Sozaboy: A Novel In Rotten English by Ken Saro-Wiwa

Author: Jordan Rodgers

“Sozaboy” by Ken Saro-Wiwa is a novel about the Nigerian civil war and the life of the boy Mene as he explains his life and the reasons for why he chooses to go to war. Wiwa was an activist who lived through the civil war in Nigeria and worked through non-violent means to achieve his goals. Wiwa had been producer of the tv show “Basi&Company” and was involved in real estate and other business ventures successfully. He had been involved in Nigerian politics at least on two occasions, one as the Regional Commissioner of Education in the 1970’s but had to leave due to his support to the Oroni movement and later was asked by Ibrahim Babangida to transition Nigeria to democracy but Wiwa resigned. Wiwa was eventually executed in 1996 by the Nigerian government. The novel uses a form of English which mixes Nigerian pidgin English along with traditional English makes the novel unique as it allows the voice of the Nigerians to come through and understand how past colonialism affected the native Nigerians language.

Throughout the book Mene is manipulated by those he knows from his love interest and eventual wife Agnes who he wishes to impress by being rich and providing for her which she convinces him to do by becoming a soldier. This is the main incentive for Mene to do well as a soldier as he wishes to please her and impress her by becoming an impressive soldier. The novel goes on to tell the conditions Mene witnesses and how he is respected by his village at first for becoming “Sozaboy”. Mene’s naivety is shown throughout the novel such as when he talks of his first experience in battle where the food is bad and he has to spend time in a pit with no sleep. Instead of reflecting on the situation Mene simply believes that good things will happen because good always follows bad.

The use of Pidgin English in the novel is at first difficult but a glossary provided helps with any confusion and over time the context becomes clearer so through reading the novel this does not become a problem. The language used is an important theme in the novel as it shows how past colonization changed the culture of Nigeria. This is shown through Mene’s belief in God, Zaza’s stories of fighting “Hitla” and how reading and writing in English is equated with intelligence. Mene’s constant conflict is between right and wrong and who his enemy is. Towards the end it becomes apparent that Mene has no real loyalty to any side of the war and his only interest is going home. This drives home the point that he is a child and has had to endure a hardship for no noble or practical reason he was never force to join the army but only did so due to his immaturity.

Sozaboy is not just an account of the Nigerian civil war but also a comment on growing up and how those involved in war manipulate the young soldiers into fighting for reasons they do not understand and how the soldiers are deprived of basic necessities. The war however does not particularly change Mene as his needs are simple and other than him realizing that war is useless he does not grow as a character.

Sozaboy is an effective story about how Wiwa viewed the civil war as it does not seek to shock the reader with any particular scenes of violence or horror. Instead it focuses on how Nigeria’s culture has changed and formed since colonization from European nations and that the war did not affect the country in positive way and only caused further suffering to the Nigerian people.