On Fatherhood

Created by The Republic

Stories on fatherhood across Nigeria and Africa.

CHINUA EZENWA-OHAETOSEPTEMBER 15, 2024

The Last Time I Saw My Father

In the fading light of my father’s life, I watched helplessly as the man I once knew as vibrant and full of life slowly withered away. Though I loved him fiercely as a son, I did not realize how great my father was until years after his death.

TONNY OGWAJUNE 2, 2024

My Father Has Diabetes

The last time we were in the same room like this, we were celebrating the birth of Jesus. Today, nothing was born but father’s diabetes, and yet here we were, almost in a celebratory mood.

WALE LAWALMARCH 22, 2026

Why a Pardon Is Not Justice for Ken Saro-Wiwa

Last year, when Nigeria announced a posthumous pardon for Ken Saro-Wiwa and twelve other Ogonis, it was framed as a gesture of closure. Noo Saro-Wiwa does not see it that way. In this conversation, she explains why a pardon, without exoneration, cannot undo the violence of the past or resolve the political struggle her father left behind.

AZUBUIKE OBIAUGUST 17, 2025

The Weight of Duty

Azubuike Obi writes about the passing of his father and the weight of trying to step into his shoes as expected by society.

LUTIVINI MAJANJAFEBRUARY 21, 2025

Odanga Is Still Fighting

My maternal great-grandfathers were both directly affected by the First World War. Only one of them lived to tell his story.

TONNY OGWAMARCH 24, 2024

Nairobi in a Song

‘To Kenyans, 2023 feels like the year the country dies. But within this Rhumba and Jazz establishment in Nairobi’s Tao, it could as well be 1970,’ Ogwa writes. ‘Perched behind a corner table with two cold bottles of beer sweating before me, I pass a quintessential moment, watching folks of all ages waltz elegantly to Cabo Verde Barefoot Diva, Cesária Évora’s “Partida”… For me, old music is not just entertainment, it’s a compass with which I always find my way back to me.’