Sègílolá Arómiré Ògìdán is a 15-chapter prose fiction written in Yoruba by Àrèmo Yusuf Àlàbí Balógun, and published in 2023. The book plays on a combination of themes, including betrayal in multiple dimensions, treachery, revenge and blind trust. Right from the first chapter of the book, we meet our protagonist, Sègílolá, who is described as a beautiful lady.
Her very first encounter with society’s perception of beautiful ladies is portrayed here. Sègílolá is a musician. She is on her way to Chief Kànràn, who has promised to help in advancing her music career by linking her up with his rich friends and making her a celebrity. But Chief Kànràn makes an impossible demand of Sègílolá: She must sleep with him first.
Her fiancé Gbénga does not see anything bad in that demand by the chief, as long as they will be able to gather the money needed to produce their albums. So Gbénga suggests that Sègílolá should go back to Chief Kànràn for assistance, despite the Chief’s demands.
In the book, Gbénga Àkínrìnádé hears from the radio that Chief Kànràn has been murdered by someone who dispossessed the chief of the sum of three million Naira. He supposes that it must be Sègílolá because her appointment with the chief is around the same time of the incident. While turning this over in his mind, he receives a call from Afoláké who informs him that his attention is needed at her place in Abeokuta. Sègílolá is with her as well. Afoláké is a lady notorious for her waywardness. She has been dealt heavy emotional blows by men, and she is bent on perpetually taking vengeance on the male folk.
Sègílolá recounts to him and Afoláké that she and Chief Kànràn were about to get into the act when he died, obviously from a charm laced on her by her mother as a precautionary measure. But Gbénga is mainly interested in the money. He murders Afoláké and he and Sègílolá make away with the money. Then he suggests that Sègílolá should leave town for some time as news reveals that the murderer of Chief Kànràn is wanted by the police.
Also Read:
- EFCC probes man over $578,000 cash smuggling
- Osun communal clashes: Group condemns action, calls for lasting solution
- NLNG to improve operational efficiency of domestic LPG supply in Nigeria
- Heavyweight boxing legend George Foreman dies aged 76
- Arrest of Bauchi AG: EFCC targeting governor for politics, not corruption – CSO
They settle for Ilorin and Sègílolá leaves Lagos, not informing her mother. And things take a sudden twist. Sègílolá is declared wanted for murder of Chief Kànràn, and her mother lands in the police net. But who could have given the police information about Sègílolá’s links in this incident?
But soon, Sègílolá is abducted by a group of people led by Gbénga and Béwàjí, the daughter of Chief Kànràn, from Ogbin Ile in Kwara State.
And all the issues, the deceit and treachery become clear to her. But soon, Sègílolá is shot at by Gbénga and she loses her legs. Her mother is murdered but the perpetrators escape from the scene of their crime, aided by Adewusi, a police officer. But the policeman meets his karma. He loses his five children to a building collapse in the school.
For a moment, our attention is drawn from our primary protagonist. The author’s searchlight is beamed on Afoláké and Lateef, her husband. Afoláké’s anger issues become the factor that perpetually unsettles their home. Her anger also drives him into the path of Gbérìn, a street-wise lady whose agenda is to use any way to snatch Lateef from Afoláké.
And things begin to fall in place, especially with the twist in the plot of the book, Sègílolá Arómiré Ògìdán. After serving her jail time for the murder of Chief Kànràn, Sègílolá and Béwàjí become united in an unlikely plot to eliminate Gbénga. Béwàjí does not have much time to live on account of a cancer diagnosis. But she wants Gbénga to pay for dispossessing her of her father’s property and riches, and for treating her in a dehumanizing way. She wants Sègílolá to join her venture, noting that Sègílolá too has been serially betrayed by him. But Sègílolá has other ideas.
The book, Sègílolá Arómiré Ògìdán makes an advocacy for inclusion of persons living with HIV/AIDS, especially how a show of love and friendship can make them feel needed. It also discusses sexual and gender based violence. The life of Gbérìn (and Béwàjí to some extent) shows the stark reality of what parental negligence, rape and sexual violence can cause a person to become a deviant.
The book also discusses the àkúdàáyà phenomenon. It is a Yoruba belief that people who died (too early or sudden tragic deaths) may come back to another location to continue living. It also discusses the potent grip of karma in the story of how Adewusi, a police officer, loses his five children to a building collapse in the school, a consequence of abetting criminals to avoid facing the law for their atrocities.
The book, Sègílolá Arómiré Ògìdán is a big vault of secrets. Sergeant Bimbo is torn between making Lateef go to jail for murder and letting her son know that Lateef is his father. Lateef is banking on his wife staying true to her confession of love for him by not exposing him as the killer of Gbérìn. The chief of all the well kept secrets is the confession of Béwàjí that she is instrumental to the death of her father, Chief Kànràn.
The author, Àrèmo Yusuf Àlàbí Balógun, has in this 370-page book, given the reader a lot to take in. His precise deployment of powerful imagery to carry home his message is extraordinary. His understanding of and grounding in the Yoruba language and its nuances come in handy in this suspense filled work. Indeed, every Yoruba word in the prose is tone-marked and delicately deployed for effect. The author is indeed a great storyteller, and he has etched his name already on the writing firmament.
. Olatunbosun is a broadcast journalist, fact checker and book reviewer at Splash FM 105.5, Ibadan. He can be reached via 08023517565 (SMS and WhatsApp only) and email molatunbosun@splashfm1055.com.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
