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.
Support our award-winning coverage by subscribing today. 

vol. 8, no. 1

An African Feminist Manifesto

Our latest issue, An African Feminist Manifesto, considers the imperatives for Black African feminism(s) in our uniquely uncertain times. plus more.

 

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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. 1

An African Feminist Manifesto

Our latest issue, An African Feminist Manifesto, considers the imperatives for Black African feminism(s) in our uniquely uncertain times. plus more.
Save up to 50% by purchasing an annual print + digital subscription, and get unlimited access to The Republic. We ship worldwide.

Nairobi
WORLD VIEW

Nairobi in a Song A Boy, His Father, and Old Tunes

‘To Kenyans, 2023 feels like the year the country dies. But within this Rhumba and Jazz establishment in Nairobi’s Tao, it could as well be 1970,’ Ogwa writes. ‘Perched behind a corner table with two cold bottles of beer sweating before me, I pass a quintessential moment, watching folks of all ages waltz elegantly to Cabo Verde Barefoot Diva, Cesária Évora’s “Partida”... For me, old music is not just entertainment, it’s a compass with which I always find my way back to me.’

This Week’s Essentials

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

Flavour

the latest online / THE MINISTRY OF ARTS / MUSIC DEPT.

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.

Nairobi

dispatch from kenya

Nairobi in a Song A Boy, His Father, and Old Tunes

‘To Kenyans, 2023 feels like the year the country dies. But within this Rhumba and Jazz establishment in Nairobi’s Tao, it could as well be 1970,’ Ogwa writes. ‘Perched behind a corner table with two cold bottles of beer sweating before me, I pass a quintessential moment, watching folks of all ages waltz elegantly to Cabo Verde Barefoot Diva, Cesária Évora’s “Partida”... For me, old music is not just entertainment, it’s a compass with which I always find my way back to me.’

Funke Akindele

the MINISTRY OF BUSINESS X THE ECONOMY

Funke Akindele’s Path to a Billion Naira

Being a force in an industry is a difficult position to attribute to anyone. But after producing the top three highest-grossing movies in Nollywood and being the first and only filmmaker to surpass ₦1-billion-box-office sales, Funke Akindele has cemented herself as an entertainment titan.

Mungo Park

the MINISTRY OF MEMORIES

Christianity

the MINISTRY OF WORLD AFFAIRS

A Peculiar People Christianity and Nigerian Public Life

Nothing was untouched by the practice of religion in Nigeria. You could not pour sand in your ears to drown out its demands. We carried on with the assumption that the spirit world was a place of dynamism where things happened before they reached our plane. I loved this about us... Yet I came to see how our approach to religion and spirituality wounded us.

Afro-Complicity United Nations

the MINISTRY OF WORLD AFFAIRS

Afro-complicity in the United Nations ‘They Are Not a Part of Us’

What Robert A. Wood, Ralph Bunche and Linda Thomas-Greenfield represent is known in the discourse of African ontology as Black complicity—Afro-complicity, if you please. This is a distinct kind of complicity reified when a Black person tries to dispel racist oppressive hegemonic constructs but due to his inability to be critical of the underlying subtleties of Black stereotypes, he ends up becoming the instrument for its advancement.

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

THE REPUBLIC INTERVIEWS / FIRST DRAFT

Nigerian Student

in case you missed it

The Unseen Struggles of a Nigerian Student in the UK Gig Economy From 80-Hour Work Weeks to Fatherhood

In the aftermath of Brexit, the UK experienced a notable shift in migration patterns, attracting previously eschewed non-EU citizens, especially those from former colonies like Nigeria. But this opportunity is a double-edged sword, with immigrants having to resort to illegal employment—at great physical, psychological and legal risk—to cope with the high costs of living.

THE LATEST IN PRINT
VOL. 8, NO. 1
AN AFRICAN FEMINIST MANIFESTO

Now Available: Our February – April 2024 Print Issue

Featuring: 
Ololade Faniyi on decolonial African feminism; Kéchi Nne Nnomu on Frida Orupabo; Kai Mora on African Women in Abrahamic history; Peace Onafuye on Buchi Emecheta; plus more.

THE LATEST IN PRINT
VOL. 8, NO. 1
AN AFRICAN FEMINIST MANIFESTO

Now Available: Our February – April 2024 Print Issue

Featuring: 
Ololade Faniyi on decolonial African feminism; Kéchi Nne Nnomu on Frida Orupabo; Kai Mora on African Women in Abrahamic history; Peace Onafuye on Buchi Emecheta; plus 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

An African Feminist Manifesto

Decolonial African feminist thought is equal parts rage and radical care. It is a collaborative and unbiased call to action that insists on justice, self-determination, and autonomy, building on the legacies of foremothers to create our lifelines for our future and the ones that come after us.

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.

Strange Departures

A 40-Year-Old Japa Story

From the ‘Checking Out’ of the 80s to today’s ‘Japa’ wave, Nigeria’s enduring struggle with brain drain has lasted far too long. Despite promises of change, the nation continues to grapple with familiar challenges that drive its citizens abroad in search of more; more opportunities, more peace of mind, and the ability to be more.

Japa

A 40-Year-Old Japa Story

From the ‘Checking Out’ of the 80s to today’s ‘Japa’ wave, Nigeria’s enduring struggle with brain drain has lasted far too long. Despite promises of change, the nation continues to grapple with familiar challenges that drive its citizens abroad in search of more; more opportunities, more peace of mind, and the ability to be more.

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