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The Madness of Competition Squid Game in the Nigerian Imagination

January 24, 2022

What Does Africapitalism Actually Mean? Power, Gender and the Promise of Africapitalism

January 20, 2022

Who Was Folayegbe Akintunde-Ighodalo?

January 20, 2022

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In Squid Game, Nigerians Saw Too Much of Themselve

In Squid Game, Nigerians Saw Too Much of Themselves. #OnSite⚡
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In November 2021, the South Korean drama, ‘Squid Game’, became Netflix’s most-watched show of all time, garnering over 1.65 billion viewing hours after premiering on September 17. For Nigerians, who immediately latched on to the show, Squid Game was more than relatable. It held up a mirror to Nigerian society in profoundly creative and unnerving ways.
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In our latest online essay, researcher, Promise Frank Ejiofor, explains why Squid Game was so popular in Nigeria.
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According to Ejiofor, ‘viewers drew parallels between the players’ green and white attire and the colours of the Nigerian flag: player 419 and the notorious 419 scams; the guards’ red outfits and the red jackets worn by staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); the game’s logos―square, circle, and triangle―and the three shapes on 10, 20, and 50 naira notes; and player 001―the oldest contestant in the show who also happens to be a member of the bourgeois class that organized the gory horror game―and current Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.’
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The poverty, greed, inequality and ruthless characters were only some of Squid Game’s familiar features. More than these, the show was entertaining, inventive and even if gory, offered many Nigerians a way to visualise their own precarious circumstances. Click the link in our bio to learn more.

Did you watch Squid Game? Comment with your favourite scene. 🎥
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📝: Promise Frank Ejiofor
📷: Stills from ‘Squid Game’ (2021). NETFLIX

Today in 1835, the Malê Rebellion happened. #RxHi

Today in 1835, the Malê Rebellion happened. #RxHistory⏳
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On January 24 1835, enslaved Africans and freed people in the northeastern Brazilian city of Salvador da Bahia, carried out a rebellion which was intended to liberate them from slavery and create an Islamic homeland. Muslims were called Malê in Bahia at the time, and up to 600 Yoruba and Hausa enslaved Africans from present-day Nigeria were part in the insurrection.
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After hours of armed battle for control of the city, military and police forces defeated the rebels and left more than 70 enslaved Africans dead. Though short-lived, the 1835 rebellion is considered as one of the most significant slave rebellion in the history of Brazil.
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Read more on how the events of the Malê Rebellion unfolded in today's newsletter, which goes out at 5 p.m. (WAT). Sign up at the link in our bio.
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📝:Chiamaka Dike
📷: Enslaved Afro-Brazilians performing ‘Capoeira,' a Brazilian martial art, 1825. Wikimedia Commons.

‘Nearly All The Men in Lagos Are Mad' — Damila

‘Nearly All The Men in Lagos Are Mad' — Damilare Kuku w/@randomandthings

'Kuku's stories are a snapshot of the caricatures that roam the streets of Lagos with titles such as “Beard Gang”, “The Gigolo from Isale Eko”, and the cleverly coined, “Òdè-pus Complex”. In telling these stories, Kuku's writing is modern, generously peppered with imagery from pop culture. “We broke up like P-Square,” the first-person narrator of “The Gigolo from Isale Eko” says. While there is some poetry to the language, it shines through especially when Kuku indulges in Naija speak or colloquial pidgin. Some metaphors, however, fall flat and there is the flaw in overusing “swan like” as description of an attractive silhouette.'

Have you read this book? What do you think about it? For more information on this book, click the link in bio.
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📝: Nneoma Kenure
#ReadSomethingAfrican #DamilareKuku #Nigeria

The many lives of Beautiful Nubia. #OnSite⚡ -⠀

The many lives of Beautiful Nubia. #OnSite⚡
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In this online essay, writer, Kemi Falodun, profiles the Nigerian folk singer, Beautiful Nubia. She explores how his Yoruba roots influence his art, style and creativity.⁠⠀⠀
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According to Falodun, in Nigeria these days, folk music is a path less travelled. This makes Beautiful Nubia one of Nigeria's few niche artists. 'With a cult-following and a career that spans over two decades, Beautiful Nubia employs storytelling, mythologies, and cultural idiosyncrasies in his work.⁠'⠀
_⁠⠀⠀
Falodun notes that Beautiful Nubia conserves and upholds the Yoruba language with a sacred devotion. 'As a musician, his work has contributed immensely to helping us trace our way back through time. It is reminiscent of a period when children sat together at nights, listening to moonlight tales.' Despite the varying genres of Beautiful Nubia's influences, integrating elements of African music as thematic material has been his major way of offering his work to the world.⁠⠀⁠⠀⠀
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Read more about the many lives of Beautiful Nubia by clicking the link in our bio.⁠⠀⠀
____________⠀
📝: Kemi Falodun.
🎥:A video clip of ‘What a Feeling!' by Beautiful Nubia. YOUTUBE
📷: Photo courtesy of Beautiful Nubia.

Today in 1846, Tunisia became the first Arab and M

Today in 1846, Tunisia became the first Arab and Muslim country to abolish slavery. #RxHistory⏳
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On 23 January 1846, Tunisia became the first Arab and Muslim country to abolish slavery. In the lead up to complete abolition, Ahmad I ibn Mustafa, Bey of Tunis, banned the export of slaves, closed the slave market in Tunis, and granted freedom to slaves born in Tunisia.
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Tunisian slaves were mainly transported from Europe and a large area stretching from West Africa to Lake Chad—with the kingdom of Bornu and the region of Fezzan providing the majority of caravans.
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The initial abolition of slave trade faced some resistance in most parts of Tunisia. In 1861, the number of slaves within Tunisia, of both African and European descent, was estimated to be 7,000 (but more recent accounts put the figure closer to 167,000). This resulted in a second decree in 1890, which imposed sanctions on those who engaged in slave trade. The second decree was issued by the French, who by then had established a colonial protectorate in the country.
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Although it was one of the very first territories in the world to abolish slavery and provide legal emancipation, traces of the slave trade's legacy linger on. According to a 2020 report by The Guardian, Black Tunisians are underrepresented in politics and media and are faced with a variety of disadvantages, with 42% of them being unemployed. In the south of Tunisia, many Black families still bear the names of their ex-slave owners preceded by the term ‘Atig', meaning ‘freed from'.
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📝:Etashe Okpola and Chiamaka Dike.
📷:Bab el Jedid (la porte neuve).Tunisia 1890. Wikimedia Commons

‘The biggest misconception is that Africa is poo

‘The biggest misconception is that Africa is poor because of Africans.' #OnSite⚡

Grieve Chelwa is an economist, researcher, and inaugural postdoctoral fellow at the Institute on Race and Political Economy at The New School.

In this First Draft, Chelwa explains one common misconception people have about Africa and its economic development.

According to Chelwa, ‘A common misconception is that Africa is poor because of its own fault. When you read leading texts about why Africa is poor, they always blame us. They forget about history: slavery, colonialism, neocolonialism, interference. The story of Nigeria, for example, and all the coup d'etats that happened between 1966 and 1999. Those are really stories of neocolonialism. So the biggest misconception is that Africa is poor because of Africans. That is only half true. That only makes sense if you consider the fact that external forces are at play.'

First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing. Read Chelwa's interview by clicking the link in our bio.
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📝: Grieve Chelwa
📷: Ojima Abalaka

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