"Of all the possibilities of greatness available in your station and circumstances, which have you exploited? Which have you even consulted in your inertia and lack of imagination?"
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The Mad Professor of Babeldu by Adamu Kyuka Usman Trafford Publishing
book review by Sheila M. Trask
Professor Philjez has many teachings to share, most of them outside the botany classroom where he is known as the "Mad Professor" by students and colleagues alike. His unkempt style and penchant for speaking with trees and turtles may be a mark of brilliance, or a sign of insanity. Author Usman lets the reader explore the question through the professor's own thoughts in this mystical, philosophical journey. Usman structures the story loosely, taking the professor away from his classes and into the wilds of his isolated farm, where he communicates infrequently with his wife and grandfather. His dialogue is really with the reader, to whom he is imparting his distinct wisdom regarding man's place in nature and vice versa. Sermons, homilies, and instructions for living flow from the professor's mind onto the page. Some of his advice is straightforward, such as "Be loyal only to right." Other messages are more metaphorical and open to interpretation, like "He who has no ship at sea has no farm at sea."
The book is filled with these thoughts, which come one after the other at a breathtaking pace. The stream-of-consciousness philosophizing can become mesmerizing as one thought blends into the next with little story to accompany it. Philjez's musings may be best understood when read and considered in parts, more like a book of devotions than a novel. Usman is an environmental law professor in Nigeria, and his environmental message resounds throughout as Philjez ponders the endless cycle of life and death on the earth.