insight-trending

AS I move towards reviewing Dipo Faloyin’s exceptionally fine book, I want to indulge in a personal anecdote, one that reflects the book’s subtitle “Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa.” When I was around nine or 10 years-old I got into the habit of helping an elderly female neighbour with tasks such as dusting her tiny …

This week I’m going to move towards reviewing a 2022 book by Dipo Faloyin; “move towards”, because I’ll begin with a meander, and because Africa is Not a Country is a long book (350 pages) in very small print which will take me quite a time to get under my already too-tight belt.

A few weeks ago these pages carried a substantial piece by Mokhosi Mohapi titled “A reversal of our traditions and culture”, written in the form of an open letter to the government of Lesotho. The first sentence of Mohapi’s article took me by surprise, as he stated: MPs and Senators’ primary role is to protect …

Last week I was talking about how jokes, or humour generally, can help get one through the most desperate situations (although it’s like taking a paracetamol for a headache; a much, much stronger resort is faith). I used the example of how Polish Jews, trapped and dying in the Warsaw ghetto, used humour to get …

Lindsay Brown’s work, sub-titled “The power of the gospel in the world’s universities”, documents how members of IFES (the International Federation of Evangelical Students) travel the globe, this way and that, to promulgate the Christian faith on campuses where this is often a perilous thing to do. To date, IFES has affiliated organisations in over …

Last week I was talking about the way in which British English and American English may use different words to denote the same thing, for example, “pavement” (British) and “sidewalk” (American).

Many moons ago I wrote for this column a piece titled “A clash of rights”, discussing a situation in which two unquestionable human rights were in conflict — in that case, the right to freedom of speech, and the right of minority groups to be defended from hate speech. Readers will no doubt be aware …

Re-launching this column after some months’ silence, I thought at first I should begin with an account of where I’m at—a tale of severe disability and financial hardship. But then I thought, no, not appropriate. Basotho have enough problems pelting down on their heads. On the subject of how I feel I’ll just quote “Full …

Can a piece of writing paint the world and evoke colourful feelings in the reader’s mind and put a glow in their heart? Well, using powerful and beautiful extracts, we will demonstrate how a writer is an artist who is not different from a painter because of his or her ability and facility to create …