Who is Obika?

Obika is Ezeulu's second oldest son. He is handsome and charismatic, but is also violent, hot-tempered, and hard-drinking. Ezeulu tries continually to keep him under control, but continually fails. Obika's confrontations with authority trigger important and transformative elements in the book's plot, while his death as a result of over-exerting himself during a religious ritual is a trigger for Ezeulu's crisis of faith and severe mental deterioration.