I Do Not Come to You by Chance

By: Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

Narrated by: Nene Nwoko

Being the opara of the family, Kingsley Ibe is entitled to certain privileges—a piece of meat in his egusi soup, a party to celebrate his graduation from university. But times are bad in Nigeria. Unable to find work, Kingsley cannot take on the duty of training his younger siblings, nor can he provide his parents with financial peace in their retirement. And then there is Ola. It does not seem to matter that he loves her deeply; he cannot afford her bride price.

For much of his young life, Kingsley believed that education was everything, that through wisdom, all things were possible. Now he worries that without a "long-leg"—someone who knows someone who can help him—his degrees will do nothing. And when a tragedy befalls his family, Kingsley learns the hardest lesson of all: education may be the language of success in Nigeria, but it's money that does the talking.

When Kingsley turns to his Uncle Boniface for help, he learns that charity may come with strings attached. Boniface—aka Cash Daddy—is an exuberant character who suffers from elephantiasis of the pocket. He's also rumored to run a successful empire of email scams. It's up to Kingsley now to reconcile his passion for knowledge with his hunger for money, and to fully assume his role of first son. But can he do it without being drawn into this outlandish milieu?

©2009 Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (P)2022 Tantor

Beautiful piece

A lot of research was done to put this amazing piece together. You can just tell from how well the story was told , I learned more from how the 419 scam was operated back in the day. An awesome read for sure

The evolution of the Opara

I really enjoyed this book and the performance. The story is captivating about the 419 in nigeria

Fascinatingly realistic

This book is wonderfully thought provoking and entertaining. The main characters are realistic. Narration is on point.

Good story, bad ending

The story was great, until the end. The moral? Although you may get some bad looks for a while, scamming people's life savings will make you rich and happy in the end. Just don't go into politics.

Amazing performance. Story left much to be desired

It was very refreshing hearing the correct pronunciations and accents indigenous to the story and intended by the writer being used. I was so impressed by the fluctuation in tone and use of pitch that communicated exactly what was happening in the book and created vivid imagery of the scenes.

I was however a bit disappointed in the story and felt the ending a bit rushed and left me wanting more. So many storylines didn’t get concluded or even addressed properly and I wish the writer took more time to address loose ends.

Overall 4/5 for me though. Kept me coming back for more.

The narration

It was well narrated, and it was well written. I enjoyed listening to this book.