portrait of Nigeria’s sprawling metropolis. ' Welcome to Lagos, the American debut of Chibundu Onuzo. But action is secondary to atmosphere: Onuzo excels at evoking a stratified city, where society weddings feature ‘ice sculptures as cold as the unmarried belles’ and thugs write tidy receipts for kickbacks extorted from homeless travelers.” - The New Yorker Selected to Best of Summer Reading Lists by Parade, Elle, NYLON, PopSugar, The Millions, PureWow, Bitch Media, and more

Named a Best Book of the Year by Īn American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick Praise For This Book Praise for Welcome to Lagos It offers a provocative portrait of contemporary Nigeria that marks the arrival in the United States of an extraordinary young writer. Among them is Fineboy, a fighter with a rebel group, desperate to pursue his dream of becoming a radio DJ Isoken, a 16–year–old girl whose father is thought to have been killed by rebels and the beautiful Oma, escaping a wealthy, abusive husband.įull of humor and heart, Welcome to Lagos is a high–spirited novel about aspirations and escape, innocence and corruption. As he travels toward Lagos with Yemi, his junior officer, and into the heart of a political scandal involving Nigeria’s education minister, Chike becomes the leader of a new platoon, a band of runaways who share his desire for a different kind of life. When army officer Chike Ameobi is ordered to kill innocent civilians, he knows it is time to desert his post.

Chibundu onuzo welcome to lagos