Fiction. African Studies. This brilliant and witty collection of short stories by a Nigerian writer treats with biting satire the political and cultural life of that African country, in which a wealthy and powerful military elite rules over a beleaguered populace. The stories are set in a rural area in a forgotten corner of Nigeria, and depict day-to-day life of ordinary people, the villagers, trying to cope with bureaucrats and soldiers who have been sent to enforce the law.