A Hot Lagos Afternoon

Author – Promise Onyekachukwu 

Format – Paperback

In Promise’s version of Nigeria, a trip to your own wedding can quickly turn into your worst nightmare that haunts you for years. In the collection’s first story, A Hot Lagos Afternoon, Ada’s trip to the east from Lagos lands her in the arms of kidnappers . . . A Hot Lagos Afternoon by Promise Onyekachukwu is an exceptional and tasteful collection of unashamed Nigerian stories.
Take a sneak peek. . . She wasn’t sure if it was the sudden and sharp stop the driver made or the screeching noise the wheels of the car made that caused her heart to pound. But the sounds of the shooting gun, coupled with people in the bus shouting “Jesus” and other names they served, unleashed a deep fear in her. The two cars in front of the bus ran into each other. Everyone got hysterical. The woman in front shut the ears of her son, holding the tightest she could, but it no doubt did little because the gunshots were very loud and near. Ada was still unsure of what was going on; all she knew was that she had crouched and was trying to fit between the space of the seat in front of her and the one she sat on. Her mind at that moment wasn’t thinking that this was not humanly possible. It wasn’t until Ada heard the man that sat beside her praying that the event occurring should be a robbery and not a kidnap that she realized her second fear was coming to pass. As if to give an instant “No” to his prayer, a man with a gun came in front of their bus and yelled that everyone get out. Ada’s skin forgot that the weather was hot because she got instant goosebumps when she saw two dead bodies lying in front of the collided cars. These people meant business. Promise Onyekachukwu’s debut collection will leave the reader feeling a whirlwind of emotions, but more importantly, realizing that in some countries like Nigeria, nothing is incomprehensible and just about anything is possible.