The gentrification of Lagos: Who will save Lagos Island for Lagosians?

There was a time when a Lagos Island address was more than an address. If you told a Lagosian that you lived at Number 14, XYZ Street, you were not merely giving directions. You were announcing a piece of family history. You could tell him who built the house, when the family came there, who your grandfather was, where your father was born and perhaps even which room belonged to which ancestor. The house had a name. The street had a memory. The address carried a genealogy.Today, the address may still exist, but the house may have disappeared. “Ilé Baba

66 Cheers, 60 Cautions & 91 Sighs

By Wole OlaoyeA child would probably look at Nigeria’s 66th independence anniversary from the perspective of a nursery rhyme: One, two, buckle my shoe. Three, four, shut the door; five, six, pick up sticks; seven, eight, lay them straight; nine, ten, a big fat hen. Then, he might go prosaic with numbers eleven to sixty-six before shouting, “Hip-hip-hip, hurray!”Happy birthday, Nigeria!Worst is over!To mark the sombre celebration, President Tinubu dressed his evaluation of the present state of affairs in the garb of optimism. He acknowledged the harsh economic circumstances under which Nigerians have laboured since his government initiated painful reforms

Three qualities that keep the Christian standing

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”— 1 Corinthians 13:13There are seasons when life seems to test everything we believe.A business may struggle. A job may disappear. A relationship may become difficult. A long-awaited answer may seem further away than ever. We may pray sincerely and still have to wait.For many people living in a demanding city such as Lagos, faith is not merely a subject for Sunday morning. It is tested in traffic, in business, at work, in family responsibilities, in sickness and recovery, in financial uncertainty and in the

Plot Twist: Why Books are the Real “Infrastructure” for Africa’s Growth

By Nkanu EgbeThe National Theatre has seen many reinventions. Once the grandest stage in Lagos — host to heads of state, continental summits, and the full spectacle of Nigerian cultural ambition — the building on Iganmu's waterfront has spent recent decades in a more complicated relationship with its own legend. But on Wednesday 13 May, something fitting will happen inside its reimagined halls.In Cinema Hall 2 of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Creative Arts and Culture, a room of writers, librarians, booksellers, educators, and policy thinkers will gather for what promises to be one of the more quietly significant events

The New African Publishers: Towards the Promised Land

By Olatoun Gabi-WilliamsThis article explores the difficult, entangled, high risk and yet, hopeful journey of publishing on the continent, a journey exemplified by Somali scholar, Jama Musse Jama’s vision of literature and the arts as a site of reconstruction and liberation.Dr. Jama Musse Jama – An Ethno-Mathematical BlueprintAuthor and ethno-mathematician, Jama Musse Jama is also a renowned cultural activist and a “New African Publisher” at Ponte Invisibile, Hargeysa, Somaliland. In our 2021 interview, he asserts the multiple “social tsunamis” Africa has experienced as the single most revealing context for understanding Africa’s development and her struggles – including the struggles around

The role 21st century booksellers play in realising SDG 4—quality, inclusive and equitable education

By Oreoluwa LesiSDG4 focuses on education and aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” It includes seven targets, which cover eliminating disparities in accessing education at the early childhood and primary levels based on gender, ability, and other socio-economic factors and, as much as possible, encouraging all women and men to stay through to the tertiary level; ensuring that all youth and a large proportion of adults are literate and numerate; and ensuring that all learners can get the knowledge and skills needed to gain employment and contribute to sustainable development.When we