and there is a temptation for the new president to flex his independence (in the Sahel, it has so far always been “he,”“his,” etc.). In the context of the Sahel, moreover, such relationships are relatively uncharted territory
The Sahel (Arabic for ‘shore’) is a transition zone between the arid Sahara in the north and the (sub-) humid tropical savannas in the south, and is marked by a steep north–south gradient in mean annual rainfall (Le Houerou, 1980). The rainfall gradient is expressed on the ground ...
The north-central African country of Chad was named after Lake Chad, which forms part of the country’s western border. Lake Chad (the word “Chad” just means “lake,” so it’s “Lake Lake”) is what is called an endorheic basin, meaning one with no outflow. In ancient times it ...
The lowest, 436 feet (133 metres) below sea level, is in the Qattara Depression of Egypt. The name Sahara derives from the Arabic noun ṣaḥrāʾ, meaning desert, and its plural, ṣaḥārāʾ. It is also related to the adjective aṣḥar, meaning desertlike and carrying ...
Hausa has long been written using a modified Arabic alphabet called ajami. Since about 1912, Hausa has also been written in a standardized orthography called boko, originally meaning “sham” or “deceit,” that is based on the Latin alphabet (with the addition of modified letters that represent...