Africa's most important election in 2023

In this issue, I focus on a monk who died last week and who spread Buddhism in China, the main presidential candidates running for office in Nigeria next week and the 222 political prisoners in Nicaragua who were forced into exile in the United States. Plus, some good news from Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan, a fantastic Soca soundtrack to celebrate the Trinidad and Tobago carnival and a now-banned BBC documentary on India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and so much more.

Master Hsing Yun, monk who spread Buddhism in China, died at 95

A very famous Buddhist monk from / in Taiwan and China has died: Master Hsing Yun. He died at the age of 95 on February 5 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. This might come as a surprise, but the 'atheist' Chinese Communist Party fought with Taiwanese authorities over sending a delegation to the former Buddhist leader's funeral in Taiwan.

Why this matters:
You know about the Pope or Justin Bieber. Update/globalize your celebrity knowledge.

Tell me more about him then:
Tiffany May for The New York Times wrote a profile about him last week. Master Hsing Yun is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order. Born Lǐ Guóshēn, Hsing Yun (his dharma name) is the third of four children of a poor family in the eastern city of Yangzhou, China in August 1927. His father, Li Chengbao, sold incense. When Japan's military invaded China, Chengbao disappeared. While searching for him with his mother, Hsing Yun visited a famous temple that ignited his interest in religion, according to his official biography. Then, history took its course.

• Good to know: A dharma name is a name that a student or disciple of a religious or spiritual tradition (like a monk or a nun) is given to mark his/her initiation or other special occasions. 'Hsing Yun' translates to 'nebula' in English and captures the monk's Buddhist dharma philosophy.

What did he believe in?

Humanistic Buddhism, emphasizing this life over the afterlife. He wanted to make the religion more accessible to ordinary people. And, taking inspiration from Roman Catholic missionaries, he sought to promote the faith through education. His religious events looked/felt like rock concerts; imagine smoke generators and lasers. Hsing Yun believed in the power of mass marketing and entertainment in religious education. "Today, his version of Buddhism has become the most adopted religious fellowship in the Chinese cultural sphere, combining Buddhist practices with everyday life." (The Print)

What about his political affiliations?
He was a supporter of China's President Xi Jinping; he even met him four times. President Xi claimed to have read "all the books that the master sent me." His movement flourished in China, primarily because he/it never challenged the government. Generally, religious movements rarely make it in China. Fo Guang Shan has since opened more than 120 temples in 30 countries such as the United States, Australia, South Africa and the Philippines, catering mainly to the Chinese diaspora.

How did he balance the Taiwan-China dynamic?
It was quite tricky. His support for China sometimes didn't land so well in Taiwan. In 2009, in a clumsy effort to point out that the people on the mainland and in Taiwan were the same, he said that residents of Taiwan were Chinese, not Taiwanese. (Taipei Times) And in 2013, he declared his support for President Xi's "Chinese dream," saying he believed that the agenda would lead to a more egalitarian society. However, Master Hsing Yun's relations with China were not always smooth. In 1989, he was barred from China for a few years after he reportedly sheltered an official who fled his post in the wake of the Tiananmen Square crackdown that year. The monk denied it and was allowed into China to visit his hometown in 2003. However, "I support the leadership," he said in a 2017 interview with The New York Times. "They care for us, as well. It is mutual. We Buddhists uphold whomever is in charge. Buddhists don't get involved in politics."

The Nigeria presidential election 2023 is Africa's most important election this year

On February 25, people in Nigeria will choose the president and members of the National Assembly on 25 February and governors and members of the State Houses of Assembly on 11 March.

Why this matters:
The presidential election is "one of the most important elections happening anywhere in the world this year," writes Ruth Maclean for The New York Times. "Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, with about 220 million people, and what happens there reverberates across the continent and the globe."

Who's been in charge till now?
Muhammadu Buhari. He's been the president of Nigeria for nearly eight years now. He's spent his career mostly in the army, even seized power in 1983 as military ruler but was removed after 18 months by another army general. However, decades later, Buhari made history in 2015 as the first Nigerian to oust a president through the ballot box. He was born to a Fulani family in the north (is super popular there); is a Sagittarius (born on December 17, 1942). Olu Fasan's opinion clolumn in Businessday NG last year summarized his time in power, "President Buhari has failed to fulfil the promises he made in his first term to defeat terrorism, fix the economy and fight corruption." Today, over 60 percent of the people live in poverty, according to the Nigerian government's website itself. And: Nearly 90 percent of people in Nigeria believe the country is going in the wrong direction, according to a recent survey by Afrobarometer. Buhari is now stepping down.

Who are the main candidates?
There are 18 people running for president in Nigeria in the upcoming election. Here's a little info on the four main candidates:

• Peter Obi (Labour Party). He's 61 years old, a Cancer, Christian, former governor from the southeast, many young people from the south support him (they call themselves 'Obidients'). Some recent polls suggest he might be ahead. (The Nextier, The Guardian Nigeria)
• Bola Tinubu (All Progressives Congress). He's 70 years old, an Aries, multimillionaire, many political VIPs support him, he boasts that he brought Buhari to power (Buhari is...