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Ian Birrell

Columnist & Foreign Correspondent

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Africa / Arts / Music / Nigeria

Beat perfect until the end

Published by The i paper (4th May, 2020) Last Thursday I received an email from Audrey Gbaguidi, a singer whom I have known for almost a decade. She […]

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Africa / Nigeria

A change of fortune for Nigeria’s president?

Published by The Independent (17th January, 2015) Lawrence Ebele Jonathan was a canoe-maker, struggling to survive in the Delta region of southern Nigeria. Yet despite his humble background he […]

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Africa / Arts / Mali / Music

Music is vital to political struggle across Africa – not just in Mali

Published in The Observer (27th January, 2013) At dinner last month after a concert by the Congolese rapper Baloji, I found myself sitting next to his drummer, Saidou […]

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Arts / Music

The term ‘world music’ is outdated and offensive

Published in The Guardian (March 23, 2012) Life’s a mashup these days, isn’t it? Not just online but in the real world too. From arts to science, from […]

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Africa / Arts / Music / Nigeria

A wild shrine to music, history and the struggle for human rights

Published in The Independent (June 5th, 2009) We bumped our way down the ramshackle streets of Ikeja in the traffic-choked megacity of Lagos, and there it was: the […]

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Ian Birrell is an award-winning columnist, foreign correspondent, feature writer and investigative journalist. He is contributing editor of The Mail on Sunday, a weekly columnist in The i Paper and writes frequently for other papers and platforms. He is also co-founder with Damon Albarn of Africa Express, the acclaimed collaborative music project. (Pictured: Talking to refugees in Iraq fleeing Islamic State)... Read More.

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