Advertisement

BOOK REVIEW: How not to steal a foreign god

Friday October 14 2016
okey

Foreign Gods, Inc's author Okey Ndibe was born in Nigeria and relocated to the US in 1988. PHOTO | NATION

Foreign Gods, Inc is a story about an African who returns to Africa.

Ikechukwu “Ike” Uzondu lives in America, holds a cum laude degree from the prestigious Amherst College, but has been unable get a job in the corporate world because of his heavy Nigerian accent.

The book explores the experiences of modern-day Africans in the diaspora, working to uplift their lot and that of their families back home. We see the frustrations and dashed hopes of hard-working immigrants living in the West and their changing social identities. It also reviews the exploitation of indigenous resources with little concern for the damage caused to the community and environment.

Ike’s return to Nigeria brings out the clash of cultures between Christianity and traditional beliefs, of people wanting modernity while reminiscing about the days before the white man. On both ends of the Atlantic, there is misery and dishonest gain of different kinds, and the lust for things exotic be it articles or lifestyles.

For 13 years, Ike earns a living driving a taxi in New York city, trying to recoup the money he lost when his materialistic and quarrelsome American wife left him. He long ago stopped sending money to his widowed mother in Nigeria, and is struggling to keep on top of a gambling problem.

Ike’s disillusionment and bad habits have clouded his sensibility, making him a victim of his own choices.

Advertisement

One day, Ike is convinced by a friend that the solution to his money troubles is to steal an ancient artefact from Nigeria and sell it in America for a fortune. Ike knows exactly where to find such a relic; his intended buyer operates a gallery in New York called Foreign Gods, Inc.

And so commences a journey of lies, theft and misadventure. After a decade’s absence, Ike’s first encounter with his homeland is the stereotypically corrupt Customs officials who almost derail his plans.

It is in scenes with villagers that one gets a real sense of the interactions among rural folk, full of customs and mannerisms, including the incessant cracking and chewing of kola nuts. And thrown into all this are Ike’s vivid dreams and a bit of magical realism.

Okey Ndibe, 56, was born in Nigeria and worked as a journalist before relocating to the United States in 1988. Thus he is able convey both the African and American life experiences.

At some point the plot expands in too many directions, such as Ike’s visits to the neighbourhood store in New York or to the home of a former classmate turned crooked businessman in Nigeria. The long-winded style of village dialogue can be exhausting and at times it slows down the story.

Nevertheless, the book is entertaining, full of satire and tragedy. Ndibe keeps you hooked, eager to know how Ike survives in both worlds.

Foreign Gods, Inc is the second novel by Ndibe and was voted among the top 10 books in 2014 by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka is quoted as saying of the book, “It is quite a while since I sensed creative promise on this level.”

Advertisement