe Sharif-Aminu Blasphemy Case in Kano, Nigeria: Some Context
On August 10, an upper sharia court in Nigeria’s Kano State handed down a death sentence for a singer named Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, who was convicted of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in one of his songs....
View ArticleFrom the DRC, A Serious Warning for and about Aid Workers Elsewhere
The New Humanitarian last month published the results of their investigation, conducted jointly with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, into a ghastly story involving international aid workers pressuring...
View ArticleBayan Zaben Gwamna 18 ga Watan March…Nigeria Elections Diary: A View from...
Earlier this month, I posted Mallam Usman Aliyu’s Hausa-language Nigeria elections diary (a work I commissioned for this blog). Below is Mallam Usman’s follow-up, treating the gubernatorial elections...
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