PODCASTS

WALE LAWAL • JANUARY 22, 2025

SEASON 2 EP.2, PART I - THE POLITICAL RISE OF KEN SARO-WIWA (PART I)

What was it about the Ogoni movement that made it (to borrow from the American writer, Toni Cade Bambara) ‘irresistible’ to Ken Saro-Wiwa? Let’s find out together. The second episode of the second season of The Republic is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.

WALE LAWAL • JANUARY 29, 2025

SEASON 2 EP.2, PART II - THE POLITICAL RISE OF KEN SARO-WIWA (PART II)

What was it about the Ogoni movement that made it (to borrow from the American writer, Toni Cade Bambara) ‘irresistible’ to Ken Saro-Wiwa? Let’s find out together. The second part of episode two of the second season of The Republic is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.

WALE LAWAL • FEBRUARY 5, 2025

SEASON 2 EP.3 - THE OGONI CRISIS

How did the Ogonis’ peaceful protest turn into a nightmare that many in Ogoniland today are still shuddering from? How did the Ogonis’ hopes become weaponized against them? Let’s find out together. The third episode of the second season of The Republic is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.

WALE LAWAL • FEBRUARY 12, 2025

SEASON 2 EP.4 - THE KANGAROO COURT

On 19 January 1994, General Abacha sent a federal ministerial committee to Ogoniland to meet with Ken Saro-Wiwa in Bori. Lieutenant Colonel Komo, who acted as the official guide of the Committee, saw the tour as an opportunity to impress Abacha. With such differing goals between Saro-Wiwa and Lieutenant Komo, what kind of collision was about to happen? Let’s find out together. The fourth episode of the second season of The Republic is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.

WALE LAWAL • FEBRUARY 19, 2025

SEASON 2 EP.5 - THE OGONI 8

Following the murders of the Ogoni chiefs, Rivers State military administrator, Lieutenant Colonel Dauda Musa Komo, and the Abacha regime finally had their way in to disrupt MOSOP. On May 22 1994, Komo held a press conference, where he accused MOSOP of the murders. But how did the government decide who to arrest? The fifth episode of the second season of The Republic is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.

WALE LAWAL • FEBRUARY 26, 2025

SEASON 2 EP.6 - THE EXECUTION

Many Nigerians and international observers pushed for the Abacha regime to recall its sentence but on November 10 1995, they woke up to devastating news. From their homes, Nigerians wondered: despite the worldwide appeals, why did Abacha stick to his decision to sentence Saro-Wiwa and the other eight Ogonis to death? What message was Abacha trying to send to the world? Let’s find out together. The sixth episode of the second season of The Republic is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.

WALE LAWAL • MARCH 5, 2025

SEASON 2 EP.7 - ‘WE ALL STAND BEFORE HISTORY’

How have the Ogoni people been able to come to terms with the execution of the Ogoni Nine, and deal with the unresolved environmental crisis caused by oil exploration till this day? What does the crisis in Ogoni and the Niger Delta more broadly tell us about what it means to be Nigerian? The seventh episode of the second season of The Republic is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.

WALE LAWAL • OCTOBER 29, 2023

SEASON 1 EP.2 - MKO: THE MAN NIGERIA WAITED TO SEE

This episode will establish M. K. O. Abiola as a major actor. It will examine his personal life; his initial foray into business and politics; and areas of his life that shaped who he was as a politician. The second episode of The Republic is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.

WALE LAWAL • NOVEMBER 5, 2023

SEASON 1 EP.3 - SDP & NRC: TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

In this episode, we take a look at the key election candidates and what platforms they ran under. We compare their profiles and proposed agendas for Nigeria, highlighting what political stakeholders at the time felt about each candidate and party.

WALE LAWAL • NOVEMBER 19, 2023

SEASON 1 EP.4 - JUNE 12: HOPE DEFERRED

After eight years of anticipation, and eight years of promises from General Ibrahim Babangida’s junta, Nigerians were finally about to have their say at the ballot box. In this week’s episode, we head to the polls!

WALE LAWAL • NOVEMBER 19, 2023

SEASON 1 EP.5 - JUNE 12: FREEST AND FAIREST OF THEM ALL

In this week’s episode we cover the 1993 election results and the debate on Babangida’s decision to annul the results.

WALE LAWAL • NOVEMBER 26, 2023

SEASON 1 EP.6 - JUNE 12: THE REST IS HISTORY

In this closing episode, we look at the fall out of the annulment and its prolonged implications for Nigeria’s democracy. In this episode, we ask political stakeholders and try to answer why June 12 is a significant date.