To many readers, Naiwu Osahon, the long standing Nigerian writer, is synonymous with his early work, Sex is a Nigger. The latter novel during its heyday attained transcendental fame and notoriety - and even now, many decades after its initial publication, new generations of readers are enamoured with the work.
Yet Osahon
is a proficient, versatile writer who has produced many other works over
the years; even other novels like Climate of Darkness , which arguably was even
more successful than Sex is a Nigger. In his works of fiction for adults, one
deduces a vivacious streak, and a zany type of humour.
Actually,
Naiwu Osahon might well be the most prolific writer in (black) African
history. He himself has stated that he has published at least 100 books
(!), most of them for children. Now, over the age of 80, the great man still
writes regularly.
Osahon is well known for his polemical writings and views, not only in his journalistic forays, but also in substantial published books of his; which include The Cradle: The ultimate Cosmology, and God is Black. the works might be somewhat controversial, but they also showcase his intellectual striations.
Osahon has
of course garnered some flak for writing a work like Sex is a Nigger. As
South
African literary commentator, Raphael Mokoena notes:
‘In literary circles, some observers rather liked this work,
whilst others panned it. The formidable Femi Osofisan, for example opined that
this work is "cheaply melodramatic" and also "hysterically
vulgar". He added that he saw this work as "arising from the low
slums of artifice out of which no genuine perception can be reaped". I
might as well state that I for one do not think the author had "high
art" in mind when he wrote this book, anyway…’
Again, we must note the large corpus of Osahon's writings, which also includes the publication of plays, and poetry. His extraordinary work for children (copious books) have been translated into other languages, including German.
It is thus
clear that Pa Osahon is not just a "pornographer" et al as some often
claim, in ignorance. World literary history teems with great writers who were
somewhat undermined by pundits intermittently - like DH Lawrence, RL Stevenson,
Herman Melville - but are now generally accepted as world class
wordsmiths. I have no doubt in my mind that Naiwu Osahon has over the decades been
a very important African writer.
- O Bolaji
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Climate of
Darkness
Sex is a Nigger
A
Nation in Custody
Black
Power: The African Predicament
The Colour
of Anger
No Answer
from the Oracle: Two plays Fires of Africa (poems etc)
Africa know
Thyself
Ada and
Hunchback Child
God is Black
Bulubulu and
Bamboko
Our Widow's
Mite
The Cradle:
The Ultimate Cosmology
Giant
Alakuku
Poems for
Young Lovers
