By Olukorede Yishau Abdulrazak Gurnah, Africa’s most recent Nobel laureate in Literature, returns with another powerful work, ‘Theft’. Gurnah probes the intersections of memory and belonging in a rapidly changing world. The novel follows three principal characters —Karim, Fauzia, and Badar— and the intricate ways in which their li...
By Olukorede Yishau SOME DAYS back, I had the privilege of reading a soon-to-be-released book that clearly shows that every child carries a world within them, a constellation of thoughts, dreams, and rhythms that no two eyes can fully measure. The book brings to light the fact that some worlds shine boldly, easily seen in […]
By Olukorede Yishau Because of Baba Iyabo AREMU OLUSEGUN Obasanjo, ex-soldier, ex-military Head of State, ex-President, letterman, the most popular Baba Iyabo in this universe and public speaker, is one of the luckiest human beings on earth. Born of a very humbling background, his decision to join the Army changed his story. Opportunities just...
By Olukorede Yishau The question looked simple and I answered it. Less than five minutes later, I knew that some things that appeared simple were complex. The South African Airways flight attendant on the double-deck Boeing plane had asked me: ‘Red wine or white wine.’ ‘White wine, please,’ the uninitiated me answered ...
By Olukorede Yishau It happened before America became home. ‘You think it’s funny? I’ll show you what is funny. Stand back.’ The United States Customs and Border agency official barked at me in the expansive arrival hall of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. The blond official’s eyeballs ...
By Olukorede Yishau THE THREE finalists for this year’s The Nigeria Prize for Literature have been unveiled. Oyin Olugbile made the list with ‘Sanya’, her debut novel. Two-time Booker Prize finalist Chigozie Obioma is in contention with his third novel, ‘The Road to the Country’. Nikki May completes the list with ‘This Motherless Land’. I [&h...
By Olukorede Yishau  TERRORISM IN Nigeria did not begin yesterday or even the day before. Its roots run deeper, dating back to the early 2000s when Boko Haram emerged in the country’s Northeast. What began as a small, fringe sect railing against Western education and government institutions soon mutated into a hydra-headed monster that has [&...
I BELIEVE in Nigeria. But belief without truth is delusion. And the truth is this: if Nigeria is to thrive, some things must change, and radically too. Without changes, incompetence will continue to defer dreams and lives will be buried beneath the weight of preventable tragedies. The things that need to change are not mysteries. […]
By Olukorede Yishau NIGERIA IS not where we want it. It is, in fact, far away from it. So, the news of a coalition vowing to take us there should be exciting. But, there is a lacuna when a look at the men and women in this coalition reveals they have, for decades, had the […]
By Olukorede Yishau THIS YEAR’s the Nigeria Prize for Literature longlist showcases a diverse range of narratives. In some of them, ghosts and otherworldly figures are characters. Two of the eleven authors on the list are past winners. Chika Unigwe won the prize in 2012 and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim won it in 2016. Of the […]
