Makoko is located in the country's commercial city of Lagos and is mainly inhabited by a fishing community that has lived there for about a century. Residents fear they could be evicted by the government to pave way for new development.
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
Video - Makoko faces new threat
Christmas spirited dampened in Nigeria due to economic hardship
Christmas is marked with joyous celebrations as in most parts of the world. Shopping, sharing of gifts, traveling and other activities mark the Christmas season. This year is however witnessing muted celebrations due to economic hardships.
Dance carnival in Nigeria helps residents reclaim streets
In a street in a poor neighbourhood of Lagos, a bare-chested young man, Gift Eze, holds his screaming partner, helping calm the rage within and stop him fighting.
Residents of Oworonshoki have seen their share of violence, with robberies and tit-for-tat gang murders once commonplace in this part of Nigeria's vast, boisterous commercial capital.
But the scene on Christmas Eve, a dance routine between two men caked in chalk, showed how far the community has come since the annual Slum Party, an art event using dance to tell stories of the local community, was established four years ago.
Days of dance workshops culminated with an all-day carnival aiming to reclaim the streets and reduce tensions between rival gangs. Before long, onlookers were dancing along with the drums, blurring the lines between performers and their audience.
"We are using dance as a focal point ... to come to the community and just talk about the various socio-political issues that needed to be addressed, using a party as the template," said Sunday Ozegbe-Obiajulu, who founded the event.
Eze, one of the Slum Party's participants, said the event has been transformational.
"I've been able to achieve a big goal in my life, and Slum Party has really changed a whole lot for me," he said.
Community leader Oriyomi Akeem said Slum Party has helped bring peace to a neighbourhood once known as a no-go area overrun by gangs. "Now everything is calm and good," Akeem said.
Ozegbe-Obiajulu hopes the carnival's success could be replicated by people in other troubled areas of Nigeria and beyond.
"With their dance, their poetry, their music, they can definitely use it to bring some sort of attention to their community, they can also use it to inspire the young ones."
By Seun Sanni, Reuters
Friday, December 23, 2022
Video - What lies ahead in upcoming Presidential election in Nigeria
After a year where countries in Africa faced the impact of climate change, navigated political and social challenges, and celebrated sporting achievements, people across the continent are now looking ahead to the new year. In this episode of The Stream, we'll look at three stories in Africa that will be headline news in 2023.
Nigeria decides Africa's most populous country is preparing to hold a general election in February that will decide who succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari at the end of his second and final term.
Bola Tinubu, the nominee of the ruling All Progressives Congress, is expected to face a strong challenge from People’s Democratic Party nominee Atiku Abubakar, who lost to Buhari in the 2019 election.
Peter Obi of the Labour Party is also expected to be firmly in the running. Eligible voters across the country of 211 million people will also choose members of the Senate and House of Representatives in the election. But as economic and security issues weigh on the minds of the electorate, there are concerns that recent attacks on election commission offices could undermine the free and fair running of the landmark vote.
We'll look at the issues at stake in the final stretch of campaigning. Sudan in transition? Sudan’s military coup leaders and a coalition of civilian pro-democracy parties reached a framework deal on December 5 that proponents hope will lead to a transitional civilian government and a new constitution. But while members of the Forces of Freedom and Change say the internationally-brokered agreement provides a fresh chance for lasting political reform after the failure of previous deals, it does not have universal support.
Protesters allied with neighbourhood resistance committees say the deal grants too much undue power to the military and paramilitary groups and is a betrayal of those killed and injured in protests in the wake of the military takeover in October 2021.
We'll ask what lies ahead for Sudan in 2023. Zimbabwe’s election season Presidential and parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe are expected to go ahead in 2023, in what is widely expected to be a tightly-fought race between the ruling ZANU-PF of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change, led by Nelson Chamisa. Millions of people across the country have long endured economic hardship and now daily power cuts have made day-to-day life even harder.
And in an increasingly fractious political environment journalists covering political events have faced harassment and assaults by party supporters, raising fears of widespread violence at the time of the election. We'll look at the challenges people in Zimbabwe are facing in the run-up to what could be a critical vote in the country’s history.
Related story: Video - Presidential hopeful Peter Obi on his plans for Nigeria
Public debt in Nigeria reaches all time high of $102 billion
Nigeria's massive debt is largely driven by government borrowing to finance the budget deficit. Experts warn the debt stock is likely to reach 40 percent of the country's GDP by 2025.
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