A Eulogy for Dead Languages
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‘At 16 every Zambian gets a green National Registration Card (NRC). On my NRC, much of that information is either a lie, a slight fabrication, or, as with many things in life, a well-intentioned truth turned false.’
A Vision for Nigeria’s Queer Future
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In Necessary Fiction, Eloghosa Osunde’s vision for Nigeria’s queer future requires new languages for care and intimacy—and lots of money.
Charly Boy Bus Stop and the Politics of Official Renaming
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What happens when the politics of naming is used to silence a story? From ‘Charly Boy’ to ‘Baddo’, Nigeria’s streets are becoming battlegrounds where memory, identity and politics collide.
‘The Human Spirit Naturally Resists Oppression’
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Editor of Who Gave The Order: The History of a People’s Movement, Chibueze Darlington Anuonye, believes that 20 October 2020 stands as an indictment of the Nigerian conscience and urges Nigerians to remember that day: ‘What happened at the Lekki Toll Gate could be described as a country waging war a
After Bandung
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Exactly 70 years ago, African and Asian states gathered to imagine a world beyond empire. Their dream of solidarity—its failures and achievements—still haunts global politics.
The Betrayal of Mandela’s Apartheid Liberation Movement
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Although Nelson Mandela’s presidency fostered hope for a permanent end to the woes of the apartheid era, South Africa’s non-white population have come to realize that they are still under an oppressive regime—but this time, at the mercy of the country’s ultra-rich and ownership class.
Nigeria’s Anthems of Division and the Promise of Democratic Feminist Nationalism
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Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti showed that political organizing could transcend ethnic divisions while staying culturally rooted. Yet despite the vision of democratic nationalism her work offers us, today’s elite capture of democratic possibilities cloaks anti-democratic politics in the language of ethnic v
The Vanishing Dream of Nigeria’s Middle Class
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Rice costs more, the naira buys less, and the middle class is checking out. From golden-age dreams post-independence to present japa-fuelled exits, this essay traces how Nigeria’s middle class rose, unravelled, and now fights to survive.
The Republic Wins at the 365: AIGA Year in Design 2024 Awards
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The Republic’s 2024 print magazine run (Volume 8) has been named a winner at the 365: AIGA Year in Design 2024 Awards!
Is This the Federation Nnamdi Azikiwe Fought For?
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Nigeria celebrates its 65th independence anniversary during a period of uninterrupted 26 years of democratic governance. Despite this commendable sustenance of democracy, the country struggles to unite as ethnic tension rises.
7 Books to Read if You Didn’t Study Nigerian History in School
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In 1977, historian Obaro Ikime delivered a lecture, ‘History and the Changing Cultures of Nigeria’, responding to Alhaji Shetima Ali Munguno’s disapproval of what he saw at the University of Calabar. Ikime argued that one of Nigeria’s greatest problems is our ‘inadequate knowledge of history and the
The Nigerian Heart of Joop Berkhout
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Joop Berkhout, an icon of Nigeria’s publishing industry for almost six decades, died in February 2025 in Ibadan. He nurtured generations of writers and built Spectrum Books into a publishing powerhouse, yet also embraced the ‘big man’ culture of his adopted country with remarkable ease.