It’s 3:00am and I wake up to a storm raging outside. – ogbewe
A notification pops on my phone. “Afro Soul is now in your library” I scramble for the device, seeking refuge in it. A bright light and I’m sucked into another world. It doesn’t take me long to find that I’ve left one storm for another.
Sadiq Onifade is raging his national anthem. He’s grown wings and anyone who seeks to stop him from soaring will be met by an unstoppable force.
“More wins every day every day
Don’t test my patience
Today na today”
Sadiq finds in his quest for greatness that many have fallen into the Ghost Town. As he stands before the wasteland where dreams die, he realizes he must be brutal to reach the heights.
“You’re only gonna get one chance
So you better hit the bullseye”
Sadiq shoots and he doesn’t miss. He’s gone.
#
Now our protagonist Wurld has made it. In his hedonistic campaign, he finds a woman. She seems to be different but he shrugs it off.
“What’s love got to do with this?
Can we just have some fun?”
He’s not here for love and he lets her know but she doesn’t care. When he’s with her, he will love nobody else.
#
Wurld finds himself confused and in his feelings as he yearns for a mundane love story. He feels lonely when she doesn’t come to him. Him, who came from the dirt with nothing but guile and ambition, now feels lonely without her.
“I go die for you”
I’m worried for our hero. I fear he’s been ensnared by a siren.
#
I was right. Wurld begs his woman not to use the power he has given her over him. He pleads with her not do him ‘wayo’. He has fallen completely. It is finished.
“No use me do wayo”
#
Suddenly, a pandemic strikes the world while Wurld is apart from his lover. He’s coming unhinged as he’s forced to stay apart from her in isolation. Paranoia sets in as he’s unable to come outside.
“But my love won’t let you be broken
It’s all about the communication”
The pandemic ends and under the grooves at the beach, I find Sadiq and his lover. He serenades her with a birthday song as the Palm wine runs in rivulets. The sun sets as his music makes everyone twirl, cups in hand. He’s done overthinking cause somewhere along the long line, he realizes, making her happy makes him happy. If that’s a problem, it’s one he’s willing to have. Forever.
“Onome I dey forever”
#
I find myself back in Nigeria. The storm is over. I go to my notepad to pen a review.
“Wurld’s Afro Soul is a remarkable piece of work with a vastly engaging narrative. It’s the story of a man who seeks to own the world and falls in love. I give it 4 Stars out of 5. And here’s why. It’s 3:00am…” I begin
