I've been thinking about something for a long time. Why do we Nigerians treat some dogs as precious and others as if their lives have little value? You can see someone proudly walking a foreign breed and everybody wants to know: 'How much you buy am?' 'Na which breed be this?' But let that dog be the ordinary Nigerian local dog and suddenly it's just: 'Na Ekuke.' That question eventually led me to write a story.
EKUKE - A NIGERIAN DOG TALE. Ekuke is not a book about a perfect dog living in a perfect world. It is a Nigerian story - about a dog born into our environment and exposed to companionship, loyalty, neglect, cruelty, survival and the complicated relationship between humans and animals. But Ekuke is also a story about us - about the way we decide what deserves love, about the things we consider worthless simply because they are common, about those who have no voice to defend themselves.
I wanted Ekuke to have a story: a beginning, a struggle, people he trusts, people who hurt him, and a journey that forces the reader to look at the Nigerian local dog differently. This isn't just a book I'm trying to sell. I'm hoping it starts a conversation. What does 'Ekuke' mean to you? Did you grow up with one? Do you think Nigerians treat local dogs differently from foreign breeds?
I'll be sharing more about Ekuke, including excerpts, as the project develops. This is his story. This is Ekuke.
