Killing of twins, an evil custom, belongs to the past of Africa. Recent findings, as referenced by the author, however, show that the evil still lurks around, even if skeletally.
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The book, If the rain comes, authored by Sunny Eze and published in 2022 by Kraft Books Limited, revisits this scourge, and drawing attention to the existence of last vestiges of it in the country.

The tale is told in elegant prose with occasional intermingling of beautiful rhymes like in poetry. For instance, Mazi Ikemba says in Chapter 15: “Once they commit that child into the cave, we can as well go on and dig his grave.”

Apart from the rhymes here, there are 10 syllables apiece for each part of the sentence.
The encounter between a woman whose twin babies were killed and the custodian and promoter of the tradition that authorised it is presented by the author in Chapter 16 when Ekwefi and Uduma met at Ekwitosi’s local maternity clinic: “Yes, they came in two,” Ekwefi said. “And for all the pain I went through, they were killed. You let them kill my babies.” Her voice choked up with tears.
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The conversation in Chapter 18 between Ikemba and Unachukwu, whose twin son is sentenced to death, reinforces some well-known axioms such as a line in one of Bob-Marley’s song: “Your worst enemy could be your best friend, and your best friend your worst enemy.” While searching for the enemy within, Unachukwu mentions Nwakibe. But the wise Ikemba tells him:

“You don’t worry about people like Nwakibe. The one who is against you and makes it known is not the big threat. Your concern should be about those who put up smiles with you but deep down, they wish you were dead. Such persons are only waiting to stab your back at the least unguarded moment. Those are the people to be wary about.”

And then, these words of wisdom – “There is always a motive in every situation. Motives are like a mask. If you can uncover it, you will find the face behind it.”

It is fitting that a physician like the author should delve into the psycho-biological intricacies of childbearing and the pains the mother feels at seeing her babies murdered. The author plays that role through the words he put in Uduma’s mouth of all people – “I know what a child means. My daughter-in-law, who has been in labour since morning up till now, was barren for eleven years. Nobody who closely knows what people pass through to get a child will let go of even a half-baby, but what can we do?”

The reader not only shares in the agony of the parents whose babies were killed for being twins, but also is filled with anger against the custom, system and the men that sustain the evil custom. And when the tide of victory rises in favour of the reformers against the custodians of the evil custom, the reader is happy.

Through this book, the reader also sees a functional government, no matter how primitive; complete with the executive, legislative, judicial arms and the corresponding coercive apparatus – the local police, responsible for law enforcement.

There appears to be a dichotomy, however, between chapter 1-15 and chapter 16-19, both in plot, diction and accuracy. The meat of the story seems to be lodged in the latter chapters. It could be that the author, this being his first book, got better at writing through practice as the story advanced. If there is any criticism, therefore, to be levied upon the book, it should go to the stuttering tempo of the plot in the first section.
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When he says, “despite our efforts since sunrise, I can’t believe that we are back to this point,” Ikemba could have as well been commenting on the plot of the story which at chapter 15 seems to have returned to where it was a long time ago.

An epic narration of a grueling encounter between opposing forces, the plot becomes spellbinding from chapter 16 as the clan meet to deliberate on the rescue of the twin sentenced to death and sent to the cave where he will be murdered. Here, the author does a fantastic job with Onuora, the orator he created and wrote elegant speeches for. The author lays credence to that point when he summarises: “Further deliberations followed and just as expected, Onuora had swayed the gathering to reason with him.”

As the reader begins to read the last chapter, which the author titled “Afterwards”, the reader realizes what had influenced Uduma’s decision to bring to an end the evil custom of killing twins in this primitive society. It is a good suspense device by the author. Find out what that was.

The author, Dr. Sunny Eze, is a University of Port Harcourt-trained medical practitioner with national and international recognitions. In November 2021, United Nations gave him award as the Overall National Best in Community Empowerment following some landmark projects he carried out within Nigeria.

In addition, he bagged the Presidential Honours Award from President Muhammadu Buhari as the Overall National Best Youth Corp member in Nigeria for the 2019 service year. Also, in December 2021, Eze emerged Overall National Best in a leadership programme organised by Nigerian Prize for Leadership, an organization dedicated to creating credible successor leadership.

He currently works at the Department of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health headquarters, Abuja, Nigeria.
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