In this thought-provoking romantic novel, acclaimed journalist, social commentator, and poet, Sam Omatseye ventures into fiction, weaving a complex narrative that links human foibles to the intricacies of society.
With the enchanting title, Juju Eyes, the story follows the protagonist, Shay from her idyllic childhood in a remote village, where she was to be bonded as a life-companion to an ancestral deity, to her ascension as a sought-after belle and famous radio broadcaster, haunted by the memory of unpleasant events that happened in her days of innocence. Through this richly allusive narrative, infused with biblical and classical references, satire, and metaphors, Omotseye crafts a powerful allegory for Nigeria’s struggles with corruption, exploitation and duplicitous leadership.
Events in this contemporary literary fiction published by SUNSHOT Associates (2025) are structured into 51 chapters with subtitles such as Uncle ID, Ese, Area Boys, Osa’s Gambit, Bonfire, Francis and Twins, Madam Lola’s Fear, Esther Weds, Mista Naija Meets Maami, The White Gorilla, Drooling Lips, Lucy Powers, and General Bean as well as 352 pages of lucid prose, woven around the protagonist whose love story unfolds to reflect the vanities of pretentious living.
Juju Eyes has a transnational and cosmopolitan setting as it traverses multiple locations, including various cities in Nigeria-Lagos, Abuja, Calabar, Port Harcourt, and Enugu, showcasing the country’s diverse cultural and geographical landscapes. The setting expands to encapsulate international destinations in the UK, the US, and France, highlighting the protagonist’s broad experiences and the global connections that shape her life. The transnational setting allows the author to explore themes of identity, culture, love, racism, violence, and power dynamics in local and global contexts.
The plot of the novel revolves around the multifaceted, complex, and fairytale-like protagonist, Shay who embodies the spirit of Nigeria, with various characters representing forces that seek to exploit her beauty, potential, and resources. It unfolds to unveil thought-provoking themes and complex characterizations, inviting the reader to reflect on the intersections of personal and national identity. As an allegory for Nigeria, Shay’s experiences serve as a metaphor for the country’s struggles with exploitation, corruption, and insecurity.
Right from the Author’s Note, Omatseye hints at the metaphoric representation, saying: “I saw my pen running into more historical, political and cultural interstices, involving how my character, Shay, is not a story of a society lady, or what some call a femme fatale but a creature of history. She is also Nigeria-potentially rich, beautiful but tortured…,” (p. iii). The author further describes the character as a guise of beauty, intelligence, faith and the mystical. Conversely, the protagonist is portrayed as a seductive queen bereft of the ability to love any man deep enough, an unrivalled beauty, who aside from winning a campus pageant (Miss Unical), is often mistaken for Miss Nigeria. Shay’s (born Oluseye) famed beauty, charisma and powers are attributes of the regal village goddess, Okumo whose shrine she had innocuously burnt when she was taken there as a toddler to be initiated as the deity’s companion in accordance with an age-long tradition. To escape the villager’s wrath, Oluseyi is taken to Lagos where she grows through her teen years with the paternal uncle, ID.
The novel is a social commentary on topical issues and the idiosyncrasies of high society men and women who conceal their real identities, preferring to live fake lives. Allegorical and socially conscious themes, combined with complex character dynamics, make for a thought-provoking read that invites reflections as the narrative critiques societal challenges such as corruption, sexual and economic exploitation, and the disconnection between public facades and private truths while unveiling the heroine’s relationships with multiple men, friends, and family members as indicative of intricate human connections.
Shay and her mother, Maami believe that the deity haunts and manipulates the temptress, confining her to an illusory and unfulfilling love life. The protagonist’s experiences are presented through the third person point of view, coupled with diverse narrative techniques such as flashback, suspense, inversion, and metaphoric representations. As the heroine navigates the world of facades and deception, the novel sheds light on the disparity between public and private truths, raising important questions about identity, power, and diverse human conditions. Through the characters of Chief Lambe, Chief Awotobi, Madam Lola, and other unscrupulous participants, the author satirically mirrors the political, religious, cultural practices, and the power games, that bedevil Nigeria.
Juju Eyes contains an insightful “Author’s Note” that provides tips into its historical, socio-political, and spiritual dimensions: “During the Covid-19 months, I read a story on social media of a Nigerian young woman whose marriage to a man in the United Kingdom unraveled. She disappointed her lover by claiming to be who she was not, including her education, parents, etc. She was reportedly beautiful, smart with a lot of something common in Nigerian men and women who got by through a guise.”
The subject matter encompasses a wide range of issues corruption, insecurity, neocolonialism, and exploitation of power. As a socio-political commentary, the narrative critiques leadership, shedding light on the failures of leadership and the consequences of unchecked power. By exploring these subject matters, Omatseye unveils the complexities and challenges of contemporary Nigerian society, making the novel a significant seminal material. From the opening paragraph of Chapter One subtitled, “Uncle ID”, Omatseye masterfully captures the essence of Shay’s nightmarish life and the void within her ostentatious lifestyle: “At night in Osa’s apartment, Shay screamed out in her sleep. She had had a nightmare. An unknown man, naked from the waist down, had pursued her into an uncompleted building near a meat shop…” (p. 1).
The author explores several dominant thematic concerns, including insecurity and violence as instantiated in the kidnapping of the expatriate, Mista Naija, subsequent negations on ransom demands, and his eventual release from the dungeons of kidnappers in the creeks of Niger Delta. Myths about ritual killings of infants and albinos highlight the pervasive sense of insecurity and the breakdown of social order in the country as portrayed through the ignoble roles of politicians who embezzle public funds, indulge in extramarital affairs, and resort to ritual killings to consolidate power. Critiquing the abuse of power and corrupting influence of authority, this thrilling novel, “Juju Eyes” unravels as a metaphor for Nigeria, a country endowed with enormous resources, but bedeviled with capricious characters in guise.
Even those in a genuine quest unwittingly inflict injuries on her as entailed in Bimbo’s remarks, “God will be with you, Auntie…your beauty is a trap for men and for you” (p.247). Ironically, the following passage reveals that Bimbo too needs such prayers: “Bimbo had the beauty of a village belle…What was more captivating was what Shay saw as her vulnerable air, her naivety. She looked too trusting, and so easily, she could fall into the nest of crafty men.” The author masterfully weaves in allusions to the bible as in the following expressions, “We should pray against the sort of storm of the sea that followed after Jesus gave the people a miracle of bread and fishes” (p.202), “
Among other traits, the characterization in Juju Eyes unveils nuanced human experiences and relationships that show that individuals can be multifaceted, with contradictions and flaws. The protagonist’s character adds depth to the narrative, inviting the reader to consider the intricacies of human relationships and personal growth. Omatseye presents subversive stereotypes that challenge traditional expectations of women’s roles and relationships. The protagonist is portrayed as complex and multifaceted character with complicated relationships, involving multiple men, complex family dynamics-two mothers, an incestuous, but generous uncle, and friends of divergent character traits. With her multiple identities and complex relationships, the heroine defies simplistic categorization, but she instead of being portrayed as a “loose character”, she exhibits positive traits, endearing her to many younger girls such as Bimbo to whom she is both a mentor and role model.
As instantiated in the excerpts, “Those with a militant sense of history replaced her head with that of the nationalist princess Margaret Ekpo of the Aba Women’s Riot, Funmilayo Ransom Kuti of the Abeokuta variety” (p.216), “We should not forget Captain Philip who was behind the Benin Massacre of 1897” (p.261) and “They said Mista Naija was Mr. Philip, and the man who presided over the killings of coal miners in Enugu in 1949 was also a Mr. Philip,” Juju Eyes is characterized with a fusion of fiction and fact. This is intriguingly unraveled through the protagonist’s marriage to a British oil mogul, Nigel Philip aka Mista Naija, who turns out to be the grandson of the infamous mastermind of the 1949 Iva Valley massacre.
Besides copious references to historic events of the colonial era, the novel is laced with remarkable doses of allusion to legendary writers like William Shakespeare and W. H. Auden, music legends like Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and contemporary artists such as Davido and Burma Boy as revealed in the following excerpts: “Remember what Shakespeare said, ‘There is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face’, (p. 185), “If equal affection cannot be// Let the more loving one be me//” (p.204), “…the special songs rendered by Burma Boy, the rave of an enthralled generation” (p. 199), and “Nigel cruised from one Fela song to another like one driving switching gear in a car…they both chanted, Water, lightie, foodoo, housie…” (p.184).
Mista Naija, a symbolic character for British imperialists, is passionately hated by many for the sins of his ancestor, his wealth from Nigeria’s crude oil, and marriage to the beauty queen, Shay. Neither his philanthropic gestures nor his fascinating adaptation to Nigeria’s food culture and values could correct the prejudiced perception against the Briton who “scoops lumps of pounded yam and dips them into the slimy okro soup with its sundry spices…” (p.184). After reading some blog posts and hate speeches on the social media, he reminisces on the inexplicable hostility, saying, “Just like they don’t want me to feed and be content with fufu and egusi soup, some say I chose the most beautiful girl in the world right before their eyes…” (p. 275).
The language is relatively simple and characterized by an informal, but conversational tone, incorporating elements of vernacular, pidgin and Nigerian English that reflect everyday conversations as instantiated in this excerpt from a dialogue between Mista Naija and Shay: I heard a friend’s steward call his girlfriend, a girl from the neighbourhood that name (Juju Eyes) on the phone. I asked him why he used that name for a human being. He said, “Na because I dey worship am. When I look her eye, my problem vanish.” That is how I feel when I look at you at times…You are my juju. I am your juju priest. You say a lot to me through your eyes without knowing it. They are the shrine of my affection.” (p.206). Conversational features gleaned from enacted interactive situations in church, business, political meetings and other social functions include gossip, chants, dialogues, folkloric songs, and media chats that resonate with readers.
The linguistic features reflect influences of digital and social media, internet culture, a blend of contemporary and eclectic elements that add depth to the narrative, making it accessible and relatable to a wide range of readers.
- Lagos-based journalist, Chukwuma Ajakah, is a researcher in the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Lagos State University, Ojo.
