3 things we found interesting
Um al Dunya
February marks the anniversary of the ouster of Mubarak in Egypt. The former dictator died last week and there was lots to talk about including his military burial, and reflections on his time in power.
Egypt was on our mind for other reasons as well: Okyeame reader Yasmine Al-Sayyad wrote in the New Yorker about what happened to Egypt’s once powerful cotton industry and its international reputation.
Our favorite part was this illustration showing how people imagined cotton plants in antiquity:
Some people theorized that little sheep grew on plants, bending down at night to drink water; other myths told of sheep held to the ground by low stems. As late as 1728, an encyclopedia entry describes a vegetable lamb that grows in Tartary—a term for areas of north, central, and east Asia unknown to European geographers.
Who turned off the tap?
Egypt and Ethiopia looked to have resolved their fight around Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam. But, despite the Trump administrations (and Trump’s personal interest in proving his deal-making abilities) involvement there appears to be no agreement, and Ethiopia has boycotted the latest rounds of discussions. The heart of the beef stems from the fact that colonial era treaties in 1929 and 1959 gave Egypt and Sudan rights to nearly all of the Nile waters, with Egypt having veto powers “over any projects by upstream countries that would affect its share of the waters.” The thing is Ethiopia’s Blue Nile is a big contributor to much of the river waters and it started building its dam at the start of the Arab Spring in March 2011 without consulting Egypt. 😎
Kids these days
The electoral commission in Uganda is fighting the Museveni government’s attempt to disenfranchise about a million voters in upcoming elections. The median age in Uganda is seventeen, with seventy-seven percent of the population under 25. There is a suspicion that the current government fears an outpouring of support for Pop star and political candidate Bobi Wine, who has emerged as a big, popular, threat to the government and it’s legitimacy. Museveni of course came to power with the support of the young himself, but has since locked the doors and thrown away the keys.
Did you know
Biden wasn’t arrested in South Africa. I know. We were shocked too.
Speaking of which, SA’s last white president is not sure apartheid was a crime against humanity.
What the coronavirus means for Africa.
Decolonization’s borders.
A brief history of the Sokoto Caliphate.
Six decades of Gnassingbe rule in Togo continues.
Black french identity; the new Negritude
Why we see so many Kenyan runners but no running shoes made in Kenya?
Oh, also:
Some thoughts on #Megxit and race
Colonialism and Igbo gender norms
Peace & Love,
Anakwa and Katie