50 Years of Buchi Emecheta’s Second-Class Citizen

In my initial foray into Nigerian literature, Adah’s character firmly established herself as the most memorable fictional figure I had encountered. Adah was resolute, a true fighter who dared to challenge societal norms. She was not afraid to take the leap, and her drive to succeed was admirable. However, Adah’s character made my teenage self wonder: Why did she marry a man who forgot to get her a wedding ring? Why couldn’t she leave this terrible man? Upon revisiting this book for the second time, now at a more mature age, its insights are even more profound. Set in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Second-Class Citizen delivers a poignant portrayal of the challenges women face in Nigeria and the harsh realities Black women encounter in the West. What stands out to me about this novel is Emecheta’s deft execution, which thoroughly conveyed heavy themes with profound care and sensitivity.

Adah Ofili, later known as Adah Obi after her marriage to Francis, had a childhood marked by signs that would shape her future. From birth, she was considered of little importance, her arrival overshadowed by the expectation of a boy child. Her parents didn’t bother to record her birth. By the age of eight, her education was still under debate, with educational plans for her limited to basic literacy and sewing skills, unlike her younger brother, Boy, who by then had already begun schooling. Driven by curiosity and her envy of her peers, Adah took matters into her own hands. Sneaking off to a nearby Methodist School where her Sierra Leonean neighbour taught, Adah’s drive to learn eventually led to her mother being arrested for neglect. This incident prompted her parents to enrol her in the prestigious Ladi-Lak school, but shortly after, her father passed away, leaving Adah to live with her mother’s elder brother as an unpaid servant, a fate common for orphaned girls...