In 2023, Insecurity Insight documented 22 arson attacks on schools in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, with a sharp increase in Niger (1 in 2022 vs 11 in 2023). Most incidents, attributed to JNIM and ISSP, target “Western” education and aim to intimidate teachers and communities, leading to destroyed facilities, prolonged closures, and lasting fear. These attacks undermine access to education, worsen inequalities, and erode social cohesion. The report calls for integrated actions: community awareness campaigns, fire-resistant school infrastructure, emergency plans, coordinated rapid responses, psychological support, and post-attack reconstruction. It also urges humanitarian diplomacy and engagement with armed actors to protect schools and depoliticize education.

Governance, Security, Education

The Bridging Distances report (NRC, UNHCR, UNICEF, January 2025) examines distance learning solutions in the Central Sahel (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger) amid insecurity, mass displacement, and weak educational infrastructure. Four main approaches are identified: no-tech (printed materials), low-tech (radio, SMS, basic phones), digital (online platforms, offline Wi-Fi devices), and hybrid models combining several methods. Each modality has strengths and weaknesses, with hybrid approaches proving most resilient. Success factors include adapting to local contexts, teacher training, community involvement, monitoring and evaluation, and sustainable funding. Recommendations emphasize inclusion (girls, displaced children, children with disabilities), infrastructure investment, resource-sharing, and integrating psychosocial support. Distance learning is not a one-size-fits-all solution but a set of complementary tools that must be adapted to learners’ needs.

Governance, Education, Numérique

The April 2025 policy brief by Africa Education Watch, authored by Kofi Asare, reviews Ghana’s basic education infrastructure. Despite significant enrolment growth since 2001, about 1 million children remain out of school, including 400,000 dropouts. Key deficits include school buildings, furniture (40% of pupils lacked desks in 2021, rising to 80% in some regions), electricity, and digital infrastructure (only 2% of basic schools in deprived districts have functional ICT facilities). To meet SDG 4 targets by 2030, Ghana needs around 2,000 fully furnished basic schools, 3,600 junior high schools, 508 kindergartens, to replace 5,300 makeshift schools, and supply 800,000 desks. Estimated cost: USD 2 billion. Budgetary constraints and declining donor support necessitate innovative financing, climate-resilient building technologies, community-led furniture initiatives, and targeted interventions for underserved communities.

Governance, Inequality, Education, Infrastructures scolaires, Funding

Two years after Niger’s July 26, 2023 coup d’état, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, the country remains mired in political and socio-economic deadlock. Former head of the presidential guard, Tiani justified overthrowing President Bazoum by citing security failures and excessive foreign—particularly French—influence. Reactions from ECOWAS, including sanctions and the threat of military intervention, along with France’s stance, bolstered the CNSP’s nationalist image. Yet, continued closure of the border with Benin, soaring prices, and worsening poverty have deepened public disillusionment. Bazoum and his wife remain under house arrest, symbolizing an unfinished transition. Despite sovereignist rhetoric, the current government has failed to improve the economy or security. The future remains uncertain, with the risk that the pursuit of dignity could lead to prolonged insecurity, authoritarianism, and widespread poverty.

Sovereignty, Governance, Coup d'État

The podcast examines the candidacy of Paul Biya, 92, for an eighth presidential term in Cameroon, calling it absurd and dangerous. In power since 1982, Biya is among the world’s longest-serving heads of state. The October 2025 election is expected to take place under questionable conditions, with growing dissent—including within his own party—and a high risk of violence. In the medium term, the most likely outcome is an unconstitutional succession, potentially led by the military, with severe regional repercussions given Cameroon’s borders with six unstable countries. The author stresses the role of political, economic, and social elites in enabling such power grabs. He concludes by highlighting that, despite the political crisis, many Cameroonian civic initiatives and organizations are working tirelessly for education, innovation, and the common good.

Politics, Governance, Election, Instabilité

The article examines Africa’s emergence as a critical stage in the strategic rivalry between the United States and China. The July 2025 mini‑summit hosted by Trump with five African leaders signals renewed American interest in a continent traditionally influenced by Sino‑American competition and other global powers. Africa, rich in natural resources—minerals, hydrocarbons—and strategically positioned (Suez, Bab-el‑Mandeb, Djibouti), has become a prime arena of global “neo‑imperialism.” Beijing wields influence through infrastructure projects—roads, hospitals, railways—in exchange for resources, causing high debt levels. Meanwhile, under Trump, US diplomacy counteracts China’s expansion. The article highlights that Africa fits into the broader geostrategic competition in the Indo‑Pacific, with China emerging as a systemic rival to the US through technological advancement and escalating global influence.

Politics, Governance, Natural ressources, Influence, Diplomacy

The "Country Profile – Niger," published on July 17, 2025, by the PASAS platform, analyzes 335 references about Niger. The document is structured around six themes: governance, security and conflict, peace and mediation, education and gender, economic development, and environment. Governance is shaped by shifting regional alliances (AES, ECOWAS), anti-French sentiment, and a dominant military approach. The security section highlights Sahel-wide crises, border violence, jihadist groups, national armies, and self-defense militias. Peacebuilding discussions include community resilience, women’s involvement, and the revival of customary justice systems. Education, mental health, and gender issues are addressed with a strong focus on youth vulnerability. Lastly, environmental challenges are explored through themes like climate change, pastoralism, and artisanal gold mining, revealing a complex intersection of ecological and economic dynamics.

Politics, Political party, Governance, Environment, Natural ressources, Security, Development, Gold, Human security, Soicial sciences, Researh, Knowlege production

In his opinion piece published on July 15, 2025, on WATHI, Jean‑Marc Segoun examines the tensions between substantive democracy and gerontocracy, emphasizing the need for intergenerational dialogue. He positions substantive democracy as a political project focused on innovation, human dignity, and long‑term social justice, where dialogue between elders and youth is crucial. In Africa, gerontocratic regimes often sideline young people from power, reinforcing inequality and stifling knowledge transfer. Segoun advocates for social innovation as a renewal engine—not just novelty, but reinventing practices that combine ancestral wisdom and youthful aspirations. He suggests creating institutional frameworks to foster tolerance, intergenerational ethics, and rites of passage, revitalizing governance and addressing authoritarian regime challenges.

Governance, Democracy, Dialogue, Gerontocracy