-
Aníké Elèko
Age Range: 7 – 12 years
Aníké has to hawk èko every morning but that does not stop her from going to school. She loves school and wants to be a doctor.
However, her mother has decided her fate: once she finishes primary school, she will join her Aunt Remí in the city as a tailor.
When a mystery guest visits Àníké’s school, she has the chance to win a scholarship that will change her fate. Will the help of her friends Oge, Ìlérí and Àríyo the cobbler be enough?
Written by Sandra Joubead and illustrated by Àlàbá Ònájìn, ÀNÍKÉ ELÉKO tells a colourful story
of one girl’s courage in the face of opposition to her dreams.₵40.00Aníké Elèko
₵40.00 -
An Orchestra of Minorities
The “superb and tragic” Booker Prize finalist about a Nigerian poultry farmer who sacrifices everything to win the woman he loves, by the author of The Fishermen (Boston Globe)Set on the outskirts of Umuahia, Nigeria and narrated by a chi, or guardian spirit, AN ORCHESTRA OF MINORITIES tells the story of Chinonso, a young poultry farmer whose soul is ignited when he sees a woman attempting to jump from a highway bridge. Horrified by her recklessness, Chinonso joins her on the roadside and hurls two of his prized chickens into the water below to express the severity of such a fall. The woman, Ndali, is stopped her in her tracks.Bonded by this night on the bridge, Chinonso and Ndali fall in love. But Ndali is from a wealthy family and struggles to imagine a future near a chicken coop. When her family objects to the union because he is uneducated, Chinonso sells most of his possessions to attend a college in Cyprus. But when he arrives he discovers there is no place at the school for him, and that he has been utterly duped by the young Nigerian who has made the arrangements.. Penniless, homeless, and furious at a world which continues to relegate him to the sidelines, Chinonso gets further away from his dream, from Ndali and the farm he called home.
Spanning continents, traversing the earth and cosmic spaces, and told by a narrator who has lived for hundreds of years, the novel is a contemporary twist of Homer’s Odyssey. Written in the mythic style of the Igbo literary tradition, Chigozie Obioma weaves a heart-wrenching epic about destiny and determination.
₵145.00An Orchestra of Minorities
₵145.00 -
White Lagos
From specially crafted attires in designated colours, to roles played by maskers and carriers, to competitions among Eyo ‘families’, to rules which must be followed to the letter, Pelu Awofeso unpacks intimate portrayals of the festival as an outsider-cum-observer.₵55.00White Lagos
₵55.00 -
Nigerian Festivals: The Famous And Not So Famous
Local festivals have always been an attraction for international visitors to Nigeria. While some (like Durbars) are very well known abroad, quite a number of others (Puusdung, for example) are not. This book brings ‘under one ‘roof’ an interesting selection of these cultural fiestas, which take place year round and hundreds of kilometres apart.₵45.00 -
Scarlet
For many generations, uncertainty and tension have pervaded both the people of Under The Sky and the wraiths of Kiriyanga, but they trudge on, while holding on to the little streaks of light at the end of this seemingly-never-ending tunnel – a prophecy that order would be restored on the Day of Scarlet. This imminent respite however, comes with stringent conditions: “ … until a woman drinks from the confluence of two rivers that do not mix, the Day of Scarlet will not come.”
Scarlet is an inquiry into the absurdity of possessing absolute power or its pursuit thereof. With strong allusions to the Grecian myth of Zeun and Hades, and Yoruba myths of love triangles among gods as told of Osun, Ogun, and Sango, or Yemoja, Obatala, and Ogun, woven into and set in tales from Kikuyu lore, Alexander Emmanuel Ochogwu lends his voice to the conversations around politics and power-grabbing in Nigeria, Africa, and beyond₵55.00Scarlet
₵55.00 -
The Diary of a Boy Soldier: Creed of Brotherhood
Alexander Emmanuel’s boy soldier story means a lot to many people: for soldiers, it is their story told; for non-military personnel, it provides a new way of looking at the military. Whichever you are, you are sure to fall in love with Ayorinde Olanrewaju Banks, the lead character, as you follow him on his many adventures.
The Creed of Brotherhood is the totem that binds Boy Soldiers of the Nigerian Military School, Zaria.₵45.00 -
The Last Carver
Ositadimma Amakeze has been heralded as the modern-day Achebe. In The Last Carver, he narrates the story of a community, their culture, and the need to always keep tradition alive.
The Last Carver narrates the musings of the historian Mgbirimgba Atuegwu on the recent death of one of the most respected men in his community, the Omenka. From Mgbirimgba’s eyes, we are allowed to see the cultural practices of Umuokwe and the Igbos of South Eastern Nigeria in the early colonial period.
“I knew Ositadimma Amakeze as a poet of unusual ability. The effect of that flair on his creative story is so evident from the beginning to the end of this amazing novel.” — Dr P-J Ezeh, Anthropological Linguist and Literary Critic, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
“It is a brilliant, multi-layered story that encompasses a tale of ingenious portrayal of a culture on the threshold of extinction. A gazetteer of good backgrounds with a soupcon of nostalgic traditions, Amakeze joins the league of modern African cultural writers with a bang!” — Ijoma Onuorah-Anyakwo, Journalist
“The Last Carver is reliving Our Cultural Heritage to impact on the modern and future generation an everlasting knowledge of their identity. A very good ‘sociolinguihistoric’ masterpiece.” — Madubuko Ego Charity FCAI, Ph.D, Assistant Director FCT Education Resource Centre, Abuja
“…an ideal for writers of African literature, with an excellent juxtaposition of the ‘Oyibo’ (English) and Igbo languages. He gives a different perspective to the Igbo scenario of “those days” with so much clarity that I feel as though I were present. It’s a must-read!” — Anastasia O. Chukwulete
₵55.00The Last Carver
₵55.00 -
Masquerade Time (Junior African Writers Series Level 2)
Level 2 is suited to learners who have been studying English for 4-5 years. Short sentences and a large number of illustrations combine to make these books both enjoyable and easy to read, either individually or in class. Learners have a wide variety of stories to choose from.
Ihanyi invites his American friend Andy to the local masquerade – where the spirits of the dead come to life! But there is also danger in the air.
₵19.00 -
No Longer at Ease (African Writers Series, AWS3)
Obi Okonkwo is an idealistic young man who, thanks to the privileges of an education in Britain, has now returned to Nigeria for a job in the civil service. However in his new role he finds that the way of government seems to be backhanders and corruption. Obi manages to resist the bribes that are offered to him, but when he falls in love with an unsuitable girl – to the disapproval of his parents – he sinks further into emotional and financial turmoil. The lure of easy money becomes harder to refuse, and Obi becomes caught in a trap he cannot escape.
Showing a man lost in cultural limbo, and a Nigeria entering a new age of disillusionment, No Longer at Ease concludes Achebe’s remarkable trilogy charting three generations of an African community under the impact of colonialism, the first two volumes of which are Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God.
₵45.00 -
These Bones Will Rise Again
What are the right questions to ask when seeking out the true spirit of a nation?
In November 2017 the people of Zimbabwe took to the streets in an unprecedented alliance with the military. Their goal, to restore the legacy of Chimurenga, the liberation struggle, and wrest their country back from over thirty years of Robert Mugabe’s rule.
In an essay that combines bold reportage, memoir and critical analysis, Zimbabwean novelist and journalist Panashe Chigumadzi reflects on the ‘coup that was not a coup’, the telling of history and manipulation of time and the ancestral spirts of two women – her own grandmother and Mbuya Nehanda, the grandmother of the nation.
Chigumadzi successfully nests the intimate charge of her poignant personal story in the sweeping historical account and mythology of Zimbabwe. – Brian Chikwava, author of Harare North
Chigumadzi’s exploration of personal, family and national history reincarnates in stark, vivid images, many of those interred in the shadows of her country’s ‘Big Men’. – Tsitsi Dangarembga, author of Nervous Conditions
₵80.00These Bones Will Rise Again
₵80.00 -
Love Is Power, or Something Like That: Stories
When it comes to love, things are not always what they seem. In contemporary Lagos, a young boy may pose as a woman online, and a maid may be suspected of sleeping with her employer and yet still become a young wife’s confidante. Men and women can be objects of fantasy, the subject of beery soliloquies. They can be trophies or status symbols. Or they can be overwhelming in their need.In the wide-ranging stories in Love Is Power, or Something Like That, A. Igoni Barrett roams the streets with people from all stations of life. A man with acute halitosis navigates the chaos of the Lagos bus system. A minor policeman, full of the authority and corruption of his uniform, beats his wife. A family’s fortunes fall from love and wealth to infidelity and poverty as poor choices unfurl over three generations. With humor and tenderness, Barrett introduces us to an utterly modern Nigeria, where desire is a means to an end, and love is a power as real as money.₵85.00 -
Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree
*Available from 15th September 2019.
Based on interviews with young women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram, this poignant novel by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani tells the timely story of one girl who was taken from her home in Nigeria and her harrowing fight for survival. Includes an afterword by award-winning journalist Viviana Mazza.
A new pair of shoes, a university degree, a husband–these are the things that a girl dreams of in a Nigerian village. And with a government scholarship right around the corner, everyone can see that these dreams aren’t too far out of reach.
But the girl’s dreams turn to nightmares when her village is attacked by Boko Haram, a terrorist group, in the middle of the night. Kidnapped, she is taken with other girls and women into the forest where she is forced to follow her captors’ radical beliefs and watch as her best friend slowly accepts everything she’s been told.
Still, the girl defends her existence. As impossible as escape may seem, her life–her future–is hers to fight for.
₵145.00Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree
₵145.00 -
Are You Not A Nigerian? Thoughts on a Nation at Crossroads
*Available from 15th September 2019.
Are You Not A Nigerian? chronicles a country’s fourth attempt at democratic governance after many years of military dictatorship. Through his personal experiences and observations, Báyọ̀ Olúpohùndà captures the reality of Nigeria’s socio-political environment at the turn of the millennium, the collapse of dignity in service, and the ubiquitous “Nigerian factor” that creates entitlement.
Are You Not A Nigerian? examines the lost opportunities, the disappointment of successive administrations, and the dilemma of a nation at a crossroads.
₵60.00 -
Abduction Chronicles
How does one date bring bittersweet memories in one single thought? That was one of the questions in Folarin’s mind as he narrates his spine-chilling encounter with kidnappers. On a bright Saturday morning of 1st of May 1999, himself and Titi were joined in Holy matrimony. 17 years later, they were forcefully separated, on the same date!
When Folarin stepped out of his study in the early hours of May 1, 2016, he was sure the sight before him wasn’t real. Unfortunately, this was a reality he couldn’t shake away. Without warning, he was abducted from the comfort of his home. exposed to the elements of nature with little or no food, and in constant terror of a dangerously armed gang, he had to negotiate his freedom, but not before an unexpected twist brought him in a direct, hair-raising confrontation with his abductors.
Set in he South-South region of Nigeria, Abduction Chronicles is a gripping account of Folarin’s many close shaves with death, with striking details of his journey to and from the abyss.
₵65.00Abduction Chronicles
₵65.00
