A NAIJA-SOUTHY AFFAIR. By Lerato Charlotte Letsoso

This is a refreshing work, exhilarating in its theme, its breadth and scope, its ideas and ideals, its intricate characterisation, and its general visceral nexus

An overview

"A Naija-Southy Affair is a romance novella, an African love story or rather a Pan African love story. The story line focuses on integrated relationships and its challenges using the controversial relationship between Nigeria (Naija) and South Africa (Southy). It is centred around the love affair between Chidi (A Nigerian man of Igbo descent ) and Cikizwa (A South African woman of Xhosa descent). The book consists of 18 petite chapters and is structured with the first five chapters giving more of a background of the two nations' relationship addressing some stereotypes, while the rest of the chapters touch on the love story between Chidi and Cikizwa. Here is drama, laughter and even tears for the hopeless romantic

Can the main protagonists, Chidi and Cikizwa stand the test of time? Does their relationship survive the stereotype associated with their respective nationalities? Can their love flourish through the harsh realities of their obvious cultural differences? Do these nations remain in bed with each other, or do they wrestle it out or surrender to the pressure and complexity? Find out....'

A perspective 

" In this novel, the author, Lerato courageously takes on the difficult and complicated relationship between Africa's two largest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, through a personal love story. The relationship between the two nations - historical allies and modern -day adversaries - has deep implications for the personal relationships of their citizens. This is the crux of Lerato's novel. How these citizens manage the strong perceptions of each one's nation against the other, within the tide of their strong personal relationships, makes for an interesting tale. It also makes a strong case for African unity. Lerato writes this book based on her experiences as a sister, friend and daughter of Africa who has had the privilege of living in different parts of Africa and suffering first hand, our penchant for emphasising our differences rather than embracing our similarities, as Africans. I find A Naija-Southy Affair refreshing. One of the greatest causes of war or tension among nations is usually caused by the inability to relate or rather engage peacefully and I enjoy the love story between two of Africa's giant nations which is a symbol of unity, hope and love. May this be the beginning of a conversation that will promote an Africa that sees past nationality, tribe or politics."

 -Charlotte Osei (Former Chair Electoral Commission, Ghana. Lawyer and International Elections Consultant.)

About the author

Lerato Charlotte Letsoso, also known as 'Rato', is an Author and Media Personality with 18 years experience on stage for Performance & Productions, and Six years experience in Broadcasting with two years of the Six years as an expat in West Africa. Her diversity shines through her evident roles as News Anchor, content Producer, writer, etc. This Media Personality has experience in TV, Radio, Print and Digital media platforms. She was host for the Nigeria Community Excellence Awards, South Africa 2019. In support of economic empowerment in Africa, Lerato was preliminary judge for shortlisted candidates in the Creative Business Cup Ghana 2019.

Some of her early highlights include producing a Musical Theatre Production "Ubuntu" that was performed at the Soweto Theatre for Nelson Mandela Day 2013. As a riveting performer, Lerato has also shared a stage alongside illustrious names like Simba Morri; Ringo Madlingozi; Charles Webster; Frank Rodgers; Themba Mkhize, to mention but a few. This well travelled, eclectic personality has worked as freelance editor for The Nigerian Voice SA, and was part of the editorial team for Agoo Magazine, a Pan African Lifestyle Magazine amongst many others. She now handles her  entrepreneurial role as MD of Lerato Letsoso Productions (PTY) LTD which produced her latest book A Naija-Southy Affair. Lerato has a National Certificate in Musical Theatre obtained from Technickon Pretoria and a Helicopter Starter Certificate based on Storytelling and Story Acting curriculum of Vivian Gussin Paley.

OMOSEYE BOLAJI: A passion for the World of Writing

Omoseye Bolaji remains a fascinating writer, a man who has been blazing
literary footprints for decades now. His corpus of 40 or so books published
is very impressive for an African writer, a man who seemingly cannot stop
writing.

Budding writers  - and even many established ones - often wonder what his
"secret" is. Probably the reviewer for Leiden University Library in Europe (whilst
examining Bolaji's work, Sorry you've been troubled) comes close when she
writes:

"Omoseye Bolaji’s enthusiasm for African literature is infectious.
Here is a passionate plea for the written word - for books, for
African books in particular, and for reading and writing in Africa
generally...'

Certainly Bolaji has proved a very versatile writer. Apart from over a
dozen works of fiction, he has published many other books on poetry,
literary criticism, general works and sports, and drama. He of course
started the Tebogo Mystery series of books, about ten published volumes thus far.

Talk to literary lovers/readers/aficionados about Bolaji, and you will
see which particular genre of his they are particularly enamoured with.  I for one,
prefer his contributions to literary criticism, where one might be
surprised that he has actually published at least five solid books which are held in high esteem. This also confirms his love for literature.

As Pule Lechesa, the powerful  South African author and critic points out: "Bolaji loves African literature a lot and loves to celebrate and appreciate dozens of African writers and poets on a regular basis. And the man himself has been a mentor, a teacher in his own understated, shy manner. How many African writers have confessed the debt they owe him?"

 In Bolaji's  countless essays on literature (collected in books of his like,
Thoughts on Free State Writing, Miscellaneous Writings, Cognoscenti, Sorry
you've been troubled, and Calamity Angst) Bolaji often mixes the formal
with the informal, with personal anecdotes, his sense of humour very much
in evidence.  He has also combined with other African writers to produce works
on Literature, a recent example being the book, Further Glimpses into African
Literature, which he co-edited with I.M Soqaga of South Africa.

The quality of Bolaji 's prose is often elevated and sparkling in his literary essays. Here, for example, is his Introduction to his essay on the wonderful early African writer, Peter Abrahams:

"Not far from becoming a centenarian now, the South African writer, Peter Abrahams  in his pomp brilliantly inspired a generation of disparate African writers ".

(from Glimpses into African Literature, 2015)

As for his assorted fiction, Bolaji strives to find a simple, accessible style which
is not completely pedestrian.  He no doubt finds this easier to do when the books in question are written in the first person, like most of the Tebogo adventure
books. It is noticeable that his style veers towards the more formal and pedantic when he is addressing serious issues. This can be seen in the third of the Tebogo books (Tebogo fails) in an often quoted passage:

" We got to a sort of field, like a meadow, copse, quite
attractive. It was a romantic setting. Shame about those who abused
the place, stalking, slinking in the dark, ready to pounce on
individual females who chanced to use this route alone. But the
ambience itself was magnificent. Made for lovers... Youngsters no
matter how intelligent, often have a devil-may-care trait in them, a
predilection to brave the world and its perils sometimes. Undoubtedly,
many females here must have traversed this quote short cut route in
the dark, intermittently. Rape is different from murder. No child
believes he/she would be killed. Decent people do not harm the young
of the world...’

(from Tebogo Fails, 2003)

Selected Books written by Omoseye Bolaji (not a complete list):

The Termagant
Fillets of plaice
Impossible Love
Tebogo Investigates
The ghostly adversary
Tebogo’s spot of bother
The Quack of QwaQwa
The Guillotine
People of the Townships
Tebogo and the Haka
Tebogo and the Epithalamion
Tebogo and the pantophagist
Far up far out far more
Miscellaneous Writings
Cognoscenti
Tebogo and the bacchae
Sorry you've been troubled
Tebogo and Uriah Heep
Further Glimpses into African Literature (with I. M Soqaga)
Calamity Angst

THE PLAGUE. By Albert Camus

... a work that is a striking precursor to the current beleaguered covid-19 pandemic

Book: The Plague
ALBERT CAMUS

Originally published in 1947

Review by Jr Bacdayan


A few years ago, back when I was a freshman in University, I read and reviewed The Stranger by Albert Camus. Being quite the optimistic and impressionable young lad that I was, the resolute bleakness of the
book left a bad taste in my mouth. I was then filled with eagerness and vigor for life stemming from this new found independence afforded by higher education. I wanted no part of the apathetic darkness enshrouding Mersault and rejected any shred of wisdom the book presented. I called it poison.... However if I was to read it as I am
now, I am inclined to write a different opinion. That boy is long gone, instead here writing is a man resigned to the bitterness he has since learned to appreciate.

Life has never tasted as bitter as it does presently. Tragedy is upon us. A pandemic has struck the world killing thousands, infecting millions, and testing the limits of modern civilization as we know it. The Plague by Albert Camus basically explores this same concept but in a smaller scale with his scope contained in a coastal town called Oran.



The Bubonic Plague is carried into the unsuspecting town by hosts of infected rats who literally fill the place with thousands of decaying rodent carcasses scattered throughout. From here starts the silent but methodical hands of infection and illness. Death starts to move around leaving despair and grief in its wake. And finally the town realizes
the gravity of their alarming situation. The response of Oran ironically does not really differ from how modern governments reacted to the havoc of COVID-19. And as with doomed places, Oran was isolated, placed under quarantine, with everyone inside imprisoned indefinitely.

When you expose a collection of individuals to a certain phenomenon you can always expect varied reaction. No two individuals will produce exactly identical reactions to one stimulus, which is in this case the deathly plague. So Camus presents us with five different individuals we follow throughout the period of containment.

Rambert, Tarrou, Paneloux, Rieux, and Cottard represent five different reactions to the plague that we examine. The journalist Rambert is an outsider visiting to write an article when the plague hits and gates of the town closes. Trapped inside, his only desire is to get out and escape via any means. The driving force behind his existence is a deep passion to reunite with his beloved wife. Next is the mysterious tourist Tarrou who was vacationing when the panic starts. An objective outsider, his reaction to the plague is anchored on his philosophical views placing value on human life and denouncing any form of support or allowances for the taking of it. He volunteers to create a response team because of his personal philosophy. Third is the Priest Paneloux. Initially he delivers a scathing sermon blaming human sinfulness as the cause of this suffering but slowly his views change from punishment,
he develops a more hopeful stance and gradually sees the plague as a test of faith. Then we have Doctor Rieux who is among the first to discover the presence of the plague. His raison d'etre and his leadership in the medical response to the plague rooted in a moral optimism. He fights the plague, treats people because he must, it is
the only course of action for a human being. Finally we have the entrepreneur Cottard who proves to be an anomaly. Happiest when the plague is at its peak he is an opportunist who takes advantage of the plague for his personal enrichment. Cottard wishes for the plague to last all eternity and when it ends is beaten to death after he fails to cope driven to insanity.

 Each represent a unique area of existence that drive their actions from romantic, philosophical, spiritual,
humanist, and economic. Camus allows us to observe these people that have their centers based on the different points of existence in order to give a holistic study to the human condition in troubled times like these.

The Plague by Albert Camus is an intelligent and deeply affecting caricature of human integrity in the face of death. Camus reminds us that a plague does not consider race, sexuality, religion, politics, or wealth but only acknowledges one species trying not to become extinct. A faithful narrator asks us only to consider that we are
human beings.

"I have no idea what's awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. For the moment I know this: there are sick people and they need curing."

COVID-19 is ravaging the world at this present moment. I do not know where you are or what has already happened to you. But I do hope in these troubled times that you are safe, that you have good health, and
more importantly that you feel the warmth of humanity who has already done so much for each other.

We are getting through this...

* Courtesy of goodreads

ZAMBIA SHALL BE FREE. By Kenneth Kaunda

Kenneth Kaunda is revered as one of the early African leaders, nationalists, visionaries, who led their countries to political independence; in this case Zambia. By the time he published this book, Zambia was more or less on the cusp of such independence. Remarkably, Kaunda would go on to lead the country for almost 3 decades! (And by the way he is still alive, and on the way to becoming a centenarian.)

Kaunda always loved literacy and education from the very beginning, as both his parents were teachers (his father also a parson). All this we learn from this work, the early life of Kenneth Kaunda, and his determination to garner political freedom for his country (ironic that much later on in his life, Kaunda would somewhat be persecuted on the grounds that he was not even a Zambian!) His commitment to Zambia is very much obvious here, how education could help in forging the country ahead (Kaunda whilst in power did start wholesale changes/innovations in the educational sector)

Kaunda met the young lady - Betty - who would become his wife early in life, and they were to be together as man and wife for some 60 years, before her death. In this work, we see the hard work Kaunda and his then political colleagues put in, the meetings, the strategies, the sacrifices including incarceration - with the patent vision in sight: the political independence of Zambia. The latter country has now been "free" for well over 50 years; but we can look back on the genesis (generally) in this book

A POEM ON COVID 19 By Raselebeli Khotseng

“Give Us This Day”

By Raselebeli “Magic” Khotseng

Deep, deep in the yoke of Wuhan

it emerged like house on fire

The graves opened doors to

swallow human bones

as people’s lives perished like a dust

In this land of sorrow

Coronavirus demolished God’s creation

O’ bitter tears of acrimony

leaking from Chinese eyes

sobbing and mourning for victims

of Covid 19 pandemic

That conquered human spirit

even after intensive quarantine of its screening

So give us this day and simmer down fear

in China-an epicentre of Coronavirus

For God shall sanitize their deprived souls

when the wind of Covid 19 drops

As a cap that fits anyone breathing universal oxygen

A deadly virus spread across the boundaries

of our continents in droplets

Landing in one’s chest

Apparently through open mouth and nostrils

Since this virus is traceless

like a black cat in a dark room

Fortune-tellers couldn’t predict its movement

from two meters away

So God help us all and give us this day

In this moment of uncertainty

Hark to a dark cloud of Corona hanging in the sky

Its lightning thunder struck between human contact

To deny us freedom of movement and leisure time

O’ my sweat-heart to whom my love is unlimited

Your freedom to massage my ribs is limited

As much as those used to mass funerals

and tepid cocktail parties

Their after-tears vibes in the land of entertainment is over

Indeed, the first commandment of Coronavirus

is to keep social distancing

So be not far from us and give us this day

Like a hissing snake

to diminish the future of mankind

It trembled us in fear

of greeting our next door neighbours

As we chose to perform an elbow-bump greeting

Fearing a Fourth Industrial Revolution monster

which downgrades global economy

and prompts us to remain indoors

when enjoying a cup of rooibos

Though I might soak fingers deep

into a foam to wipe corona away

Nor flying as a bird to the higher mountain

I couldn’t hide for its destruction

Only thy grace will remake the world

where excessive coughing and

fever shall be no more

So give us this day and heal this world

In swathes of  USA  Italy Spain et al

voices mourn inside the masks

Voices from generation that

divorce their faith to God

are moaning on how donkeys

are free from scorn of Covid 19

Alas, they forget to seek thy

Kingdom and put trust in thee

With broken heart torn apart

by a cruel joke from these lips

That identify Africa, my Africa

as a fertile ground for corona-vaccine testing

Wrap up those sarcastic lips

for all have sinned

Dear Lord, give us this day

and turn sorrow to joy  

* Magic Khotseng is one of the great black poets from South Africa. 

THE LARGER THAN LIFE FELICIA MABUZA

Book: Dare to Dream
Author: Felicia Mabuza

One of Africa's most remarkable and stunning successes - that is the author of this work. Think Oprah Winfrey of USA (and indeed the world) and then Felicia of South Africa. She is not just a copycat, she has been a marmoreal, relevant success in her own right. Hence a book touching on her life, an autobiography, would always appeal. Like Ramphele's.

Felicia's awesome talent as a communications guru was forged in the USA, where she not only studied, but initially distinguished herself in her niche. But even earlier in this book, the author tells us about her earlier years in South Africa, how she was not too impressed with many things, including the conditions in which certain male workers lived. She was always imbued with the urge to be successful in life, and going overseas was ideal for her.

Here, she comments on her initial impressions of 'God's own country" and from the female perspective some of these vignettes are quite illuminating, eg how women would even invest everything they had just for their hair to look good, to look appealing etc. Americans apparently, when confronted with different accents might find the same fascinating, or think you are from England!

Through it all, we are impressed with the determination, passion and earnestness of the author, as she finishes her studies and begins to carve a niche for herself in the world of communications, including when America hosted the 1996 Olympics which many might remember for Boxing great Muhammad Ali striving to light the torch...

That Felicia would decide to come back home to SA and contribute her own quota to her mother country with Nelson Mandela in the saddle was indeed fortuitous. She has been a household name for decades now in her South Africa thanks to her marvellous talk-show. A magnificent communicator, she has the knack to make everybody feel at ease with her laid-back style; why, even her quiet, always polite voice pulses with empathy and sympathy during sombre editions of her show; and the fact that she speaks virtually all the major African languages complements her multiple award winning show.

 





This book contains some of the plaudits that have come Felicia's way, thanks to the show. But she is a larger than life personality, a brilliant, endearing lady - and mother - in so many ways. This is one of those books that everybody, African or not, really should read...
- Malome E. B