The Drums of Africa- a short novel by Eche Nnamdi Onwugbenu

The Drums Of Africa A short novel by Eche N. Onwugbenu Earth, condonlences, Earth, condolences, Earth and dust, The Dependable One, I lean upon you: Earth, when I am about to die, I lean upon you: Earth, while I am alive, I lean upon you: Earth that recieves dead bodies, The creator’s drummer says, From wherever he went He has roused himself, He has roused himself! ...Ghana. ..... Rex Cinema- Accra, Ghana- 1976 The drummer let it all hang on the floor; his message was not to evoke or awaken the sleeping dead, it was a message of life. He slapped the goatskin hard enought to make it echo loud through the cinema hall; he wanted to gain notoriety. He let it bare the whole place with 3 things his brother had told him, One of which is that the wonderful things the new city had in store for talented drummers like himself. He beleived and knew someday he would be celebrated. The manager had a great week; it was a hit and no one but himself, knew how hard it took to organize this marvelous show. A near scandal had almost occured a week ago; he had beeen caught in the back projection room cheating with the sales girl. The cinema owner had been very disappointed in him and threatened to sue him; that is after letting him go, without pay. And above all things; it was important to him, to keep this particular high flying job, even though his wife at home couldn’t stand the fact that he smelt of expensive perfume around their poor shabby parlour. The crowd; many of them rich Ghanaians and foreigners, stood in appraise. They had never seen such a show before; especially one put together by an unknown stage director and local drummers. Everyone stood around the end pavillion in retrospect of a wonderful cast; waiting to see the realness in these bodies. The real question posed: Are they really blacks? And if yes, were they truly Ghanaians? The head of knowledge and learning for the British Council, a stern old woman stood firm behind the cast: she been the true star, a discoverer of talents- To read an editorial copy- go to-