The leaders of West African nations have announced a plan to combat the growing problem of Islamist violence in the region. Jihadist groups have strengthened their presence across the arid Sahel region this year.

Thousands of fans of DJ Arafat, the king of 'Coupè Dècalè' dance music that is hugely popular in Ivory Coast and West Africa, gathered on Friday to pay tribute to him in a stadium in Abidjan on the eve of his funeral.

Ghana has put in place a plan that would see the West African nation attract over 2.4m visitors and double tourism revenues to the tune of $4.697bn by 2022.

In Sokoto, an old city in northern Nigeria, Usmane Dan Fodio's tomb attracts pilgrims from all over West Africa. For many Muslims, this scholarly and reformist Fulani is considered a saint. In 1808, he established the Caliphate of Sokoto, an Islamic state that extended from Burkina Faso to Cameroon.

It's the first time voters are electing a successor to a democratically elected president in the West African state, whose history has been strewn with military coups. A former general is heavily tipped to win the vote.

In a bid to boost economic integration in West Africa, the African Development Bank recently approved $70 million for the Ebonyi ring road project. Ebrima Faal, Senior Director for Nigeria at AfDB joined CNBC Africa’s Esther Awoniyi to discuss this and more.

West Africa correspondent Fanny Facsar talks to DW about the world's largest refinery project in Lagos, Nigeria. Behind it is Africa's wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote. But the World Bank is also supporting it - despite pledging to heavily reduce investment in fossil fuel projects.

You can steal someone's wife in a part of the West Africa nation of Niger. Wife stealing is widely accepted by the people of the Wodaabe tribe, a small subgroup of the ethnic group in the country.

Senegal, the most stable democracy in West Africa, is preparing for an election with President Macky Sall facing off against four other candidates.

Ivory Coast is the largest agricultural producer in West Africa - and most farmers use chemical fertilizers. But an eco-friendly business based in the capital Abidjan has found success producing organic alternatives.

The Third Mainland Bridge is the longest of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the mainland in Nigeria. It was the longest bridge in Africa until 1996 when the 6th October Bridge in Cairo was completed. But it remains the longest in West Africa.

Stanbic IBTC reading puts Nigeria’s headline PMI at 54.4 in October to signal a further improvement in the health of the Nigerian private sector. Gbolahan Taiwo, Regional Economist, West Africa at Stanbic IBTC joins CNBC Africa to discuss the details.