We were young. I was eighteen and my nineteen course mates were mostly in their mid-twenties. We were in 300 Level. We were lucky. We were going to Togo as the last set of French undergraduates in Nigeria to travel to that country for the year abroad programme. None of us had ever ventured beyond the shores of Nigeria. Our juniors in 200 Level were sulking. The following year, they would head out to the Nigerian French Language Village in Badagry as the pioneer set of that new institution. Those who studied French before our generation wouldn't consider us lucky. read more »
Pius Adesanmi's blog
Ai Tete Mole: Kansas University, Nigerian Lawmakers, & Second Slavery
A Yoruba proverb, “ai tete m’ole, ole m’oloko”, warns against tardiness in apprehending a thief. Delay could prove costly. A smart thief could turn around and accuse the owner of the property of theft and even claim reparation! read more »
Pacesetters
(To be read to the accompaniment of Tim McGraw’s “Grown Men Don’t Cry” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0BP1dYVjEg)
“Ara Eko, Ara Oke”: Lagos, Culture, and the Rest of Us
Every generation loves to articulate a border identity in Nigeria. Never mind Wole Soyinka’s dissing of his own generation as a wasted one. In the nature of things, your generation always just happens to be the last best generation before whatever value systems or institutions you are discussing collapsed irredeemably, hence the tendency to dismiss the generation after you contemptuously. read more »
Condom to Intercourse
"You'll get to see Condom". She uttered that sentence in a friendly manner that made her completely oblivious to the outlines of shock that were changing the contours of my face as she spoke. I used to live in Europe - France - before I moved to North America. Having lived continuously in Canada and the United States now since 1998, I always receive a fair dosage of culture shock every time I return to Paris - my second home away from Nigeria. read more »
