Olabisi T Gwamna

A Ghost in My Mirror Olabisi T Gwamna

Growing up during the Civil War in Nigeria, I witnessed several families who were displaced, and others who narrowly escaped being lynched by irate crowd. As a young adult in the 70's, I was always distressed each time one set of armed robber was tied to the stake and pummeled to bloody bits by stern looking squads. It also bothered me to see the crowd that attended such gory occasion, especially knowing one of the executed persons was somebody's father, uncle or son. I often wondered what would happen to the children of executed robbers when time comes for them to be married. Knowing how inter-ethnic relationships sometimes meet strong resistance from either families, especially in a culturally sensitive society, what would an additional social stigma do to worsen the situation? That, in a nutshell, is the gist of this novel. A Ghost In My Mirror, is the story of two young Nigerians who suffer so much anguish on the basis of their culturally checkered background: One is the daughter of a northerner, and the other is the son of a notorious armed robber. Yemi Samuel is the daughter of a Yoruba woman and a Fulani father. Her mother dies in childbirth, and she has no idea who her father is because she is brought up in the household of her mother's older sister, Auntie Aduke; a very successful textile merchant who flees the north during the civil war following the untimely death of her younger sister, Sarah and their parents. Enitan Mosadi is a London-based medical intern and the only child of a notorious armed robber who is publicly executed at the Bar Beach. Auntie Aduke vows to sabotage the relationship, and in spite of all odds, Yemi is resolute and continues the affair. The result is anybody's guess.