King Ifey's Blog

The Admixture of Humour and Tears: The Case of Reward Nsirim's Fresh Air and Other Stories It is only on few occasions that I have encountered a book and yearned so badly to meet the writer, stretch my hand forward for a warm handshake and say: "Thank you very much for that book of yours, it is marvelous!" I do remember that the last time I was this excited was when I read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun , other times were my first encounter with Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God, Richard Wright's Black Boy , Buchi Emecheta's  Joys of Motherhood and of course Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom (great novels!). My love for these stories are due to their ability to draw water from my eyes (and I should have you know that I am never the crying type). However, this writer is in a different category from the above mentioned writers, Reward Nsirim seeks another kind of tears from my eyes, the type oft' accompanied with laughter! R

This is Imaobong's new single,  GLORY. It has been on repeat since I got this song. Imaobong has never undelivered in her entire life and in this album, she sure has put her critics to shame. This lady's has sung virtually every note, people  thought couldn't be sung, under the shade😃. She started out with I AM BLESSED, then she went ahead to release NANI GI(you can dance this one with your handkerchief😃), finally she GLORY is making wave  in Nigeria. Here are facts about GLORY by Imaobong. Most ladies would complain it too low and two high. Yes the song spans  nearly 3 octaves , and she sure hit a note above High B5  in that song. This is something most ladies wouldn't dare in full voice. Well, she learnt from Karen Clark Sheard and Tasha Cobbs. The song has a slow pace but sung with a heart-shattering powerful voice It also reeks of the dexterity with which Mercy Chinwo's Excess Love  was produced. The backup singers did a

BESSIE HEAD AND HER WHEN RAIN CLOUDS GATHER When I opened the first page of Bessie Head's WHEN RAIN CLOUDS GATHER yesterday, my intention was just to read a few pages to put me in a relaxed state after the stress of composing several pages of an essay I had been working on all through the day. But I found myself reading more than the few pages I had earlier anticipated. Little was I to know that the novel would hold me spellbound late into the night and till the early hours of this morning when I arrived at its last page! Before my encounter with Bessie Head's works, what I have read about her here and there was that she was a writer who tried to escape the oppressive life of apartheid South Africa into a world where she could live, love freely, and be at one with mother nature. Well, being a little bit of a radical myself, I decided that I would not like her at all. I could not understand why a writer would make the choice of becoming an exile and take refuge in a

Would you like to dance  to a beautiful songs that you can wind your waist to in that classic traditional African style with your handkerchief and a big grin? Listen to Werelo Bari by Nora J who earlier this year released her single 'Tuolera'  'Werelo Bari' gives the indigenous Port Harcourt  sound a more contemporary  feel. The song is partly sung in both the English and the Ogoni language. Well, the part that grips me so much is the part where she sings in the Ogoni language. There is something very magical that makes you want to grab an imaginary handkerchief and begin to dance to the rhythm. Happiness courses through my vein as I listen to it , you know why?  The song is an expression of gratitude  to God. I am God's love. Ife Oluwa,  Ifunanya Chukwu. In Ogoni, they say,  Werelo Bari. So, download the song and listen. Get infected with unbridled happiness and share with your friends. Download the song right here

The Old Wild West in L. Ron Hubbard's Branded Outlaw You need not be an American or Mexican to know of the Wild West. You must have read about it or seen a movie inspired by it. Those of us born in the late eighties and early nineties remember that time when we plagued our mothers to get us jean jackets with hats while we went about pretending to be cow boys. I remember that one of my favorite movies then was the one titled "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" and I do remember seeing some of Van Dame movies where he played out the roles of a cowboy. You may say violence is not good for kids but we saw all these things in movies back then sitting side by side adults who were as much engrossed as we were in the magic of the Wild West. Besides, there were also cartoon versions of cowboy heroes and gunslinger movies.  The Wild West depicts the United States in its frontier epoch when men were proud gunslingers, when justice was decided by the barrel of a gun held by

Good morning KIB students. I have to constantly remind you all on Facebook that I have a blog where 50% of the classes I have conducted here on Facebook are documented. You will benefit a lot from it. Without further ado, let us get down to brass tacks. There are two expressions that we usually don't say properly. Live and lets live❌ Live and let live✔ I ran for my dear life❌ I ran for my life✔ or I ran for dear life✔ Regina swam for her dear life when the shark closed in on her.❌ Regina swam for dear life when the sharks closed in on her.✔ Regina swam for her life when the sharks closed in on her✔ These are very little mistakes we usually make when writing on Facebook or speaking to people. Honestly speaking, no one is above mistakes but we all strive to be perfect. I have two mistakes I have been battling to correct for 4 months now. I know the right thing to say, but I tend to use the wrong one first then I woulf immediately realise what I did and feel embarrasse

Okay guys. it is weekend and you ought to be relaxing right now. Some of you will head to their 'stomping ground'  to hang out with friends they met here on Facebook. Actually, I will do so this evening but not at my stomping ground. I don't have any yet in PHCity.😃😃 Anyway, let's get down to brass tacks. ( don't tell me this expression is clichéd.  it is my signature guys😃 So let me teach you expressions for card games and how these expressions have become acceptable idioms. Starting out with a deck/ pack of cards. Americans say 'deck of cards' while Britons say 'pack of cards'. So,  when I get a pack of cards, I deal  three persons in. Note: Deal somebody in means to include them in a card game. but it can also mean to include someone in something other than card game. for example.  He wants to be involved in the business, so I will deal him in. If you are interested in @King Ifey Academy, then contact me and I will deal you in.😉 So,

Good morning KIB students. Thank you for showing immense love to your teacher. Many of you understand how draining it could be for someone to consistently post here on Facebook. I appreciate those who ensure that my bank account doesn't  get flooded with cockroaches😃. Anyway, let's get down to brass tacks. What is a waybill? a waybill is a list that contains  names of people and goods to be conveyed from one location to another. It is that book where you write your name before entering a bus. There is an air waybill, sea waybill etc. Waybill cannot be verbalised. I want to waybill some goods to you❌ If you are looking for a verb to replace  the erroneous 'waybill', here are two genuinely accepted words to use. 1. Freight (verb) transport (goods) in bulk by truck, train, ship, or aircraft. "the metals had been freighted from the city". We freighted the cargo down to Port Harcourt. freight is used when  goods are quite bulky. When goods are less

Good morning KIB students. if you are new and you are following my  daily posts but not really on my friend list, please comment  on this post and I will accept you. KIB means King Ifey's Blog. If you are learning, then you are already a member here.😉😉 Alright guys, Let's get down to brass tacks. Reverse,  rewind and reply. These three words  have a particular direction which is-- going back. I reversed and sped off✔ I reversed back and sped off❌ I sent a letter, he hasn't replied✔ I sent a letter, he hasn't replied. I rewound the film  to that scene✔ I rewound the film back to that scene.❌ 'Plate number' may sound like it's very correct to everyone, but the right statement is ' number plate' Cattle rearer? That is not how Englishmen call it. They call them headsmen, cattlemen, herders    or cattle herders, ranchers (used on someone who rears these animals while they are in a ranch). So, use the English terms. I know we all know the

You are welcome to class my beautiful KIB students. Before  I give you today's scoop let me quickly point out something. This class is solely British.  When I make an analogy and tell you that this is what should be said in British English,  please don't get me wrong. A go-slow is the same thing as a snarl-up or a traffic  jam, but 'go-slow' is recognized as  West African English and it is not British. Let's get down to brass tack my friends. A mall or shopping mall is very much the American version of the British 'Shopping Centres'. So,  if you are a proponent of British English,  you will have to keep changing these words to the right British words and expressions. Spa and Shoprite are all mostly called shopping centres in the UK and mall in the US. Those canned  foods you buy for yourself like chocolate, milk,  margarine,  titus,  tin tomatoes and those in sachets are usually not called provisions when  you are buying them to keep at home and go b

I don't think I have introduced a mainstream Nigerian song from an Up and Coming artiste. Okay,  here it is. Story by Slinkee Ice,  a Port Harcourt based artiste. The production reeks of professionalism and the melody is so uncomplicated . Slinkee Ice is quite passionate  when he sings. . So,  I present him to you. You obviously know I wouldn't invite you to listen to a poorly produced song or an awful singer. This is the Afro-pop mainstream rhythm. Click to download his song Download My Story by Slinkee Ice here.

I laughed when the news about the pastor who cautioned women about wearing  heels trended on Facebook. Do you know why I laughed? Yes, hundreds of years ago,  men wore high heels: that type that Denrele wears these days and other kinds of heels.  LOL. High heels were a sign  of masculine virility, royalty and wealth. It was only meant for alpha males.  Only the strong wore it. Sounds absurd? LMAO. In  the studio where I work,  I see a photo of PortHarcourt men in the 1970s,  they wore pencil-trousers. Yes,  they did.  It was just what it was,  pencil trousers. Even when I go through the photo album of my mum and dad,  I saw men wearing all sorts of outfits that we judge with our jaundiced view of fashion these days. I believe the norms affect our mindset. If men were to wear high heels as a sign of virility and masculinity today,  I am not sure anyone would throw stones at men who wore high heels; rather,  the stones would be thrown at men who didn't wear high heels. Befo

Before I turned 14, I spoke English with a thick Anambra accent. Yes and I never even left Nigeria.  Those who have listened to my podcasts would ask How did you overcome it? I was shamed.  I was mocked. I always sounded hilarious. Although I am not from Onitsha,  my Igbo sounded a bit like Onitsha Igbo (I like their igbo well) I had three major issues. I couldn't pronounce 'r',  'ch' and 'dz' for (jug). I would always substitute them with 'l', 'sh' and 'z' as in genre.  The first public disgrace happened to me in  church when  I had to pray for the leaders (ndi na achi achi) and because I couldn't pronounce 'ch',  I substituted it with 'sh' and ended up with (ndi na ashi ashi)  which means 'liars' in  Enugu igbo dialect.  The whole church chuckled through the prayer. I was 9 . I was embarrassed. The moment I was in Jss1 and we had to read intensive English,  I still hadn't overcome my speech de

WOMANISM IN AFRICAN LITERATURE: THE EXAMPLE OF FLORA NWAPA'S WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT Ubaji Isiaka Abubakar Eazy INTRODUCTION How do you begin speaking of African female writers without mentioning Flora Nwapa? That woman led the way for other African female writers whose bloom came after hers. I mean writers as Buchi Emecheta, Tess Onwueme, Zulu Sofala, Mabel Segun, Nawal El Sadawi, Aminata Sow Fall, Mariama Ba, Zaynab Alkali, Akachi Ezeigbo, Ifeoma Okoye, Tsi Tsi Dangaremba, Alifa Rifaat, Bessie Head, Nadine Gordimer, and of course Ama Ata Aidoo (in no particular order). These women are the doyen of African female writings yet Flora Nwapa is a pioneer figure amongst them. These writers kick started the depiction of the feminist ideology in African literature. An ideology which younger ones as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Chika Unigwe, Amma Darko, Grace Akpan, Ehigiator Dumebi Ezar, and Maryam Bongel have kept its fire burning bright. In an essay titled "A House Di

Afro beat?  Christian lyrics? This is so much fun. Here is Gift Bank's new single titled Wonder. It has massive pastiches of Fela's Afro vibes. It will make you feel as though Fela were singing  to God. Those guitars tunes are so reminiscent of the 80s Fela vibes.  Talk about the back up singers Well,  they did a pretty good job. Let Eledumare turn your life around with this one. There is something playful about beat.  You just want to prance and pose and be photographed while the song puts a big grin on your mouth. Gift Bank is an up and coming act. Support him. You have got to love his dramatic baritone and the way he played with his notes in  a more Afrocentric kind of way. Download the song here Download Wonder by Gift Bank

It was William Wordsworth, the 18th century Romantic poet, who defined poetry as the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility and he is correct. His definition of poetry has gone on to receive universal acclaim and has continued to serve as a pointer to what true poetry should read like. So, when I encountered Elizabeth Semende's Rays of a Bleeding Sun , I had little doubt that Wordsworth; were he alive; would have said much the same thing I said after perusing the young Zimbabwean poetess anthology. He would have exclaimed (and Wordsworth was a man given to much happy exclamation too!) thus: "Now, that's poetry you've got there!" Rays of a Bleeding Sun has the pulse of emotions and powerful feelings running through its poetic lines. Albeit in free verse, the poems come with the kind of rhythmic flow invigorated with the power to move the reader as no other poem would ever do. The thematic troupes range from grief over the lo