When conventional tools of resistance have failed or been compromised, humor has been a weapon of last resort for the African subaltern.  

The proverbial “Third Force” in Nigerian politics is finally making itself heard, but its chances of causing an upset are slim.

Last week’s gruesome murder of Deborah Yakubu, a home economics sophomore at the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, comes at a time of escalating social and economic tension in Nigeria, and will most certainly raise the political stakes as the country enters electioneering season in preparation for next year’s presidential election.

The just released Nigeria 2021 Human Rights Report confirms what observers and rights advocates already know about the Nigerian state’s execrable human rights record and the increasingly dismal daily experience of Nigerians. Released annually since 1977 by the United States Department of State, the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are a critical gauge of the human rights situation across the world.