The Republic: Season 1, Episode 5 Transcript June 12: Hope Deferred
In this week’s episode we cover the 1993 election results and the debate on Babangida’s decision to annul the results.
Nigeria
Nigeria: News, Stories and Analysis.
Nigerian Monarchs Have Lost Their Reverence Who Will Save Nigerian Monarchs From Public Ridicule?
Nigerian monarchs have fallen off the ladder of deference in the current political arrangement. They have been stripped of their god-like status and today they are being subjected to public ridicule by public servants who possess real political power.
7 Books That Will Change What You Know About Party Politics in Nigeria
The books in this week’s list explore the nature of party politics in Nigeria. Some of our book recommendations served as resources for the third episode of our podcast, while others come highly recommended for anyone seeking to uncover the nuanced layers of Nigerian party politics.
The Nigeria Manifesto Book Review: The Trouble with Nigeria by Chinua Achebe
Forty years since its publication, Ernest Nweke believes that if there was ever a ‘right’ man to write any particular book, then Achebe is the man, and The Trouble with Nigeria is the book. What makes this book stand out is its boldness in speaking truth to power.
‘Writing Is a Way of Being, a Mode of Inquiry, a Compulsion, a Pleasure’ Kemi Alabi’s First Draft
Poet and author of Against Heaven, Kemi Alabi, is experiencing a new disability and profound grief around the limits of care for sick Black people: ‘I’m wrestling with fear, anger; a complete reorientation to time, to my body, to the ableist world—and it’s demanding more honest language from me. I wish I could write around all this, but guided by Audre Lorde, I’ll write through.’
The Republic: Season 1, Episode 4 Transcript June 12: Freest and Fairest of Them All
After eight years of anticipation, and eight years of promises from General Ibrahim Babangida’s junta, Nigerians were finally about to have their say at the ballot box. In this week’s episode, we head to the polls!
Sink Or Swim? Fubara Fights for Survival in Wicked Rivers
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State is on the verge of a potential impeachment after reportedly falling out with his political godfather and predecessor, Nyesom Wike. The situation highlights Nigeria’s problematic political landscape where political office holders are expected to be more responsive to their benefactors rather than to the people who elected them.
Poetry from a Formalist Lens Book Review: Heaven is a Metaphor by Samuel A. Adeyemi
In his debut chapbook, Heaven is a Metaphor, Samuel A. Adeyemi understands that it is not the passion for self-expression, writes Ancci, but the conscious command of language that makes poetry that is worth rereading.
The Republic: Season 1, Episode 3 Transcript Two Sides of the Same Coin
In this episode, we take a look at the key election candidates and what platforms they ran under. We compare their profiles and proposed agendas for Nigeria, highlighting what political stakeholders at the time felt about each candidate and party.
‘I’m Not Afraid of a Blank Page’ Dipo Faloyin’s First Draft
Nigerian journalist and author of Africa Is Not a Country, Dipo Faloyin, was frustrated by the fact that when most people think of Africa, they picture one of two things, poverty or safari: ‘I wanted to create something that both dispelled those myths while painting a comprehensive, reality-based picture of the past, present, and future of the continent.’