The Power of Love by Amos Adehi is not a love story as the title may have suggested. With its pragmatic narrative, nonetheless, it is more valuable than any romantic fantasy most readers expect.
While it may not be apocalyptic or so, the book’s plot is about the Christian faith.
It is a book we recommend to any believer who wants to see how God can make “a ministry out of (his) misery.” It is such a real piece.
And, you see, whether or not this book is nonfictional is a matter of some debate, as the author being a one-time cell church leader may have written it as part of a true prisoner’s life experience. We can’t say.
What does the book look like? Take a look at the summary of the narrative yourself.
A Summary of the Book
The narrative revolves around the story of a young boy, Gbenga who was quite unfortunate as a child beginning from his background. He was borne into a family of just three, being the only child of his parents.
His mother, Kemi isn’t content with what her husband, Segun (a civil servant) can offer her; she got involved with some other men—extra marital affairs.
At a point, Segun’s earnings couldn’t reach his family adequately because Kemi, though working class too, wouldn’t contribute her money to the family. Things went on this way for some time until Kemi eventually eloped with a man.
Overwhelmed with the misfortune of having to raise his child alone and losing his wife, Segun drank and got so drunk that he chased Gbenga out of his house.
Gbenga consequently lived several years of his life like an orphan, being maltreated by many of those whose hands he fell.
Mr. Adekunle and his wife adopted him not because they don’t have children themselves but because they needed a young house help. The poor little boy was maltreated by almost everyone in the family.
Once, he was lied against by Dupe, the only daughter in the house of the Adekunles, to have stolen the jewelry he didn’t pick. The punishment for this N50K worth piece eluded him because Adekunle’s brother, Dele paid for it.
Gbenga later found that it was Dupe who stole the gold, so he decided he wouldn’t allow her to do the same a second time.
But Dupe was so cunny that she had him believe that she wouldn’t repeat such again, by acting like she wanted them to make good friends. One night, they made up with some whisky.
Again, Dupe stole from the pieces of jewelry in her mother’s shop to meet her boyfriend’s needs on campus. This time Gbenga wouldn’t escape it. He was accused of stealing the jewelry and sentenced to prison. Dupe, on the other hand, was jaded by the boyfriend she’d go to any length for.
With a few symptoms, Dupe’s mother realized her daughter was pregnant. It was at this point that Dupe revealed to her that she stole the gold Gbenga was accused of stealing and that her pregnancy was for her runaway boyfriend.
Kemi felt so bad with her daughter but above all, they thought of going to seek Gbenga’s forgiveness at the prison; they did go. Unfortunately, he had already left prison sometime before they got there.
While serving his term in prison, Gbenga met a notorious thief, Bode, the man with whom he made friends and drew close to after he left prison. With Bode’s assistance, Gbenga made the Adekunles pay for what they cost him; he and his gang robbed them.
But it didn’t stop there, he continued to operate with Bode and other members of their gang. They acquired a furnished building for their so-called office and masqueraded as real estate agents.
Of course, they didn’t live in the office so each member including Gbenga rented an apartment for himself. In Gbenga’s apartment, there was one Mr. Timothy Andrew the believer.
Mr Timothy felt indebted to show Gbenga the way of salvation. He became a threat to Gbenga or so did Gbenga perceive it—especially for making his converted girlfriend, Kate, leave him after realizing it’s not proper to live with a man she’s not legally married to, and an unbeliever at that.
Gbenga and his gang took vengeance; they stole a thirty million Naira mobilization fee from Mr Timothy on the day he was paid upfront for a contract.
This single act literally ruined Mr. Timothy’s family. They could not live up to standard for some time again as he had to sell most of his properties to make up for the stolen money, plus clients’ trust in him dwindled; no one wanted to work with an untrustworthy fellow.
In all of this, one thing sort of amazes Gbenga, it was that Mr Timothy didn’t give up on his faith nor did he stop to tell Gbenga about receiving salvation.
Gbenga’s involvement with robbers got a better part of him until he had a near-death event in an operation.
In the said near-death event, he was the only surviving member of his gang—sustaining a gunshot. He was rescued by Mr Timothy who went to his house to talk to him about Christ again, or he would have bled to death.
This intense act of care from a person he ruined was convincing for Gbenga. He confessed to Mr Timothy his sin of taking vengeance from him. It nearly wouldn’t have gone down well with Mr Timothy if he hadn’t been encouraged by a co-believer.
He forgave Gbenga, but since the latter has accepted Christ, his conscience wouldn’t allow him until he reported himself to the police.
At the hearing in court, some important people got to learn that Timothy hasn’t been unfaithful after all. It turned out that he needed this moment for restoration.
Gbenga was given a term to serve and he had Mr Timothy frequented him in prison. Timothy got contracts that were much better than he ever had had.
Read Also: Communion by Whitley Strieber
Gbenga left prison and was at peace with himself for the first time, in the book. He went into church ministry; ministering to people of all classes including prisoners.
He reconciled with his parents. And, yes—not to leave out— he reconciled with the Adekunles too, with whom he had had a child without his knowledge. Gbenga had Dupe confess that they had fun the night they took alcohol to cozy up.
Dupe’s child wasn’t her runaway boyfriend’s; it is Gbenga’s. Gbenga successfully converted the Adekunles to be true believers after which he tied the knot with Dupe, to everyone’s surprise.
The book opens with Gbenga’s fate of being borne into an unhealthy family. It ends with Gbenga’s marriage to Dupe, the girl he once wouldn’t speak to.
If you need a chapter-by-chapter summary of this work kindly let us know in the comment below. Or email us if it’s sorta urgent. We charge you nothing for it.
Notable Characters in the Book
The following characters make Amos Adehi’s The Power of Love what it is.
- Gbenga Adeyemi
- Segun Adeyemi (Gbenga’s father)
- Kemi Adeyemi (Gbenga’s mother)
- Tunji Adekunle
- Bose (Adekunle’s wife)
- Ayo, Akin, Femi, and Dupe (Children in the family of the Adekunles)
- Dele (Tunji’s brother)
- Solomon (runaway boyfriend)
- Bode (notorious prisoner)
- Kate (Gbenga’s girlfriend)
- Timothy Andrew (Gbenga’s neighbor)
- Dorcas (Timothy’s wife)
Who is Amos Adehi?
Amos Adehi is the author of The Power of Love, among other books to his credit, but this does not guarantee that the media knows so much about him.
We ourselves have not got a great deal of information about the author but he is known to be a quantity surveyor and teacher who thought writing is a thing that came to him naturally.
He has written for years, working with Wholesome World Digest and Church Magazines among others.
Amos is assumed to have started writing before 2009 since that was the year his first book, “You Can’t Afford to be Ignorant” was published.
In any case, the author is a successful one with a happy home blessed with a daughter, Deborah.
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