A TALE OF TWO BROTHERS BY SUNDAY IGWEBUIKE

The book no doubt is quite educative and impressive being authored by a young boy of just 17 years. The 13 chapter’s book written in a simple narrative style is built around twin brothers; Ifeanyi and Emeke. Both of them are of the same parents Mr. and Mrs. Ifediogor. However they lost both parents at early age, which led to their being brought up by their uncle Mr. Okolie at Umunkwo village. By hard work, faith in God and self discipline Emeke turned out to be a successful educated man while his brother Ifeanyi though wealthy, dropped out of school, became a drug baron. Wicked and associated with all kinds of evil including making of charm, armed robbery, and even attempted to kill his twin brother, Emeke as he became jealous of his success without asking him for money to pursue his education. From the cover design, the world of Ifeanyi and Emeka were already differentiated. A good art work, it was already telling the story before one opens the book as around one of the twin brothers there was the benevolence of light and darkness around the other twin brother. Chapter one gives the family background of Ifediogor beginning with the death of Mrs. Ekene Ifediogor in the labour room while giving birth to the twins. Their hard working father died of mysterious illness after settling all he had, and use his only house to take loan from a bank to treat himself. Consequently Ifeanyi and Emeka never knew the joy of parenthood. In chapter two, the boys were already setting down to village life. First they enrolled at St. Paul secondary school, Umunkwo where they stood outstandingly in their examination. At the other time, they were in the church with their uncle at Jesus New Generation Church. In chapter three, the twins chose their paths as Ifeanyi failed to help himself with odd jobs in the village to continue his education and thus stopped going to school while Emeke did the odd jobs and enrolled for his JSS examination and came out in flying colours. Ifeanyi soon degenerated to become “ the bad son of a good man”, as he preferred to be called.He had gone into drug addiction and blamed the society for his degeneration as “God” allowed his parents to die and permitted their suffering. So to him he was not in life to make sense. “What sense, yes what sense is there to make when the world keeps pushing you up and down without your making,” Ifeanyi said. Against the choice of Ifeanyi not to make sense out of life, Emeka continued to battle with life drawing inspiration from the song of a bird that work is not an offence but a price to be paid for one’s honour. It was not a surprise that he got a scholarship from an oil company after emerging  over all winner in a state organized science quiz. The scholarship covered two years school fees, provision of textbooks, notebooks, accommodation, feeding and transport. The author in chapter seven tactically brought to the fore the hand behind the death of Ifediogor and his wife Ekene. Their Uncle Mr. Okolie had employed evil powers to kill them as he felt neglected after helping them to get married and have the first pregnancy. He brought about the poverty and planned to make the twins die of hardship. Against his plan to end the generation of Mr. Ifediogor, fate had his way as Ifeanyi became too diabolical for him to handle and a torn in his flesh and Emeke got the anointing of God to prevail and progress against all odds. As God favored Emeke he passed his senior school certificate examination with eight distinctions and one credit. He also made his JAMB and gained admission to study Petroleum engineering in the University of Port Harcourt, this was in addition to getting a job on casual basis as a math’s teacher at Good Glory Group of school Umuta. Chapters Nine and ten had a near unbelievable twist to the story Ifeanyi became jealous and made attempt to assassinate Emeke his only surviving brother. He failed and made another attempt sending somebody to poison him. What for? One would think as twins, good or bad they will continue to click and form a single force. Chapter eleven stands significant as by a twist of fate Emeke wrote off his late father’s debt and redeemed their house at Lagos from the bank from whom his father took a loan. He secured a job with Chevron after graduating with first class, it was his job that took him to Lagos. God has ways of doing things. Chapter twelve and thirteen closed the book with tragedy as Ifeanyi died following an accident he had on his way back to Abuja after the burial of uncle Okolie. This was after he made other attempts to eliminate his twin brother. In all, the author: Sunday Igwebuike merely painted the book with more of the bad side of life except for Emeke that succeeded by chance. Mr. Ifediogor and his wife Ekene had died earlier. Three students were assassinated, uncle Okolie died and Ifeanyi eventually died. Emeka survived, became successful after passing through the dame of poverty and hardship. Mr. Igwebuike by his work may be pointing out the fact that success in life could only come from hard work and focus and that the chance of succeeding is one out of every ten persons.