In October 2008, Es'kia Mphahlele aka Ezekiel Mphahlele, the elder statesman of South African literature and African letters, died in his home town of Lebowakgomo, in the province of Limpopo. He had returned to South Africa in 1977 after 20 years in exile which took him to various African countries. The African world Mphahlele found when he left South Africa for a self-imposed exile in 1957 was in transition. Most African countries, including Nigeria, were gearing up for independence and there was a lot of ‘constructing’ going on. The African world today is no different. There seems to be another craving for independence, real independence and rule by the people.

Today, most African countries have gone back to the drawing board. In 2011, after what seemed like the fairest elections in Nigeria in decades, which led to the election of Goodluck Jonathan, democracy is being challenged with demonstrations and protests that continue to rock that country. In Cameroon, Paul Biya won a controversial election in November 2011 which ushered in his fourth decade as president, and Anglophones in Cameroon continue to agitate to be recognized as ‘full citizens’ in their own country. Congo continues to be a hotbed of horrible atrocities with conflicting information from Western media, while Rwanda continues to rebuild on the ashes of the 800,000 who died in their genocide.