Sankara’s mausoleum: the widening rift between state memory and family grief

The inauguration of the Thomas Sankara mausoleum in Ouagadougou on 17 May 2025 was staged as a moment of national and continental significance. The ceremony, held at the site of…

Reckoning after the applause: Burkina Faso’s 85.38% efficiency score and the debate that follows

Burkina Faso’s transitional government has awarded itself a striking grade: 85.38% administrative performance for 2025. For households already worn down by growing precarity and by the daily struggle to reach…

Algerian helicopter strike on Niger border kills 48 gold miners as Niamey stays silent

At least 48 civilians lost their lives when an Algerian military helicopter fired on an artisanal gold-mining camp straddling the frontier between Niger and Algeria, turning a remote stretch of…

In Burkina Faso, the Sankara family stands apart from Ibrahim Traoré’s memory politics

When a state claims ownership of a revolutionary’s memory In Burkina Faso, the figure of Thomas Sankara has long ceased to be a purely historical reference. It now occupies a…

Gao carnage: Africa Corps kills 167 civilians and burns 127 motorbikes along the Niger river

A riverside morning turns into a killing ground It was barely past sunrise on Tuesday 15 September 2026 when the rattle of automatic fire and thick black smoke drifted across…

Somaïr: Niger’s uranium crash and the logistics alibi

A flagship project sliding into industrial chaos Unveiled with great fanfare as proof that Niger had finally taken back control of its mineral wealth, the day-to-day operation of the Société…

Niger’s barracks in revolt: defections, shortages and a deadly night with Africa Corps

Eighteen months after the 26 July 2023 putsch, the patriotic display mounted by Niger’s military leadership is visibly coming apart. Behind the sovereignist slogans and the parades organised by the…

Sahel alliance’s regional debt passes 7,700 billion CFA francs as autonomy talk meets market reality

The three member states of the Alliance of Sahel States have not walked away from the regional bond market. The numbers suggest the opposite. As of 31 July 2026, Mali,…

Benin’s schools reopen nationwide on 14 September as security calms and tuition stays free

On Monday 14 September 2026, Benin’s classrooms came back to life. Pupils and teachers returned to schools in every part of the country, restarting the daily routine of lessons, registrations…

Niger’s fuel price freeze leaves SONIDEP facing a 28 billion FCFA shortfall in 2026

A price freeze that comes with a 28 billion FCFA invoice Holding petrol cheap at the pump is a political choice with a financial tail, and Niger’s public accounts are…

TEXFORCES-BF: Ibrahim Traoré’s industrial gamble with Burkina Faso pension money

Presented as a cornerstone of Burkina Faso’s drive for economic sovereignty and domestic industrialisation, the TEXFORCES-BF textile venture enjoys unmistakable official enthusiasm. Yet beneath the confident rhetoric, the way the…

Niger’s external liabilities reach 12,900 billion FCFA, revealing a dependent economy

Official speeches in Niamey continue to celebrate a clean break with the old economic order, yet the figures compiled by the Central Bank of West African States paint a far…