The Secret of the Sheik by Atabo Oko

Title: The Secret of the Sheik
Author: Oko, Atabo
Publisher: Heineman Educational Books (Nig.) Limited
Pages: N/A
Date Read: 08 April 2008
Bookshelves: read
My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read this book about ten years ago and it has stayed with me since.

The story begins with a man who had just been released from prison on a seven-year jail term for a rape he did not commit. Faced with the economic hardships of South-Western Nigeria and coupled with his ex-convict status, finding a job seemed like a frightening impossibility.
He finds his way to Northern Nigeria after being alerted by his friend of the region’s numerous opportunities. But things start to go wrong very fast after he turns down sexual advances from his friend’s wife. Along the line he meets this Sheik, to whom he has a striking resemblance and his life never remains the same again.