DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY , I -' --- l,.,.-// --
CYFRI.AN O• D. EKWENSI (26 SEFTEMBER 1921 - )
by
Ernest N. Emenyonu University of Calabar Cala ba.r, N/;G,~. 1
NAME: CYPRIAN· ODIATU DUAKA EKWENSI / . .'
BIRTH: Minna, Niger State, Nigeria, ~ 26 September/ 192\ to David Anadumaka
and Agnes Uso Ekwensi.
EDUCATION: Government College, Ibadan; Achimota
College, Gold Coast (now Ghana); School
of Forestry, Ibadan; Higher College,
Yaba; Chelsea School of Pharmacy,
London University.
MARRIAGE: Married with many children.
CAREER DETAILS: Lecturer in Biology, Chemistry,
English at Igbobi College, Lagos,
Nigeria (1947-49); Lecturer in
. .---../) . • . f Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutics at
the School of Pharmacy, Yaba, l1949-51); 2
Pharmacist, Nigerian Medical Service
t1956-57); Head of Features, Nigerian
Broadcasting Corporation, (1957-61);
Director of Information Services,
Federal Republic of Nigeria (1961-66);
Director of Information Services,
Eastern Nigerian Information Sevices
(1966-67); Chairman, Bureau for
External Publicity for "Biafra"
(1967-69); Controller-General Broad- casting Corporation of "Biafra"
(1969-70); Chairman, East Central
State Library Board (1971-75); Visiting
Artist in Residence, International
Writing Programi/: University of Iowa, '-../
Director, Star Printing and Publishing 3
Company, Enugu (1975-1979); Consultant,
Ivory Trumpet Publishing Company Ltd.,
(Niger Eagle Press Ltd.J, (1980-83);
Information Consultant, Federal Ministry
of Information, Lagos, {1984-85);
Commissioner for Information, Anambra
State, Nigeria (Oct. 1983-Dec. 1983);
Member, Board of The Federal Radio-
Corporation of Nigeria (1984-86);
Chairman, Anambra State Hospitals
Management Board, t1987- present).
AWARDS: Dag Hammarksjoeld International Award
for Literary Merit (1968) .
,<''.,.. . _, .., .-Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Sca_ndinavia,
United· States of America. 4 /'. / .,... ~ . _,./] . ___..- · I
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS / ANB,,.-MENBSRSHIPS: P.E.N., London; Society for .. · / / _/ ,. ~/-· Nigerian Writer; Member of
-· the Pharmac utical Society of
Britain; Member of the Nigerian
Arts Council; ~ember, British
~nstitute of Public Relatioris;
Member of the World Organisation
of the Diplomatic Press; Member, ._,,,. Association of Nigerian Authors. \ .,~"
.PUBLICAIION:3::- ~-
MAJOR NOVELS:
P~ople of the City (London: Andrew Dakers, 1954; E,.dt.H:a.+,·a.,,.,v( Book !. London: Heinemann~ f}-rf,,!c~ LJv it'e.v-s .S-e. r"1.e.s_, sj, 1'(63 i Evanston. Norffiwestern un-i~~---
Press;· 1"§"67;---~., e-Y: Greenwich; Cem1ec Lieut, Fawcett,
1969). 5
Jagua Nana lLondon: Hutchinson, 1961;
London: Panther Books, 1963 ; er: Greenwich; Ceniie· 1 lGJ.t±, Fawcett, 19b9; . f"- ' t. , r r 1,_ . \ • ..:... p ,r C::-r,p< tit.If-- :: ,1,_~,c,, .... -;;:, t- , · . ..,,.~~(" - 1A-r--? ..,1 €1t .. J; l W;'"'.) ...... - - • - ..., • .# - { _... ~ / - c ,. London: H~in~mannl 1 1975) • . . /_..,--t-,:;~~ .: ~> ·.- •'. -: g C Q ~ :, [;;_::: ' ·• L--., ~,.; ,· ~ -:,' ; : e ,.' .: :: . .:,,_) / Burning Grass , (London: Heine~~~;;i,2J- ; . --- ·-- -____ ,
Beautiful Feathers lLondon: Hutchinson, 1963; s~~ ,.., ~;'; . ~~--:-·,~---:' . , ~-~ .. London: Heinemann,.- 1~1-GJ. l q7 /\ I :J/!' •
lLondon: Hutchinson, 19bb;
London: Panther Books, 19b8J.
Divided we stand llmugu; NigeZ&: Fourth Dimension, 1980).
~ - f € d~u ...... / c.t ...... ·' .,' For a Roll of Parchment \Ibadan: Nig ia~ Heinemann~
t\ l~;t''6~·.$)' 19tsbJ.
Jagua Nana's Daughter l Ibadan; ~ Spectrum, 1986). b
SHU.l{T NOVELS: \ q qt} The Leopard's Claw (London: Longman, ~).
When Love Whispers tYaba, Nigeria: Chuks, 1947;
i .., . - --·~ Oni tsha, Nigeria: Tabansi, · 1948). -. ..,
The Passport of Mallam Ilia lLondon and New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1960).
/\ C,--- Yaba Round ,Kbout Murder lLagos: Nig,~ia: Tortoise 7 '-../ Series Books, 19b2).
Motherless Baby tEnugu: Nigae:ra--:..t Fourth Dimension,
19t50J.
BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS:
The Drummer Boy lbondon and New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1960).
An .African Night's Entertainment
lLagos; ~African Universities
Press, 1962 J. 7
c,,,/· Juju Rock {Lagos:~ African Universities Press,
- i '., ' ' ' ) ..- • ,, ,, 1 'l ('.l , ~ ~ < • .,, '.\. -·-196. 6) • i ;,.,_ - f. • • . e X,., ·i. / r•°c • •,•-• ,, >.)!'-' <;; J ~ ..., V (· ... ' , l-
Trouble in Form Six (London and New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1966);., . ' ; . :, {. \.. f'.. '4! ... .J"
Longman w 1973): Coal Camp Boy (Lagos: Nige'M:a-~ I'\1 ,
c-/ Samankwe in the Strange Forest (Lagos; Nige1'.i-a,-
Samankwe and the Highway Robbers
(London: Evans, 1975)•
COLLECTIONS OF SHORT STORIES: 'Ibo T "-(e. s Ikolo the Wrestler and Other :&t::11t ie-e
(London: Nelson, 1947) ;
The Great Elephant-Bird
tT,'laa.ton on Toe:mes, (London: Nelson,
1965)j /I The Rain l':Aflker and Other Stories
(Lagos; Ni-g.Z:a..: .African Universities ri
) t,. ('. - , l,~P~.:tjEf.\_:5 ~-2 __~.:&J <;r 1965),r it~· 'f lC.,1_.-1,.~ '"' ~-c L. ,
'.I".ne Boa Sui tor
Lokotown,and Other Stories ; • • r ,ir' i ~ . t,·d "· ~ ·r_ . r: ,,... _4 . • (London: Heinemann, 1966)}' /•
Restless City and Christmas Gold . ' ' • ) r ..~ ~ \.,·."'., ,·" r ! 1·5 _,,,.- 1 ' ~ ~ - ·· . .-, . . . ' . ' ~ -:_ , : r". J ._, t c. l - ,i • • _,; • .. ... 4 '\,. .J ~" ~ " (London: Heinemann~ 1975) /1 1
The Rainbow - Tinted Scarf and Other Stories -~ tLondon: Evans, 197JJ· wo~ rN' PAINT:} z,., I . _, _.··1 Benind/, ·the_rI Convent_./ ,.., 'Wall.,,, ---~ ~ ,- ./ a · os Love Deal/ / ·· I / / /,. I 1 / / Murde at Mil/Two 9
(3oc t( ~S EDITED:
Festac Anthology of Nigerian New Writing
{Lagos, Nigeria: Cultural Division,
Federal Ministry of Information -
Nigeria Viagazine special publication,
1977).
/
SOME ANT'dOLOGIES IN WHICH WORKS HA VE APPEARED:
/ / Afr~ New Writin {London: I,,titterworth Press,
1947.
Darkness into D;ght ,, ( 1957 J. // -- --~ /------Refl~{ions ,lL_a/as~~ria: African Universities
_/ Press, 1962'). I . "' -,.,"' An African Treasurv: articles, -.essays, stories,
/ ., poems by black Africans (New York: Crown, 1960).
1 noutlook for African Wri terd.! -, \ ; . . ···--·---~ --- . ../ G~st African Revie4 ~anuary) 1950): "The Dilemma of the African Writer!!-,--;
West African Review~?(.Ju1yi·956): 70 /-iOL/i
Q
"Problems of Nigerian Wri ters~'t c? c,) Nigeria Magazine, 7tl/~eptember/ 1963): 211-Z-lq/
"Literary Influences on a Young Nigerian~
7 Times Literary Sunnlemen~(~ 19b4); 47!,-i./ 6)
"African Li teraturet!!--, )
Nigeria lfagazine°/ 83) &ecember /1964) : Z '! t/ - '--'f 'f; 13
··":h,ssessi..'1.g Cyprian Ekwensi as a writer, ~ ~ ',
American st.udent once said, "Eis !,ision may be at / ..,/ times confused,"· l;lis scznesm 'y be crowded, and h:i,.s .
characters unwiel; ,' j,, Cypriru, __EkwenSf' s writings are / '" ------·--- the most gener~~:it-aec-essin__le, the most likely to b e / / ~ picked up while/ shopping for·- the'-L~ .;we ekly groceries." / ~ / '-.,, "' ~- .. .:i. , ...... This s1J.1ri's up the t ype OI e-qU4i::..SJ.L.££k±on 1:u.~a em·tn.6 iu bY,- /// . -...... "·,. wh{ch a study of Cyprian Erllensi as 2. noveli1:?t evokes. '·
a..,_ Cyprian Ekwensi is ,Q,ae-·JJ.~ writer who deserves patient reading and ca reful review. He is frer.ue~tly
_gere~y relegated to the background by in%crit:i.csJ spurned by some and ignored by a few. :Many a critic
.,.of ~ ::rieacr HtePo.tu1e, Oft"~! fr om .. if;;he Western w C_.? has made his debut by n shooting down" 0., .... /im1 Ekwensi. One went so far as to assert that II whatever Ekwensi' s 11 ' virtues, they do not extend to 1 i terature. It is .ae i CA 1 +e. ?i- fof1..J(,t.v- wr; fer /, K'e ekw~ ,,; f- , / ~~ easy to cri ticize C½,:r,1 ian ~kwen's1, mac,1 nrore-s~ ~ve"·rwt'"•ev~n· r~a°tt"ha-m. yhiatever his f aults . 14 he C.&..n /It () t he ,__,.,.~~~;::=EFl;¥.l~~~.,_~ ( and there are many of them), :&e- 0 t 9::~d ~ d. h'j a. "' ~ ,, serious student of African 1iterature ~::-a i ffe:rd _Lo 1 importe.nt pla.ce in the historical development of the I S ~est African novel in English, and truly the father of "- the modern Nigerian novel in English. No matter how r\1.0 v' a.. (1 ·~ +:s / ' offensive some of his adult novels may be to FQOf)le ___~,i~ ,....,,., a-certain frame Gf m-.ind and m€.i'a1 di~, no !jet(_ r"Vi ! V! 0 parent or teacher who has young children who. :;r0~~ for ~ { 1te(a.f!.(ttZ o. +loid +o ov0'"/,,ok exciting si:.~rieo can ~o~e Cyprian Ekwensi's stories A.. for young readers. No matter how uneven the quality of his novels may b~ Yi geBcrar, Ekwensi remains one o:f Africa's best short story writer~O! tae twentieth sz__, ~--- 'l'he key word to his art as a creative writer is versatility. Born on September 26, 1921, Cyprian Ekwensi has written about one book for every two years he has lived, 15 and about two short stcries for every year of his life so far. He has published novels 2nd short stories; he I\ fl ,.-e!e,.1 1 s1 c l-\ :J-,..• ~,,, has written plays fer the radio and filmscripts forAthe screen. He has written about love, infatuation, infidelity, war, adventure, fantasy, politics, c~ildhood, marriage, death and ritual sacrifice. He has written for adults as well as youngsters. Ee has collected folktales. He has written about life in various Nigeria~ etbnic groups: He ' (ec..o rd ,>'l.v ~etet:ior, :it! a.ii:.8 fi:etiOB Mei ,i c,.ded tlnoag!! t:he 'f_ici ssitud:e~ of 1.tfe in"' new "uro'an ~e!rv:tr~ Perhaps if he had stuck to one genre, if he had focussed on one major theme, if he had concentrated ' N~-~1'.k¾- on one segment of ~ society :for :b:is :;.:i.::4ience , .. . /\ 1 a.. !J re.."--+cit Cyprian Ekwensi could he.ve commanded r•mr?ze., [email protected]!r '2,__._. -9-aUow :~1 ;1 (l,..;.::,€- fie hi,__ f- :fellow9'.F-vl · .f-, among literary critics. ~L 1S hOW;": !Ml 16 .._. coverW- many situations, many themes and many types 14-0sr of characters. ~ readers ~ have no knowledge of h ,'~ e.;;.,-fro..()rJ,~~ry ~J,:R-Jj¥jts±14J lit-::rarJ output in the l2st forty 0.....- yes.rs:~ l:ige~ It includes ni..Yle major novels, five short novels, seven children's readers, seven collections Cl PJ:rJbQrS Qf :: of short stories, co~L~tlessdshort-r stories~-~=~- in ~~e journals and magazines, and several unpubliahed ~ bo~\<:J ~...., .. wio'~ .a5 p;[email protected] Ekwensi' s c areer is as versatile and widespread as his fiction. An Igbo born in r.:ir.na, Niger State ( where he had his primary education), Ekwensi received his second&.ry education in Ibad2n, Oyo State, his :post-second2.ry education in Ghana and / ~ professional,-r- his miivers~education in England. His family moved A- .,,,....-·-~. / to Northern Nigeria from their homeland Nkwelle. nerr ·....___,_ ._ 17 C5idi in Anambr~. 3tate Ln 1919 and on}y retvrned in 1966 on the eve of the civil war ~l 0"'"1J-:y- ten yesrs ) before Ekwensi' s father's death on November 19, 1976. j ~.o.:t~ ,C. Ekwensi w2:.s already ~ H!f.li'i' before he first n c2.me home" yov..~~r vt-<'1-!,\ to his village in Nkwelle. As a e~udcn:t., he studied Forestry and Pharmacy. As a teacher at Igbobi College near Lagos, in the forties, he taught English, Biology and Chemistry. At the I..agos Sc:b.ool of :Fharmacy _:L.'1 1949, A--l·Htc··,, e;, ~ he ha./ he ta1..1ght :Fharmacognosy and Fharm2ceutics. "~ V professional qua.lifications in Forestry and Fharrnc.cy he I jo1~e.d ~1'5.t O""M!.r tQ the news media in the fifties, studied Broadcasting ( ofcf;.ef!: o~~o1"j in England, and has '"°' wD>'"k of t1...... _a1·~ei"' remained w-4-ttr t~ media .itr one form or t-he gther since ~n rcz61 1 960. pe e.ttained the rank of the Federal Director of "' Information ~ i..'1 which capacity he con trolled~ Jf__ J Nigerian ~e mediaI including films, r8.dio, television,. 2-nr~ ,-:;;:i~ "'~er. Commenting on his multiple interests, a -t-tL l:1!1-.,'j• - ~ o 11ce~ writer in.LS.fest P.-frican RevieJ:!~~2.:§§t ., said: .rl_ - ,.~ m,.i.nere a!'e Lvwo '-'yprian/I • .,:;.r.:.wensis.~' • Cyrrian Ekwensi, the Nigerian novelist, broadcaster, short story writer, the man who lives in the world of ink and literature--and Cyprian Ek~·rensi, the :ph2.r m2cist, the man of t:1e white coat, dispensing medicine, sterilisi.~g i.~jections 2nd control:ing drugs. Crr" This is still very much the story of Cyprian ~kwensi today: h turns 12. teecher, 2, j ournalist, 2 phcrmacist, a dir-lomat, a businessman, a/om:pany director, a ,.. :Fublic f~lations consultant, I? photographer, s de:zterous art is· t , &n Jd:1gen3si;i;.,13· · L,~"-z~.b ..!-sons,, an .1n..... f ormat ion· J consultant, a writer and a moJlder of public opinion. I \.__...- ' \ t d\vas,ty ,,.-f 1vi,fere$ 4/ In his fiction he reflects this rli @Q g:rili producing a kind of hodge-podge which has amused many, excited some and irrita.ted a few. 19 Ek-wensi had begun writing as e8rly e.s the end +i'rs t- 7 of the Second World ~far. His Mr .; eat stories were e,_L,{foJr'z,·l/l(J about his father ~ the,r eulogise-d his f"aiiher' a c I' unequalled bravery as an adventurous ( elephant) hunter ~ki\l rnd his ,~,:Hern-± ty as a carpenter. Re pubJ.ished his first collection of short stories, Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales in 194 7. In 194 7/ 48 he :published 'J what was probably the first pamphlet i.."l. the Cni tsha !'iarket literature tradition, When love Whispers. It ~ Jl"1 e<;S rl..f-C...-, was a light-he2.rted romance with hee.vy didact icism::.. ~ / I In 1954 he published Feople of the City, his first y- ~ k.s major novel, which was d'iscri'lood as the first West I • 1.,J t, t-re.-., I 11 o._ Afrioan English novel ii&.,,, modern style • ~ r-e~+- "~ firs All aie eight ~tteeeqtte~ major novels with~ ~~ Burning Grass, have followed the tradition of People of the City in their blunt depiction of the realities of modern urban environments. They 20 o/' read like indictments of /tJh city inhabitants. Ekwensi's ,_, i subject is people,,and his thematic preloccupation is to o-· confront• city dwellers with the re~olting social prt1. cf ices injustices and outrageous immoral~ that seem to -1. have become part of their way of life. The picture~ ~ ~"_,-~·· d::±£-e: w~h he presents is~ unattractive to the eye and mind, and it has often been remarked that he has ~ h~ ~ ta& predilection~ focussing h'ia·.. orea:t,~fl~ only on c. ,'+/es. the ugly and ~ repugnant in new African 1,:i.r'baa aabite- ~~ Ekw~nsi has insisted that the work of the ,:;;;, novelist is to hold a mirror up to nature and describe . 1f ~~-truthfully regardless of the e~:, ~ /, o/s ~os Gr' othe:rv,,r;t~e of his public, t=truisb-. He maintains that much of what he writes is true of his ~ -fWl-~ kfbf.L..-\ life and the lives of others in the peculiar setting~ .I\ . y e-f h.ts--,r::iwcj rcumQnt. _In the last forty years he has c.c,.,,,_t,vi.i (,I ;t'.., - - Q__ - ~ andAequally varying degrees of acceptanc8~- 21 9---;..------literary critlcs. V u:1.-.5 ! People of the City g of .; major significance in A the literary career of Cyprian Ekwensio It b.egaa the I., I • I ~ o t- 11 , ~ $" 10. r' f e ci 4. S. 1 t.:adi ti CT' ;,. - ....,,._~,g 'for ·'W!tiCI!" m,-lra s . DE!mr- 9 ·,;rerma-.n:e-~ a "city chronicleb)'. ,~a.a idenL11'1ed. ) / writing at a time when nationalist movements and the struggle for independence were gaining grou..~d. in Nigeriao Many people had started to anticipate the golden era of freedom and emancipation. Many others; however, ~ perceived this freedom and emancipation fromApurely I • .J... $ +d..vtd /Ot vi I • selfish &,,gjs, The society was at a point of transition A. from the old order to the new. The new order associated ) with the emerging urban cen~s, was col&ul and ~ Y" & ; l)V.,\ vigorous /r't was also socially crowded, multi~racial 7 V and complex. Moral values were in a state of turmoil 1 and the social pace was fast and gripping. The 22 J..1 .L. - ...p_ tl.-1 • e w/-':; 41--"\ "heroes" of the new age were torn apart by ..,s.eJ..t'ish ~ c,d(5 aggrandizement~. Despite a~l pr'81Rf)tiss-,s to share in V . the development of their new nation, they remained e. self-cenyed and wasted themselves in frivolities and the desire for sensual excitementso Ekwensi was disenchanted with this euphoria and saw the new urban environments as bewitched with "terribly corrupting influences ••• a den for Ali Baba and the forty thieves,\' ~ sensitivity to tr:1,cth, ~sm and tt1e gtn5a ·11fe wn1ch - I ' ht~ (,~+- Y',/)'Ve), ~ ... J. . .., Ekwensi sought to reflect in ~ -&ed. subsequent -::w:, elm wo.r~'-! which he set in the city. He chose the Nigerian capita~ ~ -...C.~'fl-:ert--the-:t~.e--, Lagos, as the social base for J~f(d_:J;.,.,J new Africa --- Africa on the eve of political independence. a....5 ~ People of the City did not originate :i.R "Me normM Q..,,·.,., a../$-D ,I novelf~ It did not originate as a single story A. ·23 ~ Q./ written consistently from Jbeginning to J end. Instead, it was a stringing together of thirteen different stories written at different times for different purposeso The plot was built on a series of separate episodes which Ekwensi had broadcast in his V weekly short story program8 on Radio Nigeria in the 1940s. Each story was set in a djfferent city location, a-.-~ ho._d I f i 0W0. y\\ P.~;,::1-9-- ~ ~ +yl e_ • '··, ~ ~- ~9~ £,Qi! ii dJ fferert m@e!90ge ~an ....:.:,4t., HU+acomO»S style al)Q teCbCJ(ll»> ~~~~~~' r; ~;51 ~ l won a government scholarship for further studies in Pharmacy at the Chelsea School of Pharmacy, London 011'1 Universityo It was -m the ship that took him from Nigeria to England that Ekwensi wrote People of the ------··__ _..,_...,...- ---1 I' . 'r City. ,',)'le did; this by stringing together those short ~...... ______.,..,.- u~,+,~/ ft.-e.-.. stories that he had broadcast on Radio Nigeria, into '\ one long story entitled Lajide of Lagos. Lajide was an obnoxious character in a story about extortionist 24 landlords. At the end of the fourteen days in which he had secluded himself inside his lonely cabin, Ekwensi had completed his first major literary creation. In 1954 Andrew Dakers published it as People of the City. Young Ekwensi may have seen his achievement as 5CJH;fi;1,.....f C{, -.?f a~ literary feat but critics had different opinion$ ,,,..._ , A f A h,~ . This novel brought Gypria~ Ek.weR&i international .A II' I 1 1"' e6rtt 2d Y)1»1_ f'?..u. d 1 '5:·1> vov visibility as a novelist. but it also bes~~ his tPaveils ~+- ~ literary critics inside and outside Africa. True to his setting, the people in the novel are .P()ueJ +o cliooSe bet-w~ev'I dpa;m--be:tween cbo0eing the picturesque rural life of I\ the village which is tradition-bound, and life in the . 1 1 1 devo 'J. more recently established urban centj~s which is J:a.ped of personal and familial ties and any continuity of custom. In such a setting, the characters evolve and grow. They find themselves thrust into a cold, foreign, alien atmosphere; alone and rejected, Y!!fl!'l, they sJi&; ="R> 25 y this barren wasteland.f where businessmen are I dishonest, Je~oliticians are corrupt,~ °( hoj/-,!e q--)~ neighbo~s are eaemi~ -a~d . ~~i~nds c-~~~:in~~\].ife a~ ______._ _ , .-~-•• .....,_ , _ 4_,._ ·-· .- _ , • ~--·.i.,.,_r,-·. . --.. ~~ -~•- · ·· - ••.,••••· • , ..,,., •• ••· ~ ·-...... _. ._.. . " - • .. ~. ..,.,_.,.• .- '----s~lf-fulfilmentl- They meet few people~ whom they ------~·"'" +-rtA..$;-- O r"' can cemmtn'le eP t: etly !18) th~ love. Instead, they are ~1fr..t ~-~-~9 daily confronted W wretched filth, decadence, hopeless "- The greedy, the ambitious, the licentious, surroun·d their every movemento They find fo<;t;,e <;!,ed o -f-- the people of the city sac&impmse,d td!ib. a synthetic self ,.,,..__ a importance and plastic sense of glory. Despite immediate A -for eif superficial attractions, their hope~ ...,. a successful ; (f u.1>0 r9 • life in the city remain j a !la l:cg!g_l~ Yet they are not disillusioned with the city. Instead they pursue their e,V1 er~e:h' ca-U~ 1 search w~1be::i:ckm, believing that the city .J\ . must eventually have something positive to offer them. They remain adamant in this misguided determination despite the advice and forewarnings of parents and 26 ' ~ll.!: elders~ the cityo This element of search .-J.··f ' I $ , ;.~ e."'"'-- e I ~ ~id.ett a unifying [email protected]?·~ all Ekwensi 's city novels. • • .J.. ' t r, Scr,f i ,or.: People of the City begins with the -war:i-s ~How the -'\ city attracts all types and how the unwary must suffer from ignorance of its ways. 0 The key word here is t, attracts., because it implies that people are 41 a c:e?M4:::9-- lured to the city. Sango, the main character, is one such person. He thinks he knows exactly why he is in the city;l 1'Sango had bis own life to lead, his name to make as a bandleader and journalist. )) He is there ~e~k_ beu~e to ,... success and Jii. a celebrityo His goals are /\ (l ~/. and when it is not1 he is greatly disturbed. 'Jhie is ~ ~~ ~· l,iillMl When Aina, a young girl whom~ a.-.short eneettft'tep: had professed to love, goes to jail 27 rfE ( , · _r ,_., , 1. c,. a_r;.... :v;y "~C - :f'or stealing/ Sango almost tells her t:e really does A not care for her in the least be; cause ,ew:h relation- '"" ,-\ 8hips are :fleeting and within a day are already past and .forgotten. ~unday :e~ ~-e-~-;~~-::Y ~~. ::e:r ;rn and mi~t never ..see--·againo They ·took -~ out ~----· ····" ---~ . ,----··· / '\, ... and amused them. Sometimes it l~ to a romance ....,,,,---d and ~hat waS~~~~ted; b/4e often it led .r - :::::. Every-~i¼~ ~a_s a gay _, adven~ of the patt~~ of 1ife in the . "'-""- city: J _~o - le person who w~.r~e(i ~-ix_ days a w~r;~t~d ~ny~~ng ~~s~ but ~~~ion t-r;/4 the-s"e"'·s'trange encounters. ( . f. ( o.,,--e: n O + Je tr.te"l., ec.. The other characters in the story do zm I C:bfrlE out o..s .f,..._ ((y l MiP aa sic~ as Sango. They are stereotype,figures ~ preconceived ends.,. ..el :JJJe roll h~~ These ends - the ~..' 28 moral purpose of the book - help to throw more light pe1·.1et~r::., ~ on Ekwensi's attitude towards the A values of his society. I is portrayed as tmr"me.st sensual,. and ,/' / one sophistic ted woman 1&--~-W!.l::aw :Shea.d,e_.. theA. most 1 _/ ·' tempting to Sango and also the most vulnerable to the /' / / ' corrosive infl ences of the cityo · she represents the I r,, \ to the city by its superficial and who cannot see beyond / / r I / While X 'the city they yi,eld to money I and abanp.o themselves the fast ebbing .< I tides of city life o / Beatrice hi disclosed t she came to the city II from th/ Eastern Gree the city of coal. She m/4e no secret f to the I I city: high life~ high-class foods, decent clothes, luxurious living. Since 2_9 o( i she c~_ui~ not ear_~ ~ I : /! . / . \ I ~ ,,. ,· / ' \ ' It / ~· : / \ / / [ • oQj;ain i \~-itachmen_t--,--t'o some-one who'--~~ould. Ekwensi knows his city very well. He also knows e.---- 1;9 :tL,- mc·!Q--P,.u:e-e::d~.id: the idiosyncracies of tfle.- h(~ characters~~, who are symptomatic of the moral depravities of the city o -Sang0= i~41-yrohol icakly,, a -p-oi:rrt-_,,Q.!~. j.:n±er--se~- '•_,_ :,~ch_pe smle_ anc;L.;th~ir, ..... ~ ....-=- - •.:. ~::- -·· through t~~y. The strongest qualit y of t he novel . ..,_,.--...... -· . J1! i;::kw~ ; realities e Africt,;~elPEEl5~1'S~i!~$l06 eftYiFeRme.zt$.-!" 'fher ------____ ,..---, C ~!ant' ponders why things happen the way t hey do and yet no one seems to care, or care ~ enough. ~ 30 ' / I man will pick thE;.rit .µp and make them into ; .. / I .l ,.// . ,, something. _/ / • . ? / \ AI1£i~ear_lie~ in'···the nove,l th/{ ha~, b~eri ~;3other "" , / ··.,, .._;?.. ... "' , / / . •-<. ,,·' authorial 1tl~pection: ·. ·. ,., /, '· ... ' / ·'- The question I ~ust ;sk _the people of the city ,-,, . "' . '\_ _/ . T__,n.. . ~ is this: mi • \ 1 ,' ;// ''\. '""' ·, \ ./ \ ~ ""'.'-. \ _..-- \ Why was the y01.u1g"woma-n killed in this __; .. ----···.., ~ . ,... · ' . /. ~- \l / l --:-- heartl.e.s~And-·wny-the· ·-child ·-too? ;! ref! ;s f-e,,s ~ Ekwensi's sensitive voice ctople~ his sinceritY,:~- ~ He is attempting to confront his society with its evils. The picture is one of squalor, bribery, corruption and mercenary values presented by one who has an inside knm"iledge of the situation. Feeple, ollll 7 :,:r.f'!"lf ~"""""'"-l._..,~....,.~""'~ ~ ~~ ~,.£.ep sei:~er than love and playea.wT Yl1:ne •, . 31 / In the end it is t.½e city that emerges as the villain of the novel. "Tne city eats many an innocent life every year • • • It is a waste of our youth ••• n Perhaps it is the author's close proximity to his ~~~~ setting and his G...,.,&eflott±-R reactions to its problems that have produced some of the major weaknesses - r,.tf,: ; i[Z by critics of the novel. The author's didacticism and sense of retribution are very much in evidence in every action in the novelo Often he oversteps his role of mirroring society to that of standing in judgment of ff/ ~ it. He is both the plaintiff and - jur~ am."""' the~¥ cJ 2\iBe z::i:fl ef.? l42g,•e Cltat bcP is ~'the wages o:f ~J he. Sono.e.f,~es s iim:·:4. fil aa-iffl.'l • 'PftM3C>,.. :2 r:e two ~. A resolves . ~ conflicts in the novel ,• l:iy lea7v"ing ett=e the iB-Sue se__ ---·------._./ C ~ de;;(o';J,~ · J. er,d:i:PGly, or ey the depln}mlen;t,....,e,£ a deus-ex-machina~ ~~ J'kills off the characters he has no more use for. 32 ("""'~ ;> ~ ~anr-rnth~-t-11r:.e .c:t...~ooo~~ leads ~Q_ to contrived endings that are melodramatic a-t ~est,=b.trt' ~~ unconvincing. The looseness at the end of each sub-plot makes the novel read like day-to-day records of events in the lives of people, sometimes intercon- but more often than not just events thrown together ~ 1 '- ho__t1 ¾~.""2.~i·;(.J. . .. . ___ ,,, smaJ..J..e:x:.;;;A:J,O·:r, Ci 42utITJctterl "by-'1--~a-et~-s~~ c;bar-aeters-a-t:.e... ..the, --s-am&\ ;J~/ Whe-n all fa\.lilt.s l:l.aire l;;ieea eE>n.sidcrea--, People of tit., ~ ~ tl'.S J nto J el'V"I >1 b v ~ t.11.e City. the--pi.eu~ West African fie=Gi&n in I\ English, remains a work of major importanceQ It is the picture of Lagos in all its ~m±fie&lluas ~ squalor,.-the infectious corruption, the grab-and-keep mania-JIIP"what Peter Abrahams has called the "social meaningfulness" of the novel, that confers on People of the City its lasting value as a work of fiction. Ekwensi's second major city novel, Jagua Nana, published in 1961, is remarkable in many ways and bas 0 5 + 0 .+ \ 1 drawn ~!!i~ conflicting ;:e:!a -1:: it: ~ 8 ~~~ c--· ~ ----. ·- ~-·- ~,wo:iik--0£ 8:f".t. <.::, To many it is a masterpiece and may well be Cyprian Ekwensi's most lasting contribution A-f-,-/~ Ce,.+a 1~ f.:t ; + 1 s h Is to the art of the,,1noveign 20th [email protected] Af_!:!_t;ii:,,4:t; ~ ----···· ·---- novel among l:>o~ Feaders inside and outside Nigeriao To some however, ;\ , ' 1 p.,,.o..;>e it- h ~s "-f-+r~ c-t-e c! 1.s all the attF:i..aut~ acc11::d:wd ~ misplaced and t!>t'-£ misdirected1 ;ts value as a work of art is questionable. , "- ~ JCJ.h I+-. ~~-/~b/,r~erJ,, ~~:,-iS"CI(::-tr,:n~~~ Right from 4.t:s p1.tl·ll!:a Ii M, a year '\. after Nigerian independence, some church organi{ations and Xo~en's unions attacked the novel and demanded that it be banned from circulation among the youth.u 0 ~7. F!v e..vi r, s ~ 'ra~4'J&wtg Nigeria.a Parliament ~ was not 0 _./ detached from the controversyo It debated several ------\ times a fproposed ·:·filming lof the novel by an Italian L------. 34 ~e.f-ar~ company Jdi. ea finally /'\ the whole controversy was Jagua, the heroine of the novel, whose uninhibited sexual life was said to have turned the novel into a mere exercise in pornography(!) ~:-,,,.~'=··~ -'<--.. But those who admire the novel ~a-.;~t;, :,~~ ~ie5 ~ -- si.Jn 0£:=tlm:~nt-ic have described t..- ..{\,\..1 1~ J -J z: d Jagua as Q)p1 itl!i!'il Ekwensi' s most/\ reali~ed character..._,a. "1 wP:U-rrnrn • , .• ;r - "' • Radio· Timesl 25 June, 1961, descri"sf .9- ~-th=~_ ovel as "a - C ,..,w·-~""''°"'.,,.,. --··- _,.., ------· - ~ simple down-to-earth stor¥~- in -~ way few people , .., ..-- . /""' ~:~·-· / ~ can • • •(_-~.; • Y.ou--/ read -fte-- ·-·firs;t·- ~-~r - ---fe~!!-~Rag_e..s..~oi... Jagua Nana---~..,) you find th~·t;' you cannot sfop but . go .. on ••.• ~ ...,.Cyp~ian / ' ,,,_,,.,. .,_,.,.:: ·· ··,~,--•' . - ., · - ·-. Ekw~i h~Fwri--ften Ja u Nana in a digestible language, _/ .,• •, ,,~~-,.<'' r ,, ••" • - · ,,-, ., , --• ~ •• . ...,,.,.... , ;., ,....__.,.__ ..,~•~:::, etchflrg· oti~-7 vi vi: ~~~~e .the· picture of a ;/' / '".,_ ,/ / '; ( ___ / / I ) 35 ./ tt Nigerian full of-warmth, charm, colour, anq vitality 0 0 0 1 ....; ~ , .,t'f . r, .-· • .:J :"".,,. Another Nigerian critic Mabel Aig~Imoukhuede upheld Jazya Nana, like People of the City is set in - I ·,t- Lagos; but unlike the latter, ~=tkt!lh is a post- l1+es_~v/e o.c _~ --- independence novelo The people in the novel reflect~ ,;{ this newly won freedOID,;,liQ: =+tt: ~ way-; ef:::i_j;~ Q <.:) '--- ~ ' ' . . /1./11eri~ J- ~ other aosioJ.-idiasy:c'*eatee. ~ confidently speak pidgin English without feeling the need to cy" exfo. t,1\+es~ apologize to....- British eelenial Batieaal stil~ &Pe~ They compete boldly with white men for sexual favo~ o...... / from the best of the glamorous women found at the foyers of prestigious hotels and elsewhere. The heroine of the novel takes her name from the famous 36 c,/ r British car, ~A~UAR, to emphasize the elegance and magnificence of her physical appearanc~ ~ -'~ ) . --·· ------~-- ~ ~--_./ ~~.--~-f~-~:~~~i.; ~j~-;t;itll~mbodies in her own passionate, colo~ul and inconsistent '-../ personality the very life of the modern city, reflec- Q ting its variety and movementt.4,A the changing objects '.._! ., , or _;91li. ptor..,....,,.,.,----~~--~- 'When S~:_~J~~~down.~...a.s...tJ:-eet, ( ~ -"'__...... ' male eyes followed wi~g,J.,e..-.-orner the _,- hips which came_. :with studied unconsciousness • • • 37 Everything in the novel-the Tropicana night club, Lagos politics, British Council lectures,~ electric lights, the hustle and bustle of the city..,-is portrayed in relation to the life of Jagua. They become important only to the extent that they help the reader to unders --Ht t ~ C, ;+!j ..) 0 v,.\ 10\ • tand JagQ1, Jagua's physical presence is conveyed with A. remarkable intensity and eventually she becomes a • t < I ' ,, /,'\ t7,,,r- 1 11 e. familiar feature of Lagos~£~ ane. landscapeo With her as the cenJiY~ of the novel, the author has scope to explore all the facets of life in modern Nigeria, because by virtue of her chosen profession she~ Y., &cttrq -;z.. becomes involved in the affairs of a series of v c/ partners. Shel therefore,; automatically supplies the cohesion lacking in Ekwensi's earlier novel, Peoule of the City. It would seem that in choosing Jagua as ii:s tBe major character, Ekwensi intended to emphasize the influence which women wield in Nigeria, and in . this light, Jagua can be seen a s the symbol of 38 women's power and versatility. sense , I Ci, v_! c ~ ~ it eaT1 be said that the novel Jgz,pn•'-:NaAe is written from a woman's point of viewo It tells 1mS' ~ <:,..~~- story of }J:1t agony and ecstasy, of hope and despair, of dream and reali tv~/ • of inner innocence and outward sinfulness .. a :Wige1±a11 "fell~i." womarr.JJ "- ~ _. ,,., ""'\ ·~ .~ _..U~~E( People of the __ Ci t;~·~.!'.e., e..v:~_n:-::the..:..- mdst~.:d.a'fl.eloped . ,. , ~ ,,r ~· .. -- ~ ... ,., ~ / Characper, Amusa Sango, still remains· a shadowy figure, \ /~, {v lfv' f<>rTv~ ·;, < -.~'. ·· .·· . ~{ua is very ,w~'i d-cceebO'l."Jed and · the \gr.eatd:fN.e.t:ence J ' . . .. 4'/ ...... • i I I in _characterization between the two novels is evidence I , _.~· J ! . of Ekwensi's growing, mastery of the ~9velo He gives· ·; / as he draws together of Nigerian life in the_per.~ Jagua is a character with many contradictions, 4_ ~ e .,-- Ekwensi makes ~1~cbr complex yet consistent. ~~.;L-~E13...!L.~~-~-~1?-~e.!.L.. ~~..:.§~l!tir;g-1.Y .:EI~~.!!!Jler~ s!.i_t- ~~~s1des. At times ..J~ appears as a heartless bitch and Ji!:<, at other times she seems a very tender I ~ aLd softhearted woman. She~ be cruel and selfish 1M O."(} no matter how altruistic some of her motives :!!CCfil :to be on the surface) yet she is never entirely devoid of feeling, love and generosity. Sh2 is the anti 1.,hesi"'s She does bV--"f" many things for her own good~ she helps others too. i.,J £.iol'e Jagua is both the proud city ~ and the humble village gizJai.,,a •• a character can be ana]ysed ~c--g -,ragba 'The wliOi e' , ana~-""elm" ~l.,. The former is a character controlled by raw emotions - lust, greed, power and hatredo When these feelings are in control, Jagua is like a wild animal: ~ unpredictable, cunning and dangerous. Thenr s,de.. ;i_,; there is the other ~ of Jagua, ~Qj,iiiiligli& the (A woman with motherly dispositiono In t his role she is A a.·ff-e r nothing like her~ ego. By turns she plays the 40 part of the ageing, almost maternal lover of youth; the woman who loves children and has feeling for others. She wants what any other woman wants: Si;a, ~ to look beautiful, -,,·,.~to get married ~o i- be..r 1 -l-o he-..v e. children &t·,J t ' - --w;- ni!-s a home of her owno In this role; I CT"-> too, she is a tender, soft, understanding and wise woman who can ~ make peace between two warring camps and settle long-standing feuds between familieso This is the Jagua who visits Krinameh and offers to sacrifice herself in order to prevent the death of many men. Jagua the whore and Jagua the mother are i::.-01'1.~J;,v w·,17, Ot-1e q_noft'..~ constantly fy.;~·iJ can be seen as the triumph of g£1Qd over evilG Yet t:lill ------· . -- . -·---·--·-··------.....-~i :li..i&¢:3:J. itf-•?:tlf8!!:!Ut'fey:;mt=.Jagiia]IJa~.d Ekwe ns i t s ,'t#t +o S 4 at.:> real ~sm! ond purposed the novel is the corruption -\_ in .:--:1igerian political, socia l and economic life, 41 masked by the veneer of glamorous sexo / --'t--;:;:::P5JJtlc~~anre . f-op-~~g • . ,· .· - . .- ___ .. ... ---- _... , - __.._ _ .._ .,,.,.~... e,.,- , •; ...:.._~-- ..-And--1:n '"dT .S::1~agos ...... 1.s- a:l!-OUg~:_gam~~ " ·" ··: . -· ·.. ·;:·~;.___ ,_ . -- • - · . : . . -- , .- •.• ·-<-. .- ")_../::;;;2,__ __,, . De roug~!ig§tile.-in.:de. who.le_ ~ox:-~. '-.., · -~~~.,...... • • • • • j" - ~ The political story in Jagua Nana is one of exploitation of the people, fraudulent abuse of power, reckless embezzlement of public money and the ultimate forfeiture 1 ~ o~ public trusto The electoral process is full of cc/''rv<../ I d I t; +o rf ;0 y1 $: bDEZ®li anom@½iee, Jiections are rigged, opponents are mu..-.-.a.ered, election campaigns are violently disru:pted, ouinions are muzzled and the masses suffer in silence.~ • I ~h:r~is a oo~--~~i&:;;a;;;;_.~~teiS=:"'!F!½sr - ~ ~ k,~j 1 ,~ ~~--- ... -· ------~ "'· -pac}ce,nAthat the average Nigerian would find irresiS"-" table to pick up and read. Jagua Nana is Ekwensi's most successful novel to -R-w:.ti!~n". Subsequent artistic creations by Ekwensi are judged, accepted or rejected according to the standards of Jagua Nana. Nothing before it brought h r'~ 5 0 51) <.,t. tt. ye_( y l l"l+u ~ / ~ 111on&i;:;,tg, .a:aelr m~e..:..of literary limelight/ /(nd J.c;\e... nothing after it has~ so much in establishing ' r-efl.,(_-j-t».. f" IO ~ a_ $ .1A_ ~ei/"(() u_ S Ekwensi's ma;tmie mani~ttla~~on. ·~~~::ft0:lil:---~~ 9*-S;g_,a.ia.-ci,F4;,..------. S)-~---~· r • -----;:e.,._ +0 J"'(J h i's ,.4'orm in Africa. It remains se far, Cypx ±an Ek .. el"l:ai 1 5 ~ greatest contribution to the growth and development of the novel in Africa. Ekwensi's third major novel, published in 1962, came as a result of his personal experiences wi th a special cultural group in Northern Nigeria in the 1940s. While Ekwensi was training as a forestry officer ./ 4-n:::Ll1e fmti@, he lived with a Fulani family for three ? ,.-, weeks as part of his field work. It wa s at this time \..., 4 3 that he became particularly interested in the Fulani culture and learned about their ways of life. In an article entitled "Three Weeks Among the Fulani¾ p.,_b 1,;hJl kwensi ~ i l i. 1~reca. lled in Nigeria Magazine fr~ October)1960, with nostalgia his interactions with the Fulani in that brief period. He was so fascinated by those experiences that he was inspired to recreate them imaginatively in a novel entitled Burning Grass. s+or~ ~l(s of The m:n,... l depicts the cultural pecularities and life- ways of the Fulani nomadic herdsmen. This was the first novel by a Nigerian to deal with the Cow Fulani group of .Northern Nigeria. The hero 9ifx--:f:b~ is Mai Sunsaye, the popular chief of the village of Dokan Toro which provides the 1 ~ =-fr0111 irn1Jislcla1 pe3:isb" , Hoist Gli~nt- fll'em11 other. f YD -LI a.. J I) vt ; .J f s 't >'\ ~ wt:s ~aractoFo ~ Ekwensi's novels; is not a 44 modern man of the city with gilded hopes and unreaso- nable expectations. As a cattle rearer he moves from place to place with the seasonJto keep himself and his cattle alive. He,.....hs--s f¼G ~ie:as h~es. ~ He is free ~~ from the brutish, bestial city, but he knows its evil50 A. Ji!BJ;PtcdL.:tba:1Jc::.;ii-t:tl;l:yy~f:ee~e.cT1'!snl~~t:-.0;;:,, _____ The theme of the novel is the quest for a lost identity. Tne plot traces the wanderings and attendant ordeals of the Mai Sunsaye family from the moment a slave girl Fatimeh enters the family and, by her presence, upsets the relationship be~#een Hodio and Rikku, Sunsaye's t wo younger sons. Ek'.vensi exploits the natural charac- teristics of the Cattle Fulani in the development of f v..t:- ~ fJ e.v p Ie,, the story. 'l'.Ail C's t bl- Nl ni are always on the move in seerch of green pasture for their catt.=.:..:.~ J'n course of th-e novel~truck \vi th the much-dreaded disease, "sokug'}'' whicl: makes its victi:n wander cease- lessly and aimlessly. Ekwensi ma~ipulates the events 43 in Sunsaye's "lost" life and turns his wandering and ~ that of his family \;8:£.tCl~ into an allegorical search in which every action has a symbolic significance. In this way, .Burning Grass is linked to Ekwensi's +o C.,l.(_ s. earlier major novels wnich have e. s their m·:a;er :tksine:!3 the search for we real meaning of human existence. Burning Grass reveal~d a new dimension of Ekwensi's artistic skills. is .; dominant theme the Love in story1 but it is a different kir..d of love from that in Jagua Nana or People of the Ci ll • It l<:<:cks Ekwt:ills±-4;_, bctre \... scenes, The Cattle Fulani~& are known sjmpali,'!T for ~~eir magic and superstition and. all 1 emotions are kept und~r rational control. Ekwensi's style in the book is a faithful reflection of the ~ be~tt v;o.,. ~ strict discipline which characterizes the nomadic A /\ Fulani in his every day existence. A Nigerian critic V 46 SUD'.med ~ in ~ review of tbe novel in the L7os Qaily J-'!me~ of 25 M.::lyt 1963~~ Mr Ekwensi has written this book inc spar~, austere language which suits the landscape of the savannahs and the comfortless life of the nomad. Anrl the diction of his p,'3storalif;ts seems just right; a trifle archaic, formal and full of that reverent courtesy of greeting which is the best of Islam. No Nigerian has a wider knowledge of the country than Cyprian Ekwensi who has lived and worked in so mnny perts of it. With ,E_~rass he has found a medium through which he can express his genuine relish of Nigeri:3 's human veri ety~ .an,], 0 b -~ t Irl;Splte of the success of this pastoral novel, i Ek,,-.rensi has never tried anything again of that nature 47 in his adult fiction. His subsequent major novels- narnelyj .3e~uti;f.'ul feathers (1Sib3J, Iska {1966), Survive the Pe.::.c2 , 15:i'/t;J, :Civided we Stand ~ 19b0), For a Roll of Farchfil2nt \ 19b6;, <=~ncl Jaguc.1. ~~r.. a' s Deughter { 1986; - all t.--ike the re&der back to Ek,ten.si 's f::.miliar canvas/ ..J_ I ' 5 -tht": c.i ty wi tl1 its upheav2.ls, its ~&dneBs an! orderly I disorder. Beautiful Feath~rs, ~~, survive thf._l'.s!~ v-> ete.. /t,.--- · and Divided We Stand J\il!9!!!!'i!!JP!li§~:a!i· '!!!!· -••u11111£J~-~s daring attempts ;., (,~+;oVJ., to distil committed politicel mess&gEsA Beautif~l. Feathers e;,_· ! ,t= tfJ satir-i;es the noble dreams of 1-'an uJ h,cli ttt'e s- 1.,1.J_, ve r+-e. J h :1 African unity ween ;nd:'i·v-i:riner •a: Uozw w ,~Wi? m I\ 1 1 . . . th i:; sec t .iona. ism e.rn ~- ~ri c:1.crimony. ~urvi~ ve e ~ eace, ~ and Divided we Stand . ar:J •:3. ll t~ scd on the oivil disorcer which en~ulfed Nigeria from 1966 to 1970. ekv>ev.s;s e+-+o/fs l of+1 Desp1 te ~-10:ity u·t;ten~·.r-; at 1r,aki11g ~ political statements, wh~t COi!leS ac.r·os.s most vividly in each of rt'$' these novelB is still '81'iJ~ r~ve[Tt:t;i. romance with the city, f ,,.,-+, {" (u) ..,,'-t~ the single girl, t:ie waJ, r,1 seduc tre:; j and the 4-8 indiscrete young man who never thinks before he leaps. Recently, Ekwensi came out with two other major novels(~mely For a Roll of Parchment and Jagua Nana's I after it was written. Set largely in England, it is the story of an elderly Nigerian, Kola Aliz who forsakes I i'l-1. ud.(!.r fo (Jv. 't' ~ve a promising heritage i,;Q p~u11 w an elusive "Golden ~ Fleece\!!,f; the symbolic "roll of parchment" la Law degree) in England. It tells o! mental torture, ~~ycholegiee:l 9-- disorientation, unrequited love, and the degradationr+-0 which the hero is subjected ta:li'r in the British social and political environment because of his skin coloJr. V It is a revealing imaginative documentary of r a ce c/ relations and colo}J prejudice in England of the 1950's. 'I'+ ;~ c:.,J)o f!Q;C a k3+ pf:$>: :~..i.6 undertones notwithstanding. Jagua Nana's Daughter is more spectacular in its e ..Pfe.c.1- s . a r tistic~ - It was conceived in 19e~ twenty years after the publication of Jagua Nana and took 7 Ekwensi five years to write. tr,.& s+-o"t ,~ the controversir-,.l Jagua Nana, Jagua Nana's Daughter is I) F -·.i ~~s.ti..~.. m·isegfF.i: e f:. ·~,t.s both J-- /' ' -t<> co n 1 ~ a o. • !J o :- / a prelude and a ~,frlnpeai,tie!P'45e its precursor, ~ ea. Vr/ lc:is + /vt e>I._ J eft:Ue's the reader \•,. l,lF w,,, 11 11 n :t:o at a Ir e jig-saw puzzl~o-rr.a.tod. tkla F.kweasi .oay, 1 esblvEO: the Ekwe.trs~ 71 re!!d.n±seem:- &f Eib,eft&J,.' & l.U<>rat:¥, m, Jagua Nana ends on a note of resignation for the ageing heroine whose desperat~ aspirations for motherhood yield no fruits. Childlessness 'Iii$ for,_ .-!:;1~~~ nagginr; ;,~(ffl:t. .t.tte=,_l!'!l."l ..--,------,--~--··-- ·-----..- -·---·----·. -·------~ C By its titlj therefore, Jagua Nana's Daughter~ 50 ' ' t!.vt es,1. r; 'M.q_) J 1T" - ~e~t an arti:!!!tie :fallacy agai1'½si= U1±s oackg1 aund:;-A--- ~ is the resolution of this mystery that provides the ' r \ I' J\A.s• ,..1....,+ -·r··~.a_ 'l-, ··, c·1, . .,,!_L-_ ..._ .Ka:se for the story. Jagua~: iincet:hl:4. was born in Jos -f--o _ft- ~r.;;"~ux3'~;~MWtir. o:.& hA1 God-fearing parento/ bv ~ I '$l, e ,~, _~ -t12i!ir,-;;;;,;~ ~nknown to heF parents,~ had ---- ~ at1*ailt early age. a.Ild----in~pi.te- oi th€-e-~ · watchf~ I p&PQQ~&-, come under the influence of a lascivious and loose-living neighbot, Auntie Kate who manipulated V / a.._-f-F~ I ;,- her into a complex love tr;;;z,=:s:c-e with a Greek tin-miner(.!) N4ck l?apae.opettlos, ana a i',@_sul tant ;pregnancy at--ru-:xteeo, Lizza tsgua Nana's /JaughterKas the product of that I / ft(ltSOVI w _;µ..f~ ¥er existence was concealed from her grand ,,.._ parents. Jagua leaves Jos in the wake of the Nigerian ,,.... ------...... Civil War and when /years later)she comes back for her ) ~ -... -·----~ da ughterf-;he---- is led to believe that Lizza ha~ since ·------""I died. ,: Event~\ later'V'reveal that Lizza is alive and ',/ / ...... _.. . -·· ---- prosperous. 51 Jagua Nana's Daughter begins as the story of a - . . .. / search~Baughter,, for ( Mother, and IMother for ,Uaughter.-- and later develops into a moving account of international ,--- border clashes and migrant labo}:1I'. Adult Lizza, true v ' u\M<>S\ r" to type is sexy to the point of being~ promiscuous, I " but as a trained /Uegal l 'racti tioner she is tied down by ethics and does not really go the distance as her I love / . mother did. .,$ ~he has to have ~ as a basis of relationships with men. Jagua Nana's Daughter is an action-packed., £n at ,,t;;;;:i nov;;--~ich ;i t~ively dialogue~ flt'1 I~$Al !lling suspense. It ~ ~°'s J1- ft. £¥SR bet tEI endowed 1w!: th lil:l:cc ingr{dients of a j • - --••• • .....,,••• •--"•M~------•- 31 Cyprian Ekwensi has earned :.. . ..~ -- -·-·-·~.::: the reputation of being a sen~na~ a.. pe\'eH,e<' i,,i.;Q:Q....~t~0!'~1~·ee,a~lf'!.l:l_ill',t~)~O:iifl.di<:l" .. 8 -IlOV; iiSt perpetually pr eOCCUp ied with the city and its disastrous impact on female o..;; morality. He has not been generally acclaimedAan artistically disciplined writer. Attention is often h/s l.,J rftt t~? ~ - drawn to-1\haphazard plo~ contrived and l:le..:ot9 .~ ~ ev,,J;111.~s. ~ unconvincing a:enoJt:men~ i,@B:!!e.tiune:li.sm and the ~~csta sy ~ His moral crusades are said o1 ocn to overwhelm h~5 &-~l:ate::tne artistic vision a-Ha pU1"pose in the s to1 ie.o- ~ / The 0 I'\ tl't ()V I Y'l.9 result is attention & characters as, tih9¥,. 0... ~s ted plots- ~ technique ~wz : a~ submerges A "'\ any serious concerns of the novel . ~IA. However, Ekwensi is a winner.:= other d.Ji.pee='ei-.s.. His success with young and teenage readers is incon- ~ trovertible1 ;His skill as a short story writer is widely -rll'- ._JJ', +1t1111 / S"o~e of acknowledged. ..His most recent writings show evidence A b-- co 1'1-f f e.x of" more mature handling 01~ plotsifl'J e1111111J At SI I lir .....___ . ....J,.... I ~! 53 Ekwensi's greatest contribution to Nigerian V a_s a... Literature is/ undoubtedly his s'l..lccess ~ta,Q 4i..rp±c uc,.n9----' / ' o-.. j.,..,.._(j. t:.:,,.,.1r1 e,,A~+tJ r i -~1 C.u,r;- e..,~.T e t'l!'v<--¾ ~ ·"- of social realislJT' a-s e¥iden'b i.a oefflc of '.Aio ff!aje;: Dam~le , 4- ' Jagua Nan~ was one of the first novels to expose t he corruption within the Nigerian political system. (\_ ,N~r-!J Beautiful Feathers was~ the first :Rfi ;t;,.; to /\ address itself to the subterfuge in pan-Africanism. _. I ska ip.J-a o ors af fir a e:r2,t12ou0ls • forecast civil war a:_ po-z-t~ ..-i.t,...... -e.~ ) in _N~geria. Sur~~-~=-:~-~--~~~ =- ~RB o: tft~i!~ >2- (,__ d r e'-'-' +-,·~-~( ~- -- p.Q$t- wap :neveJs t~ attention to_the enormity of ~(>~ . ·- . . ~ .. refugee problems.Ath:? fragility . of p~ (~trag_i_c_ X:t". of_" _c~-t~~~~d _ ~~miliesJni vided : : · ~~and was one of the first fictional documentaries on the ct_ ++ev~ a. th , war and its a£,!., ma•~ ThePe is an effm O ~w ~~eaJ:i;~e st -ggTe!orT:t'hel"'a'tion- ~ ~J~ ) 54 ~/ ,.l· autonomy through the charactersI . and their __, ____ ...,,, _..,. !- ~- - · first a . then/ >a member of a race or, _et_,b.nic_,,_ . " group. ,. -more--than-·-anywhere···-el &e·, --Ekw~ns i 1 s ~~Fera Roll of / Parchment was at the time of its conception in tile C ~Aair't?erFtd!e:f:fi. _Ce:.:tru~ one of the earliest e.. ~po~es ~ of the indignities meted to African foreign y-e.v e(t_( ed students in Englando And Jagua Nana's Daughter @:ap.ese:. ;~~~~~~:e:..::::=:~ ~4 ... -1. ( ··· ,...... _ ... _. --···------·.. ·- ----h4..v,,._,' -~ w.i:ta the~ /order clashes ht!!\C & •la . ~ CL-. , ... c...rl!:,._s:'171,;t C..OIN1 il4-f 0"1 ,~ rece-..:t ::I e:tl'~. eia}1i;ii.eG'ijii:[email protected] e fr':i.:gn:tcniftg phenomeno~. ~ S-8.t; ausn 6'0.. W~!,, ,' ':; c..ti.ot(: Q_ j l' +Df<~ s ...... bJ ee..Ts «Jru. TI ~ t1 ··! ll~ri'viJ.e, contended with in NigePia.1 ±nt erHat.i-eaal a.:!:ploma&P:Jl , , _ - --~--. ··- for .... la.rr,f-!;/ · ,·" 11.fr7 ert-di.... . Cyprian Ekwensi is an important Mri.ean writer., (}f the ~ - ,· . . •' ... -- ---../ t,.)~o twentietl:l -0enturyo Ire has contributed immensely to / the development of Nigerian.X.iterature in the past P-/; i o a. (. c..__c..., four decades. As he Iii.rehe-w;:..::cfonti:cl e ~ hi s 70th ~ 55 birthday, El<~;';;:;_ remains as~~Hd prolific htLr 1 as ever1 Jhere is d.e'.te, 11rna l::fou =are increasing confi- -Foh.. ,. dence in his mastery of the novel~ I~ula e~ that fo,fter nearly half a century of trial and error, Cyprian Ekwensi way be, B£ e aicconQ.:'icl _J...______/ ~~~ l~FERENCE~ I /-.. · I f Emenyonu, rne t, Cyprian EkWen'si tLondon: l ,: 1 . I 0/P). I u1 EKWENSI Interviews Dennis Duerden and Cosmo Pieterse, eds., African Writers Talking: A Collection of Radio Interviews (London: Heinemann Educational Books; New York: Africana, 1972) : 77-837 Raoul Granqvist, "Cyprian Ekwensi : Interview," Kunapipi, 4, 1 (1982): 124-29; Bernth Lindfors, "Interview with Cyprian Ekwensi," World Literature Written in English, 13 (1974) : 141-154; B. Ngan 1980, 11 Studia Anglica Posnaniensia, 1 7 (1984): 279-284; Lee Nichols, ed., Conversations with African Writers: Interviews with Twenty-Six African Authors (Washington, DC: Voice of America, 1981): 36-47. Ekwensi References Rosemary Colmer, "Cyprian Ekwensi," in Essays on Contemporary Post-Colonial Fiction, ed. Hedwig Bock and Albert Wertheim (Munich: Hueber, 1986) : 47-66; Donald Cosentino , "Jagua Nana: Culture Heroine," Ba Shiru, 8, 1 (1977) : 11-17; Michael J.C. Echeruo, "The Fiction of Cyprian Ekwensi,tt Nigeria Magazine, 75 (1962): 63-66; Ernest Emenyonu, Cyprian Ekwensi (London: Evans, 1974); Emenyonu, The Rise of the Igbo Novel (Ibadan: Oxford University Press, 1978); Emenyonu, ed. The Essential Ekwensi (Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 1987); Albert Gerard, "Cyprian Ekwensi: Romancier de la ville africain," Revue Generale/ / Belge, 99 (October 1963): 91-105; Susan M. Greenstein, "Cyprian Ekwensi and Onitsha Market Literature," In Essays on African Literature, ed. W.L. Ballard (Atlanta : Georgia State University, School of Arts and Sciences, 1973): 175-191; Loretta A. Hawkins , "The Free Spirit of Ekwensi' s Jagua Nana," ""African Literature Today, 10 (1979): 202-206; Paulo. I heakaram, "The City as Metaphor: The Short Stories of Cyprian Ekwensi," International Fiction Review, 6 (l:-~79): 71-72; Bernth Lindfors, "Cyprian Ekwensi: An African Popular Novelist," African Literature Today, 3 (1969): 2-14; Lindfors, .uc.o.D. Ekwensi's First Stories," in his Early Nigerian Literature (New York and London: Africana, 1982): 35-66; Russell J. Linnemann, "Structural Weakness in Ekwensi's Jagua Nana," English in Africa, 4, 1 (1977): 32-39; Ekwensi Peter Nazareth, "Survive the Peace: Cyprian Ekwensi as a Political Novelist," in Marxism and African Literature, ed. Georg M. Gugelberger (London: James Currey; Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1986): 165-177; Emmanuel N. Obiechina, "Ekwensi as Novelist," Presence Africaine, 86 (1973): 152-164; ,1nl iBI!: I. Okonkwo, "Ekwensi and the 'Something New a nd Unstable' in Modern Nigerian Culture," in Literature and Modern West a__,,, African Culture,~ ed. Donatus Nwoga (Benin City: Ethiope Publishing Corp., 1978) : 130-143; Juliet I. Okonkwo, "Ekwensi and Modern Nigerian Culture," Afiel, 7, 2 (1976): 32-45; Okonkwo, "Popular Urban Fiction and Cyprian Ekwensi," In European-Language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. Albert Gtrard (Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1986): Vdi. 2,650-658; Femi Osofisan, "Domestication of an Opiate: Western Paraesthetics and the Growth of the Ekwensi Tradition," Positive Review, 1, 4 (1981): 1-12; Eustace Palmer, "Cyprian Ekwensi," in his The Growth of the African Novel (London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1979): 36-62; Dennis R. Passmore, "Camp Style in the Novels of Cyprian O.D. Ekwensi," Journal of Popular Culture, 4 (1971): 705-716; John F. Povey, "Cyprian Ekwensi: The Novelist and the Pressure of the City," in The Critical Evaluation of African LiteratureJ ed. Edgar Wright (London: Heinemann, 1973): 73-94; Austin J. Shelton, "'Rebushing' or Ontological Recession to Xricanism: Jagua's Return to the Village," Presence Africaine, 4 6 (19 6 3 1 : 4 9-6 O; Neil Skinner, '~From Hausa to English: A Study in Paraphrase," Ekwensi Research in African Literatures, 4 (1973): 154-164; Joseph Ukoyen, "Emile Zola's Nana and Cyprian Ekwensi's Jagua Nan~y in Comparative Approaches to Modern African Literature, ed. s.o: Asein (Ibadan: Department of English, University of Ibadan, n.d.): 65-76. Add to entry on CYPRIAN O.D. EKWENSI: REFERENCES: Umar Abdurrahman, "Cyprian Ekwensi's Burning Grass: A Critical Assessment," Ufahamu, 16, 1 (1987-1988): 78-100; Eckhard Breitinger, "Literature for Younger Readers and Education in Multicultural Contexts," in Language and Literature in Multicultural Contexts, ed. Satendra Nandan (Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific, 1983): 79-88; J. de Grandsaigne, "A Narrative Grammar of Cyprian Ekwensi's Short Stories," Research in African Literatures. 16 (1985) : 541-555; Jamile Morsiani, "Cyprian Ekwensi: Una narrativa 'scritta,"' Spicilegio Moderno, 11 (1979): 123-155.