A Review of Blackass by A. Igoni Barrett

In a brilliant article written by Teju Cole in 2012 on White-Savior Industrial complex, Cole argues that ‘a nobody from America or Europe can go to Africa and become a godlike savior or, at the very least, have his or her emotional needs satisfied’ and that is exactly what happens in Blackass by A. Igoni Barrett.

Furo, a 33-year-old, unemployed Nigerian man who still lives at home with his parents and younger sister, wakes up one morning to find that he has experienced a Kafkaesque transformation: he is now an oyibo, a white man with a disappointing Blackass.

On realizing he is now white, he escapes from home to his scheduled job interview where he is chosen from an impossibly long line of applicants. Because he is white Furo is given not just an executive position, but also a company car with a driver.

From then on, Furo goes through his Lagos life as now a white man, dealing with all the privileges, and ogling, that comes with being white in a predominantly black country, Furo uses this to his advantage mostly. When he isn't using it to get free food, he is using it to get free accommodation, job and sex.

As the story proceeds, Furo makes a startling self-discovery about the many advantages he would unknowingly experience and enjoy as a white man. He gets more job offers, more friendly countenance from people like Tosin, he gets respect from his driver and most importantly he gets more respect from Nigerians who are stunned and proud that he can speak pidgin ‘I full ground’ with the proper Nigerian accent.

Furo enjoys White privilege (or white skin privilege) a term for societal privileges that benefit people identified as white, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances.

Right from when we are little, we are taught in schools and at home that white men are above us, we were taught that all of Nigeria history was based on the individual actions of white men.

Do you know the railway was built by the white man? Do you know Lagos has better road networks than other states because the blue print was written by a white man?

I remember my history teacher telling us jokingly in class that if a Nigerian was allowed to give us a name instead of Flora Shaw, he/she might have settled for something stupid and tribalistic instead.

Look at our music videos and product advert, a white woman or half caste model is more modern, beautiful, suitable and sadly that’s how we roll. White privilege exist here in Nigeria and it is so sad that an average Nigerian would treat a white man far better than a nice, brilliant and creative black Nigerian.

Just look at Furo in Blackass, he is suddenly besieged with career opportunities. Women – including the beautiful, high-flying mistress of a Nigerian politician – Syreeta wants to sleep with him and hopefully get pregnant so she can give birth to half caste babies.  A lifelong loser who’d still been living at home with his family, but because of his whiteness Furo suddenly seems destined for greatness.

Also, because his ass remained black, Furo tried using skin-lightening cream to bleach out his black bum. This is another obsession seen among beautiful black Nigerian women, they bleach to become lighter and fairer because they believe it will create a better life.

Although the idea for the book was unique, it was not thoroughly executed. There are so many things Barrett could have done with this plot but we were mostly shown Furo’s new white privilege. The reader would keep wondering, “What else?” Yes, he is white, now he has all this privilege open to him but what else?!

Aside from the stagnant plot development, Furo’s character is not likeable, Furo is facile, shallow and selfish. He was not memorable, and there was nothing particularly unique about him.

Blackass is more than just the story of a physical transformation, it is a perfect tale of prejudice and the power white skin confers, and the ease with which white men exploit their skin color to secure sex, money and career development in struggling African countries.

And of course the willingness with which many Africans are willing to let white people do so.

Rating: 3.5/5

READ: Poetry for those who hate Poetry, A Review of 'Your Father Walks Like a Crab' by Tolu Akinyemi