By Chukwuma Ajakah

In her maiden novel, “Destiny”, Manchester-based Nigerian writer, Kehinde Kolawole tells the story of how a brilliant young boy collaborates with his abandoned, but industrious mother to turnaround the fortunes of his family.

Set in present-day Nigeria, the 32-page novella captures events in Lagos and Benin City, highlighting the prevalent socio-economic realities in urban cities. The plot structure revolves around a teenager, Obiora who relays the sad experiences of growing up in a poverty-stricken home, following his father’s elopement with a concubine.

The thematic preoccupation encapsulates child abuse, domestic violence, rural-urban migration, sibling rivalry, abject poverty and abdication of responsibility. The central theme of “hope against all odds” is realized through the protagonist’s resilience in the pursuit of his educational goals. Most of the related themes are explored through the ignoble role of Papa Obiora, a flat character whose abysmal failure as a husband and father culminates in the travails of the family whose predicament resonate with the experiences of many young lovers who in their haste to get married disregard socio-cultural norms that turn to haunt them in future. Speaking of his parents’ faulty foundation, the narrator says: “She had fallen in love with him and he promised to give her a better life. She believed him so when he suggested that they run away to be married in the city she didn’t think twice… My Mama ran away from home with my Papa.”

These themes are further gleaned from the impoverished living condition of the family as the following excerpt reveals: “We stayed in a one room apartment- the same apartment mama had said they had moved to when they moved to Benin. Papa’s dream was to move to Lagos and rent a flat in one of the best parts of Lagos with time, but that time never came. Papa never made something of his life. He had left his job in the village to search for greener pastures in the city. He had got a job as a security official in a bank, but was soon sacked because of his constant lateness. He moved from one job to another and would accuse mama of bringing him bad luck.” 

The author portrays the antagonist as a despicable character whose penchant for daydreaming and falsehood account for the quagmire the young family is trapped in. “My Papa was a dreamer and not a planner. He had filled my mama’s head with promises he couldn’t fulfill,” Obiora says of his father, adding: “I grew up to see that my papa was almost always absent and he had become a drunk.”

Using the first person narrative technique, the author presents the story from the point of view of a participant who narrates the unfolding events, beginning with the circumstances that preceded his parents’ migration to Benin. The narrator provides insight into the remote causes of their present predicament. Orphaned at a young age, his mother was raised by an uncle who refused to send her to school, but made her to work on the farm. When the hardship in her uncle’s house became unbearable she thought of ways of escape. “She finally saw a way when she fell in love with a young primary school teacher who promised her heaven and earth,” Obiora says.

The heroine, Mama Obiora is presented as a symbolic character, representing lots of women in abusive relationships. She is depicted as an innocuous victim who should be celebrated for her bravery in raising four children alone. Wondering why she remained in the marriage when she had enough reasons to leave, the narrator said: “I wondered why my mama hadn’t left papa when she had me and Mmesomma because by the time she had Chima papa was never around… He would curse her so loud and when mama couldn’t bear it she would answer him with insults which often led to her getting a swollen eye or a bleeding nose from papa’s blows.”

Narrated in a relatively simple language, Destiny portrays a message of hope for the indigent.  The author unveils the role one’s faith plays in attracting divine intervention in seemingly hopeless situations. While at the verge of dropping out of school, help comes to the protagonist and his family as a benevolent businessman, Mr. Gbenga takes over the responsibility of sponsoring his education and providing for his family.

The book will make a good read for diverse categories of readers, especially teens in secondary schools.