Latest Posts

Who Pays When Africans Fall Sick?

Anodi KaihulaApril 20, 2025

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 more inclusive health insurance.

April/May 2025Tanzania

Reading Gabriel García Márquez in Nairobi

Dennis MugaaApril 20, 2025

With the recent Netflix adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, I recount what it meant to read his work as a young writer living in Nairobi.

April/May 2025Kenya

Writers and the Fictional Women Characters They Love

Ijapa OApril 20, 2025

In our First Draft interviews, we asked prominent women authors about the fictional women characters that they love. Here’s what they told us.

April/May 2025First DraftInterviews

7 Books Perfect for a Nollywood Film Adaptation

Ijapa OApril 20, 2025

In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of seven books that are perfect for Nollywood film adaptations. From the story of a man who mysteriously transforms into a white person, constituting a biting satire about a race relations in Nigeria, to a brilliant woman’s account of her experiences in the male-dominated scene of Nigerian politics, the books on this list will certainly make blockbuster films!

April/May 2025Read Something AfricanReading

The Charged Politics of an African Passport

Mustapha IsaApril 13, 2025

Africans remain constrained within and outside the continent due to their passports, which have hindered the exploration of global opportunities.

AfricaApril/May 2025

The Beauty Tax on Nigeria’s Poorest Women

Foyin EjilolaApril 13, 2025

When it comes to beauty standards and how women defy or succumb to them, the discourse takes on a new meaning for Nigerian women on the lowest rung of the economic ladder. For them, attaining the ‘ideal’ appearance is a measure of beauty and class.

April/May 2025Nigeria

The Tragedy of an Evil Genius

Afolabi AdekaiyaojaApril 13, 2025

Babangida’s attempt to tell his own story or shape his own legacy through his memoir, A Journey in Service, falls short of expectations raising questions about whether the book should have been written at all.

April/May 2025NigeriaReading

Rediscovering Nigeria’s Radio Heritage

Tolu DanielApril 13, 2025

Nigerian radio dramas, like Abule Oloke Merin, were once powerful mediums for storytelling and cultural memory, yet many of these programmes have been lost due to poor archival practices. By drawing lessons from other African nations on preserving ephemeral media, Nigeria will be well equipped to preserve its auditory heritage.

April/May 2025Nigeria

‘I Wanted to Explore the Thrill That Comes with First Loves’ Fatima Bala’s First Draft

Fatima BalaApril 13, 2025

Nigerian writer and author of Broken, Fatima Bala, says that with her new novel, Hafsatu Bebi, she wanted to explore the realities of being a northern Nigerian girl: ‘I have always wanted to see different authentic depictions of northern Nigerian girls. And so, in the characterization, I was itching to write a northern Muslim who happens to be very different from Fa’iza from Broken.’

April/May 2025First DraftInterviewsNigeria

7 Books That Will Make You See Historical Figures Differently

Ijapa OApril 13, 2025

In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of seven books that will make you see historical figures differently. From the fictional biography of the first African man to explore America to a nuanced portrait that asks us to contextualize the life of one of South Africa’s most controversial women, the books on this list will make you think again about the historical figures you thought you knew.

April/May 2025Read Something AfricanReading

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