Out of Jericho

Broken walls cast jagged shadows

Authentic, well-researched and passionate, this African-themed novel deals with real people, politics and the startling reality that, in Africa, tomorrow is never a certainty. Sections are based on Nick Roddy’s own experiences of being held at gunpoint as a hostage in Nigeria. Chioma and Azzi, along with their two year old son Chidi, watch as their home is destroyed by the bulldozers of the Nigerian Federal Government to make way for a new road to furnish the oil terminals of Port Harcourt. As the dust settles, Chioma picks up her son and leaves. From here she will walk across Nigeria – begging for food for her son. Chioma is from the Igbo whose origins are believed to be the lost tribe of Israel – and she is resigned to the life of a nomad. Simultaneously, in the Gaza strip, a house is to be bulldozed as a suicide bomb reprisal. Said and his brothers shoot the Israeli officer in charge and cause a blood bath. Mo, a Palestinan visiting home, is a witness caught up in the violence. He rescues a young girl from the cross-fire and, taking the child, flees back to Nigeria where he has been working. Out of Jericho follows Mo, Chioma and Azzi across the next two decades as their fates become inextricably intwined. Ethics and relationships in the face of armed violence are explored. As the interconnections between characters become clear they must face up to personal and cultural issues, leading to a dark and unexpected final twist.