Merry Boxing Day!



Soooooooo, story review time!

This love I have for African literature, eh. I just finished this really amazing book, "I Do Not Come to You by Chance", and I am reminded again that African literature, especially Nigerian literature, is simply lit.

This book focuses on how a guy from a well-brought-up family, one that believed so much in the magical success that comes with being educated, ended up becoming a 419er. This same guy, who used to insult people indulging in fraud with big grammar, turned into one of them. So, what happened?

The character Kingsley was brainwashed by his parents to see education(going to school, studying a good course, and having good grades) as the ultimate goal and the key to success. But when the harsh realities of life unfolded, and he experienced an even deeper blow with his father’s death, he went against his conscience and all he knew to be right. 

What I saw was the problem with foundation. When our belief systems aren’t grounded in something strong enough to withstand the harsh realities of life, we become easy to influence. The truths Kingsley held on to were handed down to him by his father. They were his father’s ideologies, his father’s views. He never thought them through or owned them for himself.

But among all the characters, Uncle Bonafide was my favorite. Not because he was the hero; in fact, he was the villain. There’s just something phenomenal about him. His truth was his truth. The way he says, “I don’t believe in film tricks. I believe in real, live actions,” is so raw and unapologetic.

For me uncle Bonafide was the genius of the story. His philosophy of life was so logical and practical, it amazed me. It shows how similar good and evil can be, how hard it is to tell them apart sometimes.

This book emphasized so many lessons I have learned before, but two stood out the most:

1. Know your truth
Don’t just quote someone else’s ideas without being personally convinced about them. We must learn to question everything handed to us, no matter who it comes from. When you know the truth for yourself, you’re not easily influenced, and you gain a stronger understanding of life.


2. Good and evil are two sides of the same coin
They are not as far apart as they seem. If we take a closer, unbiased look at evil, we will see how much wisdom it holds. Uncle Bonafide’s craftiness, for example, shows his understanding of life’s principles. Stripped of the label of “evil,” his methods reveal a lot of practical wisdom. This is why evil often wins, it uses logic and knowledge to its advantage.


There’s so much to learn from this book, and it was such a blessing to me.


@favvy_Okwansđź–¤. 





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