Fathers of Nation Chapter Seven , Summaries & Analysis

 

CHAPTER SEVEN
Episode 22: Political Hierarchy
Summary pages 100–104

 The episode offers the readers the specifics of the events as they unfolded on the day when the summit opened. The host president engaged in casual banter with a few selected heads of state based on the country's poles of influence in a bid to honour them.

Based on the population pole of influence, the host leader exchanged pleasantries with the Nigerian president first, whom he viewed as a brother. We learn that even if it is less crucial in this period of the summit than it had been centuries earlier, when strengths of armies were assessed in numbers of men and consequently decided on the size of the population, To this day, it still counts, explaining why nobody takes on China, for instance. The president of Nigeria is described as a ripe seventy-year-old retired general. Pastor Chiamaka's instructions from AGDA to him were strict, clear, nasty, and disrespectful: watch the summit but not interfere, ever, and so he was doing. Chiamaka remarks that the Nigerian president seems more majestic in the sky-blue robes that he was wearing than did his counterpart in rolls of white cotton. Pastor Chiamaka wished that the president ruled Nigeria well. 

Technology is the second pole of influence, and South Africa is the continent's leader in that sector. Although its technological advancement is not close to that of America, the world leader in that field, In Africa, South Africa's technology is second to none. For this reason, when the Gambian president had finished honouring the Nigerian heads of state, he went to honour his South African counterparts.

 The next pole of influence is a basic partnership with one or more of the other poles. And in this situation, nobody bullies Kenya; this is not because it is a pole itself but rather because some of its allies are poles. Right from the day Kenya achieved its independence, it wisely became, and to this day remains, America's best friend in Africa. For this reason, no country bullies this ‘chosen one, since doing so is to face reprisals by its powerful friend. Therefore, the Gambian president, the host, after welcoming the South African head of state, moved to exchange pleasantries with the Kenyan president. During the pleasantries exchange, Kenya’s legendary wildlife came up somehow, and the Kenyan president then invited him to his country for a state visit. Watching the president of Kenya from his seat at the back of the hall was Professor Kimani. His daughter, Tuni, had died on a public road under a minibus and trailer, and his wife, Asiya Omondi, had run off with a randy member of parliament already married to three young women. All those losses had subsequently hardened into resentment given the avoidable nature of all these reasons. He feels they were avoidable and the Kenyan government could have averted them but did not.

 The other pole of influence is simple obstinacy; it is a pole so sensitive that few heads of state dare to praise it openly. It is the practise of engaging in pointless fights with adversaries and friends equally. And the Zimbabwean ruler had bags of it. Once, before a well-attended general assembly of the United Nations, he scolded America and Britain despite the devastation they could have poured on him, and this garnered him prestige. Through sheer obstinacy, he dared to declare publicly what not many would have dared to say publicly. comrade Melusi scowls at the president, whom he hates intensely for having unleashed the fifth brigade that murdered hundreds of people, including his wife Ziliza, and sending bulldozers to drive Zimbabweans out of their homes in the wild lands. Besides taking Zimbabweans out of their lands, his misrule was taking the country back to the stone age. 

The last pole of influence in the episode is the plain refusal to abide by the imposed guidelines. And nobody understands this better than the leader of Libya. When his followers planted a bomb that blew up the Pan American Global Airlines plane, killing three hundred on board. The established rules obliged him to surrender the bomb planters for trial and to pay compensation to the families of their victims, but the Libyan ruler refused to abide by these terms. Engineer Tahir loathed the Libyan president, as he felt he had sold himself out to the west and become its servant. The president used to snap at the west‘s heels like a terrier, but now he was a poodle, happiest when perched on the west's lap. He had also abolished Libya’s nuclear weapon programme, throwing away the country’s only insurance against future western assault and signing his own death warrant in the bargain.

Analysis.
Characterization

The Gambian president, who is hosting the meeting, is shown as compassionate and hospitable in this episode. This is demonstrated by the way he breaks the ice by moving from guest to visitor and engaging in cheerful chat with each.

In this episode, Pastor Chiamaka is portrayed as perceptive or astute because he concludes that the Nigerian president was more majestic in those sky-blue robes than his Gambian counterpart. Page 101.

Professor Kimani, on the other hand, is portrayed as bitter or spiteful, and we learn from the episode that the problems he had earlier hardened into a grudge. ‘These losses had since hardened into a grudge.’ Page 102.

Comrade Melusi is also presented as hateful; he despises Zimbabwe's president for instilling fear in his tribesmen, particularly since this resulted in the death of his beloved wife, Ziliza. Comrade Melusi, situated in a rear seat, exhibited a disapproving countenance towards the individual, harbouring a profound aversion for him. Page 103

Thematic Concerns

 The episode's major concept is bad leadership. This is exemplified by Zimbabwe's president, who, according to the episode, is working to return his country's economy to the Stone Age following years of misrule. Page 103. The Libyan president, on the other hand, likewise refused to follow the norms, exemplifying this point further when he refused to hand over the bomb planters and even refused to reimburse the victims' families.

Literary Techniques

In this episode, the author employs several stylistic techniques to help readers understand his point. In this episode, for instance, there is the usage of parenthesis or brackets, a style employed to provide additional information to help the reader grasp what is mentioned in the text. A ripe seventy years old—and full general, if now retired—stands up from his seat, pages 100–101. In this illustration, further information about the Nigerian leader is provided in between the two hyphens, which helps the reader comprehend what is said.

In this episode, vivid description is used as a literary method to create imagery in the reader's imagination for a better understanding of the text. Pastor Chiamaka noticed that the Nigerian president appeared more majestic in his sky-blue robes than his Gambian colleague. Page 101. In keeping with this, there is also a contrast as a stylistic strategy when we compare the Nigerian president's robe to that of his Gambian counterpart.

There is also the use of rhetorical questions, the purpose of which is to make the reader think about what is being asked. These questions do not necessitate an answer. ‘Had this self-same man not given the order? … Had the man not taken it there? In this case, the question helps the reader comprehend the Zimbabwe leader's character attributes as cruel and nasty and even establishes the theme of bad leadership that bedevils most African republics.

 The author exploits figures of speech in this episode when Engineer Tahir compares Libya's leader to a terrier and a poodle. ‘The man used to snap at the west’s heels like a terrier, but now he was a poodle—happiest when seated on the West’s lap, page 104. 'Like a terrier' is a simile, while '... is a poodle' is a metaphor. The idea of change is reinforced by these figures of speech. 

Finally, in this episode there is use of situational irony,when we expect heads of state to protect their citizens, but the opposite occurs when, for example, Zimbabwe's leader orders the killing of his citizens using the fifth bridge, which killed hundreds of people, including Comrade Melusi's wife Ziliza.

The Character's Role in the episode

Comrade Melusi, Professor Kimani, Engineer Tahir, and Pastor Chiamaka's roles in this episode are to highlight bad leadership and to build the attributes of their respective country's leaders, as described above.

https://www.sembanotes.com/2023/06/episodic-approach-of-fathers-of-nations.html

https://www.sembanotes.com/p/privacy-policy.html

https://www.sembanotes.com/2023/06/episodic-approach-of-fathers-of-nations.html

https://www.sembanotes.com/p/privacy-policy.html

https://sembanotes.blogspot.com/2020/06/questions-on-sound-based-stylistic.html