I left West Africa for Europe about 4 years ago. When I first arrived, I was freezing all the time. Now I've gotten used to the European climate, and going back home is a completely different experience.

I usually go back to my home country twice a year to see my family, but every time I do, the heat feels unbearable. I honestly feel like I'm suffocating sometimes. It's weird because I used to handle it just fine, and now I keep wondering how I ever lived in that climate in the first place.

Maybe I'd readjust if I stayed longer, but I usually don't spend more than three weeks back home, so I never really get the chance.

I've also noticed that my perspective has changed in other ways. Things like chaotic urban planning, poor sanitation and the general state of public spaces stand out to me much more than they used to. It's not that I never noticed these things before, but they bother me more now.

I'm not trying to bash my home country. It's still home, and I know living abroad has probably changed the way I see things. I'm just curious whether other Africans living abroad have experienced something similar when returning home.

Does your home country feel different after spending a few years abroad? And did you eventually get used to the climate and your surroundings again, or did that feeling never really go away?

Looking at these statistics is a strong reminder of how much work remains to be done. Seeing nations where fewer than a quarter or in some cases, fewer than one in ten young girls are enrolled in secondary education shows just how steep our collective mountain still is.

The situation across the continent is far from being uniform. Several African countries have shown what dedicated investment, reform, and cultural shifts can achieve.

Nations such as Mauritius, Seychelles, Algeria, South Africa, Botswana, and Cabo Verde have secondary gross enrollment rates for girls well above 80% to 90%, with many achieving gender parity or even seeing girls outnumber boys in secondary classrooms. Others, such as Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda, have made strong progress through universal secondary education policies, bursaries, and community programs designed to keep girls in school.

Yet, this infographic reflects an undeniable truth: the road ahead is long. When countries like Somalia (2.7%), South Sudan (7.8%), the Central African Republic (12.5%), Chad (17.9%), and Niger (21.6%) are leaving the vast majority of their young girls behind, our entire continent feels the cost. Prolonged conflict, deep poverty, child marriage, lack of sanitation, and cultural barriers continue to deny millions of girls the basic dignity of an education.

Years ago in Niger, I spoke with an old man about why his daughters were not in the classroom, and he gave me an answer that has stayed with me to this day: "Why send a girl to school? It is like watering your neighbour's garden. You spend your money, you tire yourself out, and in the end, another man harvests the fruit. Her only true school is her husband's compound."

Hearing those words was dumbfounding, but it's still a shock to realise that even now, in 2026, millions across our continent still live, raise families, and make decisions guided by that exact mindset. Until that worldview is confronted and replaced, the road ahead will remain steep.

If we want a better, self-reliant future, things have to change. Our girls and future women are just as important as our boys and future men. You cannot develop an economy, build resilient healthcare systems, drive scientific progress, or foster good governance while leaving half the population behind. Educating a girl transforms entire communities and directly breaks cycles of poverty across generations.

I'm hoping to hear from people living in countries or communities with traditional/conservative views on LGBTQ+ issues.

If you are openly gay or married, how have you handled coming out and setting boundaries with family, friends, and co-workers?

For those who got married (especially in places like South Africa where it’s legally recognized but societal homophobia still exists), how did your family and friends handle the wedding/marriage? Did you receive support, and how did you navigate any pushback?

I’m looking for practical advice and personal experiences on handling these situations politely while keeping healthy boundaries and safety in mind.

Ifeanyi Menkiti argued in "Person and Community in African Traditional Thought" (1984) that you aren't born a full person. You become one through moral growth within a community. Kwame Gyekye pushed back, arguing this undermines individual rights. I find Menkiti's view surprisingly compelling, but I can't tell if it collapses into "only virtuous people have moral status." Has this debate been developed further, and are there Western thinkers who defend something similar?

Are there political parties in any African countries whose main goal is the unification of the continent into one national entity?

The world is evolving, with various spheres striving for self sufficiency and autonomy, yet our continent just seems to be a passenger, with no say or input or influence, and where resources are extracted for cheap to enrich other countries and a few profiteers amongst us.

So are there any active movements anywhere, or are we just perpetually dormant?

A foreign national has been beaten to death by a crowd of about 50 people in Durban, South Africa, police say.

According to police, the unidentified man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was first approached by two men by the roadside before being assaulted by a larger group. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have launched an investigation into the murder, with the motive yet to be established.

The killing follows a wave of protests against immigrants in South Africa this year, some of which have turned violent. Earlier this month, shops and cars were set on fire in Durban, as well as Soweto, near Johannesburg.

• Mali has expanded the legal grounds for stripping citizenship from individuals accused of acting against the state's interests.

• The new law allows revocation of nationality for actions such as allegiance to another country, supporting separatism or terrorism, and financing terrorist activities.

• This measure cannot be used if it would render a person stateless.

• The move comes after Burkina Faso reinstated the death penalty for crimes like terrorism, treason, and espionage.

Welcome to the family, Ayo, the mascot of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. He takes centre stage as we approach the Opening Ceremony next Saturday (31 October).

Since their introduction in Singapore 2010, the Youth Olympic Games have their own mascots. For Dakar Ayo was born. The name means “joy” in Yoruba, a language widely spoken in West Africa, mainly Nigeria.

Ayo is a smiley young lion with a mane. He wears a Tingandé, the traditional hat worn by the Fulani ethnic group, who are spread across several African countries. He also wears a white T-shirt bearing the Dakar 2026 emblem and red, yellow and green shorts. His outfit blends contemporary fashion with traditional clothing.

Ayo symbolises the joyful and courageous soul of the African youth, embodying celebration, hospitality and the unity in diversity.

➡️ The other members of the family are:

▪️Singapore 2010: Lyo and Merly

▪️Innsbruck 2012: Yoggl

▪️Nanjing 2014: Nanjinglele

▪️Lillehammer 2016: Sjogg

▪️Buenos Aires 2018: Pandi

▪️Lausanne 2020: Yodli

▪️Gangwon 2024: Moongcho

📎 All about the mascots in one document: https://library.olympics.com/Default/digital-viewer/c-161818

Automation has completely revolutionized environmental stewardship in gold processing. Older, legacy mining methods relied heavily on blunt-force extraction, manual chemical dosing, and massive, poorly contained tailings dams that posed serious ecological risks.

Today, automated CIL circuits driven by real-time SCADA telemetry control reagent dispensing to the exact milliliter. Combined with lined tailings storage facilities and continuous piezometric monitoring, modern automated plants minimize chemical waste, eliminate guesswork, and ensure strict compliance with environmental protection agencies like EMA. Technology hasn't just made mining more profitable; it has made it vastly cleaner.

I’ve been watching the protests happening in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and even Albania, and it got me thinking: why don’t we see the same level of sustained mass mobilization in West Africa?

People in these European countries generally have much better living standards than the majority of West Africans, yet they still take to the streets to demand better from their governments. Meanwhile, many West Africans are dealing with corruption, unemployment, poor healthcare, unreliable electricity, and inadequate infrastructure.

I know West Africans DO protest, but why is it so difficult to turn that frustration into lasting political change?

The Dangote Refinery IPO is turning into a test of cross-border investing on the continent. The company says investors from 51 of Africa's 54 countries have applied. That's remarkable when most Africans have never been able to buy shares outside their own country

But how you get in depends a lot on where you live:
•Nigeria: buy directly, from as little as 10 shares, with small applicants promised priority in allotment.
•Kenya: buy Global Depositary Receipts, each backed by one share, with trading on the Nairobi exchange targeted for December.
•Uganda: open only to high-net-worth and professional investors, with no public marketing allowed.
So the same company is a retail investment in one country and restricted to wealthy investors in another.

Then there's the price. At ₦525 a share, the valuation seems to assume this year's record refining margins will last. I ran a comparison against several groups of listed refiners using more normal margins, and every one suggested it's expensive. GTI Research reached a similar conclusion, valuing it below the offer price. For non-Nigerians there's also currency risk on top: you're betting on the naira as well as the refinery.
None of that makes it a bad company. It may be one of the most important industrial assets in Africa. But "great company" and "great price" aren't the same thing.

Questions for the sub:
•Should more big African companies list across borders like this?
•Is Uganda right to restrict retail access, or is that paternalistic?
•If you're outside Nigeria, did you apply, and did the currency risk factor in?

The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games are around the corner. Only 9 days to go until the first Olympic sporting event starts on the African continent.

​

“All the people who speak ill of our country right now are people who do not like our country.”

These were the words of Emmanuel Macron, visibly frustrated by international criticism and distorted media narratives while France was grappling with urban unrest. By his logic, criticizing a nation in distress or magnifying its vulnerabilities is not objective analysis but outright hostility.

Now, apply that exact same logic to the Sahel, particularly Mali and the countries of the AES.

In the face of relentless terrorist attacks, human tragedy, and the severe trials our people endure:

• What dominates the discourse on French television networks and across Western media outlets?

• Compassion? Basic decency? Respect for the victims?

Hardly. Instead, there is systematic mockery, moralizing lectures, and thinly veiled contempt directed at our governments and our resilience.

If speaking ill of France equates to hating France, what conclusion must be drawn from the relentless diplomatic and media hostility directed at Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger?

By Macron's own definition, the verdict is undeniable: those who treat the Sahel with such condescension do not like Mali, do not like the AES, and hold no genuine goodwill toward Africa.

When Western nations face crisis and tragedy, African peoples consistently show restraint, empathy, and the basic respect demanded by human suffering. Yet that same decency is rarely reciprocated when the suffering is on our side.

This contrast makes one reality clear: in global geopolitics, superficial friendships ends where paternalism and self-interest begin.

Respect is never granted out of benevolence; it is commanded through fierce and uncompromising sovereignty.

Mokoto Masotsa watches over his sheep above a gorge near Semonkong, in Lesotho. About a
third of the country’s school-age boys work as shepherds, often spending months away in isolated mountain pastures.

Photo: Tommy Trenchard/Panos Pictures

Had to get some help transporting this large painting to an art exhibition I'll be having during the month of December and for context this piece is 1.5m by 2m. I honestly don't know how it all came together but safe to say that I managed and I'm definitely reconsidering painting large works after l've gotten this thing across counties 🥲
Shipping is easier cause I just take the painting off the frame and ship it rolled but I hope the work manages to find the perfect wall and that it gets a home that will appreciate it as much as I do.
Side note: this piece took 5 months to complete 😅