OUR BEST WRITING OF 2023

Every year, The Republic publishes the most ambitious writing focused on Africa, from news and analysis to long-form features.
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vol. 8, no. 4

REIMAGINING NIGERIAN HERITAGE

Our latest issue, Reimagining Nigerian Heritage, focuses on the unknown and underdiscussed stories that reflect the richness of Nigeria’s heritage across its different cultures.

Purchase an annual print + digital subscription, and get unlimited access to The Republic. We ship worldwide.

Every year, The Republic publishes the most ambitious writing focused on Africa, from news and analysis to long-form features.
Support our award-winning coverage by subscribing today. 
Our print + digital subscription is 50% off. 

vol. 8, no. 4

REIMAGINING NIGERIAN HERITAGE

Our latest issue, Reimagining Nigerian Heritage, focuses on the unknown and underdiscussed stories that reflect the richness of Nigeria’s heritage across its different cultures.

Purchase an annual print + digital subscription, and get unlimited access to The Republic. We ship worldwide.

This Week’s Essentials

Our top analyses, debates, ideas and stories of the week.

minimum wage

HEADLINE STORY / THE MINISTRY OF BUSINESS X THE ECONOMY

Nigeria’s 70,000 Naira Sham

The Nigerian government recently approved an increase in the country’s minimum wage from N30,000 (approximately US$20) to N70,000 (approximately $47). While this increase aims to ease the financial strain on many Nigerians, the reality of the new minimum wage for the average citizen remains harsh.

Mambar Pierrette

THE MINISTRY OF ARTS / FILM DEPT.

Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto

THE MINISTRY OF ARTS / FIRST DRAFT INTERVIEWS

‘The Worst Thing to Tell a Poet Is That There Is No Money in Writing Poetry’ Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto’s First Draft

Nigerian poet and author of ‘The Last Time I Saw My Father’, Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto, believes many African stories are underappreciated: ‘The literary landscape is vast, and countless voices and stories have yet to receive the attention they truly deserve. It is not always about a single book but rather the collective body of work from diverse regions, cultures, and languages.’

Climate Action

THE MINISTRY OF CLIMATE CHANGE X THE ENVIRONMENT

Climate change is heating up the globe, causing poverty, destroying livelihoods, and making life unbearable. Addressing this crisis in Africa requires democratizing climate action and simplifying its messaging to make it accessible to everyone.

Protests

THE MINISTRY OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS

Cameroon

THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE X TECHNOLOGY

Cameroon’s Hi-Tech Illusion

Cameroon is currently led by the world’s oldest president, who, in recent years, has taken significant steps to ‘modernize’ the state through digital technology. With Paul Biya seeking re-election in 2025, Cameroonians have an added reason to pay critical attention to his national technological agenda.

Fact-checking

THE MINISTRY OF WORLD AFFAIRS

The Politicization of Fact-Checking

The role and perception of fact-checking in regions with fragile trust in media and government has sparked recent debates, as analysts question its effectiveness amid partisan exploitation by political actors.

Books

THE REPUBLIC RECOMMENDS

5 Books to Read If You Think AI Will Take Your Job

In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of five books you should read if you think AI will take your job. From a collection of AI-themed short stories from across Africa to an interrogation of the myth of AI’s objectivity, the books on this list will help you think more critically about AI.

Ogoni

THE REPUBLIC PODCAST

S2 EP7: ‘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.

Congo

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The Mad Scramble for Congo

At the heart of Congo’s prolonged crises is a scramble for its natural resources, similar to the precolonial scramble for Africa. All hands must be on deck this time to protect the over 100 million Congolese lives caught in this unfortunate unending war.

ANNOUNCEMENT DESK

Onyeka Onwenu
#NIGERIANICON

The Endless Life of Onyeka Onwenu

Nigerian pop icon Onyeka Onwenu died earlier this year. With an iridescent career spanning decades, Onwenu’s knowledge of Nigeria’s failings ran as deep as her capacity to imagine and believe in a better Nigeria.

I Watch You Disappear

The Struggle Between Faith and Finality

Feranmi Ariyo’s I Watch You Disappear articulates illness, grief, hope and faith, blending prosaic narrative with poetic depth to capture the emotional tension of a family grappling with cancer and...

THE LATEST IN PRINT
VOL. 8, NO. 4
REIMAGINING NIGERIAN HERITAGE

Now Available: Our November 2024 – January 2025 Print Issue

Featuring: 
Republic editor, Wale Lawal, in conversation with Museum of West African Art director, Ore Disu; Emmanuel Esomnofu on the magic of musician, William Onyeabor; Kéchi Nne Nomu on the legendary influence of pop icon, Onyeka Onwenu, who died earlier this year; Ozoz Sokoh on the foods inspired by novelist, Buchi Emecheta; Yusuf Omotayo on the timelessness of Tunde Kelani’s Yoruba film classic, Ṣaworoìdẹ; and much more!

THE LATEST IN PRINT
VOL. 8, NO. 4
REIMAGINING NIGERIAN HERITAGE

Now Available: Our November 2024 – January 2025 Print Issue

Featuring: 
Republic editor, Wale Lawal, in conversation with Museum of West African Art director, Ore Disu; Emmanuel Esomnofu on the magic of musician, William Onyeabor; Kéchi Nne Nomu on the legendary influence of pop icon, Onyeka Onwenu, who died earlier this year; Ozoz Sokoh on the foods inspired by novelist, Buchi Emecheta; Yusuf Omotayo on the timelessness of Tunde Kelani’s Yoruba film classic, Ṣaworoìdẹ; and much more!

African Feminist Manifesto

vol.8 no.1 / EDITOR'S FOREWORD

‘An African Feminist Manifesto’

For whom is the transformative potential of feminism new? Our latest issue, An African Feminist Manifesto, considers the imperatives for Black African feminism(s) in our uniquely uncertain times, plus more.

Feminist

COVER ESSAY

Frida Orupabo

THE MINISTRY OF ARTs / PHOTO DEPT.

Abrahamic Tradition

THE MINISTRY OF MEMORIES

A Womanist Reading of African Women in Abrahamic Tradition

Though the presence of Abrahamic tradition within global Black consciousness often finds expression through male-dominated narratives, a closer examination uncovers Black women at the very centres of the most path-altering moments in the tradition, offering analogues with which Black women have interpreted, reimagined and reclaimed their past, present, and future.

Second Class Citizen

THE MINISTRY OF ARTs / BOOKS DEPT.

50 Years of Buchi Emecheta’s Second-Class Citizen

In 1974, Buchi Emecheta’s novel, Second-Class Citizen, was published. While this novel has inspired a generation of African writers, the themes Emecheta explored—such as Black immigrant life in the UK and the ills of a patriarchal society—remain as relevant today as ever.

On Demas Nwoko

Our latest issue, Demas Nwoko’s Natural Synthesis, celebrates Nwoko’s artistic and architectural impact and the rise of African architecture.

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We get it. Sometimes the headline stories are just not enough.

ARTS & CULTURE

I Watch You Disappear

The Struggle Between Faith and Finality

Feranmi Ariyo’s I Watch You Disappear articulates illness, grief, hope and faith, blending prosaic narrative with poetic depth to capture the emotional tension of a family grappling with cancer and...

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BUSINESS & THE ECONOMY

Why Nigeria’s Financial Sector Needs Feminist Reforms

Despite visible strides in gender diversity within Nigeria’s financial sector, deep-rooted systemic inequalities persist, undermining genuine progress. Addressing these challenges requires moving beyond surface-level metrics to implement transformative policies that...

HISTORY

Brimah

The Yorubas of Ghana

The historic migration of the Yoruba people from Ile-Ife has shaped Ghana’s Yoruba community through trade, faith and family ties. At the heart of this connection is Chief Brimah, an...

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POLITICS

Babangida

Babangida and the Politics of Memory

Wale Lawal unpacks ex-military ruler Ibrahim Babangida’s spin on history, A Journey in Service, the cracks in Nigerian activism and the silent collapse of intellectualism in Nigerian universities.

RADIO REPUBLIC

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Health Insurance

Who Pays When Africans Fall Sick?

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...

Cameroon

Cameroon’s Hi-Tech Illusion

Cameroon is currently led by the world’s oldest president, who, in recent years, has taken significant steps to ‘modernize’ the state through digital technology. With Paul Biya seeking re-election in...

WORLD AFFAIRS

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