Recommended reading by The Republic‘s editors, on Nigeria’s independence and wider political history.
Editors Picks: Independence Day
Egba Women Unite! Lessons from the Egba Women’s Anti-Colonial Movement
For much of history, Egba market women have been erroneously (re)presented as ‘barbaric’ and ‘disorganized’. Such women, however, were indelible forces of anti-colonial resistance. Their legacies invite us to deconstruct anti-colonial struggles—a restorative and equally revolutionary act. Read more. Read More...
Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Zikism The President and the Revolutionary Ideology He Denied
A troubled relationship with Zikism, the leftist political ideology Nnamdi Azikiwe inspired and drew his political base from, may explain his sudden yet prolonged fall from prominence. Read more. Read More...
The Civil Soldier The Political Legacy of Olusegun Obasanjo
Obasanjo’s legacy as a civil soldier is difficult to summarize. Though he made several advances as Nigeria’s longest-serving civilian leader, he missed several opportunities to build institutions that would have helped entrench true civility and democracy within Nigeria. Read more. Read More...
‘Justice is Local.’ Tosin Osasona’s First Draft
Security analyst and author of ‘Terrorists or Criminal Gangs: New Lords of Nigeria’s North West’, Tosin Osasona, believes justice is a contextual and local concept. Read our interview. Read More...
‘Love Does Not Win Elections’ Ayisha Osori's First Draft
Author and development practitioner, Ayisha Osori ran for office in 2014 and recently changed how she thinks about Nigeria’s political processes. Read our interview. Read More...
The Wizard of Kirsten Hall Who Was Herbert Macaulay?
75 years ago, Herbert Macaulay, one of the most iconic Nigerians of all time, died. Perhaps his greatest legacy was to establish a political party, Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), which became a vehicle for Nigerian nationalism. Read more Read More...
On the National Red Line Negotiating Nigeria’s ‘Non-Negotiable’ Unity
The Aburi conference held in Ghana in January 1967 was one of the few times that Nigeria’s unity was ever truly ‘negotiated. Read more. Read More...
An Irony of History The Complicated Legacy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo
Peer, predecessor or successor, Awolowo’s unequivocal articulation of a clear and consistent political ideology places him above anyone else in Nigeria’s political history. Read more. Read More...
Nigeria’s Arrested Development A History of Accidental Presidents
While many are of the opinion that Nigeria started out on the right path politically and somehow derailed, there is a divergent school of thought suggesting that Nigeria always lacked progressive leadership from the get-go. Read More...
Nigeria’s Missing Multipliers Women, Vision 2020 and Nigeria’s Legal Blindspot
Development plans like Vision 2020 failed by design, resting on legal frameworks that near-completely overlooked women—half the population—in Nigeria. Read More...
