Hi there! After a long hiatus from blogging and some of my social media accounts, I am pleased to unveil an extract from my latest novel "The Heptagon Revolt." It is an Orwellian novel, inspired by "Animal Farm," set in Abuja, Nigeria with an up to date examination of the world today. I'd like to also believe it can be equally enjoyed by a teen class in a secondary school/high school class room, and a sociopolitical or socioeconomics class in a university.

Below is the except from the novel, "The Heptagon Revolt."

Revolution

The two human guards who watched over the dogs when the Big Fight occurred left the farm the following week. They were replaced by two other guards. To prevent the spread of Covid-19, it was decided that the guards would be rotated weekly. Even Johnbull Osagie could not visit the farm regularly because the police men and soldiers deployed to the streets of Abuja prevented the free flow of people and traffic. The health authorities of the government said that the less people mixed, the less the disease was transmitted from one person to another. The dogs were amused to see the human guards with surgical face masks covering their mouths and noses.

When they resumed their duty, the new batch of human guards were informed about the importance of allowing the dogs out of their cages at least once a day. Johnbull Osagie did not want a repeat of what had occurred in the recent past.

Liz warned her children to be careful with the older dogs. She told them to protect themselves whenever the other dogs ganged up against them. She was lucky sometimes to be let out of her cage in the same batch as her offspring. When that happened, she gathered her offspring together and whispered to them about the need for them to protect one another. She noticed that Rex had become more withdrawn and spoke less after the Big Fight – he had a defeated look about him. Rex was the most wounded dog after the Big Fight such that the scars were visible on his body. The scars and welts from wounds were caused by Bruce hitting Rex with hard blows from his paws. When his cage was opened for him to leave his cage and run around on the field, Rex was so obviously reluctant to step out of his cage. The human guards had to force him out on such occasions.

“Rex, one day soon, you will be big and strong, stronger than even Bruce and his stooges,” Liz told her son directly. It was on a day that she was in the same batch of dogs as her children, the dogs who were let out of their cages. “In life, one must face many battles. You win some, you lose some. You must prevent the losses from getting you down,” she added. Rex nodded to show that he understood.

The Big Fight showed the dogs that there was a new champion dog on the farm – it was Bruce. Everyone saw how he had beaten both Rex and Danladi, without so much as a scratch on his fur. He was always followed by his three acolytes, Shadow, Rambo and Captain. As usual, they walked with him quietly with suspicious looks in their eyes, as though warding off any possible attack. Their suspicion was unnecessary because no dog on the farm dared to even dream of physically attacking Bruce.

At dawn, one morning during the lockdown, the dogs on the farm sensed a loud noise approaching the farm. It sounded like a large creature was walking fast towards the farm. The dogs on the farm with a view of the sky saw a large cloud of dust rising in the horizon, over the high fence that surrounded the farm. All the dogs on the farm heard what sounded like the barks of a million dogs, barking in unison. The noise frightened some of the dogs on the farm, both the young and older dogs. The older dogs wouldn’t openly admit it afterwards, so they wouldn’t be thought of as weak. The hearts of the dogs on the farm beat faster than ever. Their instincts told them that something great and unusual was upon them.

“What is going on?” some of the dogs on the farm asked aloud and barked to one another.

The human guards in the security house were woken up by the cacophony of barks from outside the farm, as well as the barks by the dogs on the farm, under their charge. They emerged from the security house dressed in their underwear, just in time to see what appeared to be an uncountable number of dogs leaping over the high fence. The surprised guards froze in their tracks for a few seconds because it was unlike anything they had ever seen before. When they recovered their wits, the guards fled towards the large gates of the farm. The gates had a side entrance for pedestrians. The invading dogs chased after the human guards. The guards threw open the pedestrian entrance of the gates and ran as fast as their feet could carry them away from the farm. The invading dogs continued to chase them until they were out of sight. Another batch of dogs ran querulously around the outer part of the farm’s fence, in search of any humans. When they didn’t find any humans, they changed course. They returned to the farm compound. The pedestrian gate was shut by the dogs.

Another batch of dogs ran into the giant kennels where the dogs were kept in cages. They opened the cages with such skill that the farm dogs were taken aback and impressed. The farm dogs watched in awe, wondering how a member of their species had managed to learn how to open the locks with such expertise.

The freed farm dogs leapt out of their cages and most of them stopped in front of the entrance to the giant kennel. They watched in amazement as the invading dogs dashed to and fro on the field, doing what appeared to be a victory dance. A continuous sound of thunderous victory barks could be heard at every corner of the farm, and even beyond. Some of the invading dogs leapt into the air with great excitement.

Oriade watched it all in awe from the entrance to the great kennel. He knew it was a special moment, a thrilling spectacle.

While the cheering was going on, a male dog, bigger and heads taller than all the invading and the farm dogs put together, approached the centre of the gathering. From his looks, Oriade knew that humans would regard the biggest dog as a stud, worthy of being used for breeding. This was because he had the powerful looks that humans sought in dogs. Oriade’s eyes caught the big dog’s left ear and managed to see a birthmark on the inside of his left ear. Oriade’s heart began to beat furiously. He recalled what his mother Liz had told him about their father. He looked around for Liz, but he could not see her in the crowd of dogs. The big dog growled and snapped so loudly that the noise carried out far into the crowd. The invading dogs went quiet immediately.

With his right forepaw, the big dog waved the invading dogs to a section of the large farm field. The invading dogs moved into formation around him in a circle, standing together on all fours in neat rows. He waved his right forepaw again and a clearing appeared between the invading dogs. The farm dogs stood in front of the giant kennel, obviously impressed by all that they had seen. Some of them were confused and fearful too. The big dog looked sternly at the farm animals.

“Good morning, fellow dogs!” the big dog said to the farm dogs in a booming voice. “We are one! Do not fret. We’re here to help you. We’re here—” he paused dramatically and continued, “TO FREE ALL DOGS FROM HUMANITY!”

All the invading dogs cheered and stamped their legs on the field so hard that dust rose into the air. The big dog raised his right hand once again and waved it. The was pin drop silence on the dog farm instantly.

“My name is Bobby! Some of you have heard about me!” said the big dog. Ruth, Rex and Oriade exchanged excited looks. “With these loyal dogs from mostly the southern part of Nigeria, I plan to liberate all dogs on earth from the tyranny of mankind. History tells us that the first dog was subjugated – humans say tamed – on African soil hundreds, or thousands of years ago. We will reverse this, starting from African soil!”

The invading dogs cheered heartily. Some of the farm dogs began to cheer, impressed by Bobby’s oratory.

“While we welcome other creatures in the struggle to free ourselves from the bondage of humans, we shall focus mainly on the dog race! We know we can be stronger, and we can be better than we are now! Now that we have taken over this farm, it shall be our temporary headquarters as we push towards spreading this revolution up to our canine counterparts especially up in Northern Nigeria. We’ll then spread the canine revolution to other parts of Africa!”

The cheers that followed were almost unanimous, except for Bruce and his three acolytes, Shadow, Rambo and Captain, who watched the proceedings wordlessly and without any expression on their faces.

“I dream of a day when all breeds of dogs – the Alsatian, the German shepherd, the terrier, the bulldog, the beagle, the dachshund, the poodle and chihuahua – will look upon one another as brothers and sisters. Join us today, and I promise you won’t regret it!”

The dogs cheered.

“With my generals, we have planned to take advantage of the lockdown that the humans have embarked on to prevent the spread of the Covid-19. Now that humans are safely locked away in their homes, this is the best time for us to move. We must move with lightning speed. We have been able to free dogs because of this restriction of movement of humans. We’ve freed dogs from farms like this one, although this is the largest farm that we have conquered. We have freed dogs from the captivity of hunters, local vigilantes, and security officers. We don’t know how long the lockdown will last, but act, we MUST!” Bobby went quiet in a way that suggested he was through with his speech.

The cheers and barks at the end of Bobby’s speech were the loudest noises the farm had ever heard.

The Heptagon Revolt was published in March 2024 by LaTunes Publishers. It is available at the following stores.

Konga.com https://www.konga.com/product/the-heptagon-revolt-6439596?srsltid=AfmBOoqkOWUefFfiu6toKUZVxjxs9MUBj5

Roving Heights Bookshop https://rhbooks.com.ng/product/the-heptagon-revolt/

Amazon.com https://www.amazon.in/Heptagon-Revolt-Bolaji-Olatunde-ebook/dp/B0CW1DNBWB

Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-heptagon-revolt-bolaji-olatunde/1145033922?ean=9789787871386