“Born on a Tuesday” is a razor-sharp novel about a young man’s journey to adulthood. Set in Northern Nigeria, few years after religious clashes led to instability, is our protagonist, Dantala whose name means ‘Born on a Tuesday’. We do not know how old he is, but we know “he’s fasted for Ramadan 10 times.”

Dantala is sent away by his father to attend Qur’anic school, but falls into bad company with a gang of street boys. These boys are hired by “the Big Party” during elections to incite violence and cause trouble for “the Small Party.” This story reaches a decisive point when the gang burns the opposition’s political headquarters and the police get involved. Haunted by death and chaos, Dantala flees to Sokoto State where the local imam, Sheik Jamal, takes him under his wing offering shelter and mentorship.

Safe under the care of Sheik Jamal, Dantala blossoms under a generous Islam, and grows through puberty and manhood. He becomes friends with another boy living in the mosque and learns English. However, this world is unstable with religious tensions between Shia and Sunni muslims, corruption, and political extremism.

The peace in Dantala’s world is disrupted after a new Islamic leader (formerly a friend of Sheik Jamal) sets up a rival Islamic movement that thrives on fear and ignorance. This leads to minor clashes until one day, Sheik Jamal is attacked and beheaded in public. The town is thrown into unrest as soldiers shoot and arrest recklessly, and Dantala is thrown into prison for 9 months.

In Dantala’s world, there is heartbreak, and grief, and senseless loss. However, the author also captures the innocence and beauty of youth through Dantala’s eyes. Violence begets violence in this novel, and we get to see how a society evolves when there is religious extremism and a youth chained to violent political ideologies they don’t understand. Through these events, Dantala grows and attempts to reclaim his lost innocence, while discovering friendship and lust and romance.

“Born on a Tuesday” is an intense read with interesting commentary that humanises Northern Nigerians. The author offers nuance to their lives, and shows there is more than what is reported in the news. That these numbers and statistics are whole human lives with the entire range of human experiences.

I found this a very insightful read that led me to read more on the history of Islam in Nigeria, the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam, and how Northern Nigeria came to be as it exists. In this novel, Dantala decides what it means to be a Muslim, and I am very grateful I got to experience this story.