The Malam’s Potion, a collection of short stories by Ibrahim Sheme; Informart Publishers, Kaduna, 1999; 113 pp.
The Malam’s Potion is magically an outstanding collection of short stories. Each of the stories is of professional quality. The lucidity of the stories displays the author’s unequivocal knowledge and mastery of the English language. The author has indeed used English effectively and also injected into the book Hausa words and phrases like ‘Barka da hutawa ‘(p.10), ‘zaure’ (p.13), ‘almajirai’, ‘maigida’, hade-hade’ (p.16), ‘kurciya’ (p.26)’, ‘kadanya’ (p.63), etc. for obvious stylistic effect.
In attempting to understand some of the stories in this collection, it is practically impossible to ignore history. There are major sign posts of Nigeria’s or African history such as colonialism and post-colonial African politics which are shown to be not just factual events, but the subject of imaginative and artistic exploration. These are the bare facts of history to which various African writers responded.
The story, “Moment of Tears”, depicts a period in Nigeria’s colonial experience. “The Compensation” also depicts a period of development, especially as regards modernity when farms were taken away from farmers and land owners in order to build roads or industries and how the owners were not compensated. We see how the white men seduced and abused our own African women in the process. This is seen in how Mr. Stewart, the ‘bature,’ impregnated a village girl, Talata (p.36). “Sudden Betrayal” depicts the effects of Western education on the traditional African society. It traces history when parents were reluctant to send their wards to Western schools for fear of losing their religious and cultural values. The central character proved the ignorant gossips right by trying to marry a Christian, non-Hausa woman, Maria, which was against the societal wish and aspiration. In the end he had to follow tradition and marry Turai, the illiterate girl in his village (p.96), much against his own wish. The story shows a clash of two cultures: African and Western. Although history may not be the writer’s perceived intentions or choice, but the characters that determine literary work are also historical. Literature is not only the product of the individual writer’s desire to express herself or himself or to create beauty (though these are significant aspects), but also to affect the historical moment – that is, to help create social change.
We are also aware about the fact that history is a selection of significant events, a means of constructing a coherent pattern out of the past. We know that often what is selected as significant is integrally connected to the point of view, values and intentions of the historian as he or she exists in time.
The Malam’s Potion could be described as a pious treatise about the Hausa-Muslim society, which condemns Western values but otherwise extolls Hausa-Muslim values, which conceives of the ideal person as morally upright and hard working, and which romantically insists on righteousness. Hence the stories have popular appeal in a way that political treatise, detailed journalism, or even erudite poetry have not, for they stir emotions through the vehicle of a good story. The collection is edifying and enjoyable, focusing or contemporary social problems. The effect on the leader is edifying for the fact that the stories indicate that the world must be changed.
The author presents in a collection of stories that will awaken his country-men to a more Muslim-like humanity by constructing a variation on the image of an ideal Hausa-Muslim in all the characters in the stories.
In the story, “The Malam’s Potion”, we can observe a definite shift in the stories, a shift in the theme, point of view and intention, putting more emphasis on reflecting on the idea of seeking for a malam’s help in times of crises and cheats. It emphasises that not all these malamai are the same. There are some honest ones among them who only use Quranic injunctions to pray to the Almighty to help their clients get what they want.
“Upside-Down” focuses on portraying the dilemma of African ‘been-tos’ by the time they return to their country after a period of studies, totally at the mercy of an entirely different, hostile and backward society. Unlike Baako in Ayi Kweh Armah’s Fragments, the central character of this story is not confronted with the problem of cargo. What he faces in his home-coming is lack of development, unemployment, fuel scarcity, etc. What they share in common is the feeling of alienation and despair (p.51). Baako and Yusuf are seen to be within a pessimist despair. They are portrayed as tragically lonely. Their fight for sanity is a lonely one.
While Baako is in a kind of dilemma as to what cargo he is supposed to bring to his people, Yusuf is protesting against the society as regards corruption and lack of development. Yusuf’s society is one where “electricity is cut in the midst of heat… where the taps go dry and the motor touts are rude… where the turbines will not turn because of fuel scarcity… where otherwise robust businesses suddenly folded up unceremoniously… where he could not walk into a supermarket and come out with loads of apples, fresh milk, eggs and pasta… where he could not even get married to the woman he loved… where his mother died and nobody could inform him about the sad event simply because of tradition” (p.52).
In the end, Yusuf had to agree that he made a mistake for coming back home. He agreed with his friend who told him that “only fools come back from Europe” (p.54). He questioned the morality of his own society and decided to run away from “the armed robberies, the traffic jams, the fuel queues, with time-bombs, the over-populated hospitals… of non-recognition of talent” (p.55).
“Naked Woman” and “The Public Toilet” portray the female protagonists as promiscuous. While Asiya was a dreamer who indulged in fantasies, Binta (originally Vicky), is depicted as a “prostitute. A whore. A harlot. A tart. Refuse dump. Karuwa. Okoto. Ashewo. A public toilet” (p.69) who had escaped from a forced marriage. The writer tries to explore and examine the social and psychological trauma that arise from social decadence and immorality among women in our society.
“The Eavesdropper” depicts an eavesdropper who was greedy and wanted an easy money without having to sweat for it – only to find himself involved with drug dealers, thereby ending tragically in jail. The story seeks to expose political and social corruption not only in contemporary Nigeria but in Africa as a whole.
“The Day the World Ended” develops “froma half-myth to near-truth” (p.78). The story captures people’s reactions towards death and the idea of dying ‘untimely’. The author shows how people become better when told about death and the hereafter. Many in the process become “born-again, avid Quran readers, giving alms, etc., driving towards attaining the garden of Eden where pure milk runs through streams and transparently beautiful women and handsome men dwell” (p.50), thereby turning sinners into saints. The story also shows the power of rumour among people and the extent to which the people could go when confronted with death.
Finally, in all the stories, the writer explores the minds of his characters and the dilemma they face in their environment after a period of absence. We see in “Upside-Down” articulations of the writer’s own experiences rendered through the eyes of Yusuf, the protagonist.
In addition,The Malam’s Potion and Other Stories is so fictitious but yet real, so imaginative but yet vivid, and so serious but yet entertaining. It is a ‘must-read’ collection and the author truly deserves commendation.
* Binta S. Mohammed teaches in the Department of English and European Languages, Bayero University, Kano.
Published in the New Nigerian Weekly on May 22, 1999, page 15
