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On Michael Peel’s A Swamp Full of Dollars

A review done with great brilliance! Well done, Ikhide!

Pa Ikhide

Reproduced here for archival purposes only. First published October 2009 on the Internet.

Given the opportunity to read Michael Peel’s new book about Nigeria A Swamp Full of Dollars I groaned inwardly. Oh no, not another condescending, smirking tome written by a white man about Nigeria, corruption, decay, injustice, crude oil, blah, blah, blah.  I remembered painfully reading Karl Maier’s This House Has Fallen and that was the best of them. As I held the book, wondering whether to toss it into the heap of “I go read am” books, inside me, Esu-Elegbara, the god of my impish spirit roared, “Man Up! Read the book! If you don’t like it drop it like the dozens of other books littering your life!” I give thanks to Esu for making me read the book. I could not drop this book. It was written with respect, and it turned out to be a…

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Abuja Darkness

by

Noel Ihebuzor

 

Blackness smothers Abuja,

the still night air, noisy

jammed with the cranky wails

of mournful monotone generators,

every space choked by sweltering heat

in this sweat drenched darkness,

#change waffles, wobbly…..

and the beauty of the faint stars

shines forth because of this

damp blanket of blackness