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Ugochukwu Damian Okpara

Looking for God To Find God, I Had to Leave Religion Behind

Ugochukwu Damian OkparaJanuary 19, 2022

Ugochukwu Damian Okpara

is a Nigerian writer, poet and author of the poetry chapbook, I Know the Origin of My Tremor (Sundress Publications, 2021).

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What Makes a Guinness World Record Official? The Convoluted Mechanics of Guinness World Records

June 1, 2023

The Anxious Dawn of Tinubu’s Turn Bola Ahmed Tinubu becomes Nigeria’s Seventh Democratically Elected President

May 28, 2023

Chimeka Garricks

‘Being an Editor Is a Magical Work’ Chimeka Garricks’ First Draft

May 26, 2023

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Chika Unigwe believes every character deserves res

Chika Unigwe believes every character deserves respect #OnSite⚡️⁠
⁠
In this week’s First Draft Interview column, we’re bringing back our 2021 interview with Nigerian author, Chika Unigwe. Twelve years after the publication of her critically-acclaimed novel, On Black Sisters Street, Unigwe has recently published The Middle Daughter, a powerful tale of family and sisterhood. ⁠
⁠
In this interview, Unigwe discusses African literary classics, living in Belgium, and other interesting perspectives on reading and writing.⁠
⁠
Chika Unigwe, believes it is important for an author to know as much as possible about the characters they are writing about: ‘to write a character well, one must treat that character with integrity and respect, and that means knowing as much as there is to know about the character.’⁠
⁠
According to Unigwe: ‘It is difficult to hold my attention if a story I like isn’t written well. And vice versa. The different elements of fiction have to work together for a work to be compelling.’⁠
⁠
Read the full interview by clicking the link in our bio.⁠
_______________________⁠
📝: Chika Unigwe⁠
🎨: Ojima Abalaka

Today in 2019, the Khartoum massacre happened. #Rx

Today in 2019, the Khartoum massacre happened. #RxHistory⏳️⁠
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On 3 June 2019, the armed forces of the Sudanese Transitional Military Council attacked peaceful protesters in Khartoum, Sudan with tear gas and live ammunition. At least 128 people were killed, and 70 more were sexually assaulted.⁠
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The sit-in protests started in April 2019, after Sudan’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir was removed from power and a transitional government was established. Protestors demanded a complete end to military rule, not a change of dictators.⁠
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Days after the massacre, the government blocked Internet access and cut off protesters from the rest of the world.⁠
⁠
In a show of solidarity, social media users from across the world trended the #BlueForSudan campaign. The campaign was created in memory of one of the protesters killed: Mohamed Mattar, whose favourite colour was reportedly blue.⁠
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On 11 May 2021, there was a demonstration in Khartoum demanding justice for the victims of the massacre and security forces shot dead at least two protesters and injured dozens more.⁠
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📝: Mira-belle Ajayi⁠
📷️: (1) Alaa Salah amid a sea of protesters in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city. (Photo: Courtesy Lana H. Haroun/ Reuters.⁠
(2) Sudanese protest leader, Mohamed Naji al-Assam, reacts during a press conference in the capital Khartoum on June 17, 2019. YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images.⁠
(3) Protesters during a rally in the capital Khartoum to condemn the massacre of five demonstrators in Al-Obeida on July 29, 2019. ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP

What Makes a Guinness World Record Official? #OnSi

What Makes a Guinness World Record Official? #OnSite⚡️⁠
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Imagine running for 100 miles, setting what you consider a world record, and then finding out it doesn’t count. That was the experience of American professional ultrarunner, Camille Herron.⁠
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Last year, Heron completed the race in 12 hours 41 minutes 11 seconds, a whole minute faster than her own world record of 12:42:40, which she set in 2017. However, due to some technicalities, her effort didn’t break the record.⁠
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Fast forward to 2023; another record is on the verge of being broken. This time, it is not 100 miles, but 100 straight hours of cooking, a feat recently accomplished by Nigerian chef, Hilda Baci. Upon writing, Baci’s record remains unofficial. Approval from the Guinness World Records team can take up to twelve weeks but could be expedited by the Guinness Priority Evidence Review service.⁠
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In today’s essay, associate editor at The Republic, Kosi Ogbuli, takes a deep dive into the complex world of Guinness World Records. Like Herron, Baci will have to await the outcome of a process that, in the end, could disqualify her amazing feat. So, how does the process really work? What determines a record being new, official, and accurate? What happens after a record is ‘unofficially’ broken? Is the Guinness World Records bias-free?⁠
⁠
Swipe to discover how a world record becomes official and read the full essay by clicking the link in our bio. ⁠
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📝: Kosi Ogbuli, Associate Editor⁠
🔎: Yusuf Omotayo and Wale Lawal, Editors⁠
🎨: THE REPUBLIC

Today in 1868, Sierra Leonean nationalist, Adelaid

Today in 1868, Sierra Leonean nationalist, Adelaide Casley-Hayford was born. #RxHistory⏳
⁠
On 02 June 1868, Adelaide Casley-Haford was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone to Krio parents. She moved to the United Kingdom as an infant, and returned to Sierra Leone when she was 24. She was a prominent Sierra Leonean nationalist, feminist, and educator.⁠
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Adelaide was vocal about the role women could play in constructing Sierra Leone’s national identity. In 1923, she founded The Girls’ Vocational School—one of the first African-owned schools in Freetown. The school offered vocational training, domestic science, African history, and traditional crafts classes to young girls.⁠
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As a pioneer of women’s education in Sierra Leone, she played a key role in popularizing pan-Africanist and feminist politics in the early 1900s. Her interest in the economic independence and professional capabilities of women placed her ahead of her time.⁠
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In England, she was honoured twice for her achievements—with the King’s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935 and with the Medal of the British Empire in 1950. In 1960, Adelaide died aged 91.⁠
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Click the link in our bio to read more stories and essays about inspiring African women.⁠
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📝: Ibukun Olokode and Ugonna Eronini⁠
📷️: (1) Photograph of Adelaide Casley-Hayford (1868-1960) nee Smith, educator, feminist, cultural nationalist and writer from Sierra Leone. The British Library.⁠
(2) Adelaide Casley-Hayford at the time of her marriage. Photo: ‘An African Victorian Feminist’, by Adelaide M. Cromwell. Frank Cass, London, 1986.

Life After the Owo Church Massacre #OnSite⚡️⁠
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How do you return to a place that reminds you of the brutal killing of your loved ones and neighbours? How do you deal with the empty seats knowing why they are vacant?⁠
⁠
Nearly a year after a shooting took place at St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, we visited the church, where despite the trauma of surviving a massacre, church members have returned, and service has resumed.⁠
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In this special feature story from our latest issue, A Nation Divided, investigative journalist, Adesola Ikulajolu, writes about the touching stories of the church members and how they continue to struggle with the trauma caused by the unfortunate attack.⁠
⁠
Ikulajolu spoke to one of the survivors, Mr Sunday Chinedu. Mr Chinedu explained how his seven-month pregnant wife survived the terror attack of June 5, 2022. ‘We thought it was the street guys playing and making sounds outside the church, but when we started hearing the heavy gunshots inside the church, we scattered into different directions,’ he said.⁠
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Ikulajolu also spoke to the associate priest of the church, Reverend Father Andrew Adeniyi Abayomi. Father Abayomi had given the last blessing that Sunday when the shootings began. He recalled that he was about to notify the congregation of the closing of the service when he saw members running for safety from the back; a scenario he thought felt like a movie scene at first. ‘Immediately it was happening, I told myself it was not a movie, it was a reality,’ he explained.⁠
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According to Ikulajolu: ‘Nearly a year has passed since the deadly attack on St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, but the pain, tears and fears left behind by the killings that took place that day, are still very present in the hearts of the worshippers. The second mass service after the reopening of the church confirmed the massacre’s lingering shadow and, equally, the congregation’s resolve to not abandon the church.’⁠
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Read the full story by clicking the link in our bio.⁠
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_________________________⁠
📝: Adesola Ikulajolu⁠ (@oloyenaija)
🔎: Wale Lawal and Yusuf Omotayo, Editor⁠s
📷️: Adesola Ikulajolu / THE REPUBLIC

Today in 1963, Kenya became a self-governing count

Today in 1963, Kenya became a self-governing country and Jomo Kenyatta became prime minister. #RxHistory⚡️

On 01 June 1963, Kenya formed a self-ruling government and Jomo Kenyatta became prime minister.

In 1920, British settlers formally declared Kenya a colony and barred indigenous Kenyans from all political and administrative processes. The British colonial government also seized land from locals and allocated them to white settlers.

This repression led to the Mau Mau rebellion (1952 - 1960), during which Kenyans revolted against colonial rule. The Mau Mau anti-colonial struggle set the stage for self-governance in Kenya and, eventually, independence.

Today, the people of Kenya celebrate the Madaraka Day. It is a national holiday celebrated every 1st of June to commemorate Kenya’s attainment of internal self-rule. Madaraka means ‘power’ in Swahili, Kenya’s national language.

Many older Kenyans look to Kenyatta as a national hero who played a key role in the Kenyan independence movement but according to writer, Edwin Chege, ‘Kenyatta evolved from a moderate, progressive political leader into a conservative, even right-wing one upon his assumption of office.

As demonstrated by his treatments of the Mau Mau and colleagues such as Odinga and Mboya, Kenyatta had no qualms abandoning and even effectively silencing individuals and groups whose positions he had previously been associated with, when the reward for such abandonment was power.’

Click the link in our bio to read more on Kenya’s rich history.

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📝: Ibukun Olokode and Ugonna Eronini
📷️: (1) Newly-elected Premier of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta waves to Crowd on 01 June 1963 in Nairobi, Kenya. Accompanying Kenyatta (R) are Tom Mboya, (L), Minister of Justice; A. Oginga Odinga, Minister for Home Affairs; and James S. Gichuru, Minister for Finance. Getty Images.
(2) Jomo Kenyatta, leader of the Kenya African National Union, holds the official document of independence at a ceremony on 13 December 1963, attended by the Duke of Edinburgh, representing Queen Elizabeth. Kenyatta, the country’s first prime minister, becomes president a year later when Kenya is declared a republic. AFP.

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