| A Man of the People | |
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1st US edition |
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| Author(s) | Chinua Achebe |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Heinemann(UK) John Day (US) |
| Publication date | 1966 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 167 pp |
| Preceded by | Arrow of God |
| Followed by | Anthills of the Savannah |
A Man of the People is a 1966 satirical novel by Chinua Achebe. It is Achebe's fourth novel. The novel tells the story of the young and educated Odili, the narrator, and his conflict with Chief Nanga, his former teacher who enters a career in politics in an unnamed modern African country. Odili represents the changing younger generation; Nanga represents the traditional customs of Nigeria. The book ends with a military coup, similar to the real-life coups of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Yakubu Gowon.[1]
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A Man of the People is a first-person account of Odili, a school teacher in a fictional country closely resembling post-colonial Nigeria. Odili receives an invitation from a former teacher of his, Chief Nanga, who is now the powerful but corrupt Minister of Culture. As Minister, Nanga's job is to protect the traditions of his country, and though he is known as "A Man of the People," he instead uses his position to increase his personal wealth. The Minister's riches and power prove particularly impressive to Odili's girlfriend, who cheats on him with the minister. Seeking revenge, Odili begins to pursue the minister's fiancee.
Odili agrees to lead an opposition party in the face of both bribes and violent threats. Odili triumphs over the Minister, however, when a military coup forces his old teacher from office. The book ends with the line: "you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murderer in the chest -- without asking to be paid."[2]
Upon reading an advance copy of the novel, Achebe's friend, the Nigerian poet and playwright John Pepper Clark declared: "Chinua, I know you are a prophet. Everything in this book has happened except a military coup!"[3]
Later in 1966, Nigerian Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu seized control of the northern region of the country as part of a larger coup attempt. Commanders in other areas failed, and the plot was answered by a military crackdown which resulted in the presidency of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. A massacre of three thousand people from the eastern region living in the north occurred soon afterwards, and stories of other attacks on Igbo Nigerians began to filter into Lagos.[4] In July 1966, Ironsi was himself overthrown by Yakubu Gowon (continuing the cycle of transition by violence, Gowon was overthrown by General Murtala Mohammed who died a year later in yet another coup attempt).
Because Achebe's novel mirrored the coup that came shortly after the novel's publication, military personnel suspected him of having foreknowledge of the coup. Achebe evacuated his pregnant wife, Christie, and their children, to Port Harcourt. They arrived safely, but Christie suffered a miscarriage at the journey's end. Chinua rejoined them soon afterwards in Ogidi.[5]
Achebe's first three novels were all clearly set in Igbo villages in Nigeria. A Man of the People, however, was set in a fictional African country as Achebe sought to write African literature on the condition of the continent in more general terms. The novel does not include any specific ethnic or cultural groups. The problems portrayed in the book, such as bribery, incompetence and governmental apathy, were experienced by many West African nations in the neocolonial era. As Nigeria had not experienced a coup when Achebe wrote A Man of the People, his model for the novel's events must have been military coups in other African nations. Despite his intentions, however, the subsequent coup in Nigeria meant that the book was again seen as being principally about Nigeria.[6]
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