Fathers of Nations Sample Essay Questions and Answers

1. Write an essay using examples from Paul B. Vitta's Fathers of Nations to demonstrate how revenge only makes things worse.

We occasionally suffer at the hands of others. We usually feel compelled to avenge or retaliate. Seeking vengeance, on the other hand, causes additional suffering or anguish, as in the example of Professor Kimani and Engineer Tahir in Paul B. Vitta's Fathers of Nations.

To begin with, when Professor Kimani's wife abandons him for a rogue member of parliament, he pursues vengeance but ends up in even more anguish. Professor Kimani's career as a revolutionary educator begins when he accepts a position as a high-flying senior lecturer at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nairobi. In addition, he marries Asiya Omondi, a campus beauty. This was before he became a professor. When Walomu steals his wife, his problems begin. When Asiya informs him that she is leaving him for Walomu, he wonders if it is for financial reasons. Professors used to earn more than MPs. MPs now earn hundreds of times more and are not required to pay taxes, a legal coup. As a result of the recession, Professor Kimani is cash-strapped. He eats at a low-end restaurant, and his car breaks down once again and he plans fix it when he earns his next paycheck an indication of hard financial times he is facing. Asiya humiliates him by urging him to leave teaching to pursue politics like Newton Walomu, who now owns four cars in comparison to Kimani, who only has a dying old Toyota. It breaks the professor's heart that he lost his wife to a loud fellow and former junior colleague. After his daughter Tuni's death, Asiya despises Professor Kimani, and her resentment and depression lead to her choice to break their thirty-year marriage. She mocks him by suggesting that Tuni would still be alive if Professor Kimani possessed a real car.  He merely defends himself, stating Tuni did not perish in their car. Asiya Omondi is sixty years old when she decides to leave him after thirty years in marriage with professor Kimani. Pushed by a desire to revenge Kimani visits Walomu's office. He insults the MP and even attempts to physically assault him. Kimani is in even more pain as a result of the lack of closure. Walomu humiliates him by providing "wife-stealing" figures from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Greece. He also boasts about his three beautiful wives, making Kimani appear to be a green-eyed sore loser.Professor Kimani desire to seek revenge leads to beening imprisoned for six months for assaulting a member of parliament, in addition to this humiliation. For tarnishing the university's image, he is also demoted from professor to senior lecturer which are all as a result of trying to seek revenge. Tuni's death, Asiya's abandonment, and the institution's abuse all put him to the test. These three setbacks harden into resentment. He is exhausted from not getting enough sleep following his prison sentence. He even decides to leave his job as a teacher, which he had planned to do for the rest of his life. Seeking vengeance will almost certainly cause more harm than good and add salt to the wound.

In addition, in an attempt to revenge his wife Ziliza, Comrade Melusi Ngobile attempts to assassinate Zimbabwe's president but is humiliated and carried away by security personnel. Zimbabwe's ruler conducts numerous atrocities against Melusi and his Ndebele tribesmen, but the loss of his beloved wife is the most painful. First, the incoming ruler refuses to appoint comrade Melusi as minister merely on the basis of ethnicity. He is Shona, but Melusi is Ndebele, and hence a potential adversary. In addition, he fires the leader of Melusi's gang for allegedly crafting a coup. The government responds harshly to anti-government protests that arise in the aftermath of this dismissal. The 5th brigade "Gukurahundi" unleashes unimaginable terror on the Ndebele insurgents, killing a large number of civilians, including Ziliza, Melusi's wife. They strangled her and sprawled her on the kitchen floor as if in mockery, her eyes staring deathly. The new ruler's hatred towards the Ndebele is a story of treachery, as both tribes fought as partners against Smith, the colonial master. On top of that, the ruler employs "Murambatsvina" to force the urban poor to leave the slums without warning or alternate accommodation. They spit Comrade Melusi out after chewing him up. He fantasises about his wife, who has been dead for 20 years, yet his hatred remains. In a photograph, she beseeches him to revenge her murder. He executes a weak salute while standing at attention and swears that he will avenge her murder. When he tries to carry out his plan of vengeance the next day, the hawk-eyed security officers at the summit seize him by the collar before he can strike the offending president - his arch nemesis. Then he is brazenly whisked away. He does not reappear when the gathering reconvenes. Revenge can be a futile endeavour that aggravates rather than alleviates the victim's grief.

Thirdly, when Engineer Seif Tahir is rejected by a junior female coworker, he becomes enraged and decides to avenge. This vengeance does not bring him peace rather he becomes much more agitated. It is only causing him misery. Tahir falls in love with Rahma, an Arabic word that means "very kind." She has huge eyes and a beautiful smile. She is stunning. Rahma is a million miles younger than Tahir. Tahir is at a disadvantage because of the rank differential. This is because he cannot bear the humiliation of being rejected by a junior colleague. Tahir regrets obsequiously saying “Sabah Kher” and quickly invites Rahma for tomato soup assertively. Being  a Wednesday he proposes a tomato soup date over the weekend and gives the lady four days notice. She doesn't say anything, yet her large eyes gleam brightly. She also gives him a huge smile that shows off her beautiful white teeth and enormous purple gums. Tahir detects a dimple on her left cheek as well. In accordance with Libyan tradition, she wears a head veil. Tahir recommends they get together on Saturday. She says no. A sweet not to conceal her eagerness to accept the tomato soup offer. A Libyan woman's eagerness to say yes would be inappropriate. Tahir misidentifies the sweet deceitful no as a nasty no. He can't take the rude rejection any longer. In a rage, he storms back to his office, vowing to pay back. And he exacts his retribution. He slaps Rahma during "Heritage Week" when she removes her head cover, which interferes with her laboratory job. He does it ostensibly to punish a female coworker who has violated the culture, but in reality he does it out of anger and humiliation at rejection. Rahma responds without thinking by striking back with a letter opener making Tahir loses his left eye. He spends a month in the hospital and is bitter and resentful when he is released. Pursuant to the "an eye for an eye" Hammurabic ruling, he wins the lawsuit and Rahma loses her eye. Instead of delight, Tahir is filled with persistent sadness and self-hatred as a result of his vengeful win. The agony is made worse by the fake eye that conceals the hole in his face. He descends into profound depression and flees Tripoli for Benghazi in order to escape nagging friends who try to talk him out of his sorrow. Indeed, vengeance only adds to the suffering rather than alleviating it.

Lastly, Rahma regrets striking back after Tahir hits her. Her immediate vengeance has far-reaching ramifications, as she discovers when the Hammurabic verdict goes against her. Rahma is Engineer Tahir’s junior colleague. When he approaches her and offers to take her out on a date, she hides her eagerness to say yes beneath layers of coyness. She simply smiles at him, her huge eyes shining brightly, but she says nothing. She answers no when he insists. But she really means it. He was required to fill in the blanks. He takes her sweet no for a nasty no and vows vengeance. He slaps Rahma as she takes her head veil off for work. Rahma does not pause to consider her next course of action. Instead of restraint, she strikes back. In her rage, she is unable to reason sensibly. She reacts instinctively after being struck initially. She fails to contemplate the long-term effects. Turning the other cheek would have been a better response, wouldn’t it? Using a letter opener, she splits engineer Tahir's left eye open. He spends a month in the hospital and returns furious and vengeful, taking her to court the following day. He claims he hit her to prevent her from mimicking Americans and dishonouring Libya. In her defence, she claims that she was temporarily insane due to tremendous provocation. When the court issues a Hammurabi verdict of "an eye for an eye," she regrets her rash deed of retribution. She sobs, but the court is unmoved. She had surgery to remove her left eye. Rahma's thirst for vengeance ultimately brings her greater misery.

In conclusion, getting even with someone else may make a bad situation even worse. Professor Kimani, Engineer Tahir, comrade Melusi, and Rahma go from one extreme to the other as they pursue their quest for vengeance.

2.Despite having gained Independence, Many African  nations still grapple with Neo - colonialism which adversely affects lives. Justify this assertion with  illustration from Father's of Nations by John Lara ( 20 marks )

 Leaving of white man who was a colonialist paved way for Africa to be colonized by its own people who took advantage of their positions of power to mistreat the masses. After Independence , Africans decide to govern themselves putting into leadership the people they trust   who can govern them better and bring change after tough times during colonial period. Their dreams do not come true as the very leaders turn their back on them and become " black Europeans" . This is evident in Father's of Nations by John Lara.

Comrade Melusi confesses to Mr Longway that there is no freedom, no work no unity as the new leader applies the  tactic of divide and rule. African leaders  does not discuss serious issues. They portray as individuals who lack etiquette and turn taking skills, hecklers and uncivilized. Like illiterates they shout at each other instead of breaking grounds on how to understand each other and discuss effectively.

New colonialism has brought with it many other evils, political assassination. The author paints a picture of a continent where leadership is a matter of life and death and no longer a calling. They deep their feet into leadership with hidden motives. They get to power by all means and campaigns and political ventures including killing fellow killing fellow contestants

Mp Newborn Walomu, a former junior lecturer in realizing that ignorance and education is valued and rewarded in Kenya, he dives into politics with his whole body and starts by committing atrocities to ascend to power.During the by election campaigns, Walomu use gunmen who could have been better than him This organized crimes are rampant in most African states as leaders will do anything within their powers to stay in leadership.Neo -colonialism bred rampant coups in various states in 

Africa as leaders turned doctors.Only their voices were to be heard. With their insatiable thirst for power, African leaders go to greater heights at the expense of their nations to grasp power. Armies are at their disposal and they use them for their selfish gains.

Indeed, new colonialism comes with many adverse effects in the masses.

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