I’m not sure if I’d said it previously, but ever since I watched Sista, which I did a review about a couple of weeks ago, I had consciously and subconsciously decided to plunge back into more films from my home country. Not just cause I was impressed with Sista immensely and also discovered that the Nigerian movie industry had evolved so beautifully from what I knew, but it was also because in between binging on K-dramas and my time away, I genuinely missed Nigerian content. So I said to myself that I was going to binge on Nigerian Cinema films from that moment
What I wasn’t prepared for, however, was getting involved with the books as well. I just had to randomly see an excerpt from Chimamanda Adichie’s “Americanah,” and the longing for books by Nigerian authors hit me with full force. Then I came across this amazing book.
Nearly All The Men In Lagos Are Mad By Damilare Kuku
Designed by me on Canva
This book, published in October of 2021 is a satirical collection of twelve short stories that feature characters in all their unique voices and experiences, that come together to represent the enigma that is Lagos. The book features characters with different ethnicities, social classes and beliefs and how they clash or cling to each other in the country’s busiest, most controversial and most scandalous state.
The Anointed Wife is about the wife of a pastor who defends her husband’s cheating scandal and swears to promises the media that it’s all malicious lies from a woman of the night. But when the said woman of the night recounts the sordid details of that fateful night, saying a particular line that lets the wife and we, the readers know that the events are in fact true,
The pastor’s wife still stands on her ground to abolish the scandal. A woman who has built her husband and his ministry to where it is today, she refuses to go down without a fight.
Then we move to a story like Ode-Pus Complex, which features Mama’s boys who would never protect their women in front of their mother and relatives by extension when they pour all manner of indirect insults at them and rather choose to placate their women privately, stating that the relatives didn’t mean it.
It’s a classic show of what many women face in their husband’s houses when the only son can’t extricate himself from the clutches of his Mother’s doting arms.
Stories like Catfish give an in-depth study into the lives of the so-called IG Baddies and how some of them may just be good girls not wanting to miss out on all the rush that comes with Lagos life. And so when the time comes and they unexpectedly encounter the men that they had promised to make see stars on earth, disappointments and all sorts of hidden drama unfold.
Then the Bearded Gang, which features billionaires’ wives who upon getting married to their respective husbands, discover that they are gay. As it is still illegal in Nigeria, these women devise means to survive and ensure that the secrets forever remain secret. So, in exchange for their sealed mouths and continuous companionship, their husbands are wittingly manipulated into loading them with millions of dollars.
And I won’t forget to add a story like Side-Lined, which is one of the most prevalent stories that even I, know personally. Men who live with you and seem like they are totally a part of your life, but then refuse to commit, decline to ever take pictures together or make social media appearances with you and when you discover that they are married men who have a completely different life from what you know and you ask why they lied, they hit you with the line that is common to men of this calibre.
I could go on and on about the lives of the inhabitants of Lagos. But I’d rather let you read the rest of these amazing stories yourself. Although this is not to say that there aren’t men and women like these in other states in the country, Lagos is picked as a case study, not just because its the state with the most people residing, but because the ongoings there make it appear like life in Nigeria, begins and ends in Lagos.
I do not reside in Lagos, but I’ve been there on visits and even though my indoor experience can’t count as exploring Lagos, these stories are familiar to me and frankly relatable in the sense that I hear them every day. Some stories are still rather shocking but from the streets of Ikorodu to Yaba, Lekki and V.I, we are given a taste of how it feels to actually be there.
I give Nearly All The Men In Lagos Are Mad a solid 4.6/5. It’s beautiful. It’s rich. It’s entertaining and you’re sure to do more than smile a couple of times. Till I bring more exciting books from the Nigerian homeland, I hope you enjoy this amazing book. I look forward to your comments if you’ve read this, and your general thoughts on the review if you haven’t.
Have a good week ahead.
Jhymi🖤
P.S: I've discovered a new book, Who Drove Nearly All Lagos Men Mad. I'll read it and be back with a review. Let's hear Lagos men's side of the story. Lol
All images are screenshots from my phone unless otherwise stated.
