It is not democracy but rather, military dictatorship that is alien to Africa

Traditional African societies had deeply rooted systems of order, law, and governance long before European colonialism.

Large empires like Mali, Songhai, and centralised kingdoms like the Kingdom of Benin, and the Kingdom of Buganda maintained sophisticated administrative structures, courts, taxation, and military organisation.

Decentralised and Consensus-Based Societies: Many other societies (such as the Igbo or Tiv) operated without single monarchs, using councils of elders, age-grades, and community assemblies to manage disputes and maintain social harmony through consensus.

Checks and Balances: Power was frequently shared between political rulers, religious authorities, and clan heads to prevent tyranny and ensure accountability to the community.

Many pre-colonial African kingdoms used formal systems of checks and balances to prevent kings from becoming absolute rulers.

The Oyo Empire (in modern-day Nigeria) had one of the strongest systems of checks and balances in history.

The Oyo Mesi: This was a council of seven state leaders. They chose the king, called the Alaafin.

The Empty Calabash: If the king abused his power, the council gave him an empty calabash (a dried gourd) or a parrot's egg. This meant he had lost the right to rule and must commit suicide.

The Ogboni Society: This religious group of elders had to approve the council's decision to remove a king. This stopped the council from staging unfair political takeovers.

Military Limits: The head military commander was legally banned from ever entering the capital city so he could not use his army to seize the throne.

The Kingdom of Kongo also divided power between the king and his advisers.

Royal Council: The king ruled with the help of 12 wise advisers chosen for life.

Power to Depose: If the king broke the rules or failed to lead well, these advisers had the power to remove him from the throne.

In the Ashanti Empire the most direct political check was the process of destoolment—the formal deposition of a king. If an Asantehene became tyrannical, corrupt, or physically incapacitated, the council and the citizens could remove him.

The Ashanti Empire (Asante) featured a highly sophisticated constitutional monarchy where power was distributed between the central king, regional chiefs, and powerful queen mothers. 

Here is how the Ashanti system of checks and balances functioned to prevent total rule by a single individual:

The Role of the Queen Mother (Asantehemaa)Kingmaker: The Asantehemaa held the supreme power to nominate the candidate for the position of King (Asantehene). She served as the ultimate adviser to the king and was the only person who could publicly scold or veto him if he veered from traditional law. She maintained her own court, separate from the king's, to hear domestic, lineage, and civil disputes.

The Asantehene could not pass laws, declare war, or make major state decisions without the unanimous consent of the Asanteman Council, which was made up of the paramount chiefs (Amanhene) of the various Ashanti states.

Citizens' Rights: Commoners could voice their grievances through youth associations (Asafo). The Asafo were traditional military organisations made up of the common people (youngmen).

Grounds for Removal: Valid reasons for destoolment included financial corruption, ignoring the council, or displaying cowardice in battle. Several Ashanti kings were successfully destooled throughout history for failing to meet these high standards.

Removal from Office: If an Asantehene or any chief violated the sacred oaths of office, engaged in corruption, or became tyrannical, the council and the people had the right to "de-stool" (impeach) them. In Ashanti culture, the stool represents the soul of the nation and political authority. When a ruler was de-stooled, they were physically separated from the stool, stripping them of all power.

The most prominent political check on the Zulu monarch was the Ibhandla, a grand council made up of hereditary chiefs (izikhulu), senior elders, and wise advisers.

Consensus-Based Rule: While the Inkosi held ultimate executive power, he was traditionally expected to govern by consensus. He could not make major national decisions—such as declaring war or shifting territorial boundaries—without consulting the Ibhandla.

The Voice of the People: Because the chiefs on the council represented the various clans that made up the kingdom, ignoring their counsel risked fracturing national unity and sparking civil war.

This list is by no means exhaustive. It is not democracy, but rather military dictatorship that is completely alien to Africa. 

"Blogger and African historian"?

My name appears somewhere in this article in this Canadian magazine, where I am referred to as a "Blogger and African historian" when quoting something I had written. I don't know when I attained this credential conferred on me by this author.

Nevertheless, although I'm hardly a scholar, if an "African historian" is one who focuses on removing Eurocentric biases and challenging colonial narratives that portrayed Africa as having no history before European arrival, then maybe I have inadvertently earned myself this designation. 

Warrior Women of West Africa

The Ingoma

The centuries-old Burundi drumming tradition centres on the ingoma (sacred royal drums). Performed by groups in a semicircle, it combines synchronised drumming, heroic poetry, and athletic dancing. Designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, it remains a powerful symbol of Burundian identity.

The Significance of the Ingoma

In pre-colonial times, drums were the sonic emblem of royal authority. They were reserved exclusively for royal ceremonies, coronations, and to welcome important visitors, with certain drums viewed as sacred state artifacts. Today, the tradition is not just a musical performance; it represents peace, unity, and ancestral heritage.

The Performance

A traditional performance involves at least a dozen (always an odd number) of heavy ingoma arranged in a semicircle around a central drum. The drummers balance the heavy drums on their heads as they walk onto the stage, singing and playing. Several drummers hold a continuous rhythm, while others dance acrobatically and play at the same time. The dancers may be accompanied by members carrying ornamental spears and shields.

Modern Regulations and Heritage

Traditionally, the skill and profession of drumming were passed down from father to son, primarily within specific drum sanctuaries such as the one in Gishora. However, the tradition has faced modern challenges. The Burundian government has strictly regulated performances and appearances at international events to protect the sacred nature of the drums.

Strict Presidential Decrees

As the drums grew popular globally, the Burundian government stepped in to prevent the commercialisation of their sacred heritage. A 2017 presidential decree officially banned women from playing the royal drums. The law imposes a fine of roughly $270 USD on any group that allows a woman to drum. The drums can now only be played at official state ceremonies. Playing the ingoma at private parties, weddings, or cultural festivals without government permission is strictly illegal.

International Fame & Musical Influence

The Royal Drummers of Burundi became global icons in the late 20th century. Their powerful rhythms directly shaped modern Western music. They began touring internationally in the 1960s, captivating audiences with their intense physical energy.

The Gishora Drum Sanctuary

If you ever travel to Burundi, Gishora is the heart of this living history. Situated on a hilltop near the town of Gitega (the new capital).

Inside the Gishora Sanctuary & The Rituals of the Abatimbo

The Gishora Drum Sanctuary is not just a museum or a performance stage; it is an active spiritual compound managed by the Abatimbo—a lineage of ritualists descended from ancient royal court leaders.

The Guardianship of Silent Spirits: The Abatimbo protect two highly revered, ancient drums that are never allowed to be beaten. They are named Ruciteme ("the one for whom we clear the forest") and Murimirwa ("the one for whom we cultivate"). They represent the spirits of past kings and the fertility of the nation's soil.

The Ritual Architecture: The sanctuary is built like a traditional pre-colonial royal palace compound (urugo), surrounded by a woven bamboo fence. The drums are housed inside specialised straw huts that function as shrines.

Sowing and Harvest Ceremonies: Historically, the Abatimbo performed the Muganuro (the festival of the sorghum sowing). Before the king could eat the first harvest, the Abatimbo spent days performing purification rituals and specific rhythm sequences on the Ingendanyi (the "retinue" or active performance drums) to bless the national agriculture.

The Living Lineage: Today, local boys are initiated into the Abatimbo lineage from childhood. They are taught that drumming is an act of spiritual endurance, requiring them to learn epic historical poetry, precise combat-style choreography, and the specific sonic patterns passed down for centuries.

Burundi

The Kingdom of Burundi also known as Kingdom of Urundi (Kirundi: Ubwami bw'Urundi), was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Burundi. The Ganwa monarchs (with the title of mwami) ruled over both Hutus and Tutsis.

The date of the foundation of the Kingdom of Burundi is unknown, and the exact context of the state's foundation are disputed. The region was originally inhabited by Twa hunter-gatherers before the influx of Bantu farmers from about the 11th century. The valleys and hills became home to a patchwork of farmers, fishermen, and foragers. Pastoralists (associated with cattle) arrived in waves. Based on societal and oral traditions, it is generally believed that the region's pastoralists were the ancestors of the later Tutsi ethnic group, while the agriculturalists became the Hutus, however the exact origins of Burundi's ethnic groups remain unclear and disputed. Many local and regional dynasties developed, eventually coalescing around two political centres; one in the north and one in the south.

The Twa, Hutu, and Tutsi peoples have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of those years, Burundi was an independent kingdom. In 1885, it became part of the German colony of German East Africa. After the First World War and Germany's defeat, the League of Nations mandated the territories of Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda to Belgium in a combined territory called Rwanda-Urundi. After the Second World War, this transformed into a United Nations Trust Territory.

Burundi gained independence in 1962 and initially retained the monarchy. However, a coup d'état in 1966 replaced the monarchy with a one-party republic, and for the next 27 years, Burundi was ruled by a series of ethnic Tutsi dictators and notably experienced a genocide of its Hutu population in 1972. 

Burundi remains primarily a rural society, with just 13.4% of the population living in urban areas in 2019. The country is densely populated, and many young people emigrate in search of opportunities elsewhere. Roughly 81% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, 18% are Tutsi, and fewer than 1% are Twa. The official languages of Burundi are Kirundi, French, and English—Kirundi being officially recognised as the sole national language. English was made an official language in 2014.

Gitega, formerly Kitega, is the country's political capital. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly 62 kilometres (39 mi) east of Bujumbura, the largest city and former political capital, Gitega is the country's fourth largest city and former royal capital of the Kingdom of Burundi until its abolition in 1966.

Bujumbura, formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, former political capital, largest city and main port. Bujumbura grew from a small village after it became a military post in German East Africa in 1889. After World War I it was made the administrative centre and de facto capital of the Belgian League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. The name was changed from Usumbura to Bujumbura upon Burundi's independence in 1962.

The Port of Bujumbura is the largest port on Lake Tanganyika. Burundi depends on neighbouring countries for access to the ocean. Goods may be carried by road via Rwanda, or by the lake and then by road or rail via Tanzania, Congo or Zambia. 80% of Burundi's external trade is carried via the last three routes, using the Port of Bujumbura. The port manages receipt and delivery of exports and imports, whether carried by ship or by truck. As of 2011 more than 90% of cargo handled was imports, of which about 60% entered by ship and 40% by truck.

I shall do a different post focused on the Burundi drumming tradition.

Also, I should be passing through Bujumbura in September, 2026. I've got this East Africa tour lined up.

Grok yet again

"The X post promotes a personal blog entry questioning reparations for Africa's role in the transatlantic slave trade, highlighting African kingdoms' complicity in capturing and selling about 90% of the 12-15 million enslaved people to Europeans between the 15th and 19th centuries.

Drawing on historical examples like the Kingdom of Dahomey and Niger Delta traders, the author argues Africans should apologize to descendants of the enslaved rather than demand compensation for the trade itself, while supporting reparations for colonial exploitation.

This perspective challenges the victim-only narrative in ongoing discussions, such as Ghana's upcoming March 2026 UN resolution to declare the slave trade a crime against humanity and seek redress from former colonial powers."

Here https://thingsifeelstronglyabout.blogspot.com/2026/01/reparations-for-africa.html

Things I Feel Strongly About: My Sleepwalker

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Azande warriors chose boys as wives

Why the Azande warriors of North Central Africa chose boys as wives in the 1800s

By Mildred Europa Taylor, June 1, 2018

Former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe once described homosexuality as “un-African” and a “white disease.”

Other African leaders, plus several other people on the continent have shared in his view, and this has elicited homophobia, persecution and anti-gay laws in countries like Uganda, Tanzania, Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.

In recent years, it has been made clear that same-sex sexual relations existed in traditional African societies even before the colonisers arrived.

From the 16th century, homosexuality has been recorded in Africa by European missionaries and anthropologists.

An example of this is the boy-wives’ tradition of the Azande ethnic group of North Central Africa.

Formed in the 19th century, the Azande people were a warrior tribe mostly found in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These warriors were not only practising homosexuality and bi-sexuality but actually married boys or young men.

According to anthropologist E.E. Evans-Pritchard, there was a scarcity of women for these warriors, particularly, the poorer ones at the time due to social traditions.

As such, men or warriors who were against masturbation were expected to marry boys and satisfy their sexual needs with them.

A warrior who is ready for this would select a boy between the ages of 12-20, go to his parents’ house and request the boy’s hand in marriage.

He would have to pay a bride price for the boy, usually in the form of spears or other items.

Once married, the husband would then have to take care of the boy's parents, who are now his in-laws.

The boy would also take on household duties like a woman, including collecting firewood, fetching water and holding the warrior shield when travelling.

"At night the boy slept with his lover, who had intercourse with him between his thighs (intercrural). (Azande expressed disgust at the suggestion of anal penetration). The boys got what pleasure they could by the friction of their organs on the husband’s belly or groin.

“However, even though there was this side to the relationship, it was clear from Zande accounts that there was also the comfort of a night sharing of the bed with a companion,” Evans-Pritchard wrote in his work published in early 20th century.

Note that, the warriors of the Zande people were not the only ones practising this; young princes were also involved. 

If a boy appealed to a Zande prince, the prince would take on the boy as a servant and a sexual outlet. The prince would also compensate the boy’s family.

There were men who had female wives but also married boys. During wars, they took the boys with them to perform duties at base camp.

One interesting fact is that unlike instances of homosexuality, sex between Azande men did not have much to do with love and longer unions. They only wanted sexual gratification, companionship and service.

Marriage to a woman was still what they hoped for. They just loved boys because women were scarce. 7

Besides, the husbands would eventually marry women, and the cycle would continue with the former boy-wife following the same direction.

This tradition ended in the early 20th. century, Evans-Pritchard noted.

Source: Why the Azande Warriors of North Central Africa Chose Boys as Wives in the 1800s

More details: The Boy Wives of the Azande of the Sudan

My own humble contribution at this point is that we cannot know for sure that there was no romance involved in every single case of same-sex marriage between Azande men. From what we know of human sexuality, this would have been highly unlikely. The Azande knew very well that some men preferred to have sex with other men. And although every man was expected to marry a woman, Azande customs provided a man with an excuse to have sex with another man whenever he wanted, throughout life. Marriage between warriors and recruits was only a part of the Azande accommodation to male homosexuality.

Azande warriors — Pinterest

Evans-Pritchard with Azande boys during his field trip 1926-9

Kingsley's Crossing

"In the developed world illegal immigration is a hotly debated political issue. Form the eyes of the world's very poor, it is an excruciating personal decision, made to make life a little bit better for one's self and one's family.

Kingsley is 23 years old, and lives in a two-room house with his parents and seven siblings in a coastal village in Cameroon. He is raised with an image of Europe as a kind of promised land: if he can only get there, life for himself and his family will improve.

Photojournalist Olivier Jobard introduces us to Kingsley as he makes the difficult decision to embark on his "mission" and then accompanies him, documenting his perilous journey, Step by step, across desert and ocean, we come to see immigration through one man's eyes, and learn the rewards - and the costs - of such a dream."

MediaStorm February 21, 2014

On Talibés and Almajirai

The talibés in Senegal and almajirai (plural of almajiri) in Nigeria are remarkably similar. Both groups consist of young boys sent away from their rural families to live in urban residential Islamic schools, where traditional practices have increasingly devolved into systemic street begging and child exploitation.

Both are rooted in traditional Islamic boarding systems—called daaras in Senegal and tsangaya or almajiri schools in Northern Nigeria—where students focus intensely on memorising the Quran under a religious teacher (maramu or mallam).

Parents typically send their young sons (often starting at age 4 to 7) away from impoverished countryside villages to major cities, trusting they will receive a pious religious upbringing. Rather than being fully provided for by their teachers or communities, many of these children are mandated to spend hours each day roaming the streets to meet daily quotas for money or food.

International bodies and NGOs classify the systemic neglect, lack of formal secular education, malnutrition, and forced labour surrounding both groups as severe child protection and welfare crises.

The systems of both the Talibés in Senegal and the Almajirai in Nigeria began as highly respected, community-supported networks for higher Islamic education. Over centuries, economic pressures, colonisation, and rapid urbanisation transformed them from prestigious academic traditions into the marginalised systems seen today.

The Almajiri System in Nigeria, Pre-Colonial Prestige: The word almajiri comes from the Arabic al-Muhajirun, meaning "the emigrant." It historically referred to students who travelled to gain knowledge. In the pre-colonial Kanem-Bornu Empire and Sokoto Caliphate, these schools were elite institutions. They produced the region’s judges, clerks, and scholars. The traditional schools (tsangaya) were heavily subsidised by the ruling emirs, wealthy patrons, and the local community through zakat (charitable giving). Students did not need to beg because the community willingly fed and clothed them as a religious duty.

The British Disruption: In 1904, the British colonial administration conquered Northern Nigeria. They abolished state funding for Islamic schools and refused to recognise them legally. At the same time, they introduced a Western-style secular school system that required fees, which most poor Muslim families rejected. Deprived of state financial support, teachers (mallams) and their students lost their livelihoods. To survive, schools migrated to urban commercial centres, and students were forced to work or beg for food and charity, transforming a system of prestigious scholarship into a survival mechanism.

The Talibé System in Senegal, Pre-Colonial Integration: In Senegal, traditional Islamic schools (daaras) were deeply integrated into rural agrarian societies. Young boys (talibés, from the Arabic talib, meaning "student") studied the Quran under a religious teacher (marabout). Historically, talibés did not beg for money on city streets. Instead, they worked alongside their marabout on communal agricultural land, growing food to feed the school. This labour was viewed as character-building, teaching the boys humility, discipline, and the value of hard work.

The French colonial administration in Senegal marginalised traditional daaras, choosing to fund and promote French secular schools instead. This isolated the Islamic schools economically, restricting them to rural areas. During the 1970s and 1980s, severe droughts devastated West African agriculture, making rural farming unsustainable. Desperate marabouts moved their daaras into large cities like Dakar to survive. Lacking land to farm and unable to afford city life, the teachers adapted the traditional labour model, sending children onto urban streets to beg for daily cash and food quotas.

Equivalent systems and student populations are found in Niger, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire.

While colonial education policies are a major historical catalyst, they are not the sole ultimate cause for the widespread street begging associated with almajirai (in Nigeria) and talibés (in Senegal/West Africa). Widespread rural poverty leads many families to send children away to daaras or tsangaya schools because they cannot afford to feed them at home. In addition, secular post-colonial governments often failed to integrate or properly regulate traditional religious schools, leaving a legal vacuum where abusive teachers can exploit children for economic gain. What was historically a minor or non-systemic practice of enduring hardship or seeking alms has morphed in urban environments into commercialised, forced begging managed by exploitative networks.

Both Senegal and Nigeria have introduced several legal reforms, modern curriculum integrations, and bans on street begging to address these crises. However, enforcing these laws remains incredibly difficult due to political pressure, deep-rooted cultural traditions, and severe enforcement gaps. In Nigeria particularly, the federal government launched major initiatives to build "Model Islamic Schools" (Tsangaya schools). These schools fuse traditional Quranic memorisation with basic English, mathematics, and vocational training, funded by the state, to eliminate the financial need for begging. But neither government has the budget or infrastructure to house, feed, and formally educate the millions of children who rely on these systems for shelter. Also, many rural, conservative parents still distrust state-run secular schools, viewing them as elite institutions that do not teach moral values.

In Northern Nigeria, the almajiri system is deeply scrutinised as a critical national security concern. Security analysts and organisations like the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) highlight how the system functions as a vulnerability pipeline. With an estimated 30 million out-of-school and almajiri children in Nigeria, violent non-state actors like Boko Haram, ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province), and northern bandit groups look to these children as prime recruitment pools.

While the system itself does not inherently teach violent extremism, it produces hundreds of thousands of boys who grow up experiencing severe poverty, isolation, and a lack of parental love or state support. When they outgrow the schools, they often have no secular education, no literacy, or job skills, leaving them economically desperate and susceptible to the financial and ideological promises of insurgent groups.

Also, because almajiri children are highly visible begging on city streets, they face intense societal stigmatisation, sometimes being pejoratively labelled by the public as "urchins" or future criminals. This social exclusion deepens their detachment from the state, making anti-government insurgent narratives more appealing.

Ref: Exploring Youth Radicalisation Within the Almajiri System in Northern Nigeria

Talibés beg in Senegal's St Louis's main market. The boys can spend up to 10 hours on the streets in search of food and money, with severe beatings awaiting some. Photo by Pete Pattison/The Guardian

Grok said this

According to Grok: The X post shares a personal blog entry reflecting on the author's solo 1992 trip to Rio de Janeiro, capturing the thrill of first-time experiences like flying across the Atlantic from Nigeria and navigating a non-English-speaking city amid Carnival preparations.

It emphasises Afro-Atlantic cultural connections, such as Yoruba religious influences in Brazilian Candomblé and the mesmerising Capoeira performances, blending historical slave trade legacies with vibrant street life in favelas and beaches like Copacabana.

The narrative highlights transformative encounters, including an impromptu friendship with a local capoeirista despite language barriers, evoking lasting nostalgia and a sense of leaving "a part of me behind" in Rio after two frenetic weeks.

Grok once more

 What Grok said:

"Anengiyefa's post promotes part 3 of a personal blog series on a September 2025 road trip through Botswana, focusing on a brief stay at Flame of Africa lodge with river fishing outings and wildlife sightings like elephants and hippos.

The entry critiques commercial safari tourism, emphasizing a traditional African ethic of respecting wildlife from afar—observing without intrusion—over entertainment-driven encounters, informed by the author's reflections on ancestral perspectives, underscoring its niche appeal as introspective travel writing rather than broad social media fare."

On the Mangroves of the Niger Delta

Key Facts About the Niger Delta Mangroves

It covers roughly 6,000 to 7,000 square kilometers (around 60% of Nigeria's total mangrove areas). It is the single largest mangrove ecosystem on the African continent. It is heavily impacted by decades of industrial logging, invasive species, and extensive oil and gas spills.

The flora of the Niger Delta is dominated by red, white, and black mangrove trees, alongside the invasive Nypa palm, while its wildlife includes specialised species such as mudskippers, West African manatees, Sclater's guenons, and fiddler crabs.

There are many environmental threats to the mangrove forests in the Niger Delta.

Oil extraction is the largest threat to Nigeria's mangrove forests. The oil-rich Niger Delta produces up to two million barrels of crude oil a day, which has placed Nigeria as the 9th oil producing country in the world. Such extensive oil extraction has come at great environmental and social cost. Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Environment has estimated that since 1958, 13 million barrels of oil have been spilled during extraction processes. 

Activities such as oil drilling, spillage, dredging of canals, and the construction of housing for oil workers pose substantial threats to the survival and effective functioning of the mangrove ecosystem. Oil spills and leakages have inflicted significant damage on Nigeria's mangrove areas, affecting not only the mangroves themselves but also the fishing economy and overall water quality.

Another threat to the mangroves is infrastructure development. This stands as a primary factor driving mangrove deforestation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In recent times, particularly with the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) after extensive years of advocating against the marginalisation of this region (where Nigeria's primary crude oil reserves are located), endeavours to enhance infrastructure have been initiated. However, these initiatives occasionally lead to mangrove destruction. Land reclamation for residential and public infrastructure construction represents a significant danger to the mangrove ecosystem. 

Massive fish farming operations constitute a different significant factor contributing to the deforestation and degradation of mangroves in the region. An illustrative instance is evident in Buguma, Rivers State, where ONIDA, an Israeli company, engages in extensive fish farming. The establishment of this fish farm, boasting over forty ponds, resulted in the devastation and filling of a substantial area of the mangrove forest, crucial for the livelihoods of the local population. The primary motivation for situating the farm near the mangrove is to ensure a consistent supply of brackish (salty) water necessary for cultivating the targeted fish species, particularly the Barramundi, which is cultivated and imported from Australia. However, the overall contributions of such endeavours to the rural economy, considering the importation of nearly all farm necessities, including fish feed from Israel or Australia, raise significant questions.  

Nypa fruticans (Nipa palm) – an invasive alien species, is another major threat to the mangrove ecosystem in the Niger Delta. The species, which was introduced in Nigeria for the control of riverbank erosion has become a big menace to the mangrove ecosystem. The deforestation and degradation of the mangroves for firewood gathering, the construction of navigational canals, villages, and the activities of oil companies, encourage their replacement by this fast colonizer (Nypa fruticans) which does not provide the enormous ecological services provided by mangroves.

Also, improper waste disposal is an additional contributor to mangrove degradation in the Niger Delta. Instances of constructing public toilets that discharge waste directly into the mangroves and disposing of waste in their vicinity have become prevalent in the area.

As with most problems Nigeria currently faces, inadequate foresight planning and the country's large and ever increasing population rank as major contributing factors. 

The Niger Delta region is my ancestral homeland.

 

Nypa fruticans, commonly known as the nipa palm

The species is native to the Andaman Islands, Australia (Northern Territory and Queensland), Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Indonesia, Cambodia, Caroline Islands, China (Hainan), India, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaysia, Moluccas, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, New Guinea, Nicobar Islands, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Thailand and Vietnam where it lives, sinking its roots in the mud, in mainly brackish waters along the coasts, lagoons and estuaries, flooded by sea water only for a short time, not surviving if permanently submerged. By the beginning of the 20th century, it has been introduced in Nigeria where it has rapidly diffused up to Cameroon becoming an invasive species and in some cases a pest.

Rio de Janeiro 2

Rio de Janeiro is one of the most spectacular cities in the world, certainly THE most spectacular city I've ever been to, and the one with the most dramatic landscapes. Visiting this city is one of those unforgettable memories that remain with you forever. Especially for me, because it was my first ever independent foreign trip, one that I did all by myself as a youngster in my 20's then; having to navigate the language barrier, then react and adapt to the new and the unfamiliar. The experience was thrilling in the extreme, and is probably from where my curiosity and love for adventure were born.

This mountain is the Corcovado, and the large sculpture on top of the mountain is known as Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer. It took nine years to complete, between 1922 - 1931. It is an Art Deco-style sculpture, of Jesus Christ with open arms in a cross shape, 38 metres (124ft) high, which is equivalent to a 13-storey building. The total weight of the statue is approximately 1145 tons, of which 30 tons correspond only the head. It is huge. 

The hands and head are the only parts of Christ the Redeemer that weren’t built in Brazil. They were shaped in Paris. The statue’s body is made entirely of soapstone, cut into triangles, glued by hand in a fabric and applied in the structure made of reinforced concrete. The monument is made to withstand winds of up to 250 km per hour. 

I actually walked up to the foot of this sculpture, and took the obligatory tourist photos. The views of the city from the viewing platform at the foot of the statue are breathtaking. I reached the top of  the mountain by taxi, there's a road that winds its way up the mountain, although the last few hundred feet of the climb must be completed by foot. This, even if one had arrived at the top of the mountain by way of the funicular train, the alternative and more popular method of reaching this mountain top. 

My taxi driver took me up there, waited for me, and brought me back down. Then he charged the hell out of me, I was after all a foreign tourist who spoke English. But I didn't mind paying for what seemed to me like a once in a lifetime experience. Also, the driver had a living to make, so..

This statue is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

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Africa's Genetic Variation

Africa is the most genetically diverse continent on Earth, harbouring more human genetic variation than all other regions combined. On average, an African genome contains nearly a million more genetic variants than a non-African genome.

This unparalleled genetic richness exists for several fundamental reasons:

The Cradle of Humanity: Modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved in Africa approximately 200,000 to 300{,}000 years ago. Because humans have lived here longer than anywhere else, they have had more time to accumulate and distribute genetic mutations across the population.

The "Out-of-Africa" Bottleneck: Roughly 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, a small subgroup of early humans (estimated at roughly 10,000 people) migrated out of Africa to populate the rest of the globe. Because this migrating group represented only a fraction of the total African population, they took only a fraction of the continent's genetic diversity with them.

Deep Ancestral Lineages: Extensive studies—such as those published in Science—have identified over a dozen distinct ancestral populations within Africa alone. Groups like the San (Khoisan) in Southern Africa and rainforest hunter-gatherers represent some of the oldest, most divergent continuous lineages in the human family tree.

Environmental & Cultural Adaptation: Africans live in drastically varied environments, ranging from deserts and tropical rainforests to high mountain ranges. This exposure to diverse climates, diets, and infectious diseases has driven strong local genetic adaptations over millennia.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929722003172

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1172257

Things I Feel Strongly About: Trip to Nigeria 1951

Things I Feel Strongly About: Trip to Nigeria 1951: From a handwritten diary. Click here for a photo of a page of the handwritten manuscript . I attempted to obtain copyright permission, but ...

Kilimanjaro

Last year, flying south from Nairobi to Johannesburg, I was desperate to capture an aerial view shot of this great mountain. In a straight line, the distance from Nairobi to Mount Kilimanjaro is 206 kilometres (106 miles). I had seen photos and videos of the mountain shot from airplane windows, and I had hoped that I too would join this club. But when my turn came, it was not to be. The weather condition on that day was hazy, visibility was poor. Also, it may well have been that the flight plan did not take us anywhere near the mountain at all. I had on a previous flight out of Nairobi to Amsterdam caught a prolonged glimpse of Mount Kenya, in the distance, in the early morning light, silhouetted against the rising sun as we headed north. It was somewhat disheartening then not to have seen Kilimanjaro, and it is to compensate for this that I am doing this writing. 

The highest mountain in Africa, and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at 5,895 m (19,341 ft) above sea level and 4,900 m (16,100 ft) above its plateau base, Mount Kilimanjaro  is also the highest mountain in the Eastern Hemisphere and the fourth most prominent peak on Earth.

Mountain height is measured as the height above sea level to the summit. Modern tools like GPS and satellite imagery allow for precise measurements, replacing older methods. Also, though altitude rankings are the most common, mountains are sometimes ranked by "prominence," which measures height relative to surrounding terrain. Kilimanjaro is exceptional in prominence as the world's tallest freestanding mountain, soaring from the plains with no surrounding mountain range. In Africa, Kilimanjaro is unmatched in height. It rises significantly above Mount Kenya: 5,199 m (17,057 ft), and Mount Stanley (Uganda) 5,109 m (16,763 feet). Kilimanjaro's dominance has made it an enduring symbol of Africa's natural beauty.

Much of the readily available literature about this mountain is composed of scientific reports, measurements and findings, together with promotional material for adventure tourism. What I choose to focus on though, is the mountain's cultural significance.

The mountain and its surrounding forests were designated a game reserve in the early part of the 20th century. In 1973 Mount Kilimanjaro National Park was established to protect the mountain above the tree line as well as the six forest corridors that extend downslope through the montane forest belt. The park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

Kilimanjaro carries a significance that goes well beyond its grandeur. For local communities, it is a mountain of legend, of spirituality, and a mountain of national pride. It is one of Africa's most culturally important landmarks. For the Chagga people, who live on the fertile lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, the mountain is more than a backdrop to daily life—it is a sacred presence. Traditional stories portray Kilimanjaro as a spiritual guardian, a place inhabited by ancestral spirits and gods. Rainfall from the mountain’s glaciers and streams nourishes the fields below, giving life to the banana plantations and coffee farms that sustain the community. This link between the mountain and survival has reinforced its role as a symbol of abundance and protection.

"Kilimanjaro features prominently in East African folklore. Some tales describe it as a place of forbidden fire guarded by spirits, while others tell of great hunters and warriors whose souls rest upon its slopes. For centuries, the mountain’s snow and ice also inspired awe and mystery, as it seemed impossible to reconcile with its equatorial location. These stories were passed down through generations, weaving Kilimanjaro into the region’s cultural identity.

For Tanzania as a whole, Kilimanjaro is a powerful emblem of national unity and pride. It appears on the country’s coat of arms, banknotes, and tourism campaigns, representing endurance and strength. During the fight for independence, Kilimanjaro became a symbol of freedom and aspiration. In 1961, when Tanganyika (now Tanzania) gained independence, the new national flag was hoisted at the mountain’s summit—a gesture that forever tied Kilimanjaro to the country’s journey toward self-determination.

Kilimanjaro’s cultural significance is as towering as its physical presence. For the Chagga people, it is sacred ground and a source of life. For Tanzania, it is a symbol of independence, pride, and resilience. For the world, it is an enduring cultural icon celebrated in stories, art, and personal journeys. To climb or even gaze upon Kilimanjaro is to encounter not just a mountain, but a living emblem of human spiritual  and cultural identity." Global Trekking Expeditions