WHY?- (my first attempt at short story.)

The afternoon sun was mercilessly extricating saline exudate out of everybody that day, even the lecturer that had sworn to make life miserable for the students was already finding it difficult to make do with his threat of a five-hour marathon class. He was literally swimming in the pool of his own sweats as he struggled to explain the concept of ‘post- colonial literature’ to the visibly dehydrated students. What had angered Babs the most was that puritan – as the lecturer is popularly called amongst students because of his ascetic and strict dispositions towards life, had decided to hold the class outside the lecture rooms despite the fact that the class rep had informed him that lecture theatres have been taken up by other lecturers. Babs was fuming with anger as he tried to rub off the trickle of sweat that had found its way to the tip of his nose when Azuka mistakenly hit his hand on Babs’s face. “I’m sorry”, muttered Azuka who was also visibly uninterested in the ranting of the man in front of the class. “No wahala, that one na small thing now” replied Babs whose response coincided with Puritan’s declaration of defeat as he had decided to bring the class to an end after two hours of struggle under the intense solar menace. “Mttteeeeeew oloshi radarada, is he the only lecturer on campus?” muttered Yetunde. I wonder oo, im wahala too much jare, must he hold the class today despite the obvious inconviniencies?interjected Azuka. Yetunde seems to have noticed the obvious silence of Babs who had not contributed all this while to the charade going on around him and decided to nudge him back to planet earth. “A penny for your thought Mr critical thinker, u seem far removed from the subject of discussion, what’s bugging you? Nothing serious o, I just dey try understand whether na puritan get the blame for wetin happen today or something dey wrong with our educational sector as a whole. Imagine a school with insufficient lecture theatres and you expect the lecturers to teach the students; then somehow someone will surely be at the receiving end of this negligence and that eventually will be us! Sincerely, Puritan’s fault in what happened today is minimal. I only blame him for keeping a rigid disposition towards work. Yea, you are right. The fault lies with those whom we’ve entrusted our vote but have failed us. ********************** Ebube was simply enjoying the head of his life as the Yoruba popular cliché directly translates into English. He is in every way an embodiment of what one can call a spoilt brat. Attending classes does not feature as part of his mission in the university. As far as he is concerned, you only experience life as an undergraduate once and such never-to-be-repeated occurrence should not be wasted on attending classes in an irksome and innovation-sapping atmosphere, thus he spends most of his time punching the game console connected to his apple MacBook air. He was in this riveting condition when Babs entered the room looking worn out and exasperated. Don’t tell me you were in the room throughout the whole day, ehn?, Babs managed to ask. “Before nko, where you expect make I dey if not my haven on campus, Ebube retorted. Wetin make you frown like say dem collect your bread like dis? Ebube asked having noticed his puckered brow the moment he stepped into the room. If you had been in class today, you wouldn’t have been asking me this question; rather you would have been cursing the damned set of people in power. Could you imagine Puritan treated us to a two-hour class in the sun today? Impossible! What happened to all the lecture theatres on campus? Apparently other lecturers were making use of them and instead of the workaholic to postpone the class; he decided to hold the class under the unforgiving glare of the sun. Well I don’t really blame him for fulfilling his obligation as a lecturer; I place the blame at the doorstep of our insidious political leaders who have become so unconcerned with our plights that our various epistemic bases can no longer stand shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts around the world. What do you make of a government solely concerned with squandering millions on the centenary celebration of an apparently failed state while its educational sector wallows in retrogression due to unavailable funds? I guess this is the price we have to pay for tampering with God’s preordained settings. God’s preordained settings? What do you mean? Of course the demarcation of the northern and southern protectorate with river Niger was a signpost from God that we were never meant to be together but then Lugard and his wife thought it worthwhile to tamper with the divine plan for Africa and here we are today squandering money on a failed state. Ebube who had been listening aptly so much so that the game console had fallen from his hand to the floor felt tongue tied and could only move his head like that of the red headed lizard. He couldn’t understand why he felt drawn on the same plane with Babs who seems to have reached an all-time high level of anger with the lackadaisical temperament of public servants. He couldn’t understand how Babs a known passivist would suddenly start questioning a government he had once tolerated with an I-don’t-care attitude. Probably it was the two hours in the sun that did it or a lot had already been going on his mind and this was just the catalyst to the cataclysm. Whatever it is, he knew Babs would never sit in silence again and accept the situation as it is. Something tells him this definitely is the beginning of a long sojourn into unraveling why things never worked out in his country; a journey of questioning into why his country remain a powerless giant.

 COMMONWEALTH LITERATURE AS A PROBLEMATIC LITERATURE OF DECOLONIZATION

The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organization of 54 nations which were formerly part of the British Empire. The Commonwealth aims to provide a framework of common values, facilitating cooperation between its member states in the field of democracy, human rights, rule of law, free trade and peace. Commonwealth member countries cover six continents: 19 in Africa, eight in Asia, two in the Americas, 12 in the Caribbean, three in Europe and ten in the South Pacific.

Thus, commonwealth literature otherwise known as New English literature is a vague term that refers to the English Language works of former British colonies. It is the fictional body of written responses of such countries brought together by the underlying cultural history and historio-political experiences. It thematic preoccupation discusses issues hovering around gender, racism, struggle for identity, imperialism and the likes. Because it is a literature of an erstwhile subjugated people, there is an attempt to attack the notions of colonialism as a “modernizing” expedition. Commonwealth writers attempt to elevate the status of the colonized by celebrating cultural legends, myths, folklores etc. it documents the cultural, social and political experiences travails of the colonized as a result of colonialism.

The seeming wideness of the scope of this literature has actually contributed to the problems encountered in delineating what commonwealth literature should really be. There is the problem of language; it is believed that commonwealth literature should be realized in the English language because it is the language of the colonial masters. The issue then arises that how should works written originally in indigenous language but later translated into English be categorized? More so, is it the content of a work that makes it commonwealth or the nationality of the author? The dilemma of this is seen in Christie Watson’s Tiny Sunbird Faraway- a novel that is set in Nigeria, and discusses a lot of issues peculiar to the Niger Delta region of the country but is surprisingly written by a white woman. And yet the book is classified as a being part of commonwealth literature. Thus, one wonders if an author is defined by origin, name, content of book, etc.

Some scholars have actually argued that the term “commonwealth literature” is narrow and misleading. Tiffin in her book Commonwealth Literature: Comparison and Judgment, argue that the very notion of Commonwealth Literature is in itself narrow and misleading. Others claim that it is more of an anachronism. Debates have also emanated as the similarities, distinctions and overlapping features of postcolonial literature and commonwealth literature. Hence, Salman Rushdie in work Commonwealth Literature does not Exist posits that this literature is patronizing and also marginalizes a number of writers, adding that it will never be recognized as English literature; which will remain its superior. He refers to commonwealth literature as "a body of writing created in the English language, by persons who are not themselves white Britons, or Irish, or citizens of the United States of America."

What qualifies as commonwealth literature is highly debatable. It has taken on various meanings. Some of the subjects under contention are that of cultural and social erosion. After independence, one main question bothers on what the new cultural identity really is. An instance of this is seen in Doreen Baingana’s Tropical Fish, when Christie becomes caught in a dilemma of identity when she got to America. She becomes confused as to what identity to embrace- is it her original African identity or the strange lifestyle of America. She says: “I am here, but am not. Flying in a plane from Uganda to New York to Los Angeles doesn’t really take you there.” Also there is the question of who really is in power? As the larger power still seem to control the newly independent states. More so, the use of English language poses a problem. It may be asked if the aims of commonwealth literature can be realized neglecting literary works in the original languages of commonwealth nations.

In addition to the problems of language in commonwealth literature, one is faced with the question in what language should the literature of a people be rendered? If using a European language should it be imitative (kept intact) or should it be tailored to the particular adaptation of the community concerned. Achebe points out in his essay The African Writer and the English Language: “So my answer to the question: Can an African ever learn English well enough to be able to use it effectively in creative writing? is certainly yes. If on the other hand you ask: Can he ever learn to use it like a native speaker? I should say I hope not. It is neither necessary nor desirable for him to be able to do so…The African writer should aim to use English in a way that brings out his best without altering the language to the extent that its value as a medium of international exchange will be lost.”

Furthermore, another is whether literary works produced within commonwealth nations but are not written but orally produced are fit to be categorized as commonwealth literature. The response given by scholars is that oral literature even if it is produced within the commonwealth spectrum is not worthy to be referred to as commonwealth literature since it has one primary feature of the literature as an outburst of “writtenness”

In conclusion, commonwealth literature is plagued by series of hitches in categorically delineating its scope. There is a dilemma as to what language is best in rendering the literature. For who is it produced? And also important is the dilemma of identity in commonwealth literature. In submission, commonwealth literature should be not hampered by these perceived snags but there should be an address of these problems with a view to make the literature more encompassing.

A JOURNAL ON J.M COETZEE’S THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MICHAEL K

Literature they does not exist in a vacuum. Every literary piece reflects a slice of reality. Literature has mostly been defined as an art that tries through the employment of it elements/genres to represent the real life happenings of man. It is in the light of this assertion that I choose to discuss J.M Coetzee’s The Life and Times of Michael K-a social and political novel about a deformed character who exudes a high sense of human resilience to the point that I couldn’t help but identify with him. The rendering of the novel is so graphic that it actually opened a portal in my memory in which I am reminded of a certain incidence that happened to me a long time ago. What actually triggered this memory in the novel is the peculiar character of the protagonist-Michael k, who despite being at a disadvantage (his deformity), resolutely scales all hurdles until he achieves his ultimate goal. It so happened that while I was still in secondary school, there came a time when I suffered a serious setback and had to miss school for a very long while. I was absent from school for weeks which actually put me at a disadvantage in academic works. Just like Michael K it was like all the odds were against me and there wasn’t any possibility of excelling in my forthcoming exams. Despite all these insurmountable odds, I made a resolution of not repeating the same class twice; come what may. Eventually I was able to resume classes again and it was already close to the examination period. Even at this I remained unfazed and concentrated assiduously on my academic work. Even when I was offered the chance of rewriting the examination during the school break; I refused. I wrote the examination with the rest of the class and prayed to God for a worthy result. Examination results were released and alas! I passed! I did not only pass but actually I did well more than some of those who had all the advantages and had been around all through the session. One might wonder that of what bearing this experience has got to do with the character of Michael K in the novel. The link is actually found in the resilience with which Michael K accomplished series of tasks in the novel. He despite being deformed and being at a societal disadvantage ingeniously devise a means of transporting his mother away from the chaos of urban life. Although he is deformed he actually knows what he wants. He refuses to stay at Jakkalsdrif and returns to the Visagie farmland. Michael K – a deformed character succeeds where able bodied men seemed to have failed. Despite being at disadvantage and seen as a social misfit, he successfully survives the social and political insurgency in the country. In short, he magnificently scales the same hurdles that able bodied men have perished from. Thus, just like the personal experience I have related above, the story of Michael K is replete with human resilience and determination. Previously, I never fully understood the significance of what I did back then in secondary school until I started my reading of the novel The Life and Times of Michael K. Reading the book, I understood then that what actually helped me was both God and my resilience in achieving my set goal of excelling in my exams. Just like it was with Michael K, resilience was and is still the secret to success. Finally, the assertion that no literature is written in a vacuum has fully been justified in my encounter with the novel The Life and Times of Michael K. I have been able to relate and identify with the protagonist. It made me realize that which used to be opaque- that other than the God factor; resilience is the secret to success. The author through the character of Michael K thematizes the theme of human resilience.

Sheer!