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A Squatter's Tale
Young financier Obi enjoys life in the fast lane in 1990's Lagos. He walks tall in designer suits with his girlfriend at his side, enjoying the envy of those with empty purses. When his finance company collapses, Obi's decadent lifestyle comes to an abrupt end, and he is forced to flee to the United States. There he has to live on the margins of society. Obi wants money, he wants a woman, and he wants to live the good life. This fast-paced novel, by turns comic and moving, reveals what success and failure mean for the young Nigerian at home and in exile. Ike Oguine explores the alienation experienced by today's economic refugees under the cover of light-hearted comedy.
165 pages, Paperback
First published June 21, 2000
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About the author
Ike Oguine
3 books3 followersIke Oguine is a writer living in Lagos, Nigeria, and one of the standard-bearers of the current resurgence in Nigerian literature. As a commentator, he has written several opinion pieces for the New Internationalist, West Africa and Times Literary Supplement, and has written several short stories.
His first novel, A Squatter's Tale, was published by Heinemann in 2000, and explores the paradoxes of emigration through the aspirations and disappointments of a young Nigerian named Obi in California.
Oguine is also one of Nigeria's most prominent petroleum lawyers. From April 2014 to May 2015, he served as General Counsel to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, under an appointment made by President Goodluck Jonathan.
His first novel, A Squatter's Tale, was published by Heinemann in 2000, and explores the paradoxes of emigration through the aspirations and disappointments of a young Nigerian named Obi in California.
Oguine is also one of Nigeria's most prominent petroleum lawyers. From April 2014 to May 2015, he served as General Counsel to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, under an appointment made by President Goodluck Jonathan.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 17, 2019
The good news is that he’s fully Americanized
March 29, 2012
Probably 60% of the books in the Heinemann's "African Writers Series" offer some kind of coming of age in a changing Africa and/or coming to terms with expatriate/refugee existence somewhere in the world's hard to reach affluent countries. Ike Oguine contributes a mature, unsentimental and quick-reading novel to this collection. Oguine avoids preciousness, folklore and self-pity, which is awesome. In fact, his protagonist (It's hard not to assume this is an extremely auto-biographical piece) is far more agreeable for the straightforward way that he owns his character flaws. He's dishonest, opportunistic at the expense of other people and a bit of a non-producing tag-along. His lack of grandeur or tragedy protects his novel from the crushing weight of characters who are supposed to represent whole nations and generations. Granted, he does propose a theory about his generation, their greediness and poorly-focused vision; but it was a fairly fresh and non-self-flagellating observation and it had none of the annoying tragicness of the Ngugi's and Achebes, to say nothing of the White South Africans.
His way with words is entirely adequate and his dialogue rings true. He's not a poet; but he doesn't waste words and his text is consistently and bluntly humorous. For a taste:
"I was amazed at how his mind had completely revised the past like a Stalinist historian, retroactively awarding himself the friendship of people who had never hidden from him their contempt for and derision of him, transforming cynical bastards into nice young men and loyal friends with clean hearts, only a little confused and slightly distracted by matters of the flesh."
"I suspect his bitter face was responsible for turning Robo's mother, a pleasant enough woman, into a gloomy, nervous mound of incompetence." Or;
"It was somewhat comforting, in this age when you keep running into comparisons between Asian tigers and African laggards, to find an Asian who not developing or bootlegging new software or managing billion dollar investments, but was hopelessly thrashing about in a bog of failure; whose daughters were not precocious superwomen or specialists in some rare branch of medicine, but were regular young women slowly and painfully learning the lessons of love and pain as we all must."
This style and lightness (along with the effective temporal resequencing of the plot) makes "A Squatter's Tale" very approachble for audiences of different backgrounds and it does a surprisingly good job of revealing aspects of both Nigerian and Nigerian refugee culture--with minimal stereotyping. Its outsider's perspective on Oakland is also rewarding; it wouldn't hurt people who trash Nigeria to pick this up and see a sympathetic look at things (I kept being reminded of the 2008 U.S. market crash when the narrator describes the hard times impacting Lagos in the early nineties).
When I finished the book, I was wondering about how quickly it had passed and how in so relatively few pages and with relatively few narrated events it had managed to cover so much ground. I was not surprised to hear Oguine described as a short story writer; but I sincerely hope he writes another couple of novels. His country could do with a novelist who doesn't just get worse and worse. (You hear me Ben Okri? Get your shit together.)
His way with words is entirely adequate and his dialogue rings true. He's not a poet; but he doesn't waste words and his text is consistently and bluntly humorous. For a taste:
"I was amazed at how his mind had completely revised the past like a Stalinist historian, retroactively awarding himself the friendship of people who had never hidden from him their contempt for and derision of him, transforming cynical bastards into nice young men and loyal friends with clean hearts, only a little confused and slightly distracted by matters of the flesh."
"I suspect his bitter face was responsible for turning Robo's mother, a pleasant enough woman, into a gloomy, nervous mound of incompetence." Or;
"It was somewhat comforting, in this age when you keep running into comparisons between Asian tigers and African laggards, to find an Asian who not developing or bootlegging new software or managing billion dollar investments, but was hopelessly thrashing about in a bog of failure; whose daughters were not precocious superwomen or specialists in some rare branch of medicine, but were regular young women slowly and painfully learning the lessons of love and pain as we all must."
This style and lightness (along with the effective temporal resequencing of the plot) makes "A Squatter's Tale" very approachble for audiences of different backgrounds and it does a surprisingly good job of revealing aspects of both Nigerian and Nigerian refugee culture--with minimal stereotyping. Its outsider's perspective on Oakland is also rewarding; it wouldn't hurt people who trash Nigeria to pick this up and see a sympathetic look at things (I kept being reminded of the 2008 U.S. market crash when the narrator describes the hard times impacting Lagos in the early nineties).
When I finished the book, I was wondering about how quickly it had passed and how in so relatively few pages and with relatively few narrated events it had managed to cover so much ground. I was not surprised to hear Oguine described as a short story writer; but I sincerely hope he writes another couple of novels. His country could do with a novelist who doesn't just get worse and worse. (You hear me Ben Okri? Get your shit together.)
June 7, 2025
Oguine's tale is an excellent one. It captures, in sublime fashion, the African immigrant's experience in the West on the back of a visitor-visa overstay and having to work his way into the mainframe of society from its dark margins. The comedown from prosperous upper-middle class life in Lagos, Nigeria to one of bare subsistence in Oakland, California is well told.
Oguine is a sophisticated writer, though, and does not overlay the tropes of culture shock, recrimination, racism and righteous indignation that suffuse similar migrant tales by African writers. The main character, Obi, does not dwell on these things even though he dryly notes them and literally just gets on with his new life.
Oguine's writing is also fast paced. He doesn't try too much to be the writer's writer with flowery and elaborate descriptions of things, places or incidents. He captures the seediness of parts of Oakland without boring you with too much detail, vivifies the crazy pace of traffic and confusion of exits on California's freeways in pithy passages, and generally weaves an interesting tale that rarely drops off in pace, keeping you enthralled to the end.
The subliminal quality of Oguine's writing is captured especially in the descriptions of sexual encounters. They are poetic, not crude or raw (or requiring a parental advisory) yet erotic.
The book won the Assiciation of Nigerian Author's award when it was first released in 1997. The 2000s international explosion of African literature and social media had not happened then or it would surely have won more plaudits.
Oguine should do a sequel. The Squatter's Tale begs for it.
Oguine is a sophisticated writer, though, and does not overlay the tropes of culture shock, recrimination, racism and righteous indignation that suffuse similar migrant tales by African writers. The main character, Obi, does not dwell on these things even though he dryly notes them and literally just gets on with his new life.
Oguine's writing is also fast paced. He doesn't try too much to be the writer's writer with flowery and elaborate descriptions of things, places or incidents. He captures the seediness of parts of Oakland without boring you with too much detail, vivifies the crazy pace of traffic and confusion of exits on California's freeways in pithy passages, and generally weaves an interesting tale that rarely drops off in pace, keeping you enthralled to the end.
The subliminal quality of Oguine's writing is captured especially in the descriptions of sexual encounters. They are poetic, not crude or raw (or requiring a parental advisory) yet erotic.
The book won the Assiciation of Nigerian Author's award when it was first released in 1997. The 2000s international explosion of African literature and social media had not happened then or it would surely have won more plaudits.
Oguine should do a sequel. The Squatter's Tale begs for it.
February 28, 2019
It shows the reality of Nigeria and how many travel abroad for a better life and in the end they see that being in another country doesn't equal success. Obi is a young man who is beaten by the society and like many leaves Nigeria. The author touches on various topics like economic depression, love, human frailty, betrayals and social issues. It is a good book.
August 2, 2024
Extremely interesting and well written story
An extremely well written story of a Nigerian emigrant to the United States. Interesting perspectives on Nigeria and the immigrant experience.
An extremely well written story of a Nigerian emigrant to the United States. Interesting perspectives on Nigeria and the immigrant experience.
April 25, 2013
This was a set text during my African Studies course - It was striking as a tale of immigration and hardship that many Nigerians experienced in the 1980s and 90s; some of what Oguine talks about is echoed in Chimamanda Adichie's new book, Americanah - so this would be a good read if you like or liked the perspective on 1990s Nigeria that Adichie's book gives. Oguine's prose is effective rather than elegant, but his story moves forward with good momentum, and there are some choice scenes and situations, including the returning uncle who turns out to be a little less glorious in the world than he pretends.
If you like this book or others like it, you may want to join us for Africa Writes. It takes place this year at the British Library from 5-7 July 2013.
For more info on the festival, visit our website: www.royalafricansociety.org/event/afr...
You may also like our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AfricaWrites
Follow us on twitter - www.twitter.com/royafrisoc
Dele Meiji Fatunla
Website Editor
Royal African Society
If you like this book or others like it, you may want to join us for Africa Writes. It takes place this year at the British Library from 5-7 July 2013.
For more info on the festival, visit our website: www.royalafricansociety.org/event/afr...
You may also like our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AfricaWrites
Follow us on twitter - www.twitter.com/royafrisoc
Dele Meiji Fatunla
Website Editor
Royal African Society
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews