Future Reports

On 9 September 2025 Ethiopia officially inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a 5,150-megawatt hydropower project on the Blue Nile that Ethiopia bills as the continent’s largest single clean-energy investment and a pillar of its industrialisation strategy. The $4–5 billion project (built largely with Ethiopian funding) will dramatically increase Ethiopia’s generation capacity, while also re-shaping downstream hydrology for Sudan and Egypt; two states that see the Nile as central to their national security. Why Ethiopia wanted to build the dam — numbers and incentives Electricity deficit and development needs. Ethiopia has one of the lowest levels of modern energy access in the region: recent World Bank reporting shows Ethiopia still has a large share of the population without reliable Tier-1+ electricity access (roughly ~44% at the last multi-tier assessment), meaning tens of millions remain off-grid or under-served. The GERD’s ~5,150 MW of capacity is explicitly des...

A tense protest unfolded on the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos’s vital artery connecting the Island and Mainland, after the state government launched an aggressive demolition campaign in Oworonshoki. Early on a Monday morning, residents, furious at the loss of their homes, blocked inward-bound lanes in defiance. The action left commuters stranded, forced diversions across the city, and plunged a significant stretch of Lagos traffic into chaos. The protest was a visible manifestation of community outrage and desperation. At the heart of the unrest lies the demolition of structures along Oworonshoki’s coastal line. Government task forces, supported by police units, arrived with bulldozers in the middle of the night, levelling hundreds of homes. Many residents recounted being woken abruptly as their roofs were torn down, unable to salvage personal belongings or business materials. What began in July 2023 with widespread clearance of waterfront communities has now escalated, displacing thou...