EDITOR'S FOREWORD
‘An African Feminist Manifesto’
For whom is the transformative potential of feminism new? Our latest issue, An African Feminist Manifesto, considers the imperatives for Black African feminism(s) in our uniquely uncertain times, plus more.
COVER ESSAY
‘Write Something Familiar in a Way That Readers Encounter It as Something New’ Ololade Faniyi’s First Draft
Nigerian feminist scholar and author of An African Feminist Manifesto, Ololade Faniyi, is drawn to writings about the digital and the African imaginary: ‘We must resist the universalizing mission disguised as bridging the technological divide. We have lost so much as a people; we don’t have any more to lose.’
THE MINISTRY OF ART / BOOKS DEPT.
50 Years of Buchi Emecheta’s Second-Class Citizen
In 1974, Buchi Emecheta’s novel, Second-Class Citizen, was published. While this novel has inspired a generation of African writers, the themes Emecheta explored—such as Black immigrant life in the UK and the ills of a patriarchal society—remain as relevant today as ever.
THE MINISTRY OF ART / FILM DEPT.
‘I Want the Chapters of My Life to Be Written by Brilliant Black Women’ Jamila Pereira’s First Draft
Author of ‘Resisting Linguistic Genocide’, Jamila Pereira, believes in striking a delicate balance between storytelling and presenting factual events: ‘While weaving a compelling narrative is essential for engaging readers, it was equally vital to remain faithful to historical truths and realities.’
THE MINISTRY OF ART / PHOTO DEPT.
The Disruptive Potential of Frida Orupabo’s Metamorphic Women
To encounter a body in collage is to momentarily believe the human form is physically and even gesturally incapable of coming up against its own limitations. Frida Orupabo’s collages do this so well. They haunt the viewer with fond, familiar and unexpected shapes.
THE MINISTRY OF BUSINESS x THE ECONOMY
Funke Akindele’s Path to a Billion Naira
Being a force in an industry is a difficult position to attribute to anyone. But after producing the top three highest-grossing movies in Nollywood and being the first and only filmmaker to surpass ₦1-billion-box-office sales, Funke Akindele has cemented herself as an entertainment titan.
THE MINISTRY OF CLIMATE X ENVIRONMENT
Imperialism is the Arsonist of Our Forests
In 1986, Thomas Sankara delivered his famous speech, Imperialism is The Arsonist of Our Forests and Savannas, in which he denounced imperialism as the main driver of environmental destruction. Today, the climate crisis has become a pretext for imperialist economic expansion, leading to an urgent need to reorient the African climate justice agenda.
THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH
The Menace of Skin-Bleaching in Nigeria
Cosmetic endeavours aimed at achieving lighter skin have led to the development of different skin-bleaching beauty methods that leave the body open to grave health repercussions.
THE MINISTRY OF MEMORIES
A Womanist Reading of African Women in Abrahamic Tradition
Though the presence of Abrahamic tradition within global Black consciousness often finds expression through male-dominated narratives, a closer examination uncovers Black women at the very centres of the most path-altering moments in the tradition, offering analogues with which Black women have interpreted, reimagined and reclaimed their past, present, and future.
THE MINISTRY OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS
Geopolitical Projections in West Africa and the Wider Continent
A new element in geopolitics across Africa is the growth of political consciousness and the willingness to organize against unfavourable status quos. Recent events in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are representative of this new phase of relations between nations, governments and myriad interest groups.
THE MINISTRY OF WORLD AFFAIRS
King Charles’ Non-Apology to Kenyans
Amidst global demands for reparations, King Charles offers Kenyans a (non)apology. But what substance can an apology from Britain hold, when its imperial and colonial crimes continue to shape and undo life in Kenya?
FIRST DRAFT
‘I Want My Writing to Sound on Paper How It Sounds in My Head and Heart’ Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredein’s First Draft
Academic and author, Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredein, tends to pay less attention to books that fail to enhance her work.
the cover
‘Women are Different,’ by Diana Ejaita
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SPECIAL THANKS
Editors: Wale Lawal, Yusuf Omotayo, Peace Onafuye and Victoria Audu
Issue Design: Wale Lawal and Dami Mojid
Illustrators: Dami Mojid, Kevwe Ogini and Charles Owen
Funding Partners: The Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop
