Summary
In the novel’s opening scene, the reader is introduced to narrator Odili Samalu, a teacher working at the Anata Grammar School. Along with his village community, Odili prepares for the arrival of Cultural Minister M.A. Nanga. Although Chief Nanga was Odili’s teacher in grade school, Odili voices his disapproval of the nation’s “most approachable politician.” After various scandals in the 1960s revealed the elitism, selfishness, and corruption of governmental officials, Odili turned his back on politics. Instead of glorifying the politicians as national heroes—like the majority of the nation—Odili understands that the parliament members only act in self-interest.
Upon his arrival at the school, Chief Nanga immediately recognizes Odili as one of his former students. He praises the young teacher for completing university and pursuing postgraduate studies. Chief Nanga later invites Odili to the capital and promises to speak to a member of his board in order to help Odili with his admission to a post-graduate program in the UK. Despite Odili’s initial skepticism, he is swayed by the Chief’s charisma and takes him up on his offer.
Odili digresses to talk about Elsie, the only girl he has ever “met and slept with in the same day.” The two met at a party, and Odili quickly was charmed by her beauty and easygoing personality. After Odili left the University, the two were heartbroken and maintained contact by exchanging letters. Following her education, Elsie moved twelve miles outside of the capital and began working at a hospital. Odili explains that Nanga’s invitation is timed perfectly, as he can visit Elsie and have a private room in the Minister’s home.
Before traveling to the capital, Odili decides to travel to his home village, Urua. This visit prompts Odili to tell the reader about his father and their complicated relationship. Odili explains that it was a long-kept secret that his mother died during Odili’s childbirth. As Odili grew older, he grew to realize that he has been plagued with guilt, fearing that he had killed his mother. This causes him to feel somewhat alienated from both his village community and his family.
Odili also provides the reader with details surrounding his father. While Odili was growing up, his father was the village’s District Interpreter. This is an integral detail that establishes his father’s level of education and his reputation within the community. According to Odili, “Interpreters in those days were powerful, very rich, widely known, and hated” (28). Growing up, Odili was forced to be defensive against malicious attacks on his family. Odili also explains that his father’s most negative characteristic is that he has an insatiable desire for wives and children.
At this moment of Odili’s narration, he reveals that he recently confronted his father about his inability to provide for his incredibly large family. This led to an argument between the two men, and Odili’s father reveals that he does not support his son’s continuous quest for education. His father is also a local chairman of the P.O.P., and supports the idea of Odili getting a government job. Odili arrives at Chief Nanga’s house in Bori, where the Minister’s wife greets him.
As Odili sits down with Nanga for coffee, the Minister grows agitated. He believes that the cook has poisoned his coffee, and threatens to have him killed. The chef refutes the accusation by drinking the remainder of Chief Nanga’s cup. The story has an ironic twist, as the coffee that Chief Nanga believed to be poisonous was the product of a national campaign to encourage the consumption of local products. When Odili returns to his luxurious private room, he ponders the idea of privilege and considers how greed has affected his impoverished nation.
Analysis
The story’s first three chapters provide the reader with important background information about Odili. As the narrator, Odili’s relationships with his educators, his family, and his colleagues allow us to better understand how he chooses to frame the story’s other characters to the audience. The beginning of the novel establishes Odili’s position of privilege within his society. As a child, Odili’s family was financially stable and could afford to encourage his education. In Odili’s adulthood, he finds himself circling back to the opportunities that accompany privilege and how his nation is built upon the abuse of power.
Although Odili is quick to denounce his country’s self-serving leaders, it is ironic that the narrator himself does not practice what he preaches. After Chief Nanga reconnects with Odili, he realizes that the teacher’s privileged background makes him suitable for office. While Odili claims that he desires to stick to his humble profession, he finds himself inevitably attracted by the glitz and glamour of Chief Nanga’s lifestyle in the capital. Once he discovers that Chief Nanga can help Odili with his academic pursuits, the teacher yields to the corrupt minister’s influence. This moment in the plot demonstrates Odili’s own self-serving nature.
Odili’s visit to Urua provides more information about the narrator’s upbringing and the struggles he has faced throughout his life. Odili’s relationship with his father is strained, and this conflict parallels the narrator’s complicated relationship with his patriarchal society. Similar to the men that govern his nation, Odili’s father is never quite satisfied with what he has. Instead, he focuses on acquiring and creating things that give him false senses of both security and success. In this way, the reader is prompted to analyze the similarities between Chief Nanga—a symbolic representation of national politics—and Odili’s father.
Odili’s description of his early life provides the reader with a greater understanding of his complicated childhood. Primarily, it becomes evident that Odili feels a profound sense of guilt and loss due to the fact that his mother died while giving birth to him. Odili reiterates that during his early years, he experienced an inexplicable sense of alienation amongst his siblings. This reveals Odili’s deepest insecurity and helps the reader to understand why Odili sees himself on the fringe of society. This sentiment carries over into Odili’s adulthood and later yields his characteristic skepticism.
Once at Chief Nanga’s house, Odili is quickly enchanted by the resources made available to the leader. While Chief Nanga initially appears generous and good-natured, his outburst reveals his entitlement and paranoia. Throughout the story, Odili explains numerous instances in which Chief Nanga’s actions contradict his greater political agenda. While Chief Nanga attempts to reject Western influence in favor of supporting African solidarity, his suspicion that he has been poisoned ultimately stems from his dislike of local African products. The motif of hypocrisy repeats throughout the remainder of the novel.
