New Short Story

How My Grandfather Fought Colonialism with Palm Wine and Insults History books will tell you that colonialism was resisted with guns, protests, and political movements. What they will not tell you—because historians are cowards who fear the truth—is that my grandfather fought colonialism with two powerful weapons: a calabash of palm wine and an arsenal of well-crafted insults. My grandfather was not what you would call a “freedom fighter” in the conventional sense. He didn’t climb mountains or lead marches. No. He sat under a mango tree, drank generously, and dismantled the ego of the colonial officers one insult at...