When she was old enough to speak, “mummy I want to go home” was her first fully constructed sentence, of course there were single words “momma”, “dada”and things like that, but that was her first full sentence. She was a sickly child: always falling sick. If it wasn’t malaria it’ll be diarrhoea. If it wasn’t … Continue reading Abiku
They say the Area Boys are a law unto themselves. They say they are a pack of illiterate feral kids who’d slit your throat in a heartbeat for a bag of candy. They are smelly, dirty little boys who lived like sewer rats in colonies underneath the bridge or behind the motorpark. Their homes are … Continue reading The Education of Area Boy
It was my thirtieth birthday and my sister was throwing a party for me. Left to me I wouldn’t bother. I would just skulk in my room reading a book or messing about on my laptop. Birthdays don’t really interest me. Waste of time and money. I have better things to do … Continue reading Coming Out
I should have known he was a kidnapper: it was so obvious. He was always awash with cash, not naira like the rest of us, but pound sterling, euros and dollars. You only had that kind of money if you were a ‘businessman’ of some sort, perhaps a yahoo yahoo boy, robber or … Continue reading The Kidnapper
Airforce One swooped in to land at Nnamdi Azikwe airport in Abuja: if there was ever a more impressive sight this was it. The huge mechanical bird dipped a wing and landed, its huge jet engines throttling back as its undercarriage hit the runway. It taxied to the VIP section of the airport and a … Continue reading Trump Arrives Naija! (Flash fiction)
The Serpent slithered over to where Kim sat on a rock, naked, taking a selfie and preening herself. “ Do you know why God forbade you from eating from the Tree of Knowledge?”, asked the snake. “Because my bum will grow bigger?”, she shot back without even thinking. “ No!”, hissed the snake,”…try again”. She … Continue reading Kim in the Garden of Eden (Flash fiction)
The Blind Beggar Beggars are a nuisance at any time: they are always there when you don’t want them to be, obstructing your path and thrusting their alms bowls into your face. They usually come at you in a swarm, like flies congregating on cow dung: the blind, the deaf, the physically disabled and the-plain-just-beggars … Continue reading The Blind Beggar – Flash Fiction
It’s the pains of life: the incessant demands. I can’t take anymore. I am just a simple man and I do what I can do. But more is demanded of me, much more. Too much more. They put the demands of a hundred men on my head and I falter and fall under the load, … Continue reading Dark Waters (Flash Fiction)
Another Man (Flash fiction) I normally come home late at night these days; not something I used to do. A change in my circumstances has brought about a change in my habits. My wife is home, too, and despite the late hour she is not tucked up in bed fast asleep. In fact she’s … Continue reading Another Man (Flash fiction)
They tell us we are going to walk until we drop. They mean it. The hot desert is unforgiving on the feeble and the weak. Like a predator, it waits until its prey is weak and tired. Then it pounces. The one to be consumed struggles to walk, each step becoming as laborious as the … Continue reading The Water is Your Enemy
The Tree asked me what I was doing. I had climbed up it, high into its branches and fastened a rope around its highest point and the other end around my neck. What does it look like I’m doing, said I, I’m trying to kill myself. Why, asked the impertinent Tree. Because I’m fed up … Continue reading The Tree and I – Flash Fiction by Tony Ogunlowo
Time will tell by Tony Ogunlowo They said he died of a heart attack; I think it was probably his alcohol addiction that killed him. Even before mum died he was boozing heavily and when she passed away it only got worse. Things got tough at home. Whilst we were both grieving for our … Continue reading Time will Tell by Tony Ogunlowo
‘Selling Bread’ Flash fiction by Tony Ogunlowo I’m not going to sell bread for the rest of my life. I’m going to be a supermodel! If that Olajumoke, who can’t even speak a word of English, can be plucked out of obscurity and turned into an overnight sensation why not me? I’m fair-skinned and … Continue reading ‘Selling Bread’ Flash fiction
My Heart Will Go On Flash fiction by Tony Ogunlowo I like the song ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from that film where everybody drowned. I think it was called ‘Titanic’ and the song was sung by Celine Dion. I’m following my heart and I’m going to live with Ade. People will probably … Continue reading My Heart Will Go On (Flash fiction) by Tony Ogunlowo
The Sands of Bar Beach By Tony Ogunlowo They always told me it would end in tears, but I didn’t listen. A woman in love, they say, is a blind fool with her head in the clouds. He’s rich; he works in bank, drives a big car and has an apartment on Banana Island … Continue reading The Sands of Bar Beach By Tony Ogunlowo (Flash fiction)