Ken Saro-Wiwa

"Sozaboy describes the fortunes of a young naive recruit in the Nigerian Civil War: from the first proud days of recruitment to the disillusionment, confusion and horror that follows. The author's use of 'rotten English'—a mixture of Nigerian pidgin English, broken English and idiomatic English—makes this a unique and powerful novel"--Back cover.

A Novel in Rotten English

Sozaboy

A Detention Diary

A Month and a Day

Genocide in Nigeria

For a quarter of a century, Lemona has been held in a Nigerian prison, her crimes reflecting her passion and despair, her silence masking the truth. On the last day of her life she is visited by Ola, whose parents Lemona killed. To this woman Lemona recounts the events of her upbringing in poverty, the kindness of friends who took her in, and the abuse, corruption and betrayal by men which led to her downfall. though she is awaiting execution, Lemona's desire to understand the forces that shaped her life resonates throughout her story, leading Ola towards a new interpretation of her own history. -- Publisher description.

Lemona's Tale

Four Television Plays

Basi and Company

Robert and the Dog

A Forest of Flowers

The Brink of Disaster

Nigeria

This collection of newspaper columns and articles mostly written in the 1970s and 1980s perhaps provides the best overview of Saro-Wiwa's political and environmental concerns. The articles document his concerns about the fate of the Ogoni people and their mistreatment by multinational oil companies and collaborating Nigerian government. Saro-Wiwa argues that the Ogoni are a minority in Nigeria, exploited by the ruling ethnic majority, and that the Federal Government of Nigeria was threatening the Ogoni with genocide. At the time, this was a key publication in bringing the Ogoni tragedy to the attention of the international community. Nowadays, it is of continual relevance to present day concerns about the actions of the oil companies, indigenous and environmental rights in the Delta region.

The Ogoni Tragedy

This Novel for children relates the adventure of Mr B - the hero whose exploits have been made into the popular Nigerian television series "Basi and Company."

Mr. B

Mr. B is Dead

The trickster Mr B gets into more comical scrapes. He has lost his mattress to Madam the Madam because of his failure to deliver the shipload of rice, and is forced to sleep on the bare strings of his mattress. In planning to get a new mattress, Dandy and Segi fall into his carefully-laid trap.

Mr. B's Mattress

Basi and Company was the first book of the hugely successful Nigerian comedy television series, which at its peak was watched by an estimated 30 million Nigerians. The New York Times described the show as 'Nigeria's hottest comedy show, [that] seems to have struck a chord because it lampoons modern Nigeria's get-rich-quick mentality'. Basi is an exceptional man, in keeping with the best traditions of tricksters in Yoruba folklore, satirising the get-rich-quick mentality. The author translated the folktale into a contemporary idiom, believing that this format accorded better with African narrative methods.

A Modern African Folktale

The moving last memoir of the outspoken critic of the Nigerian regime and international oil companies he held responsible for the destruction of his homeland-who lost his life in the campaign for the basic rights fo the Ogoni people of Nigeria.

Ken Saro-Wiwa

About

Books

Join the club