From the perspective of a chronically religious man, Chukwuemeka Famous, the author of the book We Will Live Again, gives his readers an insight to events that could have occurred before, during, and after the Biafra war in the 90s. The dying man having a conversation with his son just before his death, gives the impression that there is an established cordial relationship between them both. As the book shows in its progression, the way the prologue is portrayed is far from the truth.
With the character, Thaddeus, Famous explores an over-righteous ‘man of God’, a husband and father of two, a church’s financial secretary turned Pastor overnight, and a loving man turned beast in human form. As an average man trying to get by, Thaddeus had all the great qualities a human could possess: diligence, hardwork, dedication, love, intentionality, and humility. Under the British Reverend Griggs, he was in charge of the church’s finances and served as role model to many.
He was also a great family man and created time for his wife and kids, whilst making sure that his family were adequately exposed to his religion of practice. This was obvious in his first son, Woha, who developed interest in the concept of religion and all that it had to offer him.
However, everything changed when Reverend Griggs decided to go back to his country of origin. Thaddeus was appointed Pastor and had his status elevated. The front seats, respect from everyone, fame and the financial benefits that came with the change in status, all brought out who Thaddeus really was: a narcissist who cared about no one but himself and people’s perception of him and the church. Aside from his constant berating of the church and his unreasonable restrictions on his family, he became hard to hearing and condemned everyone that spoke against his values and virtues privately and publicly on the pulpit and at every whim.
What began as verbal abuse spiralled into physical abuse when he started to hit his children regularly and beat his wife to the point of injuries. He became unbearable to live with, so much that his wife, Chika, chose to go to a war zone area rather than staying with him. The popular saying of a good wife being a gift from God became true in his case. His wife leaving him became the beginning of his woes as an individual. Although strongheaded and adamant at first about looking for his wife and reconciling with her, he chose to amend his relationship with her after realizing that he could not handle his children on his own.
However, amidst war in the North where his wife was moving from pillar to post, as well as the elephant in the room which was their unresolved quarrel, a long time passed before he could return to his town of residence with his wife. Little did he know that with what was about to hit him, experiencing war in the north was soon to be the least of his problem. Coming back home was supposed to bring about the start of a happily ever after, but Famous through his story brought in a twist. Very quickly, Thaddeus simultaneously lost his position in church and the trust of its members on the basis of embezzlement. For someone of his status as a pastor, the manner with which he lost his position was embarrassing and shameful, to say the least.
Rather than pick up what was left of his life and start something else, Thaddeus kept his mind stuck on the good days and his traitors. Moved to expose their betrayal and prove to them that they made a mistake chasing him like an unloved dog, he started a course that led him lower and lower into the pit he already dug for himself.
He became infamous for hypocrisy, pride, religious delusion, and over-righteousness. He became an even worse father and husband and stopped hiding his animal-like tendencies. He would not listen to advice from anyone and became a good for nothing individual.
The war that started in the north eventually spread to Owerri where he lived and displaced him and his family back to their roots. Rather than start afresh, there was a sad and unfortunate occurrence during the war that broke the camel’s back and made him useless to himself and others. Thaddeus began to indulge in terrible activities that are not only dangerous and damaging but demeaning of someone that claimed to be a man of God.
We Will Live Again is a book that depicts the effects that war can have on not only individuals, but also families. It depicts how dysfunctional a family can become when parents set bad examples and children are surrounded with a lack of love. It also shows that domestic violence is not limited to a particular age or gender.
We Will Live Again is a book that takes its reader through a rollercoaster of emotions, especially anger and shock. This is for people who are interested in a book that portrays the lives of some religious leaders behind the scenes and how life can happen to anyone at any time regardless of status.
Stella Agboola
Stella Olanike Agboola is a 4th year medical student enthused with informing, entertaining and educating others through her well curated words. She is a creative writer and blog writer. Aside from being an avid reader of fictional books with a particular interest in domestic thrillers and African fiction, she enjoys reviewing and recommending books, as well as discussing them with others. Asides writing articles, she is an award winning public speaker. She loves words in other forms besides reading such as listening to and watching great conversations through shows, interviews and podcasts.
