{"id":19168,"date":"2026-06-14T10:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T10:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umuakatimes.com\/topnews\/?p=19168"},"modified":"2026-06-14T10:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T10:14:09","slug":"celebrating-the-undesirable-element-and-its-teenage-author-mohammed-sule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umuakatimes.com\/topnews\/celebrating-the-undesirable-element-and-its-teenage-author-mohammed-sule\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating The Undesirable Element and its Teenage Author, Mohammed Sule."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span> 10<\/span> Views<\/span><\/div>

Many Nigerians who read The Undesirable Element during their primary or secondary school days may be surprised to learn that the celebrated novel was written by someone who was almost their age at the time he began the manuscript.<\/p>\n

The author, Mohammed Sule, remains one of the most remarkable figures in Nigerian literary history today. His novel, The Undesirable Element, became one of the most successful titles in the famous Pacesetters Series published by Macmillan in 1977. The novel, according to Umuaka Times findings helped shape the reading culture of a generation of young Nigerians. Some young students described the book as the second Things Fall Apart and went ahead to pronounce the author as the literary son of Chinua Achebe.<\/p>\n

Exploring the elements of Undesirable Element, the novel was set in Northern Nigeria and it tells the tragic story of a character called Bintu, the daughter of Mallam Shehu, who, before his death, entrusts her care to a trusted friend and expresses his wish that she marry Faruk Abdu, a young man studying in Europe. However, events take an unexpected turn during Faruk’s absence, leading to a chain of circumstances that ultimately end in tragedy. Through its compelling storyline, the novel explores themes of love, loyalty, family obligations, social expectations, education and justice.<\/p>\n

The book quickly gained popularity among young readers because of its simple and engaging language, realistic portrayal of Northern Nigerian culture and traditions, and its unique blend of romance, suspense, courtroom drama and social commentary. Decades after its publication, the novel continues to enjoy positive reviews and remains a nostalgic favourite among Nigerians who attended school in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. According to an Imo State based priest who expressed joy to discuss the book with Umuaka Times, \u201cThe Undesirable Element was like an anthem to all Nigerian students when reading culture was very competitive. I do not know of any student that did not read the novel then.\u201d<\/p>\n

The priest who pleaded with Umuaka Times to keep his name private further disclosed that it was only last year 2025 that he got to know that the author of the novel Mohammed Sule, wrote the novel in his secondary school days as a teenager.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some literary records Umuaka Times came across last week during the preparation and research works for this story, show that when Macmillan launched the Pacesetters Series in 1977, the first three titles were The Undesirable Element by Mohammed Sule, The Smugglers by Kalu Okpi, and Director by Agbo Areo. The publisher printed an initial 5,000 copies of each title, amounting to 15,000 copies in the first batch. Remarkably, all the books sold out within approximately three months despite selling for only \u20a61 per copy.<\/p>\n

The overwhelming success of the series convinced Macmillan that there was a huge market for Nigerian popular fiction and paved the way for the expansion of what would become one of Africa’s most successful literary series. The Undesirable Element was among the strongest-selling titles and established Mohammed Sule as one of the leading authors of the Pacesetters era who shaped the Nigerian reading culture among young students and their teachers.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, even more remarkable than the book’s success was the age of its author. Born in Kano in 1957, Mohammed Sule revealed that he began writing The Undesirable Element while in form one at Government College, Kano. Based on his age and school records, Umuaka Times estimates that he was likely between 12 and 13 years old when he started the manuscript.<\/p>\n

He continued working on the novel throughout his secondary school years and completed it while still a teenager, at about 15 or 16 years of age. After undergoing editorial review and revisions, the book was eventually published in 1977 when Sule was about 19 years old.<\/p>\n

The novel remains one of the most inspiring stories in Nigerian literature; a teenager’s manuscript becoming a national bestseller and a cornerstone of youth reading culture when students were borrowing novels from each other.<\/p>\n

Regrettably, that era is gone!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 ViewsMany Nigerians who read The Undesirable Element during their primary or secondary school days…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[1144,1145],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrating The Undesirable Element and its Teenage Author, Mohammed Sule. -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/umuakatimes.com\/topnews\/celebrating-the-undesirable-element-and-its-teenage-author-mohammed-sule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrating The Undesirable Element and its Teenage Author, Mohammed Sule. -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"10 ViewsMany Nigerians who read The Undesirable Element 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