S7E11 Andy Africa: Stephen Buoro on coming of age in the shadow of colonialism

“He’s carrying this post-colonial sense that many Black people, many Nigerians and Africans feel. Like, we feel we are subservient - we are not good enough as white people.”

Andrew Aziza is a 15 year old boy growing up in Kontagora in Northern Nigeria, wrestling with issues of politics, identity and spirituality. Faced with a feeling that Africa is “cursed”, he finds himself longing to be with a blonde, white woman from the West.

Stephen Buoro is the author of The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, a coming-of-age story that follows an intelligent and highly emotional teenager on a journey of self discovery in the shadow of colonialism and communal violence. In this episode we discover how, among a backdrop of religious violence and turmoil, Andrew turns into the ‘superhero’ Andy Africa to save his continent, seemingly becoming a metaphor for Christ.

In this episode, you will learn:

• To consider the duality and conflict between the themes that you tackle in your writing.
• How you can break the mould and experiment with new writing styles.
• Why using unique, local language can allow you to paint an authentic portrait of life within a community.

Find out more about Stephen here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

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You can view the full transcript here.

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