Book Review: Tomorrow Died Yesterday by Chimeka Garricks

*Last Review of 2019

“Your sister, the silly child. She shouldn’t have married that deluded radical in the first place. There are no radicals in Nigeria, only mad men and martyrs” – Chimeka Garricks in “Tomorrow Died Yesterday”

* Chimeka Garricks happens to be my husband so I may seem to be going overboard on this review but trust me, It’s an honest review!

Since it’s publication in 2011, I have reread this book every single year and this year was not an exception. I have kept it until the end of the year, like a “saving the best for last” thing.

“Tomorrow Died Yesterday” is an exceptionally engaging, thrilling, entertaining and multithemed book about friendship, love, loyalty, politics and the Niger Delta Militancy crisis in Nigeria. Doye popularly known as ‘Dough Boy’ and his militant group kidnapp Brain Manning, a white expatriate staff of Imperial Oil Company. The operation gets complicated when the unexpected happens and pulls Doye’s childhood friends, Amaebi, Kaniye and Tubo into a sea of events that tests their loyalty and friendship for each other. The story is laced with a lot of humor and some romance which spices things up although it also has it’s share of tragedies and a shocking but good ending. It is told from the eyes of several characters who give narratives of events from childhood till date and how each of them interprete all the happening in their lives.

This book was published in 2011 and the militancy in Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta is still steamy with more and more kidnaps even today. This is a book that every Nigerian should read especially those who are not from the region and are quick to air their opinions when they actually are ill informed. This book will give you a better perspective on the complex issues surrounding the happenings in the Niger Delta and help many understand why it is a difficult task for the people, the companies and the government to tackle. The story also brings to light the complexities faced in different relationships such as friendships, marriage, parents and their children etc and how life experiences sharpen our characters which make us react in certain ways when faced with challenges.

My favorite character was Amaebi for his Godly heart and determination to stand by what he believed in despite his traumatic experiences. I also loved Deola and Catechist Akassa for their dedication to their faith and wise council. My least favorite character was Wali as he represents a set of people who disguise themselves as problem solvers but instead have fueled the militancy activities in the Niger Delta while lining their pockets in the process.

This book is well written, the characters believable and despite all the time jumps, was easy to read. It is a book that will make you laugh, cry and curse but most importantly it will stay with you for a long time to come. This is one of my favorite books of all time.

I highly recommend this book to everyone and urge you to go out and get a copy.

“Well, I have learnt that true Christianity is about a child-father relationship with God. It’s about living a sin-free, love-filled life. That’s the only way to know it’s real and not necessarily by miracles, preaching, tongues and all the other stuff that is in our faces all the time. Now, I am not knocking these things, they are supposed to be gifts from God. However, Christians should be known by their fruits of righteousness and love, not by their gifts”. – Chimeka Garricks in “Tomorrow Died Yesterday”

Rating: 5 Stars

Published: November 11th, 2011 by Paperworth Books

Pages: 292

Genre: Fiction

Purchase @ www.paperworthbook.com/TDY 

The Author: Chimeka Garricks was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1975, and was raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He has an LL.B. from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Nigeria; and an LL.M. in International Commercial Law, from the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland. Chimeka considers himself more of a storyteller than a writer. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria, with his wife, Biyai and their three children. Tomorrow Died Yesterday is his first novel.