Abiku: Chronicles of a Nation Betrayed

Abstract

Abiku is remarkable for the way it weaves a breathlessly paced narrative from strands of Nigerian sociopolitical life of the last two decades. In time, critics and scholars may yet afford readers a close analysis of this rich, multi-layered novel, but even now there is no denying that Debo Kotun’s first work will enjoy a visible place in the growth of Nigerian literature. Abiku is breathtakingly bold in utilizing material from the Nigerian national life where other Nigerian novels, even of the famed satirical tradition, have not dared to tread. The strength of the novel consists in this radically new deployment of the resources of what is popularly called faction to fresh and exciting ends.