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Asake

The Devil Works Hard but Asake Works Harder The Assiduous Ethic of Afrobeats Superstar Asake

Dami Ajayi·December 8, 2023
YBNL Records latest signee, Asake, has proven to be a sure bet and Afrobeats fastest rising superstar. In less than two years, he has released two outstanding albums, sold out London’s O2 Arena and earned a Grammy Award nomination. Yet he shows no signs of slowing down. Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeriavol7-no4
Ayra Starr

Ayra Starr’s Transcendental Vision for Afrobeats ​​​How the Nigerian Superstar Is Blurring the Lines between Music and Global Pop Culture​​

Emmanuel Esomnofu·December 8, 2023
Emerging into the African pop scene two years ago, Ayra Starr’s immersive records have won her the adulation of a constantly expanding fanbase. She is now embracing a wholesome experience of what it means to be a pop star in this age, branding and all things considered. Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeriavol7-no4
Burna Boy

Narcissism and the Aggrieved Art of Burna Boy How Burna Boy Represents Afrobeats’ Growing Individualistic Ethos

Olasubomi Olumofin·December 8, 2023
Burna Boy’s discography and lived attitude to Nigerian audiences presents a local-global dialectic. His irreverence towards local fans and the narcissism that pervades his latest musical offering, I Told Them, are suggestive of a growing individualistic ethos within the Afrobeats collective. Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeriavol7-no4
Davido

A Cat With Nine Lives The Many Sides to Davido’s Longevity

Olajide Salawu·December 8, 2023
The trope of grass to grace is not Davido-esque. Instead, Davido’s run so far has been from grace to grace. His interluding humbling moments cater in part to his resilient spirit, his persistence in the face of multiple adversities, and his eventual solid status in the arena of African creatives, and hordes of them, each one striving to assert their voice in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeriavol7-no4
M.I Abaga

Mr Incredible The Resounding Verses of M.I Abaga

Carl Terver·December 8, 2023
In a time when rap music in Nigeria was almost in a state of inertia, M.I Abaga, with a cohort of ‘Jos boys’, gave it life once again, this time, introducing an original aesthetic that transformed the sound of Nigerian rap. Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeriavol7-no4
P-Square

You Had To Be There The Beautiful Thing About P-Square 

Ernest Nweke·December 8, 2023
Twenty years since the Nigerian twin band, P-Square, released its first studio album, the beautiful thing about P-Square’s songs is how they take you back to where you were when you first heard them. Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeriavol7-no4
Tiwa Savage

From Moral Panic to Water and Garri Tiwa Savage within a Globalized Afrobeats Climate

Zainab Kuku·December 8, 2023
Against the backdrop of a misogynistic society, Tiwa Savage’s long-term success—as a woman who creates Nigerian popular music—is an anomaly, and such success has not been without backlash. Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeriavol7-no4
Wizkid

Big Wiz How Wizkid Became the Paragon of African Music’s Golden Age

Patrick Ezema·December 8, 2023
From local to global stardom, Wizkid has established himself as a preeminent star, with a footprint unmissable in the sands of Nigerian music. As Afrobeats continues to coast into and conquer new territories, Wizkid has established himself as an artist whose immense talent and star power helped connect Nigerian music to the rest of the world. Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeriavol7-no4
Christian Adofo

‘I Had to Sink Into Various Forms of Culture for Inspiration’ Christian Adofo’s First Draft

Christian Adofo·December 8, 2023
Ghanaian writer, Christian Adofo, had to sink into various forms of culture to get inspiration and build context for his book. Read More...
December 23/January 24First DraftGhanaInterviewsvol7-no4
Mami Wata

A Personal Review of Mami Wata CJ ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s Mami Wata and the Repositioning of Nollywood

Carl Terver·December 8, 2023
CJ ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s Mami Wata is a meticulously crafted film with the soul of true filmmaking in it. While it is worthy of the celebration it has had, is it truly a great movie? Read More...
December 23/January 24Nigeria

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CURRENT ISSUE

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republicjournal

The essential guide to the ideas, trends, people and stories shaping Nigeria and the broader African continent. Subscribe from N5,000/$5.99 monthly.

We’re looking for the most interesting brands! ⁠
⁠
For the first time since we officially launched in 2018, The Republic is opening up its platform to advertisers.⁠
⁠
But we’re not doing it the usual way.⁠
⁠
We’re inviting a small number of visionary African brands (companies and organizations building for the future, shaping culture, and sparking conversation) to advertise with us in a way that reflects our values: bold thinking, clean design, and editorial integrity.⁠
⁠
As part of this pilot, we’ll be selecting just three standout brands to receive a full month of premium visibility—across our website, newsletter, and social media channels—for ₦200,000 (a special flat rate compared to our standard ₦2 million).⁠
⁠
If selected, your ad will be vetted and supported by our editorial team to ensure it aligns with The Republic’s visual and storytelling standards. This is a rare chance to reach our highly engaged, globally minded African audience—on terms that elevate your brand.⁠
⁠
For more details and to apply, visit the link in our bio or IG story. ⁠
⁠
Deadline: 12 July 2025.⁠
⁠
We can’t wait to see what you’re building.
Today in 1922, Joseph Ki-Zerbo was born. #RPUBLCHi Today in 1922, Joseph Ki-Zerbo was born. #RPUBLCHistory⏳️⁠
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On 21 June 1922, Joseph Ki-Zerbo was born in Toma, Upper-Volta (now Burkina Faso). As a historian, politician and writer, Ki-Zerbo is recognized as one of Africa's foremost thinkers.⁠
⁠
Read more about Burkinabé politics by clicking the image in the link in bio⁠
____________⁠
📝: Ibukun Olokode x Ugonna Eronini⁠
📷: 1)Joseph Ki-Zerbo / Wikimedia Commons.⁠
2)Joseph Ki-Zerbo / Wiki.⁠
3)Thomas Sankara at the UN headquarters, New York, 1984. Milton Grant/UN Photo.
Nok and Africa’s Disregard for Prehistory #OnSi Nok and Africa’s Disregard for Prehistory  #OnSite⚡⁠
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⁠
⁠Who stole our past, and why did we let them?⁠
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Nok art, 2,500 years old, locked in glass boxes in Paris. A German university training archaeologists on Nigeria’s Nok Valley, with none of them African. An ancient Ethiopian feminist philosophy rediscovered in Norway, while Addis Ababa looked the other way.⁠
⁠
In today’s essay, Odafin Odafe Okoh confronts the question at the heart of Africa’s heritage crisis: Why do African leaders continue to treat precolonial history as dispensable? And what happens to a society that allows the world to define its past?⁠
⁠
It’s a timely, cultural report about imperial theft but more hauntingly, it is about African amnesia, state-sanctioned silence and the quiet burial of our most powerful intellectual legacies.⁠
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Read the full essay by clicking this image in the link in bio or our IG story.⁠
⁠
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📝: Odafin Odafe Okoh⁠
📸: Photo illustration by Ezinne Osueke (@ezinne.o.osueke) / THE REPUBLIC. Source Ref: WIKIMEDIA. Nok Art / African Art Gallery.⁠
🔍: Ada Nnadi (@horneddaughter), Yusuf Omotayo (@yusufomotayo), Wale Lawal (@wallelawal); Editors.
Today in 1920, Amos Tutuola was born. #RPUBLCHisto Today in 1920, Amos Tutuola was born. #RPUBLCHistory⏳️⁠
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On 20 June 1920, Amos Tutuola was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He was a Nigerian novelist whose works featured rich Yoruba folklore written in nonstandard English. Many of his books featured stories he had heard as a child.⁠
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Swipe to learn more and read more about Amos Tutuola by clicking the image at the link in our bio.⁠
____________⁠
📝: Ibukun Olokode and Ugonna Eronini⁠
📷: 1) Amos Tutuola. Francoise Huguier/Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center/The University of Texas at Austin. ⁠
2) Amos Tutuola. Wikimedia Commons.⁠
Press Freedom is at Risk in the Democratic Republi Press Freedom is at Risk in the Democratic Republic of Congo. #RPUBLCNews📡⁠
⁠
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has banned the country’s media from reporting on the activities of former president, Joseph Kabila, and his party, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), claiming that they pose a threat to ‘national cohesion’. This comes after Kabila visited the eastern city of Goma, which is controlled by the M23 rebels currently fighting the DRC army. ⁠
⁠
The ban raises concerns about press freedom in the DRC, coming only two years after the country passed a new press law potentially restricting press freedom and providing several opportunities for journalism to be criminalized. In 2024, the Journalist in Danger, a DRC-based organization, reported that there had been ‘at least 523 cases of various attacks against the press’ in the last five years.⁠
_____⁠
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📝: Ijapa O (@ijapa_o)⁠
🔍: Ezinne Osueke (@ezinne.o.osueke), Yusuf Omotayo (@yusufomotayo), Adetola Wahab; Editors.
What Is the Place of Nollywood in the World? #OnS What Is the Place of Nollywood in the World?  #OnSite⚡⁠
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Despite being the world’s second-largest film industry by volume, Nollywood remains startlingly absent from the global spaces where culture is consumed. On a train from Paris to Lille for Series Mania—the largest TV festival in Europe—Ahmad Adedimeji Amobi browses the in-train film catalogue: French, Italian, Indian, American. Nollywood? Not there. Even on the flight over, Nigerian films were buried under ‘World’ then ‘African.’⁠
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Nollywood has topped Netflix global charts (Aníkúlápó, Shanty Town), attracted streaming giants like Amazon and Netflix, and sent delegations to Europe’s most prestigious festivals. Yet, the industry remains on the margins: overlooked by the Oscars, sidelined by global distributors and perpetually asked to prove its worth.⁠
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Ahmad Adedimeji Amobi’s essay draws from the Series Mania Forum (where ten Nollywood filmmakers joined Africa’s cultural elite) to ask urgent questions: Why does Hollywood exist in Nigeria but not vice versa? Is the industry being undermined by its obsession with volume over quality? What happens if streamers pull out completely? And why hasn’t Nollywood, despite decades of output, been invited to sit at the table of global cinematic power?⁠
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With commentary from Kunle Afolayan, Mimidoo Bartel and Blessing Uzzi, this essay is a sharp reflection on race, gatekeeping, cultural capital and the complex politics of distribution.⁠
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Read the full essay by clicking this image in the link in bio or our IG story.⁠
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📌 Check the pinned comment for our question of the day.
___________⁠
⁠
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📝: Ahmad Adedimeji Amobi (@ahmad_adedimeji)⁠
📸: Photo illustration by Ezinne Osueke (@ezinne.o.osueke) / THE REPUBLIC. Source Ref: UNSPLASH. Nollywood sign / RIPPLES NIGERIA. ⁠
🔍: Ijapa O (@ijapa_o), Peace Yetunde Onafuye (@yetundeandbooks), Wale Lawal (@wallelawal); Editors.
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