Waiting for an Angel: THE PAST AND PRESENT..


Hi, guys! Welcome to September, my birth month.😚 Isn't it a bit overwhelming, how fast the year is running out? I mean, It feels like just weeks ago, we were all locked down in 2020 with our fingers crossed about 2021. Now, we'll be crossing over to 2022 in just four months! Really illuminati-ish, if you ask me. 

Today, I'll be reviewing Helon Habila's Waiting for an Angel as a political and economic prophecy — a manifestation of historical truth, and an unfortunate prediction. Okay, okay, it's really not that deep. I'll simply be reviewing Habila's heart-warming novel, in relation to the political and economic events of the past and present. 

You know that feeling, when you love something a little too much and you're unwilling to share? It's part of why I've been putting this review off for so long —other reasons being circumstances out of my control. Waiting for an Angel is really such a treasure to me, but I'll be doing this review as a new month's gift to you because that's what love is truly about, and I love you!


Let's get right to it, I'll start with a short biography on Helon Habila.

Helon Habila Ngalabak is a Nigerian novelist and poet. He was born in Gombe State, Nigeria and studied English Language and Literature at the University of Jos. His debut novel, Waiting for an Angel, was published in 2002 and won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize just a year after. Habila resides in the US as a professor of Creative Writing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Waiting for an Angel can be called prophetic because through it, Habila's portrays the Nigerian reality while knowingly or unknowingly painting a sad picture of Nigeria's future. It is a perfect mix of reality, comedy, romance and tragedy. The novel is written in two major narrative techniques, the omniscient narrative technique and the first person narrative technique. It is set in the city of Lagos, in the 1990s, during the regime of General Sabi Abacha.

Habila introduces us to Lomba at the very beginning of the novel. A writer and journalist, detained indefinitely in prison for covering a peaceful protest. We are introduced to the eccentricities of prison life; Lomba agrees to write love poems for an officer because it is a pathway to a somewhat comfortable stay. We are also introduced to friends of Lomba:  Alice, Lomba's first love, and Bola, his friend, who loses his mind and most of his family in a day.

It is obvious, in the reading of the novel, that the Angel Habila speaks about is not one of salvation, but an Angel of death. "No one knows when the Angel of death will come" a soothsayer says, but in various points of the novel, characters find themselves giving up, surrendering, and waiting for the inevitable end: death.

Kela is  a delinquent, sent away from home to leave with an aunt for being caught with marijuana. It is through his eyes that we see Poverty Street and the interesting characters that reside in it —Joshua, a teacher and writer; Brother, a celebrated hero; Auntie Rachel, his aunt, who has been quite unlucky with love; Nancy, sent from home for being pregnant out of wedlock; and Hagar, a bright student turned prostitute. 

Poverty street is a microcosm of Nigeria, Habila's representation of the Nigerian society. With bad roads, bad water and little or no job opportunities, the average Nigerian can only dream. Hence, Brother talks often of the things he would do if he had money, although clueless on how that would ever come about. Hagar represents failed dreams. A brilliant student, failed by a terrible system and sent to the streets for survival. Poverty Street is Habila's depiction of Nigeria's moral and economic rot. 

When, despite all of their struggles and differences, the people of Poverty Street decide to come together for a "peaceful demonstration", they are fought by the government. A situation which leads to loss of lives, including Hagar's. Sounds familiar?

Hagar's life is a pathetic and tragic one. Joshua describes her as the most brilliant student of her class, yet when she loses her father, her mother remarries and she begins to endure sexual abuse from her step-father. Her mother sends her out to the streets when she discovers this. Hagar is unable to find her feet and resolves to prostitution. Joshua has hopes for her, still. He sees her intellect and encourages her to return to school, but Hagar will not budge. She dies a very sad death in Joshua's arms, the result of a car accident during the protest.

What is prophetic about Waiting for an Angel is the political and economic state of the country. While this is a democratic government and Habila writes about the military, it is obvious that nothing has changed. There's no freedom of expression, no room for opposition. On 20-10-20, lives of Nigerians who peacefully came out to protest against police brutality were lost. Just like in Poverty Street, where every family had atleast one member hurt after the peaceful protest. It is sad but true, that we are in a tragic merry-go-round, as things never really change. They disguise.

Lack of freedom of expression is first observed in the novel, when Bola is beaten up for speaking publicly against the government. Then, Lomba returns to school and sees the result of what was meant to be a peaceful demonstration from the students: empty blocks, destruction and chaos. His poetry collections were torn and stepped upon, girls were raped in their hostels and lives were lost. He decides to drop out. 

Writers are arrested for speaking about the government, offices burnt down. Today in Nigeria, Twitter has been banned. Some say it is because Twitter has been a very effective tool for Nigerians in self-expression, some say it is because the Twitter management disrespected the government. Either way, it is no lie that banning Twitter equates trying to shut up millions of Nigerians.

There are other instances in the Novel that mirror experiences of Nigerians now and then, in the novel. Like Alice marrying a rich man for his money. Like Alice's father, a General, abandoning his family for another woman. Like the pain of losing a loved one. Like hope without direction. Like waiting for an Angel: Waiting for the Angel of death.

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