Olatunji Olaigbe

Kwara State, Lagos, Ontario, Oyo State

Freelance Contributor at Freelance

(supposedly) awardwinning storyteller & worldbuilder || give — and take — more than a stage || olatunjiolaigbe(at)gmail(dot)com

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Articles

Sudan’s forgotten war

1 month ago | codastory.com | Olatunji Olaigbe

Last week, Donald Trump was on a glitzy, bonhomous trip through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Amidst the talk of hundreds of billions of dollars signed in deals, the rise of Gulf states as potential AI superpowers, and gifts of luxury jetliners, it was announced that the Trump administration had agreed arms deals worth over $3 billion with both Qatar and the UAE. Democrats are looking to block the deals.
Sudan’s forgotten war

1 month ago | buff.ly | Olatunji Olaigbe

Last week, Donald Trump was on a glitzy, bonhomous trip through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Amidst the talk of hundreds of billions of dollars signed in deals, the rise of Gulf states as potential AI superpowers, and gifts of luxury jetliners, it was announced that the Trump administration had agreed arms deals worth over $3 billion with both Qatar and the UAE. Democrats are looking to block the deals.
Why chocolate is skyrocketing in price

Apr 12, 2024 | thehustle.co | Olatunji Olaigbe

In a small town near the border of the Osun and Ondo states of Nigeria, Olasunkanmi Abdulwahab, known to everyone as Baba, watches cars zoom by on the road. When a lorry trudges past us, we can smell its contents: sharp, musty, earthy. It’s cocoa — one of the most valuable crops in the world in recent months. As Baba’s eyes trail the truck into the distance, he estimates the bounty. “That is 33 million naira crawling on,” he says, the equivalent of ~$26k.
Predatory loan apps around the world

Jan 26, 2024 | restofworld.org | Morris Kiruga |Nilesh Christopher |Sekinat Motunrayo Ojeniyi |Olatunji Olaigbe

This lending app publicly shames you when you’re late on loan paymentOkash, a popular fintech app in Kenya and Nigeria, threatens users to notify everyone on their contact list when you fall behind on your loan payments.
A tragedy in Nigeria shows the risks of cheap drone warfare

Jan 3, 2024 | codastory.com | Olatunji Olaigbe

In Tudun Biri, meetings happen under a large mango tree in a clearing in the center of the village. The bark on its trunk has peeled back in places, leaking sap — it has become a place of mourning. The proliferation of cheap and effective drones has made aerial warfare accessible to militaries around the world. But the checks and balances aren’t there to prevent civilian casualties.
Cracks in the African Techie Dream

Dec 4, 2023 | inkstickmedia.com | Olatunji Olaigbe

Olanrewaju Quadri was a techie way before it was cool. In 2016, after working as a trainee in a cyber café through his high school years, he started working as the shift lead in another cyber café to save for University. His new boss was a gig-based web developer who owned the café as a more stable means of income. Quadri honed his tech skills quickly. Six months into the job, he was already working on large-scale web development projects.
It Is Time To Debunk the “Nigerian Prince” Stereotype

Nov 7, 2023 | inkstickmedia.com | Olatunji Olaigbe

The Nigerian prince has to be one of the most persistent phrases in cybersecurity — not unlike the scammers it is named after. It is so popular that one can argue that it is more of a cultural phenomenon than it is a cybersecurity term, making appearances on TV — see “The Office”; music — see YUNG LIXO’s “Scam from Nigeria”; and in everyday conversations.
The Digital Frontline of the Israel-Hamas Conflict Could Extend Long After the War

Nov 6, 2023 | inkstickmedia.com | Olatunji Olaigbe

When Hamas attacked Israeli communities surrounding Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, it wasn’t just trying to get projectiles past Israel’s Iron Dome, the country’s impressive air defense system. Israel is one of the world’s biggest producers of surveillance technology and spyware, and a country considered to have one of the best cybersecurity systems in the world. Hamas had to scale visible and invisible walls; in person and online.
Can AI Help Combat Disinformation?

Oct 16, 2023 | inkstickmedia.com | Olatunji Olaigbe

Nigerian Fact-Check Elections’ latest innovation is an automated tool that helps analyze whether a claim is true or not. Users are asked to type in the claim on a tab, and the system does the work of analyzing the veracity of the statement. I decided to try it out. I punch in “has ECOWAS invaded Niger?” (ECOWAS stands for the Economic Community of West African States.)The most important analysis that happens inside the AI check tool runs on GPT-4, the most recent version of OpenAI’s language model.
Disinformation Around Niger’s Coup Falls in the Crosswinds of Geopolitics

Sep 22, 2023 | inkstickmedia.com | Olatunji Olaigbe |Allyn Gaestel

On July 26, Niger’s military junta announced the coup that deposed President Mohamed Bazoum. Two days later, the disinformation had already started. The earliest version of a video that X (formerly Twitter) users claimed was the Minister of Niger crying when summoned by the military to explain the country’s finances was posted on July 28.