Author: Ousmane Tandja

The Burkinabè government has taken a decisive step by suspending, with immediate effect, all exports of millet, maize and sorghum flours and their derivatives. Special export permits previously granted for these products have also been revoked, signalling a major shift in the country’s trade policy. A turning point in trade policy This measure, announced by the Ministry of Commerce, is presented as a means to secure domestic supplies of these staple commodities. In a context where food security remains a pressing concern, the rationale appears sound. Yet the decision raises…

A pivotal moment unfolded in the early hours of 9 October 2026, when fighters from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS-S) clashed violently near Tessit, close to the Burkina Faso border. The confrontation was not merely another skirmish between rival factions; it signalled a turning point in the Sahel’s security landscape, one that the military regimes of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger united under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) can no longer afford to ignore. A breakthrough…

DIFFA, Niger — A dark slick spreading across the land has become a defining test of Niger’s environmental resolve. In the Diffa region, in the country’s far east, an oil spill reported for nearly a week is no longer just an isolated incident. It is a turning point that demands immediate, coordinated action to halt the flow, identify its source, and assess the damage. Crude oil, a strategic economic asset for Niger, now poses a direct threat to the environment and to the communities that depend on it. The reported…

The real estate fraud investigation that has gripped Côte d’Ivoire has reached a decisive turning point. Rita Bénédicte Djédjé Grahon, widely known as “Maman Caï-Caï”, has been remanded in custody, marking a major shift in a case that has sent shockwaves through the country’s celebrity circles. The judicial inquiry, which centres on alleged irregularities in property transactions, has prompted around sixty complainants to come forward, with provisional losses estimated at over 320 million FCFA. Among those cited in the proceedings are influencer Apoutchou National and former Ivorian international footballer Serey…

The expulsion of two Nigerien intelligence officers from Paris marks a decisive turning point in a diplomatic crisis that has been building since the military takeover in Niamey in July 2023. France has declared the two men — officially assigned to Niger’s embassy in Paris — persona non grata, a move that underscores just how far the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated. Two agents ordered out of France France has expelled two operatives of the Direction générale de la documentation et de la sécurité extérieure (DGDSE), Niger’s foreign…

Benin has just taken a decisive step that could reshape the future of its southern coastline. The government has approved the creation of a dedicated authority to oversee development between Fidjrossè and Ouidah — a move that signals a major shift from reactive management to proactive control over one of the country’s most strategic stretches of coast. A coastline under pressure — and now under watch The corridor linking Fidjrossè to Ouidah has become a focal point of Benin’s broader transformation efforts. Once defined mainly by natural wetlands and local…