S2,EP5: Gambia's non-alliance, Burkinabé Fespaco winner, Nigeria's herbal medicines

This week, Africa Calling podcast brings you stories from the African continent, including a report from Gambia on the presidential alliance struck down by former ruler Yahya Jammeh. We speak to the Burkinbé documentary film winner on the sidelines of Fespaco, the Pan-African film festival in Ouagadougou. And in Nigeria, whether it's out of lack of choice or preference, use of roadside herbal concoctions to cure ailments is on the rise in the capital city, Abuja.

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For this week’s podcast, Gambia correspondent Sally Jeng speaks with Dodou Jah, deputy spokesperson of the expelled APRC, Seedy Njie, NPP’s deputy spokesman, who was Jammeh’s Information minister during the 2016 political impasse, Nyima Sonko, wife of Solo Sandeng, a political activist who was killed by the alleged notorious national intelligence agency under Jammeh’s regime and Essa Njie, a political science lecturer at the University of The Gambia.

We speak to Burkinabé documentary filmmaker Moumouni Sanou on the sidelines of the Fespaco Pan-African film festival in Ouagadougou about his movie, "Night Nursery", which won the top prize.

Nigeria correspondent Poloum David speaks to Susan Igbudu, a herbal medicine seller in Abuja, Innocent Okpologidi, Evelyn Samuel, and Sarah Jachor, herbal medicine customers, and Tony Ochela,herbal medicine skeptic. She also spoke to medical professionals Dr. Dotun Osikoya, Judith Opara, a nurse, and pharmacists Yusuf Dauran and Adanna Uche-Okonkwo. Abubakar Jimoh, an agency official from NAFDAC, Nigeria's drug regulatory agency, also spoke to Africa Calling.

Music in this episode is "Bienvenue à Ouaga" ("Welcome to Ouaga") by Amzy. He opened the Fespaco film festival this month with this song, so we thought we’d bring a little bit of Ouagadougu back to you.

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Africa Calling is produced by Radio France Internationale. Editor and host, Laura-Angela Bagnetto, sound editing by Erwan Rome.

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