By
Ugochukwu Anigbogu
Life is an adventure. It is filled with unpaved roads, many hurdles and accompanied by a desert of pains and betrayals. That is just a slice of what the novel The Adventures of a Determined Child deals with. The novel tells the trials of Okwuchukwu the youngest child of Chukwuka and Nneoma Onuaku. Okwuchukwu’s love for learning places him in a dangerous trajectory since his parents and siblings were unable and unwilling to help him through to realize his dreams of being a graduate and making something good out of his life. Chukwuka his father an illiterate failed to appreciate the value of education and quickly washed his hands off his brilliant son’s quest for life in the ivory tower.
Things began to fall out of place for Okwuchukwu who was fondly referred to as Okwy with his mother Nneoma dispatching him to baby-sit his elder sister’s child in a far away city. There, Okwy would be subjected to the most inhumane treatment as his sister faulted his ‘crazy’ obsession with books and the ways of the white man. Nnonye humiliated Okwy so much that Okwy had to embark on an escapade back to his hometown to avoid the abuse and cruelty meted out to him by his Sister. Despite leaving his books behind, Okwy kept his eyes on his goal of becoming a graduate.
Once he returned to his hometown, Okwy proved his mettle and brilliance in school as he topped the class severally. With the encouragement of his teacher, Okwy found his place and excelled. Okwy was undaunted in the light of the challenges that would befall him and threaten his ambitions. Okwy was focused in his goal that he rejected his people’s plea to be ordained as a priest after a fully funded scholarship by his community. Okwy would triumph over an attempt to discredit him.Through primary and secondary school, Okwy made triumphed over many obstacles on his path to realize his dream of being a graduate.
The Adventures of a Determined Child is an emotional tale of a boy whose passion for excellence and aspirations underwent a thousand setbacks. Okechukwu Onuegbu has crafted the story of many an African whose dreams die a thousand times in the face of economic, emotional, environmental and social hardship. Okechukwu paints a picture that is at once personal, heart rending and emotionally engaging.
Onuegbu employs the African griot, music and folklore to drive home several moral theme of this story. The characters are easily plausible. Their names and dispositions define their behaviours. The setting of the novel has the aesthetic greeneries of the African continent and its rugged terrain that destroys the dimwitted. In Okwy we see that resilient African nay Nigerian spirit that refuses to give up in the face of tyranny, conspiracy, abandonment, lack and misery. Okwy demonstrates in every way possible that success comes with a price: perspiration and creativity.
Onuegbu has a firm grip on the oral and folkloric tradition of the Igbo minstrel. The dexterity with which he employs fable and mythical tales in this stirring narrative brings to fore his competence as a writer. The pace of the story is like a sailing through calm waters yet contrasts with the turbulent voyage through the storm that the protagonist undertakes. The use of proverbs, magical realism, maxisms and other local registers resonates with the authenticity and affinity of the tale as an African narrative. He emphasizes strong moral discipline, diligence and strategic planning as a springboard for success. Okwy’s story finds expression in the heroes of the past, the present and the future who will stop at nothing to realize their dreams.
The Adventures of a Determined Child is published hardcopy by De-Voice Creative Network, which equally market them nationwide. You can also purchase them on Okada books and Amazon.