Our generation is the “love” generation.
How?
We choose people to “fall in love” with and may even marry them.
The children of those born this year
will not endure the pangs of love and romance.
Two generations ago, families organized marriages for people.
It was not about love.
Does anyone know where to get aásà? My grandma, her soul is resting in peace, She…
Say My Name
My middle name is Benjamin.
Says a lot about me, right,
since I’m not from the Middle East.
I wasn’t born Benjamin.
Moyo: When I was 6 years old, I started attending the free primary school that the Western Nigerian government offered.
My teachers were supposed to teach me simple facts: how did additions and subtractions work? What happens when you mix oxygen and carbon dioxide? How do you speak English without committing grammatical blunders? And so on, and so forth.
A new word will enter the streets of Nigeria.
It is PLUTOPHOBIA: the fear of the rich.
It won’t mean, as it often does, the fear of getting rich.
It will mean the fear and loathing for those who are getting rich, while the majority of Nigerians see themselves as getting poorer by the minute.
These are some of the artists at the Akodi Orisa, Ile Ife, Nigeria, taking a minute off for a photoshoot. They paint, sculpt, do installation works, perform and design in several mediums.
They are a garrison of creative spirits, using art to express the joy and struggles of being Nigerian.
They are awe-inspiring pioneers.
When you walk, you are telling the story of your life with your body language. The way you move your feet tells others who you are if they pay attention to you as you place one foot in front of the other. I did not realize this reality until after my accident, after I could no longer walk on my own two legs, without the use of crutches.
Farewell to Nigeria.
It’s been 3.5 months since I’ve been here.
Every day was a wonderful experience.
I’m now at the airport, on my way out.
Potter:
What wants you from us,
One legged man?
Me: I’m here to study with you
the ancient art of terra-cotta.
Potter:
You, a university professor,
Coming to us to study,
We humble peasants and illiterates?
“When a man is talking, the woman must shut up,” the young bricklayer was yelling. His colleague confirmed, “Yes, this is man to man talk. You need to keep quiet and let us settle this matter.”
My jaw was hanging in disbelief. I’ve been away too long from Nigeria. Nobody spoke to and about women like this when I was growing up. Now these young men drooling blasphemous vomit, where did they drop from? Am I hearing these statements, or am I dreaming? Is it just my imagination, or what?
When I arrived the United States in 1992 to start a doctorate at UW, Madison, I had only $98 in my pocket.
My professor, Henry Drewal, quickly came to my assistance. He immediately paid my school fees for the first semester, and gave me $1,000 in cash to start me off. Then he provided me with free accommodation in the posh part of town for the first year of my studies, while I found my feet.
The things we take for granted.
I wanted to plant some flowers. Ordinarily I would simply jump up, grab the seeds, and plant the flowers.
But things are now different.
Without a serviceable leg, I had to think carefully of the strategy that would enable me to plant the flowers.