People of the City by Cyprian Ekwensi, Emmanuel Iduma (Introduction); 1954/2020. Softcover. (New York Review Books)

A vivid coming-of-age tale set in a big Nigerian city about a young man trying to make his way as a journalist and band leader in the big city. When People of the City was published in 1954 it was immediately acclaimed as the first major novel in English by a West African to be widely read throughout the English-speaking world. People of the City tells the story of a young crime reporter and dance-band leader in a great West African city who comes to see that what he can do for the developing country in which he lives is more important than the considerable and varied personal pleasures he can find in the hectic life of the city. Ekwensi's delicious first book book has the swagger, bravado, and elation of the great bands of West Africa.