Life in the Shadows

Situated primarily on Lagos  Island, in Lagos Lagoon, on the Bight of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea, Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori, a subgroup of the Yoruba tribe, as early as the 15th century. Mainly fishermen and hunters, they moved to an island now called Iddo before moving to the larger Lagos Island. They referred to their settlement as Oko. The settlement was then occupied by the Bini warlords of the Kingdom of Benin from the late 16th century to the mid-19th century; from a settlement, it was turned into a war camp. The war camp was then renamed Eko which remains the native name of Lagos. This set a precedent for Lagos’ fate as history saw the area becoming the home of several warring ethnic groups. Lagos, however, derived its name from the Portuguese word for Lakes, the name given to it by Portuguese explorers who first landed on the island in 1472.

From its humble beginnings as a tribal fishing village, Lagos has seen remarkable growth over the succeeding centuries. In the contemporary, it has become a megacity and a melting pot of different cultures. It was formerly the federal capital of Nigeria before the capital was moved to Abuja in December 1991. Despite this, Lagos remained the unofficial seat of several government agencies. Along with Nigeria’s exponential economic growth, Lagos has become one of the fastest-growing cities in Africa, if not the world. It is also one of the world’s most populous cities. While it is no longer the administrative capital of Nigeria, it remains the country’s economic hub. It is one of Africa’s major financial and cultural hubs. It also houses one of the busiest seaports in the continent.

A vibrant city teeming with life, Lagos was a rich and wonderful canvas upon which Eloghosa Osunde juxtaposed their novel, Vagabonds! Long renowned as a short story writer for which they received several accolades, Osunde made them – one can surmise that they are nonbinary as their official website uses their and them as their pronoun – breakthrough into full-length prose in 2022 with their debut novel. However, in crafting their debut novel, they relied on what they knew best: they built Vagabonds! from strength to strength. Essentially, Vagabonds! is a collection of thematically interconnected short stories. Each strand introduces a set of characters, each representing the over twenty million denizens that makeup Lagos.

“Money consumes all things. And money is the root of all evil. Both things are true. Law exist, yes, but laws are for the poor. Laws are for the masses. Laws are for those who answer only to the city. Laws are for those who don’t have master keys. Know this: for every law made, there are always people who are under it and people who are above it. At a certain point, the city no longer has absolute power, can no longer fight for you.”

~ Eloghosa Osunde, Vagabonds!

Guiding the readers across the vast landscape of modern Lagos is the mercurial presence of Tatafó. Tatafo is one of the underlings of Èkó, the presiding spirit of Lagos; it is also the Yoruban name of Lagos. Essentially, Tatafó was sent by Èkó to wreak havoc and even stoke hunger on the city’s inhabitants. It seems cruel but Tatafó was duty-bound to carry out the orders of the city’s supreme spirit. It is through Tatafó that Osunde navigates Lagos. It was on his excursions that he encounters a diverse cast of characters, the titular vagabonds; lest it be convoluted, the novel appropriately opens with the various definitions of the word vagabond, ranging from the dictionary and textbook definitions to how it is defined within the context of modern Nigerian society.

These definitions somehow imply that vagabonds are those who behave in socially and morally unacceptable ways. Seen from another vantage point, the titular vagabonds are those who go against the tide. They refuse to conform to social and cultural norms and conventions. They transcend borders and gender definitions. They are also essentially individuals who are living at the fringes of society, the social outcasts. Society frowns upon them, hence, their suppression of their real identities. They were, for generations, oppressed and pushed to the brink of darkness. Sure enough, Vagabonds! is a polyphonic novel populated by various characters who were, in their own way, going against the standards put on them by society.

The titular vagabonds might be gay, lesbian, or even transgender. Some were unwilling to conform to gender norms while some were out of step with the patriarchal society. The first story introduces Thomas and establishes one facet of Nigerian culture: the influence of folklore and myth in the lives of ordinary Nigerians. These tales and beliefs inculcated into him by his uncle Anjos have molded his character. One of the rules that Thomas lived by – he naturally learned it from his uncle – was to never go to the market before Christmas. This is because some people are looking to gather body parts by merely touching you. Buying and selling human body parts, while long outlawed, are still practiced due to religious purposes.

Sure enough, the second story titled Johnny Just Come (JJC) introduced a big man who was part of the organ trafficking market, a world in which the titular Johnny would find himself becoming a part. Johnny arrived in Lagos from the Raffia City; this is the nickname of Ikot Ekpene, a historic town in the south-southern state of Akwa Ibom. In Nigeria, JJC refers to newcomers. As such, Johnny represented the Nigerians’ dream of greener pastures. Thomas and Johnny are just among the many lives encapsulated in the novel. Wura Blackson is a highly respected seamstress with a reputation that preceded her name. Her designs were based on the person’s stories, thus, gaining her admiration. Her designs also touched the lives of everyone. However, she was forced to hide her relationship with another woman. Thomas, Johnny, and Wura are just among the many pieces that make up the lush tapestry of Vagabonds!

“He was scared we might see them and love the in full, that we would undivine him by withdrawing our love; and that for them, we could gather and peel the beauty off his face. He needed to keep us veiled. But looking is how I realized I was on the losing side. What I struggled with then was how long it took me to see that people punish in others what they hate in themselves.”

~ Eloghosa Osunde, Vagabonds!

As the novel moves from one story to another, more characters are introduced. Their different strands capture various facets of Nigerian culture. Nigerian society is steeped in folklore, faith, and superstitious beliefs, as underlined in the opening story. Despite modern and Western influences, Nigerian society is still anchored on traditions. The city’s spirit Èkó which was derived from the Yoruban name of Lagos is one of many cultural touchstones that gave the story a distinct landscape. Osunde riddled their debut novel with intricate details of Nigerian society that make it distinct. However, with their unflinching gaze, they also captured the pervasive elements of culture that continue to undermine the contemporary. They exposed the underbelly of Lagos, and consequently, of Nigerian society.

One of these pervasive elements is Niegria’s highly patriarchal society. Women play second fiddle to the men in their lives. Those who go against male authorities are ostracized. This setup also allowed the proliferation of domestic abuse. However, such abuses are not openly discussed but rather they are talked about in hush tones. This makes a group of women, all abused wives, Vagabonds. They managed to create a safe space where they could share their trauma and find solace in each other’s company. They soon started to disappear one by one. Because of the patriarchal society, gender stereotypes have also become ubiquitous. Osunde captures the patent homophobia and transphobia that have characterized modern Nigeria. In fact, the country passed the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act in January 2014; this was referred to in the novel.

It is this homophobia and transphobia that prompted the queer characters who dominated the novel to remain incognito, to hide in the dark. Osunde also probes into other maladies of contemporary Nigerian society. In a way, Vagabonds! is an evocative social commentary that probed into the maladies plaguing Nigeria. The presence of corruption – including moral, political, and even religious – is ubiquitous. They, coupled with the ills of capitalism, have eroded Lagos’ moral institutions and spirit. They also created inequities between the social classes. The poor, like in the case of Johnny, do the dirty job for their rich and corrupt employers. All the while, their voices are muted because, as one character remarked, “Nothing is illegal for a rich Nigerian.” The law is weaponized against the poor while the rich can do anything they want to do without much consequences.

Nevertheless, in a city warped by corruption and muted by the cacophony of voices, there still beaconed a ray of hope. Fourteen-year-old Junior, who struggled with his sexual identity, finally found peace when he heard God speak: “Can’t you see it’s not us? It’s not us hating you.” In Gold’s story, we read about a mother’s unconditional love. Gold, who was transitioning, was fully supported by her mother even though Gold, at times, was skeptical of her mother’s intentions. Different forms of love were portrayed by Osunde and it was one of the most powerful elements that bonded the characters. Another story showed how two sex workers in a lesbian relationship found affection and tranquility in their devotion to each other.

“I was so fucking jealous of you, do you know? I couldn’t understand how this world hadn’t beaten the hope all out of you. You wanted a good love with me? You could see it? A love where tenderness was our shared dialect and it wouldn’t matter if we stuttered in it, because we were still learning? You wanted us to peel off our histories, to forget the rot in our blood chasing us? You believed that if it came to it, what we had could beat down every dysfunction in both our families and histories combined, kill them all dead with ease. You saw power, you saw solid strength, you saw our relationship as a gentle and good beast, working in our favor.”

~ Eloghosa Osunde, Vagaboncds!

All of these stories were carefully and adroitly woven together by Osunde into a lush tapestry. Elements of magical realism further enriched the novel’s tapestry. Their prose was one of the most compelling elements of the novel. It was the fusion of philosophical, metaphorical, and lyrical. It was this lyrical prose that made Lagos come alive. Lagos itself became a character, a vivid landscape upon which the stories of an eclectic cast of characters came alive. Under its urban cornucopia is an ecosystem teeming with life, diversity, and color. Osunde made the readers dive into a phantasmagorical world where magic and violence intermingle. The use of pidgin language added an authentic local touch.

For all its wonderful elements, the novel can confound readers who are expecting a straightforward story. There is no cohesive plot as the stories are fragmented. Further, the novel’s structure was as chaotic as the city the story was set in. The vast array of characters that the readers must follow can also be disorienting. It did not help that some of the most interesting characters left as soon as they entered. Some characters had more compelling stories than others. However, Osunde does provide a caveat that the novel is not for those who are expecting a formulaic story. In a way, Osunde was being a vagabond themselves. They refused to conform to literary norms. Despite the novel’s fragmented structure, its message remained clear.

In their debut novel, Osunde crafted a compelling story. Through Vagabonds!, they transported the readers into the underbelly of a megacity that was teeming with life. Queerness was at its core but it was also a scathing social and political commentary that probed into the maladies that keep Nigeria shackled to the ground. It was brimming with dark subjects ranging from murder, cannibalism, assault, transphobia, homophobia, violence, and even suicide. Political and moral corruption was a recurring theme as well. But despite all of these weighing heavily on the shoulders of the characters and of Lagos as a whole, healing is possible through love and acceptance which comes both from within ourselves and from those surrounding us. Vagabonds! is a searing debut that pays homage to people who society has tagged as outsiders. Osunde reminds their readers that those who hide behind their shadowselves also matter and that their stories deserve to be heard.

“But we’re ghosts who see other ghosts often, who hold them and hug them and fuck them, too, in our bedrooms, doors closed. We love them too. Like you. Here, they call us mad. We go again. They strike us down. We choose again. They black off our lights. We learn the dark. We don’t die. We never die. We only love harder. We only see sharper. I can appear and disappear in seconds, at will. I can look like a not-sin, a non-outcast. People like us don’t need a club full of women to find one who’ll go down if we look right. We know our signals, our codes. You’re not only real when everybody can see you.”

~ Eloghosa Osunde, Vagaboncds!
Book Specs

Author: Eloghosa Osunde
Publisher: Riverhead
Publishing Date: March 1, 2022
No. of Pages: 303
Genre: Literary, Magical Realism

Synopsis

In Nigeria, vagabonds are those whose existence is literally outlawed: the queer, the poor, the displaced, the footloose and rogue spirits. They inhabit transient spaces, making their way invisibly through a world of old vengeance, shifting realities, and ever-lurking danger. Eloghosa Osunde’s brave, fiercely inventive novel traces a wild array of characters for whom life itself is a form of resistance: a driver for a debauched politician with the power to command life and death; a legendary fashion designer who gives birth to a grown daughter; a lesbian couple whose tender relationship sheds unexpected light on their experience with underground sex work; a wife and mother who attends a secret spiritual gathering that shifts her world. Whether running from danger, meeting with secret lovers, finding their identities, or vanquishing their shadowselves, Osunde’s characters confront and support one another, before converging for the once-in-a-lifetime gathering that gives the book its unexpectedly joyous conclusion.

About the Author

Eloghosa Osunde is a Nigerian writer and visual artist. They are alumni of the Farafina Creative Writing Workshop, the Caine Prize Workshop, and the filmmaking and screenwriting programs at the New York Film Academy. They started their literary career by writing short stories that have appeared in various publications such as Paris Review (where they write a popular surrealist column called ‘Melting Clocks’), Granta, Gulf Coast, Georgia Review, Guernica, Lithub, Catapult, and Berlin Quarterly. Their visual art also appeared in Vogue, The New York Times, and Paper Magazine.

Osunde was awarded a 2017 Miles Morland Scholarship and is a 2019 Lambda Literary Fellow. They are also a 2020 MacDowell Colony Fellow. For their literary works, they won the MoAD’s African Literary Award (2023), the Plimpton Prize for Fiction (2021), and an ASME Award for Fiction (2022). In 2022, they published their first novel, Vagabonds! which gained Osunde more accolades. It was a finalist for the Edmund White Prize For Fiction, and the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, and has been longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and the Nota Bene Prize.