By Osa Mbonu-Amadi Aishat Musa’s artworks tell stories of loneliness, homesickness, and nostalgia with which diasporan Africans, especially in London, grapple. Crossing to Peckham, Jollof in Brixton, Night Shift at King’s Cross, Two Weather Hearts, The Underground Gospel, Letters Never Sent Back Home, Frozen Breath in Stratford, The Afro Hair Salon on Rye Lane, Silence […]

Poem: Bandits and the Bandit-users Author: Enewaridideke Ekanpou Reviewer: Henry Yeigagha  There are crimes that shake nations, and there are conspiracies that sustain them. The first arrives with noise; the second thrives in silence. The first is seen in the smoke rising from burning villages; the second hides behind polished doors, official titles, political calculations, […]

By Osa Mbonu-Amadi Nigerian visual artist and curator, Adeola Ayoyinka Erinfolami investigates embodied emotions in a new series aptly titled, “Smile Studies.” As the broad title suggests, Smile Studies anchors on the various shapes of the mouth accompanying a smile. This collection demonstrates Adeola’s interest in turning fashion and textile materials into documentations. Each piece […]

Book: Spiked Beyond Spikes Author: Ekanpou Enewaridideke Reviewer: Ebikabowei Kedikumo Ekampou Enewaridideke’s Spiked Beyond Spikes is a political novel set in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The novel presents a society divided by power, oil wealth, ethnic domination, poverty, and state violence. Through the figures of Alabeni and the Ozidi Boys, the novelist explores […]

By Enewaridideke Ekanpou Banditry is a brainwave like Ai.So bandit-users bond with bandits to ban the masses from the Republic of peace. For bandit-users, they must brainstorm with bandits to burn peace into pieces in the Republic of peace. The bandits are still hereThe bandits are still here and bonded because the bandits are bound […]

In Abejoye, set as it is in Yorubaland and abroad, language itself becomes a site of estrangement. When Dele asks whether Baba’s utterances are prayers or incantations, the question betrays a dislocation

By Osa Mbonu-Amadi  In her work, Cost of Appearance, Boluwatife Esther Folorunso explores the Nigerian currency as a  fashion statement.  With the emblematic title “Cost of Appearance”, the artist primes visitors to expect visual narratives that ride on economic and socio-cultural terms. Cost of Appearance builds on Boluwatife’s previous work with subtitles like “Spent Monuments”, […]

By Prisca Sam-Duru  The highly anticipated London staging of ZIK and OBEY, two landmark theatrical productions celebrating the lives, legacies, and enduring impact of some of Nigeria’s most influential historical and cultural icons, have been scheduled for August 2026. The productions taking place courtesy of Lebara Nigeria and the Duke of Shomolu Foundation will be staged on […]

By Prisca Sam-Duru The usual hum of corporate engines along Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue and many other streets in Victoria Island Lagos will be replaced by a different kind of electricity in September 2026. This is as lagosians, visitors, friends, and business owners anticipate a riveting parade of glitz and glamour during the inaugural edition of the Victoria […]

By Osa Mbonu-Amadi In a troubled country like Nigeria, artists who fail to use their work to address the problems of the society miss a significant aspect of the duty of an artist. It appears the Nigerian-born UK-based visual artist, Akinokun Isaiah Abiola, has taken that advice. It was the same advice the civil rights […]