Emmanuel Iduma
Why was it important to tell the story from Akin and Yejide’s point of view, to balance the narrative in that way?
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
I’m interested in how deeply subjective our experience of the …
Nonfiction
A Writing Life: Jumoke Verissimo
I am afraid of heights, climbing hills, moving up narrow ladders or sometimes climbing spindly stairways with rusty uprooted banisters.
My heart is in a state of flurry, I can hear footsteps and voices rushing into my head, asking me …
May the Odds Be in our Favour
I arrive in the city of Uyo for my Youth Service. The scarcity of traffic jams here compared to the car-choked roads in Lagos is not the only excitement I feel. The abundance of voluptuous women gives me further impression …
Last Day in Cotonou
Like every other morning since moving into this short-stay rental apartment, I wake up to the raspy voice of my neighbour admonishing her children while going about her morning chores in the backyard. I hear a rumble of dishes being …
Black Cattle, White Egrets: A Posthumous Review
A few deaths have rocked my world lately – notably Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Umberto Eco – but none felt so personal as Walcott’s. The first instinct, after the shock of Akin Adesokan’s retweet of Jeanne-Marie Jackson’s tweet, was …
Historical Echoes: The Literature of Hausa Women by Sada Malumfashi
Credit: “Malouma” by Isabel Fiadeiro, from the Solitude Issue.
1. Tatsuniya (Storytelling)
950 A.D.
Old Kano,
(Modern Day Northern Nigeria)
Habi hurries to finish her chores to join the circle of children already pestering Grandmother for a story. …
The Curious Case of Nigerian Literary Ambition
In my third year in University of Ibadan, Rancho and his band of merry brothers in 3 Idiots were the patron saints of all pretentious students, which was about ninety-five percent of the faculty of technology, and seventy percent of …
Ajuwaya Story
So I saw these Ajuwayas today in their green khakis and the sight sent me down memory lane to the day I was to leave NYSC Camp at Umudi-Nkwerre, Imo State. Coming to terms with destiny to serve in Imo …
Fotoan-gasy
Trying to Understand the Increasingly Forgotten Malagasy Art of Waiting and Making Wait
Imagine a group of Malagasy. Let’s say that they agree to meet and talk about some important stuff tomorrow morning at 10:00. In all likelihood, people will …
Time Passes
March 2016,
Holy Thursday
Everyone thinks there may be a long break from work, say one week or something slightly more. But we receive an email from HR, and this email says we shall be observing only the nationally declared …