Bribes d’une Vie Nigériane

A new book of memoirs, published in France by L'Harmattan, invites readers to share Françoise Ugochukwu’s reflections on her time in southeast Nigeria. Bribes d’une Vie Nigériane: Mémoires d’une Transformation Identitaire (Snippets from an Embedded Life in Nigeria: Memoirs of my Becoming Another) is made up of 156 entries, arranged from A to Z by keywords. Together, the entries offer a wide-ranging insight into Igbo country and its culture.

IKD member Françoise Ugochukwu lived in Nigeria from 1972 to 1996, where she was based at the University of Nsukka, teaching and researching in African comparative and Igbo (Nigerian) studies. Founded in 1955, and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the university was the first autonomous university in the country and opened the day after independence was declared. The world she describes is one in which a multilingual community from very different backgrounds unites to overcome restrictions with humour and creativity.

A specialist in ethnolinguistics and comparative literature, Françoise has published several research works, as well as a collection of poetry and four novels for young people. Her pioneering contribution to bilateral cultural relations between France and Nigeria earned her the distinction of Knight of the Academic Palms in 1994.