Introduction The story of Otondo in Jerry Chika Okeke’s Mmadu Ka a na-ria is not just a literary portrait of a mischievous schoolboy. It is an allegory; one that mirrors the cycles of pretence, opportunism, and selective morality that shape Nigeria’s political and social landscape. Otondo is the child who never passed an exam yet kept getting promoted. He is the bully who suddenly becomes a saint when a position is at stake. He is the student who transforms overnight, not because he has changed, but because he wants something. And when he does not get what he wants, he returns to his old ways. This is the Otondo Effect : the performance of goodness without the substance of transformation; the appearance of reform without the discipline of character; the sudden morality that evaporates once power is secured or denied. Nigeria knows this effect too well. How Otondo Mirrors Nigeria’s Power Culture The story of Otondo is our story: your story and my story. We can visualize it in m...
The Rhythm of Futility In the canon of Igbo literature, Goddy Onyekaonwu’s Nwata rie Awọ Ọjụ Anụ serves as more than a story; it is a mirror. When the character Awọrọ cries out, “Ma ụtụtụ – waa waa waa; ehihie – waa waa waa a, ike ya agwụla m,” he is not merely complaining about a bad day at the hunt. He is describing a soul-crushing cycle of expectation followed by emptiness. Awọrọ’s traps were set in the hope of sustenance, yet they yielded nothing at dawn and nothing at noon. This "waa waa waa", this consistent, rhythmic "nothingness" has transitioned from the pages of fiction into the very fabric of the Nigerian political experience. As we look toward the horizon of 2027, we must ask the question that haunts every dining table and bus stop from Kaura Namoda to Yenagoa: Has the Nigerian political system become irredeemable? The Parable of the Empty Trap The Nigerian electorate is like a hunter who meticulously sets his traps every four years. We wa...