In-depth articles by columnists
Reading the recent threats issued on Truth Social by President Trump on Easter Sunday, and his public statements on Easter Monday, threats to completely destroy Iran by Easter Tuesday, to blow up bridges, to dismantle power plants, if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened by Iran, were not only disturbing; they were heartbreaking. It forces one to ask, with…
One month into escalating tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran, the conflict is no longer confined to the Middle East. Its effects are already visible across global markets, supply chains, and political systems. Yet far from the battlefield—in Juba, Abuja, Lusaka, Algiers, and Nairobi—a different question is taking shape: what does this crisis mean for Africa? At first…
I went to the hospital not as a researcher or policy analyst, but as a priest responding to a pastoral call. A parishioner had been admitted, and my intention was simply to offer prayers and presence. What I encountered was not only illness, but quiet abandonment. The corridor was heavy with heat. Electricity failed intermittently. A nurse apologized repeatedly for…
The Foreign Minister of Ghana, Samuel Ablakwa, on a recent visit to Kiev, Ukraine, asked his Ukrainian counterpart to help secure the release of two Ghanaians held as prisoners of war. According to a report by the BBC, of the 272 Ghanaians said to be fighting in the war, more than 55 young men have been killed. Another investigation by…
President Trump is dragging the U.S. into an unnecessary war without any national conversation or the approval of Congress. This military operation is both ill-advised and wrong-headed. President Trump is going into it alone without the consent of any of America’s allies in the Middle East, the G20, NATO, or elsewhere, except Israel. Iran was already negotiating in good faith,…
Some years ago, during a heated conversation in a village square, I noticed how confidently people defended positions built on rumours and fear. Voices were loud. Certainty was strong. An elderly catechist who had listened quietly shook his head and muttered, “They are arguing overshadows.” No one paid attention to him, but I did. I still do. Plato’s Allegory of…
The Holy See confirmed this week, through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, that it will not participate in U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” on Palestine, according to a Reuters report. The Vatican’s reason was simple and consistent with its diplomatic tradition: a crisis of this magnitude must be addressed through legitimate multilateral institutions, above all the United Nations. The…
The Church in Africa is one of the most vibrant and rapidly growing communities in global Catholicism today. The Pontifical Yearbook, in its 2024 edition, reports that Africa accounts for 20% of the world’s Catholics and is characterised by a highly dynamic spread of the Catholic Church. From the Second Vatican Council to the Synods on Africa (1994 and 2009),…
On a humid afternoon in a public secondary school in southeastern Nigeria, I was asked to address students preparing for their final examinations. After speaking about discipline and hope, I posed a simple question: What does faith mean to you? A boy in the front row raised his hand and replied without hesitation, “Faith means not asking questions.” The class…
The recent Lifetime Achievement Award given to the Father of Afrobeat, Nigeria’s Fela Anikulapo Kuti, calls for celebration and reflection on his enduring legacy. Fela is the first African to win this award, albeit posthumously. While many of his numerous admirers will wonder why he never received it while he was alive, or why it has taken nearly three decades…