“Those trees are fighting us in self-defense like they did the dinosaurs. They have every creature of this world on their side due to their inherent abilities to manipulate cerebral and neuron activities in creatures that come within their range as they did in past dealing with pests.”

This reaction of flora and fauna on man’s harmful activities by Jewel Fitila captures the pains of an ecosystem that is gradually being destroyed.

Published in 2021 by El Fitila International Limited (The House of El), Lagos, the 396-page narration paints the gloomy picture of what will likely befall the earth if man continues to deplete the ozone layers, trafficks wildlife and destroy natural habitat.

Tired of seeing man decimate the greenery, the trees in unison evoke seismic vibrations that run across the different continents, causing great damages to human lives and property.

Initially, these actions are seen coincidence until they begin to happen serially, pulling down buildings, bridges and causing ocean tides to rise beyond normal. The situation leads to a reign of terror in the various cities and rural areas as well.

While the chaos continues to claim human lives, displacing many people from their homes, concerned researchers including, the U.S. military and their African paranormal, go into their laboratories for solutions.

However, in a far-flung country, the United States of America, Prof. Adams Stone and his publicist, Allen Smith, are hell-bent explaining to the U.S. President and her cabinet members that the spate of earthquakes, cracks on the walls, building collapse, human deaths and the commotion going on in the country and across the globe are the result of trees fighting humans to save their lives from further human destruction.

Adam even reveal that since industrial age, humans have been plowing the atmosphere, land and sea, leading to some specie of the flora to give way.

According to him, the activities of man is destroying the ecosystem, making the earth to face destruction.

While Americans mock Professor Stone, calling him names and believing that with their military strength they could stop trees from carrying out their act, their African counterparts fight the trees and save a few lives.

Using logical analogy, spiced with uncomplicated storytelling method, Fitila explains the affiliation among all the creatures, especially flora and fauna.

He further uncovers the truism that living things can be manipulated by what they eat, their habitat and their immediate environment. This he expresses in the horde of wild dogs that are manipulated to attack, kill and eat up humans.

Aside from this, the book opens discussion on the old African belief that trees communicate among themselves and can even communicate with man. It also shows how psychics canw use their powers to solve critical problems, as seen in the levitation of Ifa, Ade and Aja. They mystically engage the trees, making the plants to act at their whim.

To stay alive, the American scientists develop a new settlement — Freedom Town — in the North Atlantic Ocean not too far from Bermuda. The new town from its foundation has its own challenges, especially with one of the generals, Reed, wanting to be the head. He secretly stores weapons and also, undermines the progress of the army to win the war between man and trees.

During the war, Africa for dearth of technological know-how was almost wiped off the earth. The American soldiers, asresult of this called it the radiation zone, a Dark Sand, because they believed no one could have survived the arduous situation, but unknown them a few survived and later changed the course of the war. The surviving Africans confine themselves in a forest, where the trees and other greenery have no relationship with the ones ravishing the world.

The book takes a religious coloration, when Mr. Reed transforms to Poseidon (Demon) and outlaws all religious activities and introduces tyrannical rule that has never been experienced before on earth.

Attaining power, Poseidon thinks the earth is now under his control and wishes never to leave the high sea as his abound. He plans to make Freedom Town to be on water, thinking all other lives are no more.

Earlier warned by Truth, an irreproachable spirit, to denounce his fiendish plans, but Poseidon would not welcome such suggestions. He calls him off and a greater battle ensue between Poseidon’s army, the evil forces, and the army backed by Truth. This war depicts the biblical war of Armageddon in which truth prevails over evil.

Although a sci-fi, Fitila projects into the future, telling the world what might likely happen beginning from 2030 if nations across the globe do not come together to stop the harmful activities like the use of nuclear-powered bombs and other activities that are fast destroying the ecosystem.

Despite its interesting storyline and simple expressions flowered with similes, euphemism and imageries, the author needs to revise the book with the intention to correct some of the clumsy constructions, syntax, morphology and spelling mistakes. For instance on page 142, there is the word: Vega and Vegas; on page 145, dead carcasses; tree arrows and so on. Attention should be given to all of these.

Also, he should have italicised words like 9ja and the Nigerian Pidgin English used. Doing this takes him away from writing for the Nigerian readers to writing for the world.