This post is the first one in a series titled African Democracy that deals with the issues related to democratization process in Africa in the contexts of its historic and contemporary local realities. The general presumption of the series is that immense complexities Africa represents are not necessarily suitable for a direct adaptation of an “American version of Democracy” and that the task of democratization of Africa may require a paradigm shift in defining what is truly involved in building a system that is socially, politically, economically and ecologically just but also feasibly implementable in Africa by peaceful means.

In a scenario reminiscent of women’s protests during colonial times, and perhaps the only time since Nigeria’s independence that so many women came together in one place to act together on one overriding issue, the Jos women for Peace march brought out a hundred thousand women to downtown Jos, Nigeria to march, protest and mourn the children and women killed in the most gruesome manner during the March reprisal attacks in Dogo-Nahawa village, determined that Dogo-Nahawa will Never happen Again.

Since the team’s arrival in Johannesburg however, they have been dealing with health issues due to Malaria. AfrobeatRadio will bring you the WGWC team’s experience in South Africa, and a final interview on their overall experience in Africa shortly. While we wait, we wish the sick members of the WGWC a speedy recovery. In the mean time, while in Nigeria, WGWC brings you a short video of a Nigerian woman’s perspective on the roles of women in African societies and what needs to be done to strive for equality.

For much of well over a one hundred years, the DRC, as it is known for short, has been mired in war and violence of unimaginable proportions except for three periods of relative calm. While not the only mineral fueling the war in the Congo, coltan (columbite–tantalite) is the mineral at the center of issues. 80% World’s known reserves are in Congo (DRC), mostly in the Eastern provinces of Kivus and Orientale.

On Friday March 26th, Over a thousand students from seven countries participated in a United Nations Youth Conference. The Conference, a webinar, was in observance of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Our guest is Zingi Mkefa, a South African radio host presenting an arts and entertainment radio talk show on Radio Today, South Africa. Zingy joins us to discuss democracy, politics and post apartheid legacy, Art, culture, and the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.
With eloquence and passion, Zingy shares with us his aspirations for his home country, South Africa and why he is never too far from home. He talks of the South African preoccupation with “themselves” resulting in the sense of a “certain separateness” from the rest of the continent. South Africans, certainly the artists and culture practitioners are engaged in “working out” and “forming” new identities for blacks by blacks.

Gelan Lambert plays J.K., Tap Dancer, Egungun, Ensemble in Fela on Broadway. He speaks with AfrobeatRadio’s Akenataa Hammagaadji about life on Broadway, dancing away on the Fela.

Our guest today is Suliman Baldo, we sat down to a conversation on the unfolding historic elections in Sudan and his prognosis for post election in Sudan. Suliman Baldo is a widely recognized Sudanese, expert on conflict resolution, emergency relief, development, and human rights in Africa. He has worked extensively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Sudan, and traveled widely throughout the rest of the African continent.

Pa Nderry M’Bai, Managing Editor and Publisher of the online Freedom Newspaper in conversation with AfrobeatRadio’s Wuyi Jacobs on Focus on Gambia.

This week on AfrobeatRadio Akenataa Hammagadji speaks with Beninoise international artist Angelique Kidjo. Ms. Kidjo spoke with us about her new project Oyo. Ms. Kidjo is known for her electric performances and drawing larger audiences the world over.

Born in Benin (West Africa), Angelique Kidjo is a Grammy award-winning music recording artist deemed “Africa’s premier diva” by Time Magazine.