Foreign Gods Inc

Foreign Gods Inc follows Ike, a Nigerian immigrant living in New York who works as a taxi driver. Despite holding an economics degree, Ike faces professional barriers due to his accent and struggles with the financial demands of his family and spouse. Driven by desperation and mounting gambling losses, he devises a plan to travel to his home village in Nigeria to steal Ngene, an ancient and powerful war deity, to sell to a New York art gallery. The narrative explores the tension between traditional Igbo beliefs and Christianity, the frustrations of the immigrant experience, and the modern fascination with exotic cultural objects.

Okey Ndibe is an Igbo novelist, essayist, and political columnist born in 1960 in Yola, Nigeria. After completing his education in Anambra State, he moved to the United States, where he served as the founding editor of African Commentary, a magazine published by Chinua Achebe. Ndibe has held teaching positions at several prestigious institutions, including Brown University, and earned an MFA and PhD from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His literary work is recognized for its exploration of African and African Diaspora literatures.

Critics have lauded the novel for its storytelling and thematic complexity. The Guardian characterizes the book as a thrilling account of divinity in the age of global capital. Sahara Reporters describes the novel as a splendid work of art, while the African Writers Trust notes the central plot involving the theft of the patron god Ngene. Additionally, Paste Magazine touches on the depiction of art collectors who seek out deities from distant lands.