African Cain and Abel

Over the past few decades, there has been a remarkable march of talents from Nigeria. Following in the footsteps of established writers such as Buchi Emecheta, Amos Tutuola, Elechi Amadi, and Chinua Achebe, who placed Nigerian literature on the global literary map. Their literary works were integral in the growing recognition of Nigerian literature, and in its wake, African literature as a whole. Their oeuvres are lauded in various parts of the world and have earned them several accolades. Nigeria even produced a Nobel Laureate in Literature in Wole Soyinka was recognized in 1986. This also made him the first African laureate. Their oeuvres defined the landscape of contemporary Nigerian literature. It was also their successes and literary exploits that laid out the groundwork for the succeeding generation of Nigerian writers.

The past two decades saw the rise of writers such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Akwaeke Emezi, and Oyinkan Braithwaite, among others. Their works were also critically received, with some earning nominations for prestigious literary awards such as the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize for Fiction. Another Nigerian writer who made waves upon his debut was Chigozie Obioma. The fifth of twelve children born to Igbo parents in the southwestern Nigerian city of Akure, Obioma originally dreamed of becoming a soccer player after watching the heroics of Argentine star Diego Maradona during the 1990 World Cup. To hone his skills, he practiced near a mosquito-laden swamp which resulted in several bouts of malaria. During his long bedridden recovery periods, his parents told him stories, including folklore and from books.

These stories tickled his imagination and in his mind formed a new dream, to be a writer. This was a career path that deviated from his peers but he was undeterred, forging a path that eventually led to the career of his dreams. 2015 saw him reaping the benefits of his hard work with the publication of his debut novel, The Fishermen. Set in the 1990s, Obioma’s debut novel transported readers to the city of his birth, Akure. The story charted the fortunes of four brothers born into the middle-class Agwu family: Ikenna, Boja, Obembe, and Benjamin. They have two younger siblings but the story revolves primarily around them. Their father, because of the nature of his work, had to move to the distant northern city of Yola. He would occasionally go home to check on his family. The siblings were looked after by their mother who was also busy looking after her shop in the local marketplace.

“Wistful thoughts often combed his melancholic spirit in search of craters to be filled with sorrow. As a younger boy, he often sat in the backyard, brooding and contemplative, his arms clasped over his knees. He was highly critical of things, a part of him that greatly resembled Father. He nailed small things to big crosses and would ponder for long on a wrong word he said to someone; he greatly dreaded the reprove of others. He had no place for ironies or satires; they troubled him.”

 Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen

The novel was narrated by thirty-nine-year-old Benjamin, or Ben, the youngest of the four brothers; he was nine years old when the story happened. The bond between him and his three older brothers was tight. They grew up close to one another, constantly in each other’s business. Their father was strict and a disciplinarian who compelled them to spend their free time reading and studying. The patriarch was insistent on having his children gain a Western education. He also plotted professional careers for them: “My children will be great men … They will be lawyers, doctors, engineers …” However, the boys were untouched by what the future holds; it was the farthest thing in their minds. Rather, they wanted to expend their energy doing what boys of their age do. The opportunity to finally get out of their mold came when their father went away for a business opportunity.

The brothers soon started exploring new activities and, in the process, they started skipping school. At first, they poured their energy into playing football on the streets. This proved to be a short-lived interest. What piqued their fancy was fishing at the Omi-Ala River, a river near their home. However, they were forbidden from doing so. Interestingly, the river once served as the community’s cultural center. Shrines dotted its banks, paying tribute to it. The advent of Christianity in Nigeria came with radical changes. Traditions and rituals that went against Christian values were seen as manifestations of evil. The shrines that propped that riverbank were seen as evil, hence, the river was considered a manifestation of evil as well. Further, the brothers were barred from going to the river because nefarious acts occurred there. An after 6 P.M. curfew was imposed to ensure that no one lingers after dark.

But boys being boys, the brothers dismissed all the caveats. Taking advantage of their parents’ absence, they went fishing at the river. Done in clandestine, fishing was an activity the brothers relished and enjoyed. The crux of the story was an unexpected encounter. Things took a wrong turn when the brothers came across one of the characters who frequented the river. Abulu was the village madman who everyone tried to avoid. He was also a prophet and his unsolicited prophecies were accurate. While most avoided him, the police forces find him a great help in solving crimes. When he came across the brothers, he yelled at them before finally uttering a string of words that made sense. However, these are words that sent chills down the spine of the brothers. Abulu foresaw Ikenna’s future and it was unpleasant.

The prophecy unsettles Ikenna. While his younger brothers assuaged his fears and doubts, Ikenna could not seem to shake off the bitter aftertaste left by the prophecy. Because they were all technically fishermen, Ikenna grew suspicious of his brothers. This eureka moment also prompted a drastic change in his personality. He became hostile toward his brothers, particularly to Boja, the second oldest. Ikenna increasingly became paranoid and blatantly disobeyed their harried mother. He retreated into his own world and lost his appetite. It didn’t take long before hatred was wedged between the brothers as Boja responded to his brother’s cruelty. Meanwhile, the younger brothers were forced to watch as their older brothers were pitted against one another. What was once a tightly-knit unit has been undone by a prophecy. Their mother was counting the days before their father could return as she was helpless, unable to understand where the rage was emanating from.

“The prophecy, like an angered beast, had gone berserk and was destroying his mind with the ferocity of madness . . . until all that he knew, all that was him, all that had become him was left in disarray. To my brother, Ikenna, the fear of death as prophesied by Abulu had become palpable, a caged world within which he was irretrievably trapped, and beyond which nothing else existed.”

 Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen

In his debut novel, Obioma evocatively captures the landscape of brotherhood. It was one bound, initially, by blood and love. Obioma captured the joys of childhood, the innocent fun, and the allegiance between brothers. The four brothers complemented each other, like puzzle pieces that perfectly fit each other. They were a tightly-knit unit. They also moved like one but on an individual level, Ikenna, Boja, Obembe, and Benjamin are equally riveting and complex characters. Each was imbued with his own personality. Ben, who had a soft spot for animals, often compares his brothers to animals which he saw aptly describes their personalities. Ikenna, for instance, was a python. Boja, on the other hand, was a fungus, Obembe, a search dog, and Ben, a moth. As the story moved forward, these comparisons slowly turned into metaphors. By extension, the novel explores the intricacies of family dynamics and the conflicts that come with it.

A prevalent theme underscored in the novel is fatherhood and authority figure. The brothers were left without a father figure after their father was assigned to northern Nigeria. As tradition dictates, the oldest son is bequeathed the responsibility of being a father figure to his younger siblings. Ikenna, at fifteen, had no recourse but to become the head of the household. On the other hand, the absence of their father was a catalyst for the rest of the brothers’ fate. Without a commanding figure, the brothers got involved in mischiefs that eventually led to their fateful encounter with Abulu. The novel then transforms into a work of bildungsroman as the brothers are forced to navigate a complicated world on their own and reckon with the changes taking place around them. They had to cope with the harsh realities of the world without a guiding hand.

The story of the brothers also captured the changing landscape of contemporary Nigeria. Traditions have been dismantled in light of widespread evangelization. Western ideals have also trickled into the Nigerian mindset. There was a changing attitude as evidenced by Mr. Agwu’s insistence on having his children gain a Western education. Despite these cultural shifts, many Nigerians remain fixated on superstitions; they are respected and given weight. Several Nigerians are preoccupied with prophecies and omens. This makes Ikenna’s reaction to his prophecy a rational one. However, even his parents observe Igbo tradition. Their mother, for instance, snaps her fingers circling her hands overhead. It is believed to ward off evil spirits from affecting one’s mind. The Igbo also believed that a person who committed suicide or fratricide should not be buried lest they infect the earth and propagate evil in its place.

The coming-of-age story was juxtaposed with Nigeria’s tumultuous political landscape and contemporary history. The novel doubles as a political commentary with the broader events taking place in Nigeria in the 1990s forming a backdrop for the story. Obioma also captured how these events affected the brothers. Politics encroached on their world when they met Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, a popular millionaire politician. He ran during the 1993 presidential election and is believed to have won the election. However, he was robbed of victory when the results were annulled and General Sani Abacha seized power. Abiola eventually perished while in military detention. Campaigning with the slogan Hope ’93, Abiola found himself in Akure where he handed the brothers a calendar. The brothers cherished it as it symbolized hope.

“Hatred is a leech: The thing that sticks to a person’s skin; that feeds off them and drains the sap out of one’s spirit. It changes a person, and does not leave until it has sucked the last drop of peace from them.”

 Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen

But like how the prophecy unraveled the Agwus, the invalidation of Abiola’s victory symbolized the destruction of hope. In several other instances, the Agwu family is a microcosm of modern Nigeria. They are Igbos who primarily inhabit the eastern section of the country. However, they were living in Akure, a city in the western section of the country. It is a region that is predominantly occupied by Yorubas. This underlines the cultural diversity of Nigeria: “… Mother said all else in English instead of Igbo, the language with which our parents communicated with us; while between us, we spoke Yoruba, the language in Akure.” English is the official language of Nigeria. Meanwhile, the absence of their father subtly reflects Nigeria’s current political atmosphere. While social and political structures collapse due to greed and corruption, the leader’s presence is not felt. The rest of the population suffers from poverty.

The novel’s wonderful elements were woven together into a lush tapestry by Obioma’s wonderful writing. His debut novel already showed the promises of his writing; his succeeding works fulfilled these promises. The novel derives power from his vivid images and descriptions. His descriptions were crisp and brimmed with intrigue. For instance, he described Abulu as reeking “of sweat accumulated inside the dense growth of hair around his pubic regions and armpits. He smelt of rotten food, and unhealed wounds and pus, and of bodily fluids and wastes. He was redolent of rusting metals, putrefying matter, old clothes, ditched underwear he sometimes wore…” Adding a layer to the story was the shifting voice of Ben. To generate mystery, Obioma shifts to the voice of a child. To establish authority or to clarify, the voice shifts to an adult. Either way, Obioma was in command.

Shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize, The Fishermen is, without a doubt, a searing debut from an evidently talented writer. Coming from a big family, Obioma managed to paint a vivid portrait of the intricacies and the potential conflicts that pervade family structures. This was masterfully executed while integrating elements of culture and tradition. In the process, Obioma crafted a coming-of-age story and, at the same time, captured the changes that took place and are taking place in the Nigerian landscape. There was a shift to Western ideals but still superstitions and prophecies are given weight. In a way, the story of the four brothers is akin to the story of the biblical Cain and Abel. But it is more than that because The Fishermen is also a novel about modern Nigeria, its people, its culture, its history, and even its politics. With his crisp writing and evocative images, Obioma clearly established himself as a promising literary star.

“English, although the official language of Nigeria, was a formal language with which strangers and non-relatives addressed you. It had the potency of digging craters between you and your friends or relatives if one of you switched to using it. So, our parents hardly spoke English, except in moments like this, when the words were intended to pull the ground from beneath our feet.”

 Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen
Book Specs

Author: Chigozie Obioma
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Publishing Date: 2015
No. of Pages: 295
Genre: Literary, Bildungsroman

Synopsis

In a Nigerian town in the mid-1990s, four brothers encounter a madman whose mystic prophecy of violence threatens the core of their close-knit family.

Told from the point of view of nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of the four brothers, The Fishermen is the Cain and Abel-esque story of an unforgettable childhood in 1990s Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their strict father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his extended absence to skip school and go fishing. At the ominous, forbidden nearby river, they meet a dangerous local madman who persuades the oldest of the boys that he is destined to be killed by one of his siblings.

What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact – both tragic and redemptive – will transcend the lives and imaginations of the book’s characters and its readers. Dazzling and viscerally powerful, The Fishermen never leaves Akure, but the story it tells has enormous universal appeal. Seen through the prism of one family’s destiny, this is an essential novel about Africa, with all its contradictions – economic, political, and religious –  and the epic beauty of its culture.

With this bold debut, Chigozie Obioma emerges as one of the most original new voices of modern African literature, echoing its older generation’s masterly storytelling with a contemporary fearlessness and purpose.

About the Author

To learn more about Chigozie Obioma, click here.