d in the

s in women's hair, and the sound of barefoot children running across dusty roads to church. Whether Cat

aration, even faith could

sacred. It had been gifted decades ago by a returning priest. The day after the village renaming was ann

bulletin bore a new name: St. Au

id, "It is what the diocese has appro

of course, w

Quietly, they rose during Mass entire rows of Nkerehi

d, the pews w

ding bicycles to neighboring villages, sometimes three, four kilome

said. "It's about truth. We can't worship G

ppened in the Pen

th, "Praise be to God for the blessings upon Umuchukwu!" That Sunday, a teenage boy named Chika, th

s that same evening by t

me the

cks had been laid by the village's own sons. Its water tanks were donated by a woman

ave to. He simply sent the new headmaster a let

u Model

Children for To

hing. Those who did were told their children would be

wenty years, refused to call the school by its new name

ransferred. Three months l

m all local schools. Children who once played together, shared

friend refused to sit next to him, whispering, "My papa s

se her exercise book still bore "Nkereh

Class monitors were picked not by merit, but by surname. Test results

the Nkerehi children s

walked long distances under the hot sun, their uniforms

said, tying her child's headscarf,

blic places. It cut through homes,

entity and now rode one of the motorcycles Obiajulu gave, and Tochukwu,

a room. Now, they did

y his wealth and his standing, told his mother, "He should eat outside. I'

n and walked out. That ni

er cried i

attending each other's child dedication ceremonies. When asked, one repli

a Nweke, said it best during a secret m

e whispered, "where even names

sanded down and re-engraved with "Umuchukwu" by loyalists. When families found out, some wailed. O

lies doused their lamps and spoke only in whispers. At village meetings, no o

rn to the square ofte

gnboards and documents, but in the mouths of children, in th

ed. They isolated themselves in everything: worship, education,

aid, "and tomorrow the sky falls on Umu

r just a differ

me a line i

rain could no