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She’s ratcheted up quite a few firsts. But Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala really has topped the charts by becoming the first woman, and first African, to head the World Trade Organisation. Fellow Nigerian economist Monica Orisadare puts the remarkable achievement in context, and explains why Okonjo-Iweala’s achievements matter for women – in Nigeria, across the continent and globally. Drawing from her own experience in academia, she charts the
difficult road faced by women seeking high office, and what awaits them when they get there.
To defeat the twin problems of poverty and hunger in Nigeria, agriculture, especially food production by small farm holders, is an important door that needs to be unlocked. The trouble, however, lies in the fact that agriculture depends on infrastructure such as good roads, safe drinking water, adequate power supply, a market network, modern communication services and facilities for processing and storing harvests. As Abiodun Olusola Omotayo, Abeeb Babatunde Omotoso and Saidat Adebola Daud explain, the absence of this infrastructure remains a major impediment for Nigeria’s quest to feed its growing population.
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Wale Fatade
Commissioning Editor: Nigeria
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Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
Monica Orisadare, Obafemi Awolowo University
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's appointment as the first woman and the first African director general of the World Trade Organisation is a win for women globally.
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A woman drying red chillies outside her hut in Niger State, north central Nigeria.
Photo by Jorge Fernández/LightRocket via Getty Images
Abiodun Olusola Omotayo, North-West University; Abeeb Babatunde Omotoso; Saidat Adebola Daud
For Nigeria to feed its growing population efficiently and support food production by small farm holders, investment in rural infrastructure is key.
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Environment + Energy
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Eric Kumeh Mensah, University of Hohenheim
Attempts to formalise charcoal production have been largely unsuccessful.
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Phosiso Sola, World Agroforestry (ICRAF); Paolo Omar Cerutti, Centre for International Forestry Research
Demand for charcoal continues to increase in Kenya, it's vital that the sector is better governed
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Politics
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Herman Wasserman, University of Cape Town
To rebuild lost trust in the media will require more commitment and effort than just papering over ethical cracks.
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David Everatt, University of the Witwatersrand
There has been growing discontent with many local authorities and calls by concerned citizens for the municipalities to be dissolved.
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From our international editions
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Michael Jennings, SOAS, University of London
The global vaccine rollout has not been free from geopolitical rivalries and point-scoring.
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John Scherpereel, James Madison University ; Melinda Adams, James Madison University ; Suraj Jacob, Azim Premji University
Research shows that when one country – particularly a powerful one – puts more women in power, other nations tend to follow suit.
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En español
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Taiwo Afolabi, University of Regina
En su gira por escuelas de un país sacudido por el sida, la obra 'Talk to Me', que cuenta la historia de dos jóvenes amigos que tienen el virus, logra crear espacios seguros para conversar sobre un tema muy complejo.
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Manuel Peinado Lorca, Universidad de Alcalá
Las antiguas necrópolis egipcias albergan millones de ibis momificados. Los estudios de ADN mitocondrial apuntan al origen silvestre de estas aves, que bien pudo ser causa de su extinción.
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Featured events
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