BN Book Review: Dead on Arrival by Paul Oluikpe | Review by John Clarke

As a Briton, who grew up in Nigeria, I am delighted when I see works which depict Nigeria with vivid imagination and accuracy.

Paul Oluikpe’s novel, Dead on Arrival (2013), published by Warwick Publishing classically exemplifies and richly amplifies the twists, turns and paradoxes underlying Nigeria during the civil war. In many ways, it is different from all other novels that mirror this much written about but grossly misunderstood war.

Using the Nigerian-Biafra civil war, he does not dwell on ideology and histrionics, but carries the reader on eagle’s wings to the grassroots of the war, where policies, propaganda and diplomacy translate directly into the everyday lives of the citizens whose country is at war.

Dead on Arrival is a story about four characters in one family: Ochomma, a village legend, Chibuike his son, Iroegbulam and army officer and Sochi, ‘a prodigal son’. These are all entwined in the story of the war, sometimes separately but ultimately together, offering a bigger picture of how the war impacts lives.

At the onset, Iroegbulam is shown, being ferried to prison as a coup-participant, although why he was arrested as a coupist was not elucidated; again, this shows the paradox of Nigeria’s society, where, after a major incident, scapegoats are not in scarce supply, because it is customary to ‘hang something on someone’s neck’ to satisfy the ‘oga’s at the top’.

Ochomma, Iroegbulam’s relative, who is by no means a man of mean stature, towers above his mates in stature and achievements. He had taken for himself, Ekweredi, a Catechist’s daughter as wife, to bolster his credentials in the village; an archetype of the larger society where marriage and titles are status-oriented and directed.

Ochomma saves Onyekereke, a thief, from certain death in the hands of unruly youth in the village. The writer then offers glimpses of Ochomma’s heroic past, to buttress the point about his fame and legend. His fame was achieved on the back of a bitter inter-tribal war between Umuejia and Ohafia, triggered by the killing of a school teacher from Ohafia, who had gone to ask the hand of a girl in marriage in Umuejia. He was kidnapped by a group of cannibals, led by Onyeije, and was never heard of again.

The ensuing war was fought and won on Ochomma’s leadership of the youth and his individual skill in the use of the knife in battle.

Fast-forward to the present, Ochomma, faced with the rising number of refugees returning to the village following disturbances in the northern and western parts of Nigeria, had to offer shelter to quite a number of returnees. This included Icheku, an orphan, before whose very eyes, his master was slaughtered in the north. Sochi, Ochomma’s own brother, had to be baited-back to the East, using the pretense that their mother was dead. When Sochi arrived back, he met a village that had changed much. Ochomma had always regarded Sochi as good-for-nothing and often gave him the cold shoulder, because since after graduation from school, he migrated to Kano and only knew how to play ‘perm three from five’. One night, after a moon-night event, everyone retired to bed and in the morning, Sochi suddenly went missing (he was killed in the night by Ochomma, who accidentally, mistook him for a thief). Ochomma preserved the mystery behind his disappearance, to save their mother pain and more ostentatiously to avoid seven-year banishment from the clan.

Suddenly, negotiations between the East and the rest of Nigeria break down and war begins. Iroegbulam re-enlists in the army to fight. The village was bombed shortly after, and later on Biafran soldiers make an unsuccessful attempt to conscript Chibuike into the army. His mother finally dies of heartbreak over Sochi, and Ochomma sets out in search of his maternal relatives to perform the burial rites. After a fruitless search, he returns and buries her. Then the news of Iroegbulam’s death in war, makes him send off his family to the refugee camp, against his initial inclination. The next morning, he disappears, later to be discovered in Ehihie, the stagnant pond, where he had committed suicide.

This novel is allegorical in many ways. Everything you read happening in the small village, has some parallel with the larger society. The self-righteousness of some of the worshippers in the village church often railed against by the catechist, the stabbing in the market over a woman, the quarrels over plots of land, and the moral decadence of the youth are archetypal to the society of today. The rich barrister’s barricade of himself and isolation from community is typical of the individualism pervading our current Nigeria.

The novel is not perfect. It left some questions unanswered. For example, how did Iroegbulam get implicated in a coup he did not participate in? The writer should have explored this, but again, Nigeria, my second country, appears to be a society of ‘no explanations’. The arrest and parading of innocent persons, by the police after crimes, is rife and so, it is not strange what the author was writing about. Secondly, the narrative did not explore or capture how Iroegbulam died in battle. I think this should have been done, rather than showing when the message of his death came to his kinsmen. Again, this borders on literary and narrative choice.

This novelist has a rich literary and narrative style that stands out. He quickly pulls you into the story with an air of suspense that is sustained throughout the story. You get the impression that something is about to happen and want to know more. That is the essence of a good story.

Paul Oluikpe is a writer we will hear more about, now and in the future. ‘Dead on Arrival’ can be purchased {Here} on Amazon.com

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John Clarke is a literary reviewer from Chester, England. He is the Chief Executive of Clarke Literary Agency which represents authors worldwide to publish their work. John has 25 years experience in publishing and has worked for major publishing houses including Avon, Penguin, and Oxford Publishing. He writes reviews for major literary works and is a frequent radio and TV contributor. He can be reached on [email protected].