LAST ODA
LAST ODA... tells the story of confraternity in Nigerian university as started by Professor Wole Soyinka and others with the Pirates at The University of Ibadan. The writer uses the opportunity of an insight to the background and formation of the other groups like the buccaneer, Eiye, etc, to weave together a most surreal storyline of bloodletting violence, sex, intimidation, and breakdown of law and order at these universities. Last Oda is the story of group of students who got admission to the universities but it turns out, they were not there to read or learn.
As far as the book goes, nothing about confraternity connects to real or normal life. In fact, anything normal is a sign of vulnerability. Issues with the secretive families come to a head as the everyday students lives are played out between the classes, their relaxation centres and the male’s domineering ego. The need to prove oneself through assigned enforcement, just as the death of first line top rank member opens the doors for recruitment and promotion of, sometimes, unsuspecting others in the assembly line leading such members down the road to ruinations and death.
So, studies, drinks, drugs, sex and life intersect as Obinna Anejionu uses the themes surrounding cultism as inspiration to try to get a grasp on why everyone feels in mortal danger at the hands of some misguided miscreant in the various universities. Playing around the thematic ideas of order, indiscipline, death,, and secrecy leads him into reflection on the various cult groups’ place in the Nigerian universities, students clubs, social groups and of course, the confraternity mythus. It also leads him very serious on the path of meditations on law, politics and ethics. All these then made him raise further questions on the subjects of alienation, social interaction, and home upbringing leading to the need for deeper analysis of the many facets of deceptive character of children at home and what they let themselves into when they are out on their own.
His characterization becomes mirror to life events when we’re made to follow the life history of some of the players, particularly the young Jerry Orits-the Hannibal whom, we followed through his pre and post cult years to the many times he got shot, one of which was in front of his parents. The mix of pigin helps to re enforce such naturalness.
The art in weaving fictional story together detailing about sex, deaths and violence is an integral part of any graphic novelist ability to feed on the thoughts and attitude of the generality of the populist, and Obinna Anejionu as a good artist has painted pages in LAST ODA...to reflect not only his story telling ability, but ability to infer and conjure what was and is currently the foreboding atmosphere at our citadel of learning today. Even the book’s back cover instils fear with its - dripping blood and a background of a skull - which indicates that the road of violence journey naturally leads to death.
Obinna does however, needs to watch out on dwelling too long on suspense that may tends to take the readers’ eyes off the ball and perhaps, in addition, get an editor with the knowledge and background on the fine point of editing.
As far as the book goes, nothing about confraternity connects to real or normal life. In fact, anything normal is a sign of vulnerability. Issues with the secretive families come to a head as the everyday students lives are played out between the classes, their relaxation centres and the male’s domineering ego. The need to prove oneself through assigned enforcement, just as the death of first line top rank member opens the doors for recruitment and promotion of, sometimes, unsuspecting others in the assembly line leading such members down the road to ruinations and death.
So, studies, drinks, drugs, sex and life intersect as Obinna Anejionu uses the themes surrounding cultism as inspiration to try to get a grasp on why everyone feels in mortal danger at the hands of some misguided miscreant in the various universities. Playing around the thematic ideas of order, indiscipline, death,, and secrecy leads him into reflection on the various cult groups’ place in the Nigerian universities, students clubs, social groups and of course, the confraternity mythus. It also leads him very serious on the path of meditations on law, politics and ethics. All these then made him raise further questions on the subjects of alienation, social interaction, and home upbringing leading to the need for deeper analysis of the many facets of deceptive character of children at home and what they let themselves into when they are out on their own.
His characterization becomes mirror to life events when we’re made to follow the life history of some of the players, particularly the young Jerry Orits-the Hannibal whom, we followed through his pre and post cult years to the many times he got shot, one of which was in front of his parents. The mix of pigin helps to re enforce such naturalness.
The art in weaving fictional story together detailing about sex, deaths and violence is an integral part of any graphic novelist ability to feed on the thoughts and attitude of the generality of the populist, and Obinna Anejionu as a good artist has painted pages in LAST ODA...to reflect not only his story telling ability, but ability to infer and conjure what was and is currently the foreboding atmosphere at our citadel of learning today. Even the book’s back cover instils fear with its - dripping blood and a background of a skull - which indicates that the road of violence journey naturally leads to death.
Obinna does however, needs to watch out on dwelling too long on suspense that may tends to take the readers’ eyes off the ball and perhaps, in addition, get an editor with the knowledge and background on the fine point of editing.
Comments