Abdullah Ibrahim’s ‘tawhid’
For Abdullah Ibrahim, who converted to Islam in 1968, the “most beautiful, potent aspect” of his faith is “the unity of things.”
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Paul Milchick
Paul Milchik is a pseudonym for the author of this piece. His name has been changed due to his status as an international student in the US during the second Trump administration, in a context where foreign students have been targeted for detention and deportation as a result of expressing pro-Palestinian views.
Dakar’s African Renaissance
A Kenyan scientist wonders how Senegalese found ways to blend African spirituality with Islam.
Biafra as focal point for fresh perspectives of Nigeria
Igbo nationalist groups have the right to self-determine whether they want to be part of Nigeria or form their own independent republic.
James Baldwin on Film
The latest entry of the brilliance of James Baldwin on film, “I Am Not Your Negro,” lays bare the fiction and terror of race in American life.
The right to ‘eat’
Politics in many parts of Africa is often understood through a metaphor of eating – a
Happy Father’s Day
The Soweto Uprising, Tupac, Walter Rodney, Jeremy Corbyn, Latin American telenovelas, etcetera, all part of this week’s Weekend Special.
The perennial dictator
Rwanda’s constitution was changed in 2016 to allow Kagame to stay in power until 2034. He may govern forever. He also has his fans.
The West’s culpability in North Africa and the Middle East
There seems to be no limit to Europe’s and USA’s willingness to accept and even support
The liberating power of transgressive film genres
Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ should be seen as part of the Afrofuturism genre, which offers physical and mental liberation through supernatural or non-realistic means.
The great opus of “Small Bobby”
Ranjith Kally (1925-2017), a legendary photographer, documented South African Indian life in famed magazine Drum.
The values of David Goldblatt
Inseparable from the photographic images of world-renowned South African photographer David Goldblatt, are values. Values, like
The legacy of Biafra and the idea of being Nigerian
If being Nigerian meant anything, the presidency wouldn’t be rotated every eight years between the North and South or along tribal lines.
Zambians don’t deserve their politicians
Ugandans make for good soldiers-for-hire, Radiohead and aparthied, the state of Left American politics and other Weekend Specials.
The Leader Whose Time has Come
Jeremy Corbyn has led Britain’s Labour Party since 2015. There is no one else in British politics remotely like Corbyn.
Days of our lives: Kenya 2017 elections edition
Ordinary Kenyans are tired of the drama of party politics, and are hungry, job insecure and live under the threat of police bullets.
An economic strategy for The Gambia
This is the first opportunity for Gambians since independence in 1965 to have a broad-ranging public conversation on its future.
The benevolent great power
Opportunities like China’s One Belt One Road Initiative cannot simply be ignored, but should be engaged with critically.
Biafra–nostalgia as critique
How does rhetoric of a 1960’s failed secessionist state in Nigeria flow into a sleepy industrial city in southern China, amongst young Nigerian merchants, none of whom lived through the war themselves?
Biafra and other ghosts
After nearly fifty years, the real impact of the Biafran war on Nigeria remains to be measured, free from political gamesmanship.
Masculinity and its Discontents
An in-depth look at the life and times of Winnie Madizikela-Mandela largely in her own words.