The Passport of Mallam Ilia is a love story tinged with a vengeance mission. On his quest to avenge the death of his wife, Zarah, the hero, Mallam Ilia, misses out on his entire youth

Late in 1947, my train was gasping and panting up the steep incline that leads onto the Bauchi Plateau in Northern Nigeria. It was a chilly morning; I had been traveling third class for two days and two sleepless nights with scarcely any room in which to stretch my legs; I felt bored to death, and anxious to get the journey over....