A second-year law undergraduate student, during the holidays, visits his maternal uncle, who works in a sugar manufacturing company.
In his bid to preoccupy himself and make some money, he decides to join the cane cutters on the sugar cane farm. These are seasonal farmhands who work on the sugar cane plantation by cutting mature sugar cane stems used in the production of sugar. In the process, he stumbles into a mysterious man in his mid-thirties called Abdullah, and they become friends.
From Abdullah, the young Owondo learns of a planned industrial strike by the cane cutters. The cause of the strike is the purported allegation that the cane cutters are underpaid by the line managers, who pocket all the money due them. Excited, the young man decides to follow the events as they unfold, but little does he know that this is going to endanger his life and even lead to the death of his uncle.
I feel excited and privileged to be one of those whose work is featured in the first outing of this great idea, Naira Stories Magazine.
This is a bold step taken by Naira Stories, a magazine that publishes literary work and news stories. The magazine, if sustained, will go a long way to ignite great writings, especially in the genre of short story, which is not much explored by many writers in Nigeria.
Sunday Okoh is a writer, editor, and teacher. His published works include Not an Easy Route (a teenage novel), Titilope’s Silly Game (picture book), a textbook for children and young adults, etc. He has worked as an editor in the following publishing houses in Nigeria: University Press Plc, Ibadan; CSS Bookshop, Lagos; Spectrum Books; Learning Solutions, Ibadan, etc. At present, he teaches English Language and Literature in English, and coordinates an editorial outfit called Everythingbooks.
