By Chikezie Obayi

A vow in a thunderstorm is dedicated to the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) who spent most of his life fighting corrupt military leaders in Nigeria. The author of the 222 pages novel seems to have obtained his inspiration from the life of Fawehinmi. The main character of his story walks the same path as the late activist.

Tijani, a young brilliant boy vowed to spend his life fighting for the rights of the less privileged in his society after he witnessed his father died of tuberculosis, a disease he contacted while in prison for a crime he did not commit. Tijani promised his father that he was going to study law and use the legal profession for the benefit of the masses.

Obayi traces the story of Tijani’s life to his earliest educational life and shows the readers how the character strives to keep the promise he made to his father by fighting for the rights of the oppressed and the underprivileged. He borrows from Ibo land immensely in his use of proverbs, similes and metaphors. Obayi writes with clarity, imagination and simplicity that one would find in the writings of great storytellers such as Cyprian Ekwensi or Chinua Achebe.

While in secondary school at the Kings College, Lagos, Tijani rose to the position of clerk in the school informal law court by fighting for the rights of the junior students. In keeping with the promise he made to his late father. He fought courageously against the infamous compulsory free purchase (CFP) culture of the college, in which junior students were forced to buy a long list of beverages and other items for senior students.

This illegal practice ensures that a junior student used his money to purchase the items. Sometimes a student has to steal in order to meet up with the demands of CFP. A refusal to purchase the listed items means that the concerned student would suffer innumerable punishments in the hands of the senior students.

An alarmed Tijani took the matter to the lower student court and appealed the judgment of the lower court. At the upper court he was able to win the case and the oppressed students were free. This was the beginning of Tijani’s fight against abuse of the peoples’ rights. He went on to study Law at the University and continued his fight for the eradication of all acts of intimidation and oppression in the community.

Tijani is a multitalented young man who plays football very well and his love of the game gives him popularity. In chapter 11 of the book he took his love for the sports to the higher institution, which made him even popular.

As an undergraduate studying Law, Tijani displayed outstanding courage, in chapter 13 of the book, when he exposed the members of a notorious secret cult operating in his school. The cult known as NASTO had kidnapped Kutoye, the son of the university’s Vice Chancellor over disagreements in the student union elections.

This pushed the university into confusion. Tijani displayed the courage of a detective in the matter as he trailed the cultists to their hideouts. He recorded their discussions and obtained enough evidence for the arrest of the criminals.

The head of the cultists Prof. Ozia was exposed in the process. All these were as a result of Tijani’s efforts in the face of threats to his life. He helped the police got to the bottom of the matter and saved the life of his friend Kutoye. Tijani kept the vow he made to his father even in the university days. Like the late Fawehinmi, Tijani was determined to face danger in order to fight for justice and the enthronement of truth.

Obayi had rightly dedicated the book to Fawehinmi’s memory. A vow in thunderstorm provides an experience that many of the younger ones have not had before which may also yield them valuable lessons in human relationships and in other aspects issues of life.

Written in simple language, the author tells his story brilliantly without boredom or unnecessary details and seems to command a kind of magic that keeps one glued to the story. The author takes the reader through villages and the Lagos city to tell his tale.

He makes use of words such as Igwe thereby using his cultural experience and language in the choice of diction, location and the behaviuor of his characters. Although he does not provide a bibliography of words at the end of the story, he leaves the readers to do the interpretation.

In part two of the book, we read about a town caught in an inexplicable chagrin of life. Beneath the town lies a labyrinthine network of tradition and social vice. Unknown to the people, a notorious syndicate had turned the town into a dumping ground for fake and adulterated drugs. Against all odds, Tijani; now a lawyer, stood and fought for his people to get the needed judgment from the law court that set his people free, an attribute which Gani championed till death.

Furthermore, Obayi’s use of imagination is good as he is able to use descriptive words and much imagery. For example, in his description of the chaotic situation of Lagos city, he writes in chapter seven, “ people were moving in almost all directions and in haste with no-one seeming to care for the other.