The devastating effects of mining in Guinea to the societal pressures placed on women, the harsh realities of modern capitalism, and the dark underbelly of industries such as modeling and banking.
This novel also tackles other pressing issues: Pentecostal Christianity, the COVID-19 pandemic, pornography, Female Genital Mutilation, the French government’s role in crippling Guinea’s economy, rape, male ego, the flaws of the media, our obsession with male children, the Nigerian elite’s fascination with foreign medical check-ups, and the tragic plight of Nigerian pensioners—many of whom collapse and die while queuing to verify their identities.
The novel tells us that “shisha is ten times worse than normal cigarettes. We’re killing ourselves”.
As for Brazilian Butt Enlargement (BBL), the novel shines a harsh light on the deaths of clients in the hands of quacks and mocks “the longing for big buttocks that makes you agree to go under anesthesia in a darkish room with peeling paint”.
We are reminded that men who rape are can be handsome men, rich men, successful men and that their victims even include babies and the elderly.
The victims they rape can be ugly or beautiful. What is important is that they are female. Beauty or class is immaterial to these men described as “wild animals”.
Adichie’s portrayal of America is unflinching, exposing the contradictions that define the nation. It is a country where police brutality remains rampant, where racial disparities in maternal mortality persist, and where the American Dream is often nothing more than an illusion.
The novel paints a portrait of a land built on the labor of immigrants yet quick to discard them, a place of power that dictates global destinies while grappling with its own deep-seated injustices.
The narrative does not shy away from critiquing Nigeria either. Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, emerges as a microcosm of corruption and vice, where learning to speak Hausa provides a strategic advantage, and where drug abuse, financial misconduct, and political inefficiency reign supreme.
Through a stark critique of the banking sector, the novel exposes a system riddled with deceit—where loans are granted on corrupt terms, while non-performing loans pile up, and the wealthy manipulate financial institutions for personal gain.
Kadiatou’s story stands out as particularly poignant. A woman shaped by loss and hardship, she is modeled after the real-life Nafissatou Diallo, whose encounter with IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn sparked an international scandal, and there is Amadou Diallo, an immigrant shot by American police.
Her journey—from witnessing her father’s death in a mining accident to enduring sexual violence at the hands of a powerful man—lays bare the brutal realities faced by marginalised women.
The collective efforts of Chiamaka, Omelogor, and Zikora to seek justice for her amplify the novel’s themes of female solidarity and resistance.
Zikora’s tale, set against the backdrop of childbirth and abandonment, delves into the deeply ingrained societal obsession with male children. Her relationship with her absent partner, Kwame, highlights the emotional and cultural struggles women endure in patriarchal societies.
Similarly, Omelogor, through her anonymous initiative “Robyn Hood,” seeks retribution against men who oppress women, underscoring the novel’s feminist undertones.
Adichie’s critique of the modeling industry is particularly scathing, portraying it as a joyless world where models, reduced to mere commodities, exist in a perpetual state of controlled misery.
Likewise, the novel addresses issues such as Female Genital Mutilation, the exploitation of women, and the hypocrisy surrounding morality and gender roles.
The novel, with its exploration of corruption, remnants of colonialism, mediocrity, an inept political class, the hassle of traveling with a Nigerian passport and other pressing issues, serves as a reflection on Nigeria—where we are still unsure of where the rain began to beat us.
It offers glimpses of the perennial tensions between Christians and Muslims, as well as the persistent North-South divide.
The narrative also touches on the Igbo question In Nigeria, exemplified by Jideofor’s decision to shorten his name to Jide in order to secure a job for which he was previously rejected.
At its core, Dream Count is a sweeping examination of power dynamics, justice, and the resilience of the human spirit.
***Olukorede S Yishau is the author of In The Name of Our Father, Vaults of Secrets, United Countries of America and Other Travel Tales and After The End.
