Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation
One morning in Lagos, a young taxi driver was jolted awake by a 4 a.m. phone call from his mother. Panicked by the deadly Ebola outbreak sweeping West Africa in 2014, she urged him to bathe in hot salt water before dawn, a “remedy” she had seen in a text message making the rounds. She […]
How Algorithms Secretly Run Your Day
It’s 6:00 a.m., and your alarm on your smartphone just dragged you out of sleep. Still groggy, you reach for your phone and open Instagram without thinking. The screen lights up, and at the top of your feed is a hilarious skit video from an account you don’t even remember following. Meanwhile, a close friend’s […]
Inside Nigeria’s Advertising Playbook, What the ARCON Act, 2022 Really Means
You are a young creative working on a bold new ad campaign for a fintech startup. You have nailed the message. The visuals are clean. The copy pops. Just when you are ready to go live, a message comes through: “Has this been vetted by ARCON?” Suddenly, you are not just juggling deadlines and client […]
When the Music Plays but the Artist Doesn’t Get Paid
In a small studio tucked away in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria, a young singer named Amaka poured her soul into a melody she wrote after losing her father. The song, raw, emotional, and haunting, went viral within weeks. DJs spun it in clubs across the country. Radio stations played it on loop. TikTok creators used it […]
Banned, Then Embraced – Nigeria’s Uneasy Dance with Cryptocurrency.
Written by Loba Agboola. For many Nigerians facing financial exclusion or distrust in traditional banks, cryptocurrency has emerged as an alternative store of value and transaction means. Many have turned to it as a more stable alternative to traditional banking due to currency instability, high inflation rates, and a lack of access to financial services […]
How to Think About Nigeria’s Digital Economy
Imagine starting your day in Lagos, you book a Bolt ride to beat third mainland traffic, use your OPay wallet to pay for akara and pap at a roadside vendor, and scroll through Punch or Zikoko News on your mobile browser. Meanwhile, in a rural village in Taraba, a secondary school teacher walks a few […]
Can a New Layer of the Internet Empower Users and Tame “Antisocial Media”?
It started with a ban. Amina, a 24-year-old content creator from Lagos, had spent the last two years building a loyal following on TikTok. Her videos funny, relatable, and deeply rooted in Nigerian culture had earned her over a million followers, brand collaborations, and a monthly income that helped support her family. But one morning, […]
One Charger to Rule Them All? The EU’s Common Charger Directive
Have you ever dug through a drawer full of chargers? I have. That moment when your phone is about to die, your tablet is blinking red, and you’re rummaging through a tangle of old chargers that somehow don’t match any of your current devices. It’s frustrating, wasteful, and let’s be honest, completely unnecessary in 2025. […]
Artificial Intelligence for Africa by Africa
On April 4, 2025, leaders from across the African continent gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, for the Global AI Summit on Africa, organised under the theme “AI and Africa’s Demographic Dividend: Reimagining Economic Opportunities for Africa’s Workforce”. A historic step was taken during the inaugural Global AI Summit, as African nations collectively signed the Africa Declaration […]
Understanding Nigeria’s Identity Ecosystem
Nigeria has repeatedly attempted to build a robust and unified national identification system for over four decades. What began as a simple administrative function of issuing identity cards has become a complex and strategic national priority. This journey, marked by policy shifts, technological experiments, and institutional reforms, reflects Nigeria’s growing commitment to establishing a comprehensive […]
