Chris Abani should replace real names, real places and real events with fictitious counterparts, and everybody will understand that he is writing fiction.
Really, the tale about the Abacha era, Blackberries and online banking is utterly embarrassing.
I wouldn't quibble so much with his alleged Biafran suffering, though. Yes, the war started in July 1967 and the people who remained in Biafra experienced more severe hardship, but if the Abanis left in late 1968 (I haven't read his work), they would have endured enough suffering already. After all, the war ended only just over a year from late 1968.
G. Ugo Nwokeji
On Sun, Jun 3, 2012 at 7:26 AM, Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> wrote:
--The writer Chris Abani continues his work as a Latte swilling "African writer" spinning tall tales of Africa to swooning fans. Enjoy the bs prose and begin to identify all the lazy lies and exaggerations and distortions in the Lagos of his dreams.
Samples:
"Even when under Abacha there were no stamps in the post office and almost no landlines, mobile phones and Blackberrys never stopped working, and online banking was never more than a click away. This is the thing here. With or without the government, life goes on and goes on well. Maybe in spite of the government."
Blackberrys and online banking in Nigeria in the 90s! Well, the BlackBerry was introduced in 1999 first as a pager. In 2002, the smartphone BlackBerry was released.
Another howler:
"The city bled thick sweet crude into containers that were sold and resold and then the
city rebelled and the veins, tapped too much, too quickly, too dangerously began to explode. Like a victim reclaiming its body from a deadly virus, the city began to kill its parasites, its succubae. This is not a fairy tale. Thousands of Lagosians die annually."
Thousands of Lagosians die annually from petrol exploding everywhere!
Now, he tells us he and his mother escaped to Europe in 1968 only returning "TWO years" after the civil war. The war started in July 1967. I wonder where and how he suffered his trauma as a Biafran child as he details in his many other moonlight tales...I doubt that the man has been inside Nigeria for 20 years...Did anyone ever edit this crap? smh...Well, read, enjoy... here!- IkhideStalk my blog at www.xokigbo.comFollow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
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