The Republic Lagos

‘To Kenyans, 2023 feels like the year the country dies. But within this Rhumba and Jazz establishment in Nairobi’s Tao, it could as well be 1970,’ Ogwa writes. ‘Perched behind a corner table with two cold bottles of beer sweating before me, I pass a quintessential moment, watching folks of all ages waltz elegantly to Cabo Verde Barefoot Diva, Cesária Évora’s “Partida”… For me, old music is not just entertainment, it’s a compass with which I always find my way back to me.’

How Democracy Can Fail Us and What to do About It As African countries contemplate their destinies, it is worth considering whether democracy, as currently practised, is really the only feasible option.

Menu Our May – July 2026 issue, Nigeria in the World, explores how Nigeria moves through the world and how the world, in turn, shapes and misreads Nigeria. Across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, it traces the political, cultural and economic encounters that define this relationship and their consequences at home. $24.99 Our May – July 2026 issue, Nigeria in the World, explores how Nigeria moves through the world and how the world, in turn, shapes and misreads Nigeria.

By the second half of the twentieth century, Islam re-emerged as an ideological tool for African Americans fighting within civil rights and Black Power movements. Ironically, the proliferation of Black Islamic organizations in twentieth-century United States—most famously the Nation of Islam—often masks the gradual, centuries-long formation of said organizations, their ideologies, and their influence on modern Afro-diasporic identity.

Our new print issue, , is here. Subscribe for full access or order your copy today!

Our new print issue, , is here. Subscribe for full access or order your copy today!

Our new print issue, , is here. Subscribe for full access or order your copy today!

Our new print issue, , is here. Subscribe for full access or order your copy today!

Our new print issue, , is here. Subscribe for full access or order your copy today!