Waiting for Maria by Ifeoma Chinwuba

This week we look into an African novel. The author is not one often recognised as opposed to famous names like Achebe and Soyinka. She is a great writer nonetheless. I came across this book during my undergraduate days and it is one I never forgot about. This amazing book is characterized under the Prison Literature genre. It recounts the story of ten female inmates as they await trial, and for some death.

The ‘flawness’ of the Nigerian prison system is almost known throughout the country. The theme of this book portrays the situation of detainees waiting for months, maybe years before they are tried. The common excuse will always be the fact that the Black Maria was not in good shape. In the story, there were detainees who had not seen the walls of a court room but were still in prison for alleged crimes without a verdict.

Another intriguing part of this story is the fact that those sentenced to death did not even know the day they were going to be executed. Imagine tossing on your bed, getting a good position to continue your sleep and next thing you are yanked out of bed to a dark room. This is something I would not like to imagine but it is unbelievable… I know! Like a thief in the night, it could be at an unknown hour on an unknown day. It was like waiting for the apocalypse, or maybe even worse. The funny thing about this issue was the fact that an ‘oyinbo’ was not out of reach of the law. However, even though she had committed murder, she had to be deported and taken back to her country to be tried and prosecuted. Well, of course this was delayed due to flawed diplomatic process.

The story is captivating with the different stories the female inmates had to tell, about how they ended up as prisoners or delayed detainees. Some were relatable and some were arguably unreasonable. However, the end was near because the long-awaited Black Maria, that was meant to convey the inmates, finally began to work. The story ends with their trip in the Black Maria, a very intriguing episode, one that I think will make you pick up this book and read all about it.