This is a fantastic tale of black people, and Nigerians in
particular. It is a detailed account of poverty with a poetic rendition.
It is African folklore with an English dressing. It is the tale of
Azaro, an
ogbanje boy who has decided to remain in the real world
rather than returning to the spirit world, the numerous delegations
sent by his spirit friends to get him to return, and his fights to stay.
It
is about Azaro’s poor parents, a once-beautiful mother who has to hawk
little provisions come rain or sun to make a living, and a father that
has to work as a laborer carrying weights that could make a man’s neck
bend: their suffering, quarels with landlords, celebrations and sadness.
It is a story about political struggles and life in the ghetto of a
Nigerian city that was probably Lagos, in the fifties before the onset
of independence. It is a long tale with many messages and a great
promise at the end.
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