Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who is set to leave office next year after having served two terms, recently declared that he will leave the country “in a better place” than he found it. But his claim is at odds with the situation across the country, including a deepening insecurity that now grips Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to West Africa this week was billed by Paris as his latest effort to reshape France’s relations with its former colonies in Africa. But the visit’s short-term fanfare is unlikely to blunt deepening opposition to France or slow down its declining influence in the region.
In early July, Sierra Leone’s Cabinet approved the decision to draft a bill conferring a constitutional right to safe abortion. But once passed, the law will only be the first step in ensuring access to safe abortions and other reproductive health services in a country where unsafe abortions have dire health consequences.
