a picture showing moyo okediji sitting next to his artwork

Iyalode: Before the Invention of Women

ByMoyo Okediji

Iyalode: Before the Invention of Women

My grandmother, Iya Oyo, belonged to the generation of women who didn’t experience what the sociology scholar, Professor Oyeronke Oyewumi described as the “invention of women.”

What Professor Oyewumi means is that nowadays, there are lots of rules and regulations that appear to specify what a woman is supposed to do, and what she is not supposed to be.

A picture showing moyo okedijis hand holding a bowl of vegetable soup and garri

Food for Thought

ByMoyo Okediji

Food for Thought

My mates at the secondary school called me a foodie.

They served us starvation grade food in the hostels where we were warehoused, and we were always hungry.

The only grace was that there were lots of ill-fated weevils (kòkòrò) cooked with our beans providing us enough animal protein to supplement the plant protein in the beans.

a picture showing moyo okediji sitting next to his artwork

CAMPUS TALES

ByMoyo Okediji

CAMPUS TALES

She said, “I’m certain I’m not a C grade material,” she complained to me. “During my School certificate exam, I scored A grades in most of my courses, and was admitted to the university. Once there, I attended all the lectures, studied really hard and was always ready for the exams. But then, whenever I got my scripts back, I always scored a C grade. I became curious and confused because my friends who did not study, partied throughout the semester and paid no attention to classes, always scored A and B+ grades.”

a picture showing moyo okediji sitting next to his artwork

ÌWÀ

ByMoyo Okediji

ÌWÀ

“Olódùmarè has several wives,” my father said. “Do you know that?”

We were strolling back home from his writing workshop that evening, and I was seventeen. I always accompanied him to his writing workshops where he taught playwriting