OUR BEST WRITING OF 2023
Every year, The Republic publishes the most ambitious writing focused on Africa, from news and analysis to long-form features.
Support our award-winning coverage by subscribing today.
Read our best writing of 2023.
Our latest issue, Who Dey Fear Donald Trump?, focuses on Africa’s place in the era of multipolarity amid Trump-led anti-globalization.
Purchase an annual print + digital subscription, and get unlimited access to The Republic. We ship worldwide.
Every year, The Republic publishes the most ambitious writing focused on Africa, from news and analysis to long-form features.
Support our award-winning coverage by subscribing today.
Our print + digital subscription is 50% off.
Our latest issue, Who Dey Fear Donald Trump?, focuses on Africa’s place in the era of multipolarity amid Trump-led anti-globalization.
Purchase an annual print + digital subscription, and get unlimited access to The Republic. We ship worldwide.
Our top analyses, debates, ideas and stories of the week.
There is currently a debate about the role President Bola Ahmed Tinubu played in the emergence of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, as president. While there is no clear-cut answer to the debate, what is clear is the erosion of Buhari’s philosophy in the current political dispensation.
As domestic unrest in Kenya grows, President William Ruto’s carefully crafted global image is unravelling. Internal discontent is eroding Ruto’s international standing, which can potentially damage Kenya’s position as a regional sanctuary.
Nigerian writer, A. Igoni Barrett, points us towards an alternative vision for art. In his stories, there is an affinity for villainous arcs, embedded within colourful, everyday life.
The beginning of the second half of the year signals plans for Lagos’ glitzy Detty December, a seasonal spectacle that generates short-term profits for a privileged few while deepening inequality, fuelling inflation and missing opportunities for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
Africa’s ability to shape its climate future in a multipolar world depends on deepening feminist, decolonial and intersectional approaches to foreign policy, development cooperation and justice.
Nigerian writer and author of Allow Me To Introduce Myself, Onyi Nwabineli, is against using children as social media content: ‘I wondered how I would feel if parts of my childhood were showcased online for the amusement of strangers. I started to feel uneasy about it. Kids can’t consent.’
Age gaps in heterosexual relationships have survived the test of time. However, in the feminist pursuit of a gender-equal society, we must recognize how age disparity—though seemingly harmless—can play a significant role in reinforcing gender inequality.
Nsibidi, Nigeria’s historical writing script, offers a glimpse into the complexities and intricacies of African cultures. Today, a universe of creators, researchers and enthusiasts is on a quest to promote its resurgence in our contemporary world.
There is growing concern about the depletion of wildlife in Nigerian forests. Local hunters who have been blamed due to over-hunting argue otherwise.
As the impacts of recent events in global politics continue to reverberate, business as usual for Africa is impossible. A radical new vision is needed and possible. Feminist pan-Africanism is not just an internal reform of pan-African ideals; it is a necessary reorientation of Africa’s role in the world, one that centres justice, accountability, and people’s power as the foundation for genuine sovereignty.
Both Christianity and Islam have doctrines that highlight the supremacy of men over women, raising the question of whether it is possible to be a religious feminist.
African societies have, over centuries, had to deal with a cleavage of their present from their pasts by foreign powers. In the face of such cultural imperialism, how invested are their leaders in reclaiming Africa’s plundered historical heritage?
Long-standing fatigue with eroding civil liberties and authoritarianism in Togo has culminated in an outbreak of youth-led protests following constitutional changes ushering in Togo’s Fifth Republic. Is the creaking Gnassingbé dynasty finally under threat?
As Nigeria embraces its digital future, inclusion—not just innovation—must lead. Can this transformation reach all Nigerians or just the privileged few?
Nigeria’s worsening insecurity cannot be curtailed by border fences alone, as suggested by the chief of defence staff, but by the government investing in border communities, strengthening local infrastructure and deepening cross-border cooperation with neighbouring countries.
Amid Trump’s disruptive return, Africa isn’t just reacting—it’s recalibrating. The continent has the opportunity to turn Washington’s unpredictability into a strategic advantage.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of short story collections to read when you can’t commit to novels. From a book that depicts the complexities and loneliness of immigrant life to another that encapsulates the ‘Nigerian weird’, the collections on this list are perfect reads between novels.
The beginning of the second half of the year signals plans for Lagos’ glitzy Detty December, a seasonal spectacle that generates short-term profits for a privileged few while deepening inequality, fuelling inflation and missing opportunities for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
For the first time since we officially launched in 2018, The Republic is opening up its platform to advertisers. But we’re not doing it the usual way.
The Republic is pleased to announce the Black Atlantic Editorial Fellowship, a six-month fellowship programme designed towards the commissioning, writing and curation of stories rooted in Blackness and the African experience.
Amid Trump’s disruptive return, Africa isn’t just reacting—it’s recalibrating. The continent has the opportunity to turn Washington’s unpredictability into a strategic advantage.
Nigerian writer, A. Igoni Barrett, points us towards an alternative vision for art. In his stories, there is an affinity for villainous arcs, embedded within colourful, everyday life.
Both Christianity and Islam have doctrines that highlight the supremacy of men over women, raising the question of whether it is possible to be a religious feminist.
Age gaps in heterosexual relationships have survived the test of time. However, in the feminist pursuit of a gender-equal society, we must recognize how age disparity—though seemingly harmless—can play a...
There is growing concern about the depletion of wildlife in Nigerian forests. Local hunters who have been blamed due to over-hunting argue otherwise.
Now Available: Our May – July 2025 Print Issue
Featuring:
Republic editor, Wale Lawal, in conversation with celebrated artist, Sokari Douglas Camp; our first fiction stories selected and edited by writer Chigozie Obioma; Abel B. S. Gaiya on African cooperation in the age of anti-globalization; Chido Nyaruwata on Africa’s climate future; Andrea Ngombet on Africa’s opportunity in the Trumpian age; Blessing Simura on the politics of foreign aid; Eberechukwu Ezike on the uncertainty of the AfCFTA, Maggie LoWilla on activist and politician, Naledi Pandor; art, comics, quizzes and much more!
Now Available: Our May – July 2025 Print Issue
Featuring:
Republic editor, Wale Lawal, in conversation with celebrated artist, Sokari Douglas Camp; our first fiction stories selected and edited by writer Chigozie Obioma; Abel B. S. Gaiya on African cooperation in the age of anti-globalization; Chido Nyaruwata on Africa’s climate future; Andrea Ngombet on Africa’s opportunity in the Trumpian age; Blessing Simura on the politics of foreign aid; Eberechukwu Ezike on the uncertainty of the AfCFTA, Maggie LoWilla on activist and politician, Naledi Pandor; art, comics, quizzes and much more!
For whom is the transformative potential of feminism new? Our latest issue, An African Feminist Manifesto, considers the imperatives for Black African feminism(s) in our uniquely uncertain times, plus more.
Every Nigerian is one state decision away from becoming ‘unworthy’ subjects. Yet many Nigerians celebrate when the state punishes queer people not realizing that what is being witnessed is the state testing and perfecting its technologies of removal.
To encounter a body in collage is to momentarily believe the human form is physically and even gesturally incapable of coming up against its own limitations. Frida Orupabo’s collages do this so well. They haunt the viewer with fond, familiar and unexpected shapes.
Though the presence of Abrahamic tradition within global Black consciousness often finds expression through male-dominated narratives, a closer examination uncovers Black women at the very centres of the most path-altering moments in the tradition, offering analogues with which Black women have interpreted, reimagined and reclaimed their past, present, and future.
In 1974, Buchi Emecheta’s novel, Second-Class Citizen, was published. While this novel has inspired a generation of African writers, the themes Emecheta explored—such as Black immigrant life in the UK and the ills of a patriarchal society—remain as relevant today as ever.
Our latest issue, Who Dey Fear Donald Trump?, assesses Africa’s global positioning in the new Trumpian era of multipolarity.
We get it. Sometimes the headline stories are just not enough.
Nigerian writer, A. Igoni Barrett, points us towards an alternative vision for art. In his stories, there is an affinity for villainous arcs, embedded within colourful, everyday life.
Age gaps in heterosexual relationships have survived the test of time. However, in the feminist pursuit of a gender-equal society, we must recognize how age disparity—though seemingly harmless—can play a...
Nigerian writer and author of Allow Me To Introduce Myself, Onyi Nwabineli, is against using children as social media content: ‘I wondered how I would feel if parts of my...
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of short story collections to read when you can’t commit to novels. From a book that depicts the complexities and...
The beginning of the second half of the year signals plans for Lagos’ glitzy Detty December, a seasonal spectacle that generates short-term profits for a privileged few while deepening inequality,...
Nigeria is the fifth largest producer of palm oil in the world although it used to be number one. Despite being a major producer, its population relies on imported palm...
For 50 years, West Africa has struggled to establish financial integration. The East Africa community offers a compelling success story that West Africa can emulate.
The AfCFTA’s potential to transform intra-African trade risks being undermined by the volatility created by instability in the Sahel and Great Lakes regions.
African societies have, over centuries, had to deal with a cleavage of their present from their pasts by foreign powers. In the face of such cultural imperialism, how invested are...
The Gadaa system of the Oromo people of Kenya and Ethiopia offers an indigenous method of governance in Africa, as the adopted Western democracy seems to be failing the continent.
The world’s closest capital cities—Kinshasa and Brazzaville—sit within two modern-day states, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, that once reigned as a united Kongo...
To celebrate Women’s History Month, Nigerian writer and editor, Angel Nduka-Nwosu, compiles a list of books by Black women that belong on your reading list this month and beyond. These...
There is currently a debate about the role President Bola Ahmed Tinubu played in the emergence of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, as president. While there is no clear-cut answer to...
Nigeria’s worsening insecurity cannot be curtailed by border fences alone, as suggested by the chief of defence staff, but by the government investing in border communities, strengthening local infrastructure and...
Long-standing fatigue with eroding civil liberties and authoritarianism in Togo has culminated in an outbreak of youth-led protests following constitutional changes ushering in Togo’s Fifth Republic. Is the creaking Gnassingbé...
While domestic challenges to Mohamed Ould Ghazouani’s legitimacy dimmed soon after he was re-elected as Mauritanian president last year, his attempt to balance competing external pressures risks reigniting the social...
We all grew up hearing about ‘June 12’, but how well do you know what really happened? Let’s find out together. The first episode of The Republic is now available...
This episode will establish M. K. O. Abiola as a major actor. It will examine his personal life; his initial foray into business and politics; and areas of his life...
In this episode, we take a look at the key election candidates and what platforms they ran under. We compare their profiles and proposed agendas for Nigeria, highlighting what political...
After eight years of anticipation, and eight years of promises from General Ibrahim Babangida’s junta, Nigerians were finally about to have their say at the ballot box. In this week’s...
As Nigeria embraces its digital future, inclusion—not just innovation—must lead. Can this transformation reach all Nigerians or just the privileged few?
The founder of PARIWO and creator of the social media platform, neno, Ann Daramola, discusses building technology by and for African women and reimagining digital platforms that centre Black African...
Across Africa, millions in the informal sector remain uninsured—not from apathy, but due to the exclusionary nature of health systems. In Tanzania and beyond, digital innovations offer promising models for...
By 06 February 2025, the University College Hospital in Ibadan had been in a blackout for 97 days. ‘Surgeries are on hold. Patients are dying. And in the best teaching...
When the Nigeria–São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development Zone (JDZ) was established in 2001, it was expected to become a profitable offshore oil-producing area. But nearly 25 years later, the...
In the wake of tumultuous geopolitical policies and an increasingly multipolar world, pan-Africanism today struggles to evoke the spirit of comradeship that it used to.
ECOWAS has underperformed in its trade integration and crisis response mandates. Nigeria has to step up its game in improving effective regional cooperation in West Africa. To accomplish this, a...
Our latest issue, Who Dey Fear Donald Trump?, assesses Africa’s global positioning in the new Trumpian era of multipolarity.
