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Kehinde Gbelee

Mushin

A Larger Problem The Romanticization of Mushin

Kehinde GbeleeJanuary 13, 2023

Kehinde Gbelee

is the second prize winner of the 2022 New Voices Essay Competition. She is also a medical student, and a content creator.

CURRENT ISSUE

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Climate Change Culture & Society Economics Gender & Feminism History International Affairs Politics & Security Science & Technology

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Senegal Protest

Senegal’s Critical Juncture The Meaning of Senegal’s Ongoing Protests

June 6, 2023

The Leaking Basket Why You, and Your New President, Should Care About Benue State

June 5, 2023

Ama Ata Aidoo’s Illimitable Voice Ama Ata Aidoo (1942-2023)

June 4, 2023

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What Happened to the ‘food basket of Nigeria’?

What Happened to the ‘food basket of Nigeria’? #OnSite⚡️⁠
⁠
Benue State once had the reputation of being a thriving Nigerian agricultural capital. In recent years, however, Benue has become a key driver of rising food prices and food insecurity across Nigeria. What happened?
⁠
Learn more at the link in our bio.⁠
⁠
______________________⁠
📝: Ayoola Oladipupo⁠ (@ayo_ladi)
🔎: Peace Onafuye and Yusuf Omotayo, Editors⁠
🎨: Illustration by The Republic. Photos from PM News, Resilient Food Systems / Flickr and Jairus Awo / HumAngle.

Today in 1916, Nigerien nationalist and politician

Today in 1916, Nigerien nationalist and politician, Hamani Diori, was born. #RxHistory⏳️⁠
⁠
On 6 June 1916, Nigerien nationalist and politician, Hamani Diori was born. He served as the first president of Niger from 1970 to 1974.⁠
⁠
Diori was educated in Dahomey, now Benin Republic, and in Senegal. For seven years intermittently between 1946 and 1958, he served as an overseas deputy in the French National Assembly and was named vice president of the legislative body in 1957.⁠
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In 1958, when Niger was still a French territory, he became prime minister. He was elected to lead the country two years later, in 1960. As President, Diori led Niger through a period of political instability and rampant corruption.⁠
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In 1974, Diori was overthrown and imprisoned for six years, after which he was held under house arrest until 1987. He died two years later in Morocco.⁠
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Did you know Diori was a renowned mediator? In 1968, he mediated peace talks between Nigeria and Biafra at a peace conference in Niamey. Although he played an intermediary role during the Biafran War, there are reports which state that Diori supported Nigeria’s cause.⁠
________________⁠
📝: Ibukun Olokode and Ugonna Eronini⁠
📷️: (1) Hamani Diori. Ron Kroon / Anefo / Dutch National Archives⁠
(2) Hamani Diori. AFP

Ama Ata Aidoo’s Illimitable Voice #RxNews📡⁠

Ama Ata Aidoo’s Illimitable Voice #RxNews📡⁠
⁠
On 31 May 2023, Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghanaian feminist, poet, playwright, novelist, and author of works including Our Sister Killjoy (1977) and Changes: A Love Story (1991), passed away aged 81. ⁠
⁠
Aidoo’s death was announced in a press statement signed by the Aidoo family head, Kwamena Essandoh Aidoo. ‘With deep sorrow but in the hope of the resurrection, informs the general public that our beloved relative and writer passed away in the early hours of this morning Wednesday, after a short illness,’ the statement read. ⁠
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Aidoo—the first African woman to publish a play when her debut, The Dilemma of a Ghost, was released in 1965—was born in Ghana (then-Gold Coast) on 23 March 1942. She was raised in a Fante household and was the daughter of a chief in Abeadzi Kyiakor, a town in the former Gold Coast region.⁠
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In January 1982, Aidoo was appointed as the minister of education under the government of President Jerry Rawlings. As minister of education, Aidoo sought to make education in Ghana freely available to everyone while serving as minister. However, after 18 months, when she realized she couldn’t accomplish her goals, she resigned. She went on to live and teach in the US before relocating to Zimbabwe in 1983 on a self-imposed political exile to pursue her career as a writer and an advocate for education. ⁠
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After publishing The Dilemma of a Ghost, Aidoo spent decades writing an array of fictional and non-fictional works. Her bibliography included: Anowa, a play (1970); No Sweetness Here, a collection of short stories (1970); Our Sister Killjoy, a novel (1977); Someone Talking to Sometime, a poetry collection (1986); Changes, a novel (1991); The Girl Who Can and Other Stories (1997); and Diplomatic Pounds and Other Stories (2012). Aidoo’s works explored a vast range of subjects, including the effects of neocolonialism on Western-educated Ghanaians, the legacies of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, exile, and African diasporic identity. ⁠
⁠
Read the full story by clicking the link in our bio.⁠
⁠
_________________________⁠
📝: Peace Onafuye, Associate Editor⁠
🎨: THE REPUBLIC

Today in 1873, the slave market in Stone Town, Zan

Today in 1873, the slave market in Stone Town, Zanzibar, was closed. #RxHistory⏳️⁠
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On 5 June 1873, the slave market in Stone Town, Zanzibar, was shut down by British forces after Sultan Seyyid Barghash of Zanzibar signed a treaty with Britain that made the slave trade in his territories illegal.⁠
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During the 18th and 19th centuries, around 50,000 mainland Africans were brought to Zanzibar each year. They were made to work on coconut and clove plantations on the island or were sold off by Arab traders to buyers from around the world.⁠
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Stone Town was home to one of the world’s last open slave markets. Although the slave market was closed, slavery remained legal in Zanzibar until 1897. ⁠
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In 1879, missionaries built the Christ Church Cathedral at the site where the slave market once stood. In 2016, the cathedral was restored and made a slave-trade heritage centre.⁠
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Read more stories on African history by clicking the link in our bio.⁠
⁠
____________⁠
📝: Ibukun Olokode and Ugonna Eronini⁠
📷️: Drawing of a slave market in Zanzibar in 1860 by Edwin R L Stocqueler (1829-1895)/Wikimedia Commons.

3 African Books to Read After Buchi Emecheta’s T

3 African Books to Read After Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood 📚

First published in 1979, The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta is one of the most widely-read books written by an African author. The novel explores the stifling obligations placed on Nigerian women. It also paints a picture of the struggles and hardships faced by women in patriarchal societies.

Here are three books to read if you have read The Joys of Motherhood. And if you have this novel on your to-be-read list, you can also add these three book recommendations to your reading list.

Have you read any of these novels? What other book(s) would you recommend?

Click the link in our bio to read our essays on Emecheta’s literary career.

_______________________________
#ReadSomethingAfrican
📝: Peace Onafuye, Associate Editor

Today in 1996, Kudirat Abiola was assassinated. #R

Today in 1996, Kudirat Abiola was assassinated. #RxHistory⏳⁠
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On 4 June 1996, democracy activist, Kudirat Abiola was shot dead in Lagos. Born in 1952 in Zaria, Kudirat Abiola married Chief Moshood Abiola aged 21 and they had seven children.⁠
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Kudirat was involved in many social initiatives including supporting the educational programs of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Muslim movement in Nigeria. She was also a successful woman who built a lot of businesses including a pharmaceutical company.⁠
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After the military’s annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential elections, which her husband won, Kudirat got involved with the pro-democracy movement. Despite her husband’s incarceration in 1994 for protesting the annulment, Kudirat continued to lead the pro-democracy movement.⁠
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In 1994, Kudirat helped sustain one of the longest strikes by oil workers in African history, which lasted for two months. In December 1995, Kudirat joined the pro-democracy groups in a march for freedom in Lagos. Chief Anthony Enahoro was also present at the march.⁠
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Although two suspects were arrested and found guilty of her murder, they were released.⁠
____________⁠
📝: Mira-belle Ajayi⁠
📷️: Kudirat Abiola, KIND

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