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Ruby OkoroCopyright: Ruby Okoro

Bloody Civilian is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer who has made quite an entrance to the music business.

In just eight months, she has caught the attention of everyone from Amazon and Apple Music to British Vogue and NME magazines.

Her first three songs, including the provocatively named How To Kill A Man and I Don’t Like You, have amassed over 11 million streams, and her track Wake Up, featuring Rema, was included in the soundtrack to the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Her stage name gives you a clue that she is no ordinary individual.

She says the name Bloody Civilian was inspired by the military violence in her homeland in northern Nigeria.

Quote Message: It’s pretty much a term that’s used on my people and I decided to change the notions around the name. I thought the name worked for things that I believe and what I stand for.”

It’s pretty much a term that’s used on my people and I decided to change the notions around the name. I thought the name worked for things that I believe and what I stand for.”

Born Emoseh Khamofu, her parents moved to Abuja where she grew up. But she recalls getting calls from relatives in the north keeping them informed of what was going on there.

Quote Message: My village kind of no longer exists where it did before so it’s moved as a result of crisis.”

My village kind of no longer exists where it did before so it’s moved as a result of crisis.”

Bloody Civilian is not the only musician in her family. Her father is a bass guitarist and used to play gigs on the weekend. He wanted her to study music.

Quote Message: Music for me was always the thing I could do that no-one could take away from me. I could always do it in isolation and I wasn’t making noise for the most part. It kept me out of trouble”.

Music for me was always the thing I could do that no-one could take away from me. I could always do it in isolation and I wasn’t making noise for the most part. It kept me out of trouble”.

She says she creates her art based on her experiences and tries to be as honest as she can.

Her song How To Kill A Man was inspired by the anger of women which she believes is often censored. She cites examples of the way she has been treated in the past.

Quote Message: There was a time I was in my car in Abuja and I remember I got hit from the side. But because I was a woman in the car, a whole community of people came and beat on the car until I was tipping from side to side. They were yelling things like "prostitute" - basically saying that for me to drive a car that size I had a Sugar Daddy. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have the same experience if I was a guy.”

There was a time I was in my car in Abuja and I remember I got hit from the side. But because I was a woman in the car, a whole community of people came and beat on the car until I was tipping from side to side. They were yelling things like "prostitute" - basically saying that for me to drive a car that size I had a Sugar Daddy. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have the same experience if I was a guy.”

She also described a time she was shopping in a market in Kaduna and her headscarf slipped off her head, and someone called her a prostitute.

Quote Message: I had to drag the scarf back on my head and cover it. I’m not even a Muslim. I’m not even religious. These things are definitely in my past. I’m very free now. I live in Lagos. I do whatever I want, no-one tells me what to do. I can just be a creative and do the things I’ve always done and be the person I’ve always been.”

I had to drag the scarf back on my head and cover it. I’m not even a Muslim. I’m not even religious. These things are definitely in my past. I’m very free now. I live in Lagos. I do whatever I want, no-one tells me what to do. I can just be a creative and do the things I’ve always done and be the person I’ve always been.”

She says she called her latest EP Anger Management because she has many frustrations.

Quote Message: I talk about drugs and the epidemic, and how young people in Nigeria have nothing else to lean on sometimes except these little ways that we escape, and I’ve been there as well. A lot of these things have frustrated me because there’s a whole system behind it and people are benefitting financially from the things that we struggle with. This is a very angry EP. I’m basically saying that these are things that make me very upset. I want to talk about them and hope that people cannot feel alone about the things they’re experiencing.”

I talk about drugs and the epidemic, and how young people in Nigeria have nothing else to lean on sometimes except these little ways that we escape, and I’ve been there as well. A lot of these things have frustrated me because there’s a whole system behind it and people are benefitting financially from the things that we struggle with. This is a very angry EP. I’m basically saying that these are things that make me very upset. I want to talk about them and hope that people cannot feel alone about the things they’re experiencing.”

Bloody Civilian admits she toned down the EP due to the experience she had with her earlier singles.

Quote Message: The swear words were causing little problems here and there so that was an easy decision to make because we didn’t want it to ruin our whole campaign, with getting flagged and taken down and banned.”

The swear words were causing little problems here and there so that was an easy decision to make because we didn’t want it to ruin our whole campaign, with getting flagged and taken down and banned.”

One of the tracks that resonated with her the most while writing the songs was Family Meeting.

Quote Message: You know we have this saying that the village raises the child? There are pros and cons with that. Kids don’t grow up with privacy. If anything goes wrong, it’s a whole family affair where you can come home and there’s a whole meeting being held with distant family members coming to say: ‘This is how this should be handled,’ like a judgement day. I just felt that would be a funny kind of story to describe in a song. It’s a compilation of African stories really.”

You know we have this saying that the village raises the child? There are pros and cons with that. Kids don’t grow up with privacy. If anything goes wrong, it’s a whole family affair where you can come home and there’s a whole meeting being held with distant family members coming to say: ‘This is how this should be handled,’ like a judgement day. I just felt that would be a funny kind of story to describe in a song. It’s a compilation of African stories really.”

To hear the full interview with Bloody Civilian, listen to This is Africa on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, and online here:

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now, we will be back on Monday morning. There will be an automated news feed here until then.

You can also get the latest updates at BBCAfrica.com and listen to the new Focus on Africa podcast for stories behind the news

A reminder of the day's wise words:

Quote Message: A child breaks the snail but not the tortoise." from A Twi proverb from Ghana sent by Gordon Oppong-Agyare in Germany

A child breaks the snail but not the tortoise."

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo of Valentin Ndzana of Cameroon competing in the high jump at the Para Athletics World Championships in France, it's from our selection of some of the best pictures of the week.

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Ugandan officials from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) have been tasked to explain how $2.6m (£2m) was used on training youth "on how to drink coffee" among other things, according to a parliamentary watchdog.

In a statement on Twitter, the NGO Parliament Watch said that the auditor general noted a number of the coffee shops listed as part of the campaign did not exist.

The contract was broken down into four parts:

• Training farmers on the production of coffee
• Training youth on how to drink coffee
• Providing financial literacy and business management skills
• General project administration costs

Director at OPM, Robert Limlim, defended the high costs the campaign saying it was about education and the money was spent on buying coffee equipment as well as bringing the youth into the coffee economy.

Uganda is one of Africa’s major coffee exporting countries, having shipped 5.7 million bags, worth $840m (£641m), in the 12-month period from June 2022, according to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Karim Khan, the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), has told the BBC that "there is no hope of peace in Sudan without some type of justice".

Speaking to Focus on Africa from the UN in New York, Mr Khan said "new generations of Darfurians are being inflicted with new violence that is no fault of their own".

It follows the news yesterday that the bodies of 87 people, allegedly killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were found in a mass grave in Darfur.

On Thursday, he announced that his office is looking atrecent atrocities in the Darfur region, as part of an on-going investigation.

The ICC have been investigating events there since 2005, after being referred by the UN Security Council.

He also said that he has seen no willingness from either side of the conflict to hand over former dictator Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades.

Al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC for alleged genocide committed in Darfur during the first conflict.

Mr Khan said his office is launching a public appeal for those who have evidence of war crimes in Sudan to come forward.

You can watch the full interview on BBC Focus on Africa at 1730BST on the BBC News Channel.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders, MSF, has given a disturbing account of the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in the Sudanese state of North Darfur.

The charity said more than 300 people had died in the state capital, Fasher, since the conflict started in April.

It added that its staff had treated more than 1,000 people for injuries and it's currently performing surgery on about five patients every day.

MSF said it had transformed a small maternity hospital into the main hospital for the whole of the state, which has a population of 2.8 million people.

Read more on the Sudan conflict:

• 'I saw bodies dumped in Darfur mass grave'
• From Ruto to Sisi, leaders vie to drive peace process

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

In a strong warning to the opposition, Kenya's President William Ruto has said "protests will no longer take place in our nation. The one they have planned for Wednesday will not be possible."

He was speaking to supporters in Naivasha, central Kenya, two days after at least 10 people died during clashes between protesters and security forces.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has launched a series of demonstrations against tax rises, including the doubling of the tax on fuel, that were signed into law last month.

"Elections ended on 9 August last year. You cannot look for the leadership of this country using the blood of the citizens, the death of the citizens and the destruction of property," Mr Ruto said .

"These demos will not happen. Listen to me carefully: you cannot use extrajudicial, extra-constitutional means to look for power in Kenya."

Mr Odinga had earlier said that next week will see three more days of protests beginning on Wednesday.

According to the constitution, people organising protests must inform the authorities of their intentions, but the president does not have the power to ban demonstrations.

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Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed a bill into law that imposes penalties on Zimbabweans who are found to have wilfully harmed the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe.

The controversial patriotic bill faced widespread opposition from lawyers and activists describing it as a grave assault on human rights.

It comes weeks before a crucial general election which the opposition believe will not be free or fair.

The law imposes sentences ranging from fines to the death penalty for those who take part in meetings which encourage international military action or trade boycotts.

President Mnangagwa and much of his inner circle are under US economic and travel sanctions which they say were a result of the opposition's lobbying.

Legal analysts believe the new patriotic law is vague and therefore open to abuse.

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The Holy Synod, the top decision-making body of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, is trying to head off a possible split in the community with followers in the northern state of Tigray.

At the root of the problem is the church’s reaction to the two-year civil war, mostly fought in Tigray, that ended last November. The conflict led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and sparked a humanitarian crisis.

Criticism had been directed towards the church from bishops, priests and believers in Tigray for not condemning the war.

The bishops of Tigray announced in March that they wanted to separate from the Holy Synod.

On Sunday, they plan to ordain 10 new bishops in the region.

The Holy Synod has asked the federal and regional governments to halt this process citing a violation of the church constitution.

This request was made in a statement issued on Thursday after a two-day emergency session held by the Holy Synod.

It criticised the Tigray bishops and scholars for disregarding the established organisational structure and bypassing peaceful dialogue.

Last week, the Holy Synod issued an apology to the people of Tigray in connection with the civil war – but it does not appear to have been enough.

As part of the reconciliation efforts, a delegation of bishops, led by the Patriarch Abune Matthias, recently travelled to the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, to engage in discussions with the leaders of the regional government and the church.

However, the meeting with the regional church fathers did not take place.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on food security to address ongoing food inflation.

Immediate, medium and long-term interventions have been designed by the government to combat the shortages. These range from providing fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to assigning responsibility for food and water to the National Security Council.

The government plans to allocate funds from the fuel subsidy removal to support the agricultural sector and establish a National Commodity Board to regulate and stabilise food prices.

President Tinubu emphasized the initiatives' goals of reducing food costs, promoting agriculture and generating employment opportunities.

In a post on his Twitter handle, President Tinubu said that the "new initiatives will tackle rising food costs, enhance agriculture, and boost job creation".

"No-one will be left behind in our efforts to ensure affordable, plentiful food for every Nigerian," he tweeted.

Earlier in the month, a former governor in northern Nigeria expressed concern that the country may face a food crisis soon due to banditry in the North.

The International Monetary Fund warned of increased food prices and risks due to floods and expensive fertilisers.

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A Kenyan minister has accused people of invading forests and breaking the law by doing things like charcoal burning since the lifting of a ban on logging was announced earlier this month.

Environment Minister Soipan Tuya said "the lifting of the ban only applies to commercial forests" and involves less than 8% of the tree cover in the country.

“We have Kenyans who think the forests are free for them to go and erect structures and engage in illegal activities as well as lease out forest land,” Ms Tuya added.

President Ruto said the logging ban was lifted in order to create jobs and open up sectors of the economy that depend on forest products.

The move came as the government pushes on with its plan to plant 15 billion trees over 10 years to increase the country's tree cover.

Listen to this episode of Africa Daily for more on the debate around the ban.