"There is something in your life which moves - like wind. Blows
across everything. Like wind. Shifts, like sand ... You have to be careful
..."
A Mallam, on the fate of
Filia
The story of the life of
a young woman, Filia, a girl brought up in a convent, with some tragedies in
her life. Initially she is in love with a young man, Dan Kaybi. In fact they
are very briefly married.
Filia is meretriciously
strict in relationships, it is not easy for her to fall for just any man. As
she says:
"I like men who are
modern. I like men who do things. I like men who are elegant and civilised, not
just those who think their money can buy me"
But it is not easy to
identify with her ideals, or the men she chooses, or her general mien,
especially when she begins to live and blossom in Lagos. Like how she suddenly
succumbs to Rayimi, who is quite bluntly a cheap, callow irritating thug. It is
a brief improbable affair, but as they are together, we are startled to
suddenly read:
"She slipped on a
rubber girdle and sat for a moment smoking. She smoked fifteen cigarettes and drank half a bottle of brandy...". Is
this the same convent girl still relatively fresh in Lagos? OK, ex-convent girl
then!
We are startled again
when Filia suddenly goes to the much older Gadson’s office to seduce him. There
is nothing earlier on to suggest that she even likes him. And yet again she
says to him:
"Gadson, you know I
love you. And I know you love me. It is useless fighting your desires".
Incredible.
When we are introduced
to Dapo Ladele, we come across a shockingly disgusting, twisted character. Dapo
first comes across as a somewhat charismatic young journalist - a shameless
hack really - but soon we learn fully what he is all about. As he himself
admits: "I work for money, Filia.Not for conscience. Why must I be the one
to show conscience?"
But the tragedy of Dapo
the young man is the tragedy of Nigeria and Africa as a whole. The paucity of
young men of integrity and positive values. And yes, hordes of women continue
to fall for such worthless ‘gentlemen’.
The finale of the book
is sad and haunting as our Filia dies very young; yet it is far from
convincing. Is it necessary that Filia should die do young? It is almost as if the author wants to force
her demise on us to fit in with the "Iska" theme and title of this
work.
On the whole, a very
readable book written by one of Africa's outstanding writers.
