By Unamma Uchechi
Since its release in 2018, the novel, ‘In The Name of Our Father’, has garnered praises from literary critics and bibliophiles across the nation.
With themes centered around religious hypocrisy, poverty, greed and power intoxication, this mix of characters, comprising of an uncompromising journalist, a false prophet and a dictator, is bound to keep a reader glued to its pages.
‘In The Name of Our Father’ is a tale of two stories intertwined: a story blended into a story. The author took us on a journey with his outstanding story telling delivery. The introductory part of this book takes us through the life of Justus Omoeko, a journalist who decides against all odds to publish his controversial novella that will reveal the depravity of a popular prophet in town. Set in a time when Nigeria was under the military rule with unlawful arrest and abuse of human right being a norm, our protagonists explored the shenanigans of a popular self acclaimed ‘man of God’, Prophet T.C. Jeremiah, formerly known as Alani.
Alani abandoned his indigent life filled with misfortunes in search of a greener pasture. In his quest for the good life, he reunited with pastor David, an old friend from school who feels indebted to him and had previously asked Alani to join him as a pastor. This may seem like an act of kindness but pastor David was no true man of God, he belonged to an occult brotherhood that provided him the power to perform miracles. Alani having lost all sense of reasoning to poverty accepted to join pastor David without hesitation. After his conclave with the brotherhood where some blood rituals were performed, Alani was offered some money to set up a church. He rebranded himself as Prophet T.C. Jeremiah, blinding his followers with deception in form of miracles with a diabolical source. Prophet TC Jeremiah’s popularity and miracles were talked about far and near that the infamous head of state General Sani Idoti sent for him.
In an era of coup d’etat, General Sani idoti was a veteran of coup plots . He had overthrown a civilian head of a transitional government after the annulment of a presidential election won by Bashorun Olaabi and mounted the saddle as commander in chief. Being a dictator earned him enemies of all kinds and fearing a coup was being plotted against him, he sought to meet Pastor Jeremiah to ensure his longevity in power.
Coincidentally, in his daily column, Justus Omoeko wrote a metaphorical poem about a coming coup. This became a perfect opportunity for prophet T.C Jeremiah to kill two birds with one stone by making as much money as he could from manipulating the head of state and getting rid of the journalist threatening to expose him, at the same time.
Justus was eventually arrested, charged with plotting a coup and was sentenced to life imprisonment, a sentence that made Justus wish for death while alive in prison.
From my conversations with some persons that have read this novel, Justus Omoeko’s ordeal in the hands of Sani Idoti may be mistaken for the climax of the plot in this novel. However, I think if we connect the dots from the first page to the last we will realize that it’s not. While it is no doubt an interesting part of the plot and paints a realistic picture of life in Nigeria under the military rule, it is not the main idea behind the plot. In my opinion, the book is really about the manipulations of false prophets whose power sources are from the occult world yet confidently parade themselves around the alter of God pretending to be servants of the most high and the lengths they will go to keep their ministries running.
From members of the Christian community buying the ‘blood of Jesus’ to pastors being found with human body parts, the get rich quick hustle is progressing in the Nigerian Christian community. More charlatans masquerading as men of God are springing up, scamming gullible people of their hard earned money all in the name of God. Pastoring has easily become one of the quickest ways to get out of poverty, it is gradually becoming a business venture that has little or nothing to do with evangelizing and more to do with hustling for a better life just like Alani a.k.a Prophet T.C. Jeremiah did. Karl Max said religion is the opium of the masses and I couldn’t agree more. In an interview, the author mentioned how he aimed to shake tables with this novel and true to his words he shook some tables by showing us how religion has successfully blinded the masses with its sacredness, thereby creating an avenue for exploitation of naive Christians and desperate miracle seekers. Daring to vocalize your observation about these false prophets may earn you a verbal lynching by angry church members with the popular “touch not my anointing and do my prophet no harm” phrase.
Though purely fiction, this book also sheds a little light on historical events that took place in Nigeria. And because of the similarity between some characters and some Nigerian historical figures, it can be a bit challenging to believe it is truly fiction. Also, with the author being a journalist, it is tempting to conclude that Justus Omoeko’s experience is in fact the author’s experience. This is what I love about Olukorede Yishau’s books, they will make you wear your thinking cap and keep you guessing despite knowing it is fiction. I thought it brilliant that the characters in this book were all instrumental to the plot of the story, you don’t always get to see that in books. They were connected and well constructed, each had an impact on the plot. While it is already established as fiction, the content of this book is no doubt relatable to many Nigerians as many atrocities are being committed in the name of God our father.