ISBN 9781870716000
Pages 228
Dimensions 203 x 127 mm
Published 1987
Publisher Saros International Publishers, Nigeria
Format Paperback

Basi and Company

A Modern African Folktale

by Ken Saro-Wiwa

Basi and Company was the first book of the hugely successful Nigerian comedy television series, which at its peak was watched by an estimated 30 million Nigerians. The New York Times described the show as 'Nigeria's hottest comedy show, [that] seems to have struck a chord because it lampoons modern Nigeria's get-rich-quick mentality'. Basi is an exceptional man, in keeping with the best traditions of tricksters in Yoruba folklore, satirising the get-rich-quick mentality. The author translated the folktale into a contemporary idiom, believing that this format accorded better with African narrative methods.

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About the Author

Ken Saro-Wiwa

Nigerian television producer, writer of satirical novels, children's tales, and plays. In 1994 Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned by order of the dictator Sani Abacha. He had strongly defended the rights of the Ogoni people and criticized the government's oil policy with Royal Dutch/Shell. Despite wide international protests, Saro-Wiwa was hanged after a show trial with other eight Ogoni rights activists in Port Harcourt, on November 10, 1995.

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