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‘A Novel Is an Endurance Sport’ Zainab Omaki’s First Draft

May 20, 2022

What Is Going On in Burkina Faso? What to Know About the Eight Men Trapped in a Zinc Mine.

May 19, 2022

Reading Soiled Palms Michael Peel’s ‘A Swamp Full of Dollars’

May 18, 2022

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Today in 1848, slavery was abolished in Martinique

Today in 1848, slavery was abolished in Martinique. #RxHistory⏳

On 22 May 1848, Martinique, a small island in the Caribbean, abolished all forms of slavery. The island was colonized by the French in 1635, and still remains an overseas territory of France today.

In the 1600s, sugar cultivation was introduced to several island countries in the Caribbean. The sugar industry grew so much in a relatively short period that millions of enslaved Africans were taken to work on plantations in the Caribbean.

In 1848, France went through a political crisis that led to the unconditional abolition of slavery in all its colonies. Although the abolition decree was passed in April and was not due to come into effect until June, the Africans in Martinique staged an uprising that forced the governor to grant freedom to all those enslaved on 22 May 1848.
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📝: Ibukun Olokode x Ugonna Eronini
📷; A group of West Indian African women dancing. c. 1764-96. Agostino Brunias / Tate

Who were the Lijadu Sisters? #RxGender👥 - Ident

Who were the Lijadu Sisters? #RxGender👥
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Identical twins, Taiwo and Kehinde Lijadu were mainly active as the Lijadu Sisters from the 1960s to the 1980s—a time when it was rare to find front-women in Nigeria’s pop music scene. Second cousins to Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, and Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, the Lijadu Sisters gained popularity in Nigeria in the 1970s, were outspoken about gender equality and often addressed political unrest in Nigeria in their music.
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Between 1969 and 1979, the Lijadu Sisters released five albums. In the 1980s, the sisters moved to New York where they performed in various venues including the lower Manhattan club, Wetlands, and in Harlem with King Sunny Adé. In 1996, Kehinde suffered severe spinal injuries after falling down a flight of stairs. Her recovery was long and in the years that followed, the sisters stayed out of the public eye completely, turning down all interviews and other press requests.
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Kehinde died on 8 November 2019 aged 71. Taiwo still resides in New York.
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Read more about the Lijadu Sisters by clicking the link in our bio.
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📝: Tomisin Awosika, Junior Editor.
📷: 1) The Lijadu Sisters at the National Stadium, Lagos. 1970. Pade Aladi.
2) The Lijadu Sisters with Ginger Baker. August 1972. Victor Crawshaw / Mirrorpix via Getty Images.
3) Taiwo Lijadu and Kehinde Lijadu in performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014. The Lijadu Sisters.
4) ‘Horizon Unlimited’, The Lijadu Sisters, 1979.
5) ‘Mother Africa’, The Lijadu Sisters, 1977.
6) Kehinde Lijadu (L) and Taiwo Lijadu (R). Siji Awoyinka.

Today in 2019, Binyavanga Wainaina died aged 48. #

Today in 2019, Binyavanga Wainaina died aged 48. #RxHistory⏳

On 21 May 2019, Kenyan writer, journalist, and LGBTQ+ activist, Binyavanga Wainaina, died from complications from a stroke. He was 48.

Wainaina was a prominent and vocal African critic. He was committed to reclaiming African cultures and traditions from colonial and neo-colonial social, political, and religious forces.

In 2002, Wainaina won the Caine Prize for African writing, with his short story ‘Discovering Home’. In 2003 he became the founding editor of African literary magazine, Kwani?, one of the most influential platforms showcasing writing from all across Africa.

His debut book, a memoir entitled ‘One Day I Will Write About This Place’, was published in 2011. In 2014, he was named on Time magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

What is your favourite book or quote by Binyavanga Wainaina? Let us know in our comments!
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📝: Ibukun Olokode x Ugonna Eronini
📷: Binyavanga Wainaina. Binyavanga Wainaina official Facebook page

The most meaningful writing advice Zainab Omaki ha

The most meaningful writing advice Zainab Omaki has ever received. #OnSite⚡
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Zainab Omaki is the author of The Republic essay, ‘Who’s Writing Who? Literary Cultural Appropriation and Ethnicity in Nigeria.’ Omaki is a writer with a Masters degree in Creative Writing, and a PhD candidate. In our latest First Draft interview, she connects writing to reading: ‘You can’t outwrite your reading. If you’re not reading, your writing will suffer. I know this from personal experience. Read poetry. It will help you with your language. Find what works for you as a writer in terms of process. I can only write with all the curtains closed and the room dark because it gives me the illusion of being alone in the world. Find your own thing.’

On whether writing is a natural gift, Omaki believes you can actually learn how to become a better writer: ‘I think everyone can learn to be a better writer if they’re interested. Read a lot. Write a lot. Take a course. Enjoy the process.’

For Omaki, ‘The writer you are is enough,’ is one of the most meaningful pieces of writing advice she has ever received, as well as ‘reading a lot of what you’re trying to write’ to have captivating and engaging writing.
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First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing. Read Omaki’s interview by clicking the link in our bio.
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📝: Zainab Omaki
📷: Love in Colour. Instagram. [@]HelloFlippe/BoluAkindele

Today in 2003, the Somali Bantu refugees set out f

Today in 2003, the Somali Bantu refugees set out for America. #RxHistory⏳

On 20 May 2003, the first group of the Somali Bantu refugees went to America. The Somali Bantus are a minority ethnic group from Somalia. During the Somali Civil War, they were disproportionately victims of several human rights violations. Many of them were displaced and became refugees in Kenya.

In 1999, the United States government recognized the Somali Bantus as a persecuted group eligible for resettlement. On 20 May 2003, the first group of refugees left Kenya for the US. By 2007, around 12,000 Somali Bantus had been resettled in various cities in the US and were granted special status as persecuted minorities.

The UN refugee agency described the endeavour as one of the biggest resettlement operations to take place out of Africa.

Today, many of their children, now adults, face threats of deportation back to Somalia. Somali Bantus are still persecuted in Somalia and reports show that 55% of returnees experience physical torture at the hands of criminal gangs, the police or terrorist group al-Shabaab.
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📝: Ibukun Olokode x Ugonna Eronini
📷: A Somali Bantu family arrives in Vermont, USA in 2003. Photo: Burlington Free Press.

What to Know About Burkina Faso’s Trapped Miners

What to Know About Burkina Faso’s Trapped Miners. #RxNews📡

It has been a month since eight miners –six Burkinabè, one Tanzanian, and one Zambian–went missing after a flash flood at the Perkoa Mine on April 16. The Canadian-owned mine has halted operations, while a rescue operation is underway at the site, approximately four minutes west of the capital, Ouagadougou. Based on media and government reports, here are six things about the eight trapped workers at the zinc mine that you need to know:

1) 24 miners worked in the underground mine and 16 of them survived.

2) According to the Trevali Mining Corporation there are two underground refuge chambers in case miners become stranded, but it was unknown if any of the missing workers were able to reach any of them.

3) None of the mine workers was found in the first refuge chamber. As of May 14, rescue teams had reported reaching a depth of 580 meters (around 1,903 feet) deeper than the first refuge chamber.

4) The Burkina Faso government has requested international assistance in locating the missing miners and blamed the disaster on mine managers’ ‘irresponsibility’.

5) Six of the miners’ families have also filed lawsuits against Trevali, citing ‘attempted manslaughter, endangering life, and failing to assist a person in danger.’

6) The government of Burkina Faso has banned the mine managers from leaving the country while an investigation is ongoing.

Social media, particularly in Burkina Faso, is awash with hope that miners’ have survived in the second underground chamber. The Republic has been keeping a close eye on the situation and engaging with the mine managers about it. Learn more about the incident by clicking the link in our bio.
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📝: Todah Opeyemi, Junior Editor
📷: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6) Pictures from Perkoa Mine. Burkina Faso. 13 May 2022. Anne Mimault/REUTERS
4) A short distance view of the entrance of Perkoa mine. Burkina Faso. Mining Technology

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