Culled from Sunny Ayewanu’s Facebook Page
Prof.Anthony Oha flew in from Abuja to give me a copy of his 313- page novel, a fresh mint titled- Insignia of the gods
Am glad to receive him and discuss this novel with him, which holds great promise for critical interest
“Insignia of the gods” will be available in bookshops across Nigeria and Online from June 2025
Below( after the brief Intro) are the comments of notable literary figures who read Insignia of the gods before it went to press
The Critical Discourse:
Kibanda was governed by monarchs, but the citizens yearned for democracy, which Chief Feleye’s ‘Democratic Movement ‘ spearheaded. Empress Hilda, the wife of Emperor Tahir II, wanted something else: to install her son as the next monarch. Her plots were dangerous, with strings of assassins at her disposal, coupled with her alliances with the gods. Undeterred, the Democratic Movement fought until Emperor Tahir II and his entire cabinet were killed through a suicide bombing carried out by Preye, which subsequently led to a civilian coup.
Chief Faleye became the Interim President, but unfortunately, a military coup truncated the two week old regime.
The plot of the narrative thickened with the extrajudicial killing of Chief Faleye and some members of his group by General Takum, which led to a nationwide revolt resulting in another coup led by General Isiguzo, who thought it wise to hand the power over to a civilian. Unfortunately, the nation fragmented into six separate countries as the center failed to hold.
The story is incredibly gripping and full of intense episodes, humour, metaphysical realism, and surprising intrigues!
Praise for Insignia of the gods:
( as printed on the blurb and inside pages of the novel)
“Insignia of the gods is an intriguing novel about the struggle for freedom and democracy within a dictatorship. It explores the complexity of strategies, personality dynamics, contradictions, delusions of grandeur and power, that attend such canvases. Professor Oha emoloys an unusual but effective literary technique of titling the chapters to his novel the name of its characters, even as he skillfully weaves them into the thematic architecture if his novel. Because Insignia of the gods has dense prose, it will require close reading to fully immerse the reader into its rich and rewarding tale”
~ Professor Emeka Aniagolu
( Author & Professor of Political Science and History. Fellow, College of Fellows, Association of Nigerian Authors(ANA); Visiting Professor, Veritas University, FCT Abuja, Nigeria)
” This is a dramatic but intriguing interplay of politics, power, history and religion in a familiar terrain full of its notorious complexities. This impressive debut scores high in its uncanny sense of history, wise perspectives and a narrative dexterity that makes this novel a cinematographic delight ”
~ Sunny Ayewanu
( Author, Publisher and Former President, Association of West African Young Writers)
” This is an ambitious prose of hope in which the author deploys enormous insight, courage and craft to prove that change is possible even from unusual quarters. Because it is a deliberate fiction, it intermittently flashes familiar faces and histories. The writer, however, manages the ‘ fact-tional’ instincts so well that the novel is never short of all the fun that good literature promises. This is a grand and very ambitious work”
~ Akeem Lasisi
(Award-winning writer & performance poet)
“We find in Insignia of the gods, Gods and humans uniting to save the soul of the society. This effort comes with consequences. Nothing comes easy; liberty also comes with a cost, but Anthony Oha offers solid hope for an egalitarian society where the rights of citizens are respected and human dignity is prioritised. The narrative is engaging and involving; recourse to reality stares us in the eye even within a fictive realm.
Oha’s message is that good governance is possible without deus ex machina; even the gods have limitations”
~Prof Sunday Enessi Ododo
(Author, Professor of Theatre Arts & Former General Manager, National Theatre, Nigeria 2020-2024)
“Centered on a deadly power play reflective of the African political scene, Insignia of the gods is a veritable statement on the intoxicating nature of absolute power and its aggressive stance against change and democratic tenets. The strength of the novel is not only on the universality of its timeless message but its capacity to appeal to the reader on both emotional and intellectual levels in terms of exciting plots, vivid descriptions and philosophical depth”
~Sumaila Isah Umaisha
(Author, Writer, Journalist & Research Fellow)
“This story is an unbundling of the severe effects of totalitarianism in politics with its unending calamities on humanity…the humour inherent helps to douse the trauma of human carnage”
~Professor Don Nilsen
(Professor of Humour Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA)
“Literature, apart from its pedagogical role, is also a tool for political change, Insignia of the gods advocates a unique political form that should make Africa a cynosure of the world…”
~Dr Surinder Singh
(Assoc. Prof., Jesus & Mary College, University of Delhi, India)
“Insignia of the gods is a gripping tale of power struggles, rebellion, and transformation set in a treacherous political landscape. It is a tremendous tale packed with diverse knowledge from different cultural and religious groups. Prof.Oha has a good sense of political intrigue, pacing and plot development, as the story seems to have a clear structure and progression”
~Funke Adelaja
(Writer, Teacher, Motivational Speaker & ANA Abuja Executive)
“We are exposed, in this novel, to the typical African political tragedy which revolved around monarchy and anarchy from time immemorial. The call for democratisation is too loud in the story”
~Prof. Rocuho Ruzo
( Research Fellow In Creative Writing, LPU, India)
“This is an on-the-edge story, full of exhilarating political innuendos enmeshed in the realms of fact and fancy. Anthony Oha writes with a mastery of the craft he knows too well”
~Rt. Hon. Noel Agwuocha Chukwukadibia
(Author & Former Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly)
“Anthony Oha provokingly yokes humans and gods in a fierce struggle for the soul of a nation. The story is captivating, engaging and enthralling. A masterpiece to read and learn from”
~Elder( Arch)Chukwudi Eze
(Author & Chairman of ANA, Abuja Branch)
“The long fingers of the Committee for Education and Understanding which had become the Bureau for Mobilisation and Emancipation jutting out of the cunning minds of the monarchy had no true power over the golden light of the democratic opposition, no matter how the latter had been thrown into the furnace of torture and anguish. In the great free-for-all fight in which monarchy got bombed by militarism and spiritualism, democracy, aided by religion, emerged as the greatest trophy won by injured men. The Insignia of the gods can strike you and transform you into a bookworm. Yes!”
~Jeff Unaegbu
(Author & Research Fellow, Institute of African Studies, UNN)
“Incisive, intriguing and thought-provoking!!!. In this captivating political tale, Anthony Oha creatively provides a thesis to guide contemporary African nations on potentially workable solutions to anti-democratic tendencies and despotism. Insignia of the gods is a great work of art”
~Gloria Ernest-Samuel
(Author & Professor of Theatre Arts, Imo State University)
“Insignia of the gods is a beautiful offering from a gifted story teller, who so wonderfully, blended socio-realistic facts and imagination in this piece…The narrative technique is wonderful, making the work intriguing and educating, capable of holding the reader spellbound…I describe the text in Laurence Perrine’s words, an interpretative fiction”
~Dr Uche Nnyagu
(Winner of the James Currey/Akachi Ezeigbo Prize for Prose Fiction)
~Insignia of the gods exposes the intricate world of power and politics, where alliances are forged and broken, and the stakes are higher than ever. One gets enmeshed in the complex dynamics of the metaphysical colliding with the treacherous landscape of political struggle, as leaders rise and fall, and the fate of the people hangs in the balance. As you relish this racy narrative, you will discover that true nature of power and politics within the forays of African cultural complexities. This thought-provoking novel has marked the writer as one that could spur surprises in African literary discourse”
~Prof. Nduka Otiono
(Author & Professor of African Literature, University of Alberta, Canada)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anthony Oha is a Visiting Professor of Literary Onomastics and Communication at the Noida Int’l University, Utter Pradesh India, Vinayaka Mission University, India, Gregory University, Uturu, Nigeria and a major Course Writer and Developer for the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) amongst other institutions.
He has taught Creative Writing for more than two decades and has also contributed much in literary dialectics and creative writing in Nigeria and abroad
He is a Senior Research Fellow in the Catherine Acholonu Research Centre for African Studies and the Curator of Jazz Cycle Nigeria.
A prominent member of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) for decades, he had published other significant works over the years before this novel which he says is ” his first full expression in the craft of fiction”
l
Pix 4: Autographed page of the novel to me, that reads: ” for Sunny Ayewanu. A friend that’s more than a brother “
