The Franchise Players: A Collect Of Stories And Secrets That Are Neither Here Nor There
There is a buzz everywhere about storytelling and understandably so. Storytelling perhaps is one of the most profound ways of sharing content and communicating in general. However, I wondered if there was a way to tell certain stories without actually telling them – that was how the idea of untelling dropped in my head.
“Sometimes jaunty, other times, thought provoking, this collection of short stories all at once reflect the brutal reality of living in Nigeria. Its attempt to touch on sensitive and topical, societal issues will create a renewed sense of awareness and desire to change the status quo. I haven’t read anything so relatable in a language that is so familiar in a long time. If you’re looking for a book that depicts the life of the average Nigerian in its rawest and truest form, you are currently holding it.” - Tobi Eyinade, Co-Founder Roving Heights
“The Franchise Players tells a fictional representation of the situation of an average Nigerian youth. Laced with excellent coverage of the different generations of youth, it aptly describes what you see around you; in your children, friends, brothers, nephews, nieces, sisters and others. Each story and chapter is rich in excellent analogies in an exquisite storytelling manner that makes it easily understandable for the most basic reader. With lots of knowledge filled in just a few pages, this is one to own for every parent, guardian and youth as it reveals the truth about our reality and society.” - Sulaiman Aledeh, Journalist, Strategic Media & Communication Consultant.
Fiction has always been my first love. My first published book Me, Myself and I – an anthology was published more than ten years ago and since then I haven’t looked back. Whilst I have grown into developing content on a wide array of topics especially corporate communications, ghost-writing books for busy professionals, social media and scripts – I promised myself that whenever I came out of that hiatus, I will resume with an anthology. So here we are, promise kept!
“From kidnapping, religious fanaticism and intolerance, insecurity, electoral violence to an irregular university education calendar and the failure of political leadership, this collection of short stories discusses Nigeria’s most recalcitrant challenges with a light-heartedness that belies the wobbliness of our journey as a people. Yet, this is the way to go! Thinking about Nigeria’s numerous problems can at times be so burdensome that one, groaning under the weight of it all, wonders where to begin from. These satirical stories help to lessen this burden but, to the discerning, also serve to remind us all of the work we must do to realise our potential as a people. This is what The Franchise Players represents, and why it fascinates me.” - Fisayo Soyombo, Investigative Journalist and Former Editor of The Cable, Sahara Reporters and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).
“There is a place in Nigerian history for stories such as these. Mfonobong has carefully documented, through fiction the myriad of ways in which problems exist in our communities, and simultaneously ways to address these problems. These short stories should be essential reading at the start of anyone’s education within Nigeria." - Folu Storms, Actor, Host and Producer
The Franchise Players is a collection of 50 fictional pieces that may or may not be inspired by real life events. A satire of sorts, it is used to shine a light on very important issues in our world like rape, inclusion, leadership, crime, ethnic and cultural biases, insecurity, health etc. Using the storytelling approach, it humanizes these issues by depicting them in very relatable scenarios and language.
Mostly centred on Nigeria, it deploys a rich use of indigenous languages to communicate certain ideas to the local audience with a glossary appended for non-natives and international audiences. A lot of the stories are open-ended, allowing the readers to draw their own conclusions instead of being definitive or tele-guiding them.
“I like the fact that the stories are fictional but are totally relatable. They are short and go straight to the point. It also will cater to a wide range of audience and hopefully remain in their minds as they go through each day of their lives. Society is in need of constant guidance and reminder that our lives are connected and that being human (which is different from) a human being is very important.” - Kate Henshaw, Actor/Social Activist
“One thing that we do not lack in Nigeria is stories. However, our stories tend to, because of the dreary depression of day to day life in Nigeria, be more escapist, rather than focus on teaching the lessons of our history, and make us envisage a proper path for a prosperous future. The Franchise Players seeks to correct that. In The Franchise Players, Mfon and his team have used both fictional and real stories to attempt to begin to bridge this gap. The stories in this project do not make any effort to disguise the drudgery of Nigeria but are an attempt to make us contemplate where we are, how we got here, and where we want to go. I hope you enjoy reading some of these stories as I have.” - Cheta Nwaze, Lead Partner, SBM Intelligence
The stories are also very short. The idea is not just to engage as many societal touchpoints as possible but also to encourage those who love reading on the go to easily start and finish reading the stories. Essentially, it holds up a mirror to very important discussions using humour, sarcasm, metaphor and other literary tools to pass across very instructive messages in a very subtle manner. The Franchise Players chronicles hypothetical happenings and imaginary events through the eyes or lens of different ‘players’ who have their unique roles in the stories. On the surface, these stories appear as nothing but a beautiful concatenation of words; unfettered expressions of creativity. A more cursory look at these stories will reveal their familiarity because they are the stories of our lives – literally.
“The Franchise Players is a constellation of powerful narratives on the existential socio-political issues that Nigeria grapples with. To some, the stories in the book may seem improbable, but it mirrors our reality as a nation failing to harness our potential to redefine our governance and development trajectory. The insatiable desire for social change drives this fantastic fictional work by the author. It illustrates how to activate our citizenship and redefine our current reality as a nation.” - Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa and Convener, Not Too Young To Run
“The Franchise Players; a collection of well-woven short and thought-provoking stories that are relatable to our everyday lives and the society as a whole. It's worth reading, good job by the author.”
Bukola Ogunrinde, Anchor, Breakfast Show, Classic FM 97.3
These stories are exactly what they are; stories. Don’t ruin them for yourself by trying to draw parallels with real-life events. The big idea behind this book is to get you thinking – whether or not you agree with the content. If that is all I achieve, then my work is done. Just enjoy them and don’t overanalyse, weaponize or politicize them. Remember, this is purely a work of fiction. In the now famous words of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): “…we can neither confirm nor deny” any of your assumptions. Take this as a challenge to search for deeper meanings in each story, to discover those truths that are hidden in plain sight. If I remember my legalese very well, somewhere in the constitution, it states that “…where ambiguity exists in law, the literal meaning shall be applied.” In other words, the denotative meaning not connotative holds sway. Written for contemporary readers, it is designed to stimulate thinking using veiled references to relatable events. This book is for the discerning, those who know that George Orwell’s Animal Farm was NEVER about animals.
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