Eremipagamo Amabebe

Eremipagamo Amabebe is a writer, researcher, and editor currently based in Germany and the United States. She is interested in topics where politics, culture, and media intersect – in the past she has received grants to research Nigeria's “Nollywood” film industry and Germany's contemporary political cinema. She received her bachelor's degree from Columbia University, after which she spent a year as a visiting scholar at Humboldt University in Berlin and completed her master's in International Relations. Follow her on twitter here.

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Latest posts by Eremipagamo Amabebe

Nigeria 2011: A Year of Small Victories and Great Challenges

  11 January 2012

2011 will go down in Nigeria's history as the year of the nation's third presidential election since independence. For the first half of the year, the blogosphere was abuzz with discussion of the election: protests, campaigns, debates, the role of technology, preparations for the polls, election day itself.

Malawi: Meet Global Voices Author Victor Kaonga

  29 June 2011

Victor Kaonga started his blog, NDAGHA, in 2006, joining a small but dedicated band of Malawian bloggers. A broadcast journalist by profession, he holds a graduate degree in Global Journalism from Orebro University, Sweden. Here Victor talks about how he became involved with Global Voices and shares his thoughts on the Malawian blogosphere and the stories that are being discussed in his corner of the world.

Nigeria Votes 2011: Opinions From the Polls

  17 April 2011

Nigerians voted yesterday in the third presidential election since the nation transitioned to civilian rule in 1999. Thus far, the election has widely been declared a success, with only sporadic reports of violence and voting irregularities. News sources reported a large turnout, orderly queues, and voters waiting until polls closed to make sure their votes were counted. Bloggers discuss the experience.

Nigeria: Parliamentary election postponed for a week

  3 April 2011

The Nigerian parliamentary election, which kicks off two weeks of national elections originally scheduled to begin Saturday, has been postponed until Monday. The latest is actually that all elections have been pushed back for a full week. “A 48-hour delay is worth every second of the wait to get things...

Nigeria: Now a “Middle Income” Country

  29 November 2010

Solomonsydelle reports that Nigeria has joined Brazil, South Africa, and 100 other countries in a category the World Bank refers to as “Middle Income.” She expresses her gratification that the nation has left the label “low income” behind, but wonders, “does this classification really mean anything?”

Nigeria: Remembering an Activist, Fifteen Years After his Execution

  13 November 2010

In 1995 Ken Saro-Wiwa, a prominent activist and outspoken critic of the oil industry in Nigeria, was executed along with eight of his associates. Saro-Wiwa was a hero for many Nigerians, and his execution inflamed the international community against the notoriously authoritarian regime of Sani Abacha and the practices of Royal Dutch Shell. Fifteen years after his death, bloggers reflect on his legacy.

South Africa: Musings on Inequality vs. Poverty

  25 October 2010

Andries du Toit muses on inequality vs. poverty in South Africa: “The central and most urgent issue facing South Africa is not poverty but inequality… our economy, while generating wealth for a few, is also a poverty machine, perpetuating and exacerbating steep and deeply rooted inequalities that threaten the basis...

Nigeria: Government was warned of bomb blasts in Abuja

  4 October 2010

Nigerian Curiosity gives her take on Friday's bomb blasts in Abuja: “Nigeria's security forces were warned of an impending attack at least five days before October 1st…  Given such information, it is unacceptable that the government did not do more to anticipate and prepare for the attack.”

Nigeria: Reflections on 50 Years of Independence

  2 October 2010

The Golden Jubilee for Africa's most populous country is being celebrated throughout the nation and the global diaspora with speeches, concerts, parties and all manner of other events. But some say: is there even anything to celebrate? For many, the last fifty years seem an accelerated decent into chaos. Still, for most Nigerians, October 1st is a time for festivities.

USA and Ghana: The most powerful black men on twitter

  19 September 2010

Abena links to a list of the “100 Most Powerful Black Men on Twitter“, but is disappointed that so many of the names come from the entertainment industry. “Are black men with the most impact on the planet likely to be rappers and sportsmen?” she asks.

Kenya: Changing urban youth culture

  11 September 2010

Bunmi  follows up on an earlier post about the youth culture flourishing in Nairobi. “A small group of young adults who are not part of the “larger impoverished population,” nor… part of the small political-economic elite… they articulate a cosmopolitanism with a particular Kenyan flavor…” he writes,  linking to a...

Nigeria: Corruption and Politics in Football Elections

  10 September 2010

This week a Federal Court nullified the results of a recent election held for top posts in the NFF, Nigerian football's governing body. Toyin comments on the shenanigans that undermined the NFF election:  “The best candidates found out again that Nigerian football is under vicious grip of our politicians…”

Zimbabwe: Hard questions about xenophobia in Africa

  11 August 2010

Chris Kabwato of Zimbabwe in Pictures responds to five “hard questions” about xenophobia in Africa. “Every society has to deal with its neighbours…” Kabwato writes. “I am not justifying xenophobia. Just don’t try to make black South Africans feel guilty all the time and not raise legitimate issues around foreigners...

USA and Congo: Nicholas Kristof and Western coverage of Africa

  19 July 2010

Bunmi joins the debate over New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's admission that he tends to focus on the ‘white foreigner as savior, black African as victim’ story in his Africa coverage. “I wonder if a story about some crisis in America would hold any interest for, let's say, Congolese...

Nigeria: More violence in Maza, near Jos

  18 July 2010

Carmen McCain reports fresh killings near Jos, a city still recovering from deadly riots earlier in the year. “It is with a sick feeling in my stomach that I post this. One of my friends, Godfrey Saeed Selbar… called me around 11:51am this morning, telling me that there had been...

Nigeria: Documentary on Babangida

  12 July 2010

Max Siollun posts links to a documentary critical of General Ibrahim Babangida, military ruler of Nigeria from 1985-1993 and a likely contender in the 2011 election. “An oldie but a goodie,” Siollun writes of the video, which focuses on Babangida's relationship with Mamman Jiya Vatsa, a close friend who was...

Nigeria: Who changed the President's mind— Facebook or FIFA?

  9 July 2010

After receiving hundreds of comments on his Facebook page, Nigeria's President reversed a controversial suspension of the country's national football team. But was the President's change of heart really a response to citizens voicing their frustration on Facebook? Or because of pressure from international football's powerful governing body?