“HAKIYA YA MUNGU”- BETWEEN FACTS AND FICTION: AFRICAN BRAND OF DICTATORSHIP, NGUGI WA THIONG’O’S STEREOTYPE IN WIZARD OF THE CROW
Asika, Ikechukwu Emmanuel
Department of English and Literary Studies
Anambra State University, Igbariam Campus
Email: excellency4life@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o remains undoubtedly one of the most widely read African writers. He has shown through his writings what it takes for a writer to be bold, fearless and patriotic even against the threats of his life in order to salvage and liberate the humanity of his people. More than any African writer, Ngugi is best known for his literature of revolution and resistance; a literature that injects fire, thunder and burning anger in his readers to stand up in the face of oppression, tyranny, corruption, exploitation and join in the struggle to dethrone political dictators and imperialist governments. His writings have in no doubt contributed to several positive changes and adjustment in the political situation in Kenya. But in his most recent novel, we witness a departure from the common Kenyan course of revolution and emancipation to a writing that articulates the problems of power, neo-colonialism, imperialism, dictatorship and corruption that have become the bane of the African continent. Africa is a country plagued by uncountable stories of poverty, war, dictatorship, exploitation among other sort of tragedies. Ngugi in his Wizard of the Crow abandoned the cause of his Kenyan people to address a larger theme of the problems of his African continent. The major problem as he located, is the leadership problem of many African states in the hands of dictators. This paper studied how Ngugi in the course of his bizarre and magical tale, created a stereotype of African brand of dictatorship from which all other dictators could be viewed and from which viewpoint we could collectively seek a solution, a gradual but steady war to end dictatorships and not just to enthrone genuine democracy but an African devoid of Western dependency but on the real personality and pride of the continent.