The economic transformation of African countries and the falling price of oil.
![Global economic relations to witness profound shifts as the US overtakes Saudi Arabia as largest oil producer [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/201412187180874734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Zainab Usman is a doctoral candidate in International Development at the University of Oxford. Her research assesses political institutions, the oil economy and economic reform in Nigeria since the transition to democracy in 1999.
The economic transformation of African countries and the falling price of oil.
![Global economic relations to witness profound shifts as the US overtakes Saudi Arabia as largest oil producer [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/201412187180874734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The US-Africa summit trails behind Africa engagement initiatives led by other global powers.
![The US-Africa Leaders Summit brought almost 50 African heads of state and government to Washington DC [EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/201481295632213734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Political elites in Nigeria trade accusations over who is responsible for the failure to stem Boko Haram’s violence.
![Some 5,000 people have been killed in violence instigated by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20147214548210734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)