A review by jendella
Of This Our Country: Acclaimed Nigerian Writers on the Home, Identity and Culture They Know by Anietie Isong, Lola Shoneyin, Abi Daré, Okey Ndibe, Caleb Femi, Sefi Atta, Chigozie Obioma, Yomi Adegoke, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Helon Habila, Irenosen Okojie, Inua Ellams Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Ike Anya, Nels Abbey, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, J.K. Chukwu, Chika Unigwe, Hafsa Zayyan, Oyinkan Akande, Umar Turaki, Bolu Babalola

5.0

This collection of 24 personal essays did what it needed to do! The voices included are as eclectic and diverse as the country itself, and you can go from laughing to wanting to weep in a matter of moments as you’re taken through the ups and downs of a nation – and national identity – that is still scarred by colonialism, civil war and corruption but strides towards the future with arrogance, endless optimism and sheer bloody-mindedness. To be Nigerian is a complex and contradictory thing, but so many of these essays put into words things what I feel in the fibre of my gut but haven’t quite worked out the language for.