Sarah Ladipo Manyika in Nigeria

Cassava Republic Press is pleased to announce a new voice in Nigerian literature: Sarah Ladipo Manyika and her debut novel In Dependence. Sarah, a resident of California, is visiting Nigeria this November to promote her book, which will be available nationwide from December. Sarah spent much of her childhood in Jos, Plateau State, but has lived in Kenya, France, and England. She currently teaches literature at San Francisco State University.

About In Dependence
In early 1960s, Tayo Ajayi sails to England from Nigeria to take up a scholarship at Oxford University. As he leaves his mother warns him not to fall in love with English women. In this city of dreaming spires, he finds a generation high on visions of a new and better world. And it really does seem as if the whole world is ablaze with freedom movements. The post-independence fires are burning brightly back home in Nigeria, fuelled by the politics of Pan Africanism and financed by a fortuitous economic boom. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US Congress is about to pass the Civil Rights Act and Che Guevara is busy trying to export the Cuban Revolution. Meanwhile, across the West, the first tremors of the countercultural and sexual revolutions are about to be felt.

It is in this heady atmosphere that Tayo meets Vanessa Richardson, the beautiful daughter of an ex-colonial officer. In 1960s Britain, they face racism from passersby, Vanessa’s father and the police. Tayo also worries about his own family’s acceptance of Vanessa and whether she will be able to cope with life in Nigeria. Vanessa, on the other hand fantasises about returning to West Africa, where she spent her early childhood, with Tayo. Just as Tayo is about to propose, he receives a telegram which prompts his return to Nigeria. Once back in Nigeria, a military coup prevents him from returning to Vanessa. A few years later, when he decides to visit Vanessa again, he is arrested at the airport.

Readings:
Lagos
Venue: Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Centre, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi
Time: 4.00pm
Date: Sat 7th November 2009

Abuja
Venue: Pen & Pages
Time: 5.30pm
Date: Tues 10th November 2009
Address:
Plot 79, Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, White House, Wuse 11

Giving Honour Where Honour's Due

A church organist has been honoured for striking the right chord for 70 years. The man is said by the town's mayor to be 'exceptionally honest, extremely polite [and] always wears a smile.'

I wonder, if asked, would the same be said of you?

America: Behind The Name

I left Nigeria a little over 20 years ago. In the years since, many things have happened. I've retained and discarded information at will, however, one thing has remained constant; the name of the person America was named after. We were told in a social studies class in Nigeria and I've never forgotten it since.

So my dear social studies teacher, you did good. Those classes weren't a waste of time after all. And the name of the explorer? Amerigo Vespucci.

What's In A Name?

Honestly speaking, sometimes I despair. My name is Abidemi Sanusi. When I first came to this country, a little over twenty years ago, I found attempts to pronounce my name so horrifying and such an affront to my Nigerian heritage that I hastily shortened it to 'Demi (don't forget the apostrophe).

I changed boarding schools and found my name shortened to Abi. Come university, I answered to 'Demi, Abi and Abidemi (Nigerian friends called me by my real name). Post-uni and full of identity angst, I decided that I would be called by one name and one name only; the one I was given by my parents - Abidemi - only to find that society at large was not willing to accommodate me.

At interviews, I would wait politely while interviewers made exaggerated attempts to pronounce my name.

A-B-I-D-E-M-I. Ahem, do we mind if we call you Abi?

Well, it's only seven letters. Just think of Abi and Demi as two separate names, merge them together and voila, you have Abidemi, I would say with a fixed smile. Really, what I wanted to don was a tight smile but they would probably think I was a tight-ass and not give me the job...

It didn't always work. As a contractor, one of the very first things I institute in a new office is what I call the Ceremony of Abidemi's Name. In other words, I crush all attempts to shorten my name with a tight smile (I've got the job so I don't really care if they think I'm a tight ass at this point) and one sentence: It's Abidemi.

A few months ago, I was working in an office and talking to a colleague. He asked if I really minded people calling me Abi. I kept my response short.

It's not my name.

What is it with the human desire to decimate perfectly beautiful names? I say 'human' because African society is not that different. Thus in Britain:

• Elizabeth becomes Liz
• James =Jim
• Alexander morphs into Sandy
• Joanne turns into Jo

And this is what really kills me; a perfectly short name like Ann being lengthened into Annie, a la Jim into Jimmy because apparently, it's too short for some.

In Nigeria:

• Oladele becomes Dele
• Wuraola=Wura
• Olanrewaju=Lanre

And I've never quite figured out why some Nigerian tribes add an 's' to English names:

• Colin is Colins
  
• Ruben=Rubens
• Andrew=Andrews
  

Pity the dude stuck with a name like Johns or Judes or...you get the gist.

And while we're at it, don't get me started on my surname. Apparently, Sanusi is not good enough. Oh no, I have to be called Abi Zanussi.

But that's a rant for another day.

I Haven't Blogged Lately

...because I can't be bothered.

Fancy Working In Africa?

Riplington & Associates are a global network of educators based in Lagos, Nigeria. Due to increased volume of clients we are looking for qualified Sessional Consultants (Teachers, Social Workers, Counsellors, Boarding Staff, Sociologists, Doctors, Nurses, Youth Workers, Educational Researchers) who are interested in working in Nigeria on an ad hoc basis in the following areas:

• Educational Leadership
• Numeracy, Literacy, Science, Foundation Subjects (Primary)
• Humanities, Mathematics, English Language and Literature, Science (Secondary)
• English as a Foreign Language
• Boarding Management and Pastoral Care
• Special Needs Teacher Training
• Personal Hygiene
• Sex /Drugs/Alcohol Education
• Conflict Management
• Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL)
• Parenting Skills
• Counselling Skills

Terms and Conditions
There will be a signed contract between Riplington & Associates and the successful sessional consultant. As we cannot afford to pay for flights to Nigeria, the work will largely depend on when the sessional consultants are in Nigeria.

Sessional Consultants will earn NGN60,000 per day.

Interested? Please email a copy of your CV and references to Abiola Sanusi (Principal Consultant) abiolasanusi[at]randaedu.com or visit www.randaedu.com for more information.

Deadline: 21st October 2009

Tales From Academia

So, I decided to go back to uni. I enrolled last week.

How best to describe the corridors of academia? Like the smell of hope, expectation and and destinies being shaped.

So, what happened in my first week?
I signed up for some interesting courses on film, culture and religion in European cinema. I checked out the international film club and made dates in my calendar for the wine tasting courses (but you knew I was going to do that, didn't you?). And oh yes, I'm in a bind regarding the modern language course to take.

The course
Lots and lots of reading. Lots and lots of essays. When I tell people just how many, they tell me airily that they expect me to breeze through the essays because I'm a writer which never fails to irritate me no end. Firstly, I write fiction and fiction writing is different from academic writing. Different style. Different technique. You even read differently. Perhaps it's something about the way those journals are written...

Jokes and rants aside, I'm excited about the course. It's been a while since I left academia and now I'm back I intend to soak up every single drop of knowledge and opportunity on offer. Because I'm worf it.