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Nigeria

January 16, 2024

The 10 Best Acting Performances of the Year

In a year of ensembles, in which it fell on collective performances to elevate stories, these actors stood out — among the films and TV series we saw.
Otosirieze
Blossom Chukwujekwu as a kidnap kingpin in The Trade

November 30, 2023

The Fates and Faith of a Chess Master

In five years, Chess in Slums Africa brought hope to thousands of children and became a charity phenomenon. But to get there, its founder Tunde Onakoya had to survive terrors: “It’s the kind of things that you see in movies, and you’re, like, ‘This is really bad,’ but then you’re seeing it, the real consequences of poverty.”
Otosirieze
Tunde Onakoya at a Chess in Slums exercise.

November 28, 2023

The Overlapping Realisms of Eloghosa Osunde

In their debut novel-in-stories Vagabonds!, the Nigerian writer and visual artist pursues an alternate reality of their mind, taking on, among other subjects, social normalcy, gender, and queerness.
Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera
Eloghosa Osunde. Supplied.

October 12, 2023

“It’s the Fact That We Did It Our Own Way”: How Yahoo+ Captured a Desperate Side of Internet Fraud

Director, producer, and screenplay writer Ebuka Njoku and producer Lorenzo Menakaya on their professional journeys and the making of their Netflix No. 1 hit.
Orji Victor Ebubechukwu
Yahoo+ still

September 18, 2023

The Real Housewives of Lagos, Recapped & Reviewed: Glamour & Drama in Las Gidi

The clashes are instant in this interesting, fashionable take on Africa’s largest city, yet the show’s Season 1 is unable to stamp its own identity or manufacture original conflicts.
Otosirieze
The Real Housewives of Lagos, Season 1

August 20, 2023

Battle on Buka Street, Reviewed: Blockbuster Dramedy with Emotional Burn

As warring sister chefs, Funke Akindele and Mercy Johnson, aided by a tight script, torch each other in an entertaining, and ultimately touching, tale that became Nollywood’s highest-grossing film of all-time.
Otosirieze
Battle on Buka Street

August 19, 2023

The Trade, Reviewed: Kidnappers Vs. Police

Blossom Chukwujekwu puts in an indelible layered performance as a criminal defined by a deep-seated sense of manhood.
Paula Willie-Okafor
The Trade

August 17, 2023

King of Thieves (Agesinkole), Reviewed—A Captivating Yoruba Historical Epic

A magnetic Femi Adebayo doubles as producer and star of this story about a kingdom caught in ancestral turmoil.
Paula Willie-Okafor
King of Thieves (Agesinkole)

August 17, 2023

“‘Our Literature Has Died Again’: Nigerian Writing in the Era of the Nomadists”

As conversations sethe about the “death” of Nigerian literature and the loss of authenticity in its poetry, a writer counters for the growing japa-MFA subculture: “I call them the Nomadic Generation because of their complication of nationalism.”
Kanyinsola Olorunnisola
Nigerian Literature and the Era of the Nomadists

July 3, 2023

Lagos International Poetry Festival Announces 2023 Edition: “Sanctuary”

Creative Africa

June 27, 2023

The Epic, Transformative Comeback of Chidi Mokeme

A long career playing playboys and villains, including a soldier in ’76 and real-life robber Monday Osunbor, set him apart as an intriguing supporting act. But after a moment of personal adversity, he dug deep and returned in Shanty Town — a domineering leading turn unlike any other we have seen in Nollywood.
Otosirieze
Chidi Mokeme. Supplied.

June 10, 2023

When We Were Fireflies, Reviewed: Memory and the Multitudes of Living

The magical realist delights of Abubakar Adam Ibrahim’s third novel.
Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim - When We Were Fireflies

June 8, 2023

Gangs of Lagos, Reviewed: A Crime Thriller with Big Ambition

In Prime Video’s first Africa Original, Jade Osiberu takes on forceful, compelling ideas to varying results, but most of the cast shine, especially the singer Chike.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Gangs of Lagos film poster

June 8, 2023

Brotherhood, Reviewed: A Policeman and a Robber

Aided by Tobi Bakre’s AMVCA Best Drama Actor-winning turn, director Loukman Ali and producer Jade Osiberu’s shot at telling a memorable story prioritizes spectacle over relationships.
Paula Willie-Okafor
Brotherhood film poster

May 25, 2023

Shanty Town, Reviewed: Crime and Punishment, Fate and Freedom

A strong ensemble including Nse Ikpe-Etim and Nancy Isime, playing off a domineering leading performance by Chidi Mokeme, enhances Netflix’s intense limited series. But its grittiness can veer, avoidably and frustratingly, into violence porn.
Otosirieze
Shanty Town poster

May 24, 2023

Night of Upsets at the AMVCAs: Full List of Winners and Nominees

Chidi Mokeme and Nse Ikpe-Etim were snubbed in a near shut-out of Netflix series Shanty Town, with Tobi Bakre scooping a shock Best Drama Actor victory as Brotherhood swept its categories. Perennial Best Comedy Actress champ Funke Akindele also lost for the first time in five years while Anikulapo won Best Overall Movie.
Otosirieze
Osas Ighodaro in tears after retaining her AMVCAs Best Drama Actress crown.

May 14, 2023

How Damilare Kuku Topped Nigeria’s First Ever Bestseller List

Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad, the actress’ debut collection of stories, sold over 2,200 copies, assuring it the No. 1 spot on The Rovingheights Bestseller List: Presented with Open Country Mag. So why do these stories of failing romance connect so widely?
Paula Willie-Okafor
Damilare Kuku at a reading hosted by Rovingheights.

April 17, 2023

A Muslim Highlife Pioneer, and ‘70s Star, Returns for Legacy

Alhaji Waziri Oshomah fused Highlife, local folk styles, and Western pop into songs of positivity in Auchi, Nigeria. When New York label Luaka Bop released The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah in its World Spirituality Classics series last year, we spoke to musician and label about his artistry.
Emmanuel Esomnofu
Alhaji Waziri Oshomah by Eric Welles-Nyström

April 4, 2023

Open Country Mag Is Now Publisher of Folio Nigeria, Formerly CNN’s Exclusive Media Affiliate in Africa

In addition to literary and film stories on Open Country Mag, you can now also read stories in business, culture, and society from Folio Nigeria.
Otosirieze
Kelly Omodamwen, an experimental metal sculptor profiled by Folio Nigeria. Supplied.

March 16, 2023

I Am Still with You by Emmanuel Iduma, Reviewed: Haunting Histories

In the private space of family and the public space of Biafra, a significant new memoir asks questions of loss and longing. But will the answers be enough?
Echezonachukwu Nduka
Emmanuel Iduma - I Am Still with You

January 16, 2024

Blossom Chukwujekwu as a kidnap kingpin in The Trade

The 10 Best Acting Performances of the Year

In a year of ensembles, in which it fell on collective performances to elevate stories, these actors stood out — among the films and TV series we saw.
Otosirieze

November 30, 2023

Tunde Onakoya at a Chess in Slums exercise.

The Fates and Faith of a Chess Master

In five years, Chess in Slums Africa brought hope to thousands of children and became a charity phenomenon. But to get there, its founder Tunde Onakoya had to survive terrors: “It’s the kind of things that you see in movies, and you’re, like, ‘This is really bad,’ but then you’re seeing it, the real consequences of poverty.”
Otosirieze

November 28, 2023

Eloghosa Osunde. Supplied.

The Overlapping Realisms of Eloghosa Osunde

In their debut novel-in-stories Vagabonds!, the Nigerian writer and visual artist pursues an alternate reality of their mind, taking on, among other subjects, social normalcy, gender, and queerness.
Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera

October 12, 2023

Yahoo+ still

“It’s the Fact That We Did It Our Own Way”: How Yahoo+ Captured a Desperate Side of Internet Fraud

Director, producer, and screenplay writer Ebuka Njoku and producer Lorenzo Menakaya on their professional journeys and the making of their Netflix No. 1 hit.
Orji Victor Ebubechukwu

September 18, 2023

The Real Housewives of Lagos, Season 1

The Real Housewives of Lagos, Recapped & Reviewed: Glamour & Drama in Las Gidi

The clashes are instant in this interesting, fashionable take on Africa’s largest city, yet the show’s Season 1 is unable to stamp its own identity or manufacture original conflicts.
Otosirieze

August 20, 2023

Battle on Buka Street

Battle on Buka Street, Reviewed: Blockbuster Dramedy with Emotional Burn

As warring sister chefs, Funke Akindele and Mercy Johnson, aided by a tight script, torch each other in an entertaining, and ultimately touching, tale that became Nollywood’s highest-grossing film of all-time.
Otosirieze

August 19, 2023

The Trade

The Trade, Reviewed: Kidnappers Vs. Police

Blossom Chukwujekwu puts in an indelible layered performance as a criminal defined by a deep-seated sense of manhood.
Paula Willie-Okafor

August 17, 2023

King of Thieves (Agesinkole)

King of Thieves (Agesinkole), Reviewed—A Captivating Yoruba Historical Epic

A magnetic Femi Adebayo doubles as producer and star of this story about a kingdom caught in ancestral turmoil.
Paula Willie-Okafor

August 17, 2023

Nigerian Literature and the Era of the Nomadists

“‘Our Literature Has Died Again’: Nigerian Writing in the Era of the Nomadists”

As conversations sethe about the “death” of Nigerian literature and the loss of authenticity in its poetry, a writer counters for the growing japa-MFA subculture: “I call them the Nomadic Generation because of their complication of nationalism.”
Kanyinsola Olorunnisola

July 3, 2023

Lagos International Poetry Festival Announces 2023 Edition: “Sanctuary”

Creative Africa

June 27, 2023

Chidi Mokeme. Supplied.

The Epic, Transformative Comeback of Chidi Mokeme

A long career playing playboys and villains, including a soldier in ’76 and real-life robber Monday Osunbor, set him apart as an intriguing supporting act. But after a moment of personal adversity, he dug deep and returned in Shanty Town — a domineering leading turn unlike any other we have seen in Nollywood.
Otosirieze

June 10, 2023

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim - When We Were Fireflies

When We Were Fireflies, Reviewed: Memory and the Multitudes of Living

The magical realist delights of Abubakar Adam Ibrahim’s third novel.
Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera

June 8, 2023

Gangs of Lagos film poster

Gangs of Lagos, Reviewed: A Crime Thriller with Big Ambition

In Prime Video’s first Africa Original, Jade Osiberu takes on forceful, compelling ideas to varying results, but most of the cast shine, especially the singer Chike.
Paula Willie-Okafor

June 8, 2023

Brotherhood film poster

Brotherhood, Reviewed: A Policeman and a Robber

Aided by Tobi Bakre’s AMVCA Best Drama Actor-winning turn, director Loukman Ali and producer Jade Osiberu’s shot at telling a memorable story prioritizes spectacle over relationships.
Paula Willie-Okafor

May 25, 2023

Shanty Town poster

Shanty Town, Reviewed: Crime and Punishment, Fate and Freedom

A strong ensemble including Nse Ikpe-Etim and Nancy Isime, playing off a domineering leading performance by Chidi Mokeme, enhances Netflix’s intense limited series. But its grittiness can veer, avoidably and frustratingly, into violence porn.
Otosirieze

May 24, 2023

Osas Ighodaro in tears after retaining her AMVCAs Best Drama Actress crown.

Night of Upsets at the AMVCAs: Full List of Winners and Nominees

Chidi Mokeme and Nse Ikpe-Etim were snubbed in a near shut-out of Netflix series Shanty Town, with Tobi Bakre scooping a shock Best Drama Actor victory as Brotherhood swept its categories. Perennial Best Comedy Actress champ Funke Akindele also lost for the first time in five years while Anikulapo won Best Overall Movie.
Otosirieze

May 14, 2023

Damilare Kuku at a reading hosted by Rovingheights.

How Damilare Kuku Topped Nigeria’s First Ever Bestseller List

Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad, the actress’ debut collection of stories, sold over 2,200 copies, assuring it the No. 1 spot on The Rovingheights Bestseller List: Presented with Open Country Mag. So why do these stories of failing romance connect so widely?
Paula Willie-Okafor

April 17, 2023

Alhaji Waziri Oshomah by Eric Welles-Nyström

A Muslim Highlife Pioneer, and ‘70s Star, Returns for Legacy

Alhaji Waziri Oshomah fused Highlife, local folk styles, and Western pop into songs of positivity in Auchi, Nigeria. When New York label Luaka Bop released The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah in its World Spirituality Classics series last year, we spoke to musician and label about his artistry.
Emmanuel Esomnofu

April 4, 2023

Kelly Omodamwen, an experimental metal sculptor profiled by Folio Nigeria. Supplied.

Open Country Mag Is Now Publisher of Folio Nigeria, Formerly CNN’s Exclusive Media Affiliate in Africa

In addition to literary and film stories on Open Country Mag, you can now also read stories in business, culture, and society from Folio Nigeria.
Otosirieze

March 16, 2023

Emmanuel Iduma - I Am Still with You

I Am Still with You by Emmanuel Iduma, Reviewed: Haunting Histories

In the private space of family and the public space of Biafra, a significant new memoir asks questions of loss and longing. But will the answers be enough?
Echezonachukwu Nduka

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