That was how I came to live on Lagos Island under the protection of Baba Ejiga. We slept on the streets, usually outside Baba Ejiga’s shack, while he frolicked inside with one of the many women who never seemed to tire of him. In the day, Michael and I prowled […]

People were milling about, rushing and hurrying in that relentless motion that defines Lagos, while I sat on the steps of the food seller’s shop and cried, turning my head from left to right and back again, hoping to see my mother materialise before me and ask why I was […]

Read The Village Girl – 1 here.   ONE   Anulika clapped again. ‘Nwamma!’ ‘Nwamma!’ She turned to the little boy playing with a toy car on the verandah floor. ‘Bia, Okechukwu, where is your sister?’ ‘She is sleeping.’ The boy did not look up from her toy. He placed […]

Here is our list of great Nigerian literary works. Which of them have you read? And which other work(s) deserve to be included. 1. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958) 2. The Famished Road by Ben Okri (1959) 3. The Concubine by Elechi Amadi (1966) 4. The Bride Price […]

My name is Gloria. I am currently in the hospital so I can’t talk much. Fortunately I can type, so here is what happened that night, and why I came to be here. You see, my boyfriend is a typical Naija guy. In fact his own pay-as-you-chop character is something […]

NINE She found herself in a strange forest. Strange but beautiful. Healthy trees were surrounded by a lush greenery. Sunlight flowed down in a gentle smoky gold. Whole white flowers filled everywhere with charm. Grace looked round, relishing the beauty of nature. But the moment was cut short by the […]

EIGHT Grace picked one of the cushions and pressed it into herself. ‘Who and who were aware of this relationship?’ ‘Virtually nobody. We kept it entirely a secret.’ ‘So what happened next?’ Alex’s chest rose and fell in a deep breath. ‘She refused to have the abortion.’ ‘So? Why couldn’t […]