ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982 (Part Forty-Three)

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982 (Part Forty-Three)

ByMoyo Okediji

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982 (Part Forty-Three)

“Hey, Moyo,” Hilda yelled. “Are you alright? Are you with us?”

“Yes, I am,” I responded. I pulled myself back to the moment.

The traffic was light and the road excellent. The Lagos to Benin expressway was the best road I had ever driven on. The bus zoomed along on it effortlessly.

“You went so silent and looked so vacant, I could have sworn you were not here,” Steve said.

“I was here alright,” I answered.

“Thinking about Gina?” Hilda asked.

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982 (Part 38)

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982 (Part 38)

ByMoyo Okediji

“Wole Soyinka wants to have a word with Rufus. Tell him to come as soon as possible. Kongi travels out of the country next week,” was the simple message that I got back from Kole Omotosho.

Omotosho was the head of the Dramatic Art Department, University of Ife. He sent a driver to me to collect a manuscript, “Marx and Mask,” written by the brilliant Ghanaian writer, Ayi Kwei Armah.

Soyinka regularly received manuscripts from several writers, and after making copies, he would distribute the manuscripts among his circle of intellectuals who met at least once a week to read and discuss the manuscripts.

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982 (Part Thirty-seven)

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982 (Part Thirty-seven)

ByMoyo Okediji

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY 1982 (Part Thirty-seven) “You are quite ugly too,” Mary said without a pause. “I knew you had too much palm wine today.”

“You are angry?” I asked.

“No,” she responded. “Did I sound angry? If so, I apologize.”

“I was only trying to let you understand a simple fact of life,” I explained. “Because you were unable to sexually arouse Joshua does not imply that Gina would also be unable to sexually arouse him.”

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982: (Part Thirty-Six)

ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1982: (Part Thirty-Six)

ByMoyo Okediji

***Reader’s Note:

I was informed that I should complete the ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY series before moving on to the next series, THE RETURN.

I will therefore return to the ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, and continue with Part Thirty-six. To refresh the memory of our readers, I have placed parts Thirty-five and Thirty-four at the end of Part Thirty-six.

THE RETURN

THE RETURN

ByMoyo Okediji

Here is a work of fiction titled THE RETURN

Total fiction.

It is set in today.

This is part One.

I will serialize it until we get to the end.

THE RETURN (PART 1)

He was flying back home for the first time in his life.

At thirty-six, he felt that he had waited a little too long.

HOW MUCH? Èrò Ni Ọkọ Dídó

HOW MUCH? Èrò Ni Ọkọ Dídó

ByMoyo Okediji

HOW MUCH? Èrò Ni Ọkọ Dídó

Check the naira amount in your pocket or the bottom line in your bank account.

Has that transfer gone through?

But what does a fellow do with money that rapidly gets useless?

What do you do when a piece of paper loses its promisedvalue?

It still says One thousand Naira, but it only buys One hundred Naira worth of garri.

In the year 2019 when I left Nigeria, I brought with me some naira currency notes, stacked in one-thousand denominations.

INNER VISION: OJÚ INÚ

INNER VISION: OJÚ INÚ

ByMoyo Okediji

About 50 villages, mostly located in Ogun States, have been abandoned by Yoruba farmers and their families, but now occupied by Fulani invaders who drove out these villagers.

This morning I saw videos of the officers of the Nigerian Customs and Excises raiding the shops of poor market women, removing items that these women bought for sale to their customers.

This is a two-prong attack: the villagers driven out of their villages are unable to farm and provide food supplies for the people in towns and cities.

WHO OWNS YOUR NAME?

WHO OWNS YOUR NAME?

ByMoyo Okediji

The most central building on our school campus was also the building that gave me claustrophobia. It was the school chapel.

Right in front of the building was a stone monument. Within the monument was a plaque, with the inscription, “STUDY TO SHEW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD. 2 Timothy, 2:15”

That, certainly, was not good English, I concluded. Even at age eleven, I felt they needed a copyeditor.

IS YORUBA CULTURE POLYGAMOUS?

IS YORUBA CULTURE POLYGAMOUS?

ByMoyo Okediji

The secondary school rusticated me for being part of a riot that the students organized and carried out with meticulous sagacity.

Flabbergasted, I traveled to Ile Ife where we lived, from Oyo, where I schooled.

My father was amused that they rusticated me.

“Did you really participate in the riot?” my father asked.

“I did not,” I answered.