Kaduna is increasingly the epicenter of violence in Nigeria, rivaling Borno state, the home turf of Boko Haram. In rural areas, conflicts over water and land use are escalating, and Ansaru, a less prominent Islamist group, is active.

At the huge FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on December 2, more than one hundred thousand people participated in the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation. The event raised some $7 billion in commitments for the relief of poverty across the African continent, from big corporations, governments, and small donors. Performers included Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Usher, and speakers included a variety of South African political, economic, and traditional leaders, as well as Mandela’s family. In the audience was Oprah, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and numerous other heads of state. The event was hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah.

President F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela concluded that neither could prevail outright in South Africa and that continuation of the status quo raised the specter of a race war. So, for better or worse, they made a deal that prioritized the expansion of civil rights and democracy rather than the equitable distribution of wealth and economic opportunity. 

The African diaspora sends more money to Africa than U.S. foreign aid and foreign direct investment. Petit Senegal is filled with thriving, tax-paying businesses owned and operated Africans, whose remittances fund investments in communities back home.

As the fight for the leadership of South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) heats up, Nkosanza Dlamini-Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa are attracting the most attention. Dlamini-Zuma, a medi…