Writers
Out of Nigeria part 1
Part One of this special double edition profiles the work of two remarkable writers: Chinua Achebe, often hailed as the father of African literature, and his fellow Nigerian, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who has been called his literary daughter. Though from different generations, their paths have crossed in many and curious ways. Both authors hail from Igboland in southeastern Nigeria, where the rich Igbo culture profoundly influences and shapes much of their writing.
9 Apr 2010
Out of Nigeria part 2
In the second South Banks Show profiling the work of Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Achebe escapes the assassin’s bullet, and survives Biafra, the war in which Adichie’s Orange Prize winning novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, is set. Dictators, Joseph Conrad and phallic literature come under fire and Achebe overcomes personal tragedy for a triumphant return to Nigeria.
16 Apr 2010
Delta Force
This is the story of the Ogoni people’s courageous campaign against a military government and international oil interests. When the Ogoni began protesting the pollution and exploitation inflicted by the oil industry on their lands, they were met with swift and brutal repression. Nigeria’s military government faced global condemnation for its ruthless oppression of these Niger Delta communities. Villages were razed, inhabitants indiscriminately killed, and Ogoni leader and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned for over a year on dubious murder charges before being executed—all in the name of oil.
5 Nov 1995