There is a profound arrogance in the unlived life. It is the quiet, unspoken assumption that because we have observed the storm from the safety of the shore, we understand the fury of the waves. We build fortresses of theory, constructed from the pages of books, the narratives of documentaries,

The sun begins its slow, bruised descent over the Lagos skyline, casting long, golden shadows against the gleaming glass facades of Victoria Island. Up there, in the air- conditioned boardrooms and luxury penthouses, the city looks like a triumph of modernization—a testament to human ambition rising from the Atlantic. But

The book is titled: “Damaged Goods (2024, Winepress),” and the author is Akin Akingbogun. The author is a successful civil engineer with experience in the downstream oil and gas, and renewable energy sector in Nigeria. His other works include Prisoner of Fate, Waste of Sin, Blood in the Water, and

Now that I have found my writing voice—if there’s any such word—I think it might just be apt to reflect on some of the things that have happened in the last 14 or 18 months. When I started writing in 2019, it was way before the blog and before COVID.

We are living in an age of questions—questions about identity, purpose, belonging, and the meaning of being human. For many people these questions remain philosophical. But for some, they become deeply personal. This story begins with a boy He is not remarkable at first glance. He comes from a modest

On the subject of waiting, I have thought about writing something for quite some time, yet I never quite got around to expressing it the way I truly wanted. Now, in 2026, the opportunity has finally presented itself. Perhaps I should have written this article twoyears ago, but here we

The story continues with some interesting twists. Chapter Two Disbelief clouded my judgement for a moment. I wanted to pinch myself, but I was fairly certain that I was awake, there would be no need for that. My girlfriend of two years lay completely disfigured with her limbs twisted awkwardly

Have you missed reading a short story from the blog, oh well, here is one. You will find a thrilling and fast pace read somewhere in that story.  I promise to keep this one short and exciting. Enjoy! The 8th Floor. Chapter One There are some days when I am

I am privileged to share the journey to making my first film. Behind the Glass| The Short Film| The Journey I recollect fondly, many years ago, while completely immersed in the theatrics of seasoned actors as they performed one of Prof. Wole Soyinka’s popular stage play at the Terra Kulture

Every New Year holds promise, as though it is any different from the turn of every new day that we witness every 24hours. If the new year is a reset, then every day is a reset! Its simply a mindshift that we subject ourselves to when we celebrate a new

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 20 – Final Chapter NEWS Adio woke up to the sound of his alarm. He stretched himself for a few seconds before lifting his back off the mattress into a sitting position. His eyes were still blurry from sleep’s cuddles and his thoughts

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 19 Bag “So, where are we headed now?” Adio asked without looking back. The tension was gradually being eased and the ladies seemed relaxed and quiet at the backseat now. Earlier, they had hopped into the car in panic without giving Adio the

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 18 Simp It had been raining the whole day, non-stop, again, annoyingly so. The rains had quenched the soil from sandy hues to rich, strong browns, soaking not just the ground, but the worn-out asphalt top road around the city. Over the pothole

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 17 Friendship Adio waited and listened to the voices on the concrete deck above. “Daniel please.” “Don’t call my name, bitch.” “Please, I beg of you, I don’t have five hundred thousand naira. This is all the savings I have and its planned

Book review by Radio OAP Michael Olatunbosun Unpacking Akin Akingbogun’s Dreams from Yesterday, by Michael Olatunbosun Dreams from Yesterday (Winepress, 2023) is a collection of 14 short stories. It is authored by Akin Akingbogun, a blogger, performance coach, civil engineer with experience in oil and gas, as well as renewable

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 16 Tenant Adio felt the need to move almost without end. By his thinking, if his limbs were moving constantly then the anxiety that had taken over his fear centre would be gone, or at least he would be able to ignore it

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 15 Time Adio stared from the window as his car sped past the serene estates of Oniru, a suburb in Lagos where modern and smart houses lined every corner of the road. These houses were painted in white, grey or any bland color

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 14 Gay “Wait, Adio, what does the law say about same sex?” Adio shrugged. It was a rhetorical question. “The law criminalizes public displays of affection between same sex couples in Nigeria.” Don continued. “Remember that article you read online last week? The Nigerian

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 13 Mirage Adio didn’t pay enough attention when his passenger settled into the backseat. If he did, he would have noticed her hair. There is a boldness in being so natural, in greeting the world just as you are, and Adio saw that

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 12 Rage There was a traffic logjam again, and it was quite hectic this time. It was also the third consecutive day that it rained. That was the tragedy of heavy downpour in Lagos.  Flash floods soon inundate every inch of the carriageway,

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 11 Pity “Where are your parents? Or your mother? Or whomever should be on this trip with you.” “They are both upstairs.” “Who is accompanying you on this trip? Surely you can’t be taking a ride late this evening unaccompanied.” “They are upstairs.”

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 10 Family “Oh my God, baba Ramota just entered my car.” “Calm down, he doesn’t know yet that you are the one driving.” ”What am I supposed to tell him when he finds out who is driving him about town this night?” “You

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 9 Reward At first Adio didn’t take the news on the radio and news bulletin seriously about the cholera outbreak in the city. He couldn’t be bothered. A few weeks after his mysterious encounter with the absconding policemen, his faith had truly been

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 8 Police. Nursing is such a noble profession, or at least, that was how Adio liked to imagine. The one in his car had blue scrubs on, was po-faced, serious, and cleansing her hands with sanitizers from a small bottle she returned to

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 7 Finger. “What is she looking for at this time of the night, for God’s sake?” “If I were you, I wouldn’t take this ride. This woman looks all shade of trouble.” “I need the money for the trip. I need to pay

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 6 Fantasy Adio’s nose still hurt, but not as much as it did three days earlier. The pain was so excruciating that he hadn’t realized that he had wet his jeans until he got to the roadside pharmacy. The same one that the

Motunrayo is writing her first online published work and hopes to write her own book some day. Just like daddy! Once upon a time, there lived a happy little family of 2 children, a twin – a boy and a girl, and their single mother. Her husband died before her

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 5 Adultery Adio eyes darted between his fuel gauge and the street. The perennial scarcity of petrol, the most important resource for his business, had turned into a quarterly reoccurrence. Long queues for vehicles hustling to gain entry into fuel stations meant that

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 4 Blood Adio was oblivious to the blaring sirens and flashing lights of the two ambulances that sped past him in the opposite direction. He was focused on reaching the pick-up point for his next rider promptly. His schedule had been slightly delayed

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 3 Raunchy It was 2am in the morning. There’s a certain level of tiredness that equates to illness; Adio’s tired body was inching closer to breaking down, but his brain kept on going as if it was on some Olympian overthinking sprint. He

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 2 Crazy Adio’s passenger for the night was starting to irritate him. He had picked him up in front of a popular nightclub in Victoria Island but soon regretted it the moment the young man eased himself into his car. The young man’s

Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 1 Gossips His rider showed no sign of irritation when Adio wheeled the car to a halt by the roadside kerb. It took him all of twenty-four minutes to arrive at the pick-up point. He had been driving around roads on the island

Published May 1, 2022 on The Punch newspaper A civil engineer and creative writer, Akin Akingbogun, speaks to OLADIMEJI RAMON about his craft Tell us a bit about yourself. Akin Akingbogun is a 42-year-old civil engineer, who has openly professed to be 13 years younger to fit the narrative for

Published March 27, 2024 on The Nation newspaper A creative writer and author, Akin Akingbogun, has said Nigeria can produce another Nobel winner almost two decades after Prof. Wole Soyinka won the prestigious prize in literature. For that to happen, the limitations must be addressed, he said. The Obafemi Awolowo University

Published March 15, 2024 on Punch newspaper A creative writer and author, Mr Akin Akingbogun, has said the high amount of visual content on social media has reduced reading culture and affected the attention span of readers. Akingbogun a graduate of Civil Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife,

Published May 4, 2024 on Business day newspaper Title: Dreams from Yesterday Author: Akin Akingbogun Publisher: Winepress Year of Publication: 2023 Number of Pages: 179 Category: Short Stories While the cover of “Dreams from Yesterday” may not fully convey the depth and excitement of Akin Akingbogun’s collection of 14 short stories, within the book, Akingbogun showcases

In Nelson Mandela’s own words: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” Learning how to be courageous in the face of fear takes practice and persistence Is fear holding you back? Fear isn’t always an inherently bad thing. After all, fear is and has been

Due to popular demand, I have continued the first story from my fourth published book – Dreams from Yesterday; a collection of short stories   The story continues from here. Old Town Road Part 2 Garba turned to face the only man who appeared to see him. “Can you really

This is my story, every pulsating detail documented to inspire you to leap beyond your limitations. This story was first published in 2019 and remains the most viewed, most read and most commented story on the blog till date. I hope you find it worth your time. In search of