Africa Talk Podcast

Former captain of Ghana's female soccer team, Alberta Sackey, is a woman of many firsts. She was the first woman to lead her country's female soccer team to its first World Cup tournament in 1999 at a time when the male national team had failed successively to make its global soccer debut. Her goal in the 2003 Women's World Cup game between Ghana and Australia was nominated on FIFA.com for the greatest goal in Women's World Cup history. Now retired, Alberta Sackey reflects on her historic career and the future of female soccer in Africa. And, a banknote issued by the Central Bank of Algeria causes a stir in France as the French language is omitted on the banknote.

Homeschooling is on the rise among Black families especially in the United States. Homeschooling started in the 1970s but became even more popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. With pandemic restrictions mostly relaxed across the United States, data shows homeschooling is still gaining ground. We speak with Mavis Manns, a mother who homeschooled her three older children now in college and has her two younger children in homeschool. She tells us about some of the advantages of homeschooling. And, Namibia says it will renegotiate a deal it agreed last year with the German government for payment relating to the genocide of its indigenous people. 

Private radio in Ghana is a little over a quarter of a century old. The first license for commercial radio was issued in 1995 paving the way for what is today, a booming private radio scene. In 1997, a young entrepreneur set up Skyy Power FM, the first commercial radio station in the Western regional city of Takoradi, which had been deemed unprofitable by industry leaders. The station revived the once dormant city and has created thousands of jobs in its 25 years of operation. Our guest, Phillip Nyakpo was among the first group of young talents employed at the station. He chronicles the history of the station, Skyy Power FM and the impact it's had on the city of Takoradi in his book, Absolute Radio: The Inspiring True Story of the First Private Radio in Ghana's Western Region. Phillip talks to us about this incredible African story about entrepreneurship and the future of journalism in Africa. And, Madagascar's president fires his foreign minister for voting in favor of a United Nations resolution condemning Russian's recently held referendums to annex four regions in Ukraine. 

For years, Senegal's political leaders have struggled to end an age-old phenomenon, known locally as 'Talibe'. It is a practice where young boys, sent to religious leaders for instruction, are in turn sent back out onto the streets to beg for money to pay for their religious education. The country's president, Macky Sall has promised to ban the practice, and so have his predecessors, but to no avail. Rights activists in the West African nation say the President's inability to halt the practice is out of fear of incurring the wrath of the religious leaders who back the practice. And, Nigerian authorities dispute UN data suggesting over 20 million children are out of school. 

U.S Peace Corps volunteers, Alithea Parker and Vincent Williams shed more light on their experiences volunteering in Africa. And at a time when many Black Americans are trying to find their connection to the African continent, Alithea and Vincent propose ways to make get many more Black Americans to visit African countries and how to make them feel at home in Africa and bridge the seeming gap between Africans and Black Americans. And, both sides in the Ethiopian conflict agree to attend peace talks this weekend in South Africa. 

The American Peace Corps program recently come under scrutiny of perpetrating neocolonialism and the white savior complex. Each year, hundreds of fresh American graduates are sent as volunteers by the Peace Corps to mostly developing countries as part of what is termed development assistance. Apart from the criticism the program faces, it has very little Black representation among its volunteers. Alithea Parker and Vince Williams, two African-Americans who volunteered in Cameroon and Ghana respectively, share their experience volunteering in Africa and help us understand why there are few Black Americans joining the Corps. And, candidates in Nigeria's upcoming presidential election, sign an agreement promising to run peaceful campaigns.

When Jamila Zomah moved to the Bronx in New York, she realized she was surrounded by a great deal of African restaurants. They had the food she loved and craved. The problem however, was that none of the restaurants, not even the ones close to her house, did deliveries. So, she set up the African Dishout, a food delivery platform that partners African restaurants and grocery stores to deliver to customers. She talks to us about the app and its recent expansion beyond New York and about its future. And, AU Chair and Senegalese President, Macky Sall, says Africa will not become the battleground for a proxy war between parties involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

The late former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan said; "Education is a human right with immense power to transform." Unfortunately, across Africa and in many other parts of the world, the education sector is still rife with lots of problems. Aisha Diori, founder and CEO of Africa Everything, is raising funds from the grassroots to help provide infrastructure for schools in West Africa. The non-profit has already rebuilt schools in some West African countries and awarded scholarships too. Aisha Diori tells us about what inspired her to take on this project and about her plans for the future. And, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to press for more negotiations between Russia and Ukraine during talks with U.S President Joe Biden. 

Of the countries that previously colonized Africa, France is the only one that still seems to have a great influence over its former colonies, a relationship which has been criticized repeatedly by many. In the concluding part of our conversation with Dr. Kassim Kone, he talks about how France's apparent grip on its former colonies including Mali, accounts for the current sociopolitical situation in the West African nation. And, Burundi's president, Evariste Ndayishimiye has replaced his prime minister and a top aide in a high-level reshuffle following warnings of a coup plot against him. 

Since the military coup in Mali last year that deposed Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the country has come under scrutiny. But the coup is not the only challenge facing the West African nation. Mali has also been dealing with an insurgency by radical Islamists which its colonial power, France, has been trying to counter for years. But with the relationship between the Malian military junta and France deteriorating, we ask Malian academic, Dr. Kassim Kone, who is a professor at SUNY Cortland, New York, to walks us through history to help us understand what's happening in Mali. And, Kenya's Supreme Court is to rule on Monday on the election petition case over last month's election.