Iyola

Iyola is a confused place consisting of displaced migrant men, women, and children. Like the forestland for which this place is named, the migrant communties living here have been raped and despised by history: their souls have been desecrated upon; their minds, tortured, washed, and forced-fed with alien beliefs; they do not have a sense of self. Their alien masters report they have never before been aware of their ‘being’ nor their environment. They lack consciousness as a psychologist would say. This is just one narrative about Iyola, a place of multiple narratives.

Iyola is a trade artery, a centre of exchange between the mountainous hunters and gatherers to the north and the fishermen by the coast in the south. It is a place where different social identities are created for leadership purposes. Who controls narratives on the origin of Iyola is vital for political representation. Narratives. Narratives. The all important power of narrative in in organising societies is replete here.