Damilare Kuku is new to Nigeria’s literary scene. But her short story collection, Nearly All The Men in Lagos Are Mad, came with a buzz. Released in October 2021, the book is a collection of twelve salient tales of young Nigerians in Lagos. Capturing the complexion of the city, it grapples with themes like love, sex, deceit, infidelity, companionship, and heartbreak. The characters in Nearly All The Men in Lagos Are Mad are women. However, they are not just any kind of women. They are people with whom Kuku shares certain connections with. One night, you will calmly put a knife to your husband’s penis and promise to cut it off. It will scare him so much that the next day, he will call his family members for a meeting in the house. He will not call your family members, but you will not care. While Lagos, Yoruba, and indeed,Nigerian men have their peculiarities, many of which are far from gentlemanly or chivalrous, the sustenance of moral decadence in a generation that sees sex as a commodity, is bound to result in unfortunate eventualities, of which women tend to bear most of the brunt. Bella’s tinder match considers her a hook-up partner and not a real girlfriend, and although Bella would have not minded this term, she had something she was trying to protect and Jidenna might have to bend for her to have her way. This first story ‘Swiped Right’ is perfect for the collection’s introduction, as it gets one ready for the bumpy ride ahead.

So, this is not really a story about Lagos men, so to speak. I doubt there's anything particularly unique about "Lagos men" to write about. In that case, I suppose the title of the book is the author making a play at publicity, which she clearly has achieved. From the exaggerated machismo of Lagosian men to the absurdity of social media influencers, nothing escapes Kuku's hilarious scrutiny. She masterfully skewers societal norms and exposes the ridiculousness lurking beneath the surface of everyday life. The title is what drew me to the book. I mean " Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad". Where is the lie ? After each story, I was like "MEN ARE TRASH!" There’s a story of the wife of an Afrobeats legend living her best life, another of a girl returned to the streets where she belonged, a Christian nurse who could not afford to exceed a certain body count before marriage, a mother unsuspectingly raising a mad man in her toxic home, the guy satisfied with just-the-tip, another of a match that was made in heaven, a girl who swiped right for hook-up but fell in love, and another who wants to burn down her Grandma’s house because of penis. Nearly All The Men in Lagos Are Mad is a collection of short stories, written mostly from the POV of embittered women who've been cheated in dramatic circumstances by callous, promiscuous and self-gratifying men.

Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad

Lagos men are not for the faint-hearted and Kuku’s women are not the women who ‘sit down and take it’. Another amazing thing about this book was its form of storytelling. It was never consistent which worked for the book instead of against it. One story would be first person the next could be second person. Anyhow, it still involved the reader in the storyline and made me feel like I was listening to a story from a friend.

I do have one concern about the book. There is a considerable amount of explicit sex scenes in the collection I wasn't prepared for. Also beware of the last story ( Independence Day)! The subject of rape comes up in a very explicative way. Making the much-appreciated transfer from oral mythology to formal literature, Kuku immortalizes the Legend of Yoruba Demons with a warning for anyone considering pairing with the men in the aggressive streets of Lagos. The myth of charming men who leave a trail of broken women, soon to be as notorious as the Transylvanian Dracula globally, is enshrined here in all its shades of debauchery and self-indulgence. And yet, in this book, we must assume there is something in the water in Lagos for the insanity of the men cuts across tribes. Anyone who could keep a white shirt clean at the end of the day in Lagos deserved a standing ovation. But I should have known that any man who could keep a white shirt clean at the end of a Lagos work day would be dangerous" Although, my favorite thing about this book was the woman. From differing classes, tribes, families, etc. They were all extraordinary and portrayed a Nigerian woman today in many different ways. Surely almost every one who reads stories about Nigeria has heard a lot — and for some, enough about the city of Lagos. But to be honest, the writers who take up Lagos as the location of their stories, make readers want to know more and more.

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I knew I was going to make it in life so I was okay with the many phases and curveballs life threw at."

The stereotype of pointing fingers at the woman as being responsible for infertility in marriages finds its way into this novel as well. In “Being Mrs. Starr”, the author makes it known that the woman contributes nothing to the home as she follows her husband on all his tours and shows to ensure he doesn’t have baby mamas. Noting that the cause of infertility in the marriage is a result of the woman’s irresponsible lifestyle in her youth, the author then reveals that the man has tried his best not to cheat on her when he already brought in an official third party into the marriage. This to me is madness, that this man seems to get the victim position when they both are secretive and toxic to each other. At some point, I wanted to know why the fertility of Eric wasn’t questioned. It takes two to tango and since there was a third party in the marriage, Lisa should have been pregnant if he was so ‘fertile.’ Lagos is a city of assortments, a concoction of the good, the bad, the mad, and the ugly. A boisterous city enlivened by the pulsating heartbeats of the eager millions hustling and bustling, waiting for their big breakthrough. It is a place where dreams are unfurled to bloom or diluted to a soppy mess by the dulled browns of cynicism. A collection of short stories, structured as case-studies, and a form of love letter in solidarity with the women who have survived romantic relationships with men in Lagos….it deftly analyses the various archetypes women are likely to encounter in the dating scene in the city – from serial cheaters, to mummy’s boys, from the ‘fake it till you make it’ adherents to the ones who can’t commit. This book underscores with wit, humour, wisdom, and sensitivity the perils of trying to find lasting love and companionship in Africa’s craziest city that will prove universal and illuminating. Nearly All The Men In Lagos Are Mad quantity Nearly All The Men In Lagos Are Mad by Damilare Kuku – eBook Details However, the erotic scenes in the novel were at some point disturbing. Nearly all the men in the short stories easily masturbated or sort sexual pleasure. This addition became distracting at some point.Let's talk about your latest role in The Wildflower. Share with me what it was like to play the role In telling these stories, Kuku’s writing is modern, generously peppered with imagery from pop culture. ‘We broke up like P-Square,’ the first-person narrator of ‘The Gigolo from Isale Eko’ says. While there is some poetry to the language, it shines through especially when Kuku indulges in Naija speak or colloquial pidgin. Some metaphors, however, fall flat and there is the flaw in overusing ‘swan like’ as description of an attractive silhouette. Still, this is an unpretentious read, comfortable in exactly what it is—a fun look at the madness that is Lagos infused with the theatrics of Nollywood. A couple of plots offer surprising twists and turns. The stories, separately, have a solid humorous voice. Some of it is written in the second person, a choice that distorts the divide between the different worlds the characters inhabit.