LITERATORS' CORNER

Toni Morrison is Dead Renown American novelist and Nobel Laureate, Toni Morrison, died at the age of eighty eight on Monday, 5 August 2019. According to her publisher, Alfred A Knopf, Morrison gave up the ghost at the Montefiore Medical Centre in New York on Monday night.  Her family also issued a statement through the publisher that she died after a brief illness. ‘Toni Morrison passed away peacefully last night surrounded by family and friends,’ the family announced. ‘She was an extremely devoted mother, grandmother, and aunt who revelled in being with her family and friends. The consummate writer who treasured the written word, whether her own, her students or others, she read voraciously and was most at home when writing.’ Morrison is the author of eleven novels, as well as a number of children’s books, plays and collections of non-fiction. Her debut novel,  The Bluest Eye , was published in 1970, when she was thirty-nine.

                           Divine Punishment                                       -- Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Once there was a young man who lived in a small village far away from the city. His name is Hussein.  He was nicknamed Stallion because of his physical appearance for he was giant of a man and was even more intimidating because of his taciturnity; he was not given to talking too much and avoided sitting and talking to anyone for too long.       The village Hussein lived contained not too many people and everyone in the village knew Hussein as one who would never deliberately harm another unless provoked.     One day, a very jealous and aggressive man called Kasim came to the village. He was surprised by Hussein's comportment.       'Such a giant of a man, y...

The Nigeria Problem Explained in Chinua Achebe's No Longer at Ease                           --Ubaji Isiaka Abubakar Eazy 'If you want to eat a toad, you should look for a fat and juicy one.' ( No Longer at Ease : 5) The above proverb sums up the anathema bedeviling Nigeria, as well as many other third world countries. This anathema is bribery and corruption, it has become so endemic that it has come to be seen as the norm, nobody sees anything wrong in getting a few 'cola' (or gratification as some will like to label it) from here and there to supplement the 'little' you earn as salary. The problem persists because most of us want to live larger than our means whilst what we earn can only afford us a decent life. This problem occurs in every facet of society, and there is most likely very few of us who have never been involved in it. In fact, it has become a defining factor; visit government parastatals to ob...

The King and the Golden Pot                                   --Nabiha Abdillahi Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. The king had a beautiful golden pot which he loved so much because he got it as a special gift from his mother before she died. One day, a goat inserted its head inside the pot belonging to the king, and the head became stuck in it. When the king heard that a stubborn goat had got its head stuck in his beautiful and beloved golden pot, he became very angry. Then he called all the people in his country and told them that whoever could remove the pot from the goat's head safely would be rewarded handsomely. Everyone tried, but all efforts proved abortive. Fortunately, a man who was travelling past on a journey came and  saw the people around the king's palace. He asked them what was happening there. They told him the who...

JUDASES OF MANDATES                       --Amadi Ekwutosilam Njoku Days chameleon to weeks, weeks into months Swiftly months become years To yield yet another coterie of representathieves.  Chants of campaign pierce the sullen sky The streets bear their posters, the market places Sing their praise on the lips of buyers As the media herald their false pretence. They are the Judases of mandates Slaying our hope of yearned utopia; Men whose presences reinforce those ugly years we have bid adieu. In trust they bear our common mandates To steer this sutured vessel of scattered tribes  Into the land of milk and honey; Their words are sweet savour that clasp our charmed ears. What manner of guise have they not used Professing to be the Christs that will save the impoverished masses? They are the Judases of mandates  Driven by party allegiance and maddening greed, Great promis...

JUNGLE             --Amadi Ekwutosilam Njoku This jungle is that land Where the future is webbed in desolate dreams And each thread of hope is dried up Like a lake cut off from a life-giving stream. This jungle is that land Where the dagger-hoofed beasts, masters of loot Trample on the frail masses, earnestly Whetting their callous knife of greed Ploughing the people's patrimony to fill their porous pockets. This jungle is that land Where impunity culture is gloried so high Because her laws are too weak to fight a just cause Where depraved dealings spread wildly like a leprous sore Overwhelming victims with its maddening juiciness; The sharpest knife is the bluntest. This jungle is that land Where talents and lofty ideas die unharnessed Under the very watch of her leaders-- Leaders who live only for themselves Leaving behind dusty footmarks for a legacy; the led Grope in continued and deep-seated blacko...

  Down Town Market                          --Nabiha Abdillahi Down Town Market is located in Hargeisa, Somaliland in the horn of Africa region. The market is said to be at the central part of Somaliland, and it plays host to a plethora of people visiting it daily from different parts of the country, including Somalia. Down Town Market is very big, and also quite beautiful because the government and its citizens invested in its development. The market operates for 18 hours, but on special days like public holidays, Fridays, and Eids, it runs 24 hours. The market is usually very busy at the early hours of the morning and noon; this is when one might experience traffic jam on its roads. The market has more than than four thousands supermarkets and shops.  And, you can get virtually anything you need in it ranging from grocery, clothes, jeweleries etc. You can find hospitals, universities, sch...