When the cassette tape played, I was seldom interested in the lyrics—how likely was a 6-year-old to care? Yet I could feel sorrow, compassion, and sadness in the singer’s voice. I imagined someone hurting her. Was she hit, betrayed, lonely? Her voice held a mystery I wanted to uncover, but she was miles away from me. Since I could not unravel the enigma, I let the thought go. As I grew older, my mother did not grow tired of playing the cassette tape. I could not hide from hearing it either, unless I could afford a roof over my head. One evening, during the holiday and with no homework to attend to, I had to ask her. ‘Mum, who’s this person always sad when they’re singing?’ ‘You mean all this time, you don’t know it’s Dolly Parton? And who told you she’s sad? When you truly express how you feel, it is not always a sad tale, my girl. Do you even know what this song playing is about?’ ‘Yes, ma. It’s her coat of many colours, just like the one Joseph had, right?’ ‘Eh en. Only hers was give...
OUR SOAP IS IN US “We should be participating in all sports at the Olympics. We have different states known for their gifts. Some can swim and paddle, many can race, some are from hilly states and can be trained, some can wrestle as it is part of their festivals, others can...” “Abeg na who go cut soap for me I dey find. All these can…can…can… you are saying is a far cry. Even if we are given 10 years to prepare for the games it will not be enough. How many swimming pools do you have in your state, talk less of all local government areas? Did you hear the name of the swimming grounds at the Olympics? It is called Tokyo Aquatics Centre; aquatic animals fit camp there no shaking! The pools I have seen in this side of the earth na inside people compound dem dey to use differentiate poor man from rich man.” “Pessimism has eaten deep into your membrane. Imagine if we harness our sport sector and top it up with tourism, we will not need any oil to survive man! See, all t...