Ope Adedeji is a Nigerian writer. The book she will be writing on her scholarship year is called ‘The Making of Gods’.
Set in Lagos, The Making of Gods, follows the life of three women who are grappling with a fast-changing world: their varying beliefs about religion and technology, and their love for one another.
Labake, the 13-year-old protagonist is thrown into the thick of it; she has to choose between following her passion to become a computer scientist, obeying mother’s wishes to stay away from this strange thing called technology, and listening to her grandmother’s folklores.
But these stories are more than folklores. Before Labake and her sister were born, their mother did it all: from bowing before Osun to ask for children, to wearing white garments in celestial churches, to the latest fad — a pastor who walks the streets warning whomever would listen about the dangers of technology.
She’s even sent her daughters to be exorcised of demons she believes possessed them from watching films on television.
After a series of unfortunate events that rock their already dysfunctional family, Labake is thrown further into the end of the spectrum. Not only does she question her grandmother’s stories and uncover truths about who she really is, she creates and explores new worlds that can only be found in the magic of technology.