Title: The Jewel of
Kabibi
Date of publication: 2014
Publisher: Masterman Publishing Ltd
Pages: 272
International book number:
978-9988-1-9219-8
The famous physicist Albert Einstein opines that we should “never do
anything against conscience even if the state demands it.” Conscience is the
ultimate guide of man and when lost or exchanged for anything else, humans
cease to be humans. The preservation of conscience in life’s sojourns is the
ultimate mission that the major characters in The Jewel of Kabibi strive to fulfill.
The Jewel of Kabibi is Mawuli Adzei’s debut novel and concerns itself with negotiating
Ghanaian life through the provocation of minds to such glaring but often unidentified
issues as child prostitution, the problematic head-porter business in urban
Ghana, socio-political and religious hypocrisy, the entanglement of the young
in the hypnotic magnetism of material and financial fulfillment and the ultimate
triumph of the few good people over the many evil ones. In the very end, the
conscience of the good set the path for the liberation of the whole society by
exposing the ruthless lords who for their aggrandizement stifle everyone else .
The economic gap between northern and southern Ghana may, to an extent, be attributed to human creation: a result of bad policies from colonial to independent eras. In this novel, the author reminds us of this fact; whipping up our conscience to look at the direction of vulnerable geographies. The main character, Salma (11 years old), escapes from a planned forced
marriage between her and the affluent octogenarian Baba Askan. Tongka, Salma’s
father, also gets to increase his financial fortunes from this marriage. Salma
left northern Ghana to Accra (the national capital) with the hope of living a better life and
fulfilling her dream of becoming a scholar. Accra, however, converted her from
a young girl with dreams into a kayayo (Ghanaian expression for head-porter) and latter into a prostitute.
Risky, another very significant character, is a product of
illicit coitus between a minister of state and his housemaid. The powerless
housemaid gets sacked by the powerful. Risky then grows up on the street to
become a criminal. Abena, Risky’s mother, attempted to expose the evils of
Danfo, the (dis)Honourable Minister of the Interior. She was killed by the
minister to protect his image. Abena, though dead, has her conscience intact
while the minister, despite his efforts to cover his crimes, was finally
exposed by James Morgan. James Morgan is a journalist, a representation of the
few good human beings who strived to choose conscience over anything else. In the
end, he has to flee to preserve his life and liberate Salma from the spell of
prostitution.
Being a debut novel, The Jewel of
Kabibi, contributes significantly to literary dialogues on Ghanaian social
life. The themes of the novel are worth contemplation. The issues in this novel
have the capacity of replacing dawn broadcasts on radio and sermons on the
pulpit, given that Ghanaians are ‘religious’ people. Even the way of disposing
off excreta, the protean electricity supply, bleaching, lateness to work and corporal
punishment in schools are questioned.
The Jewel of Kabibi defies chronological plot and rather weaves the narrative in an
unexpected but organized manner. The brevity of the chapters is very apt. Each chapter reads like a short story in their own right. This characteristic is observed in all Mawuli Adzei’s novels and poetry; a style for which Veronique Tadjo of Ivory Coast is also very known. The
masterful incorporation of cultural nuances and the simplicity of language are
major strengths of this work. An astonishing observation is that, the author
comes across as a feminist, giving exposure to major problems that women face.
To advance a feminist theory, James Morgan who liberated Salma from
prostitution and Risky, who ‘protected’ Salma from bad clients, are men just
like the author himself. Sala and Bente, who introduced Salma into prostitution
by having her raped, are women. Adzei seem
to suggest that men can be feminists (an echo of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) and that not all women look out for the good of their kind.
A weakness of the work is the introductory chapter. This chapter
describes a huge flood from the overflow of the Bagre dam, which destroyed many
valuables. This may be intended to foreshadow the destruction of the personal lives of many
major characters and at another level, the destruction of the whole social
essence. The description is, however, very lengthy, covered the whole chapter
and made biblical allusion to the flood of Noah’s time. Being an introductory
chapter, readers may expect an action-oriented narrative rather than a
descriptive one. An action-oriented narrative serves as an appetizer to the
readers and brings them to terms with what to expect in the rest of the
chapters. Again, the author left the reader in suspense with regards to Mr Danfo,
the (dis)Honourable Interior Minister. When and how will the laws of Ghana make
him pay for his crimes? This suspense may, however, be a literary device or suggest a possible sequel. Also, the paper quality of the novel is of low standard
and not very attractive. The cover design, however, compensates for this with a
fascinating art work and a splendid color combination.
I highly recommend The Jewel of
Kabibi to every lover of good literature because it brings a new
perspective to narratives about post-colonial Ghana, her people, history and
culture in different ways and highlights basic socio-economic problems that
needs to be addressed before Ghanaians start thinking of going into space.
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| Mawuli Adzei in his office at the University of Ghana |
Mawuli Adzei is a British Chevening Fellow and senior lecturer at the Department of English, School of Languages, University of Ghana. His books include Testament of the Seasons (poetry) (2013), Taboo (novel) (2012), The Jewel of Kabibi (novel) (2011; re-published in 2014 by Masterman Publishing Ltd) and The Witch of Lagbati (novel) (2014; Masterman Publishing Ltd).
