We are pleased to announce that The Republic podcast has been longlisted for the 2026 One World Media Awards in the Podcast & Radio Award category! This honour recognizes the final episode of our second season titled, ‘We All Stand Before History’. While the second season of our podcast explores the activism, legacy and execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 9, our seventh and final episode follows a mystery at the heart of Nigeria’s unfinished reckoning with the 1990s Ogoni movement.
In 2006, Nigerian-British sculptor, Sokari Douglas-Camp, created Battle Bus, a life-sized steel memorial to Saro-Wiwa and eight Ogoni environmental activists executed by the Nigerian state in 1995 for resisting unchecked oil exploitation in Ogoniland. Intended as a symbol of movement and remembrance, the artwork has never reached its destination. In 2015, when the bus arrived at the Lagos Seaport for a commemoration in Bori, it was impounded by port authorities. Using the stalled journey of the bus as a narrative spine, the episode investigates why Saro-Wiwa’s memory continues to provoke state unease, and what it means when a government cannot release even an artwork.
By tracing the afterlife of Saro-Wiwa’s execution into the present, ‘We All Stand Before History’ reframes the Ogoni struggle as an unresolved, ongoing confrontation with power, accountability, and what it truly means to be Nigerian; especially for a new generation encountering this story for the first time.
This is a significant feat for us because the One World Media Awards honours outstanding journalism that shines a light on underreported stories across the global South. Our nominated category, Podcast & Radio Award, recognizes impact and stories that have a compelling narrative. We are honoured to be part of a global community of storytellers committed to justice and change.
Start listening to join the movement here⎈
