TITLE STRANGE ENCOUNTERS
AUTHOR WALE OKEDIRAN
PUBLISHER HEINEMAN
YEAR 2004
NO OF PAGES 312
REVIEWER ADEDAYO PHILLIPS AROGBOKUN
An insight into the moral decadence of the people of the northern part of Nigeria might have been evocatively presented in Okediran’s strange encounters. The book flays the criminal attitude of Nigerian police while at the same time showed the grouse and ignorant status quo of the people of the northern part of Nigeria. According to the book poverty and sleazy lifestyle coupled with grim ignorance keenly contributed to their perverse livelihood. Almost out of place is the major issue of homosexuality which out rightly laughs in the face of religion at the detriment of Christianity spiting Catholicism.
Barely touching on the political and government involvement in all these decadence, Okediran wittingly masks the foundation of these problems and went on to talk about the effect of the neglect and non effectiveness of government policies by criticizing The Nigerian police and their endless corruptible ways. The Nigerian Police had indeed been a major organ of the society which has bedeviled its every essence. It is chagrin to know that the police who are supposed to be charged with the onus of protecting the society against criminals and warring crimes have unfortunately methodically become perfect criminals. A corrupt police officer is more dangerous than the worst known civilian criminal. This is because the former is masked and the law is always on its side, choosing to punish whomever it pleases in order to achieve its aims. Okediran depicts the ugly interaction of the Police of how the innocent is punished and the guilty are set free with the face off between Dr. James Abe and the D.P.O superintendent Kuru
The response of homosexuality is a silent one in the country but with more attention to it, it will become a major motif and will begin to form major discourse at forums. Presently it is a very sensitive issue in the country because most gays are underground and do not find their sexual orientation particularly comfortable when discussed. However, Okediran took the brave initiative to address the issue but as secondary theme with Rev. Father Raleigh the culprit of social misdemeanor who sodomizes the students of St Francis. He was discovered when two students were both admitted for anus tear. This consequently led to protest from the students calling for the removal of the Rev. Father Raleigh but the principal who owes the Rev. Father a favour declined the protest and even punished the protesters. And as an act of punishment, the Rev. Father was brutally murdered with his groin scraped off
The book narrates the ordeal experienced by a young doctor, Dr. James Abe, who out of his boredom for the southern Nigeria was eager to practise his medical skills in the northern part of Nigeria.
He was posted to serve in Faith Medical Clinic which was situated in the heart of a northern town Gom, about two hundred miles from Jos. To his chagrin disbelief he discovered the depth of corruption in the town and tried hard to stall it but was constantly warned by the senior Egyptian doctor Dr. Saheed not to, because the police know of every crime in the town. Hence it will be a risk to make such attempt. An example of such is the relationship between Alhaji Adamu, the quack doctor who has repeatedly maimed and ended the lives of people. The people continue to patronize him because the hospital in the area will not carry out abortions. Those whose cases are referred to Jos by the hospital for medical attention prefer to go to Alhaji Adamu instead of embarking on the two hours journey to Jos and he continues killing them while the lucky ones are being salvaged by the hospital, yet the police conform to him. His exploit reached a climax when Kudi, the daughter of Alhaji Gidado, an influential man in the area died after an ill fated abortion
Perhaps Okediran protests the general lack of faith in foundational beliefs and institution as he presents Rev. Father Raleigh a convent priest as a gay; Sister Martha being vainly infatuated with Dr James who consequently became pregnant in that respect and Sister Castello in disguised love affair with Rev. Father Raleigh. Or he shows the police as an institution that cannot be rated equal with its responsibility. All these are evident enough to show the regrettable act of those who are supposed to be at the height of moral ethics.
The plot is well woven round the characters but it lacks a substantial attention for the setting. The time frame of the plot is not unified as the time difference between a particular scene and a corollary scene are not cohesive. For instance the time between the meeting of Dr. Abe at the mechanic shed and when they both met again in the cell is vague. This is because few scenes had taken place and not more than a week had progressed until the arrest of Dr. Abe. Perhaps the reason why the audience might fail to understand this is the lack of time communication between the author and the audience. For instance such narrative techniques that communicates time such as ‘two days later’, ‘one week after the incidence’ might have illuminated the time frame and movement.
Okediran might also have discovered a fictitious story and a fictitious setting but he did not replicate an unknown society. He gave less attention to the society which he used as the prototype. The story stands aloof from the society. He dwelled too much on the immigrants. For instance, less of muslim names were mentioned in the story, what is more not a single word in Hausa or Arabic was uttered by the limited indigenous characters. Besides, the existence of pigs in a muslim community does not behove its creativity. A direct impression of the indigenes minds were left bare and was not made manifest. For example an indigenous domestic home ought to have been created by Okediran to let the audience into the kind of orientation that pervades the society. Listening to their ideologies from the incidents that happen and Okediran’s own narratives is not convincing enough. At least the book is a novel and not a diminutive version.
Although, of infinitesimal attention, Okediran inconsistency in his narrative mentioned his main character as Dr. James Abe, James and scarcely referred to him as Dr. Abe. This caused a confusion of the subjects in the narratives as it tends to confuse the audience. The author ought to select a name by which he will refer to the characters rather than using any of his names as if he *author* is one of the characters.
Kudos must be given to him to have written so well about medical interaction and researched deeply into portable medical jargons that at required level presented the story with its quality and clarity. Also the sustained suspense indeed is worthy of applause as Okediran managed to maintain the intrigue in spite of the compacted plot. For example he managed to keep the suspense of the word homosexuality until page 230.
In succinct, strange encounters is a unified literary presentation that has opened the canker worms of a society in one fold. Gom served as a micro representation of the nation. It soon addresses the lingering ugliness caused by individualism and emotional aggression. It also like other novels that are morally themed punished all its antagonists except Alhaji Adamu whom he left in order to strike the virtual social balance between right and wrong and also to attain artistic ending.
AUTHOR WALE OKEDIRAN
PUBLISHER HEINEMAN
YEAR 2004
NO OF PAGES 312
REVIEWER ADEDAYO PHILLIPS AROGBOKUN
An insight into the moral decadence of the people of the northern part of Nigeria might have been evocatively presented in Okediran’s strange encounters. The book flays the criminal attitude of Nigerian police while at the same time showed the grouse and ignorant status quo of the people of the northern part of Nigeria. According to the book poverty and sleazy lifestyle coupled with grim ignorance keenly contributed to their perverse livelihood. Almost out of place is the major issue of homosexuality which out rightly laughs in the face of religion at the detriment of Christianity spiting Catholicism.
Barely touching on the political and government involvement in all these decadence, Okediran wittingly masks the foundation of these problems and went on to talk about the effect of the neglect and non effectiveness of government policies by criticizing The Nigerian police and their endless corruptible ways. The Nigerian Police had indeed been a major organ of the society which has bedeviled its every essence. It is chagrin to know that the police who are supposed to be charged with the onus of protecting the society against criminals and warring crimes have unfortunately methodically become perfect criminals. A corrupt police officer is more dangerous than the worst known civilian criminal. This is because the former is masked and the law is always on its side, choosing to punish whomever it pleases in order to achieve its aims. Okediran depicts the ugly interaction of the Police of how the innocent is punished and the guilty are set free with the face off between Dr. James Abe and the D.P.O superintendent Kuru
The response of homosexuality is a silent one in the country but with more attention to it, it will become a major motif and will begin to form major discourse at forums. Presently it is a very sensitive issue in the country because most gays are underground and do not find their sexual orientation particularly comfortable when discussed. However, Okediran took the brave initiative to address the issue but as secondary theme with Rev. Father Raleigh the culprit of social misdemeanor who sodomizes the students of St Francis. He was discovered when two students were both admitted for anus tear. This consequently led to protest from the students calling for the removal of the Rev. Father Raleigh but the principal who owes the Rev. Father a favour declined the protest and even punished the protesters. And as an act of punishment, the Rev. Father was brutally murdered with his groin scraped off
The book narrates the ordeal experienced by a young doctor, Dr. James Abe, who out of his boredom for the southern Nigeria was eager to practise his medical skills in the northern part of Nigeria.
He was posted to serve in Faith Medical Clinic which was situated in the heart of a northern town Gom, about two hundred miles from Jos. To his chagrin disbelief he discovered the depth of corruption in the town and tried hard to stall it but was constantly warned by the senior Egyptian doctor Dr. Saheed not to, because the police know of every crime in the town. Hence it will be a risk to make such attempt. An example of such is the relationship between Alhaji Adamu, the quack doctor who has repeatedly maimed and ended the lives of people. The people continue to patronize him because the hospital in the area will not carry out abortions. Those whose cases are referred to Jos by the hospital for medical attention prefer to go to Alhaji Adamu instead of embarking on the two hours journey to Jos and he continues killing them while the lucky ones are being salvaged by the hospital, yet the police conform to him. His exploit reached a climax when Kudi, the daughter of Alhaji Gidado, an influential man in the area died after an ill fated abortion
Perhaps Okediran protests the general lack of faith in foundational beliefs and institution as he presents Rev. Father Raleigh a convent priest as a gay; Sister Martha being vainly infatuated with Dr James who consequently became pregnant in that respect and Sister Castello in disguised love affair with Rev. Father Raleigh. Or he shows the police as an institution that cannot be rated equal with its responsibility. All these are evident enough to show the regrettable act of those who are supposed to be at the height of moral ethics.
The plot is well woven round the characters but it lacks a substantial attention for the setting. The time frame of the plot is not unified as the time difference between a particular scene and a corollary scene are not cohesive. For instance the time between the meeting of Dr. Abe at the mechanic shed and when they both met again in the cell is vague. This is because few scenes had taken place and not more than a week had progressed until the arrest of Dr. Abe. Perhaps the reason why the audience might fail to understand this is the lack of time communication between the author and the audience. For instance such narrative techniques that communicates time such as ‘two days later’, ‘one week after the incidence’ might have illuminated the time frame and movement.
Okediran might also have discovered a fictitious story and a fictitious setting but he did not replicate an unknown society. He gave less attention to the society which he used as the prototype. The story stands aloof from the society. He dwelled too much on the immigrants. For instance, less of muslim names were mentioned in the story, what is more not a single word in Hausa or Arabic was uttered by the limited indigenous characters. Besides, the existence of pigs in a muslim community does not behove its creativity. A direct impression of the indigenes minds were left bare and was not made manifest. For example an indigenous domestic home ought to have been created by Okediran to let the audience into the kind of orientation that pervades the society. Listening to their ideologies from the incidents that happen and Okediran’s own narratives is not convincing enough. At least the book is a novel and not a diminutive version.
Although, of infinitesimal attention, Okediran inconsistency in his narrative mentioned his main character as Dr. James Abe, James and scarcely referred to him as Dr. Abe. This caused a confusion of the subjects in the narratives as it tends to confuse the audience. The author ought to select a name by which he will refer to the characters rather than using any of his names as if he *author* is one of the characters.
Kudos must be given to him to have written so well about medical interaction and researched deeply into portable medical jargons that at required level presented the story with its quality and clarity. Also the sustained suspense indeed is worthy of applause as Okediran managed to maintain the intrigue in spite of the compacted plot. For example he managed to keep the suspense of the word homosexuality until page 230.
In succinct, strange encounters is a unified literary presentation that has opened the canker worms of a society in one fold. Gom served as a micro representation of the nation. It soon addresses the lingering ugliness caused by individualism and emotional aggression. It also like other novels that are morally themed punished all its antagonists except Alhaji Adamu whom he left in order to strike the virtual social balance between right and wrong and also to attain artistic ending.
