Monthly Archives: February 2018

Dapchi: The Abduction We Saw Coming

Dapchi: The Abduction We Saw Coming

When former President, Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo said at a church service he attended in Otuoke, hometown of another former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, as the two fellowshipped together in the latter’s home church on Sunday 18th February 2018, that the reason it appears as if history repeats itself is because people repeat past mistakes and learn nothing from them, little did we know that his remarks were ominous. Just one day after the octogenarian gave his admonition about learning from the…

The Mechanics Of Yenagoa (VI)

The Mechanics of Yenagoa (VI)

Ebiakpo and I stood up at the same time. “Yes, who are you?” in the darkness, I couldn’t tell if it was one of the policemen that had come to the house earlier in the day, or someone else. “She’s my elder sister, sir,” I offered the explanation. I knew she was too tired but mostly afraid to answer. “Ehn? Ehn?”  It was one of the policemen from before. I could tell because Ebiakpo had put on the torch from…

18 Questions: Join Me This March

18 Questions: Join me this March

This March, I would like 18 writers in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja to join me over lunch/dinner for a conversation about writing and the state of the nation. Lagos – Saturday 3rd March, 2018 Port Harcourt – Saturday 10th March, 2018 Abuja – Saturday 17th March, 2018 All events are strictly by invitation. To get an invite and join in the conversation, kindly read up Episode 1 of my online series, “The Mechanics of Yenagoa” and tell me what you think Ebinimi should do with the N500k. Do this…

Thieving Snakes And Magic Maggi Cubes By Michael Afenfia

Thieving Snakes and Magic Maggi Cubes by Michael Afenfia

If, like me, you grew up watching Tales by Moonlight – that NTA children’s programme very popular in the 80s and 90s, then you would be familiar with the myth of talking animals and spirit beings that shuttle between the land of the living and the dead. However, if Tales by Moonlight isn’t your childhood reality or point of reference for animals doing the impossible then perhaps you were born in a different era or you belong to another social class. That class…

Winter Is Coming By Michael Afenfia

Winter is Coming by Michael Afenfia

When the 2018 Winter Olympics kicks off in PyeongChang, South Korea, on Friday 9 February 2018, I’ll be one of those watching the competition in the troubled peninsula with rapt attention. I’ll be monitoring newsfeeds from my phone for updates on events and results because I want to know the minute any major upset happens. I’ll also be absorbed by the coverage of the politics of the games, as if my life depended on it because of its likely impact on…

A Miracle For The Special Ones By Michael Afenfia

A Miracle for the Special Ones by Michael Afenfia

This week we got a message on our family WhatsApp group we didn’t see coming. It was from one of my sisters, sharing openly with us her siblings, for the very first since her last child was born six years ago. It was something about her lovely daughter, that was very obvious to all of us; but I figure we didn’t quite know how to broach the subject or we just didn’t have the courage to speak about. As the…

Let me Tell you by Winlade Isreal

Let me sing the ode of your charming presence That crept swaggerly into my infant heart When your lips unveiled the ray of joy behind them. Let me cry the defeat of my strong heart At the altar of your burning love That melted the strong iron heart in my soul. Let me eulogise your perfuming beauty That arrested my nose And drove him into reverie to lick your lips. I must not write off the day I stood trembling…

Letter to Awero by Tomori Lateef

Awero dear, No! Slay mama or slay queen Is your new sobriquet, I hear. Your obstinacy knows no twin! Since I last wrote Ululating your womanhood, I have taken note Of your romance with negritude. This time, give ears to my sooth And accord it some heed Though it does you no soothe And you think it no yield. Out your sun creeps to the West Your morality drains through the pores And lo with it melts your zest As…

Love’s Affair by Nsofor Olivia Onyinye

In the mystic meadows, Where the daffodils scent is oxygen Your hair is the auburn fire Lighting up within me It's the seasons attire.   Like the shores echoing breeze I'm blown away by your aura The incandescent flames that stir your very presence An allure of decency Capturing my attention at first glance.   The winters frost Cooling our overheated stares Intensely yet intently Writing off discrepancies.   We swam in our fears In the blue oceans of our…

Write For Love 2018: Here Come The Lists

Write for Love 2018: Here Come the Lists

After about two thrilling weeks of receiving entries from different parts of the country, finally the top 10 entries in the ongoing Write for Love contest are set to be unveiled, and the voting phase of the competition will commence in a few hours. From these lists will emerge the winner(s) of N25,000 prize money in the poetry category and N25,000 also in the flash fiction category. Arranged in alphabetical order, here are the top 10 entries in each category.…