Nguper emerged from our inner Atê–round thatched hut, draping a wrapper over her breasts. Her birthday party had got the entire family in a frenzy. She was turning eighteen, so Mama said. A serene breeze wafted down the chocolatey hills, I glanced around the compound and gazed at Doofan and Torkwase pounding yam in our … Continue reading Birthday Cake (Tiv, Benue State)
I am Aiamatu. I hail from Bagama area of the Northeast. I am thinking of home and my parents – the agony they are going through of my absence from school and home ever since my mates and I were abducted from our school by these gun-toting men. The weather is hot despite the morning … Continue reading I am Aiamatu
She was new in her flat. Her fluid body vibrating like ocean wave, got me glued the day she parked in; I volunteered to assist her and ensured the furniture and fitting were set as she deemed fit. Drowning in my own sweat I set the bedrooms, sitting-room, dinning et cetera, et cetera. Her poise … Continue reading The Desire
Once upon a time, there lived a grasshopper and a dove on a neem tree in the land of Maikawata. The weather always seemed right season after season in this land. The grasshopper was renowned for his penchant for savouring the green leaves from his farm while the dove delighted in going for his hunting … Continue reading The Grasshopper and the Dove
The grassland radiates with lush green vegetation in front of his country home. He sits now at a reading desk writing. A beetle buzzing away out the window. He can see people walking under the sun. The idea of one wandering in a scorching hearth does not fascinate him. He has made up his mind … Continue reading The Swift Cricket
* * * * * The Murtala Mohammed International airport, Ikeja had not changed in Ukah’s eyes when he emerged from the airliner en route from Ottawa, Canada. He had been a former undergraduate at Schulich School of Business, York University. Before his present predicament, he had been in a pay-roll of a Columbian multi-millionaire … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – The End
* * * * * The Murtala Mohammed International airport, Ikeja had not changed in Ukah’s eyes when he emerged from the airliner en route from Ottawa, Canada. He had been a former undergraduate at Schulich School of Business, York University. Before his present predicament, he had been in a pay-roll of a Columbian multi-millionaire … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – 13
Back home in Nigeria, a different sovereighty was in place and seemed to have promises for the populace. Notwithstanding, wreckages of the dilapidated rafters were still lingering about and deleterious to the fleeing minds. All the political detainees had begun gaining freedom. Njama, the journalist and his compatriots were released from detention. Adanma was happier … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – 12
Bamako, Mali had a peculiar scenery; and the mode of dressing of its people not quite distinct from that found in norther Nigeria. The city seemed to be opened to most people and refugees fleeing from, West African war affected areas, political persecution and plights. The polity seemed to allow them settle for a while … Continue reading And Ndu set for… – 11
The whole air was filled with tear gas like a gas chamber. The dispersed crowd was shedding tears from the after-effect of the tear gas as they went their different ways leaving behind the bean cake woman whose fire spot would have been a place for murder. Some labs had engaged in a physical combat … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – 10
The sun was beaming about town and houseflies buzzed and fizzled about here and there. Ndu seemed to feel the intense heat of the weather, from time to time he dabbed sweat off his brow with a white hankerchief, then he decided to move into the office. At the establishment he was hoping he would … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – 9
On a sunday after, Ndah never opened his shop. Sundays were free days for most business men in the big cities. He had a textile fabrics shop. The sun was up in the sky this sunday afternoon in Lagos. He was on the bar beach with two beautiful ladies of which one of them was … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – 8
The sun was shining brightly above the sky on the high way heading towards the capital. Leaving the high way behind, on getting to the second roundabout to the capital, a luxurious bus stopped so passengers could alight. After the second roundabout to the capital, by the left a tall building -Bank of the North, … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – 7
Ndu was perpending how his meagre wage could not help accomplish his set goals. And the academic strike had lingered longer than expected. He was in the factory; a night shift. There came a faint chant from a distance. No one had envisaged the matter in that light. The faint chant came up again from … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – 6
In the polythene factory, his duty was to arrange the polythene for the machine to cut into the required specification. The manager had earlier introduced him to the factory supervisor. There were two batches – the morning and evening shifts. In his batch, the workers were fierce looking. The supervisor told Ndu to feel at … Continue reading And Ndu set forth… – 5