One of the things that fascinates me about children’s literature is that I am given the opportunity to peep into the innocent minds of children. Then books written about children or for them tend to remind us of our own childhood too. That is what we are about to experience with today’s book. It is titled: “I’ll Call My Brother for You,” written by Olubunmi Familoni, and published in 2019 by Noirledge Publishing in Ibadan. Familoni recently won the NLNG-sponsored Nigeria Prize for Literature for 2024.
He has got a couple of other awards under his belt, some of which include the ANA/Abubakar Gimba Prize for Short Stories in 2015, among others.
In this book, the author introduces us to Abayomi, a nine-year old boy, whose aloneness draws the reader to his side. The book opens with a first person narrative from the eyes of this boy as he gives us a peep into his lonely life as an only child, always desirous of having a sibling to play with, to fight with, to defend, and to live with. The pervasive atmosphere of emptiness that hangs around our central character is so keen that the reader is perpetually sucked into this void that even the presence of all manner of playthings cannot assuage it. The author’s intense storytelling power brings the urgency of loneliness to the fore.
In this book, we come to appreciate the fact that having a brother or sister to argue with in the house, to fight with and turn things upside down could be soothing for children, an irony of a crowded house.
The book also exposes us to the downside of having too many children beyond what one can take care of, as we see in the life of Baba Ibeji, Abayomi’s driver who has eight children, but always needing help or borrowing money from his boss to pay school fees. We see this in the life of Nofi as well, who has three brothers and one sister, but she has to work in the city, make money, and send it to the village to take care of her siblings and mother. The paradox of too little and too much plays out in this book.
Our central character in this book, a curious, questioning nine-year old Abayomi, seems so consumed by his desire for a sibling that he holds grudges with his food, and perpetually questions his mother’s failure to connect with her own brothers and sisters. And he does this questioning in a rather warm, disarming manner with so much humour weaved into his dialogues in this book.
Also Read:
- Akwa Ibom: Kinsmen applaud ex-finance commissioner on reappointment
- Akpabio v Akpoti-Uduaghan: A case for decorum, by Yusuf Ali
- Court orders final forfeiture of $4.7m, N830m linked to Emefiele
- Notorious bandit kingpin Bello Turji resurfaces in Sokoto, imposes ₦25 million levy on villages
- Troops eliminate 82 terrorists, rescue 93 kidnap victims in one week – DHQ
In this work, we read about the futile efforts of Abayomi’s parents to make him happy and fill up the embarrassing lack of a sibling. This is frustrating for him, so one day after school, Abayomi follows Kayode home. They’re classmates. Kayode has a brother, but they are not the kind of brothers Abayomi desires to have. They get to their house, but Kayode and his brother do not talk, they don’t talk to their maid either. Their house feels strange for Abayomi, but he prefers to be there to being at home.
Abayomi later learns that the whole school and his parents have been thrown into confusion about his whereabouts. They hear that he is at Kayode’s house, so his father picks him up just before midnight, and all the questions he has been asking are answered by his father. He now knows why his mother has not been able to give him a sibling, and what his parents plan to do in order to give him a brother or sister. So on the morning of his 10th birthday, Abayomi gets a big birthday party, and a bouncing baby boy is born into their family. The family is happier now, and bigger.
The book, I’ll Call my Brother for You, is a beautiful work of art, and the author’s finesse with pulsating narration is packed with a large dose of panache. In ten chapters and 82 pages, the author has a package of pure fun, genius and homour-laced prose. Indeed, Olubunmi Familoni is a master of urgent and vivid descriptions, with his creative deployment of punchy sentences for the reading pleasure of both children and adult readers.
. Olatunbosun is a broadcast journalist, fact checker and book reviewer at Splash FM 105.5, Ibadan. He can be reached via 08023517565 (SMS/WhatsApp only) and email molatunbosun@splashfm1055.com.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
