No More Muffled Voices

Review written by Iniobong Umoh. Jan, 2024

Publisher: AuthorHouse
No of Pages: 115

The river’s surface is covered with oil, the marine life is dead, the land is polluted, and life is almost at a standstill. This all-too-familiar backdrop is the setting of  Declan Umege’s Muffled Voices (2021). The writer explores the theme of environmental degradation and the Indigenous aspirations of the Tembeli community located in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria for an equitable share of the natural resources extracted from their land. The author also explores the themes of friendship, individual aspiration, integrity, and communal development. 

The setting of the novel, Muzanga, mirrors the Niger Delta not only as an oil-producing region in the global South but also by the repercussions of hyper-extraction on the populace and the environment such as ecological degradation, Indigenous dispossession and neglect by oil companies and the government. The author showcases the corrupt collaboration between the government, the oil cabals – with their profit-at-all-cost motive – and the colluding community leaders who mortgage their people’s future for temporal gains.

The characterization in Muffled Voices deserves mention as the author expertly explores foil characterization to emphasize the main characters’ philosophies, strengths and weaknesses. Characters like Isaac Birago contrast sharply with Ben Sare and highlight the author’s message. In the narrative, some characters find themselves at a historic moment, fighting for the ultimate communal cause. In the novel, hope resides in the younger generation with characters like Tamuna, who diligently follow up on the present and arm themselves for the future through education and enlightenment. 

As a man of the people, Ben Sare is the Tembeli Liberation Movement leader, agitating for change in the community. While Ben Sare and Tamuna are significant characters, one cannot fail to acknowledge the role of Dauda Ahmed, the government fixer who climaxes the narrative with his devious role. The author did a great job bringing in the villainous character to hasten things up, leading to a tragic ending.

Umege criticizes the violence and disruption in Muzanga and decries the fate of the young in the tumultuous oil zone. In the novel, the dreams and aspirations of students are derailed as Tembeli International School shuts down. However, I found some scenes and chapters in the book humdrum because the author disregards the ‘show, not tell’ rule in storytelling. Also, some disjointed narratives would confuse a not-too-perceptive reader.

Nowadays, Nigerian writers are often accused of writing for the Western audience. Umege seemingly toes that line as he repeatedly uses “semester” to replace “term” in describing secondary school sessions, whereas the latter is the norm in Nigeria. Overall, the novel would have benefitted from adequate editing.  

Muffled Voices sends the message that without justice, equity and development in the Niger Delta, indigenous agitations and protest against extractivism will not cease. As a result, more Ben Sares and Tamunas will emerge, and the swampy creeks may know no lasting peace.