Unexpected Joy at Dawn By Alex Agyei - Agyiri

 

 

  UNEXPECTED JOY AT DAWN




-ALEX AGYEI – AGYIRI

 

Alex Agyei-Agyiri is a Ghanaian novelist, poet, and guest writer for the Writer’s Project of Ghana-born at Adamoribe in the Akwapin South District of the Eastern Region of Ghana.  He is a product of the University of Ghana, Legion, and a legal practitioner.

 

 His works include the award-winning poems. “Passover”. “Ancestral faces” and “This death call” and adjudged to be among the best-selected poems for the BBC Arts and African poetry award for 1982 and 1984. His two collections of poetry won the Ghana Association of writer’s literary prize for literature in 1982 and the Valco Award for literature in 1982. Unexpected Joy at Dawn is his first novel and it won a Valco literacy award for literature for the best manuscripts in Ghana in 1988 under the title “Alien”.  This novel was “commended” at 2005 Commonwealth writers’ prize, African Region.

 

SETTING BACKGROUND OF THE NOVEL

 

The setting of the novel is both traceable to Ghana and Nigeria.  The novel captures the turbulent political and economic situation of the late 1960s through the late 1970s and the early 1980’s.  The novel which has a scrappy history is retold and also emplores the rottenness of our social and political heritage.

 

  The historical footage of this novel can be likened to the Biblical “eye for an eye” between the two countries, Ghana and its brother, Nigeria.  The expulsion of Ghanaians from Nigeria in the 1980s under the then government of Shehu Shagari could be considered as a punch or revenge in the face of the Ghanaian government, in retaliation for expelling Nigerian immigrate in 1969 under the leadership of Kofi Abrefa Basia, the then Prime Minister of Ghana who demanded and forced Nigeria migrants out of Ghana for reasons including economic concerns and xenophobia.


 

According to Mama, the immigration officer reminded her of the past.  He remembered how the government of Ghana passed a law known as the Alien’s Compliance Order of 1969 asking all aliens without resident permits to regularize their stay in the country or vacate with immediate effect.  This was because the opposition party accused the non-Ghanaian residents of running the country and made a mess of the Ghanaian economy, They attributed their inability to fix their country to aliens as scapegoats. Mama’s mother and father died in the truck on their way to Nigeria.  Other persons also lost their lives or relatives.

 

 However, the Nigeria government did not retaliate this unfair treatment immediately.  Nigeria and Ghana were good allies and have been maintaining their friendship before independence till now.  But this friendship was threatened during the regime of the then Ghanaian Head of State Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings and the Nigerian Presidents. Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1980s.  As they were not in a good terms, Rawlings accused Shagari who was a good friend of Ghana's former President, Hilla Limann of helping Hilla to overthrow his government.  This beef continued between the two governments.  Those aliens in Nigeria threatened the peace of Nigeria as they continue to perpetrate heinous crimes in the country.  Out of the robbers that attacked Alex Ekwueme’s house, two were Ghanaians. The government took drastic action and ordered the immediate expulsion of illegal immigrants especially Ghanaians out of Nigeria.  This marching order gave rise to the christening of a bag called Ghana-must-go ‘because these bags were the only affordable bags they could easily use to convey their property.


 

          In addition, the physical setting and psychological situation in Ghana before this reprisal deportations should also be considered here.  The power that-be was said to have crippled the economy as the technocrats and skilled personnel have also left the country.  The country is exposed to economic gloom, even Nii, who is an Assistant Manager in a bank, has to do part-time teaching jobs to survive.  It is a period of panic economic measures like the withdrawals from circulations of fifty cedi notes, the highest national currency highest denomination, which has left a lot of people penniless.  A woman who has lost forty thousand cedi dies of a heart attack.  It is a period of scarcity, and lack of petrol has turned people into human caravans, some persons have resorted to cunning practices especially Tally O. Naidoo, a friend of Joe who is civil servants and businessmen.  It is also a period of anarchy and military brutality.  An armed soldier chases a ten-year-old girl for selling above control price.”  Therefore, the Ghanaian society in this era is in a total mess as it pushes its citizens and non-citizens to live crime oriented life of irresponsibility.

 

Another part of the setting includes Ijase, Nigeria where the last part of the incident takes place.  The story ends when fate makes Nii and Mama  Orojo reunite.  Like Anyi Kwei Armah’s The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born, the setting of the novel is full of the symptoms of the social and  political malaise and national disintegration.  No wonder the novelist describes the events in the novel as “story of a nation in labor” (39) whose the delivery date is unknown.

 

PLOT ACCOUNT

  Alex Agyei – Agyiri’s Unexpected Joy at Dawn tells the pathetic story of the two Nigerians who are blood relations, separated by two deportations.  It captures vividly their endless search or quest for a reunion. The story is about two siblings Nii Tackie and Mama Orojo daring the 1983   deportation of Ghanaians from Nigeria under the Shebu Shagari government.   Nii who is based in Ghana is a Nigerian by blood but a Ghanaian by birth.   He was left in Ghana by his parents as they made the tortuous journey to  Nigeria when the Ghana government enacted the Aliens Compliance Order without the required papers as aliens. 


Mama Orojo is among those Nigerians affected.   Nii abandons his dead wife, Massa at the hospital and runs to Nigeria as a   result of economic hardship in search of his family in order to start life a new,   armed with the conviction that with a Yoruba mark on his face and a  Nigerian  name, he would easily trace his root to his family.  His arrival in Nigeria clashes  with a deportation order by Nigerian government asking of aliens numbered  about three million, to leave within ten days.

  Nii soon discovers that he needs more than a tribal mark and a family name to claim citizenship. At least, he needs to speak or understand one Nigerian language, so that he can be reintegrated into his society.  Mama Orojo on the other hand is busy working in the same direction.  She travels to Ghana in search of Niii and suffers the same ugly fate as Nii.  She must go through the trauma of a fruitless search until fate finally leads her to reunite with Nii in Nigeria.  Along the line, both become Victims of overzealous and wicked security agents such as policemen and  Immigration officers.

 

 Away from two siblings searching for identity and reunion, the prose narrative also captures how the economic hardship in Ghana has affected all and sundry. Millions of its citizens including market women, artisans, workers, skilled and Unskilled laborers are languishing in pairs and worries-their future hanging Precariously on the palace of uncertainty because of harsh economic law which includes the withdrawal from circulations of fifty cedi notes, the national currency’s highest denomination, which has left a lot of people penniless. Also, all savings in banks above fifty thousand cedis have been frozen and to make a withdrawal from such accounts, one must obtain clearance from the Attorney General’s  Department. A certain market woman who lost forty thousand cedis dies of a heart attack as a result of this.  Aaron on his part has abandoned his dream.

  Anti Hill Company, when he could not get a desired loan from the Expense  Bank, to travel to Nigeria for greener pasture.  He ends up in a construction site with Nii who works at the Expense Bank, up to the post of assistant manager, has to do part-time teaching job to survive.  And still, the economic gloom forces him out of Ghana to start life anew. Also, the leader of the Susu Union, absconds with the market women’s money, leaving his wife and children to wallow in abject poverty and lack.  He lost his life in the struggle for greener pasture in Nigeria.  It  is the same economic the stranglehold that makes Nii dump his dead wife, Massa, at the Koforidua mortuary and disappears.

 

The story also explores the general atmosphere of corruption, filthy society,  and absolute anarchy on the part of security personnel such as soldiers, policemen and immigration officials.  For instance, a ten-year-old girl is chased by an armed soldier for selling a product above the control price and her mother becomes traumatized.


 
The security agent such as police aid and abet the likes of Joe and Naidoo who engage in illegal business of gold and diamonds.  The atmosphere harbors decay and rottenness.  Nil’s experience at the Korie Lagoon where he goes to ease himself proves these “dried feces were scattered all about”.

      Finally, Nii in the company of Aaron and others experience multiple travails in  Nigeria.  For example, when Nii is caught by an officer while trying to cross to Nigeria’s border, the officer in charge takes them home to protect them and also gives them a stern condition that if they resist he would hand them over to the police or immigration officials for deportation.  Nii and Aaron struggle to escape at the camp to Ijase where fate finally, smiles on them.  His final meeting with Mama Orojo, her lost sisters whom he has not seen for the past fifteen years creates unending unexpected Joy at dawn in his mind.

 

MAJOR EVENTS IN THE NOVEL

PART ONE

 

 Nii Tackie’s wife, Massa is critically ill

     In Ghana, Nii discovers that Massa’s sickness has come to its worst and the doctor’s prediction has come true at last “she has a few days on her life” the doctor confirms.  Nii begins to blame himself for hoping her conditions would change for the better.  His worries are beginning to overwhelm him for he’s dying of exhaustion and tension.  He presses her chest to be sure of her death before he announces it.  They have been to several physicians and all of them have only one Solution or verdict, “ Just a few days and they have also wished her all the best.  Life has treated them well for two years before she is taken ill.  Not long before, one of Nil’s friends has advised him to consult a faith healer, herbalist and a  spiritualist who is nicknamed “God  is beyond science and his real name is Odeefo  Nkansah.  Anyhow,  Nii is faced with financial challenges as the bank manager. The bank he works with has written him a query about his indebtedness”. Well, it is an I.O.U” Nii bellow.

 

 Mama Orojo And Her Friend, Ibulk Embrace Amen Kristi Religion

      In Nigeria, at IIlere, Mama Orojo complains to her friend about the lack of progress in their evangelical work in the town and the people they earlier preach  to, and it becomes clear to them that the Sahm brotherhood does not want to see them preaching to people they see as potential converts. Mama always reminds Ibuk about the day of their initiation into the Amen Kristi. That day, they kissed the cross.  Kissing the cross was an important ritual and   every “initiate” accepted Jesus Christ first and the third day is to evangelize.  Ibuk  bit the cross and they almost have her rejected. The missionary work in the town is  their sixth since they joined the church Ibuk then shares a second secret with  Mama on how her husband had vowed never to join Amen Kristi especially any  church that is younger than himself.

      The sight of immigration uniform startles Mama which leaves her friend panting for breath.  It is about the memory of what happened to her fifteen years  ago when she came to Lagos from Ghana.  She came to Nigeria because she was considered an alien in that country. The government of Ghana raised a law asking   all aliens without a resident permits to regularize their stay in the country because the   government of that time had made a mess of its management of the affairs of the Ghanaian economy and blamed their failure to do things right on us alien”  scapegoats.  So many persons died in the truck they traveled with and buried including her mother and father.  Grandmother refused to come with them.  And the first year of her stay in Lagos was terrible and miserable.  Ibuk then shows a  sign of remorse and pity for Mama’s story.  

         

       The Aliens and State of the Nation

     As the government has placed a directive on all aliens to leave the country, the CBS news in Lagos announces thus “we’ve got to get every one of them out of this country”.  It is also called total war against waywardness.  Every alien or non-citizen should leave the country before the 25th.  The fact is that about three million people on the road is not a possible test.

     This takes us to the situation in Accra, Ghana.  Following the movement of many citizens of the country to other countries, those leaving the country include some of the most experienced personnel in the public service, commerce, and industry, and the young youths with little education are not well equipped or trained to take their place.  These youths claim to be bidding goodbye to hunger and corruption. 


They cry the slogan “Hang us if we fail” The country began to experience a terrible drought and there was a widespread crop failure. Its foreign reserve fell, though exports in some areas increased. The price of the cocoa commodities fell on foreign markets and the burden of the country worsened.

      

 Nii disagrees with the manager over the loan Consideration

       Nii Tackle who is the assistant manager of Expense Bank implores the manager during the interview to carry out a thorough assessment of Anti Hill Company because they must do that carefully to stay in business.  Among the application also is the one submitted by one Aaron Tsuru, a building technologist engaged in soil research.  Mr. Tsuru needs financial support from the bank for his project.

 

 Linda, the back typist walks in with the news of the alien issue in the paper “If I had my way, I’d sack all aliens here” (25) the manager exclaims, but Nii smiles and matters. Xenophobia! Though of Nigerian Parentage, Nii has been born in Ghana and his upbringing has entirely made him a Ghanaian. He is afraid that one day Ghana would sack aliens as it had done fifteen years before.  The paper put the numbers of those being deported from Nigeria at three million of this number, two million were Ghanaians.

 

 Nii Tackie takes to a part time-Job

      The harsh economic reality has seemed to suggest to Nii to travel to Lagos but defies going.  He decides to take a part-time job to earn extra income to supplement his salary.  Despite those efforts, he is still indeed indebted to the bank, and Massa’s bills are still pending.  The doctor has agreed to allow him to settle the rest of the bill by installment. His major problem as a worker is his  inability to overcome lateness.  He often misses the bank bus and he will have to cover the one mile to the bank.

  Nii has missed three lessons in one week as the students keep complaining about his lateness and irregular attendance at classes. The headmaster keeps expressing his disappointment with Nii’s lateness.


  After the interview with the headmaster, Nii visits the market with the hope of collecting ten cedis per trader as Susu.  He notices that the market is quite empty. One woman says that those who went to the farm gate to buy food-stuffs could not buy any owing to drought.  “There is no petrol and roads are bad, only a few vehicles manage to go to Hinterlands these days” (30).  Another man  attributes this to be withdrawal of fifty cedi denomination from circulation as the root course of hardship and the man rains abuse at Nii.  “You people… will soon  kill us all and then take the country, take everything and remember to buy death too”  (31) When Nii ask about the whereabouts of Auntie Joe, he becomes  shocked when told that the woman died of a heart attack when she lost forty  thousand cedis as a result of the withdrawal of the fifty cedi denomination from  circulation.

  Nii discontinues the day’s collection as a result of the situation at the market and heads straight to the Susu union leader’s house but is disappointed to hear from the wife that the leader has absconded with the little money after spending the rest.  He only left a note behind.  Nii shows compassion for the wife and the children by giving those ten cedis left in his pocket.  He also gets home very late to see Massa vomited into her cloth as she was struggling to get up.

 

 Mama Orojo and Tom Monday evangelize

      Mama appreciates the effort she and Tom carried out this afternoon, which  has to do with sharing the word of God.  Their discussion cut across adultery, Self-doubt, fear, and sin.  Mama Opines that death is a sign of sin.


They digress a bit too personal business “You said you deal with telecom interest”
  Tom inquires and also demands to know if she has the means to undertake any contract before she is paid for it.

 Nii discloses the news about aliens to Massa

     Nii has come home after being held at the human traffic at the railway station to meet Massa in deep pain.  They live in slums where Mice and mosquitoes walk freely unhurt.  Nii who is in a very bad mood wears a long face that makes Massa suspect that he’s in deep worry.  “You’ve been worrying of late… is it the alien issue”  Nii does not want this issue to be a topic of discussion between him and Massa because it would worsen her condition.  After much persuasion, Nil opens up and utters that the news in the papers is bad and it is stirring xenophobic feelings in the people and the government may be thinking about measures.  And Nii thinks his tribal marks would not conceal him.  Massa dismisses such a possibility.

  Meanwhile in Nigeria, Mama Orojo is getting set to travel to Ghana.  She is having six contracts lined up.  Her major concern is her construction business.  The foreman had reported that Dele Sand and Stone Ltd does not deliver any six trips of sand ordered from them.  The journey in question appears to be a serious burden in his heart. She tries to locate her destination in her mind’s eyes but so many things came to her mind. Mama’s flight is scheduled for 10:45.  While on her way to the airport, the engine in the car cuts, and she leaves the driver and asks him to take care of it.  She gets to the airport in no time, but some thugs try to deceive her into boarding a bus but refuses to yield.  While in the plane, the situation there is not in any way palatable because the plane goes up and down as a result of snow.  The flight that is supposed to take fifty-five minutes, takes hours before they finally landed, she meets a man as their discussion gets going, Mama indicates her interest in the gold business.  She recounted how a friend of hers traveled between Europe and Ghana to buy and sell Gold.  The man is willing to sell his ring to her for only two thousand Cedi, hoping to sell it at a higher price in Lagos if she decides to sell it later.  She pays for the ring and collects it from the man.

 

 

Nii and the application for a loan    

      As the manager rejects Aaron Larshibi’s application for a loan, he feels quite at ease.  The management of the bank does not find his project particularly suitable for a loan also.  Due to the economic slump, very few loan applications could meet the criteria set by the banks.  The Central Bank has issued several directives in an attempt to curtail further slump in the economy and control inflation.

      While on his way out, Aaron meets Nil and he admits that he tries his best to recommend his application for the bank but they refused it.   Nil assures him that he would have helped him.  Aaron promises to fight back.  His determination to get the loan sounds convincing to Nil.

 

Mama buys a fake Gold ring

      The taxi driver that takes Mama home is quite friendly.  As they engage in an exciting conversation.  She shows the ring to him and she declares she loves gold because it puts her in touch with her ancestors.  “I come from a long line of Chiefs.  I am a royal…. every African is a Chief or a royal”  (78).  Mama assures the driver.  On closer examination of the ring, the driver exclaims.  “This is no real gold-ring it is fake”, and he further narrated his past to prove to Mama that the gold is rather fake.  The driver says he was once a gold dealer too.  He was dealing in Daga, an illegal gold business. He stopped doing the business when the police arrested and severely tortured him before he decided to start driving his own car.  Mama who has saddened by the realization that she has been cheated pleads with the taxi man to take her to the nearest police station to lay a complaint.  Right there, she is shown the passport-sized pictures of people wanted by the police. 

 Mama is able to identify the man.  “I paid him two thousand cedis for the ring “(82) she snaps in rage.  The name of the man she identified is I-put-it-to-me and that is not his real name and he’s a wanted criminal.  Mama dismisses the taxi driver and opts to walk down.  A policeman runs after her and assures Mama that he knows where she can buy an original gold.  She is still not convinced because she has never experienced such deception in her 18 years of stay in Ghana.  His being a policeman gives her some security.

 

The Rise and Rise of Joe

      Joe often explains that his success in life is a mixture of chance and hard work. He first settled at Oda as an apprentice to a tailor fixing button on a uniform and worked on the farm of Alvorovo on Saturday for his master. The advent of second-hand clothes and when his master moved to the city for greener pasture ended Joe’s dream of becoming a tailor.

  One day, his long last friend named Kuuku who was already doing well in his business visited him and introduced him to mines business.  Kuuku had two cars and a house already and Kuuku admitted that the business was not without grave risk because one could get arrested or even get shot.

  Joe did not accept to follow his friend,  Kuuku to mines immediately, but tried a few other businesses on his own first.  Joe told Tally O. who is also poor about the business but opted for it.  Their first attempt to maul diamonds was successful as they sold them easily to the black market.  At this time Joe was already 30 years old and a bachelor.  Though two women had had children by him, because he was poor, the relatives of those women he impregnated did not encourage him to marry them.  That is all about Joe’s past life.

  Meanwhile, Mama Orojo and the policeman have come to see Joe who deals in gold.  “I told her you are the right man who can get her genuine gold and diamond, the policeman whispers to Joe.  Joe then announces to Mama that the market is dry and gold is a bit high for obvious reason.  The story of how Mama got swindled on the Lagos-Accra flight move Joe to pity.  Mama agrees to pay three fifty thousand cedis and she promises to come for additional ones within the week.

         Suddenly, Naidoo’s friend who serves in mineral boards bumps in with the news and details of the future of mining in the country.  “A Canadian team has conducted feasibility studies on our gold resources and their verdict is that “We are sitting on gold over here in Ghana.  Our gold deposits run across the country.  So we recommended a massive gold hunt for both local and foreign prospectors.  It’s going to be gold” (98) Naidoo laughs.  At this point, Joe becomes very excited and appreciates Mama for being the lucky charm of good news.  Joe’s friend offers to take Mama and the policeman to the airport as a result of fuel scarcity in town.

 

The students make a mockery of Nii

     As Nii looks at his watch, he begins to entertain fear that the headmaster will ask him not to come to school again because of his constant lateness.  Nii can’t just afford to lose the money he earns from the three-hour weekly teaching job at the school.  He has been late on all the days he comes to the school to teach the class.  The proprietor is also taking note of his days of absence and lateness.  On this day, he arrives when the period for Economics is nearly over, with bare ten of sixty minutes left.  He enters the class with a few students to teach the topic, taxation.  The message the students put on the blackboard make some laugh.  It reads ‘Nii, learn to use the transport and save your legs – fat head, fat clothes don’t suit your thin body, lateness is not a teacher”. Nill who could not control the students’ disturbance in the class, holds out the exercise book to bit the head of the first boy, lose his balance, and falls on the cement floor.

 

 To save the situation, the headmaster intervenes and implores the student to be respectful because it is a curse to insult a teacher.  “It is a curse to insult a teacher.  And to behave in such a way that he gets hurt is abominable.  despite the poverty of those of us in the teaching profession…” (107) the headmaster, snaps at the students.  He agrees to pay Nii for three weeks and also to change his class.  Nii leaves the school premises satisfied with the amount he got from the old headmaster.

 As soon as Nii leaves the school, he decided to pass through the market because he notices that some persons are rushing to the other side of the market.  A group of soldiers are parading a ten years old girl caught selling fuel above the control price and she is led to a woman who denies she is not her mother.  Nii runs into Mama Okosua who threatens to hand him over to the soldiers for alleging to have escaped with her two thousand cedi she contributed to the Susu.


 “You and Susu boss – Don’t think you are clever and can make use of my money just like that.  You are going to pay.  I swear” (113).  Nii begins to pant, and as Mama Akosua tries to reach the soliders, another made rush occurs and Mama Okosua collapses on the ground and faints right where she fell.  There is an instant occurrence of stampede, as Nii slightly dodges herself and of the crowd and bends straight to Linda’s house because of the curfew in town.  At this point, so many thoughts streams his mind which include, aliens, clandestine jobs, Susu collection, bank work, death at the market exile cheat, debt at Expense bank, Mama Okosua, revolution, etc.

 

 

Joe meets the landlord of Beyeeman building complex

     Joe visits the landlord of Beyeeman building probably to acquire room four and six.  Joe appreciates the arrangement of the one story outside.  The old man has a good sense of history and does not hesitate to display it.  He laments about how the central region has lost its place as the gateway to Ghana.  He was once a singer before he lost his voice.  Their conversations also span through the recent revolution in town.  He declares that young people shout revolution but railway industry is gone with the coming revolution – many industries are gone.


 
“I believe in change; he resume “I believe also that every change should have positive impact if it’s to be respected”  (117) the old man submits.  He is basically saving money for politics, I will see party politics again before I die.  Not all the old ones are corrupt.  Some of us believe strongly that political leaders should be mature men of integrity and of proven track records of industry and honesty, not demagogues (119).

 The purpose for Joe’s visitation is defected as the old man agrees to give Joe another room other than the one at the complex, even when Joe convinces him that he is paying five years advance.  “I told you the young ones are rushing into things.  Five years advance isn’t my worry… at my age I keep to my principles”  (1119) the old man disapproves –defeated, Joe leave at once.

 

Linda tries to woo Nii to play the role of a husband

      Linda tries to convince Nii to travel to Lagos with her despite Nii’s condition at home.  Nii is beginning to understand the reason why she is being pestering him for a visit.  She tries to offer herself to him so that Nii will yield to her request. “I will let you have me for free here and in Lagos, too… I know your wife is sick, quite sick and has not been well for a long time”  (120)


Linda sounds lewdly, Nii tries to rack his brain to ascertain the reason behind this Joseph-like temptation before she opens up.  “My husband wants me to join him in London, but I need a British Visa. I couldn’t get it at the British High Commission here.  My only opportunity is to go to Nigeria and obtain a British Visa there.  Just agree to play the role of a husband. Since you are a Nigerian, my entry into Nigeria won’t be difficult (12) Nii has found himself in a tight situation and he cannot leave for home because he cannot walk through the curfew.  Suddenly, an idea strikes him once, and he keys into it – removes his trousers, shirt and under pant, put them in his bag, opens the door and dashes out.  He runs towards the soldiers at the barrier shouting.  “Curfew is a bar” I am behind the bar and he is led home by the soldiers and they admonish him to always respect the law.

 

Nii and Massa visit a spiritualist home

     Nii decides to take his wife, Massa to the spiritualist home as her sickness persists.  The caring powder from the spiritualist only stopped the frequent stooling.  The journey to the village is quite tempestuous and tiresome.  Massa on her part could not make the journey and she passes out in the vehicle.  Nii pleads with the driver to convey them to a nearby hospital for medical attention all to no avail.  On getting there, Nii is ushered into an office to pay for service at the hospital mortuary.  He is to pay the sum of one hundred cedi for each day and it must be increased if the corpse is kept at the mortuary for more than three days Nii’s mind is occupied with so many things such as; the cost of transporting the corpse, the cost of burial, the coffin, clothing and drinks.

 As soon as Nii gets to the spiritualist home, he meets a young man addressing a group of visitors and the inscription on the signboard reads. God is beyond science.  God is the ultimate intelligence.  “There is more to the physical things we observe. Life is more spiritual and more complex than we can possibly imagine.  Confess your sin… In your prayers God intervenes in the affairs of men”  (127) the man instructs everyone present.

Nii happens to be the twentieth person in the queue of those waiting to make confessions.  He informs them about Massa’s death and his fear of government decision to expel aliens in Ghana. “God put me where I belong with a home parents… I want to see my family again, I want to see my sister (132) Nii confesses his sins as he breaks into uncontrollable sets.

 

Nii embarks on a journey to Nigeria

     Nii abandons Massa’s corpse in the mortuary and travel between Benin and Togo to Nigeria because the border between Ghana and Togo has been closed.  The journey is not without risks and dangers, as he’s reliably informed the whole length of the border is under the watch of security personnel day and night.  The soldiers are mandated to shout on sight.  They must watch out armed soldiers who patrol the area looking for dissidents. Nii has just seventy naira in his pocket.


 
A friend of his had earlier asked Nii to always pretend to pick up things from the ground when he sees or hear that guards are coming near.  There in the border, he meet Aaron Larshibi who claims he’s on the road because the bank frustrated him.  Unfortunately, one of the travelers gets shot and the rest of the travelers are asked to pay a fine of ten Naira each and if they insist they would be taken to tribunal to be tried as dissidents.  Nii arrives safely and he’s informed that a car will soon take them to the Benin border.

 

 

PART 2

 

Nil’s captured at the Nigeria border

      Nii’s trip from Lome to Benin is uneventful for he experienced the worst era of his life.  He meets Ursula, a guy he knew at the University who is now a trader.  Nii is disposed of his money by a cyclist who helped him to cross Nigeria border to Lagos.  The cyclist demands more money from Nil to enable him settle the immigration officer but Nil insists and the man over powers him as he delievers two stringing punches on his cheeks and he fails on the ground.  He brings out his knife and snatches the remaining twenty naira from him.

      As Nii kneels down playfully, someone is standing by him, a custom officer.  “Omo Ghana” The man echoes as he demands to know his name and identity.  The name, Nii tackie Moses akong Na bi has convinced the officer that Nil is every each a Ghanaian.  “Look at the tribal marks on my cheeks. I’m a Nigerian citizen like you.  why all this harassment?” (145) Nii protests vehemently.  The fact that Nil cannot speak any Nigerian language further gives the officer the conviction that he’s a Ghanaian.  “Many Ghanaians come here professing to be Nigerians, but some of them are smart.  They learn the language, but they are not proficient.  At the end of the day, we get to know the truth”(146) the officer bellows.  As Nii does not have any means of identification such as passport, he’s taken away alongside other captives which include Aaron.  “Our cells are full now… I’ve got some farm at IIlere, and I need more hands… I’m giving you a chance, I’ll offer you a job’ (150) Paleo, the leader of the captors instructs them.  He implores them to either cooperate work for him or have them handed over to the police.  Nii feels bitter about the situation, being a slave in his own country.  He soon realizes the futility of trying to convince the officer to believe him.

      Nii, Aaron and other captives here settled down to work and earn some wages before they may gain their freedom, but Nii his not relent in his anxious plan to link himself with missing family in Nigeria.  Nii meets one Tom Monday who has affirmed that Nii’s face resembles a woman he befriended some time ago, and the woman is somewhere in Lagos – Ijase Nii exclaims in amazement and when he demands the address, Tom |Zooms off because of the dark smoke emitting from the Miliki house on fire.

      As Nii’s endless search for the family reunion produces no urgent result, he decides to embrace the job of unloading cartons of beer or crates of minerals.  The caretaker engages Nii in a conversation, and he asks Nii what he’s been doing in Ghana.  The man feels pleased to know that Nii was a banker, an assistant manager.  Nii claims that he has come to Nigeria to locate his family.  “No one will believe your story”  (162) the caretaker disagrees.

   Nii is beaming with hope that they may gain their freedom in three days time.  His joy is unlimited as he’s told that a certain woman who resembles him very much lives at Ijase in Lagos, “she bears my family name.  Orojo, and I’m sure she will be a key to my arriving at my reward: my citizenship” (164) Nii gives himself hope.  But the carpenter disapproves of his claim on the ground that it might be another Orojo or has left Lagos.

      Nil goes to visit a lady he met at Miliki house in a hotel called Hotel Irohin.  Her name is Marshak who resorted to prostitution as a result of the tides and life challenges.  She hopes to quit the job and gets married someday.  “I can be a good wife.  I surely will… but I can’t go back to Ghana.  I’m scared scared of what they would do to me”(174) she bellows. Nii also finds out that her (Marsha) mother is also into that business in Abidjan. When Nii returns that evening, the caretaker charges them for attempting to abscond contrary to their pledge to abide by his instruction, and they plead for forgiveness. 

    Nii works as a slave in a farm to pay for his freedom.  Nii,  Aaron and others are taken to a cassava farm under the close watch of the caretaker to clear the farm, pack and burn the leaves.  The experience is not a funny,,,,, one while trying to burn the rubbish, the speck of fire on Nil’s shoulder burns the spot.  “We are in sly” (185) Nii exclaims.  They reserve the better time in the farm discussing their individual dreams for the future.  Aaron vows to revive his business.  Ant Hill.  “This place is not going to be the end of my life. Ant Hill and my life share a common bond” (187) Aaron boasts.  On why he was running to Nigeria, Aaron confesses that he needed money to feed his family and then looked for prospects for Anthill.  The caretaker shows up immediately and asks them to stop talking and concentrate on the work at hand.

 

 Mama’s mind is occupied with the desire to meet her brother,  Nii

      Mama seems to lose interest in the gold business she is said to partner with Joe. She informs Joe about his brother.  Nii who works at Expense Bank whom she has not met for the past fifteen years.  They both visit the manager of Expense Bank to obtain any useful information about Nii’s whereabouts.  Mama introduces herself as Nil’s sister who had lost contact with Nii a long time before.  The manager informs Mama that Nii is on leave and he brings out a letter from the drawer addressed to Nii.  The letter reads.“Would you arrange for the removal of a corpse you deposited here on the 21st of May?” (191) At this point, Mama’s mood is worsen by the mention of a corpse.  She is in deep thought as her mind brings up so many questions.

     Mama visits Nii’s residence but she is reliably informed that.  Nii and his sick wife.  Massa have not been seen in the house for five days now.  Mama picks the letter and uses the address therein to go to Koforidna hospital to verify the death of unknown person and a corpse connected with Nii.  The journey to the hospital is not an easy one.  The nurse on duty tells them that Nii told them that they were going to a spiritualist home but Massa, his wife died on the way.  The place is called “God is beyond science, and many people do go there to repent from their crookedness.  The nurse on duty also complains that there is no space in the mortuary and they have been rejecting dead bodies.  Their visit to a spiritualist home does not yield any result as the attendant informs them that he dissuaded Nii not to travel but insisted.  The man indicates that the lady in question hails form Sampa.

Mama takes Massa’s corpse on Sampa for burial

     Mama and Joe convey Massa’s corpse to Sampa village for burial.  The procession to the cemetery is a pleasant one.  The people in the town gave them warm welcome and appreciate their efforts in bringing Massa’s dead body home.  Mama learnt one thing about Massa, she had been an adopted child and had not visited the village for a long time.

           On the contrary, Mama’s mind is still raving with series of questions on where she could find her brother.  She feels that he’s still alive and he can be found in Lagos.

 

Marshak, a leopard that can never change its spots.

      Nii who is now at the cross road of considering Marshak’s love affairs engages his mind in a number of telling issues.  Their past hurt both of them greatly.  Nii does not want to associate with a lady who carries similar past ormisfortune with him.  Marshak also has the same notion as well.  Nii knows Marshak is not free of misfortune, she is spiritually troubled, and she is a fugitive.  A curse is running in her family and whoever gets attached to her would be infected.  She does not have a questionable character as she has completely changed from her former lifestyle.

      Marshak on the other is putting constant pressure on Nii to do something about his current situation of being a fugitive in his own country.“You’ll have to do something with yourself and about this situation… a  Nigeria must live like a Nigerian, not like a fugitive or an alien”  (200) Nii on his part vows to do something about his unrecognized status in his  own country, but he needs money to enable him travel to Lagos to search for the Orojos “I ‘ve got to do something senseless run from my bondage, avoid the police and the immigration and search until I’ve located an Orojo”  (202) Nil boasts. Marshak then gives him twenty naira.  Nii needs a fresh  start and he therefore needs a virgin.  But Marshak is a life away from virginity. However, Nii’s visit to Marshak is met with heart break and the only explanation to it is that a leopard can never change its spots.  She has not changed as about two men knock at her door for normal services she is known for in the past.  This includes a fifteen year-old boy.

 

Joe is in love with Mama

     Mama’s business partnership with Joe and their recent involvement in the search for Nii is beginning to spark their feeling for each other.  The gold and diamond business is about to suffer, as they are carried away by this relationship.  Joe on his part is still nursing the way or better time to let his feeling for mama out. “I’ve something to tell you” (207) Joe finally declares his intention as they sit along.  “I believe … the two of us can face the world confidently ;;;; will you marry me …? Honestly, I love you …we could combine our resources – gold money and Oil money”  (207) Joe drops the bombshell.  Joe who cannot hide his admiration for Mama’s physical features has demonstrated his own worth and trust towards her over the years.  As a result, mama’s answer should be yes!

  Soon, both commence with their marriage plans, Joe feels that there is a need to contact mama’s parents or any other relative to facilitate the process. She informs Joe that her parents are dead and the wedding will be done at Amen Kristi, her own church, she attends in Nigeria.  “The priest is a father to me and I think you’ll like him”  (222), Joe brings out a gold ring and engages Mama.  Her mind raves back to the imitation ring she bought from “I-put-it-to-me on the airplane.

 

The soon-to be couple continues in their mining business, this time around they are trying to device another way to smuggle gold and diamonds without getting caught or arrested, because there has been some adverts on the newspaper placing ban on exports and soon it will be outlawed.  Their intention also is to do the business in a genuine way.  “Together we’ll do mining the proper way, we’ll not offend the law … I don’t want to be running from the law all my life, I’m sure I can live like any other good citizen.  It’s my pledge to you that, God willing, I’ll be a good – a good man and a good husband to you”  (223 – 225) Joe assures Mama that after this night, there will be no more hide and seek with the mine guards.  “It’s to have a clean white sheet of life” (226)

 

Marshak is found dead in the pool of her own blood

      Nii pays Marshak a visit once again, to apologize to her for walking out on her the previous night, and also to advise her to join them to Lagos where he hopes to reunite with his family. When he knocks and opens the door, Nii meets three women standing over Marshak’s bed. Nii spots a chamber pot filled with blood.  He urges the women to take her to the hospital but insists that they don’t have papers, if they set out, the hotel proprietor will get them arrested and hand them over to immigration officials.  One of the ladies confides in them that Marshak has taken some drugs to abort her pregnancy. They contemplate on how to bury her since there is no land available.  The hotel proprietor has asked them to vacate the room already before the immigration arrive.  All they need to do is to run away or be arrested and taken to the camp in Lagos.  Nii puts the blame on himself.  “Marshak might have committed suicide”  (229) Nii submits to his thoughts.

 

The death of Tally O

      The tragic death of Tally O. Marks the end of illegal mining business, known as Daga, On that fateful day. Tally O, Joe and other colleagues are supposed to go for mining hunting.  He’s quite very worry since no one is in sight.  Some of the questions running through his mind include:  “How was he to survive if the others did not come! (230), Tally O’s life has never lacked activity.  He had lived a life full of disasters but had survived.  He has once confessed to Joe that his life lacked genuine meaning.  He tries to calm himself and ‘reason that if his accounts had not been frozen because of the Central Bank directive, he would have withdrawn some money and travelled.

      Suddenly, Joe and other colleagues showed up. Unknown to them that the guards are on the alert.  During the operation, Tally O. shoots a guard while trying to protect himself from attack.  He suddenly falls into a ditch in a slippery part of the forest.  They tried to pull him out all to no avail because of his weight.  They feel that leaving him there would be dangerous.  Someone volunteers to conceal their identifies by using an axe to smash his head and cover him in the hole.

 

Mama visits Amen Kristi to seek marriage approval

      Mama goes to see the chairman of Amen Kristi on her decision to settle down with Joe. Tom Monday is also in attendance.  The chairman is of the opinion that in marriage, distance and tribe counts, “Why do we preach about the oneness of the tribe nation, people, and races? (243) Mama mutters “Let me warn you. Your decision could create a rift in our church and if you cause trouble.  I’ll throw my whole weight against you”  (243) the old man admonishes Mama.  The old man therefore persuades Mama to marry Tom Monday instead who is a son of the soil.

  Mama then visits the secretary of the church and the secretary disagrees with the chairman’s stand over Mama’s decision to get married in the church, because marriage is a private affair in which tribe does not count. All he needs to know is whether Joe is Christian of which Mama’s response is negative.  Ibuk then asks her to make Joe join the church.

 An argument then ensues between the secretary and the chairman and also extends to other members of the church. A vote is conducted between the two factions – those in support and those against the marriage. The first one is conducted and the result is four for, and two against. The second vote is taken to decide whether the church should endorse Mama’s union with Joe. Mama and the secretary voted for the acceptance of the marriage; the chairman, the doctor and the pastor voted against it, while the waden refuses to vote. A meeting of the council is scheduled to decide the explanation of Mama for failing to attend the opening ceremony in church.

 

Marshak’s body still Iying at the hotel

      The immigration officials meet the hotel proprietor to inspect the room. He notices that the girls have been taken away by the immigration.Marshaks’s body still lies on the bed, dead.  Nii who has been having series of sleep talking in the house confesses to the striking similarity  between Massa and Marshak.  He suspects that Marshak must have taken her own life and he attributes his reason to be fear she was nursing;  fear of hopeless future.  “It was all my fault.  I didn’t do enough to allay her fears.  Nii then suggests to his colleagues that they should leave immediately for Lagos, and they should contact the caretaker for the advanced payment.Unfortunately, the caretaker denies them and threatens to blackmail them.

    However, Nil, Aaron and the carpenter escape to a village called Ngori through the man they meet called Kwaku.

 

Mama rescues a child from a building gulped by fire

      Mama continues to preach the gospel with Amen Kristi brethren; this time they are at Egba while Joe is still busy with his business and alien issue. Suddenly, the house at the front gulp fire.  The mother and the children are trapped inside the building.  Mama rushes into the inferno snatch the child from the mother ignoring the mother’s rushes and jumps out.  “I could take care of the baby, if the authorities world allow me, until the father or a relative comes” (264) ? Mama pleads.  The damage to property is estimated at several millions of naira and it includes the loss of several lives.

 

The mass expulsion of aliens

     There is massive exodus of human and property to the border because the deadline for the departure of aliens has expired.  Nii and his colleagues show no concern because it is not humanly possible to move out in ten days. The situations they experience give them a stern warning that the place they are in is no longer safe, even the fire engulfs the place, and they fear that the police would be attracted by the fire and come to arrest them “Lets go to Ijase… we would get help if I meet my sister (271) Nii whispers.  K.K comes with another idea that his friend is leaving at ABC not far away from there, they can wait there until morning and continue to the border from there. Unexpected happens on their way to ABC.  Three armed soldiers are seen chasing the fugitives.  The carpenter is arrested.  The journalist who attempts to take a clip of the happenings have his camera shattered against the wall and same thing happened to the second journalist’s camera.  Nii and others escape through another route.

 

The inexplicable hardship at Haji camp

      On the 25th of the month, all those aliens not yet out of the country are forbidden to leave.  A new order by the government directed all such persons to go to the Haji camp, near the airport in Lagos instead of the Seme-Badagry border post.  When Nii and his colleagues arrive at the camp, the space available is not much.  Even some persons who have been there for three days have no access to food and water.  Nii meets Linda a secretary at Expense Bank, she apologizes for her unreasonable attitude towards him in her departures, and the way they parted when he told her to go to Nigeria.  “I had hooked a Nigerian, who helped me obtain a Visa for London.  I have written to my husband I am coming to London the day after tomorrow, but look where I am (280) she laments bitterly.

     Nii also meets the man he called boss, who embezzled Susu union money and ran to Nigeria in camp.  He vows never to return to Ghana.  His reasons for coming to Nigeria is to work for a while and go back home to settle his debts.  He’s been hiding in a village before the immigration officials got him.  The man cannot be traced and his wife confirmed.  That he had made used of all the Susu money.  The kafor Didi market women back home would tear him apart if he enters Ghana again.

      While Nii and Linda are still engaging in chit chat an old man walks toward them, he pleads with them to render him help.  He confesses that he will die very soon because anyone, who sleeps at the corner-pointing to the corner, dies.  All that he needs is just ten kobo to buy water to drink before he finally dies.  He slept there last night since there was no space in the camp.

     As Nii and others continue to fashion out the route of escape, he recounts on the memory of those who are already dead in the course of the struggle for African unity, including Massa, who was an Africanist  it’s also in memory of all those who have fallen victim to hatred and bad laws and those undergoing all forms of degradation and persecution.

      Unexpected occurs at the camp, one of the sergeants forces his way through the people, draws out his gun to threaten those standing by his way.The corporal warns against the use of placard after he destroyed it.  A young woman who followed the lady is in labour also discloses to people that one of the security personnel at the camp attempts to seduce her, an act the people view as an abomination or cowardly attempt at desecrating our people.  The mad crowd react in protest and they swam around the corporal and Nii snatches his gun.  Everyone expects Nii to shoot the corporal in revenge for the very dubious and real reason of cruelty to the aliens, He know how to use gun but thinks otherwise.

      Nii Aaron, Linda feel that the hour of escape has come as they hurry past the gate, leading for the plane along the airport, leading into a cassava farm.  Linda is heading straight to the airport to take a flight to London. Everyone is in high spirit as their hopes rise, but there is bad news for them as a dead body is seen dangling on a tree.  Nii recognizes him back in Haji camp, Nii calls the people like the man dangling on the tree martyrs, numberless heroes in the Diaspora. At this point, Nii is beginning to accept the fact that he is a fugitive in search of a soul, and in search of identify. “Humility is beautiful, but unpredictable (287) Nii whispers bitterly.Aaron suggests they should go to Ijase, but the old man seems to have an objection because the village is in trouble.  They have money, but the people there are proud.  The journey to Ijase is not without difficulty as they disappear into the bush whenever they sight an immigration officers.

 

Nill and Aaron’s thorny journey to Ijase; the road to the grave.

     Both Nii and Aaron continue in their journey of Ijase where Nii hopes to reunite with his lost family.  This time around they have stopped asking people in sight about the route to Ijase because it will further expose them to police or immigration officers. Aaron compliments Nii for refusing to shoot the corporal because that would have alerted the soldiers who may hunt them like deer “But do you think he survived? The crowd won’t spare him at all, Imagined what followed the confusion and stampede”  (293). Both of them reason in unison.  They resume their journey and fortunately they land at a construction site.  They demand to see the fireman to ascertain any possibilities of securing a job there and earn some money, to keep body and soul together.  They are also confronted with a number of problems.  They include; where to pass their night, the fear of immigration officials who haunt them greatly.  This is because it will take only one busybody to whisper their location to any security officers, which was not uncommon, and they will be in all manner of troubles again.  Hunger and thirst for water can put them to untimely death.  They are not also ready for sleep, for sleep brings death. This also reminds Nii of the Susu man who died hanging himself in the tree. Their discussion shifts to themselves again.  Aaron then wonders how they can survive in Nigeria without any friends, relatives or job.  The tempestuous and tortuous Journey to Ijase has made Nii and Aaron consider death as an alternative.  The arrangement is that one person must die before the other.  if it should happen like that the survivor will watch the departing one gasp for his last breath. Aaron hands over all documents and certificate to Nii.They include: Ph. D, diploma in project management, his research findings. “I have one child I have a mother.  We are walking dead men.  You can keep the papers.  His final wish for his mother is a photograph he took a year ago and the certificate of honour he received as a lecturer at the University of Ghana.  He once used his car as taxi to make ends meet, and is no more road worthy.  “The axel broke, I abandoned the useless thing”  (29) Aaron makes his wish.  It is now Nii” turn to share some of his thoughts as Aaron did.  “I have no one else who will complain if  I die, the earth does not reject a corpse.  If I die today nature would not reject my body.  I came here to find my sister and now I have to die.  I must die because I have a sister”  (229) Nii also prays to Massa to forgive him for refusing to take responsibility, to give her a befitting burial.

      Rumour has it that robbers have dealt a savage blow to the peace of Ijase a wealthy man is shot dead and he is being buried.  Meanwhile, Aaron and Nii have already arrived Ijase Village.  But they need to wait in the bush until the darkness is cleared. On their way to the construction site, they find a signboard which indicates that they are right in Ijase.  The foreman considers them for the job.  But unfortunate accident occurs while walking in a building.  Aaron walks to the pole, lifts it up, and the wall collapsed instantly and Aaron is trapped under it, thereby rendering the full day work useless. Taking him to the hospital is no option at all, because they have no papers and money either. They are alien who may face arrest when caught. Worse still, Aaron is dying of pain, his head and neck are swollen.  It is only an X-ray that could tell whether a bone is broken or a ligament is torn.  The only available relief is a tablet of paracetamol.

 

Aaron foresees his death

     Aaron is becoming rather talkative.  It seems the injury he sustained at the construction site has affected him badly.  He talks about his project and expresses the hope of visiting home again. “Ant Hill is a key to the building revolution back home.  I tell Joe”  (312).  He can see angel and Aaron then complains of dizziness. he begins to slip gradually until he falls to the floors inside the room and falls asleep.

  A certain woman who sells at the uncompleted building that serves as Nii and Aaron abode raises an alarm over the two people suspected to be armed robbers.  She compels her drunk husband to hunt the robbers like his fellow men.  “Go to the upstairs room and find out for yourself. (313) she urges him.  Two people knock the door of the room they occupy.  Knowing fully well that they are in grave danger, they opt for the only option which is to jump.  Aaron is the first to jump.  He lands on his feet, and a group of people led by Mama, rushes to the back of the building.  Aaron sprawls on the ground on landing.  Nii shakes Aaron and finds out he is already breathless.  He imagines he is dead or has fallen into a coma.  Death or a coma means the same thing to him. Nii who has no means of escape…midst the vigilante and other people standing by the corner of the building with his arms, raises hands a sign of unease, despair and surrender.

 

Mama Orojo and Nii Tackie finally reap unexpected joy at dawn 

 

 Mama and Nii meet again after fifteen years of separation as blood brother and sister.  The meeting is quite unpredicted.  Their meeting is an event imagined long before, but it faded from their minds, because it had neither clue nor possibilities of being attained.  Now, it is a reality-sheer melodrama.  It is dawn on Nii that it is wonderful to live through difficulties knowing there is hope for the eventual success that would come.

  Mama tries to recollect an image of her brother when he was a small boy innocent, intelligent, temperamental.  She smiles broadly knowing fully well she is now reaping an unexpected joy at dawn.  Her world is dominated by love and unity.  Economic hardship xenophobia suffering, struggle, societal evils could not separate Nii from her.  It therefore implies that problems in life are just stepping, stone to actualizing your dreams and there is always light at the end of the tannel.

      However, Aaron dies while trying to escape from their handout.  Mama, Nii and Joe take the body of Aaron to the mortuary to enable them give him a deserved decent burial.  Nii also mourns Massa.  Nii extols the elusive qualities of Aaron as an intelligent young man with many talents who lost his precious life for the struggle and bad government policy.  Joe also eulogizes.  Mama and calls her everybody’s hero for recurring a baby from inferno.  “No one will taste a meal without mentioning your name, so you are everyone’s menu”. (319) Joe praises Mama to the sky.

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