MEANS FOR PORTRAYAL OF POLITICS IN AMU DJOLETO'S MONEY GALORE

Categories: Irony

Essay, Pages 6 (1422 words)

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Politics of Victimization

In the novel we are exposed how the writer carefully reveals the politics is used to victimize those that have vulnerable in the society. This is done through his narration. In fact the narrator reveals unholy connivance between unscrupulous politicians and the media to conceal the truth and clamp down on those they consider as working against the selfish interest of self-defined members of the political ruling class in A Man of the People. They conspire to turn such people into public enemies, as it is in the case of the dismissed Minister of Finance and his colleagues.

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Ironically, they are rather portrayed as villains by the 'actual villains and nation-wreckers' in connivance with a perverted gangster media. The narrator's attempt to be factual and accurate in his condemnation of media as an instrument or a channel of sociocultural, economic and political bastardization is clear in the novel. The media is accused as being a medium for character assassination, human rights violation and blackmail.

The media aid unscrupulous and perverse politicians like Chief the Honourable M.A. Nanga, MP and his likes to manipulate unsuspecting citizens and expose them to perpetual exploitation. Media negative publications are put up to vilify and discredit innocent citizens whose only crime is their fierce desire to effectively kick against corruption and help address the basic needs of the people. For instance, the Daily Chronicle editorial reads:

Let's now and for all time extract from our body-politic as a dentist extracts a stinking tooth all those decadent stooges versed in text-book economics and aping the white man's mannerisms and way of speaking.

We are proud to be African. Our true leaders are not those intoxicated with their Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard degrees but those who speak the language of the people. Away with the damnable and expensive university education which only alienate an African from his rich and ancient culture and puts him above his people. (Achebe, 2001)

Achebe does not only depict the abuse of leaders' posts, but he also proves this dilemma by referring to different characters in his novel such as Nanga. The novel shows that the main goal of political leaders is to enrich themselves and look at their peoples 'needs as secondary thing. Moreover, corruption becomes approved by the majority and politicians have used education as a means for their promotion. Achebe seem to suggest that independence does not improve neither political nor social situations in Nigeria, but it becomes the source of evil for them.

Basically, Achebe aims to draw readers' attention to the fact that once Nigeria gains its independence, unprepared and incompetence political figures adopt one of the most crucial positions in political sphere which is leadership position. In this perspective, Christopher Heywood describes the post-independent Nigeria as a "cesspool of corruption and misrule" (Heywood, 1975). This quotation has been supported by Vachaspati Dwivedi who maintains that "Nigeria is a place where leaders who had fought for independence became traitors after attaining power, and sacrificed their country in exchange for middle-class comfort" (Dwivedi, 2008).These two quotations might imply the fact that selfish leaders aim to exploit the independence to a great extent which brings about different leadership problems such as nepotism, corruption, materialism and so forth which make the people of that area suffer from them very harshly. Anthony Chinedu Okoko has commented on such corrupted society as follows: "materialism, corruption, injustice and exploitation become the vague rather than the bane" (Okoko, 2006).

How Has The Use Of Style Employed By The Author Helps To Portray Politics In The Selected Text?

This question was intended to identify how style used by Achebe reflects the idea of politics in the work.

According to Agyekum K (1999) style is the expression of the personality of the artist through the medium of choice of linguistic elements. It is the personality factor that brings about differences in performance or writing by two literary practitioners of same subject matter.

He further adds that, the style is based on the speaker's, author's, or oral artist's personality and mood. The choice is also based on the subject matter, setting and the audience.

The creativeness of the author of the novel A man of the people is fully shown in the manner in which he effectively employs styles in this piece of art. Chinua Achebe presented his story by narrative angle to large extent, and dialogue form in small extent, for example, dialogue between Odili and the father of his friend, (page 29) and again a dialogue between stalwarts and Odili, (page 31).

Use of satire

The author basically employs the use of satire as a unique style to achieve his purpose of exposing the problem of politics as a societal problem.

Achebe, in a satirical style uses fictional characters, which stand for real people, to expose and condemn their corruption and contributions to social perversion. A Man of the People, as a satirical text, is characterized by irony, paradox, antithesis, colloquialism, anti-climax, violence, obscenity, vividness and exaggeration. Considering the nature of the subject matter of his discourse and the obvious fixation on his main character, Chief the Honourable Nanga, Achebe uses satirical accusations which enables him to employ a more harsh tone in criticizing social 'evils' or socio-cultural, economic and political corruption in the text through disparaging, offensive and brutal ridicule to reproof the prevailing political, socio-cultural and economic situations in A Man of the People.

In the novel the narrator points out the unusual visit of members of the hunters' guild. "These people never came out except at the funeral of one their numbers, or during some very special and outstanding event.

I could not remember when I last saw them.

They wield their loaded guns as though they were plaything" (pp. 1 - 2).

Ironically, they are also out on this socio-culturally insignificant event such as the visit of a corrupt and disdainful political figure such as Chief Nanga. This is not "a funeral of one of their numbers" neither is it "some very special and outstanding event." The narrator hereby brings to the fore the bastardization of the people's norms and practices resulting from political patronage and moral corruption. He also alludes to economic and financial challenges which are ironically holding the people in check as they pretend to be actively demonstrating their reverence for the visiting Minister, Chief the Honourable M.A. Nanga, MP. He humorously states:

Occasionally a hunter would take aim at a distant palm branch and break its mid-rib. The crowd applauded. But there were very few of such shots. Most of the hunters reserved their precious powder to greet the Minister's arrival - the price of gunpowder like everything else having doubled again and again in four years since this government took control. (Achebe, 2001)

As a literary technique employed by the Achebe, satire helps to expose and criticize the foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles.

Setting

Setting which refers to place and time of action in which literary work is put was very explicit in this novel. The setting of the novel is purely imaginative so the author used towns, cities and villages which are not real such as Bori, Urua, Anata and Abaga but what were happening in these towns, cities and villages resemble the realities and life experiences in most of African societies especially in Nigeria where the author comes from

In addition A Man of the People is set in an imaginary African country that is never named in the novel. The author assigns to this fictional country, many of the characteristics of his native Nigeria. One key element of the plot is the contrast between urban areas and the rural "bush." The fact that the setting is unidentified allows the story to represent any familiar African country in the mind of the reader.

The instance of places meant for political campaign was very paramount in the novel for example we were exposed to a place where Chief Nanga conducts his campaign, and is informed of Odili presence and as the campaign goes on, Josiah the shopkeeper moves to the dais and talks to Chief Nanga pointing the direction where Odili stands. In his process to escape, Odili was caught and he was tortured by chief Nanga and his stalwarts lead Odili to be sent in hospital for further treatments.