I’d heard loads about this book from people who’d read it. It’s CNA, after all, the godmother of modern African Literature.
Zikora is a really, really short story, only a handful of pages in truth. But it packs within its covers, albeit very thinly, a story that is all too common in Nigeria, and Africa as a whole: that of a woman set adrift at sea by her man upon announcement of conception. It’s a sad tale of a woman who placed all of her hope, and happiness, in the hands of a man, whose charms and attentions lasted only as long as the responsibility of fatherhood remained out of the way.
It’s one story that many on this continent can relate to, one way or the other. Unfortunately, in the real world, not many are as lucky as Zikora was. True, she suffered greatly. The neglect and heartache from Kwame’s rejection would leave any human heart dejected. But then, it’s easier to be a single mother when you have the money/opportunity and the education to raise the child. And success at it is doubly guaranteed when you have a mother who also has the affection, money, and enlightenment to help you through.
In Africa today, the most common scenes involve a young lady, often only barely out of her teens, equipped with only a secondary school/technical school certificate (sometimes none), from a poor background, having the unfortunacy of getting pregnant for an irresponsible boyfriend who runs away, leaving the girl with a huge burden of responsibility in the wee hours of her years on earth… Said child turns out rascally in the end due to the combination of a number of even more unfortunate factors: neglect, lack of fatherly care, poverty, and a country/society that does not pity the less privileged.
It’s incredibly sad, but it’s the reality. Hopefully, the reading of a book as this will enlighten men and generally educate people in the making of the right choices regarding amatory unions.
A very good book.
