I Do Not Come to You by Chance

I Do Not Come to You by Chance (2009) is Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s debut novel. This African contemporary novel tells the story of a young man burdened with responsibility and the efforts he goes to for his family. It gives us an insight into the world of Nigerian email scams and the people behind the operation. The book has been generally well received by critics and readers. Nwaubani is the first modern African writer to have an international book deal while living in her home country, Nigeria. I Do Not Come to You by Chance won the 2010 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa and the 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in Africa.

The protagonist, Kingsley Ibe, is a young man who recently graduated from university. He wants to find an engineering job to support his family and to marry his perfect girl, Ola. He is the opara of the family—as the firstborn son, he receives certain privileges, such as a party for his graduation and extra food. Kingsley feels a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, but he’s determined to do well and give back.

It soon becomes obvious that getting a job in Nigeria is not going to be easy. The kind of work Kingsley wants is hard to come by, and the rejection letters are piling up. Ola, meanwhile, worries that he won’t ever be able to afford her bride price. Ola’s mother starts to doubt that they are a good match.



Kingsley’s parents, however, believe education is the only way to true happiness in life and that his time will come. Kingsley doesn’t want to disappoint them even though he’s starting to doubt this. Kingsley’s father doesn’t want him to end up like himself—a poor civil servant. However, when Kingsley’s father takes ill, the family needs to decide what to do.

Kingsley takes matters into his own hands and visits his rich uncle, Cash Daddy. Cash Daddy is a 419er—someone who makes money in Nigeria running email scams. The term refers to the section of the penal code that lets the police prosecute the crime. Cash Daddy, however, doesn’t care about education or the law—not when his business is so lucrative. He gives Kingsley the opportunity to learn the trade, and Kingsley feels he must at least try for the sake of his family.

At first, Kingsley doesn’t know how to write the right emails and feels very self-conscious. He can’t believe anyone falls for these scams and thinks he’s wasting his time. However, he’s soon on first-name terms with a handful of people who buy into the scheme, and he’s amazed at his luck. He sees why Cash Daddy does so well.



Cash Daddy is impressed by Kingsley’s aptitude and flair for ingenuity. It’s not long before Kingsley is making a good living scamming people under various aliases. However, Kingsley is still nothing like Cash Daddy, who holds business meetings in the toilet and eats with his mouth open. Cash Daddy’s dry humor, though, adds wittiness to the book.

Meanwhile, the family discovers what Kingsley is doing to make money and is extremely disappointed in him; he can’t help feeling angry. He’s surprised to find himself in this situation. He tells them he sacrificed himself and his own morals to keep them out of poverty, and yet they aren’t thankful. They stop speaking to him.

Cash Daddy is murdered when he involves himself in the political world. Kingsley doesn’t want to take over the business because he enjoyed feeling in control of his own destiny. But, as the novel progresses, Kingsley gets more embroiled in the email scam world, learning how deep it runs. He learns that the money scammed out of Westerners is used to build schools, roads, and orphanages; others like Cash Daddy justify the scamming by saying they’re only claiming back the capital that the West once took from them.



By the end, Kingsley hasn’t taken over Cash Daddy’s business, and he hasn’t wholly made amends with his family. However, he does set up his own organization, an Internet café, which pleases his mother. Whether she knows this business is a cover for the email scamming is not clear. Kingsley maintains this legitimate front while taking calls from those he and others scam. The ending shows us that people like Kingsley operate under false pretenses across the country, but there’s humor in how they’re portrayed.

Kingsley always seems to have more respect for those who fall foul of the scams than others like Cash Daddy. Most of the scammers think these victims deserve what they get—that’s another way they justify the crimes. Cash Daddy and others like him who are uneducated, only see their own perspective. Kingsley, on the other hand, looks at everything through a more balanced lens.