Africa Daily

Last week Nigeria’s labour unions suspended a general strike, that caused widespread disruption across the country, for one week. Unions were demanding an increase in the national monthly minimum wage to help workers cope with the rising cost of living. The strike ended after the government agreed to a new national minimum wage. The government also said it will meet with the unions' representatives every day for a week for talks. In today’s Africa Daily Noni Muchiri speaks to the BBC’s Nkechi Ogbonna in Lagos about the union’s demands, the government’s response and the financial hardship facing many workers in Nigeria.

Residents of Ongata Rongai, a suburb in the Kenyan capital Nairobi have recently had to be on their guard after a number of lions have been sighted roaming their neighbourhood. Concern peaked three weeks ago when a video circulated of a lion climbing over a perimeter wall into a homestead – only to re-emerge with a dog in its mouth moments later. Since then the residents have received alerts from wildlife authorities, as more carnivores have been sighted. The increase in such incidents has reignited the debate over whether humans are able to live so closely to wild animals within a city. Nairobi is the only city in the world to contain a national park. For today’s Africa Daily podcast, Peter Musembi speaks to Sylvia Koira, the college student whose family dog was taken and eaten by the lioness, their homestead’s caretaker Joshua Isiga, and the BBC’s Ruth Nesoba- also a resident.

It was the news that Malawians had been dreading: on Tuesday President Lazarus Chakwera announced that his vice president, Saulos Chilima, had been killed in a plane crash. Vice President Chilima had been travelling to the funeral of a former government minister. The military aircraft he was on had been flying in bad weather and disappeared from airport radars on Monday. When it was found by rescuers, the aircraft was completely destroyed. There were eight others onboard, including the former first lady, Shanil Dzimbiri. Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje has been looking at the reaction to Tuesday’s announcement with Bayana Chunga, a journalist in Blantyre and Felix Njawala, the spokesman for Vice President Saulos Chilima’s UTM party.

President Bola Tinubu has signed into law a bill to reintroduce Nigeria’s old national anthem which was dropped by its military government in 1978. He said the country’s old anthem composed in 1959 symbolised Nigeria's diversity. But many have questioned his priorities amid the cost of living crisis which is shaking the country to the core. Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja has been hearing more about this change and its impact from the BBC’s Chris Ewokor in the capital Abuja and Nigerian gospel singer and song writer Chidinma Okebalama, better known as “Chee”.

Before most marriages in South Sudan go ahead, men will typically give the woman’s family a dowry in the form of money and most often cattle. For some it’s seen as an important tradition and a sign of respect. However, there are growing concerns from both men and women that providing dowries has become a burden and is leading to more sinister outcomes. This includes forced marriages and men resorting to violent cattle raids to steal the cows they need to get married. In today’s Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja hears from young men and women in South Sudan on what the tradition means for them.

The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has been pleading for urgent support for Ghanaian students studying abroad who have not received their stipends for almost a year. The students are on a government scholarship, and they left Ghana with the promise of getting financial support during their time at university. The scholarship was set up for "brilliant and needy" students. But as Ghana is facing its own economic crisis, it has left these students with a huge financial burden of their own. Presenter: Alan Kasujja. Guest: Eric Sarpong

For the first time since the fall of apartheid in 1994, South Africa is now negotiating an uncharted political territory. It comes after the ruling African National Congress (ANC), a party that was once led by Nelson Mandela, lost its parliamentary majority. The organization received 40.18% in last week’s elections, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 21.81% and Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MK) with 14.58%. Some attribute the dismal performance of the ANC to its fallout with former president Jacob Zuma who now leads the MK Party. At a press briefing on Wednesday, the ANC revealed that it was in talks with the DA, EFF and several other smaller parties. It said it also reached out to the MK Party, but hasn’t received any positive feedback. So, who will the ANC form a coalition government with? Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje explores various options with Dr. Hlengiwe Ndlovu from the Wits School of Governance and former diplomat Botsang Moiloa.

Teenagers are being actively targeted by the tobacco industry through the use of social media influencers and fruit flavoured products. That’s according to a report by the World Health Organisation which also says that around one in five adolescents in Africa are using tobacco. So what should governments be doing to protect their young people? Especially those in southern Africa which benefit from growing tobacco as a crop? For today’s Africa Daily podcast, Peter Musembi speaks to Vivian Joseph, a clinician and head of Southern African Youth Forum’s health cluster- who says governments need to toughen up their laws. And he also talks to Rachael Kitonyo Devotsu, a data expert, about the hurdles governments have faced as they try to do this.

“If we want to be a nation we should have our own narrative, we should have our own heroes.”Alan’s guest on the podcast today is Mia Couto - one of Mozambique’s most famous authors who’s won numerous international awards during his decades-long career. But he’s so much more: a biologist, a critical thinker, the son of immigrants and, as a young man, a member of Frelimo - the independence movement which fought against the Portuguese colonial authorities. As the only ‘white guy’ in the room when he joined, he was told “we need poetry in our struggle”. Now nearly 50 years on, he tells Alan how he’s become disillusioned with the ruling party – which has been in control of the country since independence. The country remains one of the poorest in Africa in terms of GDP despite its natural resources. He also talks about why it's been so difficult for the authorities to retain control in the northern Cabo Delgado province which has suffered a bloody insurgency since 2017 - and argues that Mozambicans need to remember their own narratives and heroes.

In today’s episode, Mpho Lakaje speaks to a 36-year-old South African man who uses a drug called Nyaope or Whoonga. It’s a type of black tar heroin often mixed with other powdered substances that include cleaning chemicals. But the problem of substance abuse and addiction isn't limited to one country - and the United Nations says it expects the number of people using drugs in Africa to rise 40% by 2030. Sierra Leone is also dealing with a drug commonly known as Kush, a psychoactive blend of addictive substances. Earlier this year, 23 people died and 20 others went blind after allegedly consuming poisonous alcohol in Kenya. And Malawi also has a concoction notoriously known as “God take me”. Presenter: Mpho Lakaje Guest: Professor Adamson Muula