Author: kajarbi54

Imagine waking in the dead of night to discover a burglar ransacking your home. He overpowers you, smashes open your cabinets and disappears into the darkness carrying your most precious family heirlooms: your late grandmother’s wedding ring, your family’s historic ledger and the sacred portraits of your ancestors. Decades pass. The burglar’s descendants now live comfortably, partly benefiting from displaying your stolen possessions behind glass in their parlour and charging visitors to admire them. Then, one day, after years of politely asking for your property back, the burglar’s grandson knocks on your door. He holds your grandmother’s ring in his…

MONROVIA – Africa is a continent of extraordinary cultural, historical, and linguistic diversity. From the savannahs of West Africa to the townships of Southern Africa and the highlands of East Africa, indigenous languages have served for centuries as vessels of history, identity, culture, wisdom, and community. Yet, across much of Africa, colonial languages such as English, French and Portuguese continue to dominate government, education, business and formal communication. While these languages have become important tools for communication between people from different linguistic backgrounds, the continued marginalization of African languages presents a serious challenge to cultural preservation and Pan-African unity. Ghana,…

MONROVIA – There are moments in the history of a nation when a single event becomes bigger than the individuals at the center of it. The arrest and imprisonment of former Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor is one of those moments. A woman who once occupied one of the highest political offices in the Republic of Liberia now sits behind prison walls, facing serious allegations arising from an investigation into an alleged international narcotics network connected to a cocaine seizure valued by authorities at approximately US$317 million. For Liberia, this is not simply another criminal case. It is a test…

Currency Devaluation in Africa: The External Control Problem and the Case for Monetary Integration In September 2023, Nigeria celebrated a modest diplomatic victory: Emirates Airlines agreed to resume direct flights after an 11-month suspension. The airline had been unable to repatriate $85 million in revenues trapped by Nigeria's currency crisis. Etihad had made the same calculation. By November 2022, when Emirates announced its suspension, global carriers collectively had $812 million stuck in Nigeria (Source: Africa's currency crisis | World Finance). The airlines made headlines. Most multinationals facing similar constraints have simply exited quietly or scaled down operations, absorbing losses rather…

There is a wise West African proverb that perfectly captures the current state of global diplomacy: “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” For eighty years, this has been the reality inside the chambers of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The “hunt”—the management of global crises, the deployment of armed interventions, and the imposition of sweeping international sanctions—is routinely decided by an elite group of external powers. Meanwhile, the “lions”—the African nations directly impacted by these decisions—are denied a permanent voice to write their own history. Another poignant Swahili…

Ghana has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to live with difference without allowing difference to become destiny. But peace is cultivated, not inherited automatically — and the warning signs across the region deserve Ghana’s close attention.

A constitutional republic may benefit from a long-serving leader’s experience. But when stability becomes inseparable from one individual, that stability becomes the republic’s greatest vulnerability. A case for building the infrastructure of succession.

Imagine waking up on a Tuesday morning, walking into your kitchen, and pouring a cup of tea, only for a stranger in a heavy tweed suit to burst through your back door. Without making eye contact, the stranger plants a brightly colored flag right into your linoleum floor, turns to a camera crew, and loudly proclaims, “I have discovered this kitchen! I shall name it Kettle-upon-Stove, in honor of my aunt back in Yorkshire.” You would think he was a madman. Yet, for centuries, global history textbooks have treated this exact brand of delusion as a series of brave, civilizing…

MONROVIA – South Africa’s democratic victory in 1994 was never solely a South African achievement. It was the culmination of decades of sacrifice by Africans who believed that the freedom of one nation was the freedom of the entire continent. From Nigeria’s financial support for the African National Congress to Zambia and Tanzania sheltering liberation fighters, to Ghana offering asylum to ANC political leaders, issuing diplomatic passports, providing military training, and Liberia and many other African states mobilising diplomatic solidarity against apartheid, Africa stood together. Today, that legacy is being tested. The recent wave of anti-immigrant demonstrations and attacks targeting…

The Government of Liberia and a delegation from California have launched a joint initiative aimed at ending Liberia’s estimated $200 million annual rice import bill and transforming the country’s agricultural sector. The announcement followed a high-level strategy meeting held on April 24 in Sacramento, where officials and stakeholders from agriculture, academia, and investment circles agreed on a rapid-action plan to move Liberia from importing 61 percent of its rice needs to full self-sufficiency. According to a joint communiqué, the partnership seeks to combine Liberia’s natural resources and workforce with California’s innovation, research capacity, and investment potential to strengthen food security,…