By Adewale Oshodi
PATRON of Nigeria’s first international writers’ residency and former president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Dr Wale Okediran’s collection of short stories, ‘Keepers of the Tribe,’ is one of laughs, hopes and fears.
In 15 very enjoyable tales, Okediran chronicles (in fiction, of course) his experience as a lawmaker, father, medical practitioner, an adviser, and mentor.
In the stories, which have a variety of themes, he pays homage to his training and practice in the medical profession, touching on sensitive topics like religious killing, fatherhood, drug trafficking and the plight of widows. A number of the stories have been released in various media and publications over the years, but they have never before been presented in one solid, cohesive and coherent body of work. Again and again he showcases his wealth of experience, turning to different climes and regions to site his work.
The strong introspection in ‘’Holy Moses’’ is very gripping; ‘’At that point, the sleeping figure stirred and Zacchaeus jumped with fright. A plaintive murmur now rose from the man; a murmur, saddening and startling as if another human voice, different from that of the prophet started emanating from the sedated figure. Sounds hesitating and vague now flooded the room. From a whimper, the sounds ascended into the level of a growl before descending slowly into words that flowed out gently from the prophet’s feverish lips in a murmuring stream of soft and monotonous sentences. Where can one…lay the…heaviness…of one’s trouble…but in a friend’s heart…?” The prophet sighed, paused for a while and then droned on; “I trusted my friends and my brother but there is no worse enemy and no better friend than a brother…” His voice fainting. Then another sigh, and then a stir and soon, he was snoring.’’
In “The Patient With The French Bible”, Okediran examines the Nigerian health industry, marriage vis-a-vis parental consent and the inhumanity of man, where a parent, without meaning to, brings his daughter a great deal of sorrow by refusing kindness to an injured patient.
The title tale, ‘’Keepers Of The Tribe’’ took off on a high note with the trial of a populist leader; ‘’It was a cold overcast morning at the beginning of November when the great trial began. As he stepped out of the Black Maria, the cold, dry harmattan breeze pasted the flowing blue robe of the accused to his body. Instead of the robust person we were all used to, what we saw was a frail-looking figure who smile and wave sadly to the crowd. The people all tried hard to hold back their tears as they looked at his drawn, exhausted but resolute face. The more courageous of the crowd however erupted into a spontaneous outburst of Hail Juba! Hail Juba! as they tried to shore up their hero’s confidence’’. The story ended with a reminder of the Yoruba proverb that “he who throws stones into the market will only hit his own relatives” is brilliantly brought to our consciousness, as the callousness of General Batuta backfires in a way that he never thought possible.
In “The Dog Catcher of Alakia” came a brilliant twist in the difficulty with the identity of a stray dog; ‘’ Yekini now turned to the fat man. “Sir, what colour is your own dog?” “A black dog with a white tail”. “Are you sure? Black dog with a white tail or white dog with a black tail?” “Em..Em..it’s a white dog with a black tail, the man replied. The policemen turned to the man in anger. “But you reported the loss of a black dog with a white tail not a white dog with a black tail”.“Em..yes – yes, it is a black dog with a white tail” the man replied. Yekini shook his head. “Which one are we to believe? A black dog with a white tail or a white dog with a black tail or it is a matter of deficient ocular appreciation of colouring and observation?”
Readers from all walks of life will find a connection with the many characters that dance through the 15 stories and 234 pages of laughs, tears, hopes and fears.
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