No Heaven for the Priest

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No Heaven for the Priest

by
Ogali Ogali

general information | our review | links | about the author

Title:	No Heaven for the Priest
Author:	Ogali A. Ogali
Genre:	Non-fiction
Written:	1971
Length:	36 pages
Availability:	in: Veronica My Daughter
	in: Veronica My Daughter - UK

No Heaven for the Priest is included in the collection Veronica My Daughter and Other Onitsha Plays and Stories (see our review)

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Our Assessment:

D : occasionally interesting but poorly presented rant

See our review for fuller assessment.

The complete review's Review:

Written after the disappointment of the civil war in Biafra No Heaven for the Priest is a rant focussed largely on the clergy. Many priests did not behave well during the Biafran crisis and this obviously affected Ogali deeply:

Throughout the duration of the crisis, events showed that most of those in the Holy Orders were the most selfish of all the people who belonged to the rings of "let's get rich quick" and "let's help our own relations first".

       These experiences, and personal experiences while he lived in England, apparently left Ogali with the belief that: "A pagan is really more of a Christian than the so-called Christian is."
       Ogali pokes fun at English suspicion of West African superstition, exposing how prevalent witchcraft is in England itself. He cites a variety of cases and quotes newspaper articles. His argument is not very neatly made, but he does score a few points.
       Ogali also offers numerous examples of bribery and corruption in England -- from Scotland Yard detectives to footballers. But he finds: "The worst offenders and the most sinful people are those who say they are Christians."
       Ogali lists his own religious affiliations and learning, and he has obviously felt a deep need for spiritual comfort -- but organized religion seems to have let him down. "My long-time research has proved to me that religion is of the mouth and not of the mind."
       The second chapter focusses of the question: "What is god ?" Ogali's conclusion ? "God is nothing but Faith".
       He offers considerable biblical exegesis, showing that god is a complex entity and that it is much more useful to think "God is faith".
       Ogali also offers a section on the question of marriage and love -- proudly proclaiming: "I am a polygamist, sure !"
       Summing up, Ogali does look for a better world, arguing especially against hypocrisy. The book as a whole is quite a muddle, with a variety of arguments and many examples. It is not quite sophistry, but it is a jumble of not always pertinent facts in support of differing arguments. Emotion rather than reason dominates -- though the examples and citations seem to give it the veneer of rational argument.
       Ogali may have valid points to make, but his presentation completely undermines them. The book is only of some historical and biographical interest, and essentially no literary value.

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Links:

Onitsha market literature:

Onitsha Market Literature: From the Bookstalls of a Nigerian Market - at the University of Kansas
Indiana University Library collection

Other books by Ogali A. Ogali under review:

The collection Veronica My Daughter and Other Onitsha Plays and Stories, which includes:

Other books of interest under review:

Emmanuel Obiechina's introduction to An African Popular Literature
Life Turns Man Up and Down, edited by Kurt Thometz
Index of books relating to Africa

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About the Author:

Nigerian author Ogali A. Ogali was born in 1935 and was a leading author of the pamphlet literature sold at Onitsha market.

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