THE ART OF LIVING AND DYING: THE SARTREAN MOMENT IN THE WORLD OF BOOKS
by Adeshina Afolayan Coming into this place is one of the momentous times of my life. It is one of those moments when you lose control of yourself and refuse to[…]
Category: Essays
Culture and Society · Essays · opinion
Beyonce’s “Back-that-*ss-Up” Feminism
Maybe I should be grateful to Beyonce for giving African feminists a trojan horse delivery method for our most subversive ideas: juxtaposed to an overtly sexual personage, inoculating the listener against both the anti-feminism of the image and the actual power and import of the feminist message.
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Arts · Essays · opinion · Writing
Be Your Own Binyavanga
“Don’t be a fucking victim. You can’t be living in the age of Google and cheap internet where you can find out the resources available to you as a young African writer through the social network and other avenues, waiting for your father to make the policy or arrangements for you is immoral. In fact it is evil. It’s your job to make it.”
Arts · Culture and Society · Essays · Essays/Criticism · Lit Mag
The Children of “Bayan Layi” – A Review
by Kola Tubosun As part of my five-week blogathon on the five shortlisted stories in the 2013 Caine Prize, I present some thoughts on the first story: Elnathan John’s Bayan Layi, first published at http://www.percontra.net/issues/25/fiction/bayan-layi/. ______ Bayin Layi is a[…]
How Did This Happen: Reading Vital Signs – Nnamdi Okose
The man on the stretcher seemed lifeless at first, his face serene, albeit a bit swollen. His shirt was completely unbuttoned showing a massive stomach which drooped at the sides[…]
The Problem with Small Miracles
by Emmanuel Iduma So, I was one of the cyberspace moralists who put in word for Okeoghene Ighiwoto, the now famous Nigerian patient who has been ‘saved’. How might one begin thinking[…]
Culture and Society · Essays · National Service
Finding Fun & Purpose in Community Development Service
by Emilomo Ohiwerei Sometimes, the good we can do in our society are hidden until we simply attend a meeting, join a group and do something with other people. And[…]
The Religious War
Horror has come to stay in Nigeria. Or perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps this new phenomenon of horrific afternoons wondering why so many must die has been a fabric of[…]
Analysis · Culture and Society · Essays · General
Boko Haram: Of the Sensible and the Insensible
by Mao Kaci
On Obasanjo’s visit to the family of the murdered Boko Haram leader, and Soyinka’s comments on the visit.
Arts · Culture and Society · Essays · General
Nigeria: The need for improved English education
There is a need for more positive narratives of Nigeria on the Internet in blogs, discussions and comments but it is necessary to ensure that the quality of such is of a high standard. Something says our educational system does not guarantee immediate successes in that area, we need a fundamental rethinking in English language education and possibly a broadening of our thinking too.