Nenpan’s Banana Republic – A review of Like the Winds, a novel by Nenpan Monday Zakka

To fulfil his dream and that of his community, he has to pass the post-unified tertiary matriculation exam to Highland University, Jos. At the Post-UTME, it emerges that computer, a contraption he had never seen, will be used for the decisive exam. Nentawe is understandably nervous, unlike most of the other candidates, products of elite […]

To fulfil his dream and that of his community, he has to pass the post-unified tertiary matriculation exam to Highland University, Jos. At the Post-UTME, it emerges that computer, a contraption he had never seen, will be used for the decisive exam. Nentawe is understandably nervous, unlike most of the other candidates, products of elite private schools who know how to play with and manipulate the computer. However, there are three other candidates in Nentawe’s shoes, Ade from Ogun, Garba from Borno and Chinedu from Abia states. The four managed to know that, though from different states/tribes, they are bound together by a common handicap – unfamiliarity with the computer.

Meanwhile, on Nentawe’s return home, the president is about visiting the local government area to commission some projects, most of which are in the hometown of the chairman of the local government area. The community plans a showdown during the president’s visit. The very corrupt and over-confident chairman of the local government council initially disregards the rumour of the planned show-down. He believes that he can buy the influential leaders of the community, including the chief, Ngolong Gwabilabum and the principal of the local government secondary school. As the date of the presidential visit draws near and the rumour of the planned showdown grows stronger, the chairman summons the chief and the principal and offer each of them a bribe of half-a-million naira, which the two leaders promptly reject! He gradually increases the offer eventually up to five million each. But the two leaders reject the offer on the ground that they cannot betray their people.

On the day of the presidential visit, the dignitaries arrive in their expensive dresses. The presidential plane touches down. The various dance groups are performing. Then just as the president is about to address the people, a horn is heard from an olive tree and the citizens begin to file out, leaving the high-table, the chairman and the president alone. The chairman passes out and the president sheds tears. He (the president) quietly departs in his plane and soon afterwards issues a proclamation on the people’s needs and curtails the privileges and extravagance of those in power; in short, giving the governed a say in their government. The people have won.

This is a very contemporary novel, with Post-UTME, Boko Haram, Central Bank Governor’s remarks on the cost of governance, text messages, etc. The state is certainly Plateau, with the University of Jos thinly disguised as Highland University, Jos and Pankshin Local Government disguised as Gwabilabum. It is also easy to identify the Governor of this state at the time of the story.

The work revolves around the following themes:

(i) Corruption, monstrous as it is, can be fought and conquered (ii) Corruption, pervasive as it is, has not infected everybody in Nigeria; (iii) Not every Hausa man belongs to Boko Haram.

The major characters, Nentawe, his mother, Morbi, the chief and the principal are most convincing. The novelist must be commended for accurately capturing the voices of the characters she created, particularly those of Nentawe’s mother, the principal, the chairman of the Local Government. Leritshimwa is somewhat shadowy. But that is understandable since the novelist telescoped her evolution to a lady graduate, ready to become the bride of the now medical Dr, Nentawe. We do not really see much of Leritshimwa.

The story flows and those characters designed to be fluent, like the principal, the chairman of the local government council, and the master of ceremony are very fluent.

However, there are a few editing/Proof reading errors which the publishers, el-spice books, ought to have corrected. E.g @ P. 13, Par. 3, “The world has (not had) become a global village” (2) P. 56, 2nd paragraph “depreciated” is intransitive in the context and should not have been used in the passive; (3) In P. 67, 3rd Par. Line 4, “A” should be deleted before “Countless graduates”. (4) P. 68 Par. 4, 1st line “have” should be replaced with “had” to be consistent with “didn’t” and “chose”. But these minor and avoidable flaws do not detract from the readability of the novel.

The novel ought to be widely read by all, especially by the youths and secondary school students for whom Nentawe and Leritshimwa are shining models. One way of supporting the present administration’s “Bring Back The Book” campaign is that the ministries of education should encourage the general public, parents and students to read such creative works as Like The Winds whose setting, characters and items they can easily identify with

Silas C. Nnamonu is a a retired Federal Director of Education (Eng) and a former co-chief examiner of Literature (WAEC)