Do or do by Kinyanjui Kombani

Image Courtesy of Kinyanjui Kombani

Kinyanjui Kombani has penned Do or do a young readers novel bubbling with intend, inspiration and a lot of passion. In this story, Kombani fashions out the story of Juma aka Njugu-boy a young man whose educational pursuit seems to have come to a tragic end but soccer suddenly grants him a lifeline to escape the harsh life of Dandora. Do or do is the sad story of the numerous urban poor young people whose lives are doomed to end uncharacteristically either through a hail of bullets from feuding youth groups or from hit squads be they police or other gangs or simply succumb to hunger and other debilitating circumstances in the many sprawling slums.

In an unlikely turn of events, Juma finds himself being substituted to play as a striker for the D-Stars when Tony their key striker is grossly fouled and injured by an opponent. Although he has previously had a stint at soccer, he has never considered himself playing competitively leave alone professionally. His star begins to shine bright as he finds rhythm and good will in the team. He discovers his leadership potential as he takes up the mantle of stewardship for the D-Stars and steers them to celebrate unexpected win-after-win over teams that have been long celebrated. Will Juma become a role model that fellow youth would yearn to emulate or will someone cheat him off from his ladyluck?

However, the stars begin to dim at home when his elder brother is sent home for uncleared school fees, his mother loses her job at the city council and an almost absentee father receives summarily dismissal for misusing hid employer’s funds in betting. When their father comes home, the family harmony is destroyed, their father has become a drunkard, unreliable and quarrelsome man. Their parents’ relationship deteriorates and Juma and his brother, Mambo, look for excuses to stay away. Indeed, Mambo’s schooling dips even as Juma sacrifices to hawk groundnuts and sweets to support Mambo’s school fees.

Do or do demonstrates a typical from rags to riches story on the part of Juma. The D-Stars have nothing to lose in their games and when it dawns on them that they can actually beat renown teams, their passion is rekindled and they play for everything. The story unravels the dark side of games when a rival team tries to buy them out so that they can lose the next game in favour of their opponent. When this fails and they win their next match, the stakes become higher and the reader suspects it is a case of when not if that the D-Stars will be compromised to lose in favour of an opposing team since their socio-economic background betrays them. They know intimately that every coin they can get is a life saver.

Lady luck smiles on the D-Stars and they find themselves in the finals of the Under17-tournament. But, their assistant coach and all other players except Juma and their goal keeper Abbas have been compromised. Juma will learn about it after discovering that their Coach Freddie had been poisoned to miss the game. He is benched until almost the dying minutes of the game after they are down by three goals to none. However, his efforts and that of their goal keeper salvage two goals for them. It is during the match that he receives news that his brother and other youth have been shot by police at the infamous Dandora dumpsite.

Mambo, Juma’s brother survives the shootout but not his friends. Do or do is a romantic novel that ends with Juma receiving a prestigious offer from one of the big clubs in Europe for a mentorship programme and hope of resuming his studies. Things back at home also look up with his parents’ relationship greatly improving and the father ditching drinking. Although the story provides respite for youth living in the slums, it is not lost to the reader that the chances of this happening to any one of them are indeed very rare. But does it really matter? I don’t think so, if it can happen to one of them and change their life for the better, that is all that matters. Hopefully, the reader has faith that soccer and other forms of creative activities will become part of government infrastructure that could be used to improve the livelihoods of youth and deter them from engaging in immoral activities.  

Born on a Tuesday by Elnathan John

It is weird how at times perceptions and impressions affect how we read. I bought a copy of Elnathan John’s Born on a Tuesday at the same time with Khaled Hossein’s A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner. However, almost two years after I finished reading Hossein’s texts, I realised that Elnathan’s was still untouched on my shelf. Probably, the wait was worth it since I confess to immensely enjoying the story. Yes, Khaled Hossein is a great writer, emotionally so and I will definitely post my take on the two titles I read – as long as I can find the emotional strength to do so but so is Elnathan John’s Born on a Tuesday.

This is the story of Dantala – one who was born on a Tuesday aka Ahmad. I wouldn’t describe it as a riveting story but it is nevertheless a gripping and an enjoyable narrative with a dark lining. In this story, the writer exposes the human follies that catalyse errant political, social and religious behaviour. As a coming of age novel, Born on a Tuesday outlines Ahmad’s challenges as he learns religious content from Malam Junaidu. In his mentorship, Ahmad discovers his prowess at mastering Arabic and Hausa languages, an asset that he will live to treasure later in life.

On the contrary, when he is sent away for his training, Dantala is separated from his family something that creates a filial fissure that is irreparable. Dantala’s brothers convert to Shiite Muslims, a separatist group of Muslims that is at longer ends with other Muslims. The mode of prayer for the Shiites differs and so are their other religious beliefs and practices. Much later when the Mujahideen are introduced to the community through Malam Abdul-Nur, the reader knows only too well that the opium being fed to the masses is going to bring about a catastrophe.

Malam Abdul-Nur has been a right-hand man to Sheikh but his Yoruba roots are perceived as a betrayal since the Yoruba’s are largely associated with Christianity. When Abdul-Nur establishes his camp and begins to conduct divisive, acrimonious religious teachings, the reader is plunged right into the centre of the creation of suicide bombers, a replica of the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram. Indeed, soon after, conflicts become normalised, grotesque human killings abound and the general populace begins to live in fear. Although the Sheikh tries his best to preach peace as calmly as his demeanour depicts, the psycho-social damages caused by religious brainwashing are irreparable. In fact, the Sheikh is beheaded in cold blood during one of his preaching sessions.

Woven into this chaotic fabric of politics and religion is the story of Dantala and his quest to preserve the beautiful memories of his family. He is especially fond of the memories of his mother, Umma, and his innocent childhood that is raptured after he is sent away for religious tutoring. The reader empathises with Dantala when he first gangs up with a bunch of street children in the opening pages of the story. This bit demonstrates Dantala’s inability to reconcile himself with his family both physically and emotionally. It is during his stint with Banda and the other gang that he is initiated into political violence as they are misused by politicians to maim and cause fracases to opposing political sides. Dantala first tastes murder when they attack the local offices of the ruling party. His redemption is underscored by his remorse and the reader’s knowledge that most of their actions are inspired by drug abuse – especially wee wee (weed).

It is only when Banda, Dantala’s benefactor, is shot dead that Dantala chooses to change for the better. However, all his efforts are quashed when the region at large implodes and other people and himself are taken captive by the police and subjected to torture in the pretext that they were the ones causing violence and killings. How Dantala survives is a miracle. He is scarred forever and the memory of the loss of his mother does not help any single bit. She died as a result of the trauma she encountered through losing her husband and then soon after her twins who were washed away by floods. This is a haunting story but one which demarcates a thin line between truth and fiction. I am glad Dantala got another shot at life since everything else ended up being gobbled in a dark pit of death, ugliness and darkness. At least Dantala and Jibril represent a possible future generation that can patch up things for the better.

Although Dantala does not get the love of his life, although he does not get to be reunited with his brothers and although he never lives to reap the fruits of the religious mentorship from Sheikh, the reader is able to discern the possibility of redemptive pieces in the narrative. Yes, the politicians are a lost case and the police – well, nothing much can be said about them but a glimmer of hope resides in the believe that Allah knows the intentions of our hearts even when we act otherwise. For instance, Dantala and other fellow youth engage in errant activities that young people are wont to. But their yearning for better character and standing humanises them and sets centre stage for the country’s healing. I am glad that my review of this text gets born on a Tuesday!!