SHACKLES OF FREEDOM

Description

Onyeka Ike’s Shackles of Freedom details the country’s post-colonial hostage days in the hands of the military who took over the leadership of Nigeria in quick succession immediately after the abortion of the first institutionalized independent government. There is a side story that is dominant, that of Major Shigaro, a soldier who tries to save the country by staging a coup. He is integral to the book and in the end, his biography becomes the major component. In a way the author tries to show how some heroes are born and why they are the way they are.

Throughout the novel, Ike realistically paints an unforgettable picture of an unflinchingly wicked dark-goggled General whose description and rapacity are reminiscent of General Sani Abacha to hover the entire novel. The dark-goggled General who holds the country in hostage as he perpetrates his every day churlishness becomes Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’ or perhaps Adichie’s ‘Big Man’ or ‘Big Oga.’ Through the leadership of the dark-goggled General, readers are realistically brought to witness and feel the selfish, evil and tyrannical leadership of the military. In the case of the novel, there’s a thin line between the fictional narrative and the actual events in Nigeria. Real events are narrated and the names of real life characters like M. K. O Abiola, Gani Fawehmi, Beko Ransome-Kuti, are mentioned. In this way, the novel might be seen more as faction—a mixture of facts and fiction.

PRODUCT DETAILS

ISBN 9789785562659