After the presidential election, the new administration must learn from past mistakes in countering extremism.

Nigerians will vote for a president on 16 February. Much is anticipated regarding the new leader’s strategy to end the deadly Boko Haram insurgency in the country’s north-east. Whoever is elected cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of previous administrations or ignore lessons learnt since the Boko Haram crisis began 10 years ago.

In this issue:

Focus on 32nd AU summit: elections could see big powers return to the PSC

The slow pace of ‘changing mindsets’ on AU reform

The AU should remain steadfast on Gabon

On the Agenda: A busy election year ahead in 2019

Human suffering underlines the urgency to do more in 2019

Major fraud and corruption in Uganda’s operations will come at a steep cost to all refugees.

Uganda hosts Africa’s largest refugee population and is heralded as a model of progressive refugee policies. But damning 2018 reports have revealed fraud and corruption within Uganda refugee operations.

Mogadishu’s expulsion of the UN Special Envoy illustrates how not to deal with al-Shabaab – or manage federalism.

By Peter Fabricius

The decision by the Somali government to expel United Nations (UN) Special Envoy to the country Nicholas Haysom last week speaks volumes about why Somalia is struggling to achieve political stability and peace.

Omar S Mahmood

Key findings

• Refugee respondents expressed frustration with a number of issues, ranging from the current political leadership to the IGAD-led peace process and its emphasis on power sharing.

• Respondents’ views differed in many areas, but there was a high degree of convergence in some key aspects. One related to the lack of information on the peace process, as nearly all respondents felt there was little accurate or trustworthy information.