Sons of the East

The seven-year apprenticeship of Jasper Okonkwo has finally ended. He sets up a shop in the bustling city of Lagos, aiming to climb the social circles and be reckoned with. But he has not reckoned with his older brother, the envious, greedy, and malicious Zona, who is hellbent on being the lone star in the Okonkwo household. The agitation of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) for independence erupts. The Nigerian government begins to clamp down mercilessly on the dissidents. It is the opportunity that Zona is waiting for.
Sons of the East intricately lays bare the dark underbelly of polygamy in an Igbo family in south eastern Nigeria. Beyond the brazen show of material opulence through international businesses, importations, master-apprentice relationships, grandeur titles, lurks the beast of jealousy, chauvinism, covetousness, sibling rivalry and sheer hatred. Zona, the dismal first son is frantic about being the only king installed in the Okonkwo kingdom, yet a delectable widow is on his path. This is a delightful read. Ifeoma Chinwuba remains a chef-d’oeuvre in this engaging narrative. - Unomah Azuah, Poet, Novelist, Activist and Freelance Journalist

Ifeoma Chinwuba was a child refugee in the Nigeria-Biafra War. Three months after her mother and 8 siblings arrived in Libreville, Gabon in the late sixties, she was sent to a foster family in Ireland. Ifeoma was 8 years old. Repatriated after the war and reunited with her family, she completed her schooling. Ifeoma obtained a B.A in French from the University of Benin, Nigeria and an M.Sc. from the University of Lagos, Akoka. She joined the Nigerian Foreign Service and was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in 2014. Her books include Merchants of Flesh (ANA Prose Prize 2004) Fearless, Waiting for Matia (ANA Prose Prize 2008; longlist of Commonwealth Writers Prize 2008). African Romance (2013) and Head Boy (2019). Ifeoma Chinwuba was Writer-in-Residence, University of Alberta 2021-2022 where she edited ’The Pandemic And Me’, a collection of short stories from different writers.