Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi College of Arts and Social Sciences Department of English a Presentat
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KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KUMASI COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH A PRESENTATION OF POST-INDEPENDENCE POLITICAL DISILLUSIONMENT IN AYI KWEI ARMAH’S THE BEAUTYFUL ONES ARE NOT YET BORN AND KOJO B. LAING’S SEARCH SWEET COUNTRY. A Dissertation Presented to The Department of English, College of Arts and Social Sciences of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, In Partial Fulfilment of The Requirement For The Award of MPhil in English. BY ANITA ANNAN SEPTEMBER, 2014 1 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my own original work and that all sources used within this study have been properly acknowledged by means of complete references. ....................................................... ....................................................... Anita Annan Date (Student) Certified by: ......................................................... ...................................................... Dr. John Aning Date (Supervisor) ......................................................... ........................................................ Dr. Esther Serwaa Afreh Date (Head of Department) i DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to the James K. Annan Family. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to God Almighty for being my present help in ages past and my hope for years to come. I am particularly grateful to my supervisor, Dr. John Aning, for accepting the task when I urgently needed a new supervisor. My thesis would not have been possible without his constructive criticism and assistance which gave direction and shape to my thesis. My special thanks go to Dr. Mrs. F. Dadson, lecturer and former Head of the English Department, for her genuine concern for the success of her students. I owe her a debt of gratitude for her words of encouragements and generally keeping me sane in the midst of all the challenges and frustrations. I also need to add that her knowledge and commitment for excellence has been an inspiration to me. I am especially grateful to Mr. K. O. O. Armah, Head of the English Department; a savant whose lectures during my undergraduate years engendered and shaped my interest in literature up to this level. I am also very grateful to Mr. A. A. Amoako for supervising my undergraduate dissertation and also introducing me to this thesis when he was available. I thank him for supervising some of my term papers and making available to me invaluable resources and counsel. I am equally grateful to the late Professor S. K. Okleme, Mr. Emmanuel Yao Akpakli, Mr. Awuah-Darteh and all the lecturers of the English Department for their guidance and help. iii I also owe special thanks to Messrs Mr. David Grant, Nana Kwasi Bredu Antwi- Berko, Leslie Aidoo, Phillip Bondzie and Samuel Mensah Dadzie for their love and support. I am very grateful to Akua Adjei (Mrs.), Assistant Registrar, Faculty of Applied Science, Kumasi Polytechnic, and also her parents Mr. And Mrs Adjei for their amazing love and support. I am especially grateful to Michelle Debrah (Mrs) for her encouragements and guidance. I am also appreciative of the concern and friendship of Dr. Mrs. Esther Tober-Ansong, Mrs. Amma Aboagyewa Andam-Akorful, Stella Aninakwa (Mrs.), Miss Fatima Aziz and all my friends. Most importantly, I express my deepest appreciation to my family. My success would not have been possible without their deep love, unwavering support and constant prayers. For everything I am, I owe to my family. To especially my father, Mr. James K. Annan, whose educational fervour has impelled me to come this far, I say God richly bless you...and the entire family. iv ABSTRACT This project evaluates political disillusionment in Ghana as presented in Ayi Kwei Armah and Kojo Laing’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born and Search Sweet Country, respectively. Armah and Laing embark on a form of artistic awareness creation to help in the process of reconstruction. The Beautyful Ones and Search Sweet Country are used in this project because firstly, both of them present political disillusionment. These texts validate the reality that disillusionment is in direct opposition to the exuberance and expectations of independence. In depicting the issues that plague post-independence Ghana, the authors express their disappointment with activities of political leaders that eventually stifle development. Also, the two texts put political disillusionment in a historical context: while Armah’s text represents the period immediately after independence, Laing’s portrays Ghana in the mid-1970s. Essentially, The Beautyful Ones depicts civilian dictatorship under Kwame Nkrumah while Search Sweet Country gives a picture of the military regime under Colonel Ignatius Acheampong. Consequently, the project traces the beginning and depth of disillusionment immediately after independence to the Ghana of today. The project comes to the conclusion that Ghana is grappling with socio-political issues decades after independence. This project probes the depth of the “Ghanaian situation”, and hence creates the awareness of the possibility of social fragmentation. v EPIGRAPH “Democracy should not be a toy for the elite to play with. It should involve even the so-called ‘ignorant people.’ Because only when you involve the bulk of the people can you have a real check to central.” __Meles Zenawi. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION.................................................................................. i DEDICATION..................................................................... ............... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..................................................................iii-iv ABSTRACT......................................................................................... v EPIGRAPH............................................................................... ……. vi TABLE OF CONTENT.....................................................................vii-viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background of the study............................................................. 1 1.2 Aim of the study......................................................................... 5 1.3 Literature review........................................................................ 6 1.4 Theoretical framework........................................................... 9 1.5 Methodology........................................................................... 12 1.6 Justification............................................................................. 12 1.7 Structure.................................................................................... 13 References............................................................................................ 14 vii CHAPTER TWO.................................................................................. 15 An Analysis of Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born …………………………………………………………………………………. 15 References.......................................................................................... 79 CHAPTER THREE........................................................................... 80 An Analysis of Kojo Laing’s Search Sweet Country References.........................................................................................119 Conclusion and Recommendation.......................................................120 BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................125-130 viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study ‘‘The final hour of colonialism has struck, and millions of inhabitants of Africa, Asia and Latin America rise to meet a new life and demand their unrestricted right to self- determination.’’1 Undoubtedly, independence constitutes the end of colonialism, the return of political power and control of the country to the citizens. A newly independent country is left in a state of euphoria. Citizens throng the streets chanting victory slogans—the feeling of freedom is invigorating. The social-transformation bandwagon starts rolling almost immediately and there is a mammoth cooperation from everybody. Appointed leaders make huge promises of hope for their nations and citizens, stimulating and challenging their citizens towards unity and national development. However, almost concomitant with the celebration arise rapacious leaders who have ‘‘contributed in no small measure to the grinding poverty, appalling human misery, and deterioration in social conditions that are evident across much of Africa’’ (Foreword to Africa Betrayed). Today, the plight of the masses in post-independence Ghana and Africa is incongruous with the promises made by their leaders. Providentially, disillusionment has been a subject of literary art and analysis and there is a great deal of literature available. Writers such as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Wole Sonyinka and Kofi Awoonor have produced texts in regard to the concept of disillusionment. Their works have and should continue to receive attention from literary critics and social commentators. It is without doubt that Africans have not exactly inhaled the wholesome air of freedom, of independence. Kwame 1 Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, in Address to the National Assembly, is quoted as saying: Countrymen, the task ahead is great indeed, and heavy is the responsibility and yet it is a noble and glorious challenge – a challenge which calls for the courage to believe,