ANALYSIS OF UMOINYANG E. UMOINYANG THE SACRED COW

ANALYSIS OF UMOINYANG E. UMOINYANG THE SACRED COW

                The novel, The Sacred Cow by Umoinyang E. Umoinyang is a text written to despite the over pampering nature of an only child by parents. The novel presents how Mr. Bassey and Eno pampered their child Idara because he was the only child that they have after many years of marriage. The text shows how Mr. Bassey and Eno struggled, going to one herbalist home to another seeking baby, how Eno Obot suffered to the extent that she had to go for an angelic cleaning which almost took her life if not the help of  her friend.  Although Mrs. Eno was quite aware of the problems that she committed many abortions at her youthful age, she hid the truth from her husband and exposed him to nocturnal consultation of oracles alongside enormous expenses at the orthodox clinic.

            Umoinyang Umoinyang uses a particular character called Idara who is the protagonist in this novel to show how Idara Idara was over pampered by his parents, Mr. Bassey and Eno. As a result of sparing the rod and spoiling the child, Idara got spoilt. Mr. Bassey and Eno keeps on encouraging Idara to do wrong, even when he killed some students, break the students' legs and heads, burnt Koko’s hand with fire the parents did not see it as wickedness. Idara was not contented with what he had, he even went further to steal beverages from poor students who could not even afford what he has, but his parent never scolded him to order, rather, they keep encouraging him by keeping silence and sacking those workers who scolded his son to order.

            According to the Bible, it is said, “train up a child in the way he should grow and when he is old, he will never depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). As they refused to train Idara when he was a child, he grows up to be a disgrace to his parents and the entire society by stealing smoking, beating up his mother which almost cost her life. She only regained consciousness the following day in the State General Hospital. Her beating confirmed an adage, “whoever keeps a mad dog for self defense stands the risk of attack by the same dog” (p. 94). Idara even went as much as organizing rapists for her mother which she almost lost her right eye during her struggle to free herself from them, as she almost runs out of her bedroom, Idara gave her an award-winning punch that returned her to the next wall of the room and broke her eyeball.

            Believing that his mother would report this case of “assault occasioning harm” to the police, Idara absconded. He went to the West – end of Bamba where he found favour in the heart of an old boy of the “BIG BOYS OF BAMBA”, who fled the group due to his insatiable lust for autonomy. His name was Kojo. Idara lived with him and at a time, he was introduced into the high-class robbery and he joined an operation at Nkakat street which was reputed for security consciousness in the entire Bamba Town. After the operation at Nkakat Street, Kojo decided to use the rain advantage to rob Chief Isinenyin, whose house had been described as impenetrable to attacks. They enter the compound after dismantling the electrified network mounted on the wall fence around the house. Operating from the boy’s quarters end of the compound, they killed the two giant dogs that gave them a good fight, they also killed the security man in cold blood while still enjoying their sleep. Idara, Kojo and Baba broke into the main building and went straight to the bedroom while others mounted security guard at strategic positions to counter any attack if it arose. 

            Suddenly, a lady jumped from the chief’s bed and run forcefully towards the exit door. Like a flash of lightning, Idara gave her a smart gunshot on her thigh which forced the lady to fall on the ground, and exclaimed, “oh, Eno Ohot Ekanem, I am killed! “ Idara felt touched and went close to discover to is dismay who the lady was. He shouted, ”God! I have killed my Mother and he wept. Kojo who was bent on making sure that no loophole existed for people to discover his line of “business”, felt threatened and quickly gave Idara two gunshots in the head which left him dead in the Chief’s bedroom. At last, the Sacred Cow” was slaughtered. And Eno Obot Ekanem was rushed to the hospital in the morning for operation and was discharged after few days of admission.