Fimi sile Forever

Olawale and Oluwole are dreadlocked Yoruba lawyers minority human rights activists fighting for a better Nigeria. Bisexual and closeted Olawale has spent his adult life protecting and defending his charismatic more evidently homosexual twin; but when the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act becomes law they their family and the women who love them are caught in a savage spotlight that threatens to wreck all their lives. In the midst of this Wole and Wale must deal with an estranged convict father whose unexpected reappearance brings dark and troubling family secrets to light. Fimi? si?l?? Forever celebrates the enduring power of love desire faith patriotism and human rights struggle in the face of political oppression and religious prejudice in Nigeria today. It extends the literary conversation begun by Jude Dibia and continued by Chinelo Okparanta. “I am so excited by this novel. Meant for an African audience it is a fun read. The descriptions of the gay scene in Nigeria are accurate and interesting.” Binyavanga Wainaina “Nnanna Ikpo is that rare thing a Nigerian in Nigeria writing about LGBT life there. For that he is to be treasured.” Rev. Jide Macaulay founder House of Rainbow “…a brave work that seeks to counter the narrative of victim homosexuals in Nigeria’s state-sanctioned homophobia. Twins young lawyers would-be Afropolitans Wale and Wole Damian are LGBT defenders and litigators determined to challenge Nigeria’s anti-homosexuality law and change social mores around multiple sexualities and gender identities. In Fimi? si?l?? Forever the twins and Nigeria’s LGBTI community are determined to live their lives to the fullest in the closet and out get married go underground and have lovers. It’s a survival that engages and is presented with richness and complexities. Wale explains his need for women as central to his life but he is also aware of the difference between love and desire. In this case one may love women but it is men that are desired. The tensions and fear aroused by the passing of the anti-homosexuality bill and the multiple challenges that survival and life require are woven throughout the text. We are never quite sure if the twins will survive the risk it takes to live an LGBTIQ reality in Nigeria.” Sokari Ekine Queer Africa Reader “…a loving exasperated optimistic and troubling depiction of contemporary Nigeria rich with insights that enrich our understanding of the struggles for human rights and sexual health throughout the continent. Beautiful and idealistic thoughtful and horny his young characters navigate the shoals of sexuality family social media and careers in the context of shifting traditional values Nigeria’s fraught political scene and today’s easy global connections.” Marc Epprecht Sexuality and Social Justice in Africa; Hungochani “…a fascinating first novel …exciting troubling passionate and earnest. Nnanna makes a compelling case for Africans to celebrate sexual and gender diversity without necessarily rejecting the traditions and ways which root citizens in their homelands.” Pierre Brouard Deputy Director Centre for Sexualities AIDS & Gender University of Pretoria “Outside Africa – and even within – the situation of sexual minorities is usually seen in black-and-white terms: as a heroic struggle against unrelenting hate or as a perverse ‘unAfrican’ conspiracy. Fimi? si?l?? Forever is a fascinating corrective to these simplistic myths. A sprawling complex saga of courage and compromise hope and betrayal harmony and hate that unfolds against the colourful background of Africa’s most dynamic society Nnanna Ikpo’s debut novel challenges us to see African modernity in all its rich and contradictory exuberance.” Prof John McAllister Department of English (rtd) University of Botswana