Dec 6, 2018 | Menas Associates, Sahara
The combined backdrop of the post-9/11 global war on terror (GWOT), post 2011 Qadhafi crisis, northern crisis in Mali, and current Sahel War have all combined to destroy livelihoods of most of the Sahel’s local population. The tourism industry, in particular, has been...
Nov 21, 2018 | Menas Associates, Sahara
The relatively little-known Aïr Mountains of northern Niger extend around 400 kms southward from Niger’s border with Algeria to the city of Agades and cover some 84,000 kms squared. Aïr’s highest peak, Bagzane, reaches 2022 metres. Historically, they have provided the...
Oct 25, 2018 | Menas Associates, Sahara
For nearly 50 years, the US has been at a competitive disadvantage in the realm of commercial diplomacy. After the Marshall Plan — which was the gold standard in aligning commercial and development interests in the 1940s and 1950s — the US ceded leadership on...
Oct 11, 2018 | Menas Associates, Sahara
Insecurity throughout much of the Sahel and especially Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso is getting worse and is expected to deteriorate further. Niger’s south east region of Diffa continues to be plagued by Boko Haram insurgents, although this may plateau with local and...
Sep 11, 2018 | Menas Associates, Sahara
As Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou behaves more and more autocratically — especially against leaders of civil society and opposition groups, not to mention his current flirtation with Moscow — he risks incurring the ire of the US. This month has seen the launch...
Aug 26, 2018 | Menas Associates, Sahara
Mali’s incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK) has been returned to office after winning the second round of the presidential, held on 12 August with 67.17% of the vote. His opponent, Soumaïla Cissé won 32.83% of the vote. The Constitutional Court has until...
