Rain Can Never Know – Episode I

Rain Can Never Know – Episode I

“Rain, I need more cream in my coffee.” The request for more cream was made yesterday in the house. Rain was bringing his wife the cream she had asked for when her phone rang. Her boss’ wife was mad that Rain placed the caller above her coffee. In annoyance, Mrs Edozie did the unthinkable. Her action was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Rain’s back had long been pushed beyond the wall and it emboldened her to speak up against the tyranny of the family.
[POEM] The Pondering By Uzezi Ologe

[POEM] The Pondering by Uzezi Ologe

Who can tell why the tide flows Or where the wind blows Who knows how the grass grows Or what worries wrinkles the baboon’s brow Who can tell what catch The fisherman’s net cast Or the wish of the whip Put to eat the slave’s skin in stripes Who can tell the reason of the palm Why its wounds offer wine And its ash invokes purity   ALSO READ: Global Best Practice by Uzezi Ologe   Man’s head worries crown…

[POEM] Doom Dance By Uzezi Ologe

[POEM] Doom Dance by Uzezi Ologe

The mistakes of our past Forever before us Too rigidly embossed On the fabrics of our lives To be made dim By the mere passing of time   Our brethren On the whim of the moment Strike a sour tune To which we must dance For their fingers coil around our balls   The tune to which we dance Once was euphoria in our ears To which our feet carried us With the swift agility Of a reckless masquerade  …

For Reginald Dei And Others Murdered During The 2019 Elections

For Reginald Dei and Others Murdered during the 2019 Elections

When I told myself I wouldn’t write for three months, I lied. I’ve been restless, stealing glances at my laptop for days since that self-imposed hiatus, to regroup after a rather active and engaging start to the year. When I told myself I wouldn’t write, tweet, Facebook, make any Instagram post or comment on the recently concluded presidential elections, I lied. The truth is that my self-imposed speaking ban was killing me. I am pained and if you’ve ever bottled…

[POEM] Global Best Practice By Uzezi Ologe

[POEM] Global Best Practice by Uzezi Ologe

Come! Come and vote Democracy is the new way Be not deformed but take note Representation has come to stay   Come! Come out and play Your civic role. For to pray Has its place but you must today Suffer the ballot to have your way   Come! Come out and press Your fingers against this crest Heed not the lure of the rest They offer naught but stress And stay till every vote cast Is counted to the very…

Pius Adesanmi: Nigerian Literature, Social Media And Security

Pius Adesanmi: Nigerian Literature, Social Media and Security

Keynote lecture delivered at the National Convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, November 9, 2012.   Protocols! When I first received the theme of this conference in a somber email from the soon-to-be-Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, I wondered what writerly demons took possession of my great friend, Professor Remi Raji, Richard Ali, Denja Abdulahi, D.M. Dzukogi, and other members of the National Executive of the Association of Nigerian Authors, and made them settle…

[SHORT STORY] This Thing Called Love By Olukorede S. Yishau

[SHORT STORY] This Thing Called Love by Olukorede S. Yishau

I resumed at Wells Petroleum Development Company's Warri office two months after I returned to Nigeria. The ambiance was good. The office environment was great. The residential area was out of this world. And my colleagues were great. A car was practically waiting for me before I inked the pen on the acceptance letter. All these had absolutely nothing to do with my father, who by then had unfortunately vanished. The circumstances of his disappearance, I assumed then, would haunt…

[Short Story] The Sales Assistant By Rex Dogood

[Short Story] The Sales Assistant By Rex Dogood

"I gave you a thousand naira, and my balance should be six hundred and fifty naira," blared Francis in an angry voice. "Sir, please calm down; it hasn't gotten to that yet," replied the lady behind the counter. "Don't just patronise me. You want me to calm my voice when I'm being defrauded? Is that how you do things here? I want to see your superior." "My brother you should," came a voice from another customer behind him. “I've had…

POEM: Losing Self By Wilfred Deigh

POEM: Losing Self by Wilfred Deigh

You are twice as lucky as the number seven when you're twenty-seven, I once read. But youth is war, and adulthood is freedom in a prison yard. The spoils of war are never equal to the blow of loss when you hit the wall. Sometimes I do wonder if I'm ever going to make it back home. 'cause I've come so far that I feel so lost and alone. And if life is a journey, I think I need my…

POEM: Imagine You Know Me By Wilfred Deigh

POEM: Imagine you know me by Wilfred Deigh

Life is a big bowl of soup and I'm a fork, scooping... but nothing stays mine.   Hope is a folklore I've never believed to be true. and love is a spice I can't seem to scoop.   Sadly, both are lies.   Tie me to the clouds and paint me blue, but the rain will still wash me grey.   I am a bleached rainbow dull, grey and greasy white forgotten by the sky.   Imagine you know me…