Nigerian author Abeeb Lekan Sodiq has made his fiction debut with Like Butterflies, a gripping historical novel set in the 19th-century Oyo Empire that explores themes of power, resistance, and the enduring human desire for freedom.
The novel – Like Butterflies will be officially launched on February 26 in Ikeja 1 Local Government Area of Lagos State. The launch is being organised in partnership with the ICT CDS Executives of Ikeja 1 LGA (NYSC Lagos) under the initiative titled “Project 1000: The Future is Here.”
The 217-page novel revisits the slave era through a deeply human lens, portraying it as a system shaped by power, survival, and moral tension. At the heart of the story is Sisi, an abducted princess reduced to what the novel describes as a “parcel”, a term used to reflect how enslaved individuals were treated as merchandise rather than human beings.
Sold to one of the wealthiest men in Oyo, Sisi is stripped of her identity and status, forced into a system where endurance alone offers no escape. Witnessing the harsh and inhumane treatment of fellow “parcels,” her fate begins to shift when she discovers that her master’s son has feelings for her. She strategically turns this into leverage, inspiring a rebellion among the oppressed despite the looming threat of death for any sign of resistance.
Unlike many slave narratives that conclude in the diaspora, Like Butterflies begins and ends within the Oyo Empire. By remaining within Africa, the novel challenges readers to examine slavery not only as a transatlantic phenomenon but also as an internal system that fractured local societies, empowered certain financiers aligned with colonial interests, and demanded courageous resistance.
The butterfly featured on the book’s cover serves as a powerful symbol of freedom. Its vibrant design reflects beauty and transformation — much like butterflies emerging into open air, the characters long to reclaim their humanity and break free from confinement.
The novel has already gained international recognition. Ambassador Pamela E. Bridgewater (retd), former United States Ambassador to Benin, Ghana, and Jamaica, described the book as “a fast-paced journey through the brutal realities of the 19th-century Oyo Empire slave era and the triumph of the human spirit’s determination to be free,” calling it “a powerful page-turner.”
The endorsement adds global weight to the novel’s serious engagement with historical injustice and systems of power.
Support for the book has also come from TheAfricanDream LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based communications and information research organisation focused on African affairs.
Sodiq, who has written or edited more than 1,000 articles on African stories and contemporary issues as Managing Editor of the pan-African news website TheAfricanDream.net, brings editorial precision and clarity to his fiction debut.
