Lagos, Life and Sexual Distraction

The author, Tunde Ososanya, works at the BBC's West Africa bureau in Lagos, Nigeria, and specialises in reporting in Pidgin English. He speaks Yoruba as well as English.

Twelve short stories, mostly focused on life in Lagos but with two stories dedicated to the plight of people in northern Nigeria. The book introduces reader to typical Nigerians and what they do to keep their dreams alive. It also shows the tensions that exist between the generations, the sexes and different social classes and ethnicities.

Will Baami ever stop beating up his wife and become a commissioner? Will Ezinne ever go on a date with Chibuzor, Segun's answer to Cristiano Ronaldo? Will Oladayo always be bullied by Benjamin, the corrupt politician's son? Will Musa's friends Maryam and Kabiru survive Boko Haram's attack on their village?

The life of the underprivileged, whether in urban Lagos or in the countryside in northern Nigeria, is always desperate and provisional. In this collection of twelve short stories, Tunde Ososanya exposes the challenges of daily life and the efforts of ordinary people to aspire in the face of overwhelming odds.

There are distractions. Humour is one, observed in the audacity of conmen who ride the yellow danfo buses. Magic is another, in the spirit world that Mr Benson asks his Literature-in-English students to write about. But the most immediate is always sex, the ultimate escape.

Twelve stories about invisible heroes, each fighting the tragedy of modern Nigeria in their own way.