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Surviving SAJOMACO: A Nigerian Boarding School Odyssey
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About Surviving SAJOMACO: A Nigerian Boarding School
Product Description Question: What do you do when the kitchen wall collapses into the vat of beans being cooked for a horde of hungry schoolboys? Answer: You serve it up anyway! Why let a few lumps of clay and the odd metal screw spoil a decent meal? When Bunmi Asaolu arrived at the grand gates of St. John/Mary's Unity Secondary School (SAJOMACO) as a first-year student, you'd be forgiven for assuming he was swapping life on the serene university campus he grew up on for another of equal civility. Wrong! Behind the gates of SAJOMACO lay a world of contradictions – unspoken but strict codes of hierarchy juxtaposed with utter chaos. Asaolu presents a wry, satirical and at once serious look at a Nigerian public boarding school in the 1990s through the eyes of a sheltered child navigating its brutal corridors. In Surviving SAJOMACO, Asaolu’s experiences and those of his contemporaries are laid bare, giving the reader a raw and at times jarring insight into the incongruencies of school life, whilst subtly tracking the story of Nigeria itself. Review 'Thisis a book which I wish I had read before moving to Nigeria. The fate of theschool is a microcosm of the simultaneous decline of Nigeria's professionalclasses, leading to a brain drain to the developed world that has included theauthor.' - Paul Adams, Former Financial Times Nigeria Correspondent 'Agenuine, scrupulously honest insight into day-to-day life in a Nigerianboarding school during a tumultuous period for the country. Bunmi manages tocapture, in exquisite detail, the sometimes shocking, and occasionallyunbelievable, reality many of us endured.' - Jide Olanrewaju, ViceChairman, Royal African Society; Writer & Producer of Naij, A Historyof Nigeria 'SurvivingSAJOMACO isn'ta book; it's a necessary journey, enjoyably retracing the identity of ageneration. If you are Nigerian, it is a must-read for reconnection; if you arenot Nigerian, a must-read for context.' - Bodunrin Sasore, AwardWinning Filmmaker 'Bunmi'sbook gives very important insights into the psyche of Nigeria's young middleclass... helps to explain how we got here and should help us to figure outhow to leave. If this nation is to come into its own, leave we must!' - ReleAdesina, Former Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Ogun State, Nigeria;granddaughter of Aya Mase 'BunmiAsaolu's incredible command of the past dumps his readers into the emotionsevoked by a vivid retelling of events...explores the tragicomedies of boardingschool life in Nigeria with spirited grace. A victory of memory... anhonest but often alarming exposition into solidarity and brotherhood, intoculture, faith and the use and abuse of power...an important and necessarybook...a thoroughly engrossing read.' - Abimbola Alaba, Author of TheRevolution Generation 'Abeautifully written memoir that gives the reader a glimpse into the weight andthe limits of education and culture... Asaolu's writing remains unjudgmentalwithout lacking distance. The account he gives is much more factual thancritical so as to present SAJOMACO as a place that builds character as much asa high academic level, and therefore creates the space for debate.' - IoanaDanaila, The African Book Review About the Author Bunmi Asaolu was born in Ile-Ife, Nigeria in 1980 but joined the brain drain out of Nigeria in 1996 with his family. After completing his Chemical Engineering degree at Imperial College London, the allure of the City of London was stronger than working at a chemical plant. So, he wrote investment research on European technology companies for a few years at the now infamous Lehman Brothers until its collapse in 2008. Post-Lehman, he pivoted to advising investment managers in Europe, South Africa and the United States on Nigeria. He has a life outside banking, though. He sings and plays the keyboard for his church band, and with his wife, Tosin, helps reduce the global divorce case count by counselling young married couples. In his spare time, he fo
