Welcome to Lagos: A Novel

By Chibundu Onuzo

"Storylines and twists abound. 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

When army officer Chike Ameobi is ordered to kill innocent civilians, he knows it is time to desert his post. 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. 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.

Full of humor and heart, Welcome to Lagos is a high-spirited novel about aspirations and escape, innocence and corruption. It offers a provocative portrait of contemporary Nigeria that marks the arrival in the United States of an extraordinary young writer.

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Published May 1, 2018

304 pages

Average rating: 7.4

10 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Maui
Apr 26, 2025
6/10 stars
Starts kinda but gets really excited towards the end. By the end you wish it didn’t have to end😅
Ttrizahh
Sep 04, 2023
7/10 stars
Funny insight into a city I've never been to through the lives of the diverse characters
Floating Sky
Jul 21, 2023
8/10 stars
“Non-fictional events that occurred in Nigeria on a fiction of canvas” ~best review per audible reader

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