Falling in Love in War Time

                                            Falling in Love in War Time

                             A Review of Wale Okediran’s MADAGALI

                                                        By

                                                 Idowu Layo*

Publisher; Evans Brothers, Nigeria PLC

Pagination; 244 pages

Date of Publication; March 2020

MADAGALI is typical of many of Okediran’s fictional works, with its copious research, cliff hanger suspense, realistic settings and topicality.  What is different here is the author’s liberal use of female characters who sometimes seem strong enough to take over the story from the main protagonist, Lance Corporal Buka Salisu. From his Liberian mother Sonia Salisu, (nee Johnson) to his sisters Fatima (Emine), Zainab (Shelia) and Rabia (Ella) on to his girlfriends, Jewel and Safiya, Bukar (Jabbie) the professional soldier seemed to be more affected by the actions and inactions of the women in his life rather than the instructions of his commanders as the Nigerian forces engaged the Boko Haram insurgents in a seemingly unending war.

Actually, what the author has done is not new because literary fiction is replete with the different roles women play in a time of war. When they are not actually doing the fighting themselves as soldiers, they could be in the background as pensive mothers and wives, workaholic spies, nurses, doctors, factory, sex and welfare workers or adoring daughters and girlfriends. All these roles have hitherto been captured by writers in various fictional accounts of the Second World War, the Vietnam War and the Nigerian Civil War among other wars. However, this would be the first time that the role of women in a fictional account of the Boko Haram war would be explored.

Apart from a fictional account of military operations, MADAGALI was also able to examine the various ways women responded to war, in this case as supporters to a son, brother and lover. We also saw how some natives of the war- torn area were eager to give out their young girls into marriage either to Boko Haram fighters or Nigerian soldiers in return for protection. Sadly, some of the women willingly or by force became sex workers especially, some refugees in the IDP camps.

The story begins with the young Salisu, a vibrant and committed Nigerian soldier being shot by the Boko Haram insurgents at the Madagali front ‘one foggy evening’. The injury which was initially thought to be inconsequential was later discovered to have damaged a major nerve and made the young man impotent. To add to his woes, Salisu was lured by his Company Commander, Lt Col Bala Humus to serve as a courier in Humus nefarious business of supplying ammunitions to the Boko Haram insurgents.  When he was caught, Salisu went through a grueling court martial which found him guilty of the charge of ‘’supplying dangerous weapons to the enemy’’. Fortunately, he narrowly escaped facing the firing squad through the support of his close friends, his mother and three loving sisters.

Apart from a Liberian girl, Jewel whom the mother and sister arranged for him to meet in Liberia during his leave, Bukar also fell in love with Safiya, the seductive daughter of a repentant Boko Haram fighter. These relationships formally confirmed what he had all along known, that he was impotent.

Thus, while he continued coping with the ordeal of fighting a war with all its inadequacies and dangers, Bukar was in addition under pressure from his mother, sisters, Jewel and Safiya to find a solution to his sexual inadequacy.  A surgical operation was quickly arranged for him in Liberia. It was while he was waiting for the surgery to take effect that Safiya offered him what she explained was a faster and cheaper solution; a very potent herbal remedy in return for a favor.

 It was not clear if what worked for Bukar was Safiya’s herbal remedy or the Liberian surgical operation. What was clear was that for the first time after his war injury, Bukar regained his libido. Unfortunately, Safiya’s request led to the loss of several Nigerian soldiers in an ambush by the Boko Haram insurgents. The novel ends in medias res, without further triumph or tragedy, only with further possibilities, as Bukar Salisu locks himself in his room leaving the reader to ponder and wonder.

·        Idowu Layo is the pen name of a teacher and Literary enthusiast

Some Things Aren’t Fair In Love And War

              SOME THINGS AREN’T FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR

                             A Review of Wale Okediran’s Madagali

                                                        By

                                            Tega Oghenechovwen

About a century and half ago, John Lyly wrote, “All is Fair in Love and War.” A keen reader would refute that statement upon engaging with the first page of Madagali.

Set in the North East of contemporary Nigeria, Madagali pays a fundamental attention to the pathetic nature of Nigeria’s prolonged fight against Boko Haram, and it follows a complex dilemma of love. This makes the story of the protagonist, Lance Corporal Bukar Salisu, one that should not be missed.

Away from the buzzing of shellfire, the whizzing of bullets, the spattering of blood and mud, and the tearing down of bodies, the 24-year-old Bukar Salisu, a Nigerian-Liberian is caught between two young damsels. The first is Safiya, the crafty daughter of a ‘repentant’ Boko Haram leader. She works with one of the Non Governmental Organizations offering palliatives to Internally Displaced Persons. The second is the curly haired Liberian Nurse-in-Training, Jewel, whom Bukar meets in Monrovia while there to spend his sick leave with his maternal family. Both will come to find out that Bukar is a rafto ─an impotent man, due to an injury he sustained from a .45 Caliber (4).

Before this crossroad, a top ranking military officer, Lt. Col. Bala Humus, frames up Bukar. In a hasty tribunal, the young Lance Corporal is sentenced to death for wanting to supply lethal military hardware to the Boko Haram insurgents ─the initial plan of Lt. Col. Bala. Bukar’s predicament juxtaposed with the in-house killing of Colonel Yusuf, a battle savvy officer who was successfully leading a Tank campaign against the insurgents (50), suggests some horrible things about the architecture of the insurgency.

Since the onset of the Boko Haram insurgency, more than thirty thousand civilian lives have been lost. Many more have been bludgeoned into disillusionment and hopelessness because the likes of Lt. Col. Bala Humus continue to adulterate the Nigerian military. Numerous scandals involving the military have put a great strain on the Nation’s potential to conquer the insurgency. Thus, the fight has become a lucrative investment.

In this light, the book lays bare a fetid military system where bosses sit on the meagre allowances and morals of soldiers; where soldiers who should ordinarily protect IDPs harass and intimidate them; where there are suspicious withdrawals of military presence just before terrorist attacks (51), and so on. There are macabre depictions of gallant soldiers fighting with mostly worn-out weapons and rationed ammunitions, dropping like flies in the heat of enemy firepower. A private is forced to write in protest to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces: “Your Excellency, we are treated like animals. Most of us are afraid to talk because of the consequences of voicing out our grievances (93).” The author does not spare shifty humanitarian organizations at the periphery of things. He dices into the narrative their bad behaviours.

The vivid imagery of the book is reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway’s World War I novel, Farewell to Arms, especially in its fecund recreation of the immense cataclysm the fight between the Federal troops and the insurgents has manifested. Hence, the author captures the most precise conditions of people rarely heard about: those smacked directly by the insurgency. We visit their camp at Kaya. It is crammed with, “lost children crying for their parents… wailing and disheveled women, wounded men covered with dried blood and filthy dressings (72)”. We feel their pain, hunger, and hopelessness.

 One remarkable edge of the book is its poignant and accessible language, often flavoured with a reliable tone of knowledge. Another is its exploration of the friendship, stoicism, and solidarity between soldiers braving rugged times.

 Now, back to love or something like that. While the devoted Jewel is keeping her fingers crossed in Liberia, the seductive Safiya links Bukar with an almost immediate trado-medical cure for his impotency. And just when his penis is resurrected, Safiya puts in a grave demand: Bukar, a disciplined soldier, must leak classified information for a ‘purely humanitarian operation’ that will see to the welfare of starving Boko Haram insurgents or else it’s goodbye to his erection (240).

One of the most daring works in the history of contemporary African writing, Madagali is poised to throw punches wherever truth on the fight against Boko Haram is marginalized.

─ Tega Oghenechovwen has an MA in Literary Studies from the University of Jos, Nigeria. He is interested in psycho-trauma, human liberty and the battle between innocence and experience. He has published work with the Rumpus Magazine, LitroMagazine, Black Sun Lit, Aké Review, AFREADA and elsewhere. He tweets @tega_chovwen

Nothing surpasses joy of writing —Okediran

Nothing surpasses joy of writing —Okediran

By Akintayo Abodunrin On Apr 12, 2020

Writer, physician, politician and debut film producer, Dr Wale Okediran will clock 65 on April 14. He has a new novel, ‘Madagali’ to mark the occasion and speaks about it as well as his other literary engagements in this interview. Excerpts: 

YOU’LL be 65 in a couple of days and a fortnight ago released your latest novel, ‘Madagali’. Is it to mark the special occasion?

Yes, I wanted to use something to mark my 65th birthday. That was why I decided to release the novel, my 15th. It was released two weeks ago, but the presentation has been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

It is dedicated to the officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces for their gallantry in the ongoing war against Boko Haram insurgency. It is a fictional account of the rebellion.

How long did it take, from conception to completion?

The research; interviews and visits to the Army Training Centres as well as the Northeast, the theatre of the insurgency, took 18 months. Another six months were used for the literature review, the writing and rewriting of the manuscript. The book took two years to complete.

Though it is fiction, ‘Madagali’ benefited a lot from many people who were generous with their time and assistance while researching and writing. They include my staff, fellow writers, friends, family members, as well as former and serving members of the security forces.

I travelled to many towns in the Northeast, including Maiduguri, Damaturu, Mubi, Madagali, Gulak, and Hong, among others while researching the book. I also interviewed residents in these areas who narrated their experiences in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents.

I also spoke with serving and retired members of the Nigerian Armed Forces as well as aid workers with international relief organisations. I visited some Internally Displaced Peoples camps where I spoke to some refugees on their plight.

A previous visit to Liberia, many years ago where I interacted with Nigerian soldiers who were members of the peacekeeping force; ECOMOG as well a general view of Monrovia also came in handy.

For a year (2008), I was resident in Liberia, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Senegal where I worked on a legislative USAID project. I travelled widely and interacted with the citizens of these countries. Many of my experience during this period came in handy while working on ‘Madagali’.

I also had to read a lot of books about war injuries and the possible consequences, guerrilla warfare, military operations, how to set up ambushes and how to neutralise them, ammunition and mines. Insurgency and counter-insurgency as well as books on previous guerrilla wars in Sri Lanka and Vietnam among other places.

 I might be wrong, but you seem to have become more interested in Northern Nigeria and its cultural dynamics. We see this in ‘Tenants of the House’, and you appear to have touched on it also in ‘Madagali’?

This is very true. My interest in Northern Nigeria began way back in 1997-2001 when I became the General Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). I was opportune to travel to many states, especially the North, where I assisted in setting up new branches in that position.

My interest got a further boost when I moved to Abuja in 2004 as a member of the House of Representatives. During this period, I travelled widely across the country, especially to the North. I also made many friends which necessitated visits through which I got to know more about the cultures and peoples of the region.

My knowledge and fraternity with the North continued when I became the National President of ANA from 2005 to 2008. Apart from winning my election at the national convention which took place in Kano, I got the overwhelming vote from northern writers. My tenure was devoted to the promotion of literature in indigenous languages, and Northern Nigeria benefited a lot. I also used the opportunity to discover new writers across the country, including the North, which I visited extensively.

The more I understood the North, the more I appreciated the region’s unique culture, language, people and literature. That was why it was easy for me to use the area as an appropriate setting for my writings and literary interventions.

After my tenure ended at the national assembly, I remained in Abuja where I took literary, medical and legislative consultancies, mostly in the North for six years. I worked with the National Primary Health Development Agency as a consultant in Nasarawa, FCT and Niger with forays into other northern states. I also consulted for the World Bank, Save The Children, UNICEF, Nigerian Governors Forum and UNAIDS. The extended-stay further deepened my understanding and love for northern Nigeria.

I was more or less a full-time resident of northern Nigeria for close to 15 years. The lengthy stay allowed me to fully understand the culture and the people and by extension, a suitable setting for my writings.

You were mainly a fiction writer until some years ago when you moved into non-fiction, biographies particularly. What sparked your interest, and how has it been as a biographer?

I decided to diversify into non- fiction especially, travel writing and biographies because I believe in the importance of these genres in Nigerian literature.

Writing the biography of famous Nigerians can be nerve-wracking. It can also be fun. Five years and five books down the road, I can write another book on my experience as a commissioned chronicler of the lives of the famous and the rich. A good friend of mine noted for his cynicism suggested a title, ‘Villains and Victors: In the footsteps of fame and fraud.’

As a politician myself, I am very sympathetic to my colleagues. I know where the shoe pinches. As a biographer, I have had to put up with a lot of hassles. From the last-minute cancelled appointment in Katsina to a scary flight to Yola, an interview conducted in the middle of a campaign rally in Enugu as well as an angry wife in Port Harcourt who protested my interviewing one of her husband’s numerous girlfriends! This is apart from the fact that the job takes you away from family and friends and turns you into an antisocial animal who is always cocooned in his writing world.

I have also had some good moments. Apart from interviewing and dining with the high and mighty, my assignments have taken me to Ghana, UK, and the US aside several Nigerian cities where I made invaluable friends. However, nothing in the business surpasses the exhilaration of the writing itself. Hunched over my laptop in the twilight or wee hours, I enjoy the thrill of piecing together the fragments of other people’s stories, drilling into their beings like a surgeon working in the innards of a patient. I am also a historian of some sort for every biography is unique and the art of researching and writing it, a historical journey.

As much as I respect my subjects’ right to set boundaries for their stories, I am no spin doctor and will not embellish facts. I believe in ‘evidence-based’ biographies where friends and foes alike will be interviewed so that a balanced view of the subject will be presented for posterity and history to judge.

In March 2019, Lantern Books published my first volume of travel stories; ‘Tales of a Troubadour’ while the second volume is ready for publication. As for travel writing, I enjoy travelling a lot, and I am also aware that travel writing has helped to shape people’s perception of the world beyond their borders and of history itself. Writing travelogue is a beautiful and immersive experience. I have been writing travel stories for over 40 years, and each time I go back to read one of them, it’s like reliving those moments. But I am not doing anything new, I’m only following the masters.

Do you have a preference between the two? That is, fiction and non-fiction?

Writing biographies and travel stories are more challenging than writing fiction. While you have the freedom to write anything in fiction, you can’t do that for non -fiction. You need to gauge the feelings of your subjects as well as areas of potential litigations before putting pen to paper in non-fiction. Having said this, I enjoy writing biographies. Apart from the good money that accrues, I have through it learnt a lot about human characteristics, struggles, achievements and failures, through which I have become a better person. Indeed, I will love to pay more attention to it in future.

You trained as a medical doctor, but you have been writing for as long as you have been a physician. Are you thinking of dropping one now that you’re getting older?

I find my three interests; literature, medicine and politics very symbiotic. Each has been feeding each other for such a long time that I find it difficult to separate them. Many of the inspirations for my novels such as ‘The Boys at the Border’, ‘Strange Encounters’, ‘Sighs of Desire’, ‘Storms of Passion’ among others came from my hospital experiences.

At the same time, politics played a significant role in ‘Rainbows are for Lovers’, ‘After the Flood’, ‘Dreams die at Twilight’ and ‘Tenants of the House’ among others. Medicine features prominently in ‘Madagali’.

Unlike the famous Russian doctor/writer, Anton Chekov, who claimed that ‘Medicine is my legal wife and Literature my mistress, I run to either of the two when I am tired of one’, I see myself as being ‘legally married’ to literature, medicine and politics. I can, therefore, not abandon one for the other. While age and limitations of abilities may reduce my activities in the tripod, total severance of one for the other may not be possible.

Do you now have support for the Ebedi Writers Residency, what gives you joy about the initiative?

I am quite fulfilled that the philosophy behind the creation of the Ebedi International Writers Residency, which was to give writers an opportunity to complete their ongoing works in a conducive environment has been fulfilled. Since September 2010, when it was established, the Ebedi Residency has hosted about 140 writers and artists from ten African countries, providing them with the needed comfort and space to express their creativity.

Besides, during this period, the writers, as part of their community activities, have mentored several students from secondary schools in Iseyin in the area of creative arts.

For three years the Residency has published ‘Ebedi Review’– showcasing the experiences of writers and artists who have stayed there at one time or the other, their short stories, poems and essays. It has also published works from writers across the African continent.

We have been able to attract some of the financial support for the Residency once in a while, but these have been few and far between. I had thought that by now, ten years since the establishment of the Residency, we would have been enjoying some form of a generous grant. Unfortunately, this has not happened, and the bulk of the financing has been on me. Every time we send out an application for support, we would be commended for what we are doing with the regret that the available funds are not meant for our kind of project. My observation is that many corporate organisations, including philanthropists, are not interested in literature and the arts. Many of them would instead prefer to sponsor events in the entertainment industry, especially the beauty pageants and sports competitions.

All the same, we would not relent in our efforts at fundraising with the hope that sooner or later, something good would come our way. In recognition of my literary contributions to Iseyin, especially the establishment of the Residency, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdulganiyu Adekunle Salaudeen, OlogunebiAjinose 1 honoured me with the traditional title of Onigege Ara (the man with the wonderful pen) in November 2019

What has been the response to ‘Tenants of the House’ as a movie and do you plan any other movie adaptation of your works

From the positive reactions after the premiere as well as other private screenings, it is apparent that we have been able to produce an artistically successful movie. My prayer now is to have a commercially successful film, so I can pay back my ‘gbese’ [debts] and start sleeping normally again.

I am hopeful that some of my other novels, especially those that have addressed societal problems such as ‘Strange Encounters’, ‘The Weaving Looms’ as well as ‘The Boys at the Border’ will soon be adapted into movies.

 When will the public be able to see ‘Tenants…’ in cinemas?

We are still in the process of sorting out some of the logistics necessary for the public viewing of the Film. Hopefully, this would soon be sorted out before the end of the year.

Considering your mixed fortunes in politics, has it been worth it?

History is replete with medical doctors who have also been politicians but despite what you referred to as my ‘mixed fortunes’, I am fulfilled that I dabbled into politics. Apart from the opportunity given me to serve my people at the local level as well as the country at the national level, the experience garnered as well as the legion of friends made during my tenure has enriched my personal life, my writings as well as my entire outlook of life.

What’s the best, most precious birthday gift you would love for your 65th?

Good health and peace of mind among a beautiful company of family and friends. I thank God that He has already given me this precious birthday gift. He added an icing, the joy of a new book, ‘Madagali’. I couldn’t have asked for more.

https://tribuneonlineng.com/nothing-surpasses-joy-of-writing-okediran/