Comprehensive Summary of JAMB's New Novel,

'In Dependence' by Sarah Ladipo Manyika

Are you aware that JAMB has introduced a new novel for Use of English? You don’t
need a soothsayer to tell you that English Language remains a constant in UTME
irrespective of your subject combo or the course you will be studying in school.
According to JAMB, direct entry candidates will be tested on the old novel, The Last
Days at Forcados High School while candidates for the UTME will be tested on the
new novel, In Dependence by Sarah Ladipo Manyika. The new novel will be given
to candidates at the cost of #500 as they register for the Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The essence of this summary is to facilitate your understanding of the novel as you
read it. Therefore, it is important you read the main novel when you get it in order
to confidently answer the contextual questions that will be asked in JAMB’s Use of
English.

About the Author

Sarah Ladipo Manyika was raised in Nigeria and has lived in Kenya, France, and
England. She holds a Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley, and currently
teaches literature at San Francisco State University. Her writing includes essays, academic papers, reviews and short
stories. Her second novel, Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun was published April 1, 2016 by Cassava Republic
Press (Abuja-London). Her debut novel, In Dependence was published by Legend Press (London) and Cassava Republic
Press.

About the Novel

In Dependence was published in the UK in 2008; in Nigeria in 2009 and in the US in 2011. It is Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s
debut novel. The novel begins in the early 1960s when Tayo Ajayi meets Vanessa Richardson, the beautiful daughter of
an ex-colonial officer. Their story, which spans three continents and four turbulent decades, is that of a brave but
bittersweet love affair. It is the story of individuals struggling to find their place within uncertain political times – a story
of passion and idealism, courage and betrayal.

Although, In Dependence can suitably pass for a love story, it is far more than that, as it also traces the journey of the
political history of Nigeria; the military coups, the bad and deceitful leadership and its experimental steps towards
democracy/civilian rule.

Also, it brings the social realities of Nigeria into light- a situation where the poor gets poorer everyday without any
improvement. With the events surrounding Tayo’s life, Sarah Manyika brings to limelight the effects of bad governance on
the country’s tertiary institutions (universities) and the ensuing massive brain drain that Africa has experienced. There are
also issues of racial discrimination and cultural dichotomy and we see Tayo, Vanessa and other characters live their lives
amidst these issues.

Outside the political spheres, In Dependence is Tayo and Vanessa's story of a brave but bittersweet love affair. It is the
story of two people struggling to find themselves and each other - a story of passion and idealism, courage and betrayal,
and the universal desire to fall, madly and deeply in love.

Furthermore, it is a convincing narrative on the price we pay for the decisions we make in our lives, whether right or
wrong; and life sometimes is just about doing what makes you happy regardless of people's opinions. Unfortunately,
most of African cultures reject such philosophy. For us, life is not only about the individual but also about family, relatives,
communities, tradition, culture etc.

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Through an authentic and objective voice, the novelist ensures that all these realities that characterize Nigeria and Africa
at large are adequately portrayed in her story.

Summary of the Novel

Sarah Ladipo Manyika novel which showcases the love affair of two main characters (Tayo and Vanessa) begins with
these lines:

One could begin with the dust, the heat and the purple bougainvillea. One might even begin with the smell of rotting mangos tossed by
the side of the road where the flies hummed and green-bellied lizards bobbed their orange heads while loitering in the sun. But Tayo
did not notice these – instead he walked in silence, oblivious to his surroundings.

It is the early-sixties (1963 to be precise) when a young Tayo Ajayi sails to England from Nigeria to take up a scholarship
at Oxford University. Nigeria has been independent from British colonial rule for just 3 years and Tayo is part of the newly
educated generation eager to take up educational opportunities abroad so that they can return to their country and help
it become successful. With high hopes for the future of Nigeria and confident in his own ability to make a difference, Tayo
throws himself into Oxford life, but a romantic attachment to a white English girl, Vanessa, derails his plans. In this city of
dreaming spires, he finds himself among a generation, high on visions of a new and better world. The whole world seems
ablaze with change: independence at home, the Civil Rights movement and the first tremors of cultural and sexual
revolutions. It is then that Tayo meets Vanessa Richardson, the beautiful daughter of an ex-colonial officer and a
racist. When they first meet, Tayo and Vanessa are drawn to each other, him to her because she's different than women
he knows in Nigeria; her to him because she seems to have a fascination with all things from the continent of Africa.

As their relationship progresses, it seems that her love for him is also rooted in antagonizing her conservative, colonialist
father who is also a racist. Their love affair faces lots of challenges with racism as its major challenge. It could not survive
the pressure of racism from passersby, policemen and especially Vanessa's father who is a self proclaimed racist.

Tayo also worries about whether his own family will accept Vanessa, and whether she will be able to live in African
society. On her part, Vanesa begins to wonder if she is simply something for Tayo to do until he meets a Nigerian
woman, as she has witnessed with friends of his.

Many of the problems, however, are of their own making - they hold back from saying what they feel, they
miscommunicate, misunderstand, lash out and they are unfaithful. Then, fate and politics intervene at crucial points - as
Tayo is about to propose, he gets a telegram saying his father is dying and he has to return to Nigeria. Tayo leaves
England with every intention of returning to Vanessa but first, he is delayed by his father’s illness and then a military
coup. Much later, he is about to visit Vanessa in England but is arrested on his way to the airport. Consequently, Tayo
resigns himself to staying in Nigeria and marrying a local woman.

Vanessa hopes for two things: marry Tayo and return to Nigeria with him and also become a respected journalist.
Unfortunately, things didn’t happen the way she has hoped and due to circumstances beyond her control (and her
stubbornness in some part) she ends up marrying an older white man and adopting the child of a Senegalese friend. She
does, however, become the respected journalist that she has hoped to be.

Tayo later meets with Vanessa many years later and this meeting provides him with an opportunity to rekindle his
romance with her, but just like their earlier encounters, it feels stiff and wooden.

Tayo and Vanessa end up living their lives independent of each other but no matter what they did, and where they were,
the thoughts and love they had for each other lingered on (even though the other didn't necessarily know). I guess love
really does stand the test of time.

Role of Some Characters

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Role of Some Characters

1. Tayo
Tayo is the protagonist/main character of the novel. He is an intelligent man but he always seems to do wrong. He tries
to do the right thing, never wants to hurt anyone but in the end he does, especially the women in his life - and there are
quite a number of women in his life that he hurts.

2. Vanessa
Vanessa, on the other hand, dreams of being a journalist writing on African issues, marrying Tayo and moving with him
to Nigeria to start a new life. Unfortunately life gets in the way and a host of things prevent most of her dreams from
coming true. She does end up achieving one of her dreams - being a world renowned journalist on African issues.

3. Christine
Christine is the Nigerian woman that first caught Tayo’s eye. Christine is shown as an opinionated woman that does not
shy away from engaging men in intellectual conversation. However, this character is killed off too quickly in the novel and
the reason for her death—suicide, was not very convincing. It was hard to picture Christine as a love struck and defeated
woman who would kill herself.

4. Jane
Vanessa’s cousin who is quite outspoken about her sexual encounter.

5. Vanessa’s Father
He was a colonial master in Nigeria before 1960. He is against Tayo marrying his daughter and has refused to accept
Vanessa’s adopted half-cast son. He seemed more racial against half-casts earlier in the novel confronting Tayo about his
fears for a half-cast grandchild. It was later understood that his hatred for the blacks was as a result of an affair his wife
had with a black man during the colonial era.

Discussion of the Predominant Theme

Although love exists as a theme in this novel, the theme that runs through the novel is racism, consequently making it a
predominant theme. Sarah Manyika showcases this theme in different forms.

During Tayo’s life as a part time lecturer in Sans Francisco, Manyika used a scene to unbolt some deeper issues of racism.
She pointed out the racist ties between the African American and the pure African. These issues she raised apply
everywhere even within Nigerians. A Yoruba would refer to an Igbo as a greedy money monger and dubious monster,
and in turn the Igbo would refer to the Yoruba as a dirty, loquacious and foolish personality who spend all he earns on
parties and alcohol. It had to be understood that racism was one those existences that would live for a long time as far as
misunderstanding between people existed.

There are also lines that are coated with humour in this novel but could be called racial remarks. Young black Yusuf came
clean in his conversation with Tayo. He said white women were for sex treats while black women were for decent
relationships that could lead to marriage. He added that a white woman looked so old when she turned thirty. This in its
entirety showcases the idea of racism.

The battle against Tayo and Vanessa's love is instigated by racism with Vanessa's father as the instigator. He is the worst
racist in this book. He was a colonial master in Nigeria before 1960. He is against Tayo marrying his daughter and has
refused to accept Vanessa’s adopted half-cast son. He seemed more racial against half-casts earlier in the novel
confronting Tayo about his fears for a half-cast grandchild. It is later understood that his hatred for the blacks is as a
result of an affair his wife had with a black man during the colonial era. Manyika, whose picture shows she is perhaps a
half-cast, is able to make a point here. She draws a difference between being black and being a half-cast (brown). This
would have been quite a storm for her to write about because of the racial wind against the brown people living in
whitely dominated regions. In contrast to a pure black country, half-casts are seen as beautiful which Manyika failed to
point out. In fact in the black continent, the typical black man may feel inferior to a half-cast.

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