Culture & Society
‘It’s Essential That We Tell Our Own Stories’ Kome Otobo’s First Draft
Nigerian editor and author of Nigerian Gods, Kome Otobo, wants Nigerians to take pride in their traditional belief systems. Read More...
‘We Belong to Ourselves’ The Unbounded Freedom of Chigozie Obi’s Women
In a world where women are told all the things they can or cannot do, Chigozie Obi’s art creates a world where women exist in unbounded freedom. Bleeding, smoking, staring into space: we are ushered into a world where women can just be. Read More...
The Future of Nigerian Basketball A Policy Roadmap to Retain and Develop Basketball Talent in Nigeria
For decades, Nigeria has served as a talent pool for international basketball leagues but has failed to capitalize on its youth potential. The advent of a new administration provides an opportunity for a renewed and revised policy approach. Read More...
‘I Am Too Crushed by the War That Started in Sudan to Embark on a New Novel’ Leila Aboulela’s First Draft
Award-winning writer and Sudanese novelist, Leila Aboulela, discovered Akuany, the protagonist of her most recent novel, River Spirit, on a bill of sale in the Sudan Archives at Durham University. Read More...
Iya Eba’s Legacy Lagos No Send Anybody
The story of Lagos, or at least a major section of it, would be incomplete without a chapter on those who provide the fuel needed to keep the people of this megacity constantly moving: street food. Consider Iya Eba restaurant, which, for more than 50 years, has contributed to the history of Lagos one plate at a time. Read More...
Performative or Genuine? Unpacking the Motivations Behind Pan-African Collaborations in Afrobeats
In addition to the rise in collaboration between Afrobeats artists and western musicians, there has been increased ‘Pan-African’ collaborations with older, more traditional African artists. Are these collaborations motivated by pursuit of international accolades or genuine creative expression? Read More...
‘I Tend to Write Wildly and Freely’ Yewande Omotoso’s First Draft
Nigerian author, Yewande Omotoso’s most recent novel, An Unusual Grief, was inspired by her experience of loss. Read More...
A ‘Soft and Spiritual Way’ The Restrained Dreaminess of Isabel Okoro’s Normatopia
In response to the violence Black people around the world routinely face, Nigerian photographer, Isabel Okoro has been situating her work in what she terms ‘normatopia’. A normatopia is normal, not perfect; a middle ground between the harshness of reality and the dreaminess of utopias. Read More...
Against All Odds Zlatan Ibile’s ‘Omo Ologo’ and the Triumph of Perseverance
Zlatan Ibile dreamed of football, wealth, and escaping Ikorodu, with no thought for music. Today, music is his key to global fame and fortune. From Ikorodu’s concrete, a flower blooms against all odds. Read More...
What Happened on June 12? Introducing The Republic’s Podcast About June 12
The Republic is a narrative podcast series exploring pivotal Nigerian and broader African historical events and figures. In the first season, host Wale Lawal traces the significance of the June 12 1993 election, 30 years on. June 12, which marked the political rise of Moshood Kashimawo Olawale ‘M. K. O.’ Abiola and culminated in his arrest and death, no longer feels inanimate. Why was it such a pivotal moment? What did it feel like to experience it? And why has it remained engrained in Nigeria’s political consciousness? Read More...
