Being born into the family of Mr. Obinna Amanze was a sign that things weren’t going to be rosy for Ikenna and his siblings. I mean, what more could spell an existence of pain than having people like Obum and Kalu as uncles?
Their mother, Nneka, would have been the most unfortunate if she had got married to Obum. She was saved from that misery though when she saw his true colours and decided to leave him for her own good. He however wasn’t having it. He is in the middle of strangling her when, Obinna, who is also the brother of Obum comes to her rescue. One blow to the face, and Obum was taken out.
The humiliation and pain from that blow, however, will forever pit Obum against Obinna. As if that is not enough humiliation for Obum, Obinna and Nneka got married, permanently cementing the hatred they were going to be getting from Obum, and by extension, Kalu who was the easily manipulated brother.
As fate would have it, Obum and Kalu who are wealthier and more prominent than their brother, Obinna, join forces and successfully frustrate their brother and his family. The family assumed that it couldn’t get worse since they had each other, but, Obinna becomes ill and his only source of help is from his brothers who refuse to help him. One day, the father of the home, Obinna dies.
How much more can they take? You would think it couldn’t get any worse until Nneka and her children are made to pass through hell, hell in all its fury. The only daughter of the family gets married to an easily manipulated pastor who gets influenced by the wicked uncles, Obum and Kalu. They manipulate Akunna into denouncing her family and cutting off from them. She does and it marked the start to a downward trend in the affairs of the family, a family who only had their familial love to brag about became bedeviled with pain, agony, betrayal and shattering silence.
Read Also: Dr. MarkAnthony Nze’s Gang Of Looters Now On Amazon Prime
Could things get any worse? Yes, things could and they certainly did. Ikenna struggles to graduate from the university amidst the menace that is the lack they are faced with, but it seemed like it was all a waste. Reason, he couldn’t find a job and the misery in the family multiplied.
Things however will begin to turn around for the better when he meets an old time friend, Abel. Abel sows the seed of relocating to Lasgidi. A seed which will eventually go on to bear fruit.
Ikenna relocates to Lasgidi and his journey towards fulfilling his destiny begins. He meets a woman, madam Aaliyah the first day he arrived Lasgidi, who turns out to be the mother figure and an always available confidant. He would then go on to get his first full time job and begins to excel in it.
On another stroke of fate, he meets Abel again. Abel sows another seed of trading in him. It germinates and in no time at all, Ikenna had successfully changed his story. He ventured into trading and later into the business of car accessories. His life seemed to have found a balance after-all.
However, as someone who always had a passion for the needy and less privileged, especially since he understood, perfectly well, what it felt like to be in their shoes, Ikenna would not be satisfied with just being a car accessories business man. He wanted more and there was more; the CAA.
The Car Accessories Association was the perfect platform to pursue that passion. There was a problem however, the association was bedeviled with corruption. Its secretary, who happens to be the person at the helm of affairs, Adekunle Jibola, turns out to be an embodiment of selfishness. All he cared about was enriching his pockets and stuffing himself full, off the sweat and hard work of its members.
The members of the association came to the realisation that Ikenna would make for a better leader and in no time at all, the money stealing secretary was bundled out by the people during an election and the once jobless man who relocated from his hometown had become the secretary of the CAA.
Of course, some allies of the thief weren’t having it. They plotted and schemed to get him out of the way, but with the help of his own secretary, Jane and some other trusted supporters of his, Ikenna found his way around it. By the end of the first book, “The Street Hustler”, Ikenna was being stalked. He however, escapes.
One would think that he would consider taking a step back, but, no; Ikenna persevered. He didn’t want any trace of corruption in the CAA, so he contested for the position that would make sure he had every power possible to stamp it out, the presidency of the CAA, which was being occupied by the deadly Babatunde Oluwole.
By the end of the second book, “The Street Boss”, Ikenna had become the president, the former president, Babatunde Oluwole had been thrown in prison, and Ikenna had faced many assassination attempts, the last of which he couldn’t escape, he got shot.
Going into the third book, you would have your heart in your mouth and definitely tears in your eyes when you realise that Ikenna survived the shooting. He is well taken care of by a good doctor, Dr. Nwachi whom he would go on to marry and have four children with. At this point, life seemed to have stabilised for him until the rude awakening came.
The CAA and Ikenna’s activities had caught the attention of the country’s president, also being overwhelmed by the scourge that is corruption, he recognises that Ikenna could be his undoing if he continued on the path of uprightness. Hence, various ways were employed by the presidency of his country and its government to get him out of the way, including, using his sister and her husband, which result to the death of the husband, Pastor Addo; good riddance to bad rubbish; the former president of the CAA, and most pathetic of all, abducting his brothers.
Ikenna would however come out on top when the whole country revolts against their president. In a seemingly interesting turn of events, Ikenna would go on to become the president of his country. It marks the end of an age of corruption and the beginning of a new era.
In this trilogy, Dr. MarkAnthony Nze has successfully woven a realistic and true depiction of what most societies, especially the African and specifically, the Nigerian society looks like. The constant fight against the minute few who actually care for the growth and development of their people. What more can we say? It couldn’t have been pictured any better.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
