A Marxist Critical Approach to African Literature: An Introduction 9789956621773

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The Author's Published Books: Son of The Native Soil (1999) Novel Third Edition (2007) Reprinted: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Radical Romantics: An Introduction (2001; revised edition 2013) Criticism Education of the Deprived: (2003; revised edition 2013) Criticism· The Dregs of HumanifH (2005) Criticism Homage and Courtship!Romantic Stirrings of a Young Man (2007; revised edition 2012) Poetry The Cameroonian Novel of English Expression An Introduction (2007) Criticism Perspectives on Written Cameroon Literature in En (2012) Criticism A Marxist Critical Approach to African Literature An Introduction (2013) Criticism

SHADRACH A. AMBANASOM

-------~ck~--A MARXISTCRITICAL APPROACH TOAFRICAN·LITERATURE ---=~(

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AN INTRODUCTION

PublishedinCameroon byShilohPrintersBamenda Tel.:33 36 24 36/ 77 75 5809

A MARXISTCRITICAL APPROACH TO AFRICANLITERATURE

. An Introduction

Copyright@ Shadrach A. Ambanasom 201.3 All rightsreserved.It is a veryseriouscriminaloffence for any part of this book to be reproduced, photographed,transmittedin anyform or by any meanswithout the prior permission,in writing,from the author.

ISBN 978-9956-621-77-3

Printedin Cameroon ByShilohPrinters Tel.:33 36 24 36 / 77 75 58 09 2

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Dedication

To those Committedto the Improvementof the Human Condition. •

3

PREFACE

The title of this work needs a little clarificationand delimitation to obviate the need to look for a comprehensiveness of treatmentof the subjectwhichit doesnot pretendto. Thishasto dowiththeepithet"African literature",for Africanliteratureis bothwrittenandoral- a massivecollectionof literaryproductionsin nationaland imperiallanguages. Butthis projectis concerned onlywith a limited aspectof written Africanliterature,therefore leavingout, completely, the vastareaof orature. With regardto geographical coverage,the workhas touchedneitherthe northernnorthe southernpartsof the Africancontinent.It limitsitselfto a horizontalspreadof selectedwritten literarytexts from Westto EastAfrica, beginningfrom Senegal,passingthrough Nigeriaand cameroon,andendingin Kenya.Andevenin the selected literaryworksthe projectis concerned onlywith the novel anddrama,puttingasidepoetry,theessayandshortstories. Theselected novelsincludeOusmane Sembene's God's Bits of Woodfrom Senegal;ChinuaAchebe'sAnthillsof theSavannah fromNigeria;LinusT. Asong'sTheCrownof Thorns,TahAsongwed's Bornto Rule,FrancisNyamnjoh's Mind Searchingand The DisillusionedAfrican,John N. Nkengasong's AcrosstheMongolo,andAlobwed'Epie's The DeathCertificate,all of thesesix novelsfrom Cameroon; and Ngugiwa Thiong'o'sDevilon the Crossfrom Kenya. Asfor the dramatictextsthreecomefrom Cameroon and onefromKenya.Allof thesemakea totalof thirteenselected literarytextsto whichthe Marxistcriticalapproachhasbeen applied. It is obviousfrom the abovethat the selectionof textsis skewedin favourof Cameroon. The reasonfor this is simple:Anglophone cameroonliteraturehaslongexisted 4

in the shadow of Francophonecameroon literature.The formerhas now come of age and needsto be giventhe criticalattention and exposureit deserves*. The purposeof this work is to piecetogetheressential ideasculledfrom Marxistcriticalliteratureas well as some scatteredviews of Karl Marx and FriedrichEngelson art and literature.Then the researcherappliesthese Marxist criticalconceptsto the criticism of the thirteen selected Africanliterarytexts,whethertheyarewrittenfroma Marxist perspectiveor not. Of the eight chaptersin this book,the fifth andsixth are the most recent addition to the original monograph substantiallywritten in the early 1990s.Of course,I have sincemade updatesand changes-hereand there in the interestof critical research.But the bulk of the work still transmitsmygeneralcriticalspiritof morethantwo decades ago as well as its weaknesstoo. Intellectual honesty demandsthat I makethis solemndeclaration:I havea soft spotfor NgugiwaThiong'o'sDevilon the Cross(seeChapter 8 of the presentwork), especiallyfor the sectionsdealing with the sensationaland provocativetestimoniesof the localcapitalistthieveswiththosesonorous,rhythmicnames like Gitutu wa Gataanguru,Kihaahuwa Gatheeca,Nditika wa Nguunji, and Mwireriwa Mukiraai,all of which bring me good memoriesof my literatureclassof 1990- 1992 in the defunct ENSAnnexeBambili,now swallowedup in the sprawlingUniversityof Bamenda.It is for this reason that I ask readers, especiallyscholars,to forgive my indulgentcitingof certainpassages from that text. WhenI was roundingoff workon this projecttwenty one years ago, in 1992, socialismwas beleagueredin EasternEurope.Thoughseriouslybuffettedand rockedto itsveryfoundation,it was,asan officialpolicy,stilltoleratert In manyquartersin that part of the world.But by the time 5

I got to the lastchapterof the monographthat sameyear, the Soviet Union, the central pillar of socialism,was disintegrating, with its varioussocialistrepublicsgoingtheir differentwaysin favourof marketeconomy. I askedmyselfwhy I shouldbe workingon a critical approachbasedon a philosophyof life that wasnowbeing seriouslyundermined.Who would care for an aesthetic theoryfoundedon a defunctphilosophy?Butthen I soon reasonedthat this was not a simplequestionof a facile r~jection of Marxist aestheticson the basis of dying socialism. Thereweregroundson whichMarxistaesthetics couldbejustifieddespitethe realitiesfromformersocialist countries. True,the centralpillarof Marxism,the SovietUnion, hascollapse~;true, the otherimportantpillar,the People's Republicof China, has seriouslymodified its socialist economyin favourof a mixedeconomytoo. Butthereare countriesaroundthe world, especiallyin LatinAmerica, that still cling on to socialism,even if someof them are accusedof attemptingto cry louderthan the bereaved. Besides,someMarxists wouldsaythat Marxismhasonly madea tacticalwithdrawal.' Theywouldaddthatcapitalism stillcontainswithinitselfitsownundoing:its basicparadox. The paradoxis that capitalismthrives best at the great expenseof thosewhomakeit work- the explbitedworkers. At itsbestcapitalism canonlyeffecttoken,cosmetic changes to containthe restiveness of its dissatisfied workers;at its worstit will eventuallycausethe exploitedmassesto rise oncemoreto overthrowit and usherin socialismagain. • ·committedMarxistsor not, we wouldnot be fair to ourselvesif we did not admit that Marxismcontainsgreat humanisticideas.It is, however,a differentthingwhenan !::lperfecthumanityis called forth to implementperfect . ideas.Forthosewhothinkthat humanitycanstillaccomplish 6

the angelicfeat of producingcommunism,the ultimate goalof Marxism,Marxismwill still inspirea following.To theseadherents,Marxistaestheticswill still beveryrelevant. GodfreyB. Tangwa(alias Gobata)(2011) expresses the ideasuccinctlythus: Thefailureof "scientificsocialism" doesnot meanthe failureof socialism.Marxismand socialismare havinga badday becauseof the accidental historical linkage with intolerant monolithism,dictatorshipand repression. But,aspeopleallovertheworld continuetheir struggleagainstthe evilsof the so-called liberal economies,which 1c> purely on "market forces" dependsmmittedart, for it clearly is. The question rather is -.whetherit overtly or subtly does so, whether it is ~ubjectiveor objective partisanship?The answer is that ..theauthor leanstowardsobjective partisanship. Even without knowledge of Sembene'sproletarian •backgroundthat took him up to the leadershipof workers .-andmade him more disposedto sympathizewith or to •relate to the lot of workers, enough evidencefrom the .novelshowsthat the author is committedto the causeof ~theworkingclass.However,the novelist'svoiceis seldom ·heard.Sembeneis fairly objective,and whateverhewants to.convey, he does so through dialogue and incident;he .makes the various characters say it. He creates his charactersto criticize and condemn the insensitive 5 6

management;he makesthe Europeancharactersreveal their stupidity,myopiaand conservatism. Yet it comesout clearthat the authoris on the side of the workersbecausehe createsfrom their ranksthe mostadmirablecharacters,respectablebecauseof th~ir courage,determination:· and presenceof mind. To cite only a few examplesfrom amongthe men,we havethe duo of theory and praxis; L.ahbiband Bakayoko;from amongthe women,we havethe trio of femininemodels: Ramatoulaye,Pendaand Maimouna.Above.all, the workers'struggleendspositively.In the endvictoryis on the side of the proletariat, which in itself is enough comment on the virtue of unity in a just cause, of steadfastness in the pursuitof socialjustice. The precedingstress is that Marxismis a social, economicand political philosophywith the humanist missionof improvingthe world. In God'sBits of Wood, Sembene'svision is socialist,and therefore basically humanist.He·caresfor the proletariat.True,by the end of the novela goodnumberof workersdie iri the course of the struggle.Suchisthefateof Doudou,Penda,Houdia Niakoro,etc.; true, there is muchviolencecommittedin the book.But all of theserealitiesare part andparcelof revolutionary struggles;theyarethe hallmarks of socialist revolutions.The importantthing is that in the end the workershavewon; their demandshavebeenmet and their lives changedfor the better.There is no turning backof the handof the clock.Sembene's text therefore has a good socialistagenda.Ngugiwa Thiong'olauds Sembene's commitmentas follows: I would like to singleout one Africanwriter whoexemplifiesthe kindof commitmentthat I have been talking -about. He is Sembene 57

Ousmane,a Senegalese,andwho gaveus God's Bits of Wood. Read it - an account of the Senegaleseworkers' struggle in 1948 - and you11 seehow he analysesandthen synthesizes; how he is involved in the particular without losingtime, you feel that he is with the people, that it is their fate and their eventualtriumphin .whichhe is interested.(Ngugi Writersin Politics 80)

The narrativestructure of the novel roughlyfollows ttie layoutof the townsalongthe railwaylinefrom Bamako to Dakar.The readersmovefrom one town to anotherin an apparentdisorder.Essentially,they go from Bamako to Thiesand to Dakar;and then Bamako- Thies- Dakar and finally Thies. Even with this rough itinerary, some mayfeel that there is confusion.But there is order: these far flung placesare physicallylinked by the railway line, and therefore by the commoneffect of the strike, by the union and by the personalitywho epitomizesthe strike, Bakayoko.The linkingof widespreadareasgivesthe novel an epicscopein a way in characterwith the revolutionary spirit - that of involving more and more people, crowds and massesrather than just individuals. It is a setting and narrativestructurethat favour a massmovement. Commentingon Sembene'sartistry, EustacePalmer says: Ousmane'sachievementin God'sBits of Wood is largely due to his wonderfully controlled artistry. First, there is the quality of his prose. One hasto be cautiousin discussingthe stylistic aspectsof a translated work, but a few tentative points can still be made. Ousmane'slanguage is so precise and economical; the choice of 58

wordsis so exact.One hasthe impressionof confident mastery of language, not of an uncertainbeginnerfumblingwith words.This is writing which is the product not just of erudition,but of observationand experience. The impressionconveyedis that almostevery phrase,simile or metaphoris backedby the weight of lived experience and carries an intellectualforce... Hereis the mostmeaningful andconvincing dialogue-in thescenesbetween the workersor betweenthe whitecharacters or betweenthe women.(Palmer196-197) True,asPalmerhassaid,Sembene's wonderfulstyle is partlythe resultof readingand experience. In Marxist terminologywe would even go aheadto expandthe experiencedimension.Sembene'sability to write as admirablyas hedoesis alsothe resultof hismasteryof a socialistideological perspective that permitshimto delve into characters,to go beyondsurfacephenomenaand bringout the realitiesandessences of situations. His e_ssentially proletarianbackgroundand his role asa one-timeunionleaderwouldleadoneto believethat wereSembeneto conceptualize the socialandeconomic situationof his countryat the time, he woulddo so with • ease.He would talk in theoreticalor conceptualterms that indicatedhe wasawareof the conflictbetweenthe capitalist andsocialistideologies thatwehighlighted earlier. Asa novelist,however,Sembene abandons conceptual in favourof experientialwriting.Whilehe is thuswritingin the fictive mode, however,he has a masteryof the conceptualisation of the issuesinvolved.It isthis mastery of the theoreticalknowledgeof socialissuesunderlying his experientialwriting that lends force, insight and 59

convictionto the latter. It is partly this masteryof an ideological perspective that enableshim"to generatesuch passion,angerand sympathyfor the people'ssufferings whileappearingdetachedand uninvolved."(Ibid) Writingon God'sBitsof WoodEmmanuel Ngarasays: "on the sociological level, Ousmane successfully demonstrates that the strikehasgenerateda newsocial psychology, marking a new level of socio-political awarenessand a tendencytowardsdemocracy,justice andprogress."(Ngara73)Thestrikeleadsto meetingsof sensitizationby the strike leaders,for the benefitof the masses;th~ people are more consciousof what is happeningin the society.It also leadsto womenbeing freefromtheirsubordinate rolein a predominantly Muslim feudal system; the women can now participate in discussions andactionswith menfor thecommoninterest of their community.This enhancedrole of the women producespositiveaction in the form of the generated masssupportfor the strikethat bringsmanagementto its knees.Thanksto peoplelike Bakayoko,the workers havenowcometo feelproudof theirownAfricanculture; Wolof,for example,will no longerbe consideredinferior to French. In a generalway,all that happensin this novelhasa greatdealof relevanceto today'sAfrica,the Africa,until now, largelydominatedby one-partypoliticalstructures characterized by less freedom of expression, by dictatorship of the minority, by the oppression and exploitationof the masses.Today,Africais undergoinga revolutionin politicalthinkingin the wakeof the wind of changefrom the East.For,in the final analysis,this is a novelthat subtlyupholdsthe virtuesof unity of purpose in the strugglefor a cause,solid unity and commitment 6 0

in the faceof a commonenemy,in the faceof reactionary forcesof all forms,economic,socialor political.

End Note *OusmaneSembeneGod'sBits of Wood,(translatedby Francis Price) New York: Double-day.1962, 1970. References to this novelwill be takenfrom this edition. Works Cited Beer,S. H., ed. TheCommunistManifesto.By KarlMarx and FriedrichEngels.ArlingtonHeights:AHM Publishing,1955. Eagleton,Terry.MarxismandLiteraryCriticism.Berkeley andLosAngeles:Universityof californiaPress, 1976. Freire,Paulo.Pedagogyof the Oppressed. Trans.Myra BergmanRamos.NewYork: Continuum,1983. Ngara,Emmanuel. Art andIdeologyin theAfricanNovel. London:Heinemann,1985. NgugiwaThiong'o.Writersin PoliticsLondon:Heinemann, 1981. Palmer,Eustace. The Growth of the African Novel. London:Heinemann,1979. Sembene.God'sBits of Wood.Trans.FrancisPrice.New York: Doubleday,1962,1970.

61

CHAPTERTHREE

------~-----Linus T.A$ong's THE CROWNOF THORNS-

Thestory,setin a localcommunity knownasSmallMonje, is a drama of the conflict betweenthe government administrator and the local subjects.The people of Nkokonoko SmallMonje,partlyinfluencedby the District Officer,waveasidethe rightfulheirto the throneof Small Monje,AntonyNkoalek,in favourof his lessdeserving youngerbrother,AlexanderNchindia. Thelatterprotestsagainstbeingforcedto be chief. Butthe Councilof Eldersandthe D.O.remainimpervious to theyoungman'sprotestations. Andasif to rewardthem forforcinga crownontohishead,Nchindia ispsychologically determined to floutthe royalcodeof conduct.Thus,despite the "crown"on his head,he behaveslike a fish out of water.Hedoesnearlyeverything thewrongway.Hecommits royal blundersand gaffes,and doesnot, indeed,give a damnto anyroyalconsideration. Theonlyexceptionto this apparent,unconscionable behaviour is in Nchindia's relationship vis-a-vis his 62

supplantedbrother.Nchindiais worriedaboutacceptinga thronethat is his brother'srightful inheritance.He writes sentimental,apologeticlettersto AntonyNkoalekon the issue,to clear himselfof any complicityin oustingthe rightful heir. Unfortunately,as ill-luck would haveit, the lettersneverreachtheir destination. Nchindia'sunethicalqehaviouris underscoredby suchactsaswearingjeansandcasualclothesonceremonial occasions;smokingcigarettesratherthan usingthe royal pipe; publiclyquarrelingor evencomingcloseto fighting -with ordinarycitizens;turninga deafear to the seasoned adviceof the Councilof Elders;disregardingroyalretinue in his outings;suspectedof philanderingwith womenof uncertainvirtues;marryinga tabooedwoman,etc. All of these are _veryserious crimes, indeed, especiallyin an areawheretraditionprescribes strictroyal observance while proscribingany socialdeviance.Yetthe peopleof SmallMonjeare willingto go an extra,:nilewith their waywardChief,in the hopethat he mayturn overa newleaf.Unfortunately, this is not the case.The acmeof Nchindia'sroyal levity,the nadirof his royaldisrepute·is reachedwhenheassiststhe D.O.in the stealingandselling to a foreigner,of Akeukeuor, the godof gods,the spiritual symbolandthe culturalsoulof hisownpeople.Thepeople's verdictis final: the wagesof Nchindia's sinsis death!His unenviablequalitiesmakeNchindiaan anti-hero. The peopleequallyhavea few grievancesagainst the arrogant,insensitiveD.O.:the D.O.turnsa deafearto their complaintsagainstthe churchfor partlyexpropriating their land;the D.O.imposesa rejectedChiefon them;the D.O.is suspectedof havinga handin Achiebefuo's death. Above all, like Nchindia,the D.O. has committedthe 63

unpardonable crimeof stealingandsellingAkeukeuor. And for him, likefor Nchindia,the people'sfinal word is death. Butbeforethe peoplecommitthis ultimateact,they carryout, asa meansof demonstrating their angeragainst an insensitiveadministration,acts of civil disobedience: they boycottchurchservicesand the market;they have rebelledagainstthe government.Finally,in a caveat a nearbymountainthey murdertheir wilful chief,the highhandedD.O.andhis policemen,and the unfatherlyFather Preston.The·novelendswith the peoplehavingthe final word,thoughplaguedwith anxiety. Thebasicsubjectmatterof TheCrownof Thornsis administrationin a local community,the relationship betweenthe DistrictOfficerand the peoplehe is called forthto rule.As we the readersexperience the imaginative actionsandreactions of thevirtualcharacters to theirvarious stimuli,aswe examinethe subjectmatterof the novel,we noticethat a centralpropositionruns through the book, thata setof generalideasseemsto havebeenat the bottom of the conception of the story.Thoughnot explicitlystated, this central propositionis experientiallyand adequately i11L1strated in the conflictbetweenthe two camps. If we wereto crystallizethis propositionor theme, it couldbe statedas follows:the lackof genuinedialogue between the administration and the ruled. There is substantialevidencethat the two campsare at cross purposes.The localpeoplehaveseriouscomplaintsto lay beforethe government,regardingissuescrucialto their materialand spirituallife, but the governmentadoptsa rather contemptuous attitude towards them. The government(throughthe D.O.)behavesas if the people's viewsdo not countat all. The D.O.goesaroundimposing hiswill onthe people,adoptingthusan oppressor mentality, 64

the very repressiveideology,the very modeof thinkingin the way they taketheir"destinyinto their handsanddeala deadlyblow to the authorities,marking,in the process,a cleanbreak with the past. The writer and scholar,Wale Soyinka,is occasionallyquoted for saying·somethingto this effect: he who makes peacefulchangeimpossible, • makesviolentchangeinevitable.As physicsstudentswho havestudiedNewton'sLawsof Motionoftensay"Forevery action there is an equal and opposite reaction." The dominant ideology in the text, authoritarianism, has provokedan equaland oppositeideology,radicalism.LT. Asongthe novelisthas thus produceda countertextual ideology,radicalism,to challengethe dominanttextual ideology,authoritarianism.A criticalact has beencarried out andthe peopleseemto be forward-looking. It is hard for oneto acceptFatherPreston'spessimistic interpretation of the people'sactionin terms of pureretrogression. (188) Onthe contrary,onecanspeculate,albeitbeyondthe scope of The Crownof Thorns,that thingswill not be the same againin SmallMonje._ From this erupts the other Marxist concept of commitmentin art. A centralconcernin socialistliter~ture andMarxistCriticismis the ideathat a writershouldcommit his art to the causeof the proletariat.But althoughmost Marxistsbelievethat there is nothinglikeart for art'ssake, andthat art ought to servethe causeof life, they disagree on the mannerof commitment.Whilesomecall for overt commitmentof literatureto the causeof the masses, others call for a more subtle commitment; while there are supportersof subjectivepartisanship, thereareproponents of objectivepartisanship. With referenceto The Crownof Thornsthere is commitmenton the part of the author althoughit is not 67

the overt type. This lies in the text's structuralorganization. By arranginghis novelisticmaterialto end with the masses havingthe final word, the author placesemphasison the people'saction. He subtly and unobtrusivelypointsto the type of impressionwith which he would like the readerto closethe novel,the type of attitude with which he should leavethe work. If our line of reas9ningis correct, we can then conclude that the author stands opposed to domination,oppressionor exploitation of the masses.He is inviting us to criticise-andcondemnthe repressivesocial forcesin place. In the final analysis,however,Asongis a socialcritic rather than a socialistwriter. He is a critical realist, largely objectivein his attitude towardshis charactersbut skilfully revealinghis sympathyfor the suffering massesthrough the artisticorganizationof his compositionalmaterial for a specificeffect, for emphasis.And this·points to a possible directionin the interpretationof the novel. It is a basictenet in Marxistcriticism that literature or art is the social and historical product of the society producingit: that works of art are sociallyand historically conditioned;they are notjust mysteriouslyinspiredor solely explainableon the basisof the psychologyof their creators. Though set in a local community and not substantially embracingthe nationalterritory as a whole, TheCrownof Thornsis a unique transformationinto art of someof the • social and historical realties of contemporaryCameroon. Forexample,the novel'splot might partly havebeeninspired by the actualstealingand sellingto an Americanart collector of the Afo-A-Komin the mid 60s, an event that involved the odysseyfrom Korn to New York and back to Kornof

the invaluablestatuethat madeheadlinesin artisticnews around the world. 6 8

It is a commonfact of historythat until recently, politicalleadershaveruledcameroonwith moreor lessan iron hand, an administrativecue taken up by the D.Os whenthey cometo deal directlywith the massesunder them in the division.Like Gomentin the novel,the D.Os are virtualdictatorswho remainlargelyinsensitiveto the needsof theirsubjects. In the contextof what was happeningin Africain theearly1990s,andparticularlyin cameroonwith its rather strangephenomenon of ghosttownsinvolvingstrikesand civildisobedience, what happensat the end of TheCrown of Thornshas sort of foreshadowedthese nation-wide strikes.Needless to saythis isa pointerto whatcanhappen to anysocietywhenthereisanabsence of genuinedialogue, whenthere is total breakdownof communication between the governmentandthe ruled,a classicsituationin which the Cameroonian uncomfortablyfinds himselfor herself. This,in a way,is the propheticdimensionof Asong'snovel. Coulda novel be more topical?Coulda work be more sociallysignificant? Webelievethat it is partlyin thissense that ProfessorArnold'sobse1Vation on the novelcan be understood, andit is this, that the book"... hasa message for manin a centuryas perilousasthis!" (Blurb) As a realist work, Asong'snovel revealsanother qualityvaluedin Marxistcriticism- that of the "worldhistorical".Accordingto GeorgLuckacs,a realistwork is one rich in complexrelatio~sbetweenman, natureand history.(Eagleton28) Theserelationsembodyand reveal • what is most typical about a particularphaseof history. WhatLukacsrefersto astypicalarethe "latentforcesthat in everysocietyare the most significantlyhistoricaland progressive and that exposesociety'sinnerstructureand 69

dynamic."(Ibid) The duty of the realistwriter is to flesh out thesetypicaltrendsand forcesin sensuously realized characters andactions.In this way he "linksthe individual to the socialwhole,and informseachconcreteparticular of social life with the power of "world-historical,the significantmovementsof historyitself".(Ibid) In The Crown of Thornstypical characterslike Ngobefuo,Ngangabe,Nchindiaand the councilof Elders on the onehand,andthe D.O.and Rev.FatherPrestonon the other, coupledwith the typical circumstancestheir psychologies generatein their complexrelations,represent theselatentforces.In their sensuouslyfleshed-outforms theyproducehistoricallysignificantsocialoutcomes,social eventsthat becomeimbuedwith the power of "worldhistorical". Thatis,eventsthat possess the stuffout of which significanthistoricalmovements are made. In this analysis,there is the very neat logicallink betweenthe ·strike,boycott,andviolencein the noveland the similarphenomenonin the Cameroonand Africaof the 1990s,withinthe broadercontextof the windof change from EasternEurope,especiallywhen such imaginative eventsprecedetheactualhistorfcalones,particularlywhen the formerprefigurethe latter. Despitethe socialand historicalsignificanceof the imaginativeexperienceof TheCrownof Thorns,however, the virtual charactersare not imbued with a senseof historicaloptimism;they are not highlyconscientized or quite awarethat they could be helpingto make history move forward. But any absenceof a high degree of revolutionaryconsciousnessshould not be seen as a weakness.To do so would be grosslyunfair to Aseng;to do so would amount to condemningAsongfor what he did not set out to do in the first place.Indeed,it wouldbe 70

a wrong,rigorousapplicationof an aestheticapproachto the wrong work, no matter how competentand incisive suchan analysismay be. Asong'sis not a socialistwork that can be adequatelyresponsive to Marxistcriticism. Thosefamiliar with Socio-ArtisticCriticismof the AfricanNovelwill havenoticedthat whatwe havedoneso far with regardto TheCrownof Thornshaslargelybeen centredon matterratherthan manner;that we havebeen lessconcernedwith form than with content.Thisis not an oversight,for Marxistcriticism,as commonlypracticed,is a content-oriented aesthetics. True,genuineMarxistcritics considerthe dialecticalrelationshipbetweenform and content,but placea little moreemphasison content. Our discussionon artistrywill be partlycentredon criticalobservationsalreadymadeon the novelby some professors.Fromthe pointof view of narrativetechnique TheCrownof Thornsis writtenfromthe third personpoint • of view, with the eventsof part II revealedthroughthe flashbacktechnique.Asongis objective,andheadoptsthe dramaticmethod by bringingthe variouscharactersto interactthroughdialogueandincident,to putforward.and defent:Itheirviews.Asong'svoiceis seldomheard;in other words,hedoesnottakesidesalthoughheartistically works hismaterialin a waythat makesus believehissympathies arewith the maltreatedpeopleof Nkokonoko SmallMonje. Themoreprominentviewsarethoseof Ngobefou, Nchindia, andthe D.O. • 1 We have already quoted Professor Arnold in connection withthe novel'smessage. Wewouldliketo quote 1 herethe othercritics: " ...Thereis a certainself-assured confidencein Asong'shandlingof plotandcharacterization that usuallygoeswith maturityand experience. We 71

are not surprisedby eventsand their outcome, we arecarefullypreparedand everythingmoves on towardsan almostinevitableclimaxof horror''. RichardBjornson . ... there is somethingirresistiblein the author's style, his sense of structure, and crisp characterization, something that makes it impossible for youto stopreadinguntil you have turnedthe last page...(Blurb) Prof.DouglasKillam. Byandlargethe abovecommentsrelatingto Asong'sartistic

strengthsare accurate.Hishandlingof structure,plot and characterization is, indeed,admirable.Marxistcriticswould saythat Asong'sabilityto write well is notjust a matter of possessing a good prosestyle.They wouldadd that it is equally the result of Asong having at his disposal an ideologicalperspective,suchas we havehighlighted,that canpenetrateto the realitiesof thecharacters andsituations depictedin the novel.It is a questionof havingdippedthe arrow in the marksman'sblood, of being drunk with a certainperception andthusinevitablybringingit out exactly. In the true spirit of objectivecriticism,in dwelling on Asong'sartistic strengthswe shouldalso mention, in passing,a few flaws.Andtheseinclude: 1) An over use of intensifiers,those leachesthat suck the blood of words in the pond of prose,especially the adverb"very". (Strunket al 73) 2) Readabilitysuffersslightlyin PartII of the paceset in PartI but resumedin PartIII. (Wache27) 3) Lackof enoughjustification on the part of both the Council of Elders and the D.O. to back up their 72

rejecton of Anthony Nkoalek for the throne, considering that Nkoalekhadbeengroomedfor the officesincechildhood. Yet U,eseare superficialweaknesses whenplaced sideby side·withhisarchitectonic management of structure andcompelling plotdevelopment. Theweaknesses devolve on editohal lapsesrather than on artistic and content accuracy. End Note *LinusTongwoAsongTheCrownof Thorns.Limbe: CosmosEducational Publishers, 1990.References to this novelwill be takenfromthis edition.

Works Cited

Asong,LinusT. The Crownof Thorns.Limbe:Cosmos Educational Publishers, 1990. Eagleton,Terry.Marxismand LiteraryCriticism.Berkeley and LosAngeles:University of californiaPress, 1976. • Strunk,W. and White,E. B. TheElementsof Style.New York:MacmillanPublishing co., 1979. Wache, Francis K. "The Paroxysmof PeoplePower" EducationReview.March1991.Vol.1 No.f.

7 3

CHAPTER FOUR

-------~-----ChinuaAchebe's ANTHILLSOF THESAVANNAH*

Anthillsof theSavannah is setin a fictionalAnglophone contemporary WestAfricanstateknownasKanganruled by a militaryregimethat hadpreviously overthrowna civilian one.Attheheadofthegovernment isHisExcellency thePresident, whovirtually dictates to hislargelycowering andsycophantic cabinetministers. Anyone whodaresto challenge himor whorefuses to toethelinerisksnotonly hisdutypostbutalsohisownlife. • ApartfromHisExcellency, theothercentral characters in the novel, are Chris Oriko, Comm\ssionerfor Information, IkemOsodi, theEditor oftheNational Gazette, and BeatriceOkoh,SeniorAssistantSecretaryin the Ministry of Finance. Ikem,theidealist, isthemostradical of thethree.Heputsoutcrusading editorials againstvices andmalpractices in Kangan, oftenchampioning thecause oftheordinarycitizens, theunderdogs, thedown-trodden whoare largelyleft out whenit comesto sharingthe national cake. 74

The plot of the novelrunsthat Abazon, a droughtstrickenregionof Kanganis notoriousfor havingstood out, two yearsago,againstthe ideaof makingthe Head of state Presidentfor life. In angerthe presidenthad stoppedinfrastructure underway to bringpipe-borne water to the parchedFarNorthProvince. Continued droughtand the encroaching desertmakelife unlivable, .unbearable to ' the Abazonians. Consequently, theysenda delegation to declaretheir loyalty,to toe the line,to offertheirbelated "yes" in favourof life presidency, in the hopethat the Headof Statewill-orderworkto continueto bringpipebornewaterto theirscorched region. !KemOsodi,a nativeof Abazon,and quiteapart from the fact that his humannaturenaturallydisposes himto sympathize, to empathize withsufferinghumanity, is understandablydrawntowardsthe frustrated-and sufferingAbazonians. Hemeetsmembers ofthedelegation and holdsa discussion sessionwith them.Thismeeting eventuallycostshim hisjob; he is suspended fromthe editorialboardof the National Gazette onthegroundthat he plannedthe"recentMarch"on the presidential Palace by"agitatorsclaimingto comefromAbazon". Theleaders of the Abazonian delegationare throwninto the Bassa MaximumsecurityPrison. • . Ikemisenraged. Asa guestspeaker at theUniversity, he stirs, inspires,and challenges studentsto think for themselvesand not just be robots,automatons.His intrepidityand revolutionaryzeal_landhim in further trouble; he is abductedfrom his homeand murdered secretlyby the policewho nowgo after hisfriendsand sympathizers, ChrisandEmmanuel, the Students'Union President. Thesetwo assumedisguises to get out of the policesecuritynetandmovenorthwards. Andsoonthey 7S

receivenewsof a coupd'etatin whichHisExcellency has beenkilled,andMajorGeneralLango,declaredthe new HeadofState.Chrismelodramatically meetshisowndeath whenhecourageously standshisgroundagainsta mean policeofficerwhoselusthasbeenfoiled,butwhoselethal gunshotendsChris'slife. The novelendswith Beatrice servingasthe lynchpinof a groupof Ikem'sandChris's sympathizers, a groupthattoastsfor peopleandideas. The subjectmatterof Anthillsof the Savannah is, simply,military rule in contemporaryAfrica. From it emergethemesincludingruthlessdictatorship, insecurity of politicalcritics,emasculation of intellectuals, corruption andeconomic exploitation, the generalgullibilityof the masses, andthe cynicismof someof them.In a regime likethatof Kangan moralityof actionis notsomething of whichthosewho matterin the politicsor economics of thedayconcern themselves with.Paucity of morality,total absence of the needto renderaccountability for political, economic or amoralactionmarkoutthe regime. Thereservation earliermadewith regardto Asong's the Crown-of Thornsand Achebe'sAnthills of the Savannahnot having beenwritten from a socialist perspective needsto be reiteratedhere;and that such beingthecase,the Marxistapproach couldnotfullyapply to themin the waythat it wouldto God'sBitsof Woodor DevilontheCross. Achebe's Anthillsof theSavannah, like ~ong's TheCrownof Thorns,is writtenin the critical realistmoderatherthan froma socialistviewpoint.This doesnot,however, ruleoutthe possibility of a reasonable appreciation of Achebe's novelfroma Marxistperspective. TherecurrentMarxistprincipleisthatallartemanates froman ideological conception of the world,that nowork of art is conceivedwithin an ideologicalvacuum.What 76

thenisthe natureof theideologyof theepochthatAnthills of theSavannah makesus"see"or"perceive'? Whatisthe natu1 e of the socialmentalityof the time,or the modeof think.ngof the periodreflectedby this novel? Toget answers to thesequestions wemustexamine the relationsbetweenthe peoplein the societythe novel depicts,the relationship betweenthe rulingclassandthe ruled, the governing class and the governed.The preambling notionearliernotedisthatthedominant ideas of an epochare usuallythe ideasof the rulingclass.It is crystalclearthat the rulingclassin Kangan isthemilitary, and politicallythe ideologythat the novelrevealscanbe saidto be militarydespotism, a bourgeois set-upinwhich all powerisconcentrated inthehandsofa singleindividu~I, HisExcellency. Thisis stressedbythe yam-and-th~-kn.ife motif,a metaphor fortotalcontrol,forcomplete ownership of all that mattersin the welfareof the citizensandthe state. HisExcellency hasa cabinetof Ministers, nodqubt; buteverybody knowswhoseopinioncountswhenit comes to criticalissues.TheMinisters at suchmoments haveno realvoiceunlessit is that of utteringflatteryin favourof the Headof State.It is a cabinetthatdoesnotengagein genuinedebateat all; thereis nogive-and-take between the cabinetmembersand His Excellency. In important issuesthereis onlythetakingof allthattheHeadof State hasto dictate;everybody knowsthatHisExcellency's word is incontrovertible. Youdarenot raisean objectionto hispointof view.Youdarenottendera letterof resignation of,your post,unlesssuchwasthe ideaof HisExcellency. Thatexplainswhy,for all hisdissatisfaction withallthatis goingon in Kangan,Chriscannoteasilyquit his postas Commissionerof Information. That explains the 77

obsequiousbehaviourbeforethe Headof Stateof the cabinetMinisterswho, by the way,are comparedto little crawling,punyinsectsthat can be easilycrushedunder the ponderous foot of the Headof State. Tomaintainyourpostin hisadministration you have to combinetalent and flattery; but often flattery alone doesthe trick.That explainsthe behaviourof Professor Okongand the AttorneyGeneral.His Excellencycan appointa personto a postor dismisshim at will. He is answerable to nonebut himself. The regimedoesnot favourobjectivetruth tellers and criticsof its system.The truth that mattersis the .officialversionthat comesfromthe regime'sinformation media.That is whytheytell liesaboutIkem'smannerof strugglewith law enforcement officersand his eventful death.As suchthe regimeis outto trackdownthosewho passalternativeversionsof informationto foreignnews network.Theloquacious Abazonian delegation leadertells therealtruth aboµthowtt\eyfeelaboutthe Headof state onlyto bethrownintotheBassaM·aximum SecurityPrison. Ikemthe crusader of truth andsocialjusticeis murdered, andhissupporters arepursuedby the statepolice. •Althoughthereis not muchemphasison this in the novel,thenationalbourgeoisie is in tacitco-operation with an imperialistpowerlike the U.S.Witnessthe Headof State'stolerantattitude towardsthe femaleAmerican journalistwho understandably castigatesthose Kangan criticswho soundMarxist,and who admireCuba'sFidel castro.Throughthis journalistthe two major forms of economyin the world come into play: capitalismand socialism. Sheprojectssomeof the virtuesof capitalism whilecriticizingsocialism. Weshouldaddhere,in passing, 78

that the modeof productionof materiallife in Kanganis capitalbt. C:iticizingMarxism,the Americanjournalistsays: Yes, Johnson kindly showed me some commentsearlierin the week.The editor whoI hearis a Marxistof sortsappearsto imaginehe caneat hiscakeaswellas have it, aswealltendto dothissideof democracy. AdmiringCastromay be fine if you don't haveto livein Cubaor evenAngola.Butthe strangefactisthatDr.castro,nomatterwhat he says,neverdefaultsin hisobligations to the international bankingcommunity ...what we must rememberis that banksare not housesof charity.They are there to lendmoneyat a fair andreasonable profit.If you deny them their margin of profit by borrowingand not payingbackthey will soonhaveto shutdowntheiroperations and we shallall go backto savingour moneyin ~ grandmother's piggybanks.(78-79) The socialmentalitythat emergesfrom the book ~eflects theattitudes exhibited bythedespotic regimeunder HisExcellency, an oppressive powerstructurethat does notcaremuchaboutthewelfareof theoppressed. Against thesedominantideaswecanplacethe lessdominant, the unpopular, if radical,ideasheldby Ikem.In fact,Ikemis radicalonlybecause hefindshimselfwithina conservative, despoticregime.In a freer or moreliberalsocietyIkem wouldnot be morethanan ordinarycriticof the system. Ikem writes crusadingeditorialsin favour of the oppressed; hewritescondemning brutalpractices fostered by the regimelike the firing .squad,and he challenges 79

university students to bemorecriticalratherthanaccepting withoutquestioning allthatthegovernment says.In purely ideological matters,in mattersof politics,for example, Ikemoffersnoimmediate alternative in lieuof thepresent dispensation. Thoughheiscalleda MarxistbytheAmerican journalist,Ikemdoesnotpropose a socialistoptionto the militarydespotism. He doesnot think that the solution liesin a violentrevolutionary takeoversince,according to him,a revolution alreadyhasits potentialdictatorsin the making,whowill soonassertthemselves as oppressors overthe masses.Revolutionyes, but the millennium afterwards, noway. Sowhatcanbethesolution? Well;Ikemproposes a process of gradualreform."Societyis an extensionof the individual.The most we can hope to do with a problematic individual psyche isto reformi.t.Noresponsible psycho-analyst wouldaimto domore...." Piecemeal reform seems to beoneof the mostpromising waysto a possible solution. Thisis sobecause evena one-day-old babydoes not1enditselffor easygenetictechnological reform,since it comesto the worldwith its ownbaggage of irreducible genes.Besides, whatis at issue,contends Ikem,maynot be systemsbut a basichumanfailing which can be amelioratedonly through a generaldoseof political education, politicalexperience. Its growthwillbeslowand it will needpatience, butin it lieseventualhope.However, theslowness oftheprocess isnoexcuse for political lethargy or apathy. Noneof this is a validexcusefor political inactivityor apathy.Indeedto understand it is an absolutenecessity for meaningful action,the knowledge of it beingthe only protective inoculation wecanhaveagainst 80

~

false hopes and virulent epidemicsof gullibility ( ...100). Essentially, Ikemstandsfor a goodpoliticaleducation, a reasonablepoliticalsensitizationof the populaceand the oppressed.Hopefully,a well-educatedmassesand a soundpoliticallyconsciouspeoplewould then cometo for-Jeout their own acceptablepoliticalsystem. Anthillsof the Savannahis an artisticproductof the socialand historicalrealitiesof post-independence Africa in generaland Nigeriain particular.Withinthe corpusof Achebe's fictionandin termsof thematicaffinity,thisnovel ~elongsto the samecategoryas A Manof the People. WhatChinuaAchebehimselfsaysof the latter hassome relevancefor Anthillsof the Savannah: A Man of the People is a rather serious . indictment- if you like- on post-independence Africa... if youtakethe exampleof Nigeriawhich is the placeI knowbest,thingshadgot to such a pointpoliticallythat therewasnootheranswer - no way you could resolve this impasse •politically.The political machinehad been so abusedthat whicheverway you pressedit, it producedthe same result; and thereforeyou wantedanotherforce,anotherforcejust hadto comein. Nowwhen I waswritingA Manof the Peopleit wasn'tclearto methat this wasgoing to be necessarily a militaryintervention.It could easilyhavebeena civil war,whichin fact very nearlywas in Nigeria.(Duerdenet al 13-14) The above facts are worked into the imaginative experienceof A Man of the P,eople.Herewe learn that politicalindependencehas come and the white colonial masterhasgoneaway;politicalpoweris nowin the hands 81

of Nigerians, in the handsof Africans.And it is an index of theirpoliticalincompetence that at the endof the novel the civilianrulersin powerhavebeenoverthrownin a coupd'etatbythe military.Theoustedregimewascorrupt throughand through:briberyand corruptionwere rife everywhere, andsowasthe riggingof elections. These are some of the ills that have come to characterizemost of post-independence Africa. With reference to Nigeria,andquite apartfrom the fact that historically speakinga militarycoupdid takeplacethere only monthsfollowingthe publicationof A Man of the People,a civil war did follow,into the bargainin 1967. Nigeriahashadnot onlyonebut severalcoupssincethe firstonein 1966:itsgovernment hasgonefromthecivilian to the militaryand backto the civilianand then to the militaryagain,etc. Thisphenomenon is not peculiarto Nigeria;severalAfricancountrieshaveexperienced it too. Therefore,whatwe havein A Manof the Peopleis disillusionment on the part of the peoplein their own politicalleaders;the massesaredisappointed. The white manhasgoneandthe Africanhastakenover political power.Butthingshavenot changedfor the better.The civilianrulersarenogood,sothe militaryhavesteppedin to rescuethe situation.But how good are the military themselves? Howefficient are they politicallyin their militaryefficiency? How morallyuprightare they in the execution of thepoliticalandeconomic affairsof the state? These and many more are the questions treated imaginatively in Anthillsof theSavannah. The militarydictatorshipdepictedin the novel is certainlynot one that inspireshope at ~II. Despotic, reactionaryand intolerantof criticism,it is essentially morallybankrupt.At the endof the novel,thereis another 82

1

co..tpd'etat led by GeneralLango,whichsimplyreplaces the onepreviously headedby HisExcellency, andwe can s,Jelyguessthatthingsgenerallyremainthe same.Again, this is a fictionatversion of thesocialandhistoricalrealities of NigeriaandmanyAfricancountries,an artist'sviewof ti'ieactualsocio-political occurrences in post-independence Africa,Africawith its cycleof coups. Facedwith thesesometim~s viciouscyclesof coups, many in contemporaryAfrica are beginningto ask themselves a lot of difficultquestions.Whatnext?What do we now do? After the civilianshavefailedand the n1ilitarytoo, wheredo we go from here?Afterthe men havefailedto sustainjust andviablepoliticalsystemscan we dareto try the women?In fact theseare issuesthat Achebeartistically, subtlyandindirectlyraisesin hisbook; theyareconcernsthat he exploresin hisnovel.He··never providesanswersbut only exploresand probes.As one of his characterssays,"writersdon't giveprescriptions: writersgiveheadache". Theultimatesocialsignificance of Anthillsof theSavannah liesinthefactthatit raisesseveral relevantquestionsaboutour currentpoliticalproblems and helpsto keepeverythinkingAfricanrackinghis or her brain for an acceptablealternativeto the present dispensation. ChinuaAchebeis a committedwriter;althoughhe is notasradicallycommitteda writerasNgugiwaThiong'o, he is committedall the same.In one of his polemical 1 essaysAchebe madethe.nowfamouspronouncement: It is clearto me that an Africancreative writerwhotriesto avoidthe bigsocialand politicalissuesof contemporary Africawill endupbeingcompletely irrelevantlikethat absurdmanin the proverbwholeaveshis 83

burninghouseto pursuea rat fleeingfrom the flames.(AchebeMorningYet78) Asfar asAnthillsof theSavannah is concerned Achebe has beenfaithfulto his own dictum by facingsquarely someof the"bigsocialandpoliticalissuesof contemporary Africa."In thisparticularcaseit isthe basicsubjectmatter of militarydespotismin contemporary Africawith themes emergingsuch as ruthlessdictatorship,insecurityof politicalcritics, emasculationof intellectuals,and the gullibilityof the masses. Theworkis,to the lasta scathing politicalsatireon militarydictatorshipin contemporary Africa. One satiricalweaponAchebeuseseffectively is humour,subtlehumouror bitterhumour,the humourwith a sharp,cuttingedge,the derisionor ridiculeemployedat the expenseof the cringing,crawling,grovelling,fawning and sycophanticcabinet Ministers.At other times this humourrisesto a higherlevelof bitternessandtakes on the darkercolorationof sarcasmlikethe typerevealedby the remarksof the drunk in the Abaz~nianterritory, proposing anoutrightreturnto theformercolonialmasters since Africanscannot control their own destiny. One exampleof the first brandof humouris containedin the passagedescribingthe cowardlybehaviourof eleven intelligent,educatedmenandthe cabinetmembersof His Excellency's government. Thebehaviour of thetimidCabinet members beforeHisExcellency is likenedto that of puny, insecure, frightenedinsectswith all that is implicitin that analogy.Towardsthe endof Chapter17 the newsof the latestcoupis beingcelebrated with drinks.Chrisis eager to knowwhat hasbecomeof the President: "Did they say anythingabout the President?" The sergeantlookedat him suspiciously. "Why 84

you de makeall this cross-examination? Wetin concernpoormanlikeyouandPresident, eh?I saywetinconcernvultureandbarbar?"Hewas clearlyenjoyingthe attention."Anywaysthe Presidentdonedisappear. They no fit find am again.TheysayunknownpersonsenterPalace an9 kitnapam. So makeeverybodyde watch properfor this checkpoint".He burstout into another peal of laughter taking his willing hearers."Thisour countrynawaa.I neverhear the likenessbefore.A wholePresident de miss; likeoldwomande wakafor viHage talk sayhim goatde miss.ThisAfricanawaaf" "No be you tell white-manmakehe commot?" aske: somebodyfrom the crowd."Ehe,white mandonego now,andhandoverto President. Nowthat one donelossfor insidebush.Wetin we go do again?" "We go make another President. Thatonenohard,"saida thirdperson. "He no hard,eh? Nextto-morrowthey go tell yousayyournewPresideRt climbpalm-tree and no fit comedownagain'~saidthe secondman to a tremendousoutburstof laughter.Hewas obviouslya wit to reckonwith, andknewit. "So wetin we go do now?""Makeeveryman, and woman,and child and eventhosethem never born, ·makeeverybodycollecttwenty manillaeachand bringto meandI gotakeam goEngland andnegotiate withIMFto bringwhite manbackto Kangan." (213) Alongwiththe depictionof the minister'sbehaviour, 1 thepassage is crucialasfar as part of the meaningof the novelis concerned;for it revealsthe author'sattitude 85

towardshis subjectmatter.This is your Africafor you, Achebeseemsto besaying.Africawhereclever,intelligent ministers become nothingbuta bunchof yesmen,stooges jockeying for positionsof influence; your Africa of incompetent politicalleaders whoseincompetence leadsto a viciouscycleof coups. Thereis yet anotherbrandof humour,the kind in whicha character engages unintentionally in anironicselfcondemnation, throughhis speech,revealinghis own spinelessness, hisgrovelling punynature.Thisisevenmore revealing whenit hasto do withan apparently inteHigent CabinetMinisterturnedworshipper of the Headof State. The two examplesare ProfessorOkongand Attorney General. A littlecommon-place comment madebythe Head of Statewouldhavebeenjust whatit is to anyintelligent person:a trite observation.But to ProfessorOkong it becomes an occasion for himto suddenly transformthe President into a guru,a masterof greatwisdom."Your Excellency is notonlyour leaderbutalsoourTeacher. We arealwaysreadyto learn"(18). To ingratiatehimselfwith the Headof State,to get intoHisExcellency's goodgraces, theAttorney-General has to cheapen himselfbeyondexpectation; hehasto demean himself,to stoopso lowin orderto conquer!Listento him makea contrastbetweenthe likesof himandthoseof the qualityof HisExcellency: As for those like me, Your Excellency,poor dullardswho went to bushgrammarschools, we knowour place,we knowthosebetterthan ourselveswhen we see them. We have no problemworshipping a manlikeyou. Honestly I don't.Youwentto LordLugardCollege where halfof yourteacherswereEnglishmen. Doyou 86

know,the nearestwhitemenI sawin myschool werean Indianandtwo Pakistanis. Doyouknow, Your Excellency, that I was nevertaught by a realwhitemanuntil I wentto readlawat Exeter in my old age as it were. I wasthirty-one.You can'timagine,YourExcellency, howbushpeople like me were. Duringmy first year in BritainI saw WelshRarebiton the menuone fine day andI rubbedmy handstogetherandmy mouth beganto water becauseI thoughtI wasgoing to eat realbush-meatfromthe forestsof Wales! (24)

Tobe sure,Achebethe criticalrealistmaynot beanardent social reformer in the mannerof a revivalistpreacher. However, from hissatiricalbreastspringsthis basicdesire to see erring humanityamendits foibles.WhenAchebe holdsareasof societyup to ridicule,the ballimplicitlyrolls to the courtof the guilty,hissatiricalbutts.A greatartistof Achebe'sstaturewould not crudelysay,"hey you there, changeyour behaviouror else..." No, he ratherdoesso artistically,providingthe satirfcalcriticismand victimsin life providethe socialimprovement. This basicapproach of the satiristrevealsthe creativewriter'scommitmentto socialissuesandthe commongoodof the community. Achebeusesthree other narratorsin his novelto achievea certaineffect.TheyareBeatrice,ChrisandIkem, threeintelligentlarge-hearted and,therefore,respectable peoplewho know what they are saying.Throughthem Achebecondemnsattitudesand peoplein societythat are obnoxious.Heputssubjectivestatementsin the narrators' mouthsandstill maintainshisaestheticdistance.Chriscan call ProfessorOkonga "buffoon";but Achebecouldnot. IkemcancallOkonga "Rasputin";Achebecouldnot. Asa I'

87

subjectivenarratorIkem can lament the sorrystateof the nationaleconomyand talk of "leaders who openlylooted our treasury,whose effrontery soiled our nationalsoul" {42).Wewill neverhearsucha statementfrom Achebethe novelist;it can only come from Achebethe pamphleteer, the essayist,the writer of The TroubleWith Nigeria. However,what these intelligent narrators condemn or criticiseis what Achebewould like changedin society. Hencethe commitmentof his art to social causes.The subtletreatmentof such didacticthemesas the virtue of struggle;the needto fight for just causes;Ikem'sphilosophy of piecemealreforms and the political educationof the masses;the explorationof a possible new role for the woman in contemporaryAfrican society, etc., is a clear evidenceof Achebe'scommitmentto socialimprovement. The readingof Anthills of the Savannahis likely to raisethe questions,especiallygiven the role of Beatrice withinthe entire logicof the plot of the novel: What next? Whatdo we now do?After the military havefailed and the civilianstoo, where do we go from here?After the men havefailedto sustaina just andviablepoliticalsystem,can we dareto try women?A novelthat is capableof raising, in the minds of the intelligent readers,these questions, must be the work of a man with great concern for the welfareof men, the lot of humanity,a man with a certain degreeof commitmentto the commongood of society. Chinua Achebe is a moderatelycommitted artist, however,quite different from the "world-acclaimedt-1arxist literarygiant, Ngugiwa Thiong'o."(EmenyonuBlurb)While Achebewould be more likely to advocategradualpoi ·cat reform, Ngugi wa Thiong'o would be more likely to g , t a radical and total political reform. Achebethe a waryof makingdefinite politicalstatements a 8 8

radicalideologicalpositionthat would point the way to clearsolutions to politicalproblems. Heprefersto artistically explorepoliticalissues."Theexplorationitselfis a political statement:whydo youthinkI shouldtell youwhatkindof governmentNigeriashould have?I am not a political scientist."(AfricanConcord1987) The greatnessof Anthillsof the Savannah as a novelhasnotcomeaboutbychance,butastheendresult of consciousbut subtleartistryat work.Chinua~c~ebe usesa complexnarrativetechniquewhich(althoughit causesinitial readability problems)turns out to be aesthetically effective.It allowsAchebeto achievecertain effectswhilemaintaining hisaesthetic distance, to employ subjectivitythroughothernarratorswhilerespect.ing his usualobjectivity.Achebethusobjectifiessubjectivity: _we know that the imaginativeexperiencehe evokes-was inspiredby his personalexperience of the realitiesof his immediate society,but it is conveyed to us in a waythat his personalfeelingsand sentimentsdo not comein, a highlyvaluedqualityin literarycriticism. Achebeusesbiting humourto lend sparkleto his prose,to enhancethe readability of the noveland,above all, to achievesatiricaleffects.Thereis functionaluseof oralmaterial.Throughthe techniqueof pertinentuseof folktalesuchasthe storyof the leopardandthetortoise, he makesusfully awareof the necessity of struggleasa majorthemein the novel.In the sameschemehe uses drynessto signifyphysicaldrought,onthe onehand,and spiritupldrynessor moralaridityof Kangansociety,on theother. In Anthillsof theSavannah, therefore,Achebe depicts the socioeconomic and militaryforcesthat oppressthe indigentmassesof Kangansociety.Onthe onehandthe 89

textual or authorial ideology is the repressivemilitary despotismthat the author invites us to condemn.And this is done through the highly critical editorialswritten by Ikem Osodi as well as his fiery addressesto initially na"iveuniversitystudents.Theseradical discoursesareall intended for the education of the masses for critical consciousness. On the other hand, the aestheticideology of the novel is critical realism which enables Achebeto depict his charactersand situationsfully and completely, while maintaining his aesthetic distance, since he has objectifiedhis subjectivity. End Note *ChinuaAchebeAnthills of the Savannah.Ibadan: HeinemannEducationalBooks(Nigeria) Ltd., 1988. References to the book will be taken from this edition. Works Cited Achebe,Chinua.Morning Yet on CreationDay. London: ,r-

- Heinemann,1975.

---

. Anthills of the Savannah.Ibadan: Heinemann

1988. Duerden,D. andPierterse,C. Eds.AfricanWritersTalking NewYork: AfricanCorporation,1972. Emenyonu, E.N. Ed.LiteratureandSociety:SelectedEssa on AfricanLiterature.Oguta: Zim Pan Afric Publishers,1986.

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CHAPTERFIVE

*

------~ IDEOLOGYIN THREE DRAMATICWORKS:VICTOR EPIE NGOME'SWHAT GOD HAS PUT ASUNDER, AND BATEBESONG'SBEASTSOF NO NATION.AND REQUIEMFOR THE LASTKAISER.

This chapter seeks to explain the three Anglophone Cameroonian dramatictexts underdiscussionfrom both the Marxistideological andaestheticpe~pectives, showing how theseare rootedin the socialandgeneralhistoryof the authors'epoch.At the riskof oversaying, weherereview andcontextualize Marxistconcepts to theseplays..ThewellknownMarxistmodelof societyconsistsof the economic baseand the superstructure. The baseis madeup of the materialmeansof production,distributionandexchange, whilethe superstructure is the'culturalworldof ideas,art, religion,law and so on' (Barrv158).Accordingto Marxist scholars,the elementsof the superstructureare not 'innocent' but invariablyshapedor determinedby the economicbase. 91

Coinedby a Frenchman,AntoineDestuttdeTracyin 1796,the term 'ideologie'(ideology)wasfatedto develop fully in the handsof Marxistslike KarlMarx,Lenin,Antonio Gramsciandothers,henceits centralityin Marxist Criticism today.A slipperyterm that doesnot havea singleaccepted definitionbut ratherrivaldefinitions, 'ideology' isconsidered by DavidMclellanto be 'the mostelusiveconceptin the whole of the social sciences'(qtd in Heywood[1992] 2003:5). The impossibilityof an easydefinitionthusindicated, the definitionchosenfor the purposeof thisstudy,which will be modifiedin the courseof the discussion, is the one proposedby AndrewHeywood: • Ideologyis a moreor lesscoherent setof ideas that providesthe basisfor organized political action whether this is intendedto preserve, modify or overthrowthe existingsystemof . power. All ideologiestherefore(a) offer an accountof the existingorder,usually intheform of a 'world-view'(b) advance a modelof desired future; a vision of the 'goodsociety,' and (c) explainhow politicalchangecanandshouldbe brought about - how to get from(a) to (b). (Ibid: 12). A weaponsometimesusedby peopleto criticize orcondemn thosewith a rivalset of ideasor beliefs,ideology possesses an emotionaland affectivecharactersinceit isa meansof expressingpeople's hopes and fears as well as their aspirationsandsympathies. The objectiveworld is out there,butthewaywe see or interpret it is due to our ideology;for, accordingt Heywood,we 'lookat theworldthrougha veilof theori st

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presuppositions a~dassumptions that shapewhatwe see andtherebyimposemeaningon the world'(Ibid:13).And when we sometimesaccuseothersof being'ideological' evenwhenwe areguiltyof the verysin,addsHeywood,it is becausein makingus seethe worldthrougha 'veil' of assumptions, ideologyis 'effectivelyinvisible'. Radicalcriticswith unpopular"socialpriorities"are often regardedas "ideological",saysTerryEagleton.For him this is because 'ideologyis alwaysa wayof describing other people'sinterestsratherthan one'sown' (Eagleton 1983:211).Elsewhere Eagletonstressesthat 'Ideologyis not in the first placea set of doctrines;it signifiesthe way men live out their rolesin class-society, the values,ideas and imageswhichtie themto theirsocialfunctionsandso preventthemfroma true knowledge of societyasa whole ... the imaginarywaysin whichmenexperience the real world' (Eagleton1976:16, 17, 18). In the prefaceto the latter work, Eagletonaffirmsthat literatureis a vectorof ideologywhen he says'ideologies[are] the ideas,values and feelingsby which men experience their societiesat varioustimes.Andcertainof thoseideas,valuesandfeelings areavailableto us onlyin literature.' The link betweenliteratureand·ideology,though subtle,is onethat we musttry to grasp.Onthe onehand 'vulgar' Marxistsgenerallyhold that literatureis nothing but ideologyin differentform, that literaryworksarethe expressions of the dominantideologiesof their time. But othej'Marxistscounterthis claimby assertingthat a great deal of literature challengesthe ideologyit confronts. However, asoneof the formsof socialconsciousness within the ~iuperstructure, literaturehasa uniquerelationship with ideology(Ngara21). Accordingto Engels·asquotedby E~ql~ton(1976:16)'art is far richerand more'opaque' 1

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than politicaland economictheorybecause it islesspurely ideological'. Thefact isthat the basicmaterialwithwhichtheliterary artist works is essentially ideological.But in creatively workingon it, he givesthe ideologya definiteshapeand form in a way peculiarto literaryart. Thefinished fictional product,as art, distancesitselffromtheideology thatgave it birth (Eagleton1976:19). What sucha creativework makesus'see~'perceive'or 'feel'(in imaginary ways)is the ideologyof the world from whichit springs.Yetthe work canalsotransformthat ideologywhenit interrogates, when it challengesit. Therefore,from an ideological conception of a world a creative work is born, but which work, dependingon the classor socialgrouporiginof the artist, can reactbackuponandaffectthat ideology byproposing a counter or an alternativeideology.However, in some cases,the artistic creationcan be homologous with the dominantideologyof an epoch. If, aswe havesaid,literatureisa vectorof ideology, that ideologyis inscribedin a text'smatterandmanner,in the themesandformsthat makeupa literarywork,for the 'true bearersof ideologyin art arethe veryformsrather than abstractedcontent of the work itself.'Andto this Eagletonaddsthat in choosinga form,'thewriterfinds his choicealreadyideologically circumscribed. Hemaycombine and transmute forms availableto him from a literary tradition, but these forms themselves,as well as his permutations of themareideologically significant' (lbid:26). It dawnsthenthat to beableto bringouttheideology of a literarytext, onewoulddo wellto examine notonly its themesand pre-occupations but itsformalaspects aswelt. That is to say,in the spirit of authenticMarxistaesthetics, one shouldexaminethe dialecticalrelationship between 94

contentand form and how theseare rootedin the social andgeneralhistoryof the epoch.

I

•

What God Has Put Asunder: Thistheoreticalconsideration in the background, we nowembarkonthe practicalanalysisof the threedramatic texts, beginningwith VictorEpieNgome'sWhatGodHas PutAsunderI a play,whichat the literallevel,is a taleof the unstablemarriagebetweena girl calledWekaand a manknownas MieheGarba.Theirweddingis probationally solemnizedby Rev.Unorwithout the matrimonialrings. Thecouplewill livetogetherandstudyeachotherfor ten yearsat the end of whichperiod,if theystill desireto be husband andwife,theofficialceremonies willbeconducted. However, withtime,Wekadiscovers thatMieheGarba is not a worthy husband.He maltreatsand neglectsher; hetakesoverandexploitsthe richcocoafarmsleft by her father and squandersthe moneyon his concubines. He doesnot toleratethe questioning attitudeof Wekawhois ableto standup to t,im. Whenshecanno longerbearGarba,Wekaescapes with her childrenbackto her father'scompound.Garba pursuesher there. Failingto forcefullytake her back,he takesthe matterto court.The co~rt'sverdictis that the couplewill continueto live in physicalseparation though unitedin a 'simulatedwedlock';that the marriageremains subjectto confirmationby husbandandwife only,to the exclusionof any otherthird party;that it will becomenull andvoidonceanyof th~ two partiesobjectsto it; andthat untilthe confirmationis carriedout underthe supervision of the court,the couplewill continueto liveunderphysical separation. 95

The main theme emerging from the play is matrimonialincompatibility.The conjugalunionbetween Wekaand Garbais, at best, a precariousoneandat worst an unworkablerelationship.Besidesleadinganadulterous lifestyle,Garbais neglectfultowardsWekaanda polygamist whoseother wives have been broughtup on theprinciple of total submissionto authority without questioning. This lifestyleis inherentlyabhorrentto Wekawhoseupbringing in the orphanagehastaught her to questionthingsandnot just to acceptthem docilely. Garba'sother wives accept his decisionsmeekly, willingly going along with whatever he decrees.In this respectGarbais even scaredof his newwifebecause the intelligentand criticalWekais influencingthesewomento dare to stand up to him. His generalphilosophyand philanderinglifestyleremaininsurmountable hurdlesin the way of genuine domestic happinessas far as Wekais concerned. A related theme is economicexploitation.Garba seems to have married Weka more out of economic considerationthan out of real affection.Hederivesa great deal of profit from the coca farms but doesnot plough backany of it to developthe farms,nor doesheuseit to attendto Weka'sphysicaland aestheticneeds. At another level of economicexploitation, we find Garbaand hisclosestcollaboratorsfeedingfatontheassets of the co-operativesociety,the wealthof the nation.He is the unconscionableGeneralManagerof the co-operative society,from whoseaccounthe drawshugesumsof money to support his sensual lifestyle with beautifulwomen in luxury hotels. Accountableto no one but himself,he is afraid of no auditors,all such beingpracticallyin his pat and can only investigatewhat he dictatesto them. 9 6

Beyondthe literal level, WhatGodHasPutAsunder is a nationalallegorywhoseconjugalmetaphor,within the Cameroonian context,relatesto the uneasypoliticalunion betweenthe AnglophoneCameroonand the Francophone part. HenceWeka(WestKamerun)standsfor the EnglishspeakingformerSoutherncameroons,while MieheGarba (AhmadouAhidjo) representsthe French-speakingLa Republiquedu Cameroun.Broadly,Garba'sneglectfuland exploitativeattitude towardsWekasignifiesthe negligent attitudeof the Francophone leadership towardsthe minority Anglophonesin present-dayCameroon,an indifferent comportment that hascometo representa centralgrievance in what AnglophoneCameroonians haveidentifiedas the AnglophoneProblem. TheallegoricalGarbabecomesthe dreadeddictator, PresidentAhidjo, who dominatedcameroonpolitics,the authoritarianbourgeoiswho tolerated no dissent from whoever.His rule over cameroon,like Garba'sabsolute controlover his submissivewives (Francophones) was a one-manshow; he ruled by decree,encounteringlittle or no oppositionat all. The lavishparty Garbathrowsto his wivesin order to bamboozle themto opt for oneindivisible familybecomes .the so-called)PeaceRevolution'of 1972. After skillfully manipulatingthe _populationof _.theFederalRepublicof Cameroon, the crafty Ahidjo successfully got all Cameroonians to vote by 99.9% in favour of a unitary state ratherthan a federation,whereasonlyAnglophones had participated in the plebiscite of 1961 that led to reunification with the Francophones. Under normal constitutional practices,onlyAnglophones wouldhavetaken partin the 1972referendum.Ahidjohadknownin advance • I

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that with the majority Francophonestaking part in the consultation,the outcomewas a foregone conclusion. From the many references made in the playto separate physical habitation, it is clear that Weka (Anglophones) shows a preference for a federalist cohabitation,for within a federation Anglophoneswould be sure of more developmentof their region than undera unitarystate. The scrappingof the federation by Ahidjoin 1972hasbecomethe majorsourceof what today is known as the AnglophoneProblem/thetotality of the Anglophone grievances againsttheir Francophone counterparts,summed up in oneword:'Marginalization~ despitethe fact that much of the nationalwealth comesfrom their region. In 1993 at an All-AnglophoneConferenceheld in Buea with over 5.000 Anglophonesin attendance, the Anglophonescrystallized their grievances against the Francophones andenshrinedthemin the nowfamous'Buea Declaration',part of which readsas follows: ,..• Our natural resourceshave been ruthlessly exploitedwithout any benefit accruing to our territory or to its people.The development of our territory has been negligibleand confined to areas that directly or indirectly benefit Francophones. Through manoeuvres and manipulations, we have been reduced from partnersof equalstatusin the Unionto the status of a subjugatedpeople. The common values, vision, and goals which we share as a people and those of our Francophonepartnersin the Unionare different, and clearly cannot blend within the framework of a Unitary State such as was imposedon usin

1972... 98

The so-called'PeaceRevolution'of 1972wasa ployby Francophones to usetheiroverwhelming majority to alter the basisof reunificationfor which Anglophones,and AnglophonesONLY, hadvoted. (The BueaDeclaration2nd and 3rd April 1993,9 - 10, 12 - 13).. Evenin the early 1990s,during the governmentorganized constitutional debate going on then, the Anglophonessubmitteda federal draft constitutionthat wouldguaranteetheir minorityinterestsandensurerapid economic,socialand culturaldevelopment,and equitable distributionof the natural resourcesand, hencesocial justice.Thiswasin contrastto the officialgovernment stand that privilegeda unitarydraft constitution. _ The criticalattitudeshownby Wekaas opposedto the acquiescentnatureof Garba'sotherwivessymbolizes the questioning spirit of Anglophones,in contrast to Francophonemore deferential attitude to presidential authority. This indicates a fundamental philosophical differencein the world visionsof the two majorlinguistic communitiesin Cameroon,an irreconcilable dissimilarity well-capturedby ProfessorGodfreyTangwa(1998:76): Generally, the mosttelli'ngdifference... between anglos[Anglophones] ~ndfrogs[Francophones] hasto do with their respective attitudestowards authority.For the latter,a personin authority can neverbe wrong. Recallthat francophones. were not botheredby the clausein Owona's proposedconstitution which states that the President of the Republic cannot be held "

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responsible for any of his actions. For Anglophones,by contrast,a personin authority, while beingrespected,is alwayskeenlywatched with ultra critical eyes and immediatelyand loudlydenouncedfor any lapses. Thesediffering attitudes betweenanglophones and francophonesare directly reflectedin their respective attitudesto fundamentalhumanrights and freedoms. Francophonestake arbitrary curtailmentof their freedoms,state terrorism and wantonabuseof humanrights as ratherin the normalorderof things. But thesethings are what havetraumatizedAnglophonesin the past threedecades,to the extentthat, today,the vast majorityof them would ratherrisk masssuicide than suffera continuanceof this stateof affairs. These unbridgeable differences between Anglophonesand Francophonesin Cameroon,poetically capturedby the title of Ngome'stext, seemto be rootedin their respectivecoloniallegacies.ProfessorTangwa says he had beenbaffledby someaspectsof the Francophone judicial systemwith regardto authority until he read the following from a book about the French by two British authors,Thatcher and Scot: ' "Under the French law of 1881it is an offenceto insultthe Presidentof the Republic ... In Britainwe considerit a corner-stoneof our democracy to be able to insult anyonewe wish." (Ibid) 'Shouldwe substitute"francophones"and "Anglophones"in the right slots',concludesTangwa,'the abovepassageremainstrue in our own context'. (Ibid) From these literal and allegoricallevels, it is clear that Ngome's play exposes the social mentality, the dominant ideologyof the world from which it springs,the 100

historicallyrelativestructureof perceptionthat underpins the power of the class representedby the dictatorial, domineeringAhidjo.All evidencethereforepointsto the fact that the kindof ideologyincarnatedby Garba{Ahidjo) can best be describedas authoritarianism,a political ideologywhich, in the words of AndrewHeywood,is 'a beliefthat a strongcentralauthority,imposedfromabove, is either desirable. or necessaryand, therefore,demands unquestioningobedience'(Heywood:328). Everything around the allegorical Garba seems to hinge on authoritarianism, whichtendstowardsassimilating resisting elementsfor the purposeof enforcingcomplianceand eventuallystultifyingandstiflingcriticismof any kind. But Ngome'stext is far from constructinga simple, passivereflectionof the dominantideologyof the epochof Ahidjo. It also challengesthe very ideology.The critical attitude with which Weka is endowed,backedby her demands,her pre-occupationsand her preferencesas reveatedby the multiplereferencesto separatephysical habitation,amountsto an interrogationof the dominant ideologyof her time.The natureof the ideologyespoused by Weka, at the symbolic level, can be qualified as federalism,definedby Heywoodas'A territorialdistribution of power basedon the sharingof sovereigntybetween central (usually national) bodies and peripheryones' (Heywood:331). A genuineMarxistanalysisof a text hasto reach beyondat its ideological contentasrelatedto classstruggle. There is the aesthetic dimensionas well. The formal elementsof literature are the words that make up the languagein whichthat literatureiswrittensothat whatever ideologya text embodiesis subtlyinscribedin the words, techniques,and contentof the text. Eagletonputs it this 101

' way:'The languagesand devicesa writer findsto handare already saturated with certain ideological modesof perception, certain codified ways of interpretingreality' (Eagleton1976:27). . Similarly, the devices or techniques deployedby Ngome,such as the contrast between Weka'scensorious attitude and the compliant spirit of Garba'sother wives, the dramatic conflict between Weka and Garba,whichis the main conflict of the text, the manner in which that dramaticencounteris crafted to be resolvedat the endfor Wekato havean edgeover Garba,the particularcharacter traits that define Garba and Weka as distinctive human beings- all of these devicesare ideologicallyresonant. They foregroundthe variouscharactersand issuesof the text; and as the characterscomeacrossto us throughtheir roles,speechesand actions,or how they are perceivedby other characters,we can discerntheir tone of voice, and 'perceive' or 'see' their moral as well as ideological orientation. In like manner,the language Ngome'scharacters employis ideologicallysignificant.Forinstance,whenGarba proverbiallydeclaresthat 'a cow can only browse within the reachof its tether' (23), or that 'a mistletoe only dies •with the tree if it did not propagateits seedsto othertrees' (24), he is voicing codifiedways of interpreting reality.His proverbscan only be translatedto meanthat he is a smart bourgeoiswho wants to exploit his advantageoussocial positionand keepthings as they are for his own economic benefit, an attitude of mind in harmony with reactionary authoritarianism.When he saysof Wekathat'she is a bloody terror in that Goddamnhouse... Now she is teachingall my other wives to questionwhatever I do,' or when heaskshis wives: 'We shall continue to be one, indivisibleand happy 102

family,shan'twe?'(52),hisconservative, authoritarian view of the world,aswellas hisgreatfear of a countervisionof life becomesonlytoo evident. Equallyideologically saturatedare the wordsused by Wekaand the court.WhenWekacomplainsof Garba that 'he forcedmeto settlein with him ... [and] hadbeen forcingmy childrento learnhisownmothertongueandto forget minewith whichtheygrewup; I mustabideby the customsof his clan,not mine'(53), the divergentcultural as well as ideologicalinterestsof the two partiesbecome obvious:Garba's isassimilationist authoritarianism asWeka's is an attemptto keepintactherculturalidentity,sinceshe would preferthat they 'live on as before- that is under separateroofs' (53)_.Weka'sfederalistdispositionis one boostedby the finaldecisionof the courtwhichstatesthat 'the coupleshallcontinueto livein physical separation under the sameconditionprovidedfor in the probationby the solemnization act' (58). Fromthe point of view of textual ideology,What God Has Put Asunderis not limitedto authoritarianism andfederalism.It canequallybeexplained fromyetanother ideologicalperspective... that of racial Manicheanism, epitomizedby RevGordonandSisterSabeth,theauthorities of the orphanage where Weka grew up (Southern Cameroons as a trusteeshipunderBritishadministration). Ngome'stext reflects,fromthe perspective of Gordonand SisterSabeth,the constructionof the Selfandthe Other. These Europeanrepresentativesof Empireset out to orientaliseor 'africanize'Wekaandthe restof the'natives'. They view the world throughthe veil of racialhierarchy: Theirsis a superiorrace.Whateveris goodandcivilizedis European,whilethe evil,the primitive,is African. 103

In their view, a girl in Europe can marry through love, but in Africa she has to be coercedto marryagainst her will: Weka: You told me that before, Sister Sabeth. But didn't you alsotell me that back in your native Englanda girl only marriesthe man sheloves? Sabeth:Yes, but that's in England Gordon:Listen, Weka, it took us centuriesto establishall those civilities,andthis is a totally different setting. Thisis Africa, for God'ssake (7). This compositereadingof the text may looklikean undue ·melange of literary criticism with politics and economics.It is not. A Marxistresponseto suchcriticismis that a full understandingof a literary text must take into considerationtheseaspectsand even more; andthat unless i~doesso, relatingthem to the base/superstructuremodel of society,it is not truly Marxist. Onthe ~ther handa 'vulgar' Marxistview of Ngome's work might be that it is determinedby the socio-historical conditions prevailing in the era of President Ahmadou Ahidjo. That is, of course, true, but it amountsto saying that the text is a simple reflection of those conditions. However,suchan approachfails to take into accountman~ other factors that mediate the text and the mode 01 production in the epoch of Ahidjo. In contrast to a 'vulgar' Marxist method,a genuinE Marxistapproach,in addition to all that we haveanalysed will considerthe social position, including the socialgrou1 origin, of Epie Ngome.The fact that he is an Anglophone 104

andso of the minoritygroup,that he is oneof the finest productsof the Anglo-saxon educational system,that he haswrittenfourotherplays,that he is a journalistholding highpositions withinthenationalbroadcasting system,that hisacademic careertookhimto severalforeignuniversities in questof higherdegrees- theseareelements worthyof consideration. Theycertainlyinfluencedthe type of play hecameto writeandthe language he used. Writtenin a criticalrealistmode,WhatGodHasPut Asunderis structuredin the mannerof traditionaldrama, reminiscent of Shakespearean playswhichweremoreor lessthe stapleliteraryfoodof post-colonial studentsat the secondaryand universitylevels,at timesevenin some seniorprimaryschools.Butbecause of the cultureof fear and silencethat markedthe Ahidjofear in Cameroon, Ngomecouldnotaffordto calla spadea spade,hencethe allegorical formin whichthedramaiscastto protecthimself from possiblepoliceharassment. Forinstance,according to the author,whenthis playwasfirst broadcast in the early 1980s,'My friendswere promptand unanimous in advisingagainsta repeatbroadcast - for my ownsafety, theysaid'(Prefatorynoteiii). Someof the aims of journalismare·to inform, educateandentertain.AndNgome's text,thoughdefinitely not a pieceof journalism,drawson someof the goalsof his profession:information,education andentertainment. Thetext embodies all of these,for it is a playthat pleases while it teaches.The informationaland instructional dimensionhas to do with the content that we have sufficientlydiscussed. The·entertainment anglerelatesto the high dialoguevalueof the play,the wit and humour that exudefrom someof the characters, especially Weka andEmeka. 105

Withregardto Emeka,two textsthat Ngomeappears to interrogatemost are a popular Nigerianserialdrama that took AnglophoneCameroonby storm in the 1980s, and RichardSheridan'sTheRivals,a playthat waspopular with the G.C.E.AdvancedLevelLiteraturestudentsin the 1970s.Emeka's queerandamusinguseof language reminds usof ChiefZebrudaya's Englishin the Nigeriansoap-opera, on the one hand,and Mrs. Malaprop'smalapropism in The Rivals,on the other, intertextualechoesthat indicatea positiveinfluenceon Ngome. _ The maritalmetaphorthat allowsfor two levelsof meaning,the literal and the symbolic,is an ingenious theatrical device employed by the playwright.Young cameroonianswithout a soundknowledgeof the political historyof their country,togetherwith non-Cameroonians may grasp only the literal level and yet be sufficiently satisfiedwith it: an excitingplayon matrimonial problems andthe relatedissueshighlightedearlier;thewittyrepartee betweenWekaand RevGordon,and the malapropism of Emekawill still make for a great deal of humourand interest.InterestingcharacterslikeGarba,Emeka andWeka remainso with or without their allegoricalgarb. However,the greater pleasureis reservedfor the adult readersor audiencesable to effect the necessary mental shift from the literal to the symboliclevel of interpretation.And there is constantmentalstimulation andtitillationwhenevera readeror memberof theaudience makesa political or historical linkagebetweena literal characteror incidentand a historicalone. • Asalreadyhintedabove,the play'sdialogues havea highconversational value,the workof a stylistanda brilliant conversationalist versed in the art of talking,a dramatic 106

attributeof great merit. It has the advantageof holding andsustaining the interestof boththereadersandaudiences. A Marxistjustificationfor the overallartisticforceof WhatGod Has Put Asunderis that to write well is more thanjust a matterof possessing a goodstyle.It is equally becauseVictor EpieNgomehasat his disposalideological perspectivesthat can penetrateto the realitiesof his characters'experiences in various.situations. Aboveall, his historicalsituationas a sensitiveAnglophoneallowshim accessto certainintuitions. Aftereverything,then,the relationshipbetweenthe baseand the superstructureis not a simple,symmetrical one. WhatGodHasPutAsunderis not tied in a one-to-one way with the mode of production.There is a complex, indirectrelationbetweenthe text andthe ideological world it inhabits.Sucha relationemergesfrom the text's form andcontent.In otherwords,the socialandhistoricalforces, togetherwith the whole lot of factorsexaminedalready, havebeenmediated,throughthe agencyof form,to arrive at the conjunctureof.the elementswe knowas WhatGod HasPutAsunder. Beastsof no Nation:

If, as we have seen, Ngome'stext is a national allegory,an extendedmetaphoras it were, basedon the ideologicalworld under former PresidentAhidjo, Bate Besong'sBeastsof no Nation2,is 'a metaphorof national decay'(131) inspiredby the ideologicalrealitiesunderthe NewDealRegime.The raw materialthat BateBesong,like manyimaginativewriters,workson is basicallyideological. But he creativelytransformsit, givingit a definiteartistic shape,and form. AsCliffS1aughter (200)putsit, the artistic 107

work 'constructs a mystification or particularway of obscuringthe truth about its historicalconditionsof production.' This way,the completeddramaticartifact,as art, is lesspurelyideological thansayeconomic andpolitical theory,and thus differs from the originalelementsthat gaveit birth. Thereis a sensein whichthe artisticpiececan be saidto 'distance'itselffromthe-ideological worldwhenceit springs.Yet, it can makeus 'see','perceive'or 'feel' in imaginaryways,the natureof the ideologyof that world. Thetext'sthemesandpre-occupations aswellasitsstyles, formand othermediatingfactorsachievethis. Beforewe cometo examinethetextualideologyin detail, however,the dramaticsituationin Beastsof no Nation,is this: On the one handwe havenight-soil-men (NSM),the doomedcarriersof mountains of fetidwasteof Ednouay City Council asking for their freedomand professionalcards; on the other,there is the Mayorof EdnouayMunicipalCouncil,Aadingingin, refusing to grant themthese_ rights,complaining, instead,thatthemunicipal administratorsare facedwith a hugeeconomic crisis in their handsand working within an austerebudgetary allocation, coupled with the rigorousdemandsof the StructuralAdjustmentProgramme (S.A.P). Thethemesand issuesemergingfromBeastsof no Nationareeconomic,political,culturalandsocial.Ednouay is a city economically ruinedby the bourgeoisie, the ruling classledby SupremeMaximumMayor,Comrade Dealsham Aadingingin.The strict demandsof the S.A.P., together with the wastefulflamboyance of the bigdirectorsistaking its toll on the citizens,especiallythe night-soil-men. City Councilmoneyis shamelessly and recklessly pillaged,led by the mayorand his closecollaborators, manyof whom 108

putupfabulousstoreybuildingsandrideexpensive, statussymbolcarslikeJaguars,ItalianPajerosand Ferraris,and Mercedes SOO. Theplaywrightpicturesthe municipal administrators not onlyas big lootersbut as big'moneyeaters.'Moneyis seenas somethingedible,as foodwhichis consumed and then passedout as waste matter- shit. And there is a greatamountof this in the city.That is why Ednouayis considered the mostexpensivedung-heapin Africa.This accountsfor why mostof the Council's budgetis reserved for the clearingup of waste,a colossalsumof 450million out of SOOmillion set asidejust for toilet tissuesand disinfectants, leavingthe othercity projectsthe laughable, paltrysumof 50 million.ThusEdnouayCityCouncilrulers arebrazen,unconscionable embezzlers whonotonlyspirit awaythe council'smoneyintoEuropean banks,butarenot ashamedto hidesomeof it in the_ceilings of their homes. In this regard,we bringin herean interpretation of the play by a Francophone governmentfunctionarywho watchedit when it premieredin Yaounde.B.S.Biatcha's letter in Frenchis addressedto the Chancellorof the Universityof Yaounde,followedby our Englishtranslation is givenafter this original: ... L'auteursoutientque les Franco phonesau pouvoir sont responsables de la crise economique parcequ11s entretiennent lagabegie et les detournementsdes fonds. Parmi les francophones (frogs),un accentparticulierest missurlesBeti,amiset freresdu Presid~nt Biya, qui sont plus responsables de l'etat actuelau Cameroun.

109 i

L'auteur affirme egalement,et ceci est la • philosophieprincipalede la piece,que 'les . Anglophones au Cameroun, sontmarginalises et confinesdanslesrolesindignes comme celui de 'ramasseurs' d'excrements.' 11sn'ontaucun statutpropreet sontmemedepourvus detoute carted1dentiteprofessionnelle qu11s reclame·nt sans succes.Pour MonsieurBessong(sic), l'Anglophone auCameroun estconsidere comme un traitreet un esclave ... (OurTranslation) ... The author propoundsthe thesis that Francophones in powerareresponsible for the economiccrisisbecause theyareproducers of wasteand embezzlers of publicfunds.Among the Francophones (frogs),specialemphasis ·is placedon the Betis,friendsandbrothersof PresidentBiya,who are moreresponsible for the presentstateof Cameroon ..

,

Theauthorequallyaffirms,andthisisthecentral thesis of the play, that the Anglophones of Cameroonare marginalized andconfinedto undignified roles like that of 'carriers of excrement.' Theyhavenorealstatusanddo not evenhaveanyprofessional identitycards,which they are askingfor in vain.According to Mr. Besong, the Anglophone in Cameroonis considered a traitor anda slave ... (qtd in Ambanasom2003:110- 111; 113114). -•

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While BateBesongand EpieNgomeare closerin ideological orientation,they come from two different dramaticconventi9ns. An aspectof techniquecommonto their two works, however,is the use of metaphor;the authorscallonethingintermsof another. Yet,whileNgome's text is an extendedmetaphorwith the full statusof an allegory,Besong's is allegoricalonlyin a generalsense,for the latter'sdramaticstyleis disttnctlydifferent.A maverick and an avantgarde,Besongis a playwrightin a classall alone. • In contemporary Anglophone Cameroonian imaginationandconsciousness theword'frog~a pejorative term usedseveraltimesin Besong'splay,standsfor the_ Francophone. It connotes anirresponsible consumer ofwhat otherslabourto produce,a thriftless,exploitative andeven unpatrioticperson.In the playthe economyis generally under the controlof the 'frogs',particularlythe Supreme MaximumMayorof EdnouayCouncil,ComradeDealsham Aadinginginwith his closebourgeoiscollaborators - 'the frater-mafia of greed, grab and graft' (118). Notethe emotionallyladenedand, thereforeideologically charged nounsin the quotedportionof theabovephrase,especially the last three.• Accordingto the author'Ednouayis a fictionalcity' (82). However,if one spells'Ednouay'from right to left, one has the politicalcapitalof Cameroon, Yaounde.It is important to note that althoughthe dramapulsateson every page with the Camerooriianspirit, the word 'Cameroon'itself doesnot featureanywherein the text. The reversed 'Ednouay'becomes a metonymy, representing the wholeof Cameroon, for in the wordsof AugustinSimo Bobda ([1994]:116), 'This term [metonymy]is closely relatedto metaphor;[it] consistsin designating something i

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by usingthe nameof somethingassociated withit.'Ednouay

is alsoa synecdoche for cameroon. Thistechniqueis alsoindirectlyat workin oneword in the high-soundingname of the mayorof Ednouay'Dealsham.' If one splitsthis word into two, onehas'Deal' and'sham',a nounandan adjective.If, however, wemake the adjectivequalify the noun, we have'shamdeal,'a cynical,pejorativeepithetwith a poeticringto it thatrings a bell to many Cameroonians. Besong'srecourse to this techniqueand his evidentinsistenceon the fictionalityof 'Ednouay'mightbean attemptto disguisehisfundamental politicalcriticismof the incumbency. The ineffectuality of hiseffort to camouflagehisintentionis underscored by his arrest and detentionby the authoritiesimmediately after this fiery play was premieredin Yaoundein 1991,a fact confirmedby the following Pressreleasesignedby the Cameroonian novelist,MbellaSonneDipoko: Followingthe newsthat BateBesong, playwright, poet, critic, and teacher,hasbeenarrestedand detained, friends, writers, students, sympathizers,lawyersetc haveformedtoday, Saturday25, [May] 1991,a COMMITTEE FOR THE RELEASE OF BATEBESONG. As a first step, a letter has beensentto the Government calllngfor his immediaterelease3. Another derogatoryword featuringmanytimes in Beasts of no Nation is 'Anglos,' which stands for Anglophones. It connotes slaves, traitors, enemies1 renegadesor the lowest of the socialheap,indeed,thE dregs of humanity.Anglos are the 'Night-soil-men' who byextension,can'alsorepresentthe workerswithoutwhon societywlll cometo a standstill'(Abety255).

112

In vainAnglosaskfor their freedomandalsotheir identity cards.Aadingingin tells them to attachto their applicationform,the impossible fee of one millionfrancs each, but which amountthe third NSMintimates'will immediately beembezzled' (113).Thesedemands areissues of great symbolic significance. For they stand for Anglophonebasicdemands includingtheirculturalidentity. Without them the Anglophonesrun the risk of being assimilatedintothe greaterFrancophone culture.Thestiff resistanceputupagainstthesedemands bythebourgeoisie or the 'frater-mafia'in authorityin the playspeaksvolumes for what washappening in the 1990sin the Cameroonian society with regardto pressuregroupslike Cameroon AnglophoneMovement, (CAM), AllAnglophone Conference, (AAC),Teachers' Association of cameroon{TAC),General Certificateof Education Board(G.C.E.B), andthe drawnout war of nervesbetweenTACandthe government over the G.C.E. Board issue,all of which are symbolsof Anglophoneidentityandculture. Whenall has beensaidand done,the dominant ideologyemergingfromthis text is bourgeois ideology,a term, in Heywood's words,'denotingideasand theories that servethe interestsof the bourgeoisie by disguising the contradictions of a capitalistsociety'(Heywood~28). The bourgeoiside·ology or capitalismis incarnatedby the man with theoverblown, suggestive nameof the Supreme Maximum Mayorof EdnouayCity, ComradeDealsham Aadinginginandhisclosecollaborators the'frater-mafiaof greed, grabandgraft.'Theyconstitutethe bourgeoisie, the ruling class and the top brass of the government department.Theirprivilegedpositionsgivethemaccessto millions or billionsto toy with. 113

This national bourgeoisieis made up of bigdirectors of lucrative organizationsand co-operations like SONARA, CELLUCAM, and AMACAM;from their midst emergereal estate developers who put up fabulous chains of storey buildings,which they then let out to the government;some of them dominate the transportation industry with a fleet of luxurious ·buses. Should they be ill from gorging themselves with rich food and expensive wines, extraordinarymedicalcare is given them; were they to die, they would be put in their golden casketsand interredin diamond-studdedgraves. Ownersof the meansof production,these bourgeois or capitalists,'accordingto Narrator,are the 'beasts of no nation... and sensuousclasswho, some day will take the Ednouaynation hostageas a result of their inexhaustible greed'(131). Thanksto their insatiableappetitefor money, 'corruptionis the nationalindustry in Ednouay'(135). They get richer because the producers of their wealth, the workers,get poorer.To perpetuateand protecttheir interest, the bourgeois Increasingly become cocooned in selfinteresteddelusion.They must tell lies to the proletariatto concealthe fact of the latter'soppressionand exploitation. When the bourgeois ideology is confronted by radicalismmounted by the night-soil-men,the bourgeois attempt to appeasethe NSMby ascribingtheir economic woes to 'the rigours of the present crisis' (139). Otshama says,'the crisishas spared no one' (135). In any case,any attempt by the bourgeoisto rationalizethe economicmisery of the proletariatis contradictedby the flamboyantlifestyle of the bourgeoisthemselves. Although the radicalism that challenges the bourgeoisideologyis out for fundamentalchangein favour of the night-soil-men,it is not inscribedin anytfassicMarxist 114

terms.In other words, apart from advocatingliberty and freedomaswellas professional identitycards,the radicalism, beyondthese demands,is not yet well-defined.But it is there,evidentin the purposefullyprovocative anddisgusting behaviourof the NSMwith their smellingbucketsof human excrement.Forinstanceon page102we aretold'TheNightsoil-menraisetheir behindsto the audienceand foul the air'! The radicalism is there, inscribed in the emotive languageused by some of the characters,especiallythe NSMas well as in the stage direction providedby the playwright.Wequote hereonly partsof threesongsby the NSMin pidgin,and in English.From'Songof the Prodigal' (a) Goatdi chop For placeweh Dey be tie him (100)

.... So my dear frog Brotherwack And burn This damnbrubah Ednouay(100) (b) From (The Night-soil-mensing) AlI: Whenyou eat money The way locusts Eattonnesof green Whenfrogs eat money The way locusts • Eattonnesof green(102)

115

(c)

Solo:I fit bury One thousand million For my ceiling I fit bury meme Ten thousand million For my ceiling (103)

Songs (a) and (b) highlight in strong emotional languageand throughthe imagesof a goat browsingwhere it is tethered, and of swarmsof locustsconsumingtonnes of green vegetation, the issue of 'frogs' in authority capitalizingon their fortunate social positions to plunder the nation's wealth with recklessabandon. Fragment(c) quoted highlights the matter of stealing and hiding, by frogs, even in their ceilings,of huge sumsof money. The languageof the playis not ideologicallyneutral; it is suffused with ideological modes·of perception as indicatedby the followingquotationin pidgin: Cripple: Monkeywill do The dorty work Gorillago dey wack First(NSM):O me die man, innocentAnglo Monkeywork gorilla chop? (106) Here in 'Monkey work gorilla chop', we have a codified, proverbialway of interpreting reality: the ideaof parasitism, of an individual feeding fat on the labour of another, in short, of economic exploitation. The Monkey does the dirty job, but it is the gorilla who reapsthe fruit of the monkey's toil. It is obvious who the gorilla is, and 116

who the monkey;the gorillais the bourgeois, whilethe monkeyis the worker(the Anglo). Sincethe dramatisthas'no voice'in hisownwork because it is othercharacters doingthetalking,theclosest anydramatistcomesto voicinganopinionin hisowndrama is in thestagedirections. In thecaseof BateBesong's stage directions in Beasts of noN~tion,sometimes, thereisstrong and affectiveand,therefore,radicallanguage employed, the kind that sometimescharacterizesBesongthe polemicist. Forinstance, in describing Aadingingin on page 138,Besong deliberately employsinsulting,repugnant and repulsivelanguagethat makesAadingingin appearin his mostgrotesque ugliness, a discourse thatspellsradicalism by any accountandshowshis negativeattitudetowards the man: ComradeAadingingin is a lumbering gargoyleof a mayorwith a brooding brutishness. He is fat, extremelyfat; the sortof bloatedfatnessassociated with a very juicy toad... Comrade Aadingingin, likeoneof thosewhoeat and drink too much,hasdeveloped severalripefleshylayers,pumpkin-like belowthe naturalskin.(138) A dramatistat homewith the modernistmodeof discourse, Besong isa self-conscious playwright determined to breakwith the past.A militantauthorwith an obvious innovatory dramatic technique, he is continually experimenting andsearching for newwaysof expression. In allhisplaysBesong provides anadmixture of therealistic, the historical,the tragic,the comicand the grotesque, underlyinga particularideologyor ideologies. He brings intohiswriting,in a reconditemannerreminiscent of T.S. 117

Eliot, his wide learningas well as lived and imaginative experiences. His fame as a dramatistpartly residesin the fact that he is also a publishedpoet with a rare abilityto use wordsto createpowerfulimagesand symbolswith poetic resonance as he doesin Beastsof no Nation.Thefollowing commenton Besong's poetryisequallygenerallyappropriate for the techniquehe usesin his dramatictext: He is never content with simply talking about on~ thing only, but he must seek parallels, analogiesor contrastshereandthere,hencethe highly allusivenature of his poetry... To read BateBesongoneshouldbe readyfor an allusive excursioninto history,literatureand the Bible. Ambanasom([2004] 2002: 46). Beastsof no Nationitselfaboundsin literary,Biblical and historicalallusions.The title of the play- 'Beast[s] of no Nation'is an abusivephraseflungby an angrycharacter at ·another in Chinua Achebe's No Longer at Ease (1960:138). In Besong's text Narratorusesit alternatively with the modifiedversion'Thievesof no nation' (90), in directreferenceto the destructive,compulsiveappetiteof the bourgeoisie for money.The Narrator'sandthe author's strongantipathytowardsthe bourgeoisiebecomesclear. On his part, Otshama'sflattery of Aadingingin: 'YourExcellency is absolutelyright. I neverthoughtof that. It is surprisinghowYourExcellency thinksabouteverything~ is a verbatimutterancefrom C. Achebe'sAnthills of the Savannah(19) and belongsto ProfessorOkongflattering the Headof State in that novel. Here Besongusesthis allusion to satirize the Ednouayans' (Cameroonians') exaggerated,sycophanticattitude towards the Headof State. 118

In the playthere are generalallusionsto sickness afflictinga peopleand the needfor a cure. Specifically, there is an allusionto the wickednessand immoralityof the peopleof the OldTestamentandthe punishmentGod metesout to them.Forinstance,whenNarratorsays: If I find in Ednouay Two righteousDirectors ThenI will spare All the placefor Theirsake:.... (94) Heis alludingto the passagein Genesis18:24-32wherein Abrahampleadswith Godto sparethe sinfulCityof Sodom which is eventuallyobliterated,anyway.Thereis alsothe subtleallusionto Romans6:23:'Thewagesof sinisdeath.' Besongusesall theseallusionsto pointto the imminentor possibleeconomicdestructionof the City of Ednouayby the imprudenceof the plunderingbourgeoisie. Theauthor usesparodyandsongsin pidginto highlightcertainthemes and issuesand to communicate moreeffectivelywith the audience. Asalreadystated,Beastsof no Nationisthe product of the socio-historical conditionsprevailingunderthe New DealRegime.Besong,the author,is a Universitygraduate and lecturer in English Literature,_and one who has mastered,andbeeninfluencedbythe dramaandpoetryof difficultmodernistwriterslikeT. S. EliotandWoleSoyinka. Eternallycommittedto the Anglophone cameroonwelfare, andhimselfa victim,in an immediatesense,of the system he flays and whoserulers he flogs, Besongis an angry writer whose diverse experiencesand influenceshe harnesses andtransmutesintoart. Hiswide-ranging satire slashes at everything in its path: personalitiesand institutionsin sports,historyor politics,etc. 119

But it may be objectedthat Besong'smodernist dramatictechnique,althoughit revealsa richand fertile imagination, sometimesengendersobscurantism, owing to inaccessibility of languageand style.Onecan say,in Besong's defence,that his unconventional approach is, as TerryEagletonsaysof Brecht,'quite compatible with the widestusesof fantasyandinvention'(Eagleton 1976:72). Besong is usingrealismin a newway,extending its range. Hewouldprobablyagreewith Brechtthat'ourconceptof realismmust be wide and political,sovereignover all conventions... we must not deriverealismas suchfrom particularexistingworks,but we shalluseeverymeans, oldandnew,triedanduntried,derivedfromartandderived fromelsewhere to renderrealityto menin a formtheycan master'(qtd in Eagleton1976:72). Requiem for the Last Kaiser:

In Beastsof no Nation,the bourgeois areconfronted by the oppressed,symbolizedby the NSMwho actively andpersistently askfor their rightsand,towardsthe end of the play,evencarryth~ struggleto·thedreaded Mayor's oifice,stormingit with theirbucketsof excrement, a radical act of ideologicalresonance.But this radicalismthat challengesthe bourgeoisideologyis articulatedin nonMarxistterms.However, whenwe cometo Besong's next play,Requiemfor the LastKaiser1, a workconceived from a socialistperspective, the bourgeoisarechallenged by a moredeterminedradicalismexpressedin a spiritthat is clearlyMarxistas it takes on a socialistcoloration.Toe broad-based, conscientised progressive forcesfightingthe bourgeoisie nowarefully awareof whattheywant,where they aregoing,andhowto get there. 120

Requiem for The Last Kaiser consists of three

fragmentsof scene,andtwo movements. Thefirstfragment openswith a womaneducatinga studentto take part in fightingthe repressiveforcesin Agidigidi,and the second revealsthat Atangana,a clergyman,collaborates with the reactionaryregime of Akhikikrikii.The flashbackin this fragmentalsorevealsAbossolloasthe security_boss of the regimeandtherefore. of 1 onewhocontrolsthe instruments torture. HeaccusesWomanof subversionandof planning a coup d'etat. But Womansays'ours will be a popular uprisingnot a coup' (16). Atanganathe Pastorcautions her: 'Be carefulwoman... Don't let the Devilmarkyou... Trust and obey' (16). In the last fragment we see Akhikikrikii,the l1,eadof state,in the companyof hisforeign friendsands_upporters: a WesternAmbassador anda Swiss Banker,all of whomflatter him. In the first ~ceneof the first movementwe meetthe progr~ssive forces,madeupof unemployed academics like Akonchongand Gambari,Poetas Mandela,workers,voice of Woman,etc. There is a parodyby the academicsin whichthe regimeis subtlysatirized.The sceneendswith Abossollothreateningcriticsand enemiesof the regime. In the secondsceneof the first movementwe meetthe progressive forcesagain,includingthe leaderof the market women,Womanand soldiers.We noticethe educationof the soldiersby Womanin the interestof the oppressed. Thereis the play within the play,whereinthe academics playthe roleof headporters,etc. Herethe cruelwaysand weaknesses of the regimearesubtlycriticizedandexposed. There is the reading of the revolutionary thesis by Akonchong,and then Abossolloarrivesin a threatening moodwith a gun, but he is disarmedby the people. 121

In the secondand last movementwe find the people - the progressiveforces: the poet, former infantrymen, women, workers, etc., surrounding Akhikikrikii'sMarble Palace.There is a general revolt, and Ngongo,the chief praise-singerof the regi(Jle,confesseshis crime against the people.Worst of all Abossollotoo, without the army, abandonsAkhikikrikii.But the Ambassadorand the Swiss Bankerstill stick around him. However,desertedby his people,Akhikikrikiicommits suicide and the people,the progressiveforces,force their way into the MarblePalace. . The central theme of this play is the popular challengeto an authoritarianregime,or a popularuprising .againsta dictatorship.It is the educationof the deprived andtheirstandagainsta tyrant.In fact,thisthemeisalready ~idacticallysummedup by the author in the play'ssub-title 'a dramaof conscientisation and revolution'. Conscientisation impliesthe educationof the masses, especiallythe oppressedmasses,in such a way that they become imbueq with a heightened sense of critical consciousness. When oppressed people become conscientised, they tend to knowmoreaboutcertainissues and.situationsthan they qid before. They becomemore familiar with the inner structure of their societyand the dynamicsof the vicioussystemthat hasheldthem captive. The knowledgeof this producesa changein behaviourin sucha way as to makethem nowwant to do awaywith the evil forcesthat havehelpedto cripplethem.Thusfor every viciousaction,..soto speak,by the oppressors,there is not onlyan equaland opposite,but, in radicalterms,a superior oppositereactionby the oppressed,whoseultimategoalis the improvedliving conditionof the masses. This trend of reasoningrevealsthat Bate Besong has been influenced, consciously or unconsciously,by 122

Marxistthought, at leastas far as Requiemfor the Last Kaiseris concerned.In Marxistview, historyis primarily determinedby economics;the history of any society, exceptingprimitivecommunalism, is oneof classstruggle. Marxismstandsstronglyopposedto capitalismwhichit seeksto topple,replacingit with socialism. Todo so, Marxistsmustfirst educatethe oppressed in the dynamicsand natureof c~pitalism,the economic philosophythat upholdsthe privateownershipof property and the meansof production,and encourages individual initi3tive, spirit of competitionand the profit motiveor accumulation of wealth.'Marxism's goalis the-liberation of consciousness and freeing of praxisfrom bondagevia revolutionarytheory'(Solomon14). For a real revolution to take place the people's consciousnessmust be transformed;there mustbe a changeof mentalities .•The peoplemustbeprepared, educated andideologically sound. And this pedagogical missionis essentiallyBateBesong's intentionin Requiemfor the LastKaiser,as impliedby the subtitle:a dramaof conscientisation and revolution. Requiemfor theLastKaiserillustratesthat literature isnotconceived in a vacuum.In it aretwodistinctideologies lockedin a fi_erce confrontation.And here,as Riussays, 'ideologyexpresses anddefendsthe interestsof theclasses in struggle' (Rius 149). On the one hand,we havean oppressive, exploitative and essentiallycapitalist or bourgeoisway of life representedby Akhikikrikiiand his tribal clique,includingthe WesternAmbassador and the Swiss Banker. Agidigidi is a neo-colonialstate, and Akhikikrikii, a neo-colonialagent, subjected to easy manipulationby his Europeanneo-colonialmasters.The consequence of this neo-colonial stranglehold on the state of Agidigidiis the cruel exploitationand pauperization of 123

the massesfor the benefitof the nationalbourgeoisie and compradors, andtheir foreignmasters.Thelatter'ssurvival dependson their keepingthings as they are, admitting neitherradicalchangesnor non-conformist tendencies. As a result,their administrationis characterized by coercion, threat,imprisonment andtorture. On the other hand, there are the exploited,the oppressed, represented byWoman,Student,Poet,workers, marketwomen,the unemployedacademicsand former infantrymen.As a groupthey constitutethe progressive forces, working for a changeof the statusquo. Their approachis basicallyradical,and their generalattitude, socialist.Theyare out to seizepowerfromthe tyrannical minorityandgive it to the people.Thiscomesthroughto the audiencefrom the steadyeducationgivenby Woman to thestudentandsoldiers, in particular, andthesensitization of the massesin general. Woman and Dr. Akonchongroughly represent theory; the student, soldiers and other workers,the potentialfor action. The ones representreflection,the others,praxis.Thus brain and brawnbecomenecessary for a successful revolution. Iduote,the capitalcity, is the settingof the play. 'Iduote' is a word constructedin the samemanneras 'Ednouay'in Beastsof no Nationis. That is, spelledfrom right to left, .Iduotebecomes'Etoudi';the localnamefor the presidentialpalacein Cameroon,underthe NewDeal Regime. Iduoteisthusa synecdoche forYaounde, thecapital of cameroon. Requiemfor the LastKaiserisa productof itssociety, havingbeeninformedby the social,politicalandhistorical conditionsof cameroonunderthe NewDealRegime.Bate Besongfully subscribesto a centralMarxistprinciplethat 124

literature is socially-conditioned. In his own words ' ... lit~rature must be inspiredby a historicalmyth-informed c0nsc:ousness. ·It mustembodyin bold reliefthe specific historicalfeaturesof the entireCameroonian reality'(qtd in Ngwane36).Andhisliteraryworksarean exemplumof his words. Hisplaysare artisticcreationsinspiredby the Cameroonian experience. Theyarethe transformation into art of social,political,economic,culturaland ideological issuespertinentto the cameroonian reality. Makingallowances for the playwright's poeticlicence and his fertile imagination,all that goeson in the neecolonialstate of Agidigidiis generallytrue of our present day society.Someof the statementsmadeby the fictional Akhikikrikii like: 'The peopleunderstandme---very well. I also understandthem,Je vousai compris'(1), belongto his historical counterpart.Even nameslike Abossollo, Atanganaand Ngongoin cameroonare easilyidentified with ethnic groupswith closeaffinitiesto the dominant ruling class.Thetopicality,currencyand,consequently, the sensitivityof BateBesong's materialcanbeseenfrom.J.S. Biatcha'svisceralreactiontranslatedabove. • Requiemfor the LastKaiseris a reflectionandalsoreinforcementof the contemporary criticalattitudeOfmany Cameroonians who,thanksto a livelyprivatepress,areno longer afraidof stickingouttheir neckfor politicalchange. The significance of Besong's dramaturgyin cameroon;like BoleButake's,liesin thefactthat hisplays-are animportant aspectof the on-goingprocessof politicalsensitization of Camerooniansin the wake of the wind of changefrom EasternEuropein the late 1980sand the resurgence of multipartypoliticsin Africa,particularly sincethelastdecade of the twentiethcentury.Forwiththecomingof Gorbachev's perostroika,therewasa looseningup of dictatorialgripon 125

powerby despotsof mostlyone-partyregimes;therewas a gradualliberalization of the pressanda generalgoodwill to democratize andopenup to multi-partypolitics. Yet,in manycases,especiallyin Africancountries, theexternaldemocraticpressurewasnotenoughto force political rulers to change; internal pressurewas also necessary, indeedindispensable, for anysignificant political changeto be registered.For this reason,in Cameroon, politicalpartieswereformedandsomeforcefullylaunched in the faceof stiff governmentresistance; socialpressure groupsand local humanrightsorganizations also came into being;committedimaginative writersandoutspoken independent individuals emerged.All of theseprogressive forces,likethosein the play,hada common goal:to force the handof a reluctantgovernment to yieldto thewind of changeandto openup to a validdemocratic processthat wouldallowfor the respectfor humanrightsand social justice. AsanAnglophone Cameroonian, BateBesong writes withthe burdenof the Anglophone Problem frequentlyon hismind.In Requiem for theLastKaiser theissueof'Anglos' beingintegratedinto the largerFrancophone society is raisedin the parodyscenewhereGambari asks:'Anglos whatareyourgrievances againstNational integration then?' On his part Akonchong, says:'We haverecruited Frenchmen of sciences to civilizeyouyetyoursecessionist brainshaverejectedall medicines ...Whatisyourgrievance ... Ph.D.Doctor. .. Too muchEnglish ... ToomuchanglaisBiafre!'(34) In cameroonthe word Biafreor Biafranis a codeterm for Anglophones, and in Requiemfor the Last Kaiserthe unemployed academics, are 'pseudo-Biafrans'. This is madeclearto the audiencethroughan aside by Abossollo in the parodyscene,with reference to Gambari 12 6

~

and Akonchong, 'Pseudo-Biafrans are excellentin the evil art of mockery!'(36). Bate Besongdraws on both the Anglophone experienceand his personalplight;for, as a civilservant, he hasbeenroughlytreatedby the system.Theangerwe find in his playsis partlythe bitternessinspiredby the frustrationthe manhasknown,notonlyasanAnglophone, but as a bruisedindividual.In Besong's ownwords:'The AnglophoneCameroonian Writer must neverforget his origins.Hiswritingmustdepicttheconditions of hispeople, Expressing their spontaneous feelingsof betrayal,protest and anger'(Besong1993:18). Asa realistic workRequiem for theLastKaiserreveals a qualityvaluedin Marxistcriticism- that of 'the worldhistorical',the complexrelationsbetweenman,natureand history.Theserelationsembodyand_revealwhat is most typical abouta particularphaseof history.WhatLukacs refersto astypicalarethe'Latentforcesthatin everysociety are the mostsignificantlyhistoricaland progressive and that expose society's.inner structure and dynamics' (Eagleton1976:28).The duty of the realistwriter is to flesh out thesetypicaltrendsand forcesin sensuously realizedcharacters andactions. In Requiemfor the Last Kaiserare the forcesof .oppressionandexploitation, incarnated byAkhikikrikii and his cliquewiththeirnee-colonial masters, ontheonehand, and the progressive forcesmadeup of the exploited,on the other.Whentheoppressors, standingfirmlyin theway of change,areconfronted bytheoppressed, bentonrouting out thetyrants,thentheredevelops a tensesituationlikely to explodewithseriousrepercussions. For,asWoleSoyinka says, 'he who makespeacefulchangeimpossible makes violentchangeinevitable.' 127

The well-delineatedcharactersof the playarebound to generate actions and reactions likely to produce historically significant social outcomes imbuedwith the powerof 'world-historical',eventswith the powerto create or influencehistory.To the extent that theseforcesmake thingsdifferent,especiallyin favourof the masses, asshown by their forceful and successfuloccupationof the Marble Palace,its former occupanthavingcommittedsuicide,they are progressive.The progressiveforces,the proletariat and othersare quite aware that they are makinghistory;that theyareworkingtowardsa change,the changeofthestatus quo. 'We want nothing! We have cometo hearyou die! Onlyyour bloodcan cleansethis land!'(58) A key principle in Marxistcriticismis commitment of art to the cause of the proletariat,puttingart in the service·of pressingsocial issues.In a_llhis writings: his poetry,polemicalessays,dramaand evenin his lifestyle, BateBesongrevealshimselfasa manprofoundly committed to the welfare of his camerooniancommunityin general, and the Anglophoneenvironmentin particular. He comes throughto the readeras a manwhosebreastis full of the milk of humankindness,a fierce defenderof the rights of the downtrodden.Indeed, he has cometo symbolizethe Anglophonehope. All the issuesand themesraisedin hisplaysreveal that only a committed artist, a humanist,wouldbe that concernedwith the lot of suffering men and women, a sufferinginflictedon them, tragicallyenough,bytheir own cruel kind with the collaborationof unfeelingneo-colonial masters.Yet, Bate Besongis not misty-eyedin believing that he hasa magicwand to solve,instantly,the problems of his suffering people. He himself acknowledgesthe limitationof the committedwriter: 128

True,thepowerof thewriterisnotalways strong enoughto changethe political and social situationof histime but his art canbecomea fightingliterature,hecanwriteworkswhichare artisticallyprofoundand politicallycorrect:he canwriteworksof indictmentandworksthat showhowhis worldis andcouldbe. (Besong 1993:18) Thecommitted artistalonemaynothavethepower to bringaboutimmediate politicalchange.Butheandthe writers of otherformsof politicalliterature,a buoyant privatepress,theappropriate politicalopinionleadersand parties,canall effectmeaningful change.'Thecommitted artist neednot be a wheelalone,but he is an essential spokein thewheelof socio-political change.' (Ambanasom 1996:225) Requiem fortheLastKaiserissocialistin conception but modernistin technique(Matumamboh 1988:iii).The desireon the pa~ of Besongto experiment, to lookfor moreeffective dramatic techniques, isstillthere.Butgreater emphasisis nowon a moreeffectivecommunication with the audience.Gonearethe songsthat werea featurein Beastsof no Nation.Then,they hadservedas thematic reinforcement, but nowBateBesongdoesnot needthem sincehe hasincorporated hisissuesinto clearstatements and dialogues. Thereis the flashback techniquewhichis effective in that it throwsmorelighton the characterof Abossollo, AtanganaandWoman.Thereis also parodyfor satirical effect.Andthe deviceof a playwithinthe playmakesfor multiplerole-plays, allowing theauthorto usecertainactors to achievecomicandsatiricaleffectsotherwiseimpossible with the realactorswithoutgreatlymodifyingthe context. 129

Heemploysthe Brechtian alienationeffect,thiswayinvolving the audiencein the craft of hiswork andshowingthat the charactersare actors mimicking, parodying,mocking somethingother than themselves. Thus we have Akonchong and Gambari, the unemployedacademics,role-playinghead-porter, but at othertimesthey are Akhikikrikiiandthe Ambassador. Still there are times when Akonchong is condemning "Akonchong'~ hisalter ego.The onlydifficultylikelyto arise fromsuchmultiplerolesis that if membersof theaudience a.relesswary to knowexactlywhena characteris playing hiscentralroleandwhenhe takeson someone else's,or is parodyingsomebody,the playwill be confusingto them. Equallyeffectiveis the techniqueof usingvoicesrather than the physicalpresenceof the speakers. Voicescan, fromoff stage,threatenAkhikikrikiiin language that would beimpossible if the speakers werephysically nearthetyrant. A profoundMarxistunderstanding of BateBesong's Beatsof no Nationand Requiemfor the LastKaiserwould take into considerationa numberof factorslikethe social grouporiginof the author,hiseducational background and aestheticorientation,the literary influenceson him, his authorialideologiesand their relationto literaryforms, andthe linguisticdevicesandthe techniques employedby the author.All of theseelementsare relevantto the base/ superstructure paradigm.However, thereisnosimple,direct correspondence betweenthe baseandthe superstructure, betweenBesong'sworksandthe realhistoryof histime. A complexindirectrelationshipconnects thesetexts and the ideologicalworlds they inhabit. Therefore, in constructingcontrary,radicalideologiesto confrontthe dominantbourgeoisideology,as we haveseen,Besong, like Epie Ngomebefore him, succeedsin transposing, 1

-

130

through the agencyof form, the world vision of the progressivesocialgroupto whichhe belongsas wellas other historicalforcesinto the highlymediateddramatic pieceswe knowas.Beastsof no NationandRequiem for the LastKaiser. Fromthe perspective of overalltextualideology, we have seenwhat can be moreor lesstermedcompeting ideologies(i.e. a dominantversusa lessdominantbut opposingideology)emergingfromeachof the threetexts analysed.In VictorEpieNgome's WhatGodHasPutAsunder thereis authoritarianism versusfederalism; inBateBesong's Beastsof noNationwehavebourgeois ideology confronted by radicalism;and in Requiemfor the Last Kaiserthe bourgeoisideologyis seriouslychallenged by a socialist ideology.Theserivalideologies arewhatEmmanuel Ngara ( 1985) callsthe a·uthorial ideologies, whetheror not the author is clearlyleaningon oneideologyor the other.And in the caseof all threetexts,we haveseenthat Ngome's and Besong's sympathies areonthe sideof the oppressed and exploited;that is to say,the authorsespouseradical ideologies. Apart from thesecentralideologies,there is the 'Aestheticideology'which,in E. Ngara'swords'refersto the literaryconvention andstylisticstancesadoptedbythe writer' (Ngara108).Theycanbedefined,in literaryterms, as romanticism,symbolism,expressionism,realism, formalism,socialistrealism,modernism, etc.Togo bythis definition,the.aesthetic ideologies comingout of thethree texts areasfollows:fromWhatGodHasPutAsunder, there is critical realism;from Beastsof no Nationwe have modernism; andfromRequiem for theLastKaiser,wehav~ a melangeof socialistrealismandmodernism. 131

End Notes

* This chapter is a slightly retouchedversionof Chapter Six of my Perspectiveson WrittenCameroon Uterature in English(2012:114). 1. Victor Epie Ngome, What God Has Put Asunder. Yaounde:PitcherBooksLtd. 1982.Pagereferences to this play are taken from this edition. 2. BateBesong,ThreePlays.Yaounde:Editions CLE.2003. Pagereferencesto Beastsof no Nationaretakenfrom this edition of ThreePlays(2003). 3. See'PressRelease!!!'dated May25, 1991andsigned by Mbella S. Dipoko: Place of the 'Release'is not indicated. 4. Bate Besong, Requiem for the Last Kaiser.Limbe: Presbook,1998.Pagereferencesto the playareta ken from this edition. Works Cited

Abety,Peter.'The LiteraryPodiumandthe PoliticalPulpit: Mediumand Messagein Anglophone cameroon Drama'in HanselNdumbeEyoh,AlbertAzeyeh and Nalova Lyonga (eds) Epasa Moto volume 1 Number3 (1996): 250-264. Ambanasom,S.A. 'Pedagogyof the Deprived:A study of the playsof VictorEpieNgome,BoleButakeand Bate Besong'in HanselNdumbeEyoh,Albert Azeyehand Nalova Lyonga(eds) EpasaMoto volume 1 Number3 (1996): 218-227

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. Educationof the Deprived. (A study of four CameroonianPlaywrights).Yaounde:Presses Universitaires de Yaounde,2003. ___ . 'Is Bate Besong's Poetry Too Difficult for Cameroonians?' in AbiosehMichaelPorter(ed.) AfricanLiteratureAssociationALA BULLETIN, Vol.28 Summer/Fall 2002¾ and ALABulletin Vol. 29 Fall 2003/Winter2004 No. 3 ([2002] 2004): 242. Barry,Peter.BeginningTheory:An Introductionto Literary andCulturalTheory.Manchester andNewYork: Manchester UniversityPress,1995. Besong,Bate.'Literaturein the Seasonof the Diaspora: Notesto AnglophoneCameroonianWriters.' KeynoteAddressin Lyonga,Breitingerand Butake(eds)Anglophone Cameroon Writingpp. 15-18.Bayreuth:BayreuthUniversity, 1993. ___ . Requiemfor the Last Kaiserrev. ed. Limbe: Presbook,1998. ___ . ThreePlays.Yaounde:EditionsCLE,2003. Bobda, AugustinSimo: Watch Your English! 2nd ed. Yaounde:B andK Language Institute,2002. Dipoko,MbellaSonne.'PressRelease!!!' n.p.datedMay25, 1991. , Eagleton,Terry.Marxismand LiteraryCriticism.Berkeley andLosAngeles:Universityof californiaPress, 1976. ___ . LiteraryTheoryAn Introduction.Minneapolis: University of MinnesotaPress,1983. Heywood,Andrew.PoliticalIdeologies.3rd ed. NewYork, N.Y.:PalgraveMacmillan,2003. Matumamboh, Alfred.'The Supremacyof BateBesong's DramaticArt' in BateBesong:Requiemfor the

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Last Kaiser,rev. ed. Pp. i-iv. Limbe:Presbook 1998. ' Ngara,Emmanuel.Art and Ideologyin theAfricanNovel. London: Heinemann,1985. Ngome,Victor Epie. WhatGodHasPutAsunder. Yaounde: PitcherBooksLtd, 1992. Ngwane, George. Bate Besong Or the Symbolo, Anglophone Hope. Limbe: NooremacPress, 1993. Rius. Marx For Beginners.New York: Pantheon Books, , 1976. Slaughter,Cliff. Marxism,Ideology & Literature.Londor andBasingstoke: TheMacmillan Press Ltd.,1980 Solomon,Maynard.Marxismand Art (EssaysClassic anc Contemporary) New York: Alfred A. Knopf 1973. Tangwa,Godfrey B. Road Companionto Democracy anc Meritocracy. Further Essaysfrom an Africa, Perspective.Bellingham:KolaTreePress,1998 Good News Bible With Deuterocanonical Books.2nded Puolishedby UnitedBible Societies,1994.

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CHAPTERSIX*

------~ ALTERNATIVEIDEOLOGICAL VISIONS

The Camerooniancreativewriters of Englishexpression have adopted an imperial language,English,and the novelisticart form to servethe cameroonian vision.They are exploring,dramatizingand exposingthe mores,and critiquingthe socialillsthat plaguetheCameroonian/African society.Theworldof thesenovelsisanimagined realworld, peopledwith characters whocriss-cross oneanother's path, full-bloodedcharacterscaughtup in the complex webof their quotidianexistence,involvingtheirdilemmas, hopes and frustrations.Throughtheir utterances, thoughtsand feelings,thesecharactersexpressthemselves, andin the process,revealtheir outlook.Theyarticulatetheirviews aboutcertainissuesor individualsin theircommunities or theirworld.In handlingtheirsubjectmattertheAnglophone Camerooniannovelists,in general,and thosetreatedin this section,in particular,artistically,guideandshapeour attitudestowardstheirvirtualcharacters, subtlypersuading us to adoptthe writers'point of viewor ideological stand. In other words,TahAsongwed,FrancisNyamnjoh, John 136

,

N. Nkengasongand Alobwed'Epie, the novelistsunder discussionin this chapter,imaginatively explorecounter ideologies to subverttheprevailing hegemonies forpossible alternative dispensations and for a meaningfulsocial deconstruction of Cameroon. Bornto Rule(1993) Autobiography of a Life Presidentby Tah Asongwed The sub-titleof this work- Autobiography of a Life President-suggests thatit isthestoryof anactualperson written by himself. Thereaderthereforeautomatically and mentally placesthe text within the rubricof actuality. However,thisirnpression is quicklydispelled assoonashe reads,on the r>lge followingthe title-page,the following disclaimerbyT,1n Asongwed: 'Thenames, characters, places and incidentsin this bookare eitherthe productof the author'simagination or are usedfictitiously.Accordingly, any resemblance to actualpersons, livingor dead,events or localesis entirelyoneof incredible coincidence.' Theconclusion the readerdrawsisthatthe bookis a fictionalautobiography, andthat the putativeauthorand life President,WanNei, is purelythe creationof Tah Asongwed's imagination. Thisfollowssuitforthepurported author of the foreword,or, for that matter,any other character inthetext.Thispreliminary clarification isessential in that wecanthensituatetheworksquarely inthecontext of imaginative literature- fictionalautobiography, a genre with an honourable pedigree in Jonathan Swift'sGulliver's Travels(1726), purportedly writtenbyLemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeonandthen a captainof severalships(Abrams 906). So,throughWanNei,we find TahAsongwed roleplayingor simulatingreal-lifesituations;and givenhis 137

incredibleachievementin the text, this is a featthatis not givento just any writer. That said, Bom to Rule( 1993)1 is set in a fictional Africancountry, Mandzah,and the self-narration of an AfricanPresident- Monarch,WanNei.In it hetellsushow he rosefrom a humblebeginningto bea lifepresident. A bastardwho doesnot evenknowhisownmother, WanNei is broughtup by white Europeanmissionaries in colonial Mandzah.After a secondaryschooleducation, Neidecides to join the trade unionismadvocatingimproved economic conditionsfor the native Mandzahworkers,a movement whoseneedswill eventuallyendin thedemands forpolitical independence, However, unlike the radical anti-whitenatives clamouringfor politicalindependence, Neifindshimself amongthe moderates,i.e. the pro-whiteindigenes who feel they are not yet maturefor politicalindependence. Nei'smoderatefactionof nativeworkersis understandably privilegedby the white colonialists whobeginto lure Nei with giftsand money,groominghimfor a futureleadership role in the country.They bring tremendous pressureto bearon him; white missionaries aresentto bribehim with great deal of moneyto help in his politicalcampaigns. With the white establishment - the missionaries and the colonialadministration - on hisside,WanNeieasilybecomes the Presidentof a newlyindependent Mandzah, this, after the radicaloppositionhas been put in disarrayand its leadershipdecapitated,moreor less,thanksto the efforts of RevGrimm. Withtheir manin power,the whiteestablishment and the Westin generaltake virtualcontrolof the economyot Mandzah.Nei surroundshimselfwith his family,friend! andrelatives.Appointmentto keypoliticalpositionsis donE

a

138

a ong triballines;in somecases,Neiplaysoff leadersof on~ tribe againsttheother.Afterliterallymortgaging the countryto foreignpowers, heandhiscroniesconcentrate the wealthofthenationintheirhands. Indeed,Neistashes av,ayhislootin his'personal national bankaccount' abroad ( 147). Hisadministration is characterized by dictatorship, t ntolerance, ruthlessness,kleptocracy,mendacity, 2quandermania andmegalomania. Neihasmadehiscountry 'self-sufficient'in cheap,imported, callit, discarded rice, from the West.In thisandotherwaysWestern countries 9et wealthierat theexpense of Mandzah at the receiving· end of unwanted Western products. The1central themeemergingfrom the text is the narrativeof underdevelopment ofAfricathroughautocratic rule. WanjNeiemblematizes thoseAfricandictatorswho, with theconnivance oftheWest,haveinstalled themselves in power.Cocooned bytheircronies, familiesandfriends, and solidlysupported byWestern, bloatedcapitalists, they havevirtuallyruinedtheircountries economically for their own selfispaimsandt~oseof theirforeignmasters. Asin Alobwed'Epie'sTheDeathCertificate, hereis organized plunder.Thisthenis the grand,immoralthemewhence manysubsidiary negative onesemerge. Theburdenof taxation, for example, is bornebythe poor andlunprotected masses - thoseleastableto pay; the richandthe powerful, thosemostcapable of paying taxes, areexonerated. WanNeithe headof statehasno qualmsd~claring that'Thebig gunsare not payingthe state a fa~hing... Theresultisthattaxes·are paidbythe wretched f ourearthwhodonothavethemoneyto pay.' (153) Noviceisbeyond WanNei.Beginning withhisfamily, then his ~elatives andministers, unsavorypractices like nepotisr111, tribalism,favouritismand corruptionare I

139

cultivated;thesevicesthen spreadout, likea cancer outof control,and overrunthe country. A bastardand a man who has grownfrom-ragsto richesandpower,WanNeicanbebetterunderstood thanks to the insightsof that branchof psychology foundedby AlfredAdler (1870-1937). The latter holdsthatthesearch for power,and not sexualdrives,is the singleimportant factor that determineshow an individualthinks,feelsor behaves(Rosner135). WanNeiis thusruledoverby one dominantpassion:the cravefor poweranddominance over people.Besides,as an obscurebastard,Neicarrieswithin him an emotionalhurt or injury.According to Adlera man likeWanNei,becauseof hisunenviable familybackground, harboursfeelingsof inferioritycomplex.But'out of these feelingscomesthe needto feel superiorto thosearound' him (Rosner135). ThusNeiis drivenbythedesireto prove to thosearoundhimthat, for all hisdisgraceful socialorigin, he is, indeed,somebody;he is, therefore,propelledto excelin the politicalarenato compensate for hisemotional hurt and socialhandicap;he is psychologically pushedto excel in politicsto prove, at leastto himself,that he is actuallysuperiorto those who surroundhim. Nei has, consequently, erasedhis emotionaldeficitto attainthat rare positionof life presidentof Mandzah. Intimatingabovethat Bomto Rulehada respectable ancestry in Swift's Gulliver's Travels,was an oblique referenceto it asa satire: A literarymannerwhichblendsacriticalattitude with humorandwit forthe purpose of improving humaninstitutionsor humanity.TruesatiristS are consciousof the frailty of institutionsof hµmandevisingand attemptthroughlaughter 140

not so muchto tearthemdownasto inspirea remodeling (Holman398). Born to R~r/eis a politicalsatire, and Asongwed's subject matter :s politicalrule in Africancountries.He handlesit critically, humorously andwittilywiththeintention of inspiringa changefor the better.True,the authordoes not speakin his own voice,havingcreatedthe putative narrator,Nei,whois tellinghis own story.By this device, Asongwedmaintainsan aestheticdistance,anda feel of objectivity. In the workthereis humourandwit, aswellashard criticismof someindividuals, institutions, organizations and countries.Thesatireiswide-ranging andcorrosive, scalding just aboutanyoneor anythingit runsover.Fewarespared; not eventheso-called Africanrevolutionaries whoareoften gaggedandsilencedbythe lureof lucre.In a sectionof his book on politicalregimesin Cameroon, CardinalChristian Tumi(2006)regretstheeasyco-optation, bytheautocratic regime in power·at the time, of one of the mostvocal membersof their'ChristianStudyGroup'in the following words: Shortlyafterour meetingwith the governorof theNorthwest Province, a memberof ourgroup, Mr. SolomonNfor Gwei, was appointed a governmentminister.It wouldseemthat was Ahidjo'sown way of silencingsomeonewho wascriticalof hisregime.Fromthenon, oneof our members,who had beena bitter crit.icof theregime,considerably modifiedhislanguage. I felt disappointedby his behaviouroncehe became· a memberof government.But,I tried to understand him.Perhaps if I hadbeena father of a family like him, faced with such an 141

opportunityto considerablyimprovemyfinancial situation, I might have reacted in a similar manner (32). . • Through Wan Nei's narration, the authorhitshard on the current breed of African heads of state andtheir Westerncollaborators,particularly the USand France, who develop their societies at _the expense of Africanfragile economies.Through the discourse of the putativeauthor of the foreword to the text, Tah Asongwedcondemns the hypocritical attitude of the so-called developedworldand their weapons of mass destruction witnessedduringtribal wars in the third world, wars fuelled and romanticized or1 WesternT.V.(28); through Wan Nei's narrativeAsongwed flays lazy African university lecturers who are bestbut at lechery, alcoholism and rev reviews of publicationsby incumbency(113-114); and thanksto the peculiardiscourse of Nei, Asongwedflagellatesthose who claimto be in the opposition but are very easily silenced by the powerof Mammon (184). Born to Rule is a text dividedinto 21 chapters,some with sub-headings.The first five chaptersare, respectively, 'Early Childhood~'Education~'Initiation into Politics~ 'Party Leadership~ and 'Party Conventionand my Investiture'.The rest of the chapters include, inter alia, topics like From Pluralismto Single Party, Appointments in Government, Ministers,Ambassadors,Policiesin KeySectors,Economic Planning, Tourism, Agricultu~e, ForeignAffairs, Culture, Public Works, Sports, Debt Problem, Internal Security, Taxation,Plots,etc. Although a fictional autobiography, the text is a usefulhandbookto politicians,especiallyaspiringheadsof state. However,while it is a good referencedocumentwith regard to the organizationof the businessof government, 142

it is·not an idealblueprinton howto run a government,

and this because of its essentially satiricalnature.Indeed, its meritasa pCJlitical text restsonthe reverse,i.e.on how not to run a government, for it is Asongwed's intentionto flay Africanautocratswho ruintheircountriesbecause of bad governance. Like other AnglophoneCamerooniansatirists, Asongwedis ridiculingandflagellatingthosein authority with the moralintentionof makingthemchangetheirbad habits for the better.Hisseverecriticismof publicofficers is an indire--~ c advocacy of goodgovernance, of economic and politicaltransparency in the management of public affairs.Asongwed's idealsocietywouldbeonecharacterized by moraldecency, onewhereineconomic andpolitical abuse would beabsent,a societywherethereissocialjusticeand fairnessin thedistribution of thewealthof the nation,and not one in whichthis sharingis skewedin favour·ofthe rich and the powerful,nor in favourof an ethnicgroup. Asongwed'sgoodsocietywouldbeonedevoidof electoral chicanery(223),corruption, nepotism gerrymandering and favouritism.Ultimately, likeBateBesong, Asongwed is, by implication,advocating authenticrigourand moralization in the management of 'La chosepublique'(Ambanasom Education146). Asa scathingpoliticaltext, Bornto Rule,to a great extent, dependsfor its satiricaleffects,on Wan Nei's uninhibiteddiscourse. Thelanguage withwhichAsongwed investsthetext'sputativeauthorandnarratoristhe keyto the work's effectivenessas satire; for under normal circumstances onewouldhardlyfindanAfrican,or for that matter, any headof state,talkinguninhibitedly and with gusto abouthisdisgraceful rule,inthe mannerNeiisdoing. The kindsof outrageousrevelationscomingout of his 143

mouth can occur only when, for example,a Christian is confessingexclusivelyto a priest,or whenanindividual is mentallytalkingto himself,or whenoneis dreaming. This is becausewhen one's skewedinnerthoughtsare made public, they would certainly not be something of which onewouldbe proud.Onthe contrary,one'snegative secret thoughts, if disclosed,would evoke in oneshameand unease.Noindividualwith a senseof self-pride anddignity wouldlike to makehis selfishinnerthoughtstheobjectof publicscrutiny. Only in the context of satire would startling disclosuressuch as those madeby Neibe seenfor their ultimatefictional intent. A great dealof the humour,wit and criticismis thus couchedin Nei'speculiardiscourse. AsongwedconstructsWanNei'scharacter to fit hissatirical scheme.HecanmakeNei,throughhislanguage, behaviour and reasoning, stupid, clever, cruel or contradictory. SometimesNeitalkswith histonguein hischeek;at times he is embarrassingly frank and downto earth;at other timeshe is simplyfantastic.However, sinceNeiisgenerally portrayedas a brutal dictatorruledoverbythedominant emotionsof selfishness,greed,andthe cravefor power, there is little to endearthis corruptandruthless politician to the generalreader.Most of his outstanding attributes are negativeones. Wan Nei has no illusionsaboutthe enticements of wealth and power,especiallyearly in his politicalcareer, when he was pressurized,throughthe agency of the Rev Jerry Dogoodand the colonial Governor,to becomea politicalleader:'I startedto marvelat the powerof power ... The sheersplendourof what I sawtantalized myfancy' (55). Heis frank In acknowledging 'the pressures to which I .was subjectedto acceptthe leadershipof my people' 144

(56).Thenobviou_sly talkingwith his tonguein hischeek Neisays:Peoplesaypoliticsis a dirtygame.I saypolitics is·not dirty; peopleare dirty.Proofis thatI havebeenin this businessnow for over fifty yearsand haveneither soiledmy handsnDrdirtiedmy name(156)(my italics). Anotherinstancev,:hereNei'stalkingcallsforthtongue-incheekhumouris whenhecreatesthe'Ashawo[Prostitute] Committee'to attempt to regulatethe way in which 'prostitutessleepwith their partners.'Oneavenuewe are exploring will leadto ourallowingthe prostitutes to charge customers according to thestyleandposture adopted during theact'(97). Theman'sincredible senseof lewdhumouris furtherevidentin that memorable,paradoxical episode whereinsomeof the prostitutesof Mandzahcomeout, stark naked, demonstrating publicly, accusingthe government of 'pryingintotheirprivateparts'(97-98). In one andthe samebreathNeicanoverstateand understate hiscasein a situationwithironicandhumorous effectthatenhances readability: Rumourshave beenspreadby our enemies worldwide that, in quelling the student demonstration that took placefour yearsago, my soldiers sh9t indiscriminatelyat poor defenceless students.I saythatishogwash. The press,which claimsto be so knowledge.able about everything should have done its homework.In the first place·,it was a battle between twoopposing forces.Thestudents were armedto the teethwithslogans, petitionsand fiery speecheswhile my soldiersonly had armouredcars,tanks,guns,truncheons, tear gas and Jongdrawn out penisesto defend 145

themselvesagainst the blightedfury of the massivestudentcrowd(182).(Myitalics) Equallyfull of ironic humouris the followingstatement couched in equivocation: 'Our soldiersare excellent marksmen although General Bandeh Tandehtried unsuccessfully to assassinate melastyear.Hewasexecuted for beinga sloppymarksman' (182).(Myitalics) Neihasnoqualmsconfessing to thekindsof economic measureswhichhe implemented to ruin hisowncountry to the economicadvantage of a fewwealthypeopleamong the rulingelite.'Wewillbe self-sufficient in importedrice• sincewe will haveenoughriceon the market'(102).He wavesasidecampaigns by the dissidentmajoritypoorand says:'Theyarejealousthat importedriceis givinga lot of us in governmenta lot of money,· andthat if we do the samethingto the otherfoodstuffs,wewouldbebillionaires whilethey are left out of the feast'(103). Onthe onehand,with nosenseof shame, Neiopenly declaresthat he is nepoticandtribalistic,that'mostof the keycivil servantsin Mandzah comefrommyethnicgroup andthat they havea divinerightto leadourcivilservice' (148).This amountsto repressive tribalismas ideology. Onthe other,he boldlyadmitsto mortgaging hiscountry to foreignpowersand boaststhat it is impossible for any coupd'etatto take placein Mandzah withoutthe blessing of theseexternalcountries.'Anyonewho thinkshe can stagea coupagainstme and succeedmustconnivewith them becausea coupthat doesn'thavetheirblessingwill notsucceed. ButsinceI havemadethemshareholders and stakeholders in our country- againstour people'swill they knowthat if I am overthrown,theystandto loseall the opportunitiesI havegiventhemin mycountry'(149). 146

A headof statewho institutionalizes briberyand is

proudof encouraging andperpetuating it mustbe a rare type,the·kindconstructed onlyin a satiricalwork.Neiinsists that he wouldliketo 're-statequitecategorically that it is nottheintentionof mygovernment to abolishbriberywhich we all knowis an-inexhaustible sourceof supplementary incometo members of the cabinet,our peoplein uniform and civilservants'(150).Scandalously, he goeson to add that 'our roadsarepavedwith evil intentionsandlittered with corpsesof victimsof roadaccidents. Government is doing everythingpossibleto ensurethat the roadsare maintained in a permanent stateof disrepair, andthatroad userspayincreasingly morebribes'(151). Weintimatedabovethat Neiis a manwitha senseof humour;hislanguage at timescanbea touchtoo bawdy for the likingof someas,when,whilestrenuously tryingto refuteallegations of sexualpromiscuity, he onlysucceeds in confirmingthem: Donotmindthepressthatalwaysunearths from the fertile recess of its own imagination falsehoods aboutmy havinggirl friendsstrewn all over the country. I debunk all these accusations inlavishdetaillateron.Breathes there a man withpenisso deadthat he hasnever lustedaftera woman? (40) (Myitalics). Neicanbe a philandering husband,choosinganyof his femaleministersto go to bed with. But shouldthe womanbecome toogenerous withothermen,the headof state becomes peeved,nastyandinsulting,as hedoesto FlorenceNyanga[Show-off],an illiterateprostitutehe had appointedMinisterof SocialWelfare: 147

It wasin the lastpositionthat Nyanga betrayed

me, the party and her country.Shetook her positiontoo seriouslyandmisunderstood what socialwelfaremeans.Shestartedthrowingher bodyintoeveryTom,DickandHarry,especially to everydick[penis]... (121). A fair amountof the humourin Bornto Ruleequally resides in thenamesof thecharacters, someof themeither in pidgin,or in the localBaforchulanguage, or in English. Thereis Mr.JigaKarangwa (61) bothof whichwordsare in pidgin, meaningrespectively,Jiggerand Louseor, imagistically, a nuisance, onewhocauses troubleto others. Nowonder,Mr.JigaKarangwa is the leaderof the radical politicalparty,MandzahIndependence Party(MIP),that advocated politicalindependence againstthewishesof the colonialadministration. A threatanda nuisance, Mr.Jiga Karangwa hadto be frustratedby the administration in favourof the moderateMandzahPeoples Union(MAPU) led by WanNei.Thenwe haveMr.Shidong(sit down) (49),leaderof the Mandzah WorkersUnion(MAWU) who, as his nameimplies,goesaroundthe country,inciting workers to observe a nation-wide (sit-down) strikein protest againstthe government for owingthem'a few monthsin backpay'(49). Forourexample fromtheBaforchu language, we have a namewith a strong,negativeconnotation, GeneralMbin Shwiih (167), meaning GeneralElephantiasis-of-the Scrotum.Very popularamonghis militarycolleagues, GeneralMbinShwiihis the onlymanlikelyto posea real threatto WanNei'sambitionto be President for life. To avoidthis, Nei offers a juicy diplomaticpostabroadto GeneralMbinShwiih,far awayfrom home.Obviously the insultingnametranslatesWanNei'ssecretwishthat the 148

charismaticgeneralwere afflictedwith sucha crippling disease. A few nameshavean Englishring to themwith obviousmeaning. Thereis RevGrimm(59)withhisgrim, diabolicalplansto discredittheopposition for alleging that he hadbeenhavingsomehankypankyrelationships with the femalemembers of his church.Finally,we haveRev Jerry Dogood(51-53)who,in the colonialdays,wassent with giftsandenticements to persuade WanNeito become the leader of his country on behalf of the white establishment. FromWanNei'spointof view,RevJerry Dogooddid a greatdealof goodto enablehim(Nei)to become presidentfor life in Mandzah.Throughthe construction of thesereverend gentlemen, TahAsongwed is communicating an importantfact:bothRevGrimmand RevJerryDogoodsymbolize the significant, negative role playedby the churchas it workedalongside the colonial administration in groomingsomeof Africa'scorruptand brutal dictators.HereAsongwed's text carriesouta bitter critiqueof organised religion(Christianity). Giventhe mannerin whichAsongwed constructs his centralsubject,thetypeof language heendowshimwith, the frankmannerin whichthecharacter is madeto speak, occasionally raisingallegations by his politicalopponents anddetractors andthendemolishing them;giventheway Nei is madeto be upfrontabouthis relationship with his Westernsupporters and collaborators in their organized pillageof thewealthof Mandzah; in viewof thewayNeiis madeto talkshamelessly, withoutqualms, abouthispublic andprivatelifeasif heweremakinga trueconfession to a priest;yes,giventheidiomAsongwed putsintothemouth of evenDr.George StanleyPeterJr,the putativeauthorof the forewordto Bornto Rule,onecansafelyconclude that 149

theauthor'sultimateintentionis to provoke a reaction,on the partof theAfricanreaders,whichresponse will lead to a possiblealternativepoliticaldispensation withregardto the contemporarypolitical situation in someAfrican countries. If the welfareof the greatestmajorityisof primordial importance in anypoliticaldispensation, thenWanNei is a classicexampleof a neo-patrimonialist andof hownot to be a headof state.Hisconservative ideology disregards basicdemocratic principles, andwillnottolerate anychange in the status quo. Fromhis perspective the prevailing hegemonymust reign supreme,and that is why he is presidentfor life. Born to Rule,thus, constructstne dominantideologyof the epochsof someAfricangrubby dictatorsin the20th century.Butthetextequally challenges the very reactionaryideology.This is donethrough the constructionof the counter,radicalideologyupheld by peoplelikeMr.JigaKarangwa, theopposition politicalleader, the radicaltrade unionist,Mr.Shidong,and the other revolutionaries opposedto WanNeiin general.From the negativerepresentation of Nei,peopleofgoodwill opposed to his autocraticstyleof governance will likelyjump unto the bandwagon of radicalism that challenges his authoritarianism; andwe aretalkinghereof the majority of the oppressed anddeprivedcitizensof Mandzah as well asthesensitive Africanreadersin general, a radicalMarxist idea.TahAsongwed's textthereforehasa Marxistagenda. MindSearching Althoughthe bulk of the Anglophone Camerooniari novelists,like their Africancounterparts, haveproduced literaryworksinthecritical,realistmode,~rancis Nyamnjoh standsoutfromthelot byvirtueof thedistinctive, modernist temper of two of his novels.Modernism, according tc 150

Webster~ Third New InternationalDictionary,is the 'philosophyand practicesof modernarts: esp: a selfconscious anddeliberate breakwiththepastanda search for new formsof expression in any of the arts'(1452). With regardto literaturemodernismis a 20th century movementandtheaesthetic ideologycharacteristic of the work of suchwritersasJamesJoyce,VirginiaWoolf,D.H. Lawrence, SamuelBeckettandT.S.Eliot,to citebutthese few. As a modeof writing,modernism is markedby a distinctiveimagination anda clear,deliberate andstrong breakwithtraditional formsandtechniques of expression. It is a collection of characteristics althoughnotallof them are exhibitedbyanysinglewriterconsidered asmodernist. Modernistwriters reject traditional valuesand assumptions, spurnrealism andnaturalism, andpre-occupy themselves lesswiththesocialhumanbeing(Holman, 274). In contrastthey hailthe individualandthe innerbeing, dwellingmuchmoreontheinteriorrealityandintrospection in their depictionof the innerstatesof the humanmind. Thanksto advances in thefieldof humanpsychology, one of whichisthetheorythatthesignificant existence of human beingsresidesnot in the outsideworldbutin the mentalemotionalprocesses, somemodernist writershavecome to usewhatis nowknownasthestream-of-consciousness technique: theattemptto .reproduce thetotalityof theraw awareness of the humanmindas it actuallyexists.It is nowa psychological truththatwereoneto makea precise inventoryof whatgoeson in the individual's mindat any givenmoment,onewoulddiscover thatthetotalityof the raw awareness (streamof consciousness) consistsof a constant flow of a jumble of sensations,thoughts, memories, associations andreflections. Therefore,if one is to describe the truecontentof the humanmindat any 151

time,thenthosedisconnected, illogicalelements must be expressedin a stream of ideas,imagesand words comparable to the unordered flowof themind. Favouring this unorderedactualityrevealed by the stream-of-consciousness techniquewhichthey believe bringsthem closer to life, modernistwriters reject chronology andorderliness. In aninstructive essayentitled 'ModernFiction',VirginiaWoolf,one of the modernist writers,says'Letusrecordtheatomsastheyfalluponthe mindintheorderinwhichtheyfall,letustracethepattern, however disconnected andincoherent inappearance, which eachsightor incidentscoresupontheconsciousness' (qtd. in Scharer7). In the samearticl~Mrs.Woolfalsomakes the pointthat JohnGalsworthy, H.G.Wells,and Arnold Bennettare materialistic novelists, pre-occupied with the outwardtrappingsof life insteadof with the flickering essence of life itself.Sheadds: In contrastwith thosewhomwe havecalled materialists Mr.Joyceisspiritual; heisconcerned at all coststo revealthe flickeringof that innermostflamewhichflashesits messages throughthe brain,andin orderto preserveit hedisregards withcomplete courage whatever seemsto him adventitious,whetherit be probability or coherence or anyotherof these signpostswhichfor generations haveserved to supportthe imagination of a readerwhen calleduponto imagine whathecanneither touch norsee(Ibid). Partof what VirginiaWoolffindscommendablein JamesJoyce is, to some extent, evidentin Francis Nyamnjoh's MindSearching (1991)2, a modernistnovel whoseauthorhasthrownoverboard muchthatiscommonly 152

consideredindispensable to the novel,whetherits method be dramaticor descriptive: description of places andpeople, explanation of environment, a plotof externalactionpitting two or moreopposedforces,arousingdramaticscenes, climaxesandconclusions. WithMindSearching we do not have that guide-traveller relationbetweenauthorand readers,the conventional authorwhois a calmobserver, commenting,explaining andlinkingup gaps. Dividedintofive partsthe book'scontentis narrated as it appearsin the mindof the maincharacter, usingthe stream-of-consciousness technique; for,asitstitlesuggests, the novelis theexploration of the mentallandscape of the central character,Yanda.It consistsof long narrated passageswithtinymorsels of dialogues; andthenarrator's colloquial,anecdotal toneis well-captured by the author. This is whatJudascious FandaYandasaysof hisnarrative technique: WereI to put mythoughtsdownon paperjust the waytheyhaveoccurredto meso far,and wereI to attemptto havethempublished, I'm prettysuretheymightmakenosenseto readers whoareusedto havingstoriespresented in an orderly way with clearly defined themes, sophisticated plots,and consistentstyles... if everI decideto becomea writer,I wouldhave towritethewayI think,evenif thismeans writing onlyfor myself,aswouldmostlikelybethecase (47). Therefore,whoeveris lookingfor a well-toldstory with a clearlydesigned plot,chronological eventsandwelldevelopedthemesand fully fledgedcharacters, will not find any in this 'modern'novel.The chracters,paleand vague, are mostlyciphers,simplyknownas Dr.T.,MrsS., 153

ProfessorN., and Hon V.M.We do not hearthem in conversation, nor see them in action.Mostare merely mentionedby the narrator. WhileYanda'snarrativemethodquotedabovemay havesomevaluebecause it is life-likeandbecause it takes us closer to the mind of the protagonistand is thus psychologically defensible,it certainlyhasits drawbacks. Forinstance,it ignoresthe factthatsomeof ourthoughts are more significantthan others.And the stream-ofconsciousness techniqueseldomgivesemphasis to our moreimportantmentalprocesses. IndeedYandahimself soonrealizesthis when,on page133,hismoreimportant mentalprocesses aresupplanted by lesssignificant ones: It's strangehow crowdedmythoughtsare! I can'tthinkof a thingwithoutthinking ofanother! Whata mentalcurse!..didn'tI startbyblaming the HonourableV.M.for criticizingme over much?Thenwhy did I abandon that train of thought?WhydidI delvein Dr.B'sarticle?Was it timelyandappropriate orwasit forced?That I can'tsay,but I fearI havea defective mind! Concentration is whatI badlyneed.Fortruly a manis nogoodwhocannotconcentrate (133). Of courseit is life-likefor our thoughtsto flow in disorder, but when necessary,we can intentionally concentrate on moreimportantones.It is realistic for our thoughtsto flow in a chaoticway,butit isthedutyof the artistto bring,out of the formlessness andchaosof life, orderand beauty.Butwithinthe contextof the aesthetic ideologyof modernism whichdeliberately seeksto break from traditionalwaysof doingthings,fragmentation and theseemingchaosof life it depictsis inorder.WhenFanda Yandacommentson his narrativetechnique above,the 154

readerbecomes awareof theforegrounding oftheelement of 'narcissism,' thetendency towards self-reflexivity wherein the text, (MindSearching)focuseson its ownendand processes,a characteristic of modernism/postmodernism (Barry91).

Yanda's justification forhismind-searching ratherthan an open-approach to socio-political issuesis that the cameroonat the timeof hisstoryis not yet a societyof freedomof expression. Vocalcriticsofthesystem arepicked up and incarcerated, so he is wiseenoughnot to be foolhardy:'Thatis whyI havechosento keepmy mindsearchingexercise an internalmentalprocess for as long as it is safefor me.NotuntilI'm sureandcertainthatthe country is freeanddemocratic enough.Thatthe people have a right to information, andthat the authorities are ready to let Truthsubstitute Rumour, not untilthen,will I vent my thoughtsonpaper'(26-27). In his mindsearching he enjoyslimitlessfreedom with countlessthoughtstumblingoverone anotherfor prominence.Oftenin churchYandawandersawayfrom the sermontimeandagain,comesbackto it, onlyto stray off oncemore.Thestream-of-consciousness technique which the authorusesherelaysbarethe rawcontentof Yanda's mind consistingof all oddsand ends,encompassing anecdotes, gossip,hearsay,rumour,facts, memories reflections,events,etc.Thisenables thenarratorto passin review all of the unenviable things happeningin the Cameroonian society. At timeshe secretlyreadsa critical letter cutoutfroma radicalmagazine, anarticlecensorious of Africanheads ofstate,orafierycorrespondence between a friendin Africaandhispenpalin Europe. Theillsof theCameroonian societyexposed through Yanda'sna·iveandinsouciant approach to issuesinclude 155

bribery and corruption, perpetuation of mediocrity, prostitution, superstition, hypocrisy, governmental squandermania,and forgery. However,Yandadoes not criticizethe systemwith the intentionof proposing a better moralalternative.He simply exposesit for whatit is and himself benefitsfrom its venality. For he is helpedand givena job by HonV.M.as privatesecretary;heisadmitted into the university even without the entry qualification requirement;and, becauseof his influencein the public serviceandconnectionwith the Hon.V.M.Yanda,unrelated to the Ministerby either kinshipor ethnicity,is nowknown to belongto the sametribe with him,a corruptdevelopment that makes him the logical,'legitimate'heir to the Hon. V.M.The latter 'has stayed in the government for a long enoughtime to nominatewhomhe wouldliketo succeed him. It is strangehow Goddoeshis things!... Whocould haveimaginedthree years backthat the Honourable V.M. would chooseme of all to succeedhim?'(158) Once securewith a good job, Yandahypocritically becomesa staunchdefenderof the systemhehadraised questionsabout.Henceforthhewill nottoleratevocalcritics of the government.Ratherhewouldlikeradicalsociologists to be concernedonly with harmlessresearchprojects'with no biting criticism of those in poweror of the systemin place'( 155). ··• •· • The dominant textual ideology here is therefore conservatismwhich hasas its broadagendathe desireto conservethings as they are. Conservatism resistschange, especiallyradicalor fundamentalchange.Conservatives do not allow freedom of expressionlest it ushersin vocal criticismof the political system. A conservativepolitica systemoften resortsto punitive,repressiveinstrumentstc keeppoliticalopponentsand critics silent. 156

But againstthis·dominantdiscoursethe author constructs a counterideology,radicalism,essentially harbouredinYanda. However, for reasons of hisownsafety as just pointedout above,Yandadoesnot voiceit out. -.-hereforeYanda'sinternal(mental)counterideologyis buried in him.Outwardly, Yanda'sbehaviourshowsthat he complieswiththeprevailing conservatism. Thatis why he derivesenormous benefitsfromthe powerstructurein place.Consequently, Yandaembodies bothradicalism and conservatism. In otherwords,in MindSearching, fortactical reasons,Yanda's ideological stanceis, on the one hand, radicalvis-a-visthe prevailing conservatism, and,on the other hand,homologous with the very conservatism, a classicexampleof what,in Marxistcriticism,is knownas conflictedideologies.This issimilarto thehistorical change of heartbyanerstwhile criticof theAhidjoregimealready quoted above(Tumi32). FrancisNyamnjoh wouldseemto besaying,through the riseto prominence of mediocre Yanda,thatthisis how the systemcomesby its ministers,in the main,immoral and mediocreelements. It doesnot matterthat theyare Christians.Indeed,theinsistence onYanda's regularchurch attendanceisto pointoutthemoralirrelevance ofthechurch in the faceof the pervasive malpractice goingon in the society.Christians commitall typesof immoralitywithout any qualms.Yandamaybea regularchurch-goer, butthe church'smoralteachings donotseemto havegonethrough him. Thenovelistissaying:thisis howa morallymediocre systemperpetuates itself.Theconservative ideology Yanda indirectlyattemptsto fightandcriticizeendsup co-opting him. Therefore,at the endof the novel,the conservative politicalsystem,essentially thelegacyof President Ahidjo's 157

reignmarkedbya greatdealof fearandsecretincarceration of politicalopponents,remainsintact.

TheDisillusioned African But it is in The Disillusioned African(1995)3 that Francis Nyamnjoh constructs a radicalideology to confront a prevailing hegemony. Setin Cameroon intheearly1990s in the contextof contemporary worldpolitics,andagainst thebackground of thewindof change thathadblownfrom EasternEuropein the 1980s,FrancisNyamnjoh's second novelis purportedlywrittenduringan imaginary visit t6 the UnitedKingdombythe Cameroonian hero-philosopher and putativeauthor,CharlesKeba.A philosopher by his own admission,Charleshas goneto Britain'to amass authorityin philosophy' (5). Heis understandably verypreoccupied withphilosophical reflections, orinhisownwords, 'Philomeditations'. It is whilein Britainto studyphilosophy that hewritesfour longlettersto hisfriendbackhomein cameroon,Franglotus Moungo.Butthe fifth letteris the onewrittento the readersby Franglotus Moungo. In hisfirst letter(PartOneof thetext),ashearrives in Britainand is yet to gatherhisfirst impressions about this 'Queendom' and sendbackhome,Charles turns his criticalgazefirst, on the conditionof hishomecontinent, Africa,milkedforeverlikea cowby its leadersunderthe supervision of bloated,Westerncapitalists. Wearetalking of the Africa that has had politicalbut not economic independence, theAfricawhereinthewhitemasked dancers havewithdrawnto the background andarereplacedby theirshadows, the blackpawns,ushering in the'danceof the puppets'.Dominated by theirgreed,thelatterplunder their statefundsand stashawayin foreignbanks,while makingemptypromisesto their.citizensandthe outside 158

world. Callousandunconscionable tyrants,theseso-called leaders are the economicdestroyersof Africa. In his secondepistleCharlesturnshissatiricaleyeon peculiar Britishhabitssomeof whichinclude'the weather', that eternal favouritetopicof conversation, the taciturnity of the Englishpeopleon trains,little churchgoingin the U.K., the excessive materialismof the Britishpeople,the commercialization of the female body on T.V., the homelessnessof Englishpeoplein their own land,and white superstitionlike the great fear of passingundera ladder, or the dreadof Fridaythe 13th • Charlesis struckby the paradoxicalhabitsof whitestanningthemselves black and blacksbleaching themselves white. In his third letterCharlesengagesin merciless selfcriticism: that he hascomebut to Britainto studyAfrican philosophy in vain, a situationthat makeshim not quite different from someof thosehe hascastigated. Ashamed of himself, Charlesshiftshis criticismonto thoseAfricans who claim to be more Europeanthan the Europeans themselves, especially the transplanted 'Etonof the Bush', the KamuzuAcademy that doesnot'answerto the needof the country' (101). Hethen takesa severelookat crosscultural experiences and negativestereotypical European views of Africans.Charlesendsthe letterwiththe fantastic memo by the BelgianMinisterof theColonies to missionaries going to the BelgianCongoCZaire')in 1920.This is the country Charlesnowwantsto visit for its pioneeringrole in the development of Africanphilosophy. Somescandalous imperial Belgianprinciplesgivenout to the Missionaries are: 'Teachyour pupilsto believeand not to reason... Considerall blacksaslittlechildrenwhomyoumustcontinue to deceiveandmanipulate evenlongafterindependence ... . 159

Teachthema doctrinewhosepreceptsyouyourselves will notput intopractice,etc' (117-119). Thenin hisfourthandlastletterCharles criticizesthe whites,especially the Frenchwhorationalize monopartism in tropicalAfricawhileencouraging democratic pluralism in EasternEurope,a policythat, in Africa,givesrise to dictatorial excesses,and misrule, upholdingFrench economicand culturalhegemony. Thereis an attackon chicken-hearted cameroonians whohardlyreasonbeyond theirstomachs. Theletterendswitha reviewofthecollapse of dictatorial communistregimesin EasternEurope, especiallythe popularuprisingagainst'the Butchersof Bucharest,' Mr and MrsCeausescu, and its effecton the balanceof powerbetweenthe key worldideologiesof Capitalism andCommunism, the WestandtheEast. Thefinal PartFiveof the novelconsists of the only letter written by FranglotusMoungoto the readers, explaining whathassincehappened to Charles Kebawhen he left the UKfor Zaireand eventuallyto his village in Menchum, cameroon.Nowbereftof hishands,onelost in a shoot-outat KinshasaAirport, and the other at the launchingof the SocialDemocratic Front(SDF)party in Bamenda,CharlesKebais backto his rural Menchum communityto revolutionize the peasantmasses with his subversive ideas.Theruralfolkarenowsaidto bespeaking outcourageously, openlyaskingquestions thatembarrass therichandthepowerful. Charles isteaching themto convert their sweatand toil into economicand politicalpower in thehopeofeventually combating androotingoutthecurrent so-calledelitistmodelof democracy, freedom,justiceand power.When the peasantmasseswill have been so successfully conscientized, the elitistmodelof governance 'shallhavemetits Waterloo'(149). 160

The title of thisworkconstitutesits apt theme:the disillusionment of Charles Keba.Charles' disillusionment is in severalsenses. Heisdisillusioned with himselffor going to study Africanphilosophy in the UKwherethereis no university with a departmentfor that specialization; disillusionedwithhisexperience in theHospital forTropical Diseaseswherehe nearlydiedof a ragingmalarialbout while Britishmedical doctorscarriedoutforevertheirslow and annoyingtests; disillusionedwith the paradoxical attitude of the French,the fountainheadof 'Liberte, Fraterniteet Egalite,' whorationalize monopartism intropical Africa whileencouraging multipartism in EasternEurope; disenchantedwith the inabilityof the Africanpeopleto overthrow their dictatorsin the way Ceausescu and his consort wereoustedin Eastern Europe;disappointed with the so-calledAfricandemocraticruling elite falsifying election resultsin their favou.rto remainin power;and disillusionedwith the oppositionpartiesthat makeno provision for decision-making with regardto illiterate peasantmasses, nordotheyfightgenuinecorruption. Forallhisdisillusionment, Charles ismoresympathetic and toleranttowardsthe sufferingAfricanmasses. While he is morepositivetowardsAfricanscaughtup withinthe sites of cross-cultural encour-1ters, heis definitelycriticalof African rulersandtheir impoverishing leadership;he is more criticalof Africansashamedof their Africanorigins or Africanaperswhoclaimto be moreEnglishor French than theseEuropeans, but knownext to nothingabout their own culture.Charlesis more condemnatoryof American or Europeananthropologists with their stereotypical attitudes andbeliefsaboutAfricans;andmore censoriousof the hegemonic attitudeof someWestern powers,especially the French,eagerto hold swayover 161

certainpartsof Africa.Accordingto Charles,it wouldbe betterforAfricansif competingEuropean hegemonies were to operatein their societiesthan if therewereonlyone dominantpower,'lestonegoodcustomshouldcorruptthe world,'to quoteAlfredLordTennyson (Abrams1971). Consequent onthisdisillusionment isa relatedtheme: the role of the intellectualin society.TheDisillusioned Africanis a novelof ideas,andthe mostcentralidea,and one of its major themes,is the placeof the genuine intellectual in emerging democratic Africansocieties. Francis Nyamnjoh, in an artisticmanner,i.e.throughthelettersof. Charlesand Moungo,exploresandarticulates the role of the Africangenuineintellectualin societies wherepolitics isstillmarkedbythehegemony of theso-called democratic rulingelitewhohavevirtuallyhijacked thewealthproduced by the indigentmasses.Thougha minority,the political elite,throughcorruptionandorganized pillage,controlthe economicresources of theirsocieties. • If Charles'imaginarysojournand trajectoryfrom cameroonto Britainand back,his movement from high, criticalintellectualism andthendownto earth,is anything to go by,thenwhatNyamnjoh is sayingisthatthegenuine Africanintellectualshouldgo beyondbeinga mereegghead;he must movefrom the highivorytowerof mere ideasto the hardrealitieson the ground.Hemustbecome altruisticbytakingan activepartin ameliorating the living conditionof hispeople.Andthiswill bebestdonethrough thesensitization, conscientization oreducation ofthesocially deprived,or the dregsof humanity,to becomeaware of their own socio-political potential.Oncethesepeopleare politicallyconscious, they will initiatemeaningful change in their societyleadingto an improvement of theirhuman condition. As onefollowsCharles'sweeping criticalintelligence from the first to the fourth letter, encompassing 162

Cameroonian, African,British,European, andindeed,world socio-culturaland economicissues, one cannot but acknowledge thathere,indeed,isanintellectual withhighly developedcriticalpowers.Charlesis reallyin hiselement talkingaboutcontemporary worldsocio-political issues, but what bothershimmostisthehumancondition of theAfrican strugglingmasses. ThemoreonedelvesintoCharles' critical discourse,the moreone is remindedof BernardFonlon's modelof 'the genuineintellectual' as speltout in hisbook The Genuine Intellectual(1978). Incidentally in The DisillusionedAfrican ( 103) NyamnjohechoesFanion,whileon page95 of the same text, he quotesFanion.Besides,LouiseCuming's citation in herforewordto TheDisillusioned African(iii) withregard to the intellectuals' rolein politicsis fromFonlon's ToEvery AfricanFreshman .. (90), or TheGenuine Intellectual (137). Theseintertextual echoeswouldseemto pointto the fact that Nyamnjoh'scentral character,CharlesKeba,the Philosopher, wasprobablyconceived with Fonlon'smodel in mind. Fonlon's genuineintellectualis onewith a universityleveleducation, specialized in a subjectarea;hepossesses a scientific-philosophic spirit that makeshim question, doubt,andcriticizethingsdeeplyratherthanjust accepting them facilely.He is one who is fearless,courageous and ever seekingaftertruth andknowledge. But,according to Fonlon,the intellectualis notjust trainedfor hisownsake to beadmiredandworshipped as if hewere'a goldencalf in the wildernessof ignoranceand mediocrity'(Genuine Intellectual129).Thegenuineintellectual istrainedsothat he can be of serviceto his immediateand wider human community. In Fonlon's wordsthe genuineintellectuals are peoplewith 'a deep,keenandlofty senseof dedication to the serviceof the commonwealth, immediatecommunity 163

of whichtheyaremembers, andthereby,to theserviceof theworldasa whole,of humanityat large'(129).Fonlon's accentis thuson the altruismof the genuineintellectual. In histhirdletterto Moungo,Charles, echoing ·Fon Ionsays: Maythe AlmightyGodblessandreplenishthe efforts of the GenuineAfricanIntellectual. Rememberthat the criterionby which one qualifiesasa Genuine Intellectual isn'tWestern Education, but selflessness in theserviceto the general public. Without being sufficiently altruistic, a Professor, DoctorintheWestern sense of thesewords,isof norelevance toAfricatoday (103). ThesensitivereaderwhofollowsCharles' searching, criticalthoughtfrom PartOneto PartFourof the novel andcarefully readsMoungo's letter(PartFive)tothereaders notingwhatit saysaboutCharles, willcertainly realizethat Charles hasmovedfromthe heightsof highintellectualism and criticismto the localrealismof his ruralMenchum community. The university-level intellectual haslogically puthisscientific andphilosophical knowledge, asadvocated by Fanion,to the serviceof hisimmediate community and humanity asa whole.Charles has'decided to conductthe fight from the only anglehe believedtrue changewas possible'(149): from amongthe ruralpeasants of his Menchum •1ocality, specifically 'the resettled butforgotten victimsof the 1986LakeNyosDisaster' (Ibid). Thedidacticsignificance of sucha humanitarian act foranyone whoaspires to thestatusofagenuine intellectual is thusobviousand bestsummedup by the concluding portionof Moungo's letterto the readers, manyof whom mayconsider themselves asintellectuals: 164

So he (Charles) teachesthe peasants howto makepoliticalandeconomic capitaloutof their sweatandtoil, andout of the ignorance and lazyhabitsof theirurban-centred overlords. Andit isfor thesereasons, dearreaders, thatI brokemypromise to a friendat heart.I thought Charles hadsomething to sharewithmorethan justa friend.It is myhopeandwishthatsome of youmightbe inspiredto workalongsimilar lines,andthatonedaythesituation willbewell andtrulybetterfor the downtrodden andthe forgotten bulkofourDarkened Continent (150). As alreadyintimatedabove,in writingthis novel Nyamnjohemploys, fromthe pointof viewof technique, the epistolarydevice;for TheDisillusioned Africanis constructedin fiveparts,eachanepistle,a longsprawling letter. Thefirstfourlettersarewrittenbythemajorputative author, Charles Keba,andthe last(fifth) letter,shedding some light on Charies'activity, is by Moungo.The DisillusionedAfricanis a uniqueepistolarynovel.If one comesto thetextexpecting to finda swiftflowingnarrative with a chronological plotandwelldeveloped characters, one will be disappointed. If, as the overallshapeof the work indicates,onelooksforwardto readingreasonably short letters from.one characterto anotherwith an immediatereplyto them,onewillequallybedisappointed. Onthecontrary, whatwefindinthetextareone-way epistles addressed to a friendwhodoesnot replyto them in a conventional. form;we readratherlong,very long academic,or at times,philosophical letters,constructed in a mannerpeculiar to thespeculative essayist. Indeed,the more one peruses the epistles,the moreonefeelsthat

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theyareessayspunctuated withtheappropriate colloquial, anecdotal, informaltoneof the letteror speculative essay. Liketheessay,Nyamnjoh's textprivileges ideas,facts and informationover charactersand plot. In his letters Charles adoptsthestream-of-consciousness technique spelt out on page47 of the previousnovel,MindSearching (1991),whereinthere is no chronology in the narration. Hisideasoftenflowfollowingthewaythoughts flowin his mind,in a disorderlyfashion.Essentially, then,like the earliertext, TheDisillusioned Africanis a modernist novel, andassuch,cannotconveniently fit intothematrixof the conventional, traditionalnovel. To be sure,it does_possess elements found•in the traditionalnovel;but it equallypossesses a greatdealthat we do not usuallyassociate with the conventional. The Disillusioned Africanis a satirical,politicalnovelthat gives preferenceto ideasover fictionalform.The author's intentionis to instructandpersuade the readers to view thingsthe way he seesthem,in hisradicalmanner.The text is constructed in a discourse that espouses visionary radicalism infavourof theoppressed andexploited masses of Africa,particularlythe voiceless,illiteratepeasants. Nyamnjoh, throughhismouthpiece Charles Keba,debunks andexposes sham,pretenceandhypocrisy whereverthey maybe found- whetherin Africaor in Europe.But his heartgoesoutmoreto theAfricanproletariat chafingunder theyokeof theirso-called leaders andtheirforeigncapitalist collaborators. Now,afterallof Charles' philosophical reflectionsand criticism,it dawnson himthat hisfundamental missionis, ultimately, thatof grassroots education, thathisgreatservice to hisimmediatecommunityandhumanity as a whole is to spendthe restof histimeeducating thepeasantmasses 166

in his localitysothatwhentheywill havebeensufficiently conscientised to standupto facetheWestern-educated elite fearlessly,thentheoppressors willhavemet'theirWaterloo' (149). Wehaveherea historical image,anallusionto the battle of Waterlooin 1815whichsawthe finaldefeatof Napoleon by the Britishand alliedforcesunderDuke Wellington,nearthe Belgianvillageof Waterloo. Justas Duke Wellington madehistoryby defeatingthe almighty and seeminglyinvincibleemperor,so doesNyamnjoh expecttheradicalized peasant masses to makehistory when they eventuallyconfrontthe politicaloppressors and dictatorsto usherin a newpolitical era,a classic realization of a Marxistprinciple.Nyamnjoh's text thereforehasa Marxistagenda. Across the Mongolo If, in theeducational sense,Charles Kebarepresents the hopeof the deprivedpeasants of ruralMenchum, in the samesense,it canbe saidthat Ngwe,the central characterinJ. N.Nkengasong's AcrosstheMongolo, isthe symbol of Anglophone hopein the FederalRepublic of Kamangola.Setin Cameroon aroundthe mid-sixties and the seventies, AcrosstheMongolo (2004)4 is a novelthat highlightsAnglophone subalternity withintheFrancophone hegemonyin thebilingualFederal Republic of Kamangola. Becauseof the insurmountable obstacles hefaces,Ngwe fails to obtainan academic degreeat Besaadi University and emerges at theendof thestoryvirtuallybleeding from physicaltorture;howeyer, healsocomes outof histraumatic experiences wiser, withenough political education to become leader of the YoungAnglophone Movement, an act of educationalsignificance. ~

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After a sound secondaryschooleducationin the Anglophone stateof Kama,NgweNkemassah proceeds to the Francophone state of Ngolain the bilingualFederal Republic of Kamangola to acquireuniversity education in Besaadi,the only universityin Kamangola. But it is in Besaadi,within the hegemonicinfluenceof the French language,that Ngwe meets his academicWaterloo. 4) (Ambanasom ReviewAcrossthe Mongolo Tobetterappreciate whatis happening in Acrossthe Mongolo, the readershouldbearin mindthesocio-historical contextin whichthe text wasconstructed. Historyhas it that since1961,the yearof the unionbetween theformer Frenchand ~ritishCameroons, the effectsof European colonialhistory,EnglishandFrenchbilingualism becamea nationalpolicyin the republicof Cameroon. At theturn of the 21st centurythe Anglophone Cameroonians numberat least5 millionout of a total population of about17million cameroonians, constitutingthusa linguisticandcultural minority. In the text the friction betweenthe majority Francophones andthe minorityAnglophones is therefore oneconstructed bythe realitiesof thelargersocialcontext andbasedessentially on the psychology of numbers. It is a battleof complexes, moreor less,wherein,impelledby their numericalstrength,to go by Ngwe'snarrationand reasoning, Francophones feelthattheyshouldcolonise and assimilate theAnglophones, thatthedominant Francophone cultureshouldlord it overthe Anglo-Saxon culture.The narratorseesthis relationshipin termsof master/slave binary opposition,with the Anglophoneassignedthe subalternstatusof the inferiorOther(65,108,163,164). . This explainsthe hegemonicinfluenceof French, particularly intheUniversity of Besaadi wheremajorcourses 168

are dispensed,andall examinations written,in Frenchin a country that callsitselfthe bilingualFederalRepublic of Kamangola.This wouldequallyaccountfor the hostility mounted againsttheAnglophone whereverheattemptsto speak in English,whetherit isin the DistrictOfficer's (D.0's) office, or in oneof the universityoffices,or,aboveall, in this universitylecturehall,of all places!(64-65). Onediscerns inthisattitudetheFrancophone imperial text that setsoutto rewriteitselfin theAnglophone inferior Other. But thereis a big gulf betweenthe 'puretext' and 'performance';whenpushedto the limitto express himself in Frenchin an office,Ngweblurtsout onlywhatcanbe termed barbarism committedon the Frenchlanguage: 'Je suis dit que'(61),literallytranslating theEnglish 'I'm saying that'. This, of course,subvertsthe Francophone colonial 'text' that hasproduced an intolerable 'performance'. That is why the scandalized Francophone Ngweis addressing urges him to go aheadwith his Englishthat had·been shushed out of him, in the first place.'Non, non, non. Continuez en Anglais'(61). UntilhecomesintocontactwithFrancophones, Ngwe's school lifeis generally smoothanduneventful ashepasses through Wysdom College andCollegeof Arts.Thingsbegin to turn sourwhenhe cressesthe Mongolo(the Mungo), the Great River,that physicaland symbolicpoint of demarcationbetweenthe Anglophone Stateof Kama,and the Francophone Stateof Ngola,whichtwofederated states form the bilingualFederalRepublicof Kamangola. The brutality that characterizes the Francophones in general starts rightfromthe boundarybetweenthetwo states. Here Anglophones coming into contact with Francophonesfor thefirsttimearehumiliated andphysically assaulted by gendarmes oncontrolwhoaskfor particulars 169

like 'impots' and 'pieces', or commandan elderly Anglophone passengerto sit on the ground,'Assois-toi' (40). Beforehe getsto Besaadi, Ngweis robbed of all his money,makinghim perpetuallydependent on his kind friend,Nwolefeck. HeisalmostkilledintheUniversity Resto whenhe strugglesto get into the queuefor food;he is brutalized duringa studentriot; aboveall,whenheforms theYoungAnglophone Movement to fightforAnglophone rights,Babajaro sendshiswildpoliceafterhim.Ngwe avoids deathonlyby escaping to hidein thevillage. Unlike in the Anglophonecitadel of academic excellence of WysdomCollegeandCollege of Artswhere discipline, orderliness, hardwork, andmeritarethecardinal valuesfor success,in Besaadi, fraud,personal interest, gambling,injusticeanddisorderaretheorderof the day. In the novelFrancophones ideologically 'textualize'the Anglophone astheinferiorOther. Theirorientalising attitude consistsin perceiving himasa kindof comicfreakwhose behaviour givesriseto debasing appellations like'anglofou, anglobete, esclave, salaud'etc.. Ngwegoesthrough a great deal of humiliation, degradation and grindingfrustrationwhichinflicton him traumaticstressdisord~rsthat, severaltimes,bringhim closeto a nervousbreakdown beforeheisfinallydonein. But he draws on his great presenceof mind and is determined to makeit in Besaadi. However, forallhistenacity ontohisethicof hardworkandhonesty, aftersixyearsin the university, andevenchangingfaculties, hisacademic endeavours endin failure,leavinghimwithzerodegree. Gradually, it dawnson himthathishumiliation is not an isolatedfact but onesharedby otherAnglophones· it , I becomes clearto himthattheFrancophone government in placehasa hiddenagendafor a subtledeconstruction of 170

the Anglophone identity in the United Republicof Kamangola,withtheuniversity astheexperimental nursery ground and that the Anglophonesco-optedinto the governmentarethereto destroythe Anglo-Saxon culture. Consequently,Ngweconcludes that the oldergeneration of Anglophones havefailedandthatunless theyoungpeople do somethingto rescuethesituationsoon,theAnglo-Saxon swan songmaywellsoonbesung.Consequently, heforms the YoungAnglophone Movement (YAM)to helpkeepalive the Aglo-Saxon heritage,to fightfor theAnglophone rights to full citizenshipand not just to be 'someassistant somebody'(138). In short,YAM'sgoal is to upholdthe Anglophoneidentity. To expandthe scopeof Anglophone victimhood and the educationof thedeprived,theauthorbringsNgweinto contact with Dr. Ambo, a Ph.D holder and the lone Anglophonelecturerin BesaadiUniversity. Organized and hard-working, Dr. Ambo is intelligent and principled. Unfortunately,hedoesnotteachfull courses sincehemust do so only in French,a language,he doesnot master. Ngwe benefits a great deal from Dr. Ambo'scritical intelligence and the subtle educationof victimized Anglophonestudents. It is thanksto Dr.Ambo'sconnection that Ngwefinds himself at the receptionin the residenceof a junior AnglophoneMinisterin chargeof SpecialDutiesat the Presidency,Mr.Wankili.Thisconstitutes a pivotalepisode in the text with regardto the Anglophone Problemand subalternity. It is here that Ngwe becomesmore conscientisedconcerning· the Anglophoneconditionof colonialityandinferiorOtherness. ThejuniorAnglophone Minister'soutrageous declaration that hisofficewill not be the placefor solvingpettyAnglophone problems(134)as 171

well as the import of the conversation of two elderly Anglophone citizens, goesa longwayto radicalize theyoung man.Astatement fromtheconversation oftheAnglophone citizens aversthat the'Francophone government usesour Anglophone brothersto destroyus, to ruinour heritage, to assimilate us,to clearly'NipeoutAnglophone traditions fromthefaceof thiscountry'(135). Thatconversation marksa turningpointin the life of Ngwe; he will never be the samepersonagain. Its immediate effecton him is hisresolveto formthe Young Anglophone Movement(YAM),aimedat educatingthe Anglophones abouttheir rightsandfull citizenship,and not to be contentedwith anysecondclassstatusor 'an assistant citizen'(142).Hereis a reportof partof Ngwe's address to members of theYoungAnglophone Movement: ... I toldthemthat oureldersbetrayed us, sold usto slaverybecause of theirgreedbutthat we werenot goingto foldourarmsandwatchour fate twistedby peoplewhoby everystandard weredreadfullyinferiorif meritwereto be the guidingprinciple. Therewasneedto fight back, to restoreourprestigious Anglo-Saxon heritage whichthe Britishhad inculcated in us. There wasneedto wrenchourcolonialheritageout of the machinery that had beenplacedwith the taskof gradualassimilation. Weweregradually and forcefully being assimilated into Francophones. Wehadtherightto befullcitizens andnotsecond-class citizens, to befullMinisters andDirectors andnotsecond-class Ministers and Directors. WeneededAnglo-Saxon Universities. We had to returnto the federalstructureas institutedbythe UnitedNations whereby(by)sK 172

the Republic of Kamangola wasconsidered an independent bilingual nation with two independent states,oneEnglishandthe other French.(143) Sometimesfictioncan be morereal than reality; occasionallyimaginative writingcanbetwo stepsaheadof factuality. Withregardto a needin Ngwe'sreport,that of the desirefor Anglo-Saxon universities in Kamangola, we can saythis muchwithreference to thelargersocialcontext of Nkengasong's text: ThenovelAcrossthe Mongolo was published in 2004,andbarelysixyearslater,in 2010,the Head of Stateof Cameroon, President PaulBiya,created The Universityof Bamenda,the secondAnglo-Saxon University of Cameroon, afterthe University of Buea.With the comingintoexistence of "TheUniversity of Bamenda, the promotionof the Anglo-Saxon traditionin Cameroon has been furtherstrengthened, and the growthof the AnglophoneCameroon creative writing,a crucialaspectof the potential rise to greatnessof the Anglophone Camerooniansis guaranteed"(Ambanasom 2012:341). Ideaspropagated byYAMwillproduce Anglophones proud of their Anglo-Saxon legacyand not traitorous selloutsandapologists forthemajorityFrancophone culture. Among the Anglophone traitorsmustfeatureKwenti,the Anglophone clerk who refusesto speak Englishto Anglophones, or the Anglophonepolice officer who instructs hisFrancophone colleagues in Frenchto maltreat Ngwe better,orJuniorMinister Wankili whodeclares publicly that he hasnothingto dowith'Anglophone'. These and similar Anglophones,eager to be associatedor identifiedwith the majorityFrancophone culture, facilitatetheexecution of Babajaro's assimilationist ideology.SinceYAM's fundamental intentionis to subvert 173

suchan ideology,Ngwe,its fountainhead, becomes the suretargetof Babajaro's dreadedpolice, fromwhomNgwe hashada closeshave.It is symbolically significant that at theendof the text,thoughphysically andpsychologically torturedandtraumatized, the herois stillalive.Heis the symbolof Anglophone hope.According to the Princeof Concealed Secrets, 'Thischildis of the powerful breed... hisanguishis the beginning of hismission in theworld,a mission to rescuehispeopletrappedintoslaveryin a far awayland'(199),a declaration whoseimportance is even moreheightened by its rhetoricalplacement: locatedi'1 thetext'spenultimate pageandparagraph. It is nowappropriate to saysomething about the Anglophone Problemalreadymentioned above.In the Republic of Cameroon, madeupof, aswehavesaid,the majorityFrancopohones and minorityAnglophones, the Anglophone Problemis the sumtotal of Anglophone grievances andwrongsthatAnglophones express against theirFrancophone partnersin the politicalunion.In the wordsof Nja'ahPeterToh(2001): TheAnglophones equallyarguethatsuccessive Francophone regimeshavepursued the policy of assimilation aimedatwipingouttheiridentity. For instance, in 1983, the government promulgated an ordermodifying the General Certificateof Education(GCE)examination (Anglophone examinations) to besimilarto the French Baccalaureat. Thereweregeneral protest (sic) organisedall overthe countryby the Anglophonecommunitydevoidof political leanings. Theproblemwassointensethat the churchin Cameroon became veryvocalagainst thegovernment's decision. (53) 174

In Buea,onthe2nd and3rd April,1993,the first ever All Anglophone Conference took placeand over 5.000 Anglophones fromallwalksof lifeattended thatconference to adopta commonstandwith regardto constitutional issuesrelatedtotheirdestinyinCameroon. Theycrystalised their grievances againstthe Francophones andenshrined themin the nowfamousBueaDeclaration, partof which readsasfollows: Withinthesethirty-twoyears,ourUnionaccord has been violated. We have been disenfranchised, marginalized, andtreatedwith suspicion. Ourinterests havebeendisregarded. Ourparticipation innational lifehasbeenlimited to non-essential functions. Ournaturalresources havebeenruthlesslyexploitedwithout any benefit accruing to ourterritoryor to itspeople. Thedevelopment of our territory has been negligible andconfined to areasthatdirectlyor indirectlybenefit Francophones. Through manoeuvres andmanipulations, we havebeen reduced frompartnersof equalstatusin the Unionto thestatusof a subjugated people. Thecommon values,vision,andgoalswhich we share as a people and those of our Francophone partners intheUnionaredifferent, andclearlycannotblendwithinthe framework of a UnitaryStatesuchaswasimposedon us in 1972... Theso-called 'PeaceRevolution' of 1972wasa ploy by Francophones to use their overwhelming majorityto alter the basisof reunificationfor which Anglophones,and AnglophonesONLY,had voted. The 1972 175

referendum wasillegalin sofar asit wasnot in conformity with the procedurewhich the constitutionhadlaiddownfor the amendment of its provisionsand also in so far as its aim was not only to impairthe Federation's unity andintegrity,butto abolishtheFederation itself (qtd. in Ambanasom Education 27 - 28). It is interestingto notethat barelythreeyearsafter reunification,in 1964, and nearly30 yearsbefore the conveningof the All AnglophoneConference, Professor BernardFanion,with an uncannysenseof foresight,had prefiguredwhat would happen.According to him unless the Francophone leadership, on whoseshoulders lay the responsibility of steeringcameroon to itsprojected bicultural mission,washonestenoughto acceptthe goodthings in the Anglo-Saxon culture,there was little chancefor the survivalof the latterin cameroon(Fanion'WillWeMakeor Mar?'12). Fromthe themesandissuesraisedin thetext as well as the art informingthe novel,we canaffirmthat what Nkengasong's imaginative workmakesus'see'or'perceive' is the socialmentality,the dominantideologyof the world from whichthe novelsprings,and this is the epoch of PresidentAhmadouAhidjo.Ideologicallyspeaking,from the issuesevokedin the novel,the shadowybut dreaded personality of Babajaro(Ahidjo)andhisauthoritarian rule, hisubiquitous andbrutalpoliceforce,andtheassimilationist educational policythat prevailsat Besaadi to thedetriment of Anglophones in a countrythat callsitselfthe Federal bilingualRepublicof Kamangola, one can concludethat the politicalideologyin placeis authoritarianism, defined by AndrewHeywoodas 'a belief that a strong central authority, imposedfrom above is either desirable or 176

necessary and, therefore, demandsunquestioning obedience'(328).However, thisis contested by a counter ideology, federalism,emblematizedby the Young Anglophone Movement(YAM)led by the brave and courageouscentralmalecharacter, Ngwe.YAMsymbolizes Anglophones' hope and the Anglo-Saxonlegacy in Kamangola.In otherwordsNgweisstruggling to maintain the ideologyof federalism, equallydefinedbyHeywood as 'A territorialdistribution of powerbasedon the sharingof sovereigntybetween central(usuallynational)bodiesand periphery ones'(331). Underthe dominantprevailingideology,the risks AnglophoneslikeNgweandYAMrunarerealas testified below by a differentkindof historical document: Weleft the governor's officefeelingsatisfied. We,however, stillrantheriskof beingarrested, of becoming politicalprisonersl Wewerethen notconscious of the riskwe wererunningby openlycriticizing an autocratic regimeandits government, andthroughthemthe President of theRepublic himself. Wehadforgottenthat wewereof Anglo-Saxon culture,with its very highly developedsense of freedom of expression, andthatwewerefacingpeopleof a culturethat wasdifferentfrom ours(Tumi 32). A bald statementof facts as containedin our summary andthematicexploration of AcrosstheMongolo is, indeed,inadequate, except,fora modestanalysis ofthe text. Thesefactsandideassaylittleor nothingconcerning the art that informsthework,thequalityof the language, drama, feelingsandemotions of the characters involved. They conveyverylittleof thetensionandexcitement that 177

Nkengasong so successfully evokes,whichis his forte. Consequently, we will attemptto highlightsomeof the expressive devices of techniqueemployed bytheauthorto achieve the novel'soverallaesthetic effect. Thefirstof themistheuseof madness astechnique whichallowstheauthorto assume a uniqueandinteresting angleof vision.Rarelydo we find in a novela dominant first personnarrativeperspective alongsidethat of the omniscient narrator. Wemust,nevertheless, concede at the sametimethatthereis nolimitto whata creative playwith language canachieve.Therefore, AcrosstheMongolo ,s a textwhosecreativeconstruction allowsfortheexistence of both,andthisthanksto theauthor'singenious deployment of madness as a deviceof technique.Howthis operates will bediscovered by andby. To achievehis desiredangleof visionthe author rendershis centralconsciousness, Ngwe,mad,but not completely so.Ngwe'smadness comesonlyat the end of his disappointing universityexperience. The novelthen opens at this point where news about the mental derangement of thisyoungmanspreadslikewildfire, the victimhavingbeenarrestedandbroughtallthewayfrom the city to a shrinein his rural Lebialemfor traditional treatmentby Aloh-Mbong, the priestof Fuandem. Thepriestadministers a concotion of herbsto him, puttingsomeof it into his ears,his nostrilsandsomefor himto drinkin orderto helphimtalk andtell the story of his life, and the causeof his madness.The ritualistic treatmentproduces thedesiredeffectonNgweashebegins to talk,the shrinebecoming hisconfessional, soto speak. BeforeAloh-Mbong andsomemembers of thelocalcouncil, Ngwestartsto narratehisstorywhichmakesupthematerial inthetext.However, andthisistechnically verysignificant, 178

thereare interruptions in Ngwe'snarrativewhenhesuffers occasionalboutsof seizure.And it is duringthe relapse that the omniscient narratormakeshisinterpolations, four in number,corresponding to four chapters:One, Four, ThirteenandNineteen. Thusina novelof nineteen chapters four are recounted by the omniscient narrator,andfifteen by Ngwe. Ngwe'stale is in three parts; part one comprises chapterstwo andthree;parttwo stretchesfrom chapter five to twelve;andpartthreecoverschapterfourteento eighteen.Eachsectionendswitha dramaticretrogression in Ngwe'smentalcondition.In this regardthe endingof part threeis particularly strikinginthesensethathesuffers a psycho-somatic effect;that is,whenNgweis describing a troubled momentleadingto his incipientinsanity,the latter, paradoxically andeffectively, comeson him again, so that the partof thenarrativebecomes not merelya reenactmentof madness but realmadness, bringingto the final end Ngwe'sfirst personnarration. The novelis thenroundedoff, as it wasbegun,by the omniscientnarrator,makingthe interestingnarrative structure of Across theMongolo onethatis nottheworkof chance but the resultof a carefulartisticdesign.The reconstruction of Ngwe's storymakes fortheuseof elaborate flashbacks,reminding usof the plotconstruction of some, of the best Nigerianmoviesvery commonin cameroon these days. Afterperusing Ngwe's story,theconscientious reader will realizethat,followingNgwe'sphysicalmovement from Kama to Ngolaand backto Kama,his overallstory is structured roughlyobeyingthe logicof triadicdialectic, that is, followingthe dialecticalrelationshipof thesis, 179

antithesisandsynthesis.In this respectNgwe'seducational careerfrom primaryto high schoolin the stateof Kamais smoothandrelativelyuneventful. Thisconstitutes thethesis. Whenhe gets to Ngolafor Universityeducation, however, he encounters a hostile and violent environment. Dialectically speaking,this becomes theantithesis, ushering in a conflictualsituationleadingto mentalinstabilityand incongruence in the youngman. For him, it is a questionof to die or not to die, to echoShakespeare's Hamlet,the Princeof Denmark. Thanks to the timelyinterventionof hislover,Shirila,Ngweissaved from imminentdeath but not from ultimateinsanity.For him to be appropriatelycuredof his madness, however, the author takes him back to KamawhereunderAlohMbong'sritual carehis healthis graduallyrestored. This is the synthesis,which becomesthe newthesis,reflecting the newNgweat 'the beginningof hismissionin theworld, a missionto rescuehis peopletrappedintoslaveryin a far awayland'(199). Havingchosena victimized,otherwiseambitious youngman,whohaspassedthroughchallengi~g andtrying situationsand mustnowtell hisownharrowing talefrom a convalescent position,the authorendowshimwitha unique idiom of more than ordinary beauty.Therefore,the discourseusedby sucha frustratedanddisappointed man must be one that will carry effectivelyhis frustration, bitterness, madness,anger and hatred againstthose responsible for his condition.Suchan idiomis boundto be forcefulandspirited,in short,lyrical in places. Indeed,tinged with the eloquenceof a madbrain, such is the lyrical power of Ngwe's narrativethat it constitutesfor this writer a key attractionandbeautyof Acrossthe Mongolo.Poetryis thus integralto this text, 180

being part and parcelof it. We are not talkinghereof purple poeticpatches insertedasanafterthoughtintothe completednarrative suchthatif expunged, thetextwillnot suffer. No. Weare talkingof poetrythat is an organic componentof the novel.In otherwords,if onewereto delete the poetryfromNgwe'snarrative,therewouldbe no AcrosstheMongolo. The moreobviously lyricalaspectsarethoseareas of the text wherethereare invocations whereinNgweis praying to Fuandem or addressing the spirit of his late father. But the usualpoeticportionsare thoserhythmic parts of his narrationmarkedby the riseand fall of his emotions, by his turbulentstateof mind,depending on the nature of the physical,emotional,or mentalpain inflictedonhim.Whenhisactivities arefrenzied orwhenever Ngwe becomeshysterical, his proseby the sametoken becomeslyrical.Ona fewoccasions thewritingcanbecome nonsensicalor surrealistic,all of which qualitiesare symptomaticof Ngwe'sincipientinsanity.When,however, he is at peacewith himself,or on the sameromantic wavelengthwithhisone-timesweetheart, Shirila,Ngweis appropriately rhapsodic.At such momentshe paints beautiful descriptions. of Shirila, rhapsodizingher in memorablelanguage. Theoverallpositiveeffectof this lyricismcannotbe overemphasized. It endowsthe talewith highreadability; it instills liveliness in the proseand discardsboredomin the reader;it capturesthe attentionof the readersand keepsthem readingon andon. It makesfor interesting, psychological and,therefore, realistic character exploration, especiallythat of thecentralconsciousness. It is a quality likely to invitethe readerbackto the work,longafter he must havereadandputit away.Examples aremany.With 181

regardto invocation andprayeronecanmakereference to pages36,94and159;thegenerallyricalportions include, amongothers,thoseonthefollowingpages:33,110,111, 112,114,138,158,163,164,165,191,192,etc. Herewewillquotetwo passages, a shortanda long one,to illustratesomeof the meansby whichthe lyrical effectsareachieved: Then,leaningon the wall,I cried.I couldnot saywhatI was doingthere.Whatoffencehad I committedagainstman,againstGod?Why didtheymaltreataninnocent childthatmuch? WhywasI madeto sufferassaultandbrutality withoutcause? WhywasI bornanAnglophone? Mother,my mother,youhadrefu·sed mygoing away from you! Here was your son in a universitytaking lecturesin a dungeonto becomea mantomorrow.Hereis yourson in this dark hole taking lecturesto becomea corpse.HereI was,who wantedto be like Babajoro of Kamangola in mylecturehall,what I hadtravelledhundredsof milesawayfrom youto do.Soldiers andpolicemen havebecome myteachersin the detentionroom.(110) ThisshortpassagecarriesNgwe'sthoughtsfollowinghis mistreatment by soldiersandpolice.Theyhavejust hurled himintoa darkcellcontaining nakedcriminals. Thelyrical effectsarerealizedby meansof, first,a succession of four rhetoricalwh-questionsfollowed by an exclamatory statement, an apostrophe, to Ngwe'smother. This,in turn, is followedby three parallelstatements whoseanaphoric beginnings are: 'Herewasyourson... Hereis yourson ... HereI was...' The passage is thenbeautifully clinchedby anironicstatement, a reminder anda synopsis of thepdrallel 182

statements:'Soidiersand policemenhave becomemy teachersin the detentionroom'. Incidentally, a slightportionof this passage:'Why wasI bornan Anglophone? Mother,my mother....' recalls a similarutterancein Okotp'Bitek'spoemSongof Ocol. 'Mother,mother, Why, WhywasI born Black?'(p'Bitek126) The intertextualechoesseemto affirmthe centralityof the motherfigurein the imagination of a sensitiveAfricanchild at a criticalexistentialmomentin his life. Hereis the second,longerpassage: "I satattheedgeofthe pavement of thefaculty, staring into the vacancyof the mundane universeof a university.The happyoneswho spokethelanguage of mybrothersonthe other sideof the GreatRiverlaughedand chatted merrilyaboutthe place.TheAnglo,the pariah, theslavelikemewascompelled to escortthem in that world and admire them in their unsubstantial galoreandexcellence ... "Aninexplicable dizziness shroudedme.I turnedmy eyesawayfrom the humanbustle andlookedtowardsa distanthill that towered abovelife towardsthe sky,the faceof a rock hungon one sideand a sparsevegetationof giantforesttreessaton its flanksupto its peak. Mymindbecamethe explosiongroundfor the tremorsof the world.My headpoundedlike a mortar in which palm nuts were crushed.I becamedizzyandweak,talkingto peopleI did l 8)

not know,peopleI did see,voicesclatteringin my ears,voiceslaughingat jokesthat hadno humourin them, dry twiggyjokesthat hadno taste.I wishedthat I stoodat thetopof L~bialem andtumbledmyselfinto the waterof lifeto cut a long boring story short. God of Abraham, Godof Lebialem,Godof my ancestors,Godof knowledge! Didyouthat madethechickenmake the poisonof the snake,the deadlyclawsof the kite, andthe fotaljaws of greedymen?For what purposeam I forsaken?Forwhatreason do I live? "Therewas a voicebanteringin my soul: 'Ngwe,leavethat despairoverpettythingsand stare into the bosomof the universefor the truth. The living thingsare in the hillsandthe valleys,the slopesand the ridges.Youarethe sonof the hillsandthe valleys.Youarethe son of the dalesandthe cavesunderthegiantrocks. Youarethe childof the bushesandthe thickets in which aboundthe abundanceof life and to all these wonders of the universeyou are bound.The truth is hiddenin the wombof the universethatyousee.Seeknatureanddisregard plastic truths of your oppressors.The fine synthetictissuesthat embroidertheir skinsare unloving.We in the hills and the valleys,the ridgesandthe slopesare the light of life.' "A train of cloudsparadedgracefullyfrom oneslopeto the other andfinallyshroudedone of the slopes.It gave the imageof a winged man and woman who were makinga flurry crescentbeneaththe sun, and whenthe sun 184

cameto full viewthe cloudsweretossedaway in disorder.I heard the voices beyondthe creso:.ntshoreof the hill, voicesreverberating with ~oundsfamiliarwith the talkingdrumsat the t:ntranceof the Attah palace.Laughter alluringandassuringcrammingmysensesand subduingmeintoa wistfuldeliriumI couldnot understand. Ho!Ho! Hoooooo! "A fairyhandtouchedmeontheshoulder. Thefreshwarmthof her palmgyratedthrough mybodyandI hearda voicecall,'Ngwe.'I was start:!ed. I turnedandbeheldShirila.Shecame right round to my side, holdingme on the shoulder. '"Ngwe;herfairyvoiceechoedin mymind. It soundedlike the voiceof eternity.'Ngwe', shecalledagain.I lookeddrearilyat herface.I watchedthe tearsrollon herhandanddropon myleg.I turnedandlookedaway. '"Ngwe,whatisthe matterwithyou?Why are you so altered?You look reallypaleand unkempt.Ngwe,tell me,'shesaid,shakingme lighton·the shoulder, almostweepingherself. "Shestaredfixedlyinto myeyesbut I did notfeelanyone'spresence. Mymindwasgone andI couldonly hearthe solidmetallicvoice echoingfromthe depthsof Fuandem's shrine. "Ngwe, I have watched you from a distance. Youdon'tseemto beyourself.Please, tellmewhatis reallywrongwithyou,'sheurged. "'Shirila,I don'tknow,I cannotsay,'I told her wearily,becomingmoreand moreaware of myself. 185

"'Come.Let'sgo to my room,'shesaid. Sheheldmy handandhelpedmeto myfeet. (163-166) Ngwe'sdepressive thoughtsin this passageare engendered bythedisappointing realitythatat the endof fouryearsin Besaadi hehasfailedhisexamsagain,'burning his mandat~meaningthat he is no·longerentitledto a stipendif hewishesto continuein the sameFaculty. The depictionof the peculiarmovement of his thoughtsand the subtlechanges in the qualityof the thoughtslendto thetextureof the writingherean admirablelyricalgrac~ achieved bymeans worthpointingout.Besides, Ngwetells his story with the aid of concreteimages, parallel construction, anda characteristic turn of phrase,drawing froma creativespringessentially romantic.Someaspects of Ngwe'sdiscourse are reminiscent of the idiomof the canonical Romantic poets,especially WilliamWordsworth and,to a limitedextent,B.P.ShelleyandJohnKeatswith reference to the useof natureimagesandvocabulary like hills,valleys,dales,caves,rocks,bushes, thickets,nature, universe, clouds,sun,ridges,etc. WhenNgweis beingurgedbya secretinnervoiceto disregardthe anticsof his sophisticatedbut inhuman oppressors andseekconsolation in nature;whenheis told 'Wein the hillsandthe valleys,the ridgesandthe slopes arelightof life;the readeris reminded of the poetictruth in the poem"YouLaughed andLaughed andLaughed'by thefamousNigerian poet,GabrielOkara(24-25).Thereis a Biblical allusion impliedin thequestion: 'Forwhatpurpose amI forsaken?' Thatquestionalludesto the Passion, the periodof greatsufferinganddeathof Christ,whenat the peakof his agonyhe cried:'My God,my God,why hast thouforsakenme?'(Mt.27:46)or to the Psalmist's cry of 186

angLJish to the sameeffect(Psalm22:1). This Biblical allus;onhastheeffectof heightening theagonythatNgwe, a m1:-re human,wentthroughin Besaadi. Theseliterary andE~iblical echoes addrichness, depth,charmandpleasure to N :engasong's prose,makingit enjoyable to read. • Thelyricaleffectsofthispassage arerealized through parallelism andthemodulation of certainwords.Parallelism has to do with parallelconstruction whichincomporates repetitionof certainwordsor phrases whilethe restof the structureslightlyvaries;that is, a parallelism consistsof invariableandvariablecomponents. The repetitionsare the invariable structures, whiletherestof theexpressions are the variable ones. In thispassage ourfirstparallelstructureis a threetier construction that beginswith: 'I was';that is, the invariablecomponents anaphorically repeated threetimes are'I was...I was...I was...' whiletherestoftheexpressions vary. Thelatterutterances beginrespectively with ' ... an intruderin thecompany ... theAngloincapable ...; just in the worldto ...' Nowtheseparallelsentences do notcome in quicksuccession, butarereasonably spaced out,sothat the repetition: 'I was'is likea peakfollowedbya lull,then another peakandthena lull, creating,moreor less,a measured repetition, a rhythm, a riseandfallthatembodies the lyricismin Nkengasong's prose. Thesecondparallelism is lesselaboratebut equally effective;it consists of fourexclamatory phrasesin quick succession: 'Godof Abraham,Godof Lebialem,God of my ancestors,Godof knowledge,'The invariable(fixed) componentthatis.repeated fourtimesis'Godof',followed, ~espectively, by'Abraham', 'Lebialem,' 'my ancestors,' and knowledge'. Theparallelism in quicksuccession herehas 1

187

the effectof givingemphasis andpowerto the author's words. Thethirdparallelism istheoneproduced by-thesecret voiceaddressing Ngweandstressing thefactthatheisthe childof·notan urbanbut ruralsetting,a three-tierparallel construction whichrunsthus:'Youarethesonof the hills andthevalleys.Youarethesonof thedalesandthecaves underthegiantrocks.Youarethechildof thebushes and thethickets...' A principle of parallelism is operational here.It holds thatsimilarity informleadsto easyidentification ofsimilarity in contentandfunction.It meansthatthemainverbsand theirobjectsinthesentences referred to carryequalweight andare of equalimportance. Withreference to our last parallelism, this meansthat the hillsandthevalleys,the dalesandthe caves,the bushesandthe thicketsare of equalimportance andweightin Nkengasong's reckoning. Nkengasong's condition of coloniality isaninteresting phenomenon evident in histext.Heisa post-colonial subject whosetext is writtenin animperiallanguage, English.But theintimateandimmediate circumstances of hislife that makeuphissubjectmatterareCameroonian (African).He is a childof two worlds;the oneby virtueof his British colonialeducationalupbringing,the otherby his close attachment to hisNwehtradition.Hischaracters speakin English butanEnglish transformed, in manycases, to reflect theidioms,andrhythmsof Nwehnativespeakers, a reality signifyingNkengasong's hybridity.'Ngwe,who went to Besaadi manyyearsagoto learnbookin thatbig school wherebookends,hadlosthishead'(1).Therefore, to go by the flavour of the languageof its characters,any informedstudentof literaturein EnglishreadingAcross TheMongolo, will instantlyrecognize it for what it is: a 188

post-colonidi textbelonging notto English literaturebutto literaturesin English. Techn:callyspeaking,the author handlesplot, structure, characterization,languageand narrative perspectivf.well.He showsingenuityin conceiving the narrativepi)intof view,focalized essentially fromthetext's centralconsciousness, withonlyoccasional interpolations from the omniscient narrator. After everything,then, Across the Mongolo's uniqueness resides inthefactthatit attempts to transcend merely deconstructingAnglophonevictimh·oodto reconstructing someof the positive valuesthatconstitute the "Anglophoness" that Anglophones are yearningto perpetu~te.Withinthe·cameroonian contextthisnovelisa serious indictmentof Francophone hegemony, and a scathingattackonAnglophones whodenytheexistence of the Anglophone Problem. Ultimately, thetext amounts to an unsettlinginterrogationo'f history,a people,the Cameroonian societyasa whole.A grippinghumanstory beautifullyconceived andconstructed, it isa lyrical,soulful cry froma sensitive mind,anda significant contribution to the development of theCameroon novelin English. The DeathCertificate Alobwed'Epie's TheDeathCertificate (2004)6 is a nationalallegory ofgreatresonance which,likeBoleButake's dramaticparable,AndPalmWineWillFlow(1999),is set in a fictionalAfricancountrycalledEwawa. Thet~'s antiherois MongoMekawho,whetherdeador alive,remains the subjectof interestfor mostof the narrative, andthis because of hispivotal,if unpatriotic, functionin thenovel. AnativeoftheFirstProvince anddoubling asTreasurer GeneralandActingDirector General of the CentralBank, MangoMekais the keeperof the keysto thesefinancial l 89

institutions. Hethereforeenjoysunlimitedaccess to cash at anytime.Beingan unconscionable individual, however, heembezzles thewhoppingsumof FCFA 550billion,most of whichhe stashesawayin a Parisianbankunderthe nameof his Frenchwife,andthenfakesdeathin a road accidentin a neighbouring country,in a bidto forestalla possible prosecution for denuding the nationaltreasury. Hisdeathis mourned,andhe is dulyburied,with a certificateof deathhavingbeenestablished in his name. TakingMeka'sdeath in earnest,however,his widow, AntoinetteYvonne,remarries, this time, a Frenchman, • RogerGirard, a developmentthat threatensMeka's machinations, forcinghimto comebackfromthe landof the dead to embarrassthe living, with his ghostly reappearance. Heinitiates costlylawsuits against theFrench couplewiththeintention of puttingthemasunder. However, Mekais hoistedwith his own petard,as his stratagem becomes a boomerang. Hisdeathcertificate beinggenuine, Mekais legally considereddead, and the man now 'masquerading' as MangoMeka,an impostor,To further compound Meka's discomfiture, hisalienated wifediesin a cyclone at seainAustralia, leavingherFrench husband the inheritorof MongeMeka'sFCFA 350billionin heraccount, legallyputtingthe moneyfar beyondMeka'sreach, a dramaticturnof eventsthat impelsthe nowimpoverished andfugitiveMekato commitsuicidein France. To havea roughideaof the administrative setupof Ewawa,it is instructive to mathematically conceptualize it in terms of ten concentriccircleseachrepresentinga province,thusmakinga totalof ten concentric provinces. Theprovincein the centre,the seatof politicalpowerand economicinfluence,is knownas the first province.The closerone is to the centreof powerandinfluence,the 190

moresatisfiedor lesscensorious oneis withregardto the systerr:andthereverse istrue,discontent emanating from the per·phery. Criticism isthusproportional to thedistance from the centre,andthe prerogative of the marginalized. No wonder, then,thatthegreatest criticsofthegovernment comefr~mthemarginal 9th and10th Provinces (Ambanasom ReviewDeathCertificate 8). Thereis the hegemony of citizensof the Firstand Secondprovinces inallspheres ofinfluence. Theyconstitute the coreof nationalbourgeoisie. Theyheadkeyministries, major lucrativecompanies andorganizations, keyfinancial institutions,thearmy,thegendarmerie andthepolice,etc. Their identifying termsarethekinshipidiomsof 'sonsand daughtersof the soil',or brothers andsistersof the First Province.Whatis at workhereis the 'ethnicisation' of politics,sin~etribalManichaeism is everywhere manifest. Perceivingthemselves as the superiorSelf,fellowsfrom the Firstand SecondProvinces orientalize thoseof the peripheralprovinces astheinferiorOther. Hereonenoticesthe collapse of the rationalrules and regulationsthat governedthe running of the Westaphalian bureaucracy. Theyarereplaced byconventions of groupsolidarity. In thispatrimonial renaissance setting, we havein placean administrative systemrun by neopatrimonialists whoidentifythemselves with a particular ethnicity. Therationalboundary thatdistinguishes between the Ministry andtheMinister, theofficeandtheofficeholder, is blurred.NowtheMinister isidentified asbelonging to an ethinicgroup1by virtueof kinshiprelationship with the Ministeror officeholder. Duringthe planningmeetingfor MangoMek~'sfuneralrites,the Ministerof Territorial Administration, referringto someabsentMinisters, does 1 so employing a kinshipdiscourse to stressthefactthatwe 1 191

are talkinghereof a tribe'sMinisters,and not just any Ministers belonging to a universalnationaladministration: ' ... I believethat fiveof our brotherMinister~ whoarenot yet herewill notlet usdown...' (2). Themonopoly of nationalfinancialresources by the citizensof the Firstand SecondProvinces is dictatedby selfishness and grossdisregardfor peoplebelongingto othertribes.Thisis tribatism.But,as GodfreyB. Tangwa (1996)says,it neednot be so: Themerefact of belonging to a tribalgroupis not tribalism.It is not tribalismto form or to belongto tribalculturalor development groups, to 'drink'tribalnjangisor evento fightfor the improvement andwelfareof members of your • tribe.Tribalismis onlyinvolvedwhenthere is injustice, unfairness, prejudice ordiscrimination, vis-a-visothers... If peoplealwaysreasoned or reflectedbeforeactingor reacting,tribalism wouldhaveno placein theirlives.(58) Tribalism,as seenby the fellowsof the First and Second Provinces of Ewawa,is the theoryandpracticeof ethnic politics;those of their elite chargedwith the management of publicaffairsareruledanddominatedby feelingsof ethnicconsideration. Sincethe elitein authority dealwithpowerandeconomics, powerinsharingresources, oftenscarceresources, theyarebound,sooneror later,to betraytheirethnicinclination whenconfronted withdifficult questions asto whohaswhat,when,andhowmuch.They areconstrained bystrong,selfishethnicattachment to give preference to peoplefromthe samearealikethemwhen givingout positions, posts,contracts or scholarships. They hardly, therefore, reason or reflect on the adverse consequences of their act. With ethnicitythus exalted, 192

nepotism,favouritismandtribalismareaccentuated in the novel. The centraltheme,dwarfingall the otherthemesof the text, is repressive tribalismas an _ideology. It is the organizedpillageand unconscionable squandermania by membersof a singletribe.Thesecitizensmanagepublic, money-generating institutions asif theyweretheirprivate enterprises, runningthemwastefully; themoneygenerated is spentas if the spendersarein a contest,i.e. as if they arestrivingto grabthe trophyfor thegreatestsquanderer, for the biggestspendthrift.Thewastrelsconsumemoney as if the worlo is goingto endtomorrow.Theydoleout hugesumsof moneyto relatives,friendsandlovedones; they lavishimpossiblesumsof moneyon themselves to sustaintheir wasteful,concupiscent lifestyles;they put a greatdeal of moneyinto gigantic,ostentatious projects; they erect fabulouscastlesirythe middleof the tropical forest;somego on expensive shoppingspreesin Europe; others,likethe Directorof the Farmer's Cooperative Bank, (48), turn manyexpensivegovernment vehiclesat their disposalinto their privatecarsto run their errands.The novelevokeshugefinancial figuresthatcanmakeonedizzy; in placesthe sheersizeof thesefiguresissimplystaggering andunfathomable. Thisiswhatwecallin MarxistCriticism conspicuous consumption. Thesebourgeois consume goods witha compulsive, pathological appetite. A lifestyle like this is the central sourceof the corruptionfor whichmanyAfricancountrieshavebecome notorioustoday.Alobwed'Epie, in a way, rewritesBate Besong's Beastsof noNation(2003)a dramaticpiecewhich holdsthat corruptionin'Ednouay' hasbecome 'anindustry' wherein 193

r

... frogseat money The way locusts Eattonnesof green(102). A behaviourlikethis cannotgo on foreverwithoutobvious negativeconsequences; if it persistsunchecked,it is bound to breed,sooneror later,untoldunsavouryeffects. In his ravereviewof the text underdiscussion,Bate BesongsaidTheDeathCertificate 'is alternativefictionthat anticipates,in everyway,the betterworldof the future.It thereforeentailsa majorshiftinvision...' (Besong'Prodigals' 9). In the sequelto the reviewhe went on: Thenoveliststrikinglyusesa symboliclanguage to depictthe FirstProvince's corrosivelegacy,in order,to give a powerfulvisual effect to the fictionalconflict adumbrated,and economize verbiage. His parablesare short, bold and to their point.Thefirst andthird omniscientpoints of view form the dominantnarrative·voice in TheDeathCertificate,with the authorialvoice constantlycomingin, to makecommentson the Nebuchadnezzar inclinations of the EwawaEboni Society members he is describing and evaluating ... TheDeathCertificatechallenges the traditional westernmodesof presentingtime, character, settingandotheraspectsof reality.It celebrates neologismsor word coinages,unorthodoxuse of French,Ewondo-Ezoum-Bulou, asymmetric and randomrenderings... but it is also fiction, thatoverwhelmingly demonstrates that the postcolonialcameroonian/ Africannovelis an open form, and that there is no idealform to which that genremustconform.It is broadenoughto 194

include suchoralelements asnarrative formulae, arresting images, alliterations, puns, exclamations,ideophonesand aphorisms, rligressions; counter-myths, oracularcandour. Againandagain,in TheDeathCertificate, the visioncentreson the ideathat no newsociety canbe-builtin our trouble(sic)historyunless there is social revolutionwhich destroys, completely, theexisting socio-political structure. Ewawa's problems willnotbesolvedpeacefully,. Whenthe child is comingfrom its mother's womb,he will comewith blood.If thereis no bloodshed, Ewawa, cannothavejustice.(Besong 'Prodigals' 8) In thesequotedpassages, BateBesong makes some very pertinentpointsaboutAlobwed'Epie's first novel, especially withregardto itsinnovatory technique andoverall radicalideological temper.However, in his enthusiastic responseto the work, Besong,in our humbleopinion, seemsto haveover-stated onethingwhileoverlooking another, bothwithreference to techniqu~. Wedonotagree withBesong whenhesays'Thefirstandthethirdomniscient pointof viewsformthe dominantnarrativevoicein The DeathCertificate, withtheauthorial voiceconstantly coming into makecomments ...'Thisisbecause, aswehavestated below,thereis no·authorialvoiceperse in thiswork,but rathera coupleof first personnarrators,unlesswe take theintelligent criticalnarrators, allof themmouthpieces of the author,to beAlobwed'Epie himself,whichis quitea differentthing from a third personomniscient n~rrator, anyway. Technically speaking, therefore, Alobwed'Epie has completely effacedhimselfin thiswork. 1 •

19 5

Withregardto theauthor'sexploration of alternative ideological visions,BateBesongis right to accentuate the revolutionaryoption for a new society.But to rule out categorically the possibilityof a peacefuloptionartistically adumbratedis to fail to readthe signsthat the author subtlyinscribesin his text. Havingsaidthis, however, in everyotherparticular, Besong's observations aregenerally to the point. In additionto whatBateBesonghassaid,TheDeath Certificateexhibitsa characteristic that postmodernists wouldliketo·celebratebecause it is not usuallyassociated with the typicaltraditionalnovel:the mixingof literary genres.As it exploresanddevelops the absorbingstoryof thegrubbybanker, MangoMeka,thetextappears,in places, as a thriller,a detectivenovel,a pieceof investigative journalism,a psychological, realisticnovel,or a saga;it contains a handfulof poemsandseveralletters;it embodies passages fromtheBibleandelements fromAfricanorature. Accordingly, the languagechangesits texture;that is to say,Alobwed'Epie makeshis prose,in places,conformto this or that set style. In short,the proseis stylized.In placesit canreadlikea pieceof satire,a didacticpiece,a sermon,a parable,or a storytold in imitationof oraltale; in placesthe text readslike legalese, journaleseor just a thriller,etc. A few pagesevenreadlike financialbalance sheets.All of these postmodernistfeatures signal the fragmentation of the 'authentic'novel,the disappearance of the 'real~To the postmodernists this mixingof styles signalizes an exhilaratingand liberatingescapefrom the 'claustrophobic embraceof fixedsystemsof belief'(Barry 84).

196

Incidentally,some aspectsof this modernist/ postmodernist ~haracteristic arealsofoundin L.T. Asong's Salvation··Colony(1997) and Nsanda Eba's The· Multimillionaire (1998).However, in Africanliterature,the firstAfricannovelistto consciously usethemextensively is thefamousKenyan writer,NgugiwaThiong'o, inhissatirical novelDevilon th~Cross(1982).Ashe comments on the genesisof his novel,Ngugirationalizes his innovatory technique in the followingwords: ... I woulduseanyandeverything I hadever learnt aboutthe craft of fiction - allegory, parable, satire, narrative, description, reminiscence, flashback,interiormonologue, streamof consciousness, dialogue,dramaprovidedit camenaturallyin the development of character, themeandstory.But contentnotlanguage andtechnique-would determine the eventualformof the novel.Andcontent? TheKenyan people's struggles againsttheneocolonialformandstageof imperialism. (qtd.in CookandOkenimkpe 120) Fromthepointof viewof focalization, Alobwed'Epie hasdeployed aningenious narrative technique whereinthe storyis told by a crewof narrators,putativeauthors,with their own techniques;that is, differentperspectives are adoptedbythemto comment onthesameor relatedevent, a kindof polyphonic narrativein whichno narratoralone ownsthe completetruth, althoughthe sumtotal of the variousaccountsconstitutesthe wholetruth: knowledge about MongoMeka,his kinsmenand the state of the nationaleconomyof Ewawa. In creating these narrators to tell his story, Alobwed'Epie maintainshisaestheticdistance.Amongthe 197

key narratorsare Mula,Nchinda,Musaand Ndjock,with Mulabeingthe linchpinandthe mostconscientised ofthem all. They are universitygraduates,joblessbecause they come from marginal provinces; in contrast, their counterparts fromthe FirstandSecondProvinces havejobs. Mulaplaysa.crucial,albeit,indirect,formativerole in the development of the criticalcon·sciousness of the readers andsomeof the other narrators.Withoutthe exerciseof theircriticalintelligence andthe deployment of the skillsof investigative reporting,muchof the narrative,as we have • it, would not have beenso constructed;the facts, the comments andthe truth,astheyappearin the text, would nothavebeenso presented, either. The centralnarratorsare the charactersthrough whom Alobwed'Epiecarries out the education of the deprived,andthe marginalized. It is thanksto the kindof language withwhichheinveststhediscourse of the putative authorsthat citizensfrom the peripheralprovincescan becomeconscientised about the havocwrought on the nationaleconomybya profligateethnicgroup.Thefinancial recklessness of the latter is pushingthe countryonto the brinkof a revolution a~dchaosasevidentin the apocalyptic discourseof the narrators.Alobwed'Epie,through the agencyof the educatorsof the marginalized,makesthis clear,thanksto their disturbing,figurativelanguage. In this regard,addressingMulaearlyin the novel, Nchinda says:'The~efellowsof the FirstProvincearegoing to rakethis countrybare... This countryis jubilatingon a volcanoof mismanagement, corruptionandembezzlement. There'spusin our boil,it will burst'(12).The very ideaof a possible violent reaction that this provocative squandermania maygive riseto is reiteratedon page51 with Musatalkingto Mula: 198

Foronething,ourleadersaccording to youare amassingwealth, they are depriving the commonmanof the bountyof our country.If this continues, they will becomeLouisXVIof France,his noblesand the clergy.It maybe that'sthe situationwe arelivingnowwiththe way mere Directorsflash 70.000.000Frs. Pajerosaround.So,oursmaybe in fact,the feudal system, now, 25 years only after independence. If, asyouadvocate, we should fight againstthe shackles of the system,then of course,we shallbe relivingthe experience of the storming of the Bastille and its consequences (51). Musare-echoes thison page192:'Wearebrooding on an activevolcano', whichthoughtcomescloseto being practicallyenactedin the opening·paragraphof the penultimatechapterof the text, as the wholenationis seethingwith angerand hatredagainstthe denudersof the nationaltreasury:'Thehatredhadtasteandsmell.It was solid,as a bulldozerandmovedlikeflowinglava.It hungin the air,on walls,everywhere. It wastotal'(295). Thus through these unsettling, colourful representations of reality,Alobwed'Epie issubtlyeducating, sensitizingthe commonmasseson what they can do. Therefore,the possibilityof violenceis real,but it is only an alternativeoptionfor a newsociety.Everysignificant workof art setsin motiona socialdialogue.Andthe kind of socialdebateinspiredbya worklikeTheDeathCertificate centres around many socio-politicalissues,including violence,howto avoidthe kindof violenceimaginatively articulatedby the novelist,in favourof peace.Nobodyin hisright mindwouldadvocateviolencefor its sake. When 199

the cameroonian societycandrawa lessonfromsucha novel,its meritbecomes clear.Hereinliestheultimate social relevance of Alobwed'Epie's text.In thewordsof Archbishop PaulVerdzekov, 'violence' is not an issuethat shouldbe treatedlightly, whilesittingcomfortably at one'sdesk,sipping a cupof coffeeandeatinga sliceof bread.The violencecardinalTumi wants our countryto avoidbringsto mindcertainimagesthatwould makeanysensiblepersoncry,throwupor burst out in indignation.Whoeverdaresto writeon violencewithouthavingas soleaimto express hisor herprofoundindignation, is committing a sin (16-17). Anotherfigurativerepresentation wouldsuggest that a newsocietycanstill beconstructed throughan inclusive peacefulforum of nationalreconciliation, suggestedby Marie-Claire's father.Talkingto her in a discoursefull of allegorical significance, he saysthe cleansingof FramMki, Marie-Claire's defil~dson, is not an individualaffair,but onethat involvesthe largercommunity: The cleansing will requirean assemblyof the eldersof our two communities. They will sit anddiscuss whathappened, whatprovoked the elephantto trampleon the crab.Afterthat the two communities will inviteherbalistson both sidesandtheywill do the cleansingnot onlyof the child,but of you and the Ministerhimself too - if thereis yawson onepart of the body, the whole body is contaminated.Evenyour President is not free' (303). However, any suchgatheringwill not comeeasily, inviewof thestrongantipathyof someof thosewhomatter; 200

for,accordingto the Ministerof TerritorialAdministration (M.T.A.), for instance, 'Onlyoverourdeadbodiescannatives in the formof traditionaldoctorsput uson trial. Theycan go to hell. Zero cleansing'(304).Shouldthis declaration signify the possible failure of the peaceful option imaginatively profferedby the author,then the novelistis left onlywith the revolutionary choice. For all his radical authorial ideology,however, Alobwed'Epie's ultimateartisticambitionis to bringabout a new,prosperous and peacefulCameroonian society.His goalisto explorewaysfor theemergence of a Cameroonian societyfair andjust to all its citizenswithnodiscrimination. Indeed,the followingwordson CardinalTumi'sintention - in hisrecentbookwill perfectlyfit Alobwed'Epie's intention in writing his novel: The author's only ambition is to see the emerger1ce of a new Cameroonwith menand womenwho lovetheircountryandserveit in all transparency andhonesty. ThisCameroon isonly possibleif citizensunderstand that realhappiness liesin doingeverythingpossibleto makeothers - happy, that one cannot be happy alone (Verdzekov17). Thenovelistsdiscussed in thischapter, TahAsongwed, FrancisNyamnjoh,JohnN. Nkengasong andAlobwed'Epie are not avowedMarxistsfor all we know; comparatively speakingtheir worksare not conceivedfrom an orthodox socialistvisionof the world like NgugiwaThiong'o'sPetals of Bloodand Devilon the Crossor,for that matter,the two Ngugis'sI Will Marry WhenI Want.However,there is no denyingthat Bornto Rule,TheDisillusioned African,Across the Mongoloand.The,Death Certificatearetextswhose 201

conception andconstruction,from the authorialideol,ogies containedtherein, have been influenced,con_sciou~ly or . unconsciously, by Marxistthought. Their critical, rad!cal tonelendsto their authors'worldview-something. closeto a socialistvision,necessitating· thus.a Marxist.ora~leasta progressive interpretationsuch·as that given'them·inthis chapter. • • • • The tenor,of o~r discussion: b9ilsdown to this, that the four Cameroc;>nian novelistsare visionarieswhohan~ their commonsubject matter,the Camer9onian ~ciety, with intelligenceandconcernasthey imaginatively_explor~ it with its future in view.They proposecounterideologies . to subvert the prevailing hegemoniesfor alternative constructions. WithAsongwed, NyamnjohandAlobwed'Epie it is radicaleducationfor criticalconsciousness withwhich to unsettle the conservative ideology of the neopatrimonialist;and with Nkengasong it is federalismwith whichto contestthe assimilationalist authoritarianism that dominates. It is therefore the novelists' intentionto artisticallyinstructandpersuadethe readersto viewthings radicallyasthey (the authors)do for a meaningful societal deconstruction.

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EndNotes * Thischapteris an updatedversionof ChapterSevenof

my The CameroonianNovel of English Expression. (2007:214) 1. Tah Asongwed.Born to Rule. Silver Spring: HeritagePublishing Company, 1993.All further pagereferences areto thisedition. 2. FrancisB. Nyamnjoh.MindSearching.Awka: Kucena DamianNigeriaLimited,1991.Allfurther pagereferences areto thisedition. 3. FrancisB. Nyamnjoh.TheDisillusioned African. Limbe:NOOREMAC PRESS,1995.All further pagereferences areto thisedition. 4. John NkemngongNkengasong.Across the Mongolo. Ibadan:Spectrum BooksLimited,2004. Allfurtherpagereferences areto this edition. 5. John NkemngongNkengasong.The Widow:S Might.Yaounde: EditionsCLE,2006.All further pagereferences areto thisedition. 6. Alobwed'Epie. TheDeathCertificate. Yaounde: EditionsCLE2004.All furtherpagereferences areto thisedition. • WorksCited Abrams,M.H. Gen.Ed.TheNorthonAnthologyof English Literature.6th ed. NewYork& London:W. W. Norton& Company, 1996. Alobwed'Epie. TheDeathCertificate. Yaounde: EditionCLE, 2004. Ambanasom, ShadrachA. Educationof the Deprived. Yaounde: Presses Universitaires, 2003.

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. Rev.of The WidowsMight,byJohnNkemngong Nkengasong.The Post. 0745. (Mon.6 Mar.

2006):5. Asongwed,Tah. Born to Rule: Autobiography of a Life President.Silver Spring: HeritagePublishing Company,1993. Barry,Peter.BeginningTheory.Manchester: Manchester UniversityPress,1995. Cook, David, & MichaelOkenimkpe.Ngugiwa Thiong'o: An Exploration of His Writings. London: Heinemann,1983. Eagleton,Terry.Marxismand LiteraryCriticism. Berkeley and and Los Angeles:University of califomia Press,1976. Fanion,Bernard.TheGenuine Intellectual. Yaounde: Buma Kor, 1978. Heywood,Andrew. PoliticalIdeologies: An Introduction. 3rd ed. Houndmills:Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Holman,C. Hugh._Ed.A Handbookto Literature. 4th ed. Indianapolis:The Bobb'sMerillCompany, 1980. Nkengasong,John Nkemngo·ng. Acrossthe Mongolo. Ibadan:SpectrumBooksLimited,2004. Nyamnjoh, Francis B. Mind Searching.Awka:Kucena Damian,1991. . The Disillusioned African.Limbe:NOOREMAC --Press,1995. p'Bitek,Okot. Songof LawinoandSongof Ocol.London Heinamann,1984 Rosner,Joseph.All AboutPsychoanalysis. NewYork:Colier Books,1962. Tangwa, Godfrey B. Democracy and Meritocracy: Philosophical Essaysand TalksfromanAfrican Perspective.Glienickel(Berlin):GaldatWilch Verlag,1996. 204

Tumi,ChristianWiyghansai Shaaghancardinal.ThePolitical Regimesof AhmadouAhidjoandPaulBiya,and Christian Tumi, Priest. n.p. MACACOS S.A.,

2006.

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CHAPTERSEVEN

------~------Ngugiwa Thiong'o's andNgugiwa Mirri's I WILLMARRYWHENI WANr

I WillMarryWhenI Wantis the storyof howKiguunda, a poorworker,loseshisvaluable1½ acresof drylandto his employer, AhabKioi,a wealthyfarmerandlocaldirectorof a big company. Thinkingthat he can usethe Christian religionto tamethe respectedKiguundawho will then - influencehis otherworkersto his economicadvantage, AhabKioipersuades Kiguunda and his wife Wangeci to becomeChristians and remarryin the church.Without knowingthe realintentionof Kioi,the Kiguundas agreeto havea churchwedding, if onlybecause it mayfacilitatethe marriageof their daughterGathoni,nowgoingout with Kioi'sson,JohnMuhuuni. To haveenoughmoneyfor t~eir churchwedding, Kiguunda obtainsa bankloanwithhis1½ acresassecurity. Andthe directorof the bankis AhabKioi.Withthe money herichlyequips hishouse andbuysforthemselves expensive weddingclothes,etc. But beforeKiguunda andWangeci canfinalisetheirchurchwedding,Gathoniarrivesin tears, sayingthat JohnMuhuunihasput·herin the familyway beforekickingherout of hislife.TheKiguundas suspend theirownmarriage arrangements, andrushto AhabKioi 207

to tell himthat the childrenhadbettermarryfirst. Ahab

Kioireactsangrily,in an un-Christian manner. Hesayshe cannotimaginehiswell-brought upsoncommitting sucha blunderashe is accused of, norhisfamilybowing _tosuch a lowmarriageconnection with the Kiguundas' family.He scoldsthem for their carelessness in bringingup their daughter,challenging themto takethe matterto courtif theythinktheycansucceed. Kioi'swicked intentionsnow clear,the enraged Kiguundathreatens to stab him. Underduressfrom Kiguunda, Kioiis aboutto signa compromising document whenhiswife,Jezebel,arriveswitha gunto liberatehim. Kiguundais dismissed from hisjob, an actthat makesit impossible for himto paybackhisbankloan.Frustrated, heresortsto heavydrinking,andbegins to sellsomeof his newlyacquiredhousehold effectsto finance thishabit.And becausehe hasdefaultedon hisbankloan,his1½ acres are auctionedout. Thebuyeris AhabKioi. • BeyondKiguundathis storyis aboutthe merciless exploitationof poor Kenyansby their ownrichKenyan brotherswho collaborate_ with big foreignbusinessmen (capitalists).The capitalistsemploypoorKenyans who produceso muchwealththat makestheemployers richer andricherwhiletheworkersgetpoorerandpoorer, because theyare grossly~nderpaid. Afterthe humiliation of Kiguunda byKioi,Gicaamba, whohasbeeneducating Kiguunda throughout theplaywith regardto the cruel exploitationof the poorby the rich, mobilizesall the workersand progressive forces.He educatesthem and roundsoff hismasseducation of the deprivedin a rousing,revolutionary manner. Theworkersnowknowthe methods andintentions of their enemiesandare unitedin theircommon struggle 208

againstthem.The play endswith a revolutionary song, callingon all workers,includingthosein the audience,to rise up and unite againsttheir commonenemies,·the ruthlesscapitalistexploiters. All citizensarecalleduponto choosetheir sidesin the impendingrevolution,to electto be eitheron the sideof the exploiters,or on that of the exploitedmasses. Gicaamba's educationis not limitedto onlyinciting the masses to riseupagainsttheirexploiters.Healsocalls onthepeopleto re-examine theirmalechauvinistic attitude towardswomen.Gfrlslike Gathoniare sufferingin rich people'shomesor servingin disreputablepublicplaces todaylargelybecausethey havebeendeprivedof formal education. Gicaamba isthusappealing to parentsto rethink the educationof theirdaughters. Asfor the politicaleducationof the masses,it goes beyondthe centralactorsin the playto embracethe bulk of the audience. Theenemiesof the poorpeoplein Kenya arethe big economicoperators,the big businesspeople, the ownersof the big companiesor multinationalcooperations, who employthe massesfor verylowsalaries. And the main prayerof these economicexploitersand oppressors of the pooris.thefollowing: Oh,Godin heaven, Shutthe eyesof the poor Theworkersandpeasants The massesasa whole Ensurethat they neverwakeup and opentheir eyes To see what we are reallydoing to them! (113-114)

209

Tofacesucha formidable enemyGicaamba says themasses haveto unite:"Unityisourstrength andwealth.' Theplayendswitha rousing songthatinvolves everybody: Soloist: 'TheTrumpet' AlI: Thetrumpetof themasses hasbeenblown Wearetiredof beingrobbed Wearetiredof landgrabbing Wearetiredof salary Wearetiredof charityandabuses .

.

Soloist: TheTrumpet Thetrumpetof thepoorhasbeenblown. All: Let'suniteandorganize Organization is ourclub •Organization is oursword Organization is ourgun Organization is ourshield Organization is ourway Organization is ourstrength Organization is ourlight Organization is ourwealth Soloist: TheTrumpet AlI: Oftheworkershasbeenblown Therearetwosidesin thestruggle Thesideof theexploiters andthatof theexploited Onwhichsidewillyoubewhen Soloist: TheTrumpetAll: Oftheworkeris finallyblown?(116). Therevolutionary songthusendswitha bigquestion addressed to boththeactorsandtheaudience. A question that asksthemto identifythemselves with eitherof the 210

two socialclassesin Kenya:the exploiters,or exploited, theoppressors, ortheOPiJressed, thestingyandinsensitive employers, or the poorlypaidmasses.A playlikethis is likelyto drivea restiveaudiencemadat the end of the performance. Indeed,it is saidthat this very playhadin Kenyajust suchan effec:, to the extentthat it wasoneof the reasonsfor Ngugi-v.aThing'o'simprisonment shortly aiterit wasperformed. Someof the majGithemesof the playare:ruthless and inhumancapitalism,or the exploitationof the poor masses,misuseof religion,or Christianhypocrisy,Mau Mauand the anti-imperialist sentiment,educationof the deprived,andthe callfor socialjustice. Thewaythecapitalists likeKioi,NdugireandIkuua treat workersunderthem is, to saythe least,inhuman. Kiguunda isa workerunderKioi,andissupposed to bethe mosthighlypaid,with a salaryof 200 shillings.Another highly paid worker is the submissive,uncomplaining 'mature'tractordriver.Vi/iththe risingcostof living,200 shillingsis a paltrysumindeed.If thiswerea goodsalary, Kiguunda's homewouldnot look like that of the people livingbelowthe povertyline:a singleroom,a singlebed, anda singlechair,and the housevery poorlyfurnished. TheKiguundas cannotmeettheir minimumdailyneeds. Wangeci is unableto buysugarandtealeavesat thesame time.Whentheyreceive visitorsintheirone-roamed house, smokemakesthemuncomfortable. Despitethispoverty,the Kiguundas dotheirbestto entertaintheir richguests,Kioiandhiswife,andNdugire andhis.But howdo the richtycoons,in turn, treattheir poor guests?They do so with scorn, contempt,and disrespect. Theygivethemno food,refuseWangecitea, 211

andpropose·for Kiguundawaterfromthe drumnearthe pigsty. Despitetheir enormouswealth,the Kioisand the Ikuuasare still after the dry patchof landownedby the poorKiguunda - hisinvaluable 1½ acres.Themainplotof theplay,summarized above,concerns thelegalbutheartless mannerin whichKiguunda loseshis1½ acres.Assoonas it isestablished that hehasdefaulted onhisbankloan,the 1½ acresareauctionedout. Andtheyareboughtby the samepersonwhois Kiguunda's employer, thesameperson whois alsothe directorof the bank.In otherwords,the veryruthless capitalistwhohasbeenpayingKiguunda slave wages,hasfinallykilledhimby usingthecapitalist trick to kickhimpitilessly andmercilessly outof hisonlymeaningful 'earthlycargo'. ThisishowKiguunda describes hisexperience onthedayof the auctionsale: WhenI leftthe auctionplace I thoughtI shouldrevisitthepieceof land Fora lastglance, A kindof goodbye Whodid I find there? Kioiwa Kanoru,Ikuuawa Nditika Plusa groupof whites I fled. Buttheiropenlaughterfollowedme... (111) If Kiguunda, whois supposed to besohighlypaid, canleadthis subhuman existence, onecanonlyimagine thetypeof deplorable lifeledbythepoorermajoritybelow him. Ndugireannounces with pridethe cruelmethodhe hasadoptedto discipline workerswhowouldliketo take off fromworkwithouthis permission. Hepaysthem this month'ssalaryin the middleof the nextmonth;so,if any 212

workersdecideto quit,they losesomemoneythat goes intothecapitalist's pocket! Industrialcapitalism is seenat its mostmerciless in the factory and industrialexperienceof Gicaamba. A conscientized factoryworker,Gicaamba haslearneda lot aboutthecrueltyqf thesystemthathasgothim,hisfamily andmanyotherstrappedin manyyearsof veryinsufficient pay.Hisimpassioned description of his regulardrudgery infactoryworkisbreath-taking. Yet,foralltheircommitment to industrial capitalism, thesystemdoesnotonlyunderpay them; underit they are bereftof their total humanity. Workersare treatedas disposable objects.Someinhale industrialgas,chemica-1 dust,andotherkindsof poison, andwhen,asa result,theybecomeill, growmador die, theyarenotjustthoughtof againbythesystem! WeshouldnotethatevenGicaamba doesnottotally condemnindustrialcapitalism;if it was controlledby nationals sothattheprofitsfromit arere-invested in Kenya, it wouldnot be completely bad.Unfortunately, the great wealthit produces goesto enrichthe imperialists. 'The powerof ourhandsgoesto feedthreepeople:Imperialists fromEurope, Imperialists fromAmerica, Imperialists from Japanandof coursetheirlocalwatchmen' (37). The profitmotiveis suchan overridingcapitalist consideration that Kioican.misusereligionor Christianity for his personalmaterialgain. His mainconcernto get Kiguunda intothe churchis to havehimsubduedby the softeningeffectof religion;it is to renderhimsubmissive sothathewillbesatisfiedwith hislot in life,andnotdare to ask for wage increases;it is to make him, as a consequence, havea softening effectontheotherworkers whohavea highregardfor him.Here,indeed,is a critique of organized religion. 213

Theauthorsattackthe proliferation of religious sects in Kenya.Religionis considered a narcoticdrugthatdeadens people'sminds, a weapon used by the imperialiststo dislodgeKenyansfrom their land as they coveredtheir eyesto pray.Thatthe Kioiandthe Ndugires arehypocritical Christians is clearfromthewaytheypersuade theKiguundas to becomeChristianswhiletheydenythembasicChristian treatment. These big businessmenprofess empty Christianity whiletheir behaviour towardspotential converts revealsthe waysof heartlesspagans.Theytalkaboutthe bitternessof earthlythings,but spendtheirtimedreaming aboutthem, erectingbusinessstructureshereandthere, NdugiresaysGodhasbeenmercifulto him,to havegiven him'a tiny gardenof abouta hundredacres'!Atinygarden, indeed. Thisbringsusto thethemeof thethirstfor land.In most of Ngugi'sworks land is a recurrentmotif.In this play the recollectedpast scenes,involvingthe struggle againstBritishimperialism,is essentially onefor the right of ownershipof the landof Kenya.Whoownstheland,the Kenyansor the foreign Britishcolonialists? That land is wealthis a self-evidenttruth that needsnocontradiction. Big multinational companiesand industriesare flourishingin Kenyatoday,thanksto vast,acquiredland; former selloutsand traitors of the Kenyanstruggleare wealthytodaybecause theywererewarded bythedeparting colonialadministration with rich,freeland;Kioiisa wealthy man today becausehe ownsvast landson whichmany poor workersare employed;Ndugireis a formerhome guardrewardedwith 'a tiny' gardenof 100acres,making him a rich employer. Thecentralplot of the playconcerns thetrickyway by whichKiguu.nda is displacedfrom hisownpieceof land 214

by a thirsty,greedycapitalist.His1½ acressymbolize not

only wealthbut hispower,hismanhood,indeed,hiswhole life.Thatiswhywhenhelosesit, hebeginshisslowprocess towardsdeaththroughdrunkenness, throughlargeintakes of Chibuku.For,a perpetualdrunk,a madman,is just as good as dead.Luckilyfor Kiguunda,Gicaamba arrivesin time to rescuehim. MauMauandtheanti-imperialist struggleisa theme that featuresin severalof Ngugi'sotherworks,especially in TheTrialof DedanKimathi.MauMauis a peasantarmed guerrillaorganizati.on thatstoodagainstBritishimperialism in Kenya.In J WillMaryWhenI Wantit doesnotfeaturein the mainplot,yet it is echoedthroughoutthe play,thanks to the flashbackscenesandthe reformulation of its oath, towardstheendof theplay.MauMauservesasa reinforcing motifof thespiritof unity,organization andstruggleagainst British imperialismin the past and neo-imperialism of American,European and Japanesecapitalismof today's neo-colonial Kenya. There-enactment of MauMaustruggleandvictories also servesto remindthe poor peopleof the betrayalof the MauMaucausebysomeof thosewhotodaysit ontop of mountainsof wealth,andto reiteratethe needfor all genuinepatriotsto rededicate themselves to the fighting spirit a·ndvirtuesof the organization. Thereis still neocolonialismto be combated.If Kenyais todaypolitically independent, economically it is still a slaveto neo-colonial powers, to international industrial capitalism, to multinational companies fromAmerica, JapanandEurope. Another major theme is the educationof the deprived,or the conscientisation of the exploited.It is ~ developedthroughthe experiences of Gicaamba.The Gicaambasas workers are more sophisticatedand 215

conscientised thanthe na"iveandignorantKiguundas. The authorsof the playusethe Gicaambas aseye-~peners to the Kiguundas andothers. FromAct I we witnessthem as theyeducateand sensitizethe Kiguundasaboutthe unhealthyrelationship betweenthe richandthe poor.TheycautiontheKiguundas againstfollowingthe crafty rich foolishly,and against aspiringto marriageconnectionsbetweenthemandthe rich.Theywarnthemthat therecanbenogenuine healthy relationship betweenthe richcapitalists andpoorworkers, .andthat anysuchrelationship will invariably beskewedin favourof the rich. Gicaambais vindicated. Kiguunda has rushedin where angelsfear to tread,andmadehimself the only fool; he has rushed into a churchwedding arrangementproposedby the Kiois,onlyto find himself losinghis prizedpieceof land. Throughoutthe playwe noticeKiguunda gradually learningunder Gicaamba's influenceuntil at the end his educationis completewhenheandtheothers,againunder Gicaamba's guidance,cometogether,readyto be better organizedfor a greaterfight againstthecapitalist enemies. Thereis an impendingrevolutionandthepeople aregetting themselvesreadyfor a revolutionthat will transformthe presentunjust societyand usherin its placeonethat is - morejust, wherecitizenswill be equal,sociallyspeaking. Fromthe pointof viewof dramatictechnique, I Will MarryWhenI Want,is an advanceon Ngugi'sprevious plays,especiallythosewrittenalone.Its uniqueness partly lies in its being the first of Ngugi'smajorworksto have beenwritten in his nativeGikuyulanguage (beforebeing translatedinto Englishby him later),withthe intentionof reachingthe commonman,the peasantmasses in Kenya. Languageis culture, and in this playthe authorsexplore 216

tti-~ full resources of their language, their culture.They

dr~wonseveral elements fromtheGikuyuoraltraditionto acidto thoseof traditionaldramato producea play authP.ntically African,at oncefresh,contemporary and exc1t!ng. Themainactionof the playis simpleenough:the dispo~session of Kiguunda of his1½ acresof dry landby the wealthyKioifor the purpose of buildingan insecticide factoryin collaboration with a foreigncompany. A rich, full-flE:,1ged playisthenconstructed aroundthisbarebone, setinpresent daynee-colonial Kenya. Thanks tothecreative useof flashback, theauthorsworkintothisstructurethe histor.:al MauMaustruggle withcontemporary relevance. A sub-plot.built into the mainone involvesthe humanistic Gicaambas whoserveasa foilto thecapitalistic Kioisin theircontention for the possession of the soulof the Kiguundas, a strugglewon by the Gicaambas. The authors makeGicaamba a mature,experiencedand conscientised factoryworkerin orderto combinein him boththe historical pastandthedialectical present. Theairof authentic Africantheatrecomes across to the audience throughtheelaborate useof recollections of pasteventsthatincludedance,song,anddemonstration. In additionto dancingandsinging,thereis the useof mime,ritualandotherceremonial formsbothtraditional andWestern - the traditional Africanmarriage ceremony aswellasWestern Church wedding, for example. The playis writtenin verseform, andthe verse reflects African rhythmic speech patterns. 'Themainfunction of theversestructure isto emphasize thespeechrhythms and patternsandthusmakethe text moreintimateand easierto read'.Onecan imaginethe type of musical, theatrical, experience that wouldbe whenthe numerous 217

songsintheappendix areincorporated andsung.Theplay is thusvery lyrical,the languageof the actors,full of proverbs, metaphors andotherimagesdrawnfrom the Gikuyuoraltradition. Alsoworthyof noteistheexploitation bytheauthors, thanksto theirsocialist vision,of the conflictinherentin theclassbaseof theirtwo groupsof characters: the poor versus therich,theworkingclassmasses versusthe small but powerfulcapitalistelite, ownersof the meansof production, thehave-nots versusthehaves. Theplayopens with onedrunkandendswith another,to highlightthe madness engendered bycapitalism. • Thereisthestrikingdramatic reversal, whena climax is immediately followedby an anti-climax: the Kiguundas' joy andweddingphantasies aremarredbythesadarrival in tearsof theirdaughter, Gathoni jiltedbyJohnMuhuuni. Aboveall the authorshaveskillfullystructured the playto act out the basicclassconflictfor the edification andeducation of theoppressed. Therealisticactingout of thedailywrongsbythe richagainstthe poor,summedup in the clarioncall at the end of the playfor unity and organization by the exploitedagainstthe exploiters,can elicitreadyresponses froma restive audience. Wearetalking of a rousing,lyricalendingwiththepotentialto sparkoff a revolution thatwillreplace socialinjustice withsocialjustice. In characterization the authorscombinetypicality andindividuality, withcharacters of thecapitalist classmore of types, and those of the workingclassbeing both individuals andtypes.Thecharacters of thebourgeois class are thus more simplified and less complex,types representativeof certain capitalisticattitudes.These characters are KioiandJezebel,NdugireandHelen,Ikuua wa andJohnMuhuuni. Theyarebestdiscussed as . . Nditika, . 218

a groupbecause theyall sharethe followingattributes: they are exploitative,hypocritical,arrogant,scornful, disdainful,wicked,merciless and ruthlesstowardsthe working class.Caricatures,they are satirisedand, consequently, bearthegreaterweightoftheauthors' anger. Ontheotherhandthereis greaterattempton the part of the playwrights to individualize the w~rkingclass characters, to makethemmorecomplex thantherichones. Kiguunda, forexample, isbotha caringfatherandhusband. Thoughpoor,heis proudof his 1½ acresof landandof his positionasfamilyhead.A true patriot,Kiguunda did not betrayMauMauassomedidto become rich.True,he is.morena'iveandignorantthanGicaamba, but sensible enoughto discernGicaamba's goodintentionswhenthe latter comesto educate andadvisehimaboutmixingwith the rich.Heisthusreceptive to goodadvice. Earlier, havingdiscovered thetrueintentionof Kioi, he understandably ventshisangeronhim,andcomes close to stabbinghim.His1½ acresarehiswholelifeandwhen deprivedof them,he becomes frustratedand takesto drinking.Thereis psychological reality underlyinghis quarrelandfightwithhiswife.However, he listensto the wisewordsof Gicaamba, andjoinsthe othersto organize themselves anduniteagainsttheexploiters. Wangeciis a dutifulhousewifeand a concerned mother.Likeanytypicalworldlymotner,shedoesnotcare aboutthe ideological issuesat stakewhentwofamiliesof unequalstatusarelinkedtogetherin marriage,provided her daughtermarries well.Thisconsideration aloneblinds her,andlikeherhusband, shedoesnot readbetween the linesin herdealings withthe Kiois.Likeherhusband, she too is na'iveandignorant.The humiliation they sufferat Kioi'shomedoesnot ringa bellto them.It shouldhave 219

sent important signalsabout the inherentwickedness and hypocriticalnatureof these'Christians'tryingto woothem to church. One has the impressionthat, giventhechance Kiguundahad of the possibilityof betrayingthe MauMau, andthus becomingrich,Wangeciwouldprobably havedone so. As for Gathoniher coquettishbehaviouris neither better nor worsethan that of manyothergirlsof herage. Nubileand empty-headed,she hasnothingbutyouthand beautyto recommendher.Sheis easilysweptoff herfeet by John Muhuunia dashingyoungbachelorin possession of a ,argefortune and a smartcar.However, sheis brokenheartedwhen, after dallyingwith her andgettingherinto trouble, the heartlessyoung mancruellydumpsher.This behaviorby JohnMuhuuni,indicateshiscommodified view of life. Gathonito him is just a disposable commodity. By and large, from the point of view of socialist vision, Gicaambais the ideal character,with a highsense of socialjustice.Heis the centralmouthpiece of theauthors, incarnating their positive humanisticvalues.He is very knowledgeable aboutthe cruelcapitalistsystem,andversed in its dynamics.Havinghad a long experience of fighting for workers' rights sincethe colonialtimes,Gicaamba is a highly conscientizedworker. Hestronglybelievesin solidAfricanvaluesanddoes not blindlyreject modernindustrialcapitalismfor the sake of it. He is likely to tolerate, to someextent,capitalism with a humanface, but not the red-in-tooth-and-claw type nowpractisedin Kenya.Hecouldpossiblyendurecapitalism that re-investsits profits, likeJesseJackson's theoryof the HoneyBee and the PollenDust,in the soilfrom whereits wealth comes,for the benefit of the citizensof the soil. Gicaambasays:

To have factories and even big industries Is good,verygood It'sa meansof developing thecountry· The questionis this: who ownsthe industries Whobenefitsfromtheindustries? (39) An avowedsocialist. wouldsaythesefactoriesand industrieswouldbeoperatedfor the greatestgoodof the greatestmajorityonly undera socialistsystem.But the capitalismpractised in Kenyatodayisthekindthatdestroys families,dehumanizes people,andkillsthem. . Thisisthepoint-where Gicaamba, thegreateducator of the depressed, deprivedand oppressed comesin. He educates thepeople, openstheireyesto therealities around them. Hecallson parentsto rethinkthe education of their daughters,someofwhomtodayaresufferingbecause they were not giventhe chance,likethe boys,to goto school. Hetellsthe people'vVho theiradversaries are,their intentionand methods:he informsthem that the best approachagainsttheir enemiesis organisation and unity of the oppressed; headvises themnotto directtheiranger againstoneanother,urgesthemto usetheir wrathas a missilefired at the exploiters,and concludesthat their povertycannotbe solvedthrougha multiplication of beer hallsall overthe country,nor througha proliferation of churchesin thevillages: . Endingup with two alcoholics: • Thealcoholicof hardliquor; Thealcoholicof the rosary. Let'sratherunitein patrioticlove.(114) 221

And behold the people heed his call, andthe play ends on an optimistic note. Gicaamba'swife, Njoki,shares most of his attributes, and may thus be consideredpart and parcelof him. Whatever ideology I Will Marry When I Want embodiesis subtly inscribed in the words·and techniques, in •the content of the text. Eagleton puts it that, 'The languagesand devicesa writer finds to hand are already saturated with certain ideological modes of perception, certain codified ways of interpreting reality' (Eagleton 1976:27). • The deviceor techniquesdeployedby the Ngugisto point out the exploitative, reactionary and conservative attitudesof the capitalist class, on the one hand, and the rebellious,combativespirit of the working classepitomized by Gicaamba,on the other, are ideologically resonant. All thesedevicesforegroundthe various charactersand issues of the text; and as these characters come across to us through their roles, language, speechesand actions, we can discerntheir tone of voice and, therefore, 'perceive' or 'see'their moralas well as ideologicalorientation. The way the broad dramaticconflict between the rich and the poor is crafted,so that the play ends on an optimistic note from the point of view of the exploited class, is equally ideologicallysignificant. At the risk of oversimplification, realism, ideology, commitment, typicality and individuality are central to Marxistcriticism, ideas crucial to the evaluation of a work of art. Realism,the genuine dialectical art form, is highly regardedin Marxist criticism. That is why Naturalismand Formalismare strongly attacked and scorned by Marxist critics. It is a basictenet in Marxist criticism that literature., or art is the social and historical product of the societ'; 222

producingit. In otherwords,worksof art aresociallyand historicallyconditioned. Theyare not just mysteriously inspired,or based solelyonthepsychology of theircreators. A closelyrelatedprincipleis that no majorliteraryworkis conceivedwithinan ideological vacuum;all art emanates from an ideological conception of the world.Therefore, to fully understand a workof art it is importantto examine the total socialprocess of whichit is a part.Commitment of art is a fundamental principle in Marxistcriticism. Artfor art's sakeisnonsense to Marxist critics;meaningful to them is art for life'ssake.ForMarxistcriticstruecharacterization shouldcombinetypicalityandindividuality. Thatsaid,a bird'seye-view of whatgoesonin I Will Marry WhenI Wantreveals thatit istheartists'impressions of Kenyaor areasof Kenyaunderthe relentless grip of capitalistneo-colonial forces. Theeconomy isnowcontrolled by blackcompradors for boththeirowninterestandthat of their foreigncapitalist allies.Thisis equallythe central concernof NgugiwaThiong'o's DevilontheCross, discussed in the nextchapterof thiswork. The capitalistclass,that has dehumanized the Gicaambas andruinedthe Kiguundas, is represented by the Kiois,the Ndugiresand Ikuua wa Nditika.These bourgeoiswouldlikethingsto remainas they are; they would like to maintainthe statusquo so that they can continueto accumulate moreandmoreprofitsonthebacks of the Kiguundas andthe.others. Forthisreasontheyusereligionto mollifyworkers who wouldotherwisehavebeenrestiveand subversive. Christianised workerswouldbe contentwith their lot as havingbeenordained bytheLord.Thus,withtheworkers' potential rebelliousspirit contained,their capitalist employers cancomfortably holduntotheireconomic gains. 223

This is the spirit transmitted by Helen'sprayerbeforethe meal in Kiguunda'shouse. Pitted against the capitalistclassare the workers, representedby the Kiguundasand the Gicaambas andthe rest of the other unnamedactors. They are led by the 'agitator' Gicaamba, the most highly ideologized,and conscientisedof them all. An old industrialworkersince the colonial times, he knows the capitalistsystemfrom within andwithout. An intelligent,moralandhonestperson with a high senseof socialjustice, he is best placedto educatethe sufferingmassesandpreparethemto fight for a new socialorder. Thanksto Gicaamba's tirelesseffortin educatingand sensitizingthe masses,Kiguundais liberatedfrom his parochialism.Henow knowsthat the answerto hispoverty andfrustration lies neitherin the alcoholof the rosary,nor in that of the liquor.He hascompletedhiseducationunder Gicaamba;he and the others are now readyto face the exploiters in an imminent revolution.The exploitedare awarethat they are workingfor a newsocialorder,where socialjusticewouldreign.Wehavenowseenthe~o distinct ideologicaldifferencesbetweenthe socialclassesof the capitalistsand the workers. SinceI Will Marry WhenI Wantis a productof the socialand historicalconditionof its Kenyansociety,it is a socialist-oriented play,in a realistmode;andsocialistart is realistart. The play containsthe latentforces,the typical trends and forcesthat, GeorgLukacsbelieves,whenfully developed through sensuouslyrealizedcharactersand actions,exposea 'society'sinnerstructureanddynamic'. In this playsuchcharactersincludemembersof the capitalistclass,with their acutesenseof capitalistmethods and profit accumulation, on the one hand, and the 224

conscientised workersled by Gicaamba, on the other.So when the bourgeois with their typical, inhuman, dehumanizing capitalistattitudestowardsthe workersare broughtinto confrontation with a determinedproletariat, bent on fightingto improvetheir materialwell-being, through a typicalcrisissituationlike grosslydebasing exploitationof onesocialclassbyanother,theyarebound to generateotherforcesto revealsociety'sinnerstructure and dynamic. Thesecharacters and actionsare also boundto producehistoricallysignificantsocialoutcomes,like the impendingsocialrevolutionhintedat, at the end of the play,imbuedwith the powerof 'worldhistorical'.Thatis, the forcesarecapable of makingor influencing history.To the extentthattheymakethingsdifferent,changing them for the better,theyareprogressive forces.Bythe endof the playthe proletariat arequiteawarethattheyarein the processof makinghistory;they are workingtowardsa changeof the statusquo.Theyare lookingforwardto a betterfuturein a transformed societyof socialjustice,a crucialprinciplein socialistart. In all of Africanliterature,in termsof committing hisart to thecauseoftheproletariat, in termsof harnessing his imaginativeefforts for the general good of the community,coupledwith pronouncements to this effect, NgugiwaThiong'otowersaboveall otherAfricancreative writers.Andno lessrevealing of their commitment to the causeoftheirsuffering peopleisthefactthatthetwoNgugis firstwrotethisplayin theirnativeGikuyubeforetranslating it into English.Their intentionwas to makethe book available to morelocalconsumers thanit wouldhavebeen possibleif only the Englishversionhad comeout. The MarxistNgugis knowonlytoowellthatnoseriousrevolution 225

cantake placewithoutthe educationof the masses,and the transformationof consciousness. Needless to say, it now becomescrystal clear that the tv-·oNgugis'main objectiveis to leada relentlesscrusade1gainstcapitalist exploiters. Theyarebentonartistically inciLing theexploited masses to join hands,riseupandoverthrow thereactionary andexploitativeagentsin the Kenyannee-colonial society. End Note *Ngugiwa Thiong'oandNgugiwa Mirri.I WillMarryWhen J. Want.Ibadan: HeinemannEducational Books(Nigeria) . Ltd, 1982.Pagereferences to the text aretakenfrom this edition. Works Cited Eagleton,Terry.Marxismand UteraryCriticism.Berkeley and LosAngeles:Universityof californiaPress, 1976. Ngugiwa Thiong'oandNgugiwa Mirri.I WillMarryWhen I Want.Ibadan:Heinemann Educational Books (Nigeria)Ltd, 1982.

226

CHAPTEREIGHT

------~-----Ngugiwa Thiong'o's DEVILON THECROSS-

Devil on the Crossis aboutJacintaWariinga,a brilliant secondary schoolstudentwho,underthe influence of her indulgentuncle,becomes theteenagemistress of theRich OldManofNgorika. Toelatterrejectsherwhenshebecomes pregnant.Thanksto the sympathyof her.parents,she carriesoutcommercial studies.Butshefindsit hardto get a job in the citybecause shedoesnot wantto y·ieldher bodyto doso.Sheis,however, employed by BossKihara. But whensherefuses to makeloveto him,he dismisses her fromherjob andat thesametimesheis evictedfrom her houseby hercruellandlord. Sheattemptssuicide. Frustrated, sheboardsa taxi,Matatu,for herhome in Ilmorog.Meanwhile she.hasreceivedan invitationto attendafeast-thedevil'sfeast.Wariinga, Muturi,Wangari, Gatuiria,Mwireri~ aswellasthebusdriver,Mwaura, areall headed forthefeast.Thefeastwhichtakesplacein a cave in Ilmorogturns·outto beanarrogantdisplayof thecruel andinhuman methods adoptedby foreignandlocalneocolonialexploiters to growricherandricherat theexpense of thesweatof the impoverished workingclassmasses in Kenya. The~xploiters viewithoneanotherfor thetrophyfor the·cruellest andmostefficientexploiter. Wangari bringsin 227

the policeto showthem the gangof theseinternational and localthievesand robbersonly to discoverthat the policeare in collaboration with the criminalsto ruinthe poorpeople. LedbyMuturithe workingclassmasses teamupand chasethe exploitersfromthe cave.GatuiriaandWariinga are later engaged,and the marriageceremonyis well underway. However, at the lastminuteWariinga discovers to heruttershockthat herfather-in-law is noneotherthan the.Rich OldManwhohaddisvirgined andthenabandoned herin her pregnancy. In a melodramatic mannershepulls a revolverfrom her bagandshootshim pointblankand thenwalksawayfromthe marriagescene. The Robbers'Testimonies . Thecentralthemestatedalmostbluntlybytheauthor is neo-colonial exploitation in Kenya,andthewarbetween theclasses in Kenyai.e.the localcapitalists inalliancewith theirforeigncohortsversusthe workingclass.A situation likethis necessarily breedsbriberyandcorruption,indeed immoralityof all sorts. Without a systematic robbery of peasantsand workers, a robbery protectedand sanctifiedby law,law courts, parliament,religion,armed forces,police,prisons, education there is no capitalism. It is worse, the robbery,whena countryis underthe highcapitalismof foreignerswhichis imperialism ... (qtd in Cooket al 121) Usingthesatiricalweaponof humourandironythemilitant Ngugimoreor lesscallsa spadea spade- in the wayhe makesthe thievesand robbersgatheredin the caveat Ilmorogrevealtheirdiabolical futureprojectsto growricher" 228

andricherat theexpense of thepeasants, intheinterestof accumulation of profit.Indulgentcitationof passages from Ngugiwasexcuseq in the preface,andthat indulgence is nowhere morecalledfor than herein the boastsof the thieves. Inthepresence of Muturi,Wariinga, Gatuiria etc.,these thieves androbbers soundblunt,arrogantandprovocative. Thelanguage Ngugiendowsthethievesandrobbers with, togetherwith their trickeryto live off the backsof the masses areintendedto servenot onlyas an eye-opener, revealingthe socioeconomic inequitiesand ideological contradictions oftheKenyan society, butto drivethemasses mad,to pushthem into a revolutionof sorts,to incite themto riseagainst theexploiters inthehopeofestablishing a newsocialorder.Excerpts fromthe robbers'testimonies willdo.Firstcomesthe pot-bellied GitutuwaGataanguru, a landspeculator whoexpropriates andsellslandto the people,makingenormous profits: "The landwasn'tmine,and the moneywith whichI'd paidfor it wasn'tmine,andI hadn't addedanythingto the land- wheredid I get the 200,000shillings? Fromthe pocketof the people.Yes,because the landreallybelonged to thepeopleandthemoneywithwhichI bought it camefrom the people!I myselfhadonly switchedthingsfrom one handto the other.I had donea bit of multiplicationand put the answerinto my pocket.(106) "Thereare two ideasthat I'd like to develop now.The first concernswaysand meansof increasing hungerandthirstfor landinthewhole country;thiswill createfamine,andthepeople will then raisetop-gradetycoons.Themasses 229

will do that in thisway:assoonashungerand thirstfor landhaveincreased far beyondtheir presentlevelwewhohavethelandwillbeselling soilin potsandtins,sothata manwillat least beableto planta seedin themandhangthem fromthe roofof hisshelter! "Myfriends,whenwereachthestageof selling soilto peasants in tinsandpots,we'llreallybe makingmoney!Imaginethe wholepopulation holdingtraysor platesor baskets, queuingfor soilatyourplace!Latertheywillhangtheirgrains of soilfromtheirroofsor verandas andplantin. thempotatoesto bribetheircryingchildrento bequietl "TheotherideaI'd liketo followupis howwe, the top-gradetycoonscantrapthe air in the skyandput in tins andsellit to peasants and workers,just as waterandcharcoal are now soldto them.Imaginetheprofitwewouldreap if we wereto sellthe masses air to breathein tins or, betterif we couldmeterit! Wecould evenimportsomeair from abroad,imported air,whichwe couldthen sellto the peopleat specialprices!Or we couldsendour own air abroadto be packaged in tins and bottlesyes,because thetechnology offoreigners isvery advanced! Andthenit wouldbesentbackto us herelabelledMadein USA;Madein Western Europe; MadeinJapan;ThisAirisMadeAbroad: andothersimilarads!"(107)

230

ThenextthiefisKihaahu waGatheeca. Afteropening an AfricanNurserySchoolfor VIP children,cheapand managed byKenyans, a schoolin whichKenyan songsand lullabies areto betaught,Kihaahu realiseshe hasmadea mistake.No Kenyanworthhis salt is willingto sendhis childto anAfricanschool.Faced witha disturbing financial problem at hand,Kihaahu ingeniously turnsthingsaround thus: "I hurriedbackto thenurseryschoolbeforethe bankstartedharassing me.I changed itsname. I baptised it: Modern-Day-Nursery school.Then I lookedfor a whitewomanto bethe principal. Luckily,I foundone.Shewasa decrepitold woman,half-blind andhardof hearing,andshe wasalwaysfallingasleep.Sheagreedto join thestaffof myschoolanddo herdozingthere. "NextI visitedcertainNarobishops.I bought childMannequins - thoseplastichumanshapes - andI dressedthemih expensive clothes.I fixed red wigs to their heads.I put electric machines into their plasticbellies,andthen I fixedtiny wheelson the solesof their plastic feet. WhenI switchedon the power,the Mannequins wouldmoveaboutthe floor like realhumanchildrenat play.Throughthe big glasswindowsof the schoolbuildingonecould seethemplayingevenif onewerestandingby the roadside.Then I placed another big advertisement in a newspaper: Modern-DayNursery School Experienced European Principal Formerly for Europeans Only. NowOpento a FewKenyans. Foreign Standards asBefore.National Languages, NationalSongs, 231

NationalNamesBanned.ForeignLanguages, ForeignSongs,ForeignToys,etc. etc. English Medium ofInstruction, Limited Places. Telephone or Callin YourCar,Colouris no Bar:Moneyis Bar.FeesHigh. "Oh,thenparentsstartedringingdayandnight to reserveplacesfor their children.Whenever thephonerangI wouldrunto waketheEuropean Principal to answerit. Butthemajority of parents preferredto callin theircarsto makesureof a placefor theirchildren.Andon findinga white woman,andon seeingthe Mannequins at play throughthe windows,the parentswouldpay thefeesthenandthere:theydidn'tevenbother to find out moreaboutthe school. "I took- or,rather,I instructed the principalto take not morethan a hundredchildren.Each child paid 2,500 shillings a month. I was overjoyed,for that meanteverymonthI was pocketing250,000shillings.After payingthe rentandthesalaries of thedozingprincipal and herassistants I wouldbeleftwithover200,000 shillingseverymonth.Andpleasenote,all this time I hadn'tsheda singledropof sweat, I hadn't swallowedany dust from chalk and dusters.Tomethefruitfromthatparticular tree did nottastebitter- not at all. (112-113) "I started receivinginvitationsto becomea directorof branches of foreigncompanies ... "That'swhy I'm verygratefulto the massesof the Kenyanpeople.For their blindness, their ignorance, their inabilityto demand their rights 232

arewhatenableus,the clanof Man-eaters to feedon theirsweatwithouttheiraskingustoo manyawkwardquestions ... "Butweshouldn't becomplacent or imagine that the masseswill alwaysbe as foolish.It's the possibilitythat things may changethat has promptedsomeforeignersto appointme a directorof their companies - to protectthem fromthe wrathof the massesof workersand peasants. I don'tmindtheassignment. It'sfairly lucrative." Nowcomestheturnof MwireriwaMukiraai, B.Sc;B. Comm.,M.A., MRSOCIBM. With a strong business educational background he is well-grounded in capitalist theories andmethods of profitaccumulation. Unfortunately, multinationals haveforcedhimoutof everybusiness venture he has undertaken,throughthe vicioustechniqueof cutthroatcompetition. A committednationalist capitalist, thisishowMwireriwaMukiraai intendsto fightbackforeign capitalist: "I, MwireriwaMukiraai, believeonlyin thefirst kindof theftandrobbery:that is,thetheftand robbery of nationals of a givencountrywhosteal fromtheirownpeo·ple andassume the plunder rightthere,inthecountryitself.Butto thesecond kind- the theft of foreignthievesandrobbers whocometo our countryandbuildlairshere, helpedby someof us - I say no, hapana, a thousand times,no! "We,the nationalexpertsin theft androbbery, shouldnot join handswith foreignersto help themto seizeour nationalwealthandcarryit backto their owncountries,leavingus onlya 233

fewcrumbs,the priceof theheritage theyhave takenfromus." "Let'snot betheirspies,theirwatchdogs, their disciples, their soldiers,the overseers of their lairsandstoresin ourownland.Letthemleave usaloneto exploitourownnational fields." "Whydo I saythat? "I'll speakveryfrankly,comewhatmay.These peopleare hypocrites, thoughyou might not • knowthat as youwatchthemnow,peacefully smoking theircigarettes andpipes. "I, MwireriwaMukiraai, havestudied thoroughly the systembasedon the theftof workersand peasants - whatin Englishwecallcapitalism. The systemis this: the massescultivate; a selected few (thosewithtalents)harvest.Five richmengrowrootsinthefleshoffifty workers andpeasants. I'vegotthelearning, I don'tneed anybodyto teachme moreaboutit. I believe that we who are heretodayare capableof buildingour own lairsandstoresin whichto stacktheproducts of thesweatofourmasses.I amverysurethatwe,the Kenyan thievesand robbers,can standon our ownfeet and end forever this habit of sharingour loot with foreigners.Let me repeatmyselffor a word hiddenin the heartcanneverwina lawsuit;we shouldnot rob our workersandpeasants - I shouldreallycallthemslaves- andthenhand overthe spoilsto foreigners to do the sharing out, returninga little to us andexportingthe restto theirowncountries! Whydon'ttheyallow 234

usto stealfromAmerica, theirEurope andtheir Japansothatwe canimportlootintoourown country? Whydon'ttheyallowusto buildlairs and storesin their countriesso that ours becomes the decisivevoicein the distribution of theproducts of thesweatof theirpeople? "Letusstealfromamong ourselves, sothat thewealthof thecountryremains inthefleshof ten millionpoor.We can plantthe rootsof nationalmillionaires. Weshallthenbe ableto blindthe masses withthefollowingwords: "Wananchi, don'tcomplain! Whentheforeigners. wereeatingdidyouevermoan?Didyouever scratch yourselves? Ourpeople, theplague that isstalkingthecountryis notasalienastheone in Europe. Youshouldbe rejoicingat the fact that yoursweatand bloodhasproduced the nativemillionaires. "Afterfinishingschool,I startedworkingfor variousimperialistcompanies ... Oneday I stoppedto ask myself:Are theseforeigners employingme as an individual,or are they employingthe colourof my skin?Are they buyingmyabilitiesor myblackness? Andall at onceI realised thatI wasbeingusedaswindowdressing. If our peoplelookedfor foreigners, they would see me at the windowof the enterprise; andonseeingme,theywouldthink theyhada sharein theenterprise, andsothey wouldcontinueto acquiesce in the foreigners' theft in the beliefthat they were becoming wealthybit by bit ... 235

"So I askedmyself:Mwireriwa Mukiraai, how canyou allowthe imperialists to milktheir countryandyours?Don'twe havepeopleof ourownwhocanmilkthemasses, astheyare beingmilked? Areforeigners theonlyoneswith skillat milking? Aretheytheonlypeople ·who knowhowto eatwhathasbeenproduced by others?can't you, Mwireriwa Mukiraaistep forward to exploityourownpeople's sweat,use it to producethingsandthensellthe things backto the ownersof thesweat,sothatthey produce themfirstandthenhaveto buythem, growcropsandthenbuythesamecrops?We don'twanteatersof whathasbeenproduced byourpeopleto comefromforeigncountries: wecanencourage thegrowthofaclass ofeaters ofotherpeople's products-yes, aclassof maneaters- in ourownland. "Withall myheart,I shouted at theforeigners: Nowwe shallseewho is who,you fucking bastards! 111 showyouthatevenherewehave menwhohavebeeninitiatedintothemodern art of stealingandrobbingthe workers!You foreigners will haveto go backhomeandrape yourownmothers,andleavemeto toy with mymother's thighs!"(167-68) Mwireri waMukiraai, according to hisowntestimony, undertakes several business ventures. Butheisforcedout of thembystiffcompetition fromforeigncompanies. The latterproduce andsellcheaply whatever productMwireri wantsto produce locally. TheresultisthatMwireri isforced to selloutto foreigncompanies andis leftwithno other choicebutto findservice withthem,oncemore,thistime 236

asa wholesaler andimporterof fabrics.Thissubservience to foreigncompetitorsnotwithstanding, Mwireriremains essentially undaunted: "But I haveneverabandoned my ambitionto drivethemout of the arena."Well,this piece of persistent effronterywill costhimhislife;for beforethe novelends,Mwireriwill beeliminatedbytheeffortsof the collaboration betweenKenyanand foreignthievesand robbers;specificallyhe will be killed by Mwaurain a contrived accidentin MatatuMatataMatamu. TheTestimony of Nditikawa Nguunji,the fabulouslyrich speculator whoevenspeculates on immortality: " ... Mysuccess at stealingandrobbinghasbeen. restrictedto the field of smugglingand black market.Let me explainbriefly.I havemany sourcesof expensivestores - pearl, gold, tanzanite.- rare animalskins like those of leopardsand lions,elephanttusksand rhino teeth,snakepoisonandmanyotherthings,all fromthe publicminesandthe gamereserves. I exportthem. Theothercommodities thatI smuggled overseas and neighbouringcountriesare salt, sugar, maize,wheat,rice,coffeeandtea. Personally speakingAmin'sdeparturewasa loss.During his rule Ugandancoffeebroughtme in more than 50 millionshillings... "Sometimes, whenI knowBudgetDayis near,I try as hardas I canto buyinformationabout the goodsthat will go up in pricefrom those closeto the secret,betheyclerksor whoever, I then buy and hoardlargequantitiesof these goods.SometimesI buythem in a storeand 237

sellthemin the samestorethefollowingdayfor a profit. "Whenever I, Nditikawa Nguunji,contemplate my extra-ordinarywealthI ask myselfsadly several searching questions.With all my propertywhat do I have,as a humanbeing, thata workeror a peasant, or a poormandoes nothave?I haveonemouth,just likethe poor; I haveonebelly,just likethe poor;I haveone heart,just likethe verypoor;andI haveone... "So, seeingthat I haveonly onemouth,one belly,oneheart,onelife andonecock,what's• the pointof robbingothers? "It was revealedto me that nightthat in this country we should have a factory for manufacturing humanpartslikemouth,bellies, heartsand so on, sparepartsfor the human body.This wouldmeanthat a rich manwho could afford them could havetwo or three mouths,two bellies,two cocksandtwohearts. If thefirst mouthbecame tiredof chewing, and his bellycouldhold no more,thenthe spare mouthand bellycouldtakeover.Whenan old manlike mehada sugargirl, insteadof falling asleepsoonafterthe first enginehadstarted, he couldsimplystart up the otherengineand continuewith thejob in hand,thetwoengines supporting eachotherall nightlong,sothat on wakingup in the morninghewouldfeelthat his heartandbodywerecompletely relaxed... We couldpurchase immortality withourmoneyand leavedeathastheprerogative ofthepoor." (177180) 238

The capitalistthievesoutline their methodsof enrichmentwithobvious gleeandgrossinsensitivity. Some of their future projects,the conceptionof which are reminiscent of Swift'sprojections in BookThreeof Gulliver's Travels,are reallyfantastic. Gitutu's"bright"ideais a plan whereinthe common peoplewill lineupto purchase pots andtraysof soilto plantcropsininstead ofowningstretches of farmingplots.The sameplanenvisages the bottling and sellingof air to the masses. ForKihaahu, the masses will no longerbe botheredabouthousingin the future. Tentsor bird'snestswill be available to consumers who will buythem,carrythemaboutandpitchthemwherever they like to harbourtheir headswhilethe rest of their bodieswill beat the mercyof theelements of nature.For Nditika,the richwill beableto purchase moreorgansfor fuller sensualpleasure andlongevity anddeathwillbethe accursedpreserveof the poor,whileimmortalitywill be the prerogative of therich. However,theseprojects,sadisticas they are, are ., nothingcompared to thesadismof Kimeenderi's, revealed to Wariingabythevoice.Kimeenderi's planbeatsthoseof other thieves.According to it workerswill be herdedinto barbed-wirecompounds wheretheirbloodandsweatwill be drainedthroughpipes,packagedand then soldor exportedat greaterprofits. Theaboveplans,unlikethe actualrealisticcapitalist methodsthroughwhichthe exploitershaveaccumulated their wealth, are grotesqueexaggerations within the satirical mediumof burlesque.True, they are not realistically realizable, but are a reflection of the consumerism, mentalattitude,andsecretfantasies of the bourgeoisin the neo-colonial Kenyan society. Theyarethe extent to whichthesegreedymenwouldgo, if it were 239

possible, to reducethe restof humanity to nought,while preserving for themselves all thegoodthingsof life.They arethe extensionof man'sbasicgreedandselfishness, evidence of hisevilnature. ThisKenyan societyof thenovelreveals twoconflicting ideologies: the bourgeois(capitalist)ideology versusthe socialistideology,a socialistnovelparexcellence. For it notonlypitsthe capitalistclassagainsttheproletariatbut depictsthemin language characteristic of Marxist analysis of the methodsof capitalism andattitudes of capitalists. Theproletariatarerepresented to a largeextentby Muturi,Wangari,and to a lessextentby Wariingaand Gatuiria,andbythe leaderof Ilmorogworkers' union.The workersareexploitedbythecapitalist thieves whocontrol the networkof businesses andkeyeconomic structures and activities.Wangari,for example, is trickedout of a bankloan;Wariinga is notonlyvictimised byherpredatory landlord,but is alsosexually exploited andabandoned by the Rich Old Man. She is commodified. Besides,her mechanic job siteis boughtoverbysomecapitalist rogues, leavingthe community of mechanics stranded. Asit is thepracticein mostpostcolonial societies, the localgovernment worksin closecollaboration withforeign capitalists, neo-colonialism succeeding largelybecauseof localsupport.Eventhepolice,guardians of peace andlaw, are in favourof the thieves.Thisis an ironicaltwist that leavesthe poorbareandcompletely vulnerable. The greatdisparitybetweenthe capitalists and the proletariat comesoutin thequalityof theirlivingquarters: theoneslivein poshandluxurious buildings, theothersin slumsandcardboard shelters: OurIlmorog,it appears, doesnotchange much. TwowholeyearsaftertheDevil's feast,Ilmorog 240

manifested the samedivisionsas before.The GoldenHeights had gone on expanding. Mansions with wallsdecorated with candles in goldcandelabra andPersian carpets. Thefloors werestill beingbuiltwith the wealththatlocal tycoonshadin excess.Thesamewastrueof bedsmadeout of silverand gold: this had becomeso commonand normalthat nobody wouldhavethoughtthatthe otherresidents of the areawouldevenbesurprised at it. Foreign companies, especially thosefromUSA,Canada, WestGermany, France, Britain,ItalyandJapan, hadincreased. Thecarwasa goodmeasure of theincreased dominance offoreignproperty over ourlives.(Thetruthof the matteris thattoday there is not a singlemakeof car - Toyota, Datsun;Mazda,Honda,Subaru,Ford,Cadillac, Vauhxhall,Volvo,Fiat, Jaguar,Alfa Romeo, Mercedes Benz,BMWandmanyothers- you will not find spinningalongIlmorog'sroads). Foreignfinance housesand stores - that gathered in people's moneyhadvirtuallyoverrun Ilmorog.TwoAmericanbanks,from Chicago andNewYork,werethe latestto buildstores, money-trading bases, inthisheartland ofwealth. Njeruca too hadexpanded. cardboard shelters, trenchesfilled with foul water,detritusfrom foreign-ownedfactories,shit and urinehad expanded Njerucaslightly.Eventhevillages that usedto be on the outskirtsof Njeruca- like Ngaindeithie village,whereWariinga's parents lived - had been swallowedup by Njeruca. Workers, theunemployed, theverypoor,sellers 241

of illegal brews and sellers of orangesand mandazi,tradersin their own bodieswere all crammed into the vast Njeruca slumyard. Njerucaalso had severaltiny shopsthat sold meat,eggs,sukumawikavegetables, salt,beer, pepper,onionsandflours. The ownersof theseshopsand slumshelters weretheGoldenHeightsresidents. Somevisited Njerucato collecttheir rentandprofit,but most of thememployed thugsto collectrentfor them. Eventhe Devil'sAngelshadestablished a branch in Ilmorog.(233) • The contrastingqualitiesof socialexistenceof both the richandthe poorhadbeenenshrinedin two respective creeds:that of the rich, and that of the poor.For the capitalists (the richandthe imperialists) theircreed,with a sarcastic,biblicaltwist runsthus: Blessedis hewho bitesandsoothes, se·cause hewill neverbe foundout Blessedis the man who burnsdown another man'shouse And in the morningjoins him in grief, Forhe shallbe calledmerciful. Blessedis the man who robs anotherof five shillings Andthen giveshim backhalf a shillingfor salt, Forheshallbe calledgenerous Asfor the manwhobitesanddoesn'tknowhow to soothe, Andthe one who stealsfrom the masses And does not attempt to deceivethem with honeyedwords, Woeunto him!... (209- 210) 242

The creedof theworkers withobviousdidactism anda Marxistor socialist agenda runsasfollows: "I believe thatwe,theworkersareof oneclan Andhenceweshouldnotallowourselves Tobedividedby religion,colouror tribe. I believe thatintheorganisation of theworkers Liesourstrength, Forthosewhoareorganised neverlosetheir way, Andthosewhoarenotorganised arescattered bythesoundof onebullet. I therefore believe in the unityof theworkers, Because unityisourstrength I believethat imperialism and its local representatives are enemies of theprogress of theworkers andpeasants of thewholenation. I therefore vowalwaysto struggle,alwaysto struggle against neo-colonialism, the lastviciouskickof a dyingimperialism." (210) In a symbolic act,a longprocession of workersled by Muturichases thecapitalist thievesfromthecave.With clubs,sticksandironrodstheworkers chastise therobbers. The victorious peasants andworkersthengatheroutside the caveto listentospeeches fromtheirleaders, averitable occasionfor the pedagogyof the oppressedor the educationof the deprived.The speakersare Muturi, Ilmorog'sstudents' leaderandIlmorog'sworkers'leader, both highlighting thevirtuesof theworkers'unityandthe needfor a relentless struggleagainstexploiters, the need to changethe present socialorderandto usherin a new socialorder.In a passage of admirable poeticprosewith 243

balancedcontrastsand parallelconstruction,Muturithe first speakerbeginsthus: "Friendsor perhapsI shouldcallyouClansmen, for we who are gatheredhere now belongto oneclan:the clanof workers- I thinkall of us sawthe incrediblespectacleof thosewho have belliesthat neverbearchildrencometo scorn us. Thosebelliesare not swollenby disease. Theyhavebeenfattenedbythefruit of oursweat and blood.Thosebelliesare barren,andtheir ownersarebarren.Whataboutus,theworkers? Webuildhouses;othersoccupythem; andwe the buildersare left out in the rain. We make clothes;otherstakethem, and dresswell; and we tailorsgo naked.Wegrow food;otherseat it; andwe,thefarmers,sleepwithourstomachs growlingthroughthe night.Lookhere.Webuild goodschools;otherpeople'schildrenfindplaces in them,andoursgo lookingfor foodin rubbish heapsand dustbins.Todaywe are taking a stand.Today,here, we refuseto go on being the pot that cooksbut nevertastesthe food." (208) Partof the Ilmorogstudents'leader'sspeech,markedat everyturn with a radicalMarxistdiscourse,runsasfollows: "We,the massof studentsin Ilmorog,whether in primary or secondary schools or at the university,supportthe workersfullyin theirjust struggleagainstthesystemof moderntheftand robbery.Theworkersare at the forefrontof the fight againstneo-colonialism, the laststageof imperialism.Whenthe organisationof Ilmorog workersgot wind of the gatheringof localand 244

international thieves,they informedus, as a student organisation. Andwe,thestudents, sat downandaskedourselves: whatcanwe doto showour solidaritywith the workers?It was thenthat we printedcardsto indicateto the peoplethe natureof the feast,to showthem that it wasgoingto be like a Devil'sfeast organised bySatan,thekingof devils.Letusall nowjoinhands withtheworkingpeoplein their just waragainstthe drinkingof humanflesh, andthe manyother crimesperpetratedby imperialism initsneo-colonial stage.Letusjoin hands withtheworkers astheystruggleto build a housethat will benefitall builders.What greaterthingcan our educationdo for our nation? That'swhy,wethe students,saidthat wewouldnotbeleftbehind,thatwe mustjoin hands inthiswonderful dramain whichwe,the people, wereto throwoutthe Devilandall his followers!" (209) The lastspeech is thatof Ilmorogworkers'leader,based essentiallyon drawingthe attentionof the crowdto the ideologicaldifferences betweenthe capitalists'andthe workers'creeds quotedabove. After theseclassicspeeches of conscientisation, Wariinga's andGatuiria's mindsarefullymadeup:theyare on the sideof theworkers, theexploited. It is duringthis periodof speech-making that Muturisecretlyhandsto Wariinga a gun, an instrument of great symbolic significance. It iswiththegunthatWariinga killsthe Rich Old Man,pointing thewayto thetypeof actionneededby the exploited. Theirsalvation liesin their eventualrising with armsagainst thecapitalist thievesandoverthrowing 245

them to establisha new socialorder basedon socialist principles. Thetimemaynotyet be ripefor that ultimate action,butthe futureis on the sideof the strugglers since the youth(primary,secondaryand universityyouth)are on theirside. Mostof Ngugi'sworksarebasedontheexperiences andstrugglesof the Kenyanpeoplecoveringthe colonial and neo-colonialperiods.UnlikeWestAfrica with its enervatingclimateand infestationwith malaria-carrying mosquitoes, EastAfricain generalandKenyain particular was a region with a conduciveclimatefor European settlement.Hencethe influxof Europeans to EastAfrica where,in additionto thehealthyclimate,theyfoundfertile valleysandhillsfor extensive agricultural exploitation. The Europeans expropriated mostof theselandsfromthenative Africans,drivingthemon to unproductive patches of lands from wheretheytroopeddailyto workfor the whiteson the ·richestatesownedby thesewhites.Hereis Ngugi's factualaccountof the wholething: Just oppositethe ridgeson whichour village wasscatteredwerethe sprawlinggreenfields ownedby the whitesettlers.Theygrewcoffee and tea and pyrethrum. I worked there sometimes,diggingthe ground,tendingthe settlers'crops,andthisfor lessthantenshillings. EverymorningAfricanworkerswouldstream acrossthe valleyto selltheir sweatfor such a meagersumof money,and at the endof the weekor monththey would give it all to the Indiantraderwho ownedmostof the shopsin ourareafor a poundof sugar,maize,or grains, thankfulthat this wouldsilencethe children's clamourfor a few days.Theseworkerswere 246

thecreators of wealthbuttheyneverbenefited fromit: the products of theircollective sweat wenttofeedandclothe thechildren oftheIndian trader,andthoseof the European settlersnot onlyinourcountrybuteventhosein England. OnedayI hearda song.I remember thescene so vividly:the womenwhosangit are now beforeme- theirsadfacesandtheirplaintive melody. I wasthenten or eleven.Theywere beingforciblyejectedfrom the land they occupied andsentto another partofthecountry sobarren thatpeople calledit thelandof black rocks.(NgugiHomecoming 48) As soon as the Kenyansachievedpolitical independence, the Europeans departed,but their rich estateshadbeenbought byblacktycoons liketheGitutus andthe rest, "...thesettler owning 600acres oflandisreplaced bya singleAfrican owningthesame600acres. Therehasbeennochange inthestructureand nature ofownership ofvarious companies, banks andindustries; twoor threeEuropean directors - the companies remainforeign-owned." (Ibid xvi) So the whitecolonial exploiters arereplaced bythe black neo-colonial exploiters who,asthe Masterof Ceremonies saysin theparable ofthetalents,stillworkin collaboration with theirforeign, departed masters tofeedfatonthesweat of the peasants inKenya. Thematically theseissues of land,struggling to own land,exploitation of onegroupbyanother, havebeenone that haspre-occupied Ngugiin mostof hisworks: 247

Capitalism itselfis a systemof unabashed theft androbbery. Thustheft,robbery, corruption can neverbewrongundercapitalism because they areinherentin it. Well,theyarethestructure. Withouta systematic robberyof peasants and workers,robberyprotectedandsanctifiedby laws,law courts,parliament,religion,armed forces,police,prisons,education, thereis no capitalism.It is worse,the robbery,when a country is under the higher capitalismof foreigners whichis imperialism. (qtdin Cooket al op.cit) Allthesefactspointto thefactthatwhatwehavein DevilontheCrossis anartistictransmutation ofthesocial andhistorical realitiesof Kenya. AsNgugievenpointsout in hisprisondocument fromwhichtheaboveexcerptwas quoted,the conception of the novelwasinspiredby an actualnewsitemretrieved froma scrapof paperfoundin a dustbinin the prisonyard.(Ibid) Whatthis provesoncemoreis that literatureis nothing buttheproduct ofthesocialconditions ofthesociety producing it. Literature doesnotgrowordevelop inavacuum; it is givenimpetus,shape,direction andeven areaof concern bysocial,political andeconomic forcesin a particularsociety. Therelationship between creative literature andtheseotherforces cannotbe ignored,especially in Africa,where modernliteraturehasgrownagainstthe gory background of Europeanimperialism and its changingmanifestations: slavery,colonialism andnee-colonialism. (Ngugiop.cit.xv) 248

Asa fictionaldocument that nevertheless givesus invaluableinsightinto the theoryand.practiceof neocolonialism andcapitalist exploitation, Devilon theCross is unmatched in contemporary Africanliterature. Indeed,in all of Africanliterature,in terms of committing hisartto thecauseoftheproletariat, pressing socialissuesandthe generalgoodof the community, coupledwithclearpronouncements to that effect,Ngugi wa Thiong'ostandsheadandshoulders aboveall other Africancreative writers.True,hisliteraryoutputasit spans across theyears,evinces unequal degrees of commitment, understandably so. TheNgugiof the earlyworkslike WeepNotChild andTheRiverBetween is barelymilitant;the Ngugiof a middleor transitional worklikeA Grainof Wheat is clearly militant,andtheNgugiof morerecentworkslikePetalsof BloodandDevilontheCross hasbecome mostmilitant.In hispolemical writings,in hisfiction,in hisdramaandeven in hislifestyle,astestifiedbysomeof whatwehavecited in thischapter, Ngugicomes throughto the readerasone steepedin Marxis~andMarxistanalysis of capitalism; he comes through to thereader asonecommitted to thecause of thesuffering workingclassanywhere intheworld;heis a manwitha progressive andradicalwayof thinking;heis a writerwhothinksthatthewayof salvation liesinasocialist programme that will liberatethe peopleandusherin a societyof socialjustice,of equitabledistribution of the fruitsof the sweatof the people's efforts.To realizethe socialist programme NgugifeelsthattheAfrican intellectuals mustfightalongside theAfricanmasses: I believethat Africanintellectuals mustalign themselves with the 51:ruggle of the African masses for a meaningful nationalideal.Forwe 249

muststrivefor a reformof socialorganization thatwill freethe manacled spiritandenergyof our peoplesowe canbuilda newcountry,and singa newsong.Perhaps, in a smallway,the Africanwritercanhelpinarticulating thefeelings behindthis struggle.(Ibid 50) Talking aboutthegenesis of DevilontheCross Ngugi says: ... I woulduseany and everythingI hadever learnt about the craft of fiction - allegory, parable, satire, narrative, description, reminiscence, flashback,interiormonologue, ' streamof consciousness, dialogue,dramaprovidedit camenaturallyin the development of character, themeandstory.Butcontent-not language andtechnique -would determine the eventualform of the novel.Andcontent?The Kenyanpeople'sstrugglesagainstthe neocolonialformandstageof imperialism! (qtd in Cooket al op. cit. 120) In Devil on the Cross,Ngugi comesout very committed, the thematicissuesshowingthat he is really concerned withthe Kenyan people's struggleagainstneocolonialexploitation. Thenovelis structured in sucha way thatat theend,likeI WillMarryWhenI Want,themasses comeout victorious, or optimisticaboutthe future.Many thingsfall in placeto fosterthis didacticend:on the one handthereare the hatedcapitalistthieveswhoare the main butts of Ngugi'ssatire. On the other,there are progressive prototypeslike Muturi,Wangari,Wariinga, Gatuiria,the Ilmorogstudents'leaderand the llmorog workers'leader.Ngugimakesthe workersled by Muturi successfully chasethe thievesfromthe cave,andhe also 250

makesWariinga destroythe RichOldManof Ngorikawith a gun.Theseactsaresymbolicof the eventualvictoryof the oppressed overtheoppressors. A studyof the speeches madeby the workersand studentsoutsidethecaverevealshowNgugiputsintothe mouthsof otherswhatwe knowonly too well that the progressive andradicalNgugihimselfwouldhavesaidin a more polemicalmode.The obviousdidacticintent thus revealsNgugi'surgentcommitment. No lessrevealing of hiscommitment to the causeof the sufferingpeopleis the factthat NgugiwroteDevilon the Crossin hisnativeGikuyubeforetranslatingit himself into English.Hisintentionwasto availthe workto more local peoplethanit wouldhavebeenpossibleif onlythe Englishversionhadcomeout. The MarxistNgugiknows only too well that no seriousrevolutioncan take place withoutthe education of the masses. Andthe language of the massesis the languagethe common man can understand;Ngugiknowsthat therecanbe no revolution without the transformation of consciousness, changeof mentality.Thatiswhythespeeches madeoutsidethecave are madeby the workersfor their own mutualeducation as well asfor the education of GatuiriaandWariingawho henceforthare convertedon to the sideof the workers againsttheexploiters. Ngugi's ultimate objective isa crusade againstcapital~t exploiters,incitingtheexploitedmasses to join hands,rise up and overthrowthe reactionaryagentsin the Kenyan nee-colonial bourgeois society.Onehasthe impression that the Kenyanpeople,thanksto the efforts of peoplelike Ngugi, should be highly critical and conscientized, ideologically andsocio-politically conscious. 251

On the other hand, however,it was a mark of the ultraconservatism of the Kenyanadministration at thattime that,for all Ngugi'seffortsat sensitizing the populationon the atrocitiesof neo-colonialism,for his commendable exertionsin the pedagogyof the oppressed, particularlyin thosedaysof resurgentmultipartypoliticsin Africa,one couldstillhearreactionary echoesfromKenya,to theeffect that DanielArapMoi,that country'sPresident in the 1990s was still adamantlyopposedto the idea of introducing democratic reformsin Kenya. Weshouldquote,oncemore,fromthat passagein hisprisonnotesin whichNgugitalksof makinguseof anyandeverythingI hadeverlearntaboutthe craft of fiction - allegory, parable,satire, narrative,descriptionreminiscence, flashback, interior monologue,streamof consciousness, dialogue,drama- providedit camenaturallyin the development of character, theme,andstory. But content- not languageand techniquewoulddeterminetheeventualformof the novel. Andthe content?TheKenyanpeople's struggles against the neo-colonialform and stage of imperialism.(Ibid) Readers of DevilontheCrosswouldagreethat Ngugi has,indeed,madeuseof sometechniques notspecifically associated with the novel,andby sodoinghas,asCooket al havesaid,daredto challengeestablished assumptions and principlesconcerningliterarygenres.(Ibid243)"Yet this is no moreradicalan approachthan that adoptedby manynovelistsacrossthe worldin the secondhalfof this centuryin attemptingto revitalizethe novelwhosefuneral orationhas beenprematurelyreadby numerouscritics." (Ibid) 252

Despitehisintention to useeverything hehaslearnt about the craft of fictionNgugimakesone important provisor:"provided it camenaturallyin the development of character, themeandstory."In thelongrun,therefore,. for all its unconventional bent,Ngugi's approach is nota rejection of literarycriteriabutanindication thathe"seems at all times to havesoughtthe ultimategoal of any committed writer:to harness the'laws'of artto thedictates of hisownconscience." (Ibid)ThusNgugiis opento all possibletechniques. If anycomesnaturallyto servehis end,so beit. ThiscertainlyplacesDevilon the Crossin a classof its own,differentiating it technically from a well-crafted novellikeA Grainof Wheat. Making goodhisplanin Devil on the Crossmeansthat Ngugi is obligedto makehis prosein places conform to thisorthatsetstyle,stylized. In placesit canreadlikea pieceof satire,a parody, a didactic piece,a sermonor a conclusion to a sermon,a parable, a storypartlytoldin imitation of theoraltaleor a storyinto whichmusichasbeenworked, etc. According to D.H.Lawrence, "wejudgea workof art by its effectonoursincere andvitalemotionandnothing else."(qtd in Coombes 8) Nowweonlyneedto applythis statementto Devilon theCross to measurethe novel's "effecton oursincereandvita1emotion." True,wedo not haveherecomplex andfullydeveloped characters likesome of thosein hisothernovelssincethosein Devilon the Cross arereduced to typesfor specificpurposes; true,the narrativecomplexity of A Grainof Wheatand,to some extent,thatof Petalsof Blood,is lackingin Devilon the Cross; true,thepurported narratorin DevilontheCross is notconsistently doinghisjob.Aboveall,Mwireri's narrative in Mwaura's Matatusimplyrunsintothat of the masterof 253

ceremoniesin the cave at Ilmorog without a clear distinction. Yet,foralltheseandotherflaws,theoverallimpression aboutthis novelis patentlypositive.Forall its stylization the novel is humorous,enormouslyinteresting and entertaining, in placesexciting,thanksto theinexhaustible fertilityof Ngugi'simagination.Interestingassomeof the abovecitedtestimonies are, the interesttheytransmitis nothingcompared to·the brillianthumour,excitementand evenhair-raising dramagenerated in thecaveascontained in the sectionof the noveltitled "Rebuttal",following Kihaahu's testimonyand the reactionsand interruptions • provokedby the testimonyof Mwireriwa Mukiraai.Here onefindsscintillating dramaassomeof thethievesput up vigorousdefencesof their projectsand methodsagainst the viciousattacksof othercompetitors;herethe reader findsinterestingattacksandcounterattacks,or dramatic rebuttal.Thereis boisterous applause raisedin supportof thisor that thief,or in favourof thetimelyinterventions of themasterof ceremonies whohasbroughtbackcalmafter nearchaosand pandemonium. Thereis a tenselyeerie atmosphere in the cavewith an ominoussilencebrought byan impending shoot-outby Kihaahu, GitutuandIthe wa Mbooi. There is the curiouscomplaintlaunchedagainst MwireriwaMukiraaibythe leaderof the U.S.Delegation of the international thievesto the effectthat Mwireriis bent ondrivingouttheforeignthievesfromKenya;thatin trying to makethe localthievesself-reliantMwireriis effectively attemptingto forcethe international thievesto quit their hugelylucrativeinvestments in Kenya.Heis tryingto bite the fingerthat fed him.Nowonder,then,that Mwireriwill be eliminatedin a "mysterious"roadaccident,thanksto 254

the combined ingenuity of boththelocalandinternational robbers,facilitated byMwaura's MatatuMatata Matamu. In all of theseastoundingly ironicalrevelations, the consciousreaderis awareof Ngugi'ssubtleeducative strategies. Thesatirical andradicalNguginever juststates a situationsimplyandleavesit at that.No,Ngugimust exploitit tothefullest, oftensqueezing it dryofitseducative valueand thus exposingthe repressive, pauperizing, capitalist tacticsto the representatives of the oppressed masses watching thisincredible drama.Attheriskof over repetition, here,indeed, is theeducation of the deprived for criticalconsciousness. This qualityalonedismissesthe possibilityof boredom, thusenhancing thereadability ofthenovel.And this is onefunction of whatgoodliterature shouldbe- a purveyorof pleasure andentertainment. Whatif that literatureis didactic? Whatif whileit pleases us,it subtly teachesussomelessons on howthe exploited classes in Africaandelsewhere cangainsalvation in this material world,whichistheothermainfunctionof goodliterature? In anycase,_the didactism doesnotcomeoutin the form of a moraltag appended ontothe novel;it is not clumsilyforcedintothestorybutskillfully workedintothe fabricof thenovel.It emerges outof theinternallogicand consistency ofthenovel.Fora bookthatishighlydidactic, Ngugi'sabilityto captureandmaintainour interestis commendable. Howhashebeenableto accomplish thistask?One answeris thatNgugihasat hiscommand an ideological perspective, a Marxist ideological perspective thatenables him to seethingsandsituations in a betterandcritical light. Forexample, wecannotbutadmirehisingenuity in usingtheparable ofthetalentsto illustrate thefunctioning 255

of neo-colonialism, a practicesustained bylocalmiddlemen, compradors whocarryoutbusiness andeconomic activities in Kenyafor the benefitof their richerandmorepowerful foreignmasters. Themastery of thisperspective alsoallows Ngugito makeuseof Mwirerito lay bareto us capitalist methods of acquiring andaccumulating wealth.Thisinsight lendsforceandconviction to Ngugi'swritingandmakesit excellently readableprose.

256

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Froma Marxistperspective art is conservative aswellas revolutionary. Art is conservative in that it depictsreality asit is,a passive reflection of reality. Artisrevolutionary in that it not onlydepictsrealityas it is but attemptsto influence it,to redefine reality. Revolutionary artgoesahead to raise the individual'sconsciousness to societal imperfections in sucha wayasto spurhimto dare,asit were,to carryuparmsagainsta seaof troubles. Thatis, revolutionary art provokesthe individualinto action. (Barricelli et al 109) Andwhenthiscanhappenin our largersociety, it becomes evidence ofthewriter'scommitment. It becomes a clearsignof literaturebeingusedto encourage social reactions.Gene~ally, all our authorsdiscussedare committed artists,but theyare placedat variouspoints withinthe continuum of commitment. At oneendof the spectrumareLinusAsongandChinuaAchebe, moreor lessmoderates; at theotherendareOusmane Sembene, BateBesong andNgugiwaThiong'o whoaremoreor less radicals, withNgugioccupying the veryextremepointof thespectrum. In between theseextremes lieAlobwed'Epie, 257

VictorEpieNgome,FrancisNyamnjoh, TahAsongwed and JohnN. Nkengasong. Ngugiis thusthe mostradicalandhisart equallythe mostrevolutionary. Aswe haveseenfromourstudy,Ngugi is not one to advocatepiecemealreform,or cosmetic changeshereandthere in a viciouspoliticalsystem.He wouldratherprefera total eradication of an evilcapitalist system,replacingit with a socialistone. Nowthereis_fear that a verycommitted writerlike Ngugi, for example, may sacrifice his art for tendentiousness, that the urgeto encourage specific social reactions mayoverridetheneedto paygreaterattentionto . hisartistry.This indeedis a legitimatefear,but onethat canbecomfortably laidto restbecause, asindicated in this study,Ngugihascarriedoutsomeboldstylisticexperiments that haveworkedmarvellously with regardto hissubject matterwithoutvitiatinghis art. By so doingNgugihas demonstrated that he caresabout his art, andthat the fertilityof his imagination,like wine that improveswith age,onlygrowsfromstrengthto strengthasheages. As committedwriters,all our authorsare,in Ngugi's phrase,writersin politics.( Writersin Politicspreface)In theirpoliticstheysidewiththe peoplein varyingdegrees, aswehaveestablished. Theyareoptimisticin thepeople's s~ruggles overtheforcesof evil,andprojecting eitherhope in the future,as hintedat in Anthillsof the Savannah, I WillMarryWhenI WantandDevilon the Cross,or a clear victoryof the peopleoverthe oppressors, asin TheCrown of Thorns,Requiemfor the LastKaiserand God'sBits of Wood. Evenif for nootherreason, thepoliticalconsideration shouldmaketheseand similarworksinspiringtexts for the strugglingpeoplesof our timeswhichhavewitnessed resurgentmultipartypoliticsandan upsurgeof democratic 258

politicalreforms.Theseworksenlightenand hearten,to someextent,str~gglingpeopleandfosterthe "pedagogy of theoppressec•.' (Freire1983)

End Note *Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Devil on the Cross.London: Heinemann, 1982.A· pagereferences to thetextaretaken fromthis edition. WorksCited. Cook,David,& MichaelOkenimkpe.Ngugiwa Thiong'o An Exploration of His Writings. London: Heinemann, 1983. Coombes, H. Literatureand Criticism.Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Chatto& Windts, 1953. Freire,Paulo.Pedagogyof the Oppressed. Trans.Myra BergmanRamos.NewYo11