Zikoko

Angel Nwankpa was six when her mother married the man who became her stepfather. She remembers a fight at the wedding, years of violence at home, and the times her mother took the children away only to return. When they finally left in 2016, Angel was 16. Angel Nwankpa Before my mum married, it was just the two of us. She and my biological father had dated for a long time. When she got pregnant, he said he wasn’t ready and didn’t want anything to do with the pregnancy.

Living with a disability in Nigeria has meant navigating inaccessible public spaces, costly prosthetic limbs and gaps in rehabilitation. Olamide Francis is a writer, author and former Nigerian journalist who now works in the media and communications sector in the UK. At five, he was knocked down by a commercial vehicle (Danfo) in Lagos, and mismanagement of the injuries led to an amputation at nine years old.

Some photographs only reveal their true weight with time. A childhood birthday, a family Christmas, a traditional marriage or an old gathering can seem ordinary when the picture is taken, only to become more meaningful years later as the people, circumstances and memories around them change. That is what is beginning to emerge from Nigerian Breweries’ Together, Every Moment, as Nigerians revisit old photographs and videos and share the stories behind moments that once seemed routine.

Every year, people gather in Ile-Ife, Osun State, for Olojo Festival, one of the celebrations that keeps Yoruba history, culture and traditions alive. The festival is rooted in the history and spiritual traditions of Ile-Ife, widely regarded as an important centre of Yoruba civilisation. Its name is commonly translated as “The Day of the First Dawn”, and the celebration is associated with Ogun, the Yoruba deity of iron and warfare. However, Olojo is more than its history.

Consent, according to various dictionaries, refers to the voluntary agreement to engage in a specific activity or to allow something to happen. It is a mutual understanding that requires clear communication and respect for individual autonomy. It sounds simple. Almost embarrassingly simple. Yet somehow, when sex is involved, people become determined to make it complicated. The conversation around the Cornell case is a good example.

When Mercy became pregnant at 13, she had no idea how much her life would change. Growing up, she had been close to her mother, but sex was one subject they could never talk about. Now, at 25, she wishes she had known more about her body, pregnancy and the consequences of having sex. I was an only child, which meant my mother and I were very close. She tried to be both my parent and my friend, so we could gossip and talk about almost any subject that exists on the surface of the earth.

GridLocked is a daily pop culture guessing game built for Nigerians. Every weekday by 9am, you’ll get six clues, sixty seconds, and an answer only a Nigerian would know. Today’s GridLocked is a movie. How many clues do you need to get it right? 👀 Share your result when done, but don’t spoil the answer for others. (Missed the last GridLocked? Play it here.) Guess The Movie 01:00 How To Play The Goal: Guess the answer for the day before time runs out.

On the Streets is a Zikoko weekly series about the chaos of modern dating: from situationships and endless talking stages to heartbreak and everything it means to be single in today’s world. Joan* (51) spent years searching for lasting love and commitment, but her journey came with its share of heartbreak. After a difficult first relationship left her a single mother of two, she thought she’d found a second chance at love with a married man, only to learn a painful lesson.

Since he stepped into the limelight, singer FOLA has made room for himself in Afrobeats. He does it by laying his unguarded emotions over smooth, slow-burning rhythms. On acclaimed projects like what a feeling, Catharsis and 9, he turns introspective experiences and romantic confessions into melodies that pull you in, sometimes bringing along high-profile collaborators. I made a list of his ten essential tracks. This song is from FOLA’s what a feeling EP.

Sisters Seun* (23) and Modupe* (24) did everything together, especially shopping. But while Modupe liked their spending dynamic, Seun always found it difficult to keep up with. So when Seun discovers a financial secret that Modupe had been keeping for years, it becomes the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and she retaliates in a way that ruins their relationship as they know it forever. Life with an older sister can be difficult.