The Passport of Mallam Ilia

by Cyprian Ekwensi

The Passport of Mallam Ilia is a love story tinged with a vengeance mission. On his quest to avenge the death of his wife, Zarah, the hero, Mallam Ilia, misses out on his entire youth.

Genres: Fiction, African Literature, School, Nigeria

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 1960

About the author

Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi was a novelist famous for his Jaguar Nana series and many others. He wrote for children under the name C.O.D. Ekwensi.

Reviews

[Clumsy Storyteller · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Spoilers ahead*

This is so sad 😞 :(

when he finally got to meet his son he just dies, Mallam Ilia spent his life chasing Mallam Usuman who killed his wife Zarah. Trying to take his revenge that he ignored his true purpose and lost himself in the process.





Great short story. I highly recommend.

[Ugo Agada-uyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cyprian sure wrote at the time 'when men were men, and women were won by men who deserved them.'

[Wale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that left an indelible impression on me as a child, an early introduction to literature and a good one it was.

[Acsah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic about revenge in a time when "a man was a man and women were won by the those who deserved them".

Mallam Ilia was a brave and adventurous man in his youth and when the time to marry came, he wanted a more romantic option and of course, nothing spells romance like a fight to the death (Sanchi).
In this fight with about a dozen other young man who wish to win the hand of the beautiful Zarah, daughter of the unheard of Prince of the Tuaregs.

contains *spoilers*
His last adversary at the fight claimed he had "swallowed the medicine against steel" but it turned out he was wearing chain-armour, and although he was enormous, didn't win but rather than kill him, Mallam Ilia merely disabled him.

This adversary turned out to be Mallam Usuman and upon recovering from his fight, began the torment that would last both their lifetimes.
Mallam Usuman becomes not just a terror to Mallam Ilia but becomes a wanted man by the government.

The book set in Northern Nigeria during the country's colonial times and gives a snapshot of life and interactions between different groups of people that were there at the time i.e. the Arabs, Tuaregs, Fulani, Hausa and of course the British.

Mallam Ilia shunned normalcy at every opportunity, he preferred fighting and even when he thought he was done with war, would "head the bugle" and this saw him join the army several times until he at last retired.

In the train where he eventually is discovered by his son, he finally sees to Mallam Usuman's death drop but at a fatal cost to himself.

All that effort, planning and travel seemed a waste. He never got to settle into a happier life when the opportunity presented itself and basically he ensured his son was without a father for all his life.

The passport which he held would probably have granted him access to find his second chance as a family if he had chosen but that was not the case.

This book is a classic and in some schools, a compulsory read. Despite its lack of sophistication, it does tell of a time that many don't learn in history classes and speaks of the futility of pursuing revenge.

[Bawah Angelis]

It's a simple masterpiece, read it when i was just about 12 years old. i must say it was my first introduction to great books. i decided then never to read a lesser book. and i have been following african writers since. rest well Cyprian Eqwency.

[Zainab · Rating 4 out of 5]

The passport of Mallam ilia, reading it now as an adult I still feel nostalgic, reminds me of how I felt the first time I read it.
Mallam ila the avenger, but now I feel his life was wasted, he had so many opportunities to change and live a better life but to be so consumed by vengeance, what a pitiful life he lived.
In the end he still lost everything despite gaining a lot.

[Emiliano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll always rate this as one of the great books written by a Nigerian author.
I really loved this book, the story and the dramatically sad turn of events.

A really wonderful book. 👍

[Maniki_021 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminded me so much of Born Tuesday by Elnathan John. I love it so much , such a beautiful story .


“Mallam," he said, "if a man kills your wife, what is the right thing to do?""The right thing?" I stammered. "Take him to the judge and he'll be punished. Why?""Nothing, Mallam. We were just arguing." He sat down, and the rest of the boys exchanged glances. The next remark was even less tactful:"Please tell us about Kanemi, Prince of the Tuaregs.""What do you want to know about him?""Had he a daughter?"A mist began to gather before my eyes. These boys were torturing me. They had heard about Zarah and me. They wanted to prove it by watching my reactions. I stood still, trying to control my rising temper. And then it came: before my very eyes rose that picture of Zarah which had haunted me for so many years. There she was, lying amidst the debris, bleeding, her lips trembling as she breathed my name.I could bear it no more.”

“Mallam, I have heard your story. D'you think you could hear mine? Would you be interested in a man who was trained in Dije's school at Mecca”.

Zarah was avenged in the end ,an enemy can run but it can’t hide. This book will stay with me for a long time.

[Nam · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interview of a Nigerian young man by
Human of New York inspired me to read this book. The book wasn't available around so I had to order it from an Nigerian online bookstore, Roving Heights.

While being quite short, the book creates a complex moral story of hatred and vengeance through the journey of Mallam Illia to avenge his dead wife. It is irony that the hostility that lead to her death started because he, through violent ritual combats, took her from the man she had affection for; and it was his hand and sword that physically ended her life. The passport that he caressed at the end signifies the time that he was free from the lust for vengeance. With that passport he had traveled and saw the world, studied under a wise master, met his new wife and had a happy life. But then, his hatred and pride took over him again. Consumed by vengeance, he abandoned his new loving wife, his unborn child, and mostly, the wisdom taught by his master. And the man he killed at the end, the "evil" man, was no longer a violent fighter but a docile train steward. It was first his grief , then his hatred for the man himself, and finally, his pride, that lead Mallam Ilia to his tragedy.

[Essien Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a case in point for the saying " A person bent on revenge should dig two graves".

Beautiful writing style with a climax I did not see coming (son realization).

Everytime I read the book, I find a learning point.
Simple words but lovely diction from a different time.

"He was very dirty, his hands were cracked by the hatmattan, that cold dry wind that corrodes everything lying between the Sahara and Gulf of Guinea ..." The Passport of Mallam Ilia by Cyprian Ekwensi

[OMITIRAN ADEBAYO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beloved by many young readers; gripping.

[Aleeyu Lemu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I remembered this book I got inspired and think of falling for Zahara. Actually it was a book that make me believed that taking revenge does not matter but rather learn to forgive.

[Blank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nostalgia is a powerful but misleading feeling. Because I did not read this book until this year, I was able to judge it side by side by similar (and better) books I’ve read. I’m sure I’d judge it favorably if it was one of the very first books I was reading in my life.

Cyprian did very good in establishing the setting for his story - I thought the dates and socio-political backdrop were very well done, but the deus ex machina, my God.

I grew increasingly nervous that Ilia would one day find himself sipping some tea and find Mallam Usuman hidden slyly behind the leaves.

When I had survived the entire fortuitous and infuriating appearances of Usuman, I was socked in the face by yet another Deus Ex Machina in the epilogue.

Damn.

[Jorges]

A good fiction book to read. It gives insight about the difference in securing a bride in cultures; The game of Shanchi. And it is also about a sour revenge. The setting was Northern Nigeria in the colonial era. Very good book.

[Foluso]

Classic

[Oli Ogbonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child I had to read this book and I have not forgotten the effect it had. Nice story

[Raphael Mokoena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good read for juveniles. Absorbing

[Alzak Saeed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a small book, once you start reading you can't put it down. Read it as a teenager and will like to read it again and again

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm yet to read a Nigerian author as versatile as Ekwensi.

[Ab Mbiaasu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in high school. Triggered my interest for literarature.

[Nana Nana Banana Zing Zang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I met this book earlier, when I was a child. I would have loved it more.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novella and I read it in one sitting. Brief but epic tale of one man's life bound to revenging his wife's death. He travels through Africa and keeps running into his nemesis with opportunities to kill him and yet he gets away. The author weaves in the history of West Africa and the European colonialists and the wars and uprisings. The final scene on the train seemed a bit over the top for me. The narrator is the long lost son and the nemesis is finally killed. I liked the twist that the once powerful scoundrel who had eluded the British and all his enemies ended up a steward in the dining car of the train.

[Egie Asemota · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a classic piece of literature that I read as a kid in Nigeria in primary school. I was 10 when I first read it (it was mandatory reading for students in English classes) and though I didn't understand much initially, it still stuck with me as a kid as I re-read it. Well written, great initial hook and the central character is captivating. Another thing that kept me glued to it was the sections involving violence and even tragic deaths. Plus, reading it really helped me appreciate a lot of my country's history as it felt like a literal time capsule to the colonial period. Fantastic read.

[adanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

i won’t say i understood the book completely to be honest. but what i got from it was ilia trying to avenge zarah’s death by trying to kill usuman who on his own was a terrorist and troublemaker. goes to mecca, is mentored by mallam gobir becomes a teacher, marries dije who he abandoned with his child (that left a bitter taste in my mouth), returns to nigeria and the army multiple times, running into usuman who never wanted peace even until his last breath.

[Carla (literary.infatuation) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Passport of Mallam Ilia (Nigeria, 1960) is the story of a respectable man from North Nigeria in the early 1900s, as he chases a terrible villain around the Globe, a country-man who killed his wife.

I would describe this work of historical fiction as testosterone-filled, Mission-Impossible-like, colonialism-apologist sexist work of fiction. Women are sexual objects to win as prizes and then discard. I found the plot awfully predictable and in general, find action scenes boring. The chase took the entire story.

Nevertheless, he has other works that look interesting, so I don’t completely rule out reading him again in the future. Rating: For action thriller junkies only

[Joseph Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 👇🏾 book was one of the the first books that reached in and touched my soul.



It’s the first book that brought me to tears.

Will our children ever be able to have that Cyprian Ekwensi experience?

[Promise Emmanuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the very first African authored literature that would leave a soft spot in my heart and keep me longing for more of the beauty of African Literature and the amazingness with which the authors wrote them.

[Adam Ndagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's easy

[Moyosore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written book. My first introduction to Nigerian literature.

[ADELEYE OMOTENIOLA]

this is interesting