Gods of the Ivory Tower – Martin-Hassan Eze
Gods of the Ivory Tower Martin-Hassan EzeWe all have stories to tell. Some of our stories we gladly tell to whoever cares to listen, parroting them until we begin to sound like worn-out tapes. Others, we leave to gather dust at the bottom of our hearts because they...
On the Sunny Side of the Street – Tolu Daniel
On the Sunny Side of the Street Tolu Daniel1. Outside my small apartment on the west side of Manhattan, Kansas, the noise is staccato. Fireworks have been designing the evening like the canvas of Van Gogh's Starry Night. Excited American adults and teenagers yip and...
Everything Became a Drowning Dream – Alimot Salami
Everything Became a Drowning Dream Alimot Salami"The body is a blade that sharpens by cutting." – Ocean Vuong I Grief is the only thing that can break one into fragments. I recall being called different, queer, boring, and other things, which made me feel like a...
The One Who Died With Secrets and Other Forms of Goodness – Favour Iruoma Chukwuemeka
The One Who Died With Secrets and Other Forms of Goodness Favour Iruoma Chukwuemeka The inability to wail when most required, at the edge of a deathbed, amidst other crying people, is a personal disability. I discovered this through several events, often death...
All Was Well Until It Wasn’t – Raheem Omeiza
All Was Well Until It Wasn’t Raheem OmeizaThere aren't many things I hate more than the rush that surrounds the Maghrib prayer. The correct time for Maghrib is tricky: dusk, but not the beginning of dusk because that is too early, but also not at night when there’s no...
This Black Body of Yours – Emmanuel Esomnofu
This Black Body of Yours Emmanuel EsomnofuI didn't know how to be so youngand not belong anywhere, stuckamong so many perplexing melodies.– Philip Schultz You don’t want to know how it feels. Trust me, you don’t. The day has hardly begun and you’ve just entered the...
Passing Through – Brendon Holder
Passing Through Brendon Holder1. In 2015, one of the first viral disputes took centre stage online. The internet found itself entangled in a discussion over the dress a mother planned on wearing to her daughter’s wedding in Colonsay, Scotland. The debate, catalysed by...
Notes on Leaving Home – Ọlákìtán T Ọlọ́fínmọ̀mí
Notes on Leaving Home Ọlákìtán T Ọlọ́fínmọ̀mí“no one leaves home unlesshome is the mouth of a shark” - Warsan Shire For as long as I can remember, there has been a power tussle between the ruling class and the common people in Nigeria. As a child I heard stories of...
The Girl Who Is Afraid of Everything – Chisom Nwaezuoke
The Girl Who Is Afraid of Everything Chisom Nwaezuoke The time is 3am. The electricity is still out, and the rain is threatening to fall again. I have decided to call it a night after watching three episodes of the Netflix series New Amsterdam. The show is about a...
Misaligned Stars – Christy Ogbenjuwa
Misaligned Stars Christy OgbenjuwaI have been sick since I was born, but who would have thought it? I wouldn't have known if I had never tried to model, or rather, I wouldn't have known as early as I did if I had never tried to become a model. I tried to venture into...
Just a Friend – Edwin Chege
Just a Friend Edwin ChegeIt was about midnight when she texted: I’m with Hera, but I’m thinking of ditching her. I want to come over to yours. I’m only five minutes away. Moments later I heard a knock on my door. That was fast, I thought. I opened the door to Caren...
This Is What the Darkness Taught Me – Mofiyinfoluwa Okupe
This Is What the Darkness Taught Me Mofiyinfoluwa Okupei This darkness obliterates even the memory of tenderness. There are no caresses here. No embraces to ward off the pain. All you will have is the fading memory of softness. Here in this place, all you will find...