AFRICAN PROSE ISIDORE OKPEWHO: The Last Duty Examine the relationship between Aku and Oshevire.

Answer Details

In Isidore Okpewho's The Last Duty the marriage of Aku and Oshevire stands at the moral centre of the novel. Set during a civil war in the fictional country where Oshevire, an Igabo man, lives among the Simba of Urukpe, their relationship is tested to breaking point by imprisonment, temptation and slander, and Okpewho uses it to explore loyalty, love and the destructive power of war on private lives.

A marriage of genuine love and trust. Before the war Aku and Oshevire share a stable, affectionate home with their young son Oghenovo. Oshevire is an honest, principled rubber trader who loves his wife deeply, and Aku, though of a minority group and therefore vulnerable, is devoted to him. Their bond is presented as sincere and mutually respectful.

The war forces them apart. Oshevire is falsely accused of collaborating with the enemy and thrown into prison, largely through the scheming of his business rival Toje. His long absence leaves Aku isolated, poor and unprotected in a hostile town, a woman alone with a child and no one to defend her.

Aku's loyalty under pressure. Toje, desiring Aku and wanting to keep Oshevire out of the way permanently, uses his wealth and influence to "support" her while pursuing her sexually. Aku resists for a long time out of love for her husband, but her extreme dependence and vulnerability eventually draw her into a compromising situation with Toje and, ironically, with his kinsman Odibo. Her lapse is presented less as betrayal than as the tragic result of helplessness in wartime.

Loyalty in absence. Even so, Aku's heart remains with Oshevire; her thoughts return constantly to him and to the family they had, and she longs for his release. Oshevire, for his part, never stops trusting and loving his wife, believing in her fidelity through his long confinement.

The tragic ending. When Oshevire is finally freed and returns, the strain of war and suspicion has poisoned the reunion. The relationship, though founded on real love, cannot be fully restored, and the novel ends in destruction rather than joyful reunion, underscoring how war shatters even the strongest private bonds.

Conclusion. The relationship between Aku and Oshevire is one of deep love and loyalty placed under intolerable strain by war, poverty and human malice. Okpewho uses it to show that in a corrupt and violent society even innocent, loving people become victims, and that the greatest casualties of war are often ordinary families.