Second Class Citizen

Adah is eight years old. She lives in Ibuza, Nigeria, though she was born in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, during World War II. Her parents praise Ibuza, and they dislike Lagos because of the legal system in Lagos. Adah’s mother and other women are getting ready to welcome a lawyer, Nweze, to town from the United Kingdom, though Adah associates the name United Kingdom with bombs dropping. Women buy cloth from the United Africa Company (UAC), and they straighten their hair in European fashion. Adah’s mother is a seamstress, and Adah is expected to attend school for only a couple of years before becoming a seamstress as well. Her younger brother, Boy, begins attending school first, which inspires Adah’s dream.

The school is the Ladi-Lak Institute and does not teach Yoruba, the native language. Adah blames her mother for keeping her out of school; she notes that she often lied or disobeyed her mother to lash out against her. Adah goes to the Methodist School, and her dresses are all too large for her. Her neighbor, Mr. Cole, teaches at the school. He welcomes her into class but suggests that Adah try to get her parents’ permission to attend. After class, Mr.