Street OT: A Book Reading at Awka

“In the story, some pretty outrageous things happen, and are perpetrated, often by the narrators in the story, but they are told from a different perspective, that the reader isn’t seeing it from the eyes of the law, but from the eyes of the streets. In the eleventh story, “Streets Nor Friendly,” a man narrates how he did business with his friend, Rona, who tries to cheat him. After many backs and forths, the protagonist sends some of his friends to shoot Rona on the leg as a warning. Rona, seeing the gravity of the situation afterwards, returns the money even while nursing his wounds. The way the story pans out and its conclusion makes it one of the most instructive stories in the collection. It is a part of the stories including the title story, “Street OT” which defines the collection as a book talking about street orientation. These stories deal with the harsh reality of the streets, and their major message is, “O bobs, street nor friendly, even your main man fit loose-guard you. Try open eye, if not, your own go loss. And if anybody take your own, give am fire wey pass him own.” There are also other stories that intersect through the larger society, like the fifth story, “100 Years,” where a boy narrates how his friend, against his advice, goes on to have an affair with another man’s wife, and gets into trouble for it; or the second story, “Blood Covenant,” which narrates the story of some children caught in a hysteria over the notion that two of their peers had taken a blood covenant and broken it and calamity was looming in the aftermath. One is particularly touched by “Fuck up Nor Dey Sour for Street” where a man narrates how his friend got into trouble when he could not deliver a business in full, and got killed, only for his killer to be gunned down six years after; and also, the eighteenth story, “Love” which narrates the heartbreaking story of a man who gave up on love after a horrible experience.”

Location: Testimony Place, Ukwu Aki, Awka, Anambra
Date: October 2, 2022
Time: 4pm