The award-winning scholar-writer, Dr. Lola Akande of the Department of English, University of Lagos, has released a new novel:  Where Are You From? The novel dwells on citizenship, indigenisation, inter-ethnic marriages and youthful exuberance. It questions the true meaning of federalism and highlights the frustration and disappointment young Nigerians face in their quest to succeed in a place where there are differences in background. It is an exposé on how one can be lost in a country of one’s birth.

The story revolves around the adventures, dreams, and hopes of Anjola Adeniyi, a female university graduate from Kwara State in search of employment and true love in Nigeria. Young, innocent, idealistic and naive, Anjola embarks on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme with confidence of getting a job immediately after the programme. She goes to Kaduna, based on assurances by a Kaduna-based lover, but ethnic challenges frustrate her effort to get a job. Would it be different in Ibadan, the heartland of Yoruba land, where Anjola believes she belongs?  The reader needs to find out in this intriguing national commentary.  The novel will appeal to students in tertiary institutions and the general audience.

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Lola Akande holds a doctorate in English from the University of Ibadan. She teaches African Literature in the Department of English, University of Lagos. She is the author of What It Takes, a university narrative published in 2016 that won the 2017 ANA Prose Prize.