The African Gaze: Essays on Culture and Society—Past, Present and Future

‘Dead Body No Dey Do Shakara’ Frank Aig-Imoukhuede, Pidgin Stew & One Literary Bowl of Thoughts

Olajide SalawuJuly 13, 2020

Despite being a language spoken nationwide, Pidgin seems to have gained little attention from both established writers and the new writers who are fronting the Nigerian online literary experience. Read more.

June/July 2020

Africa Will Always Have History Art and Literature in My Sleepless Pursuit of African Pasts

Adams AdeosunJuly 10, 2020

Africa has always had literature. The continent has always had art and history, too. But which future can exist without proper recognition of the past? Read more.

June/July 2020

‘Writing is a Piece of Work.’ Victor Ehikhamenor’s First Draft

Victor EhikhamenorJuly 8, 2020

Nigerian artist, writer and photographer, Victor Ehikhamenor started reading late but described the feeling as torrential when he began. Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsJune/July 2020

‘Only Science Can Save Mankind’ Coronavirus, the Death of Religion and the Resurrection of Science

Abdulbasit KassimJuly 3, 2020

Science-centrists, who are convinced of the success of science in modeling the world, view all faith-centric responses to COVID-19 as an antithesis to ‘common-sense approaches’ to public health. Read more.

June/July 2020Special Focus: COVID-19

‘Historians Value Closure.’ Moses Ochonu’s First Draft

Moses E. OchonuJuly 1, 2020

Nigerian historian and author, Moses Ochonu finds the ending of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart disappointing. Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsJune/July 2020

A Pair of Broad Bottoms Saartjie Baartman and the Perpetual Public Spectacle of Blackness

Boetumelo Julianne NyasuluJune 29, 2020

Not even in fiction is Saartjie Baartman spared the reduction to her physical features that attends her life in Europe. Read more.

June/July 2020

Politics of Exposure The Visual Economy of HIV/AIDS in South Africa

Boetumelo Julianne NyasuluJune 26, 2020

When tracking the progression of Mendel’s photo portfolios and imagery, however, there is a shift from representations of suffering, pain, and death of people with HIV/AIDS to those in which he aims to show people in a ‘positive, individualized way’. Read more.

June/July 2020

‘Mistakes Make Our Stories Worth Telling.’ Nnamdi Ehirim’s First Draft

Nnamdi EhirimJune 24, 2020

Nigerian author, Nnamdi Ehirim considers imperfection not a challenge to writing, but an underlying feature. Read our interview.

First DraftInterviewsJune/July 2020

Forced, Stigmatized and Misunderstood Almajirai and Boko Haram beyond the Victim-Perpetrator Binary

Akali OmeniJune 22, 2020

This widespread begging practice within almajiranci, combined with lower prospects for alms-giving due to a constrained local economy, leads to almajirai being out on the streets for longer. This, in turn, leaves them vulnerable and prone to exploitation by terrorist groups such as Boko Haram. Read more.

June/July 2020

‘Where is God in All of This?’ COVID-19 and the Palliative Force of Religion

Abdulbasit KassimJune 19, 2020

Why are end-time conspiracy theories attributing the spread of COVID-19 to the 5G network and a proposed global world order gaining momentum? Read more.

June/July 2020Special Focus: COVID-19vol5-no1