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Ghana becomes record fifth African nation to take over from ruling party this year
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Ghana’s vote brings to an end a remarkable 12 months in African politics, which have seen five transfers of power – more than ever before. This “annus horribilis” for governments has now also brought opposition victories in Botswana, Mauritius, Senegal and the self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Even beyond these results, almost every election held in the region this year under reasonably democratic conditions, has seen the governing party lose a significant number of seats.
This trend has been driven by a combination of factors:
*the economic downturn
*growing public intolerance of corruption
*and the emergence of increasingly assertive and well-co-ordinated opposition parties.
The trend is likely to continue into 2025, and will cause trouble for leaders such as Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, whose country goes to the polls in September.
One of the most striking aspect of the elections that have taken place in 2024 is that many have resulted in landslide defeats for governments that have previously appeared to have a strong grip on power – including in countries that have never before experienced a change at the top.
The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) that had ruled the country since independence in 1966 was crushed in October’s general elections.
As well as losing power, the BDP went from holding 38 seats in the 69-strong parliament to almost being wiped out.
After winning only four seats, the BDP is now one of the smallest parties in parliament, and faces an uphill battle to remain politically relevant.
There was also a landslide defeat for the governing party in Mauritius in November, where the Alliance Lepep coalition, headed by Pravind Jagnauth of the Militant Socialist Movement, won only 27% of the vote and was reduced to just two seats in parliament.
With its rival Alliance du Changement sweeping 60 of the 66 seats available, Mauritius has experienced one of the most complete political transformations imaginable.
Senegal and the self-declared republic of Somaliland also saw opposition victories.
In the case of Senegal, the political turnaround was just as striking as in Botswana, albeit in a different way.
Just weeks ahead of the election, the main opposition leaders Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko were languishing in jail as the government of President Macky Sall abused its power in a desperate bid to avert defeat.
After growing domestic and international pressure led to Faye and Sonko being released, Faye went on to win the presidency in the first round of voting, with the government’s candidate winning only 36% of the vote.
Even in cases where governments have not lost, their reputation and political control have been severely dented.
South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) retained power but only after a bruising campaign that saw it fall below 50% of the vote in a national election for the first time since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.
This forced President Cyril Ramaphosa to enter into a coalition government, giving up 12 cabinet posts to other parties, including powerful positions such as home affairs.
The recent elections in Namibia told a similar story. Although the ruling party retained power, the opposition has rejected the results and claims the poll was badly manipulated after it was marred by logistical problems and irregularities.
Even with the flaws, the government suffered in the parliamentary election, recording its worst-ever performance, losing 12 of its 63 seats and only just holding on to its parliamentary majority.
As a result, a region that is known more for governments that manage to hold on to power for decades has seen 12 months of vibrant, intensely contested, multiparty politics.
The only exceptions to this have been countries where elections were seen as neither free nor fair, such as Chad and Rwanda, or in which governments were accused by opposition and rights groups of resorting to a combination of rigging and repression to avert defeat, as in Mozambique.
Three trends have combined to make it a particularly difficult year to be in power.
In Botswana, Mauritius and Senegal, growing citizen concern about corruption and the abuse of power eroded government credibility.
Opposition leaders were then able to play on popular anger at nepotism, economic mismanagement and the failure of leaders to uphold the rule of law to expand their support base.
Especially in Mauritius and Senegal, the party in power also undermined its claim to be a government committed to respecting political rights and civil liberties – a dangerous misstep in countries where the vast majority of citizens are committed to democracy, and which have previously seen opposition victories.
The perception that governments were mishandling the economy was particularly important because many people experienced a tough year financially.
High food and fuel prices have increased the cost of living for millions of citizens, increasing their frustration with the status quo.
In addition to underpinning some of the government defeats this year, economic anThis is not an African phenomenon, of course, but a global one.
Popular discontent over inflation played a role in the defeat of Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party in the UK and the victory of Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the United States.
What was perhaps more distinctive about the transfers of power in Africa this year was the way that opposition parties learned from the past.
In some cases, such as Mauritius, this meant developing new ways to try and protect the vote by ensuring every stage of the electoral process was carefully watched.
In others, it meant forging new coalitions to present the electorate with a united front.
In Botswana, for example, three opposition parties and a number of independent candidates came together under the banner of the Umbrella for Democratic Change to comprehensively out-mobilise the BDP.
A similar set of trends is likely to make life particularly difficult for leaders that have to go to the polls next year, such as Malawi’s President Chakwera, who is also struggling to overcome rising public anger at the state of the economy.
With the defeat of the NPP in Ghana, Africa has seen five transfers of power in 12 months. The previous record was four opposition victories, which occurred some time ago in 2000.
That so many governments are being given an electoral bloody nose against a backdrop of global democratic decline that has seen a rise in authoritarianism in some regions is particularly striking.
It suggests that Africa has much higher levels of democratic resilience than is often recognised, notwithstanding the number of entrenched authoritarian regimes that continue to exist.
Civil society groups, opposition parties and citizens themselves have mobilised in large numbers to demand accountability, and punish governments that have failed both economically and democratically.
International governments, organisations, and activists looking for new ways to defend democracy around the world should pay more attention to a region that is often assumed to be an inhospitable environment for multiparty politics, yet has seen more examples of democratic bounce-back than other regions of the world.
BBC
Federal Capital Territory FCT minister Nyesom Wike has said the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma and his cohorts are politically lazy.
Wike who is in Spain made this assertion during an ongoing interview with Arise tv.
He said all they said during a press briefing is neither here nor there.
He went memory lane saying, “Hope supported Ahmad Lawan during APC Presidential primaries and TInubu lost the election in his state.
Details shortly….
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a total and indefinite strike across Lagos State-owned universities, citing the failure of the state government to implement key provisions of its 2025 agreement with the Federal Government.
The strike affects Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), and Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and takes effect immediately.
ASUU’s Joint Campus Group covering the three institutions announced the industrial action in a statement on Tuesday, following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Lagos State Government on August 31.
According to the union, the ultimatum expired without a satisfactory resolution or a concrete commitment from the government to address its demands.
The union said its final warning on September 10 had made it clear that “silence is no longer an option,” but the government failed to initiate meaningful discussions before the September 13 deadline.
“ASUU Joint Campus Group comprising ASUU-LASU, ASUU-LASUED, and ASUU-LASUSTECH hereby declares a total, comprehensive, and indefinite strike action effective immediately,” the union said.
Why ASUU Is Striking
At the centre of the dispute is ASUU’s demand for the full domestication and implementation of the December 2025 agreement between the union and the Federal Government in all Lagos State-owned universities.
The union specifically demanded the implementation of provisions covering the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) as well as welfare protections for serving and retired academic staff.
ASUU said it arrived at the decision “with a heavy heart,” acknowledging that the strike could disrupt the academic calendar and affect students, parents and university administrators.
Addressing students, the union said the action was ultimately aimed at protecting the quality and sustainability of higher education in the state.
“This fight is fundamentally about preserving the quality and sustainability of your education,” it said, arguing that a demoralised academic workforce could not deliver the standard of education students deserved.
The union urged students to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding while efforts continued to secure what it described as a lasting resolution.
It also acknowledged the concerns of parents and guardians over possible delays to their children’s education, saying its patience had “been tested and toyed with over the last eight months.”
Strike Not Against University Management
ASUU said the industrial action was not directed at the management of the three universities.
“This decision is by no means an adversarial action against your office,” the union said, urging the university administrations to understand the action as an effort to secure better working conditions for academic staff.
It commended the managements of LASU, LASUED and LASUSTECH for their efforts towards domesticating the agreement.
The union, however, accused the Lagos State Government of continued inaction and failure to implement agreements that it said had already been adopted by some neighbouring states.
National ASUU Backs Action
ASUU said the strike had the backing of its national leadership, which it said had supported the process from the initial correspondence to the university authorities, governing councils and the Visitor, through to the issuance of the 14-day ultimatum.
The union urged the Lagos State Government to follow the example of other state governors who had intervened to resolve similar disputes in their universities.
It also called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, alumni associations, civil society groups and other stakeholders to support its campaign for what it described as the rescue of education in Lagos State.
The strike, ASUU said, would remain in force until meaningful negotiations produce a satisfactory resolution and the Lagos State Government signs, domesticates and fully implemented.
ABUJA — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a suspected Mexican drug kingpin attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport and dismantled an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.
The development, according to the agency, is part of an expanding investigation into a transnational drug network allegedly recruiting foreign methamphetamine experts and establishing clandestine laboratories in Nigeria’s forests and rural communities.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), said the latest operation demonstrated the agency’s determination to prevent Nigeria from becoming a hub for international drug cartels.
Marwa, who spoke through the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, at a media briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, said the breakthrough followed months of intelligence gathering and forensic investigations into a network linked to several clandestine laboratories uncovered in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states.
He recalled that NDLEA operatives on May 16, 2026, arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State.
A month later, on June 17, the agency arrested another Mexican national and four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory concealed in a forested area of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals were reportedly recovered from the Oyo laboratory.
According to Marwa, investigations by the agency’s Special Operations Unit revealed that the 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert arrested in Oyo had been recruited into Nigeria by a Mexican drug kingpin.
Working with international partners, investigators obtained a photograph of the suspected kingpin, which the arrested Mexican national reportedly identified as the man who recruited and transported him to Nigeria.
The suspect was subsequently identified as Arturo Carrera Loaiza, who, according to the agency, entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national.
NDLEA operatives eventually tracked and arrested Carrera Loaiza on August 19 while he was allegedly attempting to leave the country through the Lagos airport.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly claimed that he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” under the guise of a restaurant business venture. He also denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory.
However, investigators said they recovered photographs showing Carrera Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.
Analysis of location metadata embedded in the photographs allegedly led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
On August 30, NDLEA operatives raided the property, which was linked to John Samuel Ivo Okike.
Interviews with people found at the site, including the site engineer and a caretaker, reportedly revealed the presence of a suspicious temporary structure over a septic tank area behind the building, as well as persistent strong chemical odours.
Investigators also recovered a CCTV memory card from the property.
According to NDLEA, forensic examination of the footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat who matched Carrera Loaiza, as well as repeated appearances by Okike.
The footage allegedly captured the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property at about 9 p.m. on August 21, with Okike reportedly directing the operation alongside other individuals.
Acting on further intelligence, NDLEA operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community allegedly under the custody of Nwanja Obasi.
A subsequent raid led to the recovery of a large cache of chemicals, equipment and paraphernalia associated with methamphetamin
2027: Uzodinma and his cohorts are politically lazy- Wike
ASUU Shuts Down Lagos State Universities, Declares Indefinite Strike
NDLEA Arrests Mexican Drug Kingpin, Uncovers Fresh Meth Lab in Ebonyi
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