Musings of pain, love, injustice, perseverance intertwined in Africa

Title of book: Hope in the Shadow of Dream\

Author: Maximumdan Solomon Sambo

Publisher: Moving Tech Integrated Concept, Yola, Adamawa, Nigeria

Year of publication: 2024

Reviewer: Michelle Niyang

Hope in the Shadow of Dream is a collection of inspirational, motivational, and socially conscious poems written by Maximumdan Solomon Sambo. The book contains fifty-five poems segmented into five sections, with section part focusing on important human and societal experiences such as pain, faith, perseverance, patriotism, injustice, love, and hope, especially within the African environment. Through simple but expressive language, the poet attempts to encourage readers to remain hopeful despite the many challenges of life.

The opening section of the collection concentrates on suffering, violence, and emotional trauma. Poems such as The Black Night, The Pain, and You Cannot Live in Pain Forever present disturbing images of loss, fear, and communal tragedy. These poems reflect real social conditions like conflict, insecurity, and human cruelty. However, even within these painful descriptions, the poet gradually introduces the possibility of healing, survival, and divine intervention, showing that darkness does not last forever.

Another dominant theme throughout the book is hope, resilience, and faith in God. Poems like Turning Point, Never Say Never, and Integrity emphasize inner strength, moral character, and spiritual dependence. The poet repeatedly suggests that perseverance, discipline, and trust in God can transform suffering into victory. The motivational tone of these poems makes the message clear and accessible to a wide audience, particularly young people facing uncertainty about the future.

The collection also gives attention to African identity, patriotism, and leadership challenges. In poems such as Africa My Pride, True Nigerian, Stay United, and We Are One, the author celebrates the beauty, strength, and historical struggles of Africa while criticizing corruption, disunity, violence, and poor governance. These poems function as both appreciation and warning, encouraging citizens to embrace unity, responsibility, and national development. This patriotic concern makes the work socially relevant beyond personal reflection.

In addition, the poet addresses gender inequality and injustice against women. Poems like Plight of a Woman and Clamouring for Justice strongly condemn abuse, violence, and denial of women’s rights. The emotional tone in this section highlights the physical, psychological, and social suffering experienced by victims, while also demanding justice and societal change. This reinforces the book’s broader message about human dignity and equality.

The final section shifts toward love, heartbreak, beauty, and emotional relationships, as seen in poems such as Love Speaks, Heartbreak, and Beauty Queen. These poems provide a softer and more intimate conclusion to the collection while still maintaining the central theme of hope and emotional healing. They remind readers that love, despite its pain, remains an essential part of human existence.

One noticeable strength of the book is its clarity of message and sincerity of emotion. The poet uses straightforward language rather than highly complex poetic structures, which makes the poems easy to understand for general readers. Although some poems rely more on repetition and direct expression than deep literary symbolism, the strong moral lessons and emotional honesty give the collection meaningful impact.

In conclusion, Hope in the Shadow of Dream combines personal reflection with social commentary to deliver a message of perseverance, faith, unity, justice, and love. The poems collectively argue that hardship, violence, and disappointment are real parts of human life, yet they do not have the final authority over the human spirit. Instead, hope remains constant even in the darkest situations. Therefore, the collection serves as a reminder that individuals and societies have the responsibility to choose positive transformation. By promoting moral integrity, national unity, respect for women, and trust in God, the poet encourages readers not only to endure life’s struggles but also to contribute to building a better and more compassionate society. For this reason, the book stands as an encouraging literary work that speaks especially to young Africans searching for meaning, strength, and direction in a challenging world.

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Succeeding beyond all odds

Title of book: Naija Commando

Author: Mike O. Nwangwa

Publisher: Royal Ray International Limited, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Number of pages: 198

Reviewer: Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga

 

“Naija Commando” is a memoir of a young Nigerian writer, Mike Nwangwa. It talks about his struggles, resilience and triumphs from his primary education to secondary level at Command Secondary School, Jos, Plateau State, and onward to his tertiary accomplishments.

It is a 198-page book made up of Thirty-Seven Chapters, chronicling his struggles with school choices and overcoming financial challenges, vis-a-vis academic bottlenecks, societal expectations and future aspirations.

The themes in the chapters’ border on the importance of political awareness among young folks and the need to embrace good leadership traits from positive minded administrators and elders in the country.

Youth and entrepreneurship development, positive parenting and association with folks that have good goals oriented aspirations, are part of the meat and potatoes of the book’s musings. These and many other issues showcased in the book reminds the reader about a newly published book that dwells on leadership, inequalities, entrepreneurship and gender issues titled “Colours of Leadership and Inequalities,” edited by Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga.

Through a captivating storytelling style, Mike the author of “Naija Commando” paints a picture of many challenges being faced by a typical Nigerian child, from primary school to tertiary level. With an engaging mixture of humour and salient issues affecting the Nigerian child, the author spreads his experiences from elementary school age to his tertiary attainment. The role good mentoring plays in the life of youths within and outside the school environment is also beamed on with counselling electricity.

Therefore, the book is a metaphor of the average Nigerian youth experiences, in terms of what the author passed through and endured, as he takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride about the ups and downs he wrestled with, in a Nigerian military school and beyond its environment.

Nonetheless, Nigerian youths who did not attend military schools can also relate with the author’s experiences, because they live in the same society where the military schools exist. The tumultuous waters of adolescence and a host of societal challenges and expectations in a country where the youths are continuously disappointed by some socalled elders and elite, from the grassroots to the national leadership system, requires a great deal of resilience to succeed in it.

The author’s diction is very clear for any average reader to understand. This makes the book an interesting read. The content is devoid of mechanical or channel noise; thereby making the reader assimilate the messages or information without psychological noise. The material is therefore highly recommended for Nigerian youths to read and adopt the spirit and need to embrace perseverance and good leadership traits, from any positive-minded politician or administrator in the country; rather than allowing themselves to be used as thugs for the settlement of political parties' disputes and politicians' differences.

Interestingly, despite being a Zoologist, the author has displayed that he is a good story writer, as he holds a first degree in Zoology from the University of Maiduguri, Bornu State, and a master degree in Communication Management from Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria.

In conclusion, in spite of all the odds he encountered like many other Nigerian youths are still facing, the author has succeeded in various human endeavours, while he is still looking forward to achieving more. This is the hallmark of “Naija Commando”. Other books authored by Nwangwa include “I Believe Miracles Still Happen,” “The Call, The Gift, The Vision,” “Wisdom Of The Treasure Seeker,” “I Plead Guilty,” and “5 Secrets Of Christmas.”

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