Summary
Odili discusses Chief Nanga’s ability to manipulate others into getting him out of any compromising situation. As the narrator watches Chief Nanga argue with journalists and public figures, Odili begins to feel sympathy for the Minister’s stressful life. Chief Nanga and Odili go to pick up Elsie, and they begin talking about their experience with the author at the Writers’ Group event. Odili comments on Chief Nanga’s English errors and grows suspicious as he lingers in the study before bed.
Odili waits in his room, growing even more frustrated at Chief Nanga’s shady behavior. After hearing the Minister switch off the light, Odili runs to Elsie’s room. There, he overhears Chief Nanga and Elsie laughing. This realization startles Odili, and he finds himself feeling paralyzed and unable to open the door. After he hears Elsie “deliriously screaming [Odili's] name” while in bed with Chief Nanga, Odili experiences a variety of conflicting emotions that manifest in bodily reactions, but he fails to act and simply sits on his bed.
Odili begins packing his suitcase, anxious to leave Bori and escape Elsie’s betrayal. He begins to cry, something he notes “had not happened to [him] in God knows how long” (72). Feeling overwhelmed, Odili decides to walk through the city in order to distract his wandering mind. As he observes the behavior of Bori’s various citizens in the dawn light, he finds comfort in the characters that he encounters. Odili begins planning how to confront Chief Nanga and Elsie about what had happened during the night.
But before Odili can come up with a plan, Chief Nanga approaches him and explains that he has been worried about his prolonged absence. Odili tells Chief Nanga never to speak to him again, and he assures the Minister that he will be the one who has the “last laugh” (73). While Chief Nanga is apologetic, Odili begins insulting the Minister and explains that Chief Nanga personifies his nation’s corruption. Odili angrily leaves Chief Nanga’s mansion and goes to meet Max, a lawyer and former classmate from grammar school.
While Max is at work, Odili begins to process the previous night’s events. He realizes that he, too, has fallen victim to Chief Nanga’s corrupt practices. Chief Nanga has emasculated Odili, and now the teacher’s sole purpose is to exact revenge. Odili finds himself realizing that “some of Chief Nanga’s ‘queen bee’ characteristics had rubbed off on [him] and transformed [him]” (78). Odili decides to ally with Max and become a founding member of the Common People’s Convention.
Odili finds it ironic that the mobilizing figures of the Common People’s Convention are intellectuals that are not representative of the entire nation. However, the committee defends their formation, and they draw upon Karl Marx to explain that all revolutions begin with the intellectual elite. The group argues over how they should choose to label themselves, and they decide that they need to distance from the association that they are Communists in order to achieve national success.
Odili leaves Bori and travels to Anata to meet Mrs. Nanga. The two discuss Chief Nanga and his new wife, Edna. Mrs. Nanga complacently laments feeling replaced by the young wife, and Odili intends to meet her in order to warn her of Chief Nanga’s behavior. Odili meets Edna’s greedy father, and he understands why they have arranged for Edna to marry the Minister. Odili finds himself stunned by Edna’s beauty, and he offers to drive her on his bicycle to visit her sick mother at the hospital. While the two are traveling, the bike crashes and Edna scrapes her knee.
Analysis
While Odili has already vocalized his distrust of Chief Nanga, these chapters indicate a dramatic switch in the relationship between the Minister and his former student. The climactic point of this story occurs when Odili overhears Elsie and Chief Nanga having sex. Odili reacts very strongly to this realization, and he vows to exact revenge on Chief Nanga for breaching their trust. Interestingly, Odili’s emotions cause his body to react physically. He feels nauseous, paralyzed, and begins to cry. While he previously diminished the significance of his relationship to Elsie, his guttural reaction indicates his true feelings of attachment and betrayal.
Odili’s decision to flee to the streets of Bori indicates his affection for his country. As he observes the city’s impoverished people in the dawn light, he begins to reflect on the absurdity of his dilemma. Odili begins to analyze Chief Nanga’s betrayal as a more symbolic representation of how the Minister takes advantage of vulnerable people throughout the nation. In the 1960s and 1970s, a popular political argument emerged globally that declared that “the personal is political.” Odili’s realization champions this same idea.
“The personal is political” remains a significant theme throughout the remainder of the story. As Odili plans his personal revenge, he also drastically changes his politics. His decision to reconnect with Max and form the Common People’s Convention is entirely motivated by his own selfishness. Odili’s criticism of the CPC’s elitism demonstrates the narrator’s perceptiveness and understanding of the ubiquity of governmental corruption. However, his commentary also underscores the irony and hypocrisy of Odili’s own political incentives.
Odili’s decision to travel to Anata reveals the second component to his plan. While he first aims to oppose Chief Nanga politically, he also desires to attack the Minister’s personal life. As Odili talks with Mrs. Nanga, the reader gains further insight into the role of women in the story. It becomes clear that the female characters have autonomy over neither their decisions nor their bodies. Rather, they serve as the symbolic battleground for Odili and Chief Nanga to fight their personal war.
In this set of chapters, Odili undergoes a great character transformation. The narrator admits that some of Chief Nanga’s “queen bee” characteristics have rubbed off on him. This is important, as it further reveals Odili’s hypocrisy. Although Odili is repulsed by Chief Nanga’s selfishness and the demeaning way he talks about women, we see that Odili has been shaped by his encounter with the Minister. In this way, we see that the two are not as different as Odili thinks.
