Author of the bestselling Nine Lives and winner of Ana-Jaccaranda Prize for prose, El Nukoya, has penned a new book titled Baron of Broad Street set to launch on August 2, 2015.
The book chronicles the polarised worlds of the Lagos impoverished and the affluent, living side-by-side, yet a world apart. It captures the limited prospect for mobility in an often negligent society, and the determination of a select crop of youths to take it upon themselves and change this seemingly rigid equation, by all means necessary.
Disun Falodun and his bosom friend Ige are young boys growing up within the squeeze and squalor of Makoko. As they sit on the banks of the Lagos Lagoon, they contemplate life on the other side of town, the exclusive district of the metropolis covering Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Broad Street. That mysterious area, so distant, yet so close. Disun is the optimistic of the duo, resolute in his faith in a fair chance at success in Lagos, his ordinary background notwithstanding. Ige, on the other hand held by a vibrant, radical mind reasoning that the expectation of a fair chance was utopian, entrenches himself in the firm belief that the only reliable choices open to them were illicit. The road to realising this ambition is lined with real dangers. Would they prevail? And if indeed they would, what prices are there to be paid…and, perhaps, more importantly, of what texture would their residual soul be?
“The book focuses on contemporary Lagos; Conflicts (of a different kind – class, culture, identity, moral); Consciousness; a fresh conversation about who we are and a daring confrontation of the realities thereof,” says Nukoya
Written over a period of seven years, Baron of Broad Street has received several endorsements and many accolades from the literary world.
Cherry Mosteshar, author of Unveiled describes it as beautifully constructed. “El Nukoya brings places alive with such well-chosen words. I can see the scenes and feel the emotions, sophisticated, strong writing. El Nukoya astounds with amazingly sharp pieces of genius writing!”
From Bolanle Austen-Peters, founder, Terra – Culture; creator and executive producer, SARO – The Musical: “A brilliant novel written with superb clarity and knowledge on Yoruba Language and the subcultures in Lagos! El Nukoya’s confident use of words draws you into the story, whilst working on your imagination. An absolute masterpiece!”
Toni Kan, author of Nights of Creaking Bed said “El Nukoya paints the portrait of Lagos and of those who make it happen with broad strokes and a keen eye for detail. This is a Lagos story told with aplomb.”
