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Emmanuel Akinwotu

Emmanuel Akinwotu

‘I Need Deadlines to Focus Me.’ Emmanuel Akinwotu’s First Draft

Emmanuel AkinwotuMay 28, 2021

Emmanuel Akinwotu

is a journalist, covering West Africa for The Guardian.

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The Chinua Achebe International Symposium Princeton University to Host African Scholars in Commemorating the Legacy of Chinua Achebe

September 15, 2023

Habibi, Come to Dubai? Lifting Nigeria’s Visa Ban Won’t Fix the Country’s Reputation

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Conflict in Sudan The Invisibility of the African Union

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Today in 2013, Kofi Awoonor died aged 78. #RxHisto

Today in 2013, Kofi Awoonor died aged 78. #RxHistory⏳⁠
⁠
On 21 September 2013, Ghanaian author, poet, and diplomat, Kofi Awoonor was killed in a terrorist attack on Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where he had been attending a literature festival. ⁠
⁠
Born in 1935 in Wheta, Gold Coast, Awoonor’s works were inspired by the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people. His first poetry book, 'Rediscovery', was published in 1964, four years after he graduated from the University of Ghana. He would later go on to get his M.A. and PhD in the UK and US respectively. While in the US, Awoonor published his first novel, 'This Earth, My Brother', and, in a career that spanned 49 years, would go on to publish seven more books, including three additional books of poetry.⁠
⁠
In 1975, after about five years in the US, Awoonor returned to Ghana to head the English department at the University of Cape Coast. A few months later, he was arrested for being complicit in a plan to overthrow the military government, and was imprisoned without trial. After he was released in October 1976, he became more politically active.⁠
⁠
Swipe to learn more and read more stories about Nigerian history at the link in our bio.⁠
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📝: Adams Adeosun x Ugonna Eronini⁠
📷: Photo 1: Ghanaian poet, Kofi Awoonor. Poetry International Foundation.⁠
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Photo 2: Kofi Awoonor, in his last public appearance, a poetry master class, in Nairobi, on Sept. 20, 2013. Storymoja Hay Festival/Msingi Sasis. Christian Thompson/AP⁠
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Photo 3: Awoonor’s first novel. Goodreads⁠
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Photo 4: Kofi Awoonor. FH Communications Bureau

South Africa’s Haphazard Commitment to Open Bord

South Africa’s Haphazard Commitment to Open Borders. #OnSite⚡ ⁠
⁠
South Africa’s migration policy highlights the contradiction between its commitment to free movement which now struggles against the AU’s Agenda 2063 and international treaties.⁠
⁠
Swipe to learn more and read more on the not-so-free movement of people at the link in our bio.⁠
⁠
_________________⁠
📝: Adenike Fapohunda (@sometimesnike)⁠
🔎: Peace Onafuye (@yetundeandboks), Yusuf Omotayo (@yusufomotayo), Wale Lawal (@wallelawal); Editors⁠
🎨: Onyinye Dike (@oxdx); Illustration / THE REPUBLIC.

Today in 1923, general elections were held for the

Today in 1923, general elections were held for the first time in Nigeria #RxHistory⏳⁠
⁠
On 20 September 1923, general elections were held for the first time in Nigeria. The Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) established under the leadership of Sir Herbert Macaulay in June 1923, won three of the four elected seats in the Legislative Council.⁠
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The 1922 Nigeria (Legislative Council) Order in Council provided for a 46-member Legislative Council, only four seats out of 46 were elected, others were only provided or appointed, among which were 23 ex-officials, four nominated officials and 15 unofficial members. ⁠
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As for voters, the right to vote was withheld from those who had been convicted of a crime and sentenced to death, hard labour or prison for more than a year. It was also important to be of ‘sound mind’, in order to be considered eligible to vote. Approximately 4,000 people registered to vote in Lagos, with around 450 people registering to vote in Calabar.⁠
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Egerton Shyngle, Eric Moore and Crispin Adeniyi-Jones of NNDP won three seats and the last one went to Kwamina Ata-Amonu of the Independents Party.⁠
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Swipe to learn more and read more stories about Nigerian history at the link in our bio.⁠
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📷: 1) Lagos Landscape in the 1920s. National Archives UK.⁠
2) Crispin Adeniyi-Jones of NNDP. Ed Emeka Keazor ⁠

Today in 1956, the first Congress of Black Writers

Today in 1956, the first Congress of Black Writers and Artists met in Paris. #RxHistory⏳⁠
⁠
On 19 September 1956, the Congress of Black Writers and Artists held for the first time, with eminent artists and thinkers like Frantz Fanon, Leopold Sedar Senghor, W.E.B. Du Bois, Aime Cesaire, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and Nigerian painter, Ben Enwonwu, in attendance.⠀⁠
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Organized by Présence Africaine, a pan-African journal which wielded strong influence in the decolonization struggle and the Negritude movement, the 1956 congress took place over four days during which issues of colonialism, slavery and Negritude were addressed.⠀⁠
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Swipe to learn more and read more stories about Black history at the link in our bio.⁠
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📝: Adams Adeosun x Ugonna Eronini⠀⁠
📷: The First International Congress of Black Writers and Artists meets in Paris in 1956. Du Bois’s Telegram: Literary Resistance and State Containment/Harvard University Press

Habibi, You Can’t Come to Dubai. #RxNews📡⁠

Habibi, You Can’t Come to Dubai. #RxNews📡⁠
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The Nigerian government announced the lifting of the year-long visa ban barring Nigerians from entering the United Arab Emirates. However, the Arab country is yet to confirm this, raising questions about Nigeria’s global reputation.⁠
⁠
Swipe to learn more and read about how lifting the visa ban won't save Nigeria's reputation at the link in our bio.⁠
⁠
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📝: Victoria Audu (@toriasspace)⁠
🔎: Yusuf Omotayo (@yusufomotayo); Editor⁠
📷️: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan via officialABAT / X

Today in 1962, Rwanda was admitted to the United N

Today in 1962, Rwanda was admitted to the United Nations. #RxHistory⏳⁠
⁠
On 18 September 1962, Rwanda became a member of the United Nations after it witnessed a revolution between 1959 and 1961, and gained independence on 1 July 1962. ⁠
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Rwanda, a small, landlocked country of three ethnic groups—the majority Hutu, the Tutsi, and the minority Twa—in East Africa, used to be ruled by a Tutsi monarchy.⁠
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Rwanda was assigned to Germany at the Berlin Conference of 1884, becoming part of German East Africa. But it wasn’t until Belgium took control of the territory in 1916, during World War I, that a more direct colonial rule started.⁠
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Belgium ruled both Rwanda and Burundi, the country directly south of Rwanda, jointly as Ruanda-Burundi. In 1959, in the build-up to Rwandan independence, there were tensions between the Hutu, who would be favoured by majority rule, and the Tutsi, whose role in the government could become diminished. ⁠
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Swipe to learn more and read more stories about African history at the link in our bio.⁠
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📝: Adams Adeosun x Ugonna Eronini⁠
📷: Rwanda's President, Gregoire Kayibanda in 1962. African Archives ⁠
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A document showing that Rwanda has been admitted to the United Nations. UN Photo.⁠
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President of the Republic of Rwanda Visits UN HQ in New York, 1967. UN Photos.

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