In 2022, our authors centered Nigeria and Africa in the world’s biggest questions. From cultural criticism to political longform, here’s our best writing of the year.
Best of 2022
‘People Seem to be Trying to Reconnect with Nature’ In Conversation with Nengi Omuku
‘I thought about how we’ve all gone through this traumatic event, the pandemic, and faced endless loss and illness,’ Nengi Omuku says. ‘I realized, via scrolling on social media and watching the news, that people seem to be trying to reconnect with nature and choosing to acknowledge all that it has given us.’ Read More...
Collaborative and Experimental The Evolution of Afrobeats and Its Current Landscape
Afrobeats has evolved commercially, sonically and collaboratively over the years. We need to strike a balance between commending Afrobeats for its global success and protecting the genre, so its authenticity is not diluted for global markets. Read More...
Feiridiwanali ei Gumugubei Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Revolution
The important role Palacio played in placing Garifuna culture on the world stage was on par with the pan-African legacies of musicians such as Bob Marley and Fela Kuti. Read More...
Over the Brink of Crisis How Nigeria Is Tackling a Cholera Epidemic
Nigeria is experiencing its worst cholera outbreak in recent times. What are we doing about it? Read the full essay. Read More...
Setting the Records Straight The Rise of Africa’s Fact Checkers
From just one initiative in 2014, there were 20 active fact checking initiatives across Africa by 2018. Today, there are 35. What is driving the rise of African fact checkers and what are the implications of this trend? Read more Read More...
Setting Sail for ‘Home’ Inheriting My Parents’ Longings for Freetown
Half a century ago, I inherited my parents’ longings for Freetown, Sierra Leone. Unknown to me then, a two-week voyage home would became a lifelong journey. Read more. Read More...
The Inevitability of Bola Ahmed Tinubu The Unsurprising Candidacy of APC’s Presidential Nominee
Convincing Nigerians to ignore the controversies of his past, his wealth and his choice of running mate will be the crowning achievement of Tinubu’s career—not becoming president. Read more Read More...
‘Obidience’ or Sacrifice Can Peter Obi Actually Lead Nigeria?
A former governor of one of Nigeria’s most electorally volatile states, Peter Obi, is no left-force tyro. Regardless, he faces almost impossible odds of winning the election. Read more Read More...
One Last Dance? Atiku Abubakar, PDP’s North Star
The journeys of PDP and Atiku, its two-time presidential flagbearer, are as interwoven as they are similar. The 2023 election will likely be their ‘last dance’ together, this author writes. Atiku has no doubt reshaped PDP, but have the years shown a match made in Heaven or a pairing doomed to fail? Read more Read More...
Reframing Population Other Perspectives on Africa’s Population Growth
Discussion on Africa’s demography and population growth has often been handicapped by narrow and fragmented framing. But what if we reframed these discussions? Read more Read More...
