Africa Is a Country

Moment of Clarity, April 6, 2015: Nigerian (?) Soldiers Dance Skelewu

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Moment of Clarity, April 6, 2015: Nigerian (?) Soldiers Dance Skelewu

By
Africa is a Country

Screengrab from the Video

“Soldiers in Maiduguri, the embattled capital of Borno state, which has been under constant siege by Boko Haram, celebrate Nigeria’s election to music by Nigerian recording artist Davido” (via CCTV Africa):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIKH0IlBGdc

CCTV Africa sites top African footballers like Emmanuel Adebayor (is he still around?) and Samuel Eto’o for popularizing Skelewu beyond its Nigerian base. Davido’s official music video–posted on Youtube–has had more than 10 million views thus far when we checked earlier today). Skelewu “is variously said to refer to money, love or elation.” In any case, the video (UPDATE: which may be a few weeks old) is a neat bit of–unintended?–propaganda for Nigeria’s army assailed by the people it claims to protect, in Western media media and by its neighbors for its seemingly inept reaction to Boko Haram. UPDATE: We were just informed those can’t be Nigerians–the patterns on their uniforms either indicate Cameroon or Niger and in any case, “no Nigerian would dance Skelewu so badly!”

Further Reading

On Safari

On our year-end publishing break, we reflect on how 2024’s contradictions reveal a fractured world grappling with inequality, digital activism, and the blurred lines between action and spectacle.

Rebuilding Algeria’s oceans

Grassroots activists and marine scientists in Algeria are building artificial reefs to restore biodiversity and sustain fishing communities, but scaling up requires more than passion—it needs institutional support and political will.

Ibaaku’s space race

Through Afro-futurist soundscapes blending tradition and innovation, Ibaaku’s new album, ‘Joola Jazz,’ reshapes Dakar’s cultural rhythm and challenges the legacy of Négritude.

An allegiance to abusers

This weekend, Chris Brown will perform two sold-out concerts in South Africa. His relationship to the country reveals the twisted dynamic between a black American artist with a track record of violence and a country happy to receive him.

Shell’s exit scam

Shell’s so-called divestment from Nigeria’s Niger Delta is a calculated move to evade accountability, leaving behind both environmental and economic devastation.

Africa’s sibling rivalry

Nigeria and South Africa have a fraught relationship marked by xenophobia, economic competition, and cultural exchange. The Nigerian Scam are joined by Khanya Mtshali to discuss the dynamics shaping these tensions on the AIAC podcast.

The price of power

Ghana’s election has brought another handover between the country’s two main parties. Yet behind the scenes lies a flawed system where wealth can buy political office.

Beats of defiance

From the streets of Khartoum to exile abroad, Sudanese hip-hop artists have turned music into a powerful tool for protest, resilience, and the preservation of collective memory.