Surviving SAJOMACO: A Nigerian Boarding School Odyssey cover art

Surviving SAJOMACO: A Nigerian Boarding School Odyssey

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Surviving SAJOMACO: A Nigerian Boarding School Odyssey

By: Bunmi Asaolu
Narrated by: Bunmi Asaolu
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Question: What do you do when the kitchen wall collapses into the vat of beans being cooked for a horde of hungry schoolboys?

Answer: You serve it up anyway! Why let a few lumps of clay and the odd metal screw spoil a decent meal?

When Bunmi Asaolu arrived at the grand gates of St. John/Mary's Unity Secondary School (SAJOMACO) as a first-year student, you'd be forgiven for assuming he was swapping life on the serene university campus he grew up on for another of equal civility. Wrong! Behind the gates of SAJOMACO lay a world of contradictions - unspoken but strict codes of hierarchy juxtaposed with utter chaos.

Asaolu presents a wry, satirical and at once serious look at a Nigerian public boarding school in the 1990s through the eyes of a sheltered child navigating its brutal corridors. In Surviving SAJOMACO, Asaolu’s experiences and those of his contemporaries are laid bare, giving the listener a raw and at times jarring insight into the incongruencies of school life, whilst subtly tracking the story of Nigeria itself.

©2021 Bunmi Asaolu (P)2021 Bunmi Asaolu
Africa Cultural & Regional Emotionally Gripping Witty
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

You Couldn't Make This Up! cover art
Lewis and Bruno Face the Artificial Intelligents cover art
Hidden Lessons cover art
Prison Days cover art
Now I Am Known cover art
Admissions cover art
Everything Is Going to be K.O. cover art
Suck It Up or Go Home cover art
Free at Last cover art
Echoes of a Boy cover art
Beyond the Sand and Sea cover art
A Dream Too Big cover art
Love & Courage cover art
Incomparable World cover art
Rugby Spirit cover art
Normal Schmormal cover art

What listeners say about Surviving SAJOMACO: A Nigerian Boarding School Odyssey

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating

Very captivating book, wonderful to be able to get some insight into boarding school in Nigeria, even if you have not been to boarding school this is a great read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I can’t quite believe a human lived through this!!!

For me, the sign of great prose, isn’t necessarily one that’s easily readable/listenable (though this is), or one that’s immediately captivating (though this is) or even anxiety-inducing 😅 (which this definitely is), but one that provides those rare, impactful “I was there” moments.

I can tell you exactly where I was and how I felt whilst watching the 2008 Champions League Final, I can tell you exactly where I was when Trump won the US election. I can equally tell you exactly how I felt on the A406, listening to the crescendo of the final chapters, missing every exit & turn to my home due to the shock, horror and awe I felt with those SAJOMACO students.

An expertly written book, I commend the author on his ability to make you FEEL on every page. If you’ve read the book, I’d encourage you to please listen on Audible too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The quintessential Nigerian boarding school experience

What a powerful narration of what could have easily been my own childhood for the most part. I found this thoroughly enjoyable whilst at the same time feeling utmost sympathy for what most Nigerian teenagers have been through as a rite of passage into adulthood.

Bunmi Asaolu has probably opened a whole new genre of Nigerian writing with this book.

Well worth the listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a ride!!!

This book kept me engaged all the way through.
The crazy happenings at Sajomaco made me very greatful for my school teachers and fellow pupils over here in the UK. I love how Bunmi describes the incidents with great detail so it's easy to picture. The experience at the school was quite savage at times and it's amazing that Bunmi looks back and sees the experience as something that made him the man he is today. A story well told.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow... wow... wow...

I did not know that a boarding school life in Nigeria could be so adventurous, emotional and beautifully crazy all in one!!! 😁

Thank you for creating this wonderful memoir. Highly recommended book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!