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Nigerian-born, Ireland-based writer Dexter Loko has taken his latest novel, The Bako of Zereshé, to Dublin following its Nigerian launch in Abuja in July.
The international launch was held at The Winding Stair bookstore in Dublin, where readers, friends and supporters gathered for a reading from the novel and a question-and-answer session with the author.
Loko later signed copies of the book for attendees.
The Dublin event followed the Abuja launch of the novel and marked the latest stage in the release of Loko’s second book. His first publication, The Day the Sun Vanished, was a collection of short stories published in 2023.
The Bako of Zereshé is an epic fantasy novel that combines elements of Nigerian contemporary life with a fictional world in which magic exists alongside ordinary human experience.
The story follows Jeremy, a young British journalist who travels to north-eastern Nigeria to report on terrorism. His assignment takes an unexpected turn, eventually transporting him to Zereshé, a hidden state within Nigeria where magic forms part of everyday life.
Jeremy initially views Zereshé as an escape from the dangers he has encountered. His perception changes, however, when his arrival draws him into a conflict involving life and death.
The novel explores the experience of an outsider navigating an unfamiliar environment, a theme Loko believes can resonate with readers regardless of their nationality or background.
“We’ve all been Bakos, strangers or foreigners somewhere, at some point in our lives,” Loko said, referring to the novel’s title and its central character.
He said that shared experience was one reason he believed Jeremy’s story could be familiar to readers from different parts of the world.
From Abuja to Dublin
The novel’s Abuja launch in July also included a charitable component.
Loko donated half of the proceeds from the event to an internally displaced persons camp in Durumi, Abuja. The contribution was used to provide food supplies for displaced people, including victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.
The author said he intended to continue supporting IDP camps in Nigeria where possible.
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“I plan to continue to help various IDP camps around Nigeria in whatever little way I can,” he said, describing the effort as his way of supporting people he believes have been failed by society.
The Dublin launch gave Loko an opportunity to introduce the book to readers in his adopted country, while also bringing together people familiar with his earlier work and others encountering his writing for the first time.
He said the attendance at both launches had exceeded his expectations.
“The turnout for both cities, Abuja and now Dublin, has been amazing,” Loko said, adding that he was grateful to readers who had attended after reading his first book as well as those who came to discover his latest work.
The response, he said, had also encouraged him to continue writing.
New work already underway
Loko said he had already begun work on another book series, although he did not disclose details of the project.
He said his approach to writing had continued to evolve with experience and described the pressure created by readers’ expectations as a positive motivation.
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The writer also reflected on the connection between his Nigerian background and his life in Ireland.
Both Abuja and Dublin are recognised by UNESCO as Cities of Literature, a distinction Loko said made the two cities particularly meaningful to his development as a writer.
“I’m really proud of the fact that I’m from two UNESCO Cities of Literature, Abuja and Dublin,” he said.
The Bako of Zereshé is currently available at selected bookstores in Abuja and Dublin. The novel is also available through the author’s website and online retailers including Amazon, Lulu and Barnes & Noble.
