Jet Black & the Ebony Knights

By Emmanuel Ezirim

Come sail the Seven Seas of Madagaskaa with Princess Jet-Black and the Ebony Knights. Put on your thinking cap as you take a surprising journey through Wazobia and Zoombiland as you discover the place they call Otumba.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ewings Publishing LLC
• Release date: Jun 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798890313867

Emmanuel Ezirim

Within the Nigerian community in Ohio, Emmanuel Chidi Ezirim, a.k.a. "The E-Doggy" is considered the Igbo Sheppard. At age 13 in 1980, E-Doggy moved to the United States to live with his oldest sibling, Egondu Onyejekwe, Ph.D. Emmanuel is the 6th of 7 children born to Josiah Ufere & Cecilia Nwanu Ezirim of Umoke, Owerre-Nkworji in Imo State Nigeria. He started his secondary education at Sacred Heart Secondary School, Aba (Saharco), and transferred to Centennial High School in Columbus, Ohio. Although he left the world he knew as a child in Aba, the Saharco never left him. He founded The Odenigbo Cultural Group (a performing arts group) which at its peak featured at numerous special events across the US, including late Chinua Achebe's 70th Birthday Celebration (Bard College NY), the special commencement at Wilberforce University honoring former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, the Ohio State Fair, and many other African Cultural events. This book, Jet Black and the Ebony Knights is yet another contribution to his Igbo culture in literal form. E-Doggy is a two-time graduate of The Ohio State University (Nutrition and Pharmacy) and a 4-year Varsity award winner in Soccer. He and his wife Chiebonam have an Endowed Scholarship at the OSU College of Pharmacy. He also initiated the Just Us Endowment at The OSU College of Pharmacy with his fellow black alumni from the college. He is a founding member of the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA). He is the NAPPSA Business-to-Business Chair and President Elect. Emmanuel Chidi Chukwumaeze Ezirim, (E-Doggy Nwachinemere) resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife Chichi and their children Nnamdi, Caesar "CC", Arinze "Bro-Ko-To" and Angel "Dada".

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Copyright © 2023 Emmanuel C. Ezirim.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 979-8-89031-384-3 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-89031-385-0 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-89031-386-7 (e)

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Contents

Foreword

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Your Beginning

Epilogue

Foreword

Jet Black & the Ebony Knights occupies its own unique niche among creative works by Africans who are sojourners in foreign lands or have been partly molded by other cultural influences beyond their African heritage. On a first look, it seems to belong to the African folktales class of short stories, often defined as anonymous, timeless stories of African origin that embrace African culture and traditions. Indeed, the setting of the story suggests a West African inspiration: a faraway land, called Wazobia , where New Yam festival is celebrated, and where dances are to the rhythm of drums. The narrative is also filled with other notable characteristics of African folktales, namely: an embedded moral lesson, personification of inanimate animals, and the presence of a protagonist and antagonist charac ters.

But then one is jarred by imageries that are uniquely different and distinct from what one would expect from an African folktale. On the very first page one reads "The wily deceiver Mongo had arrived in Zoombiland with the full moon on a Midsummer’s Eve bearing good tidings". Summer is a season typically associated with northern hemisphere and not the tropical region of West Africa. And on page eight, we read: He could do the Gyrate and the Ajasco, the Cha-cha, Meringue, Caramba and the Salsa. His moves intensified with the Twist, the Boogie, and the Cabbage Patch. Then he started doing the Running-man and his legs began to grow longer, again describing various dance steps from multiple cultures ranging from Cuba, through Dominica Republic, Brazil, to the United States.

All considered, one can say that Jet Black