Debut Novel Of Personal And Political Upheaval In Late -20th - Century

A DEBUT NOVEL WRITTEN BY A NIGERIAN ABOUT THE PERSONAL AND POLITICAL UPHEAVEL IN LATE-20TH-CENTURY NIGERIA. 

PRINCE OF MONKEYS
By Nnamdi Ehirim

“Prince of Monkeys” speaks in constant hyperbolic language; the kind where characters use adages like, “Every problem has its own man of God ascribed to it,” and chapters close with phrases such as, “Always pay attention to the secrets in colors that are too terrible to be spoken aloud.” And how could they not? Taking place in Nigeria during the 1980s and ’90s, Nnamdi Ehirim’s first novel shows us a Nigeria that exists in both fantastic and tragic terms. It’s a Nigeria in which a group of friends, anchored by the protagonist, Ihechi, can lose almost everything in a single night out, to see their idol, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, perform at the Afrika Shrine.

That night is punctuated by a sudden riot that serves the same purpose as others that occur throughout the novel: It is both a funeral and an awakening. In “Prince of Monkeys,” though, those become necessary baptisms, offering a diverse cast (Ihechi, a “nonbeliever” named Pastor’s son, Mendaus, Maradona, Zeenat), separated by class, religion, education and eventually much, much more, a chance to redefine themselves by those contradictions and inequalities, and by the strife that continuously pocks their homeland. Their preachy vernacular and pop-culture diversions (“Citizen Kane,” “The Aristocats,” Chaka Khan and Luther Vandross) all become exercises in avoiding vulnerability directly. This dishonesty, inherited from their elders, who also speak in a too-golden tongue, plagues these characters as both children and adults.

The group experiences the aftermath of a classist unrest that they were not there to witness. Traversing from Lagos to Enugu, Ihechi encounters firsthand Nigeria’s religious extremes, from his mother’s Ifa to his Aunt Kosiso’s devout Christianity. To Ihechi, the Ifa practice appears grotesque, where the practices of the Pentecostal church are smoothed out to appear proper — despite the bloody history of how it insinuated itself into Nigerian society.

But time and again “Prince of Monkeys” reminds us that differences of religion are arbitrary tools given by the white man to Nigerians for sowing deep divides among themselves, divides that are used to justify abandonments: of families, faiths, morals, entire systems. Mistakenly thinking that the scarcity they’re sold to believe in represents the only option they have, each character struggles to be born anew, whether that be Maradona of the many identities; Mendaus, who goes from a bookish rascal to a movement leader; or Ihechi’s cousins, Tessy and Effy, who slip in and out of clothes just as easily as they do their adherence to their faith.

“Prince of Monkeys” is rife with character soliloquies that relay some of the central issues of Nigerian life, then and now. Given the exhausting struggle to get by amid what feels like an uninterrupted cycle of bombings, riots and corruption, you can’t blame these characters for relentlessly remaking themselves. Their facades often break not in the most violent moments, but in the quietest, when they’re left with nothing but the memories of the choices they have made and those who have been buried. And so at Ihechi’s home in Lagos, his father screams mercilessly at the nightly news while his mother feverishly prays to the Ifa gods, and in Enugu, Aunt Kosiso retells of a bloody day that shattered the family’s innocence. Because so much goes painfully unspoken between characters, Kosiso is heartbreakingly unaware of how much her nephew relates to what she shares.

Yet Ihechi struggles to clarify those connections for himself sometimes; his own maddening motivations, to either restore order to the people or profit from the chaos, place him within forces he’s slow to understand as he becomes ensnared in Nigeria’s political systems. The protagonist, as a result, doesn’t see Nigeria as clearly as Ehirim presents it for us: Nigeria is beset by a commanding, contradictory menagerie of would-be gods of money, power and avarice — the very same afflictions that dig Nigeria’s face into the mud and hold it there.

When “Prince of Monkeys” finally emerges on the other side of sociopolitical crisis, an early passage comes into sharper focus as media cameras capture a rapturous Mendaus’s proclamation to a gathered mass: “We, once heirs of paradise, live by choice as monkeys in a zoo. … And we, once princes of monkeys, shall die kings among men in paradise.” As Ihechi climbs the ranks of society toward financial freedom, he paradoxically finds later in the novel that, as he wrestles with a past he seeks to make peace with, its collisions with his present and future feel as calamitous as the riots. As the novel closes, Ihechi finds himself involved in another moment of upheaval, one that proves he can be transformed yet again.

Osinbajo Blasts OBJ, IBB, Jonathan For Wasting $982.8bn Oil Money

Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said he wondered how past leaders, including a military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida; former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former President Goodluck Jonathan, spent the oil revenues that accrued to the country during their administrations.
According to a statement on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, the Vice-President said this while answering questions from Nigerians at a town hall meeting in Minnesota, the United States of America, on Sunday.
Osinbajo said Nigeria’s problems were not about geographical restructuring but about proper management of the country’s resources.
While relying on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ statistics on oil revenues accruable to Nigeria under successive administrations between 1990 and 2014, the Vice-President said not much had been done in terms of infrastructure development despite the huge oil revenues realised by the country.
Osinbajo said, “Under the IBB/Abacha administrations (1990 – 1998), Nigeria realised $199.8bn.
“Under the Obasanjo/Yar’Adua governments (1999-2009), the country got $401.1bn.
“During the Jonathan administration (2010-2014), Nigeria got $381.9bn from oil revenues.
“The question that we must all ask is that what exactly happened to resources? The question that I asked is that where is the infrastructure?
“When added together, the oil revenues that accrued to the country under IBB, Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan amounted to $982.8bn
“One of the critical things that we must bear in mind and see is that this government, despite earning $94bn, up until 2017, we are spending more on infrastructure and capital than any previous government. So, we are spending N1.5trn on capital. That is the highest we have spent since 1990.”

CREDIT : DAILY ADVENT

Donald Duke Promises Legal Protection For Gays, But No PDA

A former governor of Cross River State Donald Duke has said he will not criminalise same - sex relationships if he becomes Nigeria ’ s president in 2019 .
Duke, a member of the opposition People ’ s Democratic Party , was the governor of Cross River between 1999 and 2007 .
He made the comment while appearing on On The Couch, a show hosted by Laila Johnson - Salami and Falz the Bahd Guy.
“I don’ t understand their sexuality, ” Duke said . “But I will not criminalise them. I will ensure that they have the protection of the law. ”
He did not state how he will make the Nigerian law, which currently Nigeria criminalises same - sex relationships , protect gays .
The law enacted in 2014 by the Goodluck Jonathan government prohibits a marriage or civil union by persons of the same sex, the solemnisation of such marriage in places of worship and the registration of homosexual clubs and societies .

It prescribes a 14- year jail term for anyone who enters into a same - sex marriage or union and a 10- year jail term for any person who “operates , participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations , or directly or indirectly makes a public show of same - sex amorous relationship in Nigeria . ”
Despite his promise of protecting gays , Duke , however, said there will be no room for homosexuals to engage in public display of affection since that is “an affront on the norms of the society since that is “ an affront on the norms of the society. ”
When asked if he can appoint a gay person into his cabinet , the presidential aspirant said he would be more concerned about the value an individual will add to his government instead of the person ’ s sexuality.
“His sexuality is private to him , ” he said . “ I don’ t want to know . It is not my business . My business is can he perform the assignment that has been assigned to him . ”

You can’t return Imo to PDP, Okorocha replies Atiku

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has come under attack over his threat to lead the effort by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to take back Imo State in 2919.
The State Governor, Rochas Okorocha advised the former Vice President and PDP Presidential aspirant to face his challenges and not leave Imo politics alone.
Governor in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, described Atiku’s statement as an empty threat that can never be achieved.
According to the statement, “the former Vice President leave Imo and Governor Rochas Okorocha alone and face his worrisome challenges”.
The statement also added that the governor will defeat the former VP in any election, even in his home state of Adamawa.
It added that, ” and if he does not know, Governor Rochas Okorocha will defeat him in any part of the Country including his Adamawa State in any election involving two of them. He does not therefore have what it takes to lead any struggle that will return the PDP to power in the State or the Country in 2019. That promise was a false one”.
It continued that, “the former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was in Owerri for a meeting with the stakeholders of the PDP in the State over his presidential ambition.
“While meeting with the PDP Stakeholders in the State, he was reported to have told them that he would lead the struggle for the PDP to take over Imo and Nigeria in 2019. He also tried to run down the governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and his government.
“What we do not take from anybody is blackmail against the government of Rochas Okorocha. We would do our best to set the record straight. The former Vice-President would have done his meeting without scratching the governor and the government he heads in the State. And that is where we come in”.

The statement also read, “the former Vice-President therefore leave Imo and Governor Rochas Okorocha alone and face his worrisome challenges. And if he does not know, Governor Rochas Okorocha will defeat him in any part of the Country including his Adamawa State in any election involving two of them. He does not therefore have what it takes to lead any struggle that will return the PDP to power in the State or the Country in 2019. That promise was a false one.
“To say the least, that promise of returning Imo to PDP was very deceitful knowing full well that in 2011 Rochas ran on the ticket of APGA that had no structure on ground and defeated an incumbent PDP governor with a very wide margin. In 2015, he took the soul of APGA to merge with other parties to form APC and defeated two powerful Candidates of PDP and APGA, even with the PDP Candidate having the Federal might behind him. Interestingly Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was not in exile when all these happened.
“Imo PDP is dead. The monumental achievements of Governor Okorocha in less than eight years have destroyed the Imo PDP because the Party has no claim again to make before Imo people.
“When PDP was in power in the State the Imo Airport was an eyesore, but today it has become an International Cargo Airport with all the facilities available and Courtesy of Rochas Okorocha’s administration. The former Vice-President would have demonstrated statesmanship by commending Rochas Okorocha for that feat”.
Furthermore, the statement pointed out that, “all the flyovers and tunnels Alhaji Atiku passed through in Owerri were not there when the PDP was in power for twelve years. The twelve and eight – lane roads the former Vice President saw in Owerri when he came were not there when the PDP held sway. The free education that has raised the school population of the State from 381,000 in 2011 to over one million in 2017, was not also there under the PDP.
“Beyond the noise of few power seekers in the State, Imo people are on the side of Governor Okorocha because of the large extent he has developed the State. The projects are available for verification. Let Atiku ask the PDP in the State to publish their achievements for the twelve years they governed the State and let Rochas publish his achievements for the less than eight years he has been on seat, and the former VP will discover that PDP in the State is a goner.
“And that is the reason all those who made the Party thick in the State have all left to join either APGA or APC. Today, all the former guber aspirants in the PDP are doing so in APGA including Chief Ikedi Ohakim. They have left the PDP for two people.
“So, the former Vice-President should have told the remnants of the PDP in the State to bear with the situation they have seen themselves instead of raising their hope by promising them that he would lead the struggle that will return the Party to power in the State. And on our part, we do not need to struggle for APC to sustain its hold on Imo since Imo people shall Continue to vote for the party.”