<body><div class="booster-block booster-read-block">
 <div class="twp-read-time">
 	<i class="booster-icon twp-clock"></i> <span>Read Time:</span>3 Minute, 35 Second </div>

 </div>
<pre class="wp-block-verse has-black-color has-text-color"><strong>TITLE: THE WIG AND THE STREETS 
AUTHOR: EMMANUEL AYOOLA
GENRE: FICTION (SHORT STORIES)
NO. OF PAGES: 96
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2022
ISBN: 978-1-100-21549-5
PUBLISHER: - 
REVIEWER: ONIS SAMPSON</strong></pre>



<p>The feeling that your eyes are glued to a screen, the staccatos and legatos of laughter that holds you moment after moment while reading this collection and relieves you of weeks of stress, the angst and pain and indignation evoked from the experiences of characters, the relatability of the characters, amongst others, are some of the unique experiences you get from reading this beautiful work of literature. Brilliantly written with language rich in figurative expressions and devices and stories hard to forget, this collection is a testament to Ayoola’s mastery of good storytelling.</p>



<p>The collection revolves around the experiences of young Nigerian lawyers—how they get paid peanuts by senior lawyers, the antics of courtroom drama, the underhandedness of police officers in handling bail amongst other shoddy practices of theirs, the struggle to survive and the existential query to continue with legal practice or seek alternatives. These sorts of experiences are given lucid and lively treatment in this collection of unforgettable stories.</p>



<p>While the stories in this collection treat serious themes, the author does not fail to spice up the reading experience with well-timed doses of witticism and humour. One humorous passage to illustrate is the scene where the protagonist goes to a makeshift lavatory in the first story:</p>



<p>I was doing the buckle on my belt when I noticed the various adverts pasted on the lavatory wall. One read, “BUY STOCK FISH AT CHEAP PRICES, CALL 08657827412.” “What a place to advertise stockfish,” I mused.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" src="https://www.wrr.ng/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Wig-and-the-Streets-by-Emmanuel-Ayoola-mock-up.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-41067" loading="lazy"></figure>
</div>


<p>With interesting titles like; ‘We do not have a closing time’, ‘The Police is your friend’, “The Jollof Errand’ and a host of others, many other humorous scenes would play out in the book.</p>



<p>“We will give you Experience” got me laughing for much of it. The character of Chinedu is very relatable—the typical young Nigerian youth fond of giving accolades and singing the praises of someone because of what he or she wants to get from them. And then the title of the story reflects the experience of the protagonist at the end of the day—this is a story of a young lawyer who goes to a law firm for an interview but is offered a paltry salary, as is common amongst law firms in Nigeria, and is told by the Principal of the firm that he shouldn’t be concerned about the salary and that he stands to gain more from the experience he would get working at the firm.</p>



<p>I love how the stories build up in the collection, taking the reader from one level to another— in terms of beauty and utility.</p>



<p>“Sit down! I am your Senior” is a story of seniority at the bar, of a senior lawyer’s insecurities about his professional status in the legal profession and how this influences his disposition—telling exaggerated stories of his heroic deeds in court, amongst many other acts. Barrister Chukwuemeka, the main character of this story, is a man full of intrigues.</p>



<p>“When were you called to Bar?” is a story of seniority at the Bar, of ego, and of things along that line. The main character’s neutral and detached response to Barrister Prosper’s demeaning question sets the scene aflame with rage. As ever, Ayoola’s descriptive prowess shines in this story too. I like how he describes the courtroom at the beginning of the story, creating a compelling visual experience for the reader.</p>



<p>Overall, I enjoyed reading “The Wig and the Streets.” Lovers of fiction, members of the Bar and the Bench, civil rights activists, and other spectrums of society would love reading this collection. I very much recommend the work.</p>



<p>The book is available at <a href="http://www.thewigandthestreets.com">www.thewigandthestreets.com</a>.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots">



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" src="https://www.wrr.ng/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Emmanuel-Ayoola-and-a-copy-of-The-Wig-and-the-Streets.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-41066" loading="lazy"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Emmanuel Ayoola and a copy of The Wig and the Streets</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity">



<p class="has-text-align-right has-black-color has-text-color has-background has-medium-font-size" style="background-color:#ade6fe"><em><em><em><em>Onis Sampson is an award-winning Nigerian author, poet, short-story writer, playwright, and practising lawyer. His collection of poems, A City is talking inside my head was published recently by Proofnet Press. His poems and short fiction have appeared or are forthcoming in Vinyl Poetry, Authorpedia, Tuck Magazine, Noise Medium, Praxis Mag, and African Eyeball anthology.</em></em></em></em></p>
 
 <div class="booster-block booster-author-block">
 <div class="be-author-details layout-square align-left">
 <div class="be-author-wrapper">
 <div class="booster-row">
 <div class="booster-column booster-column-two booster-column-mobile">
 <div class="be-author-image">
 <img alt="" src="https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3de36b6da89639b3d80d015f84d2cfc35212bb0678ceb13c46dc8c712831d196?s=400&;d=mm&;r=g" class="avatar avatar-400 photo avatar-img" height="400" width="400" loading="lazy"> </div>
 </div>
 <div class="booster-column booster-column-eight booster-column-mobile">
 <div class="author-details">
 <header class="twp-plugin-title twp-author-title">
 <h2>About Post Author</h2>
 </header>
 <h4 class="be-author-meta be-author-name">
 <a href="https://www.wrr.ng/author/admin/" class="booster-url-link">
 Words Rhymes &; Rhythm </a>
 </h4>
 <div class="be-author-meta be-author-email">
 <a href="mailto:%20info@wrr.ng" class="booster-url-link">
 <span class="booster-svg-icon booster-svg-envelope"><svg class="booster-svg" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewbox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24"><path fill="currentColor" d="M0 3v18h24v-18h-24zm6.623 7.929l-4.623 5.712v-9.458l4.623 3.746zm-4.141-5.929h19.035l-9.517 7.713-9.518-7.713zm5.694 7.188l3.824 3.099 3.83-3.104 5.612 6.817h-18.779l5.513-6.812zm9.208-1.264l4.616-3.741v9.348l-4.616-5.607z"></path></svg></span>info@wrr.ng </a>
 </div>
 <div class="be-author-meta be-author-url">
 <a href="https://wrr.ng/about-us/" target="_blank" class="booster-url-link">
 <span class="booster-svg-icon booster-svg-sphere"><svg class="booster-svg" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewbox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24"><path fill="currentColor" d="M 11.25 1.5 C 5.035156 1.5 0 6.535156 0 12.75 C 0 18.964844 5.035156 24 11.25 24 C 17.464844 24 22.5 18.964844 22.5 12.75 C 22.5 6.535156 17.464844 1.5 11.25 1.5 Z M 17.617188 16.5 C 17.816406 15.550781 17.941406 14.546875 17.984375 13.5 L 20.972656 13.5 C 20.894531 14.535156 20.652344 15.542969 20.253906 16.5 Z M 4.882812 9 C 4.683594 9.949219 4.558594 10.953125 4.515625 12 L 1.527344 12 C 1.605469 10.964844 1.847656 9.957031 2.246094 9 Z M 16.078125 9 C 16.304688 9.960938 16.441406 10.964844 16.484375 12 L 12 12 L 12 9 Z M 12 7.5 L 12 3.109375 C 12.34375 3.210938 12.679688 3.375 13.011719 3.609375 C 13.636719 4.050781 14.230469 4.726562 14.738281 5.566406 C 15.085938 6.148438 15.386719 6.796875 15.640625 7.5 Z M 7.761719 5.566406 C 8.269531 4.726562 8.863281 4.050781 9.488281 3.609375 C 9.820312 3.375 10.15625 3.207031 10.5 3.109375 L 10.5 7.5 L 6.859375 7.5 C 7.113281 6.792969 7.414062 6.148438 7.761719 5.566406 Z M 10.5 9 L 10.5 12 L 6.015625 12 C 6.058594 10.964844 6.195312 9.960938 6.421875 9 Z M 2.246094 16.5 C 1.847656 15.542969 1.605469 14.535156 1.527344 13.5 L 4.515625 13.5 C 4.558594 14.546875 4.683594 15.550781 4.882812 16.5 Z M 6.015625 13.5 L 10.5 13.5 L 10.5 16.5 L 6.421875 16.5 C 6.195312 15.539062 6.058594 14.535156 6.015625 13.5 Z M 10.5 18 L 10.5 22.390625 C 10.15625 22.289062 9.820312 22.125 9.488281 21.890625 C 8.863281 21.449219 8.269531 20.773438 7.761719 19.933594 C 7.414062 19.351562 7.113281 18.703125 6.859375 18 Z M 14.738281 19.933594 C 14.230469 20.773438 13.636719 21.449219 13.011719 21.890625 C 12.679688 22.125 12.34375 22.292969 12 22.390625 L 12 18 L 15.640625 18 C 15.386719 18.707031 15.085938 19.351562 14.738281 19.933594 Z M 12 16.5 L 12 13.5 L 16.484375 13.5 C 16.441406 14.535156 16.304688 15.539062 16.078125 16.5 Z M 17.984375 12 C 17.945312 10.953125 17.816406 9.949219 17.617188 9 L 20.253906 9 C 20.652344 9.957031 20.894531 10.964844 20.972656 12 Z M 19.46875 7.5 L 17.222656 7.5 C 16.785156 6.121094 16.179688 4.914062 15.457031 3.949219 C 16.453125 4.429688 17.355469 5.066406 18.144531 5.855469 C 18.648438 6.359375 19.089844 6.910156 19.46875 7.5 Z M 4.355469 5.855469 C 5.144531 5.066406 6.046875 4.429688 7.042969 3.949219 C 6.320312 4.914062 5.714844 6.121094 5.277344 7.5 L 3.03125 7.5 C 3.410156 6.910156 3.851562 6.359375 4.355469 5.855469 Z M 3.03125 18 L 5.277344 18 C 5.714844 19.378906 6.320312 20.585938 7.042969 21.550781 C 6.046875 21.070312 5.144531 20.433594 4.355469 19.644531 C 3.851562 19.140625 3.410156 18.589844 3.03125 18 Z M 18.144531 19.644531 C 17.355469 20.433594 16.453125 21.070312 15.457031 21.550781 C 16.179688 20.585938 16.785156 19.378906 17.222656 18 L 19.46875 18 C 19.089844 18.589844 18.648438 19.140625 18.144531 19.644531 Z M 18.144531 19.644531 "></path></svg></span>https://wrr.ng/about-us/ </a>
 </div>
 </div>
 <div class="be-author-profiles">
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </body>
EMMANUEL AYOOLA’S ‘THE WIG AND THE STREETS’ TACKLES SERIOUS EXPERIENCES IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION WITH WELL-TIMED DOSES OF WITTICISM AND HUMOUR | a review by Onis Sampson
