Moral aesthetics in Laniran’s Life, Deceit and Death

A review of Titilope Adefunke Laniran’s Life, Deceit and Death by Paul Liam.

LITERATURE is many things to different people. However, to writers like Titilope Adefunke Laniran, literature is a tool for moral advocacy and the redemption of society.

Thus, Laniran’s literary forte is the conscientisation of her readers on the need to live purposeful lives, a life of honour governed by spirituality and morality rooted in the knowledge of God.

While her writings cannot be regarded as purely Christian literature because of the secular undertones, they are intended to inspire people to strengthen their resolve to live morally acceptable lives. This desire for a functional society of decent human beings is the hallmark of Laniran’s writings; whether it is poetry or fiction and nonfiction, Laniran is concerned about people living decent lives in a decent society.

This assertion is buttressed in her short story collection, Life, Deceit and Death, which was published in 2021 by OAK Initiative, Ogun State.

The collection is made up of three long stories further divided into parts, for example, the opening story, “The World I live In,” is divided into six parts with a prologue and epilogue.

“The World I Live In” tells the tragic story of Fumbi, a young girl struggling with the reality of her mother’s promiscuous lifestyle which she finds sinful and shameful. While she is ashamed of her mother’s chosen career path of prostitution, she recognises that she is her mother, and no matter how hateful she feels about her way of life, she cannot deny her. While there is supposedly a good reason for Ronke, Fumbi’s mother’s lifestyle, the crux of the story is not so much about her lifestyle but about social issues that contribute to young girls’ adoption of unhealthy lifestyles.

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For example, Ronke, who is the child of wealthy parents find herself in the streets when her parents died and she can no longer   endure the suffering from relatives who treated her like a slave.

Unfortunately, her parents, while alive could not give her the needed attention or protection as her mother was more fascinated by living a glamorous life than being a mother, and her father was overwhelmed with politics and business before the accident that took their lives. They left behind a confused teenager with no direction in life.

Consequently, by this portrayal, it is deducible that parental negligence or absence in a child’s life can have negative consequences on their later lives especially when their parents are no more.

Another social issue reflected in the story is teenage pregnancy, while she was in the street as a prostitute, Ronke became pregnant and eventually gave birth to Fumbi, whom she raised as a prostitute.

And in the two other stories in the collection, “The Power of Deception” and “The Colour of Death” the author explores social issues within the purview of power, deceit, death and activism.

• Liam is a poet, literary critic and author of two poetry collections.