Looking for transwonderland : travels in Nigeria / Noo Saro-Wiwa.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saro-Wiwa, Noo, 1976-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Saro-Wiwa, Noo, 1976---Travel--Nigeria.

Saro-Wiwa, Noo.

Saro-Wiwa, Noo, 1976-.

Travel.

Nigeria--Description and travel.

Nigeria.

Physical Description:

viii, 309 pages : portrait ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Granta, 2012.

Summary:

Noo Saro-Wiwa was brought up in England, but every summer she was dragged back to Nigeria - a country she viewed as an annoying parallel universe where she had to relinquish all her creature comforts and sense of individuality. Then her father, activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was murdered there, and she didn't return for 10 years. Recently, she decided to rediscover and come to terms with the country her father loved. She travelled from the exuberant chaos of Lagos to the calm beauty of the eastern mountains; from the eccentricity of a Nigerian dog show to the empty Transwonderland Amusement Park - Nigeria's decrepit and deserted answer to Disneyland. She explored Nigerian christianity, delved into its history of slavery, examined the corrupting effect of oil, investigated Nollywood. She found the country as exasperating as ever, and frequently despaired at the corruption and inefficiency she encountered. But she also discovered that it was far more beautiful and varied than she had ever imagined, and was seduced by its thick tropical rainforest and ancient palaces and monuments. Most engagingly of all she introduces us to the people she meets, and gives us hilarious insights into the Nigerian character, its passion, wit and ingenuity.-- Publisher's website.

Contents:

Lagos. Centre of excellence

Oil and people on water

Total formula for victory of the hardships of life

Ibadan. Under the light of the fading stars

Transwonderland

Abuja. In the chop house

Spiderman, rock stars and gigolos

Kano. Straddling modernity's kofar

Nguru and Yankari. What are those stupid animals?

Jos. Hidden legacies

Maiduguri and Sukur. Kingdom of heaven

Calabar. Masquerade mischief

Cross River State. Spoiling nature's spoils

Benin. Behind the mask

Port Harcourt. Tending the backyard

Lagos. Truth and reconciliation

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781847080301

1847080308

OCLC:

755072760