Sue MacGregor brings together those who played a key role during the bitter wrangling which led to Zimbabwe's independence in April 1980.

Rhodesia was Britain's last colony in Africa. By the early 1960s, 200,000 white settlers still dominated the country's three million black population. In 1965, civil war broke out between the white Rhodesian forces and the guerrilla armies of the two rival black nationalist parties, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU).

Over the next fifteen years, the war escalated as the nationalist movement gained massive momentum.

When Margaret Thatcher came into power in 1979, she inherited the crisis. To the surprise of many she called for all-party negotiations which would lead to the first independent elections. It was her Foreign Secretary, Lord Carrington, who devised a plan and persuaded the various parties to negotiate.

What followed was three months of nerve wracking talks. "Every moment of those talks I thought the whole thing might fall apart," recalls Lord Carrington. By the skin of their teeth, an agreement was signed and, in February 1980, polling opened which would lead to a landslide victory for Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party and independence for a newly named Zimbabwe.

Sue is joined by Lord Carrington, former Conservative Foreign Secretary; Dumiso Dabengwa who was head of intelligence for the military wing of ZAPU; Dzingai Mutumbuka, the youngest member of the ZANU-PF delegation; Dennis Norman who was President of the Rhodesia National Farmers' Union; and historian and Africa correspondent Martin Meredith.

Producer: Sarah Cuddon Series Producer: David Prest A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

It is nearly three months since more than 200 schoolgirls were taken from their school in Chibok in northern Nigeria by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Since then, further abductions have been reported. So what is it like to live with the insurgency? Yalda Hakim reports using material gathered undercover from the city of Maiduguri, where residents feel caught between the unpredictable Islamist militant group and the Nigerian military, which is also accused of abuses.

Produced by Linda Pressly

Picture: A Nigerian teacher holds a sign reading 'Our girls must go to school' in a protest rally against the killing of 173 of their colleagues by the Islamist Boko Haram, Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Seven up-and-coming Ghanaian musicians perform songs especially for the BBC and talk about what inspires them in Ghana and beyond. Efya, queen of Afro pop, was discovered through a talent show, and recently nominated for the World Music Awards. Kyekyeku is giving a modern twist to traditional palm wine music and making Ghanaians chuckle with his witty lyrics. There’s also Yaa Pono, with a unique rocking rap, and Ayisoba, with his distinctive gruff voice and northern style, plus gospel artist Cwesi Oteng.

The programme is presented by Rita Ray, respected London DJ and authority on African music, who is originally from Ghana herself.

(Photo: From left to right, Efya, Kyekyeku and Wiyaala, Ghana's rising musical talent. BBC copyright)

Lord West tells the story of the Royal Navy's role in Britain's withdrawal from empire.

Travelling to Malta, he explains the Navy's central role in Maltese independence.

Strolling through Valletta he describes life in the Royal Navy in the 1950s and 1960s, an era when hundreds of Royal Navy ships travelled the globe, journeying between dozens of overseas bases and acting very much like the world's policemen.

He also recalls visiting the Gulf in the 1960s, and seeing creeks and towns barely large enough to hold a small warship but which are now enormous cities full of skyscrapers.

And Lord West recalls important episodes when the Royal Navy was called to intervene overseas - disastrously in Suez in 1956, but much more successfully in Kuwait in 1961 and Tanganyika in 1964.

Producer: Giles Edwards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.

Lagos – Nigeria’s commercial capital - is one of the world’s biggest cities and when the sun sets it becomes one of the darkest. Most of its roughly 20 million people light their homes with kerosene lamps or noisy diesel generators. It’s incredibly inefficient – and leaves streets dark and dangerous. Changing this has become a national priority. For Assignment, Neal Razzell spends days and nights in Lagos with the electricity teams who are working street by street, bulb by bulb to literally bring power to the people. This programme was originally broadcast in October 2013. Produced and presented by Neal Razzell.

(Image: An engineer fixing the lights from an electrical box in Lagos. BBC Copyright)

How do you restore peace to a country now being torn apart by a vicious campaign of ethnic and religious cleansing? Two men in the Central African Republic believe they have the answer – friendship. Tim Whewell joins the Catholic Archbishop of Bangui, Dieudonne Nzapalainga and the country's Chief Imam, Oumar Kobine Layama as they travel across the country trying to reconcile Christian and Muslim communities.

(Image: One of anti-balaka militia in Bangui, responsible for much of the killing in the last few months. BBC Copyright)

A series of five essays from writers around the Commonwealth which start on Commonwealth Day 10th March and tackle the past, present and future of this unique international organisation.

Tolu Ogunlesi, poet and author from Nigeria looks at whether young people in Lagos can relate to the Commonwealth.

Radio 3's twenty-part essay series on the Islamic Golden Age continues its exploration through this five-hundred-year period of empire, innovation, religious turmoil, scientific discovery and major advances in philosophical thought. In this evening's essay, Dr. Amira Bennison examines the creation of two great cities of learning - Baghdad and Cairo.

The medieval Middle East is the stuff of fantasy, from the windswept deserts of Arabia to the bustling bazaars of cities like Baghdad and Cairo. But what were these cities actually like? And what part did they play in creating great men (and sometimes women) of letters, science and art? Cities figured in the Muslim imagination as hubs of religion, government, commerce and culture. Medieval Muslim geographers often conceptualised their world as one of routes linking an endless series of towns and cities like stars glittering in the firmament. Although some of these cities like Jerusalem or Damascus were already ancient when the Muslims arrived in the 7th century, others, Baghdad and Cairo included, were new Muslim creations - brash, vibrant and dense with talent, the New Yorks of their age.

Producer: Mohini Patel.

Radio 3's twenty part essay series on the Islamic Golden Age continues its exploration through this five hundred year period of empire, innovation, religious turmoil, scientific discovery and major advances in philosophical thought. In this evening's essay, we hear about the controversial Egyptian imam-caliph, Al Hakim and his sister Sitt al-Mulk. At worst, al Hakim has a reputation as the "mad" caliph and the destoroyer of the Holy Sepulchre church in Jerusalem. At best - he's a capricious tyrant. Dr. Simonetta Calderini and Dr. Delia Cortese share their forensic academic research into these controversial siblings and the essay is read by Dr. Simonetta Calderini.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Zoe Norridge reports from Rwanda as the country prepares for the 20th anniversary of genocide. Over 100 days, beginning in April 1994, up to a million people were massacred in one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.

Rwanda, a country described as a "tropical Switzerland in the heart of Africa", experienced an extraordinarily vicious genocide as Tutsis were attacked by Hutus - two groups who shared not only the same land but also the same language and similar traditions.

How does a country set about healing such trauma and what has been the role of memory and culture in the reconstruction of Rwanda?

Zoe Norridge visits several of the worst massacre sites in this small land to find out how the killings are marked and how their presence helps shape the public memory of genocide. She reports from unremarkable country hillsides whose names - like Nyarubuye and Murambi - have taken on a terrible resonance.

She talks to survivors about their stories and about how they cope with their memories. She talks to politicians, film makers, writers and to those who have helped provide a lasting memory of genocide in Rwanda. Zoe Norridge explores the role of memory and memorialisation in post genocide Rwanda, a remarkable and tragic story with significance for us all.

First broadcast in March 2014.

In 1998, a Kenyan farmer called Philip Boit became one of the first Africans to compete in the Winter Olympics. In the 10-kilometre cross-country skiing final he faced the legendary Norwegian, Bjorn Daehlie. It was a race that would unite the two athletes and inspire future Winter Olympians across Africa.

PHOTO: Getty Images.

This is the story of two young animals forced to grow up fast.

In Africa's savannah, a baby elephant shrew learns how speed is the secret to survival amongst the largest animals on earth. And in America, a young grasshopper mouse confronts the Wild West's deadliest creatures to stake a claim of his own.

Adventurer and journalist Simon Reeve heads to east Africa to uncover the stories behind the nation's favourite drink. While we drink millions of cups of the stuff each day, how many of us know where our tea actually comes from? The surprising answer is that most of the leaves that go into our everyday teabags do not come from India or China but are bought from an auction in the coastal city of Mombasa in Kenya.

From here, Simon follows the tea trail through the epic landscapes of Kenya and Uganda and meets some of the millions of people who pick, pack and transport our tea. Drinking tea with everyone from Masai cattle herders to the descendants of the original white tea planters, Simon learns that the industry that supplies our everyday cuppa is not immune to the troubles of the continent - poverty, low wages and child labour.

After playing Baltimore drug boss Stringer Bell in The Wire, and Detective John Luther on British television, Idris Elba is now appearing in a very different role - Nelson Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom. Chris Bowlby profiles the British actor who some think will one day be the first black James Bond.

Producer: Smita Patel.