Culture & Society
Interim Royals The Marginalization of Women-Regents in Present-Day Yoruba Monarchy
Yoruba culture, particularly traditional leadership, holds that men are superior to women, so they dominate governance at most levels while women are considered unfit to lead in most cases. On these grounds, for women to assume the position of regents, tradition demands they discard their identities. Read More...
Wana Udobang’s Gospel of Freedom The Liberating Power of Storytelling
‘I know now that stories are infinite and everywhere,’ Wana Udobang says. ‘Some stories are urgent, some aren’t, there are always new stories to tell. This is part of my liberation practice: that life is infinite.’ Read More...
Nigeria vs the South East The Glaring Igbophobia of the 2023 Elections
From pre-independence ethnic dog whistling, to pogroms, a civil war and the systemic socio-political ostracization that has since followed, the Igbo are the most discriminated ethnic group in Nigeria and ethnic bigotry against Igbo people has been on full display in the 2023 election. Read More...
Benin Today, Venice Tomorrow The Republic of Benin Will Debut at the 2024 Venice Biennale
The Republic of Benin announced that it will be debuting with a national pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in Italy, which will hold from 20 April–24 November 2024. The announcement makes Benin the latest addition to the global art event which has been running since 1895. Read More...
‘I Wish I Had More Time to Write for Leisure’ Aby Sène’s First Draft
Senegalese academic and author, Aby Sène, believes pan-Africanism should not be presented in an alienating way. Read More...
Grief, the Royal Mantle, and an Appraisal of the Empire Book Review: Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Spare by Prince Harry ultimately makes obvious that Harry doesn’t want to change the status quo, but wants to be in the highest echelons of it, demanding racial equality at the top of a racist empire. Read More...
A Nation in Search of Glory Where is Nigerian Football When We Need it?
With constant calls for diversification of the economy, and another election season serving as a potent reminder of how polarized the country remains along ethnic lines, football holds a lot of untapped promise for the future of Nigeria. Read More...
‘A First Draft Is a First Draft’ Kuukuwa Manful’s First Draft
Ghanaian architect, Kuukuwa Manful, hopes her work re-evaluate the discourse and study of African architecture. Read More...
Lesley Lokko Prepares for Venice What Africa as a Future Laboratory for Architecture Means
In curating the Biennale Architettura 2023 in Venice in May, Lesley Lokko is set to make history as the exhibition’s first Black architect. Lokko’s career as an architect has been eclectic but always revolving around the subject of Africa’s past, present and future. Read More...
Did a New Generation Decide? Youth Participation in Nigeria’s 2023 Elections
Nigeria’s youth made up the bulk of new voters in the 2023 elections, but were they the ones to decide? Historically, Nigeria’s elections have been affected by low voter turn-out, with seemingly inalienable voter apathy. The 25 February elections, however, put a question mark on previous voter turnout data. Read More...
