Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad

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In this life you have to hustle for your orgasms. This is me hustling for as many orgasms as I can collect." 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" 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. 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. My Iya Agba used to say, sometimes men are like babies who you have to pull by the ear and show the way "

In ‘Òdè-Pus Complex’, the unnamed mother of Uche is a thorn in the flesh of his new girlfriend, Yejide. ‘Uche’s mummy’ fails to see the merits in her success at taking her late husband’s business to impressive heights. She is dismissive of her female off-springs because of their sex and is laser-focused on consolidating a legacy for her Igbo son by ensuring he marries the right Igbo girl. The tribal subtext and implications here are clear. The Igbo family in the collection has an auto parts business—this itself is almost a cliché. Kuku utilizes well known tropes regarding cultural expectations of manhood and women as gatekeepers of the societies in which such expectations thrive. At least in this story, Yejide, perhaps due to being a member of a different tribe, knows to run away with alacrity from potentially marrying a lily-livered son and having an overbearing mother-in-law. 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. On characterization, the author does exceedingly well. He portrays Lagos people just rightly, the hook-ups, big boys wanting to show off, influencer lifestyle, everyone in Lagos dating everyone, stereotypes based on area of residence— Ugochukwu taps into every aspect of Lagos — from the mainland to the island. 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.

Firstly LGBTQ+ community is very precious, and I'm cautious with what I say. I believe my work mirrors what is going on in the society. Take from it what you will. I tell most people I'm not here to educate you, and I'm more of a timekeeper. That's what I am as a writer. I'm saying this is what is happening. As Damilare, I believe people should be who they want to be. People should learn to accept people for who they are. That's my phenomenon; that is my theory about life. When a person shows you who they are, accept them, but on the other hand, I'm not doing that in this book. I'm simply saying that this is where our society is. Read it and then take from it what you will. At a point, the POVs switch to the males in the stories, but the message remains the same: Lagos men take stupidly selfish decisions regarding love and sex. Some of these women are friends, close acquaintances, and relatives. "One of the aims of my work as a creative artist is bringing human beings closer, especially women," Kuku told OkayAfrica. "Because women need to know that whatever they are going through, they are not alone. There are other people with the same thing happening to them." Overall, Ugonna Ugochukwu has delivered a collection of stories that would take you on a range of emotions— especially hilariously. It is a light read. If you’re looking to laugh, and see Lagos through the eyes of many, Who drove Nearly all Lagos men mad? Is the go-to. The title of the novel came to me after a prayer session. I'm an unapologetic child of God, which means I rely heavily on God. I was actually in between projects and remembered I was in my one-room apartment in Yaba, Lagos — a very cute little place. I liked it, and I was so proud of the space.

The short stories announces itself and the author’s distinct writing style. Outstandingly, Ugochukwu mixes modern day internet slangs in his writings, showing how contemporary his plot, writing style and voice is.So, it is not surprising when a man dates a woman for years, treating her as his one and only, while being secretly married to a woman he respects enough to keep away from his concubine.The irony... 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. In the story “Beard Gang” from Nearly All The Men in Lagos Are Mad, you explored how Gay men use marriage to straight women to conceal and hide their sexual orientation. Do you think Nearly All The Men in Lagos helped in any way to pinpoint how this is problematic? A compelling read, but it gets two stars less from me: one for the use of "Nigerian English", and a second for a thoroughly misleading book title.