by Cyprian Ekwensil

Like many of the characters he wrote about, Cyprian Ekwensi grew up outside his Igbo (Ibo) homeland in eastern Nigeria. Born in Minna, northern Nigeria, in 1921, Ekwensi was educated at Government College, Ibadan; Achimota College in what was then the Gold Coast (now Ghana); and finally at the Chelsea School of Pharmacy at the University of London. Also like many of his characters, Ekwensi tried his hand at several professions. Trained as a pharmacist, he taught biology and chemistry before joining the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, where he became head of the features department. He also practiced journalism, for which he had a certain flair, and began writing fiction. Ekwensi’s first published work, When Love Whispers, appeared in the market town of Onitsha in 1947. By all accounts (including the author’s) this novella was of a piece with the other “market literature” coming...