TITLE: The Malam’s Potion and Other Stories
AUTHOR: Ibrahim Sheme
PUBLISHER: Informart, Kaduna
YEAR: 1999
PAGES: 113
PRICE: Not available
BLURB: She watched him from the corner of her eyes. His long, grey beard moved when he moved his mouth. Coupled with his white, loosely tied turban, it gave him a great measure of surrealism. Dubu liked to watch him whenever he wasn’t looking at her. It was the only opportunity she had to look at this man whom she respected more than any other person. More than Alhaji Ali, her husband. She had pinned all her hopes on him. He should be able to cure her of her strange affliction.
The Malam’s Potion tells the story of a woman threatened by rejection from her wealthy husband and the alliance she formed with a marabout to retain her status. Together with the other stories, it makes this collection one of the most thought-provocative literary works to emerge from Nigeria in recent years.
THE AUTHOR: Ibrahim Sheme received B.A. in Mass Communication from the Bayero University, Kano, and M.A. in Journalism Studies from the University of Wales, Cardiff. He has worked as a bilingual journalist in Nigeria since 1989 and has held top editorial positions.
His first novel, Kifin Rijiya (The Ignoramus), came second in the first Northern Nigerian Languages Novel Writing Competition in 1988. In 1997, he was elected as a member of the national executive council of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).
