A Month and a Day: A Detention Diary, 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa ****

A Month and a Day is a non-fiction that narrates on Ken Saro-Wiwa's illegal detention in 1994. Though, he was released, however, he was detained again in 1995 and was executed by the Nigerian military dictatorship.
Ken Saro-Wiwa was a Nigerian writer and television producer, however, he was famously known as the founder of the MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People). A social non-violent movement created to give voice to the Ogoni people whose environment has been completely devastated by the oil companies (notably Shell and Chevron) mining in their land.

And all this happening to a people whose home is one of the richest in Africa. Over the past thirty-two years Ogoni has offered Nigeria an estimated US thirty billion dollars and received NOTHING in return, except a blighted countryside, and atmosphere full of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons; a land in which wildlife is unknown; a land of polluted streams and creeks, of rivers without fish, a land which is, in every sense of the term, an ecological disaster. High-pressure oil pipelines crisscross the surface of Ogoni farmlands and villages dangerously. This is not acceptable.

Oil pollution is a great menace to the Nigerian environment. I wish to warn that the harm being done to the environment of the Niger River delta must be ameliorated by the oil companies which prospect for oil there; the degradation of the ecosystem must end and the dehumanisation of the inhabitants of the areas must cease and restitution be made for past wrong.

We cannot sit idly by while we are, as a people, dehumanised and slowly exterminated and driven to extinction even as our rich resourced are syphoned off to the exclusive comfort and improvement of other Nigerian communities, and the shareholders of multinational oil companies namely Shell (Dutch/British) and Chevron (American).

Needless to say that the Nigerian military dictatorship under Babangida wanted his head on a plate. Unfortunately, they succeeded.

So today, I re-dedicate myself to what has always been my primary concern as a man and a writer: the development of a stable, modern Nigerian which embraces civilised values; a Nigeria where no ethnic group or individual is oppressed, a democratic nation where minority rights are protected, education is a right, freedom of speech and association are guaranteed, and where merit and competence are held as beacons. Convinced that most Nigerians share this concern, I will stand for it at all times and in all places.

This book provides an interesting insight into the creation and development of MOSOP, along with a good understanding of the structure of the Nigerian government of that time. It mentioned the names of some people I already know, for instance Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and even Late Festus Iyayi whose death I announced some weeks ago. Click here. He was also a threat to the system and they wanted his head too. Sadly, they ended up getting it by accident.

Festus Iyayi, an award-winning Nigerian novelist, had lived in it (detention room) in 1987 or thereabouts and had written about it in a Nigerian magazine. The journalist said he had been held in custody for a month. He had not been told what crime he had committed. Neither did his colleagues and employers know that he been held. He was also involved in labour unions and recently in the campaign for Democracy organisation.

I really liked this book, it was enlightening,  insightful and educational indeed. I highly recommend especially if you are interested in social movements, conflict in the Niger Delta and would like to know more about the MOSOP. Another novel that narrates on the consequences of the environmental degradation in the Niger-Delta is Tiny Sunbirds Far Away by Christie Watson

Mating Birds, 1986, Lewis Nkosi ****

Mating Birds is a fine poetical writing that narrates on one of the many crimes of apartheid. To start with, the writer's dedication melted my heart:

For my grandmother, Esther Makatini, who washed white people's clothes so that I could learn to write

In form of a diary, a black man on death row for allegedly raping a white woman during apartheid narrates his ordeal. Like a showcase, he is displayed to anyone who wants to know more about him. Most especially, to know what demons impulsed him to even dare think of a sexual experience with a woman of a "superior race". That is how he drew the attention of  Dr. Emile Dufré, a Swiss-German doctor that flew all the way from Europe to inquire about what in his back-ground might have triggered such "reaction". Hence, began his need to keep a diary.
The saddest part of the story is

Dew in the Morning, 1982, Shimmer Chinodya ***

I actually started reading "Dew in the Morning" in 2014 and finished in 2015. Narrated through the voice and eyes of a young boy, Godi. His parents not being able to afford to take care of him and his siblings in the city, send them along with their mother to live in the country side. For the most part, the novel is a narrative on Godi's coming of age in rural Zimbabwe and getting used to its custom, for instance; the dew in the morning, the rearing of cattle and farming. Not to forget the superstitious village people whose belief continuously baffle him. And how he aimed to win the heart of the girl he loves. His father remained in the city, alone, working very hard in order to send them to school. In my opinion the writer was in a way comparing the style of life in urban and rural Zimbabwe.

I am not sure if I really enjoyed this novel. Actually, it was a well written and easy narrative. Perhaps, it's the too much information about the rearing of cattle, ploughing and farming. Though, I totally understand they are part and parcel of rural life. Perhaps, it is simply because it is very young adult-oriented.

Dew in the Morning is Shimmer Chinodya first published novel, I look forward to reading more of his work not because I thoroughly enjoyed this book but because he won the 1990 Commonwealth Writers' Prize: Best Book, Africa with his novel Harvest of Thorns Though from its title it seems to be set in rural Zimbabwe too. I would also like to read his novel Can we talk and other Stories (1998), very well reviewed on African Book Addict.

My first novel read and reviewed in 2015, as well, an addition to my Reading African Writers Series Challenge. Lastly, I would like to point out that I love the painting on the book cover.

Have you read anything from Shimmer Chinodya? How was your reading experience? Do you recommend?

New Book Release on February 3rd

E.C Osondu is the author of Voice of America his first published book in 2009, that won the Caine Prize for African Writing. Actually, Best short story by an African writer in the English language.  His second work will soon be released "This House Is Not for Sale" (His first novel).

From Goodreads

A powerful tale of family and community, This House Is Not for Sale brings to life an African neighbourhood and one remarkable house, seen through the eyes of a young member of the household. The house lies in a town seemingly lost in time, full of colourful, larger-than-life characters; at the narrative’s heart are Grandpa, the family patriarch whose occasional cruelty is balanced by his willingness to open his doors to those in need, and the house itself, which becomes a character in its own right and takes on the scale of legend. From the decades-long rivalry between owners of two competing convenience stores to the man who convinces his neighbours to give up their earthly possessions to prepare for the end of the world.

I am curious to see how he unravels in a novel since he is an awarded short story writer.

Do you look forward to reading this new novel?

Nigerian Writers Series

Below are Nigerian Writers Series novel you might be interested in and their brief synopsis.

 

 A roller coaster ride into the world of deceit, power, crime, politics and relationships. It is the story of two people from extreme worlds who decide to fight for their right to love each other against all odds. In the process, they find themselves on a quest for justice and become the hope of a nation that wishes to bring evil-doers to justice. While written with a political nuance and a plot that progresses fast, ‘Crimson clouds’ is ultimately a love story that explores love as it rises above difficult circumstances and triumphs in a world, turned upside down by greed and injustice.

In the heat of ethno-religious riot in Jos, Emeka and Hauwa are in love. Unknown to them, Hauwa is betrothed to Hassan, the head of the Shura of the Muslim Brotherhood sect. Meanwhile, Special Agent Sean Porter is on a mission to uncover a plot by the Muslim Brotherhood to deploy biological weapons. The weapons are traced to Jos. Things take an unexpected turn when Hassan stumbles upon Hauwa and Emeka in a compromising position.

Pededoo, a country boy, who struggles to maintain a civil relationship with his father who had just returned home after many years abroad with a family of Cat Eyes (a white family). But Pededoo is however hardly able to resist and truly dislike Melissa-Jane, that charming and dashing cat-eyed blond. Cat Eyes is a bildungsroman, a book of family, adventure, self-discovery and love that would take readers on a voyage they would hold dear.

A collection of twelve short stories set in Nigeria, depicting how love relationships often begin and blossom. From Lawrence who comes to Amina’srescue in Baggage to Love, until we meet Kate in Subtle Changes, who after the relief of her stepfather’s death, moves to her benefactor’s house and slowly loses her heart to Jude, Cupid keeps aiming and shooting, spinning this universal emotion as he pleases. The stories in this collection show us the many faces of love within life’s potpourri of laughter and pain. Above all, they urge us to keep believing in love despite all odds.

A collection of a dozen short stories that has just a bit of everything. From religious hypocrisy, marital infidelity and human deception and fraud, to spiritual mysteries, the limits of justice (in our land), the many and uncertain shades of love, and the redemptive value of suicide, Isaac Attah Ogezi skilfully and sensitively explores the human condition in its social, psychological and spiritual dimensions. The stories are both universal and uniquely individual as everyone can identify with one or another of the characters whose experiences are portrayed in The Threshing Floor. The author's mastery of language and power of narration will surely seduce any reader.

 A typical underdeveloped country bedevilled by corruption and sundry ills. Siella, the stubborn and self-willed daughter of the president is in the centre of the story. Siella refuses to school abroad, choosing instead to confront the rot in her home country. She becomes a victim of a high profile kidnap saga that brings her face to face with the rampaging evils that hold sway in the country she loves unflinchingly. When she meets the patriots, a group of deadly, dare-devil men, she is forced to see the other side of crime and to assess patriotism from a different angle. It is a story of love, crime, betrayal, corruption and above all, hope.

A moving account of a motherless Nigerian boy who is born in Cameroon and grows up with his father to become inextricably involved with the foreign surroundings in which he is birthed. But a sudden relocation into a supposed ‘Land of Promise’ soon casts a terrible cloud upon him and the bliss he once experienced abruptly turns into nightmares, a shocking experience from which he never recovers. The result is a gripping work of art – a work of art committed to its artistic values. The author, with remarkable deftness, takes his readers on a gripping voyage from Cameroon to the West African nation of Nigeria to produce a literary piece which is unputdownable.

 A young writer goes in search for his missing father who had been lost even before he was born. He will shuttle between the past and his present to answer some of the most disturbing questions: Where is my father and why don’t I know him? And why is society disrespecting my mother because she is a single mother? In his quest to answer these questions, the Ijaw and Niger-Delta social life is presented to the world in a lush narrative, and at the end of the writer’s quest he learns that some mysteries are better not unravelled. He is faced with love, migration, loss, history, and finally learns the art of forgiveness, the only password to shut out a haunting past.

Ojeiva Jumbo, a poor school teacher, who realises he needs to get involved in partisan politics and secure power to save his people from the onslaught of poverty, violence and illiteracy in the fictional state of Azayi State.  But this power does not come free as he requires assistance and connection of a powerful Godfather. Jumbo is made to take an oath to reward his Godfather financially when he becomes the governor but he will break this oath, drawing the ire of forces hell-bent on destroying him. Jumbo will, however, survive plots against him, and work hard to fulfil his mission in the government in this suspenseful political thriller.

 A group of young military officers, who under the leadership of Brigadier Saleem Sa’ada, strike and overthrow the regime of General Danjuma. The new military government designs a five year transition programme to shift power to a democratically elected government. As the elections approach, the UPP, a political party, lobbies Sameera, a radical writer and journalist, to accept its presidential ticket. After a heated race, Sameera emerges victorious. She will instantly become a world political figure and set about to actualise her vision of a united economically and politically vibrant African continent.

I have not read any of them yet. Have you read them? if so what is your opinion? If not, do you look forward to reading any? 

Thank you Hannah Onoguwe for drawing my attention to the Nigerian Writers Series of the Association of Nigerian Authors.