In contemporary African literature, motherhood and female agency have received considerable attention, while fatherhood is increasingly explored through narratives of absence, abuse and personal failure.

Fatherhood often comes with sacrifices that remain unseen, as men struggle to provide for their families while concealing their fears and disappointments. In The Weight of Becoming, his debut poetry collection published in 2026, Gideon Adeyeye explores these hidden burdens, presenting fatherhood as an experience shaped by love, responsibility, economic hardship and the desire to give children a better future.

He offers a different perspective, presenting fatherhood as an experience defined by sacrifice, love, responsibility and the quiet struggles of men.

The 69-page collection, comprising 19 narrative poems, examines how a father’s struggles influence his children’s understanding of responsibility, resilience and success.

Through the eyes of a young boy growing up amid financial difficulties, Adeyeye offers a compassionate portrait of fathers whose sacrifices often go unrecognised.

The collection challenges the tendency to measure a father’s worth solely by his financial achievements.

Meanwhile, instead, it examines the emotional pressures behind the responsibility of providing for a family, while acknowledging that experiences of fatherhood differ across homes.

In “First Child”, Adeyeye explores the responsibilities associated with being the firstborn. When the persona’s brother is attacked, he expects his father to intervene but is instead compelled to act.

“So I stood.
For my brother.
I found my voice.
I took back his power from the hands that tried to steal it.”

The experience transforms the boy’s understanding of family responsibility. His father’s simple response, “You’ve done a good job,” reinforces the lesson that leadership involves protecting others and accepting responsibility.

The theme of sacrifice continues in “Two Naira”, where the father’s financial difficulties and determination to educate his children inspire the boy to pursue a better future. Reflecting on his eventual success, the persona recalls:

“Today,the boy who watched his father bleed now places house keys and car keys
into those same hands that once carried the burden.”

The image of the son placing keys in his father’s hands symbolises gratitude, restoration and the fulfilment of a generational aspiration.

Success becomes more than personal achievement; it is an opportunity to honour parental sacrifice and improve the family’s circumstances.

However, the collection’s most affecting exploration of masculinity emerges in “The Man Who Came Home Tired”. Here, Adeyeye examines the fears fathers conceal behind expectations of strength.
“I know better now. Some men come home tired because they have spent the whole day pretending not to be afraid.”

The lines capture the emotional burden of men who worry about school fees, rent and their inability to meet their children’s needs. The poem challenges the assumption that fathers must remain strong at all times, even when circumstances leave them anxious and vulnerable.

Adeyeye deepens this reflection through the observation that fathers hide their battles “behind a smile, a joke, a plate of food, a hand on the shoulder.”

These gestures become expressions of love and attempts to shield children from adult anxieties.
Across the collection, the relationship between fathers and sons becomes a vehicle for examining generational change.

The father’s struggles provide lessons from which the son draws determination, while the past becomes a foundation for building a different future.
Nevertheless, the collection’s thematic strengths are not always matched by its technical execution.

Meanwhile,some poems would benefit from more rigorous editing, particularly in punctuation, lineation and the frequent use of direct statements that leave limited room for imagery and interpretation. Greater compression and attention to poetic rhythm could strengthen the emotional impact of the work.

However,despite these shortcomings, The Weight of Becoming offers a thoughtful contribution to conversations about fatherhood and masculinity in contemporary African literature. Its strength lies in humanising fathers, presenting them not as infallible providers but as individuals whose love and commitment coexist with fear, limitations and personal struggles.

The book reviewer Paul Liam, a poet, author and culture writer based in Abuja, has urged families and the wider public to read the collection and celebrate fathers, noting that their sacrifices and hidden struggles often receive insufficient recognition from society.

Ultimately, Adeyeye’s debut invites readers to look beyond the material provisions fathers make and recognise the emotional labour behind their efforts.

While the collection would benefit from greater poetic refinement, its central message remains compelling: fatherhood is not simply about providing for a family, but also about enduring difficulties, accepting responsibility and creating better possibilities for the next generation.