We live in a world where the flow of information----aided an dominated more recently by social media in the last decade---has led to the making of a virtual universe where communication and information dissemination and consumption is no longer determined by objectivity of ideas. Thus, global information flow has become a sort of tsunami that leaves the public with limited options. As with all tsu
namis, the information available to us for dissemination and consumption comes with a lot of debris. It takes a lot of digging beyond the surface to be able to harness the avalanche of information objectively. It is the effort at objectivity that has given birth to The Maroon Square, with focus on the dynamics of Nigerian socioeconomic and political situation while not also leaving out other African and black Atlantic world out of the discourse. The Maroon Square recognizes that Nigeria nay Africa and the black Atlantic does not live in isolation of the global socioeconomic and political bubble. The Maroon Square recognizes that there exist a knowledge gap in the dissemination and consumption of information. The Maroon Square also recognizes that there exists the absence of a robust public discourse that is shaped by ideas that produces objective truth in Nigeria. Therefore, The Maroon Square is committed to raising the bar of public discourse in ways that privilege cross-fertilization of ideas in an attempt at producing what constitutes objective truth. One of the goals of The Maroon Square is to historicize the objective reality of Nigeria, Africa and the black Atlantic as a lens through which to understand the roads we have traveled while projecting about the road we ought to take but has not been taken. We will not represent the voice of the cynical middleclass who think that all has been lost in Nigeria and Africa, and in that process has become desperate to be heard not for the good of Nigeria, Africa, and the black Atlantic. We will rely on the vast experiences of many members of our team in articulating ideas that will generate and shape a new public discourse about the future of Nigeria, Africa and the black Atlantic. The Maroon Square realizes that the history of Nigeria, Africa and the black Atlantic has been history of injustice, dehumanization, and marginalization in the world global economic and political system but also recognizes the heroic and courageous struggles of the people against a system that discriminates, decimates ideas and alternative worldview. Just as we are confronted by the fearful possibility that the new world order has robbed us the possibility of interrogating courageously our past and present for the purpose of our tomorrow, The Maroon Square will provide a platform for the contestation of ideas in the true spirit of public discourse while avoiding the current erosion of intellectualism in our public engagement. Welcome to The Maroon Square where ideas are generated, contested and articulated in robust and intellectually stimulating ways unapologetically. Our mission is to fill a gap in public discourse and force public discussion out of deep-seated ossification we have become mired in. Finally, while we remain unapologetic about how ideas are articulated, opinions expressed in the Square are purely those of the authors and we do not bear any responsibility for such.
