King Ifey's Blog

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,  th...

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...

Good morning KIB students. Since we love drama,  I  have decided to also teach through drama. Let's get down to brass tacks. Nne and Ada. Nne: How do you do, Ada. Ada: (smiles) How do you do,  Nne. Nne: I am fine my dear except I did not have a good night rest. Ada: um, Nne,  I didn't enquire about your wellbeing. Nne: But you asked how I was doing. Ada: I was just replying the greeting.  The expression isn't about you telling us about your health. It is a formal greeting for people who are just meeting for the first time.  Anyway,  I hope you have  recuperated from that sickness. Nne: Yes, Ada: oh so your doctor has given you a clean  bill of health? Nne: bill kwa?  He didn't give us any bill. Ada: (shakes her head in disappointment ) honey,  If you have been given a clean bill of health,  it means your doctor has certified that you are healthy Nne: oh that.  Yes,  I have a clean bill of health. Ada: S...

Gather around guys. I am still being stunned at how good music keeps gravitating towards me. Port Harcourt city may have been  over-glamorised,  but the creativity found in  her dwellers are beginning to seem incomparable. I may not be an ardent listener of rap music,   but heck I know good music when I see one. Bones by Degoldberg is a Christian rap song that will spur your adrenaline to do something great and spontaneous  for God. Here is the thrilling part of the song. I really can't keep it to myself. It started off with that 'Rolling in the Deep' kind of feel to it, and then  the powerful voice of Degoldberg  melded with it. It is a testosterone and spirit filled rap song which beckons on  dry bones to rise again. It gets even more emotional as the classical feel of the song becomes even more prominent  close  to the end of the song. You can only imagine how God is supernaturally waking dry bones and instant...