In Turbulent Waters

Tosan Mayuku—a talented art student of Aliu Zamani University and also National Arts Award winner—meets and falls in love with the beautiful Ebi Dabiri. She is the daughter of Chief Ezontade Dabiri, a Nigerian politician who is also a major financier of an Ijaw militant group at a time two of Nigeria’s popular ethnic groups, Ijaw and Itsekiri, are locked in a bitter tribal war.

Tosan and Ebi make an amazing couple, but their love affair is also dangerous. It pits a gutsy Tosan, who has Itsekiri blood running through his veins, against powerful forces. There’s the head of his department, who is Ebi’s ex-lover and who is trying to get Tosan killed. There’s Ebi’s mother, who is against their union for more reasons than the obvious, and there’s Ebi’s father, who employs militant Ijaw youths to take Tosan’s life. Meanwhile, Tosan is the leader of a university gang—but Ebi has connections in a New York art gallery that can help his artistic career soar. Will they manage to overcome the hostility in their environment and escape to build a new life together? Set against the backdrop of contemporary Nigeria, this novel follows the

lives of two young lovers as they deal with the far-reaching consequences of vengeance.