BUILDING THE NATION By Christopher H. M. Barlow (Uganda)
Today I did my share
In building the nation.
I drove the permanent secretary
To an important urgent function
In fact to a luncheon at the Vic.
The menu reflected its importance
Cold Bell beer with small talk,
Then fried chicken with niceties
Wine to fill the hollowness of the laughs
Ice-ream to cover the stereotype jokes
Coffee to keep the PS awake on return journey.
I drove the permanent secretary back.
He yawned many times in the back of the car
Then to keep awake, he suddenly asked,
Did you have any lunch friend?
I replied looking straight ahead
And secretly smiling at his belated concern
That I had not, but was sliming!
Upon which he said with a seriousness
That amused more than annoyed me,
Mwananchi, I too had none!
I attended to
matters of state.
Highly delicate diplomatic duties you know,
And friend, it goes against my grain,
Causes me stomach ulcers and wind.
Ah, he continued, yawning again,
The pains we suffer in building the nation!
So the PS had ulcers too!
My ulcers I think are equally painful
Only they are caused by hunger,
No sumptuous lunches!
So two nation builders
Arrived home this evening
With terrible stomach pains
The result of building the nation –
-
Different ways.
INTRODUCTION
Building the nation is a poem by a Ugandan
poet Christopher Henry Muwanga Barlow
that principally explores the lifestyle of African bourgeoisie who came to
power after colonialism and ideally, simply replaced the coloniser. There is a
need for African leaders to create hope for those they lead but they are caught
up in the same evil lifestyle of their colonial predecessors. The aspects of
nation building which were supposed to dominate public and political policies
have been thrust to the periphery of human thought.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS
DISILLUSIONMENT
The kind of disillusionment portrayed in the poem is
that which Africans have towards their leaders who have adopted the very tenets
of the colonisers from whom they got power. Essentially, the idea of nation
building turns out to be a very complicated phenomenon where those who are
central to the process have their efforts wasted by leaders who can implement
policies.
The persona shows more disillusionment by stating that
at the meeting “the menu reflected its
importance/ Cold Bell beer with small talks/ Then fried chicken with niceties/
wine…/ ice cream …/coffee… (lines 6-11). This reflects the triviality of a
meeting where serious issues were supposed to be discussed.
LIES AND HYPOCRISY.
This has been a vital tool for most politicians when
they want to win more votes from their ignorant masses. They make heaps of lies
on the optimistic crowds but eventually everything turns out only a nightmare.
The PS lies to the driver that he did not have any meal just as did the driver
yet you and I know that he had a very heavy and sumptuous lunch. He even shows his hypocrisy more clearly when
he asks this question. “then to keep
awake he suddenly asked/Did you have any lunch friend?”. It is rather sad
to note that he does not ask whether the driver has eaten anything because he
is concerned about his welfare, but it is simply to keep himself awake through
the journey.
CLASSES.
In a broader way the poem thoroughly depicts two
classes in one society. There is middle class and lower class. Both of them are
supposed to mutually benefit from the national resources. Yet the middle class
that is represented by the PS exploits the lower class that more often than not
comprises those who are involved in the modes of production. For example the
driver drives the PS to the place where there is feasting (eating) while the
driver does not take part in the feasting. The role of both classes is building
the nation, but the middle class has just become the parasites who feed on the
national resources at the expense of the masses. They are not building the
nation at all but building their stomachs.
MARGINALIZATION AND
EXPLOITATION
Furthermore in the poem, the two parties represent the
two strands of nation builders that are in most African states. On one side
there are those represented by the driver (the local masses) while on the other
hand we have high class being represented by the PS. The later is very busy
misquandering the public funds which can be used to rebuild the nations. The
masses are the hardworking people whose benevolence is easily taken for granted
by those in power. There are those who eat extravagantly and those who work on
empty stomachs. The persona himself comes from the marginalized class. His
disillusionment is caused by lifestyles of African leaders and informs his
fellow countrymen what is actually happening.
AWARENESS
The poem paints a picture of awareness that those who
are oppressed are now aware that those in power are exploiting them. This is an
important step as long as the liberation of the oppressed is concerned. It is
also a significant step if the nation is to realise sustainable development
where the national resources will be mutually utilized for the benefit of not
only the ruling class but the masses as well.
If we examine the end of the poem it seems to induce a
kind of anger that should lead to vengeance (revenge). The persona is appealing
to the oppressed to rise to the occasion and deal with the ruling class.
The fact that “two
nation builders/ arrived home this evening/with terrible stomach pain/the
result of building the nation/different ways” is more like an appeal to
emotions where the persona seeks actions from the masses.
In a way, the persona calls for a reaction towards the
ruling class’s hypocritical nation building where they pretend to have welfare
of the masses at heart while in real sense they just want to capitalize on
their efforts.
VULNERABILITY OF
HUMANITY.
Nevertheless, the persona seems to have hopes in some
facts that both the African bourgeoisie and the proletariats have their points
of vulnerability. They both suffer in one way or another because of their own
actions and lifestyles. For instance the driver becomes sick because of lack of
food while the PS becomes sick for eating too much.
So Ps has ulcers too!
My ulcers I think are
equally painful
Only they are caused by
hunger,
No sumptuous lunches!
MESSAGE
If
we wish to do well in nation building we must as public servants respect
everything that belongs to the state; money, property, working hours etc.
If
the high class is not careful with nation building one day the oppressed may
revolt.
RELEVANCE
The poem is relevant in our country in a number of
ways.
Today
we have a lot of leaders who misuse the public funds while those who are
involved in the means of production live in dire poverty.
Hypocrisy
has also become a way of life.
Classes,
exploitation and marginalization are also major issues in our society.
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
a. What is the poem about?
The poem is about the concept of nation building as
taken by African bourgeoisie class who came to power after colonialism. The
poet shows that independence was just the change in colour but the leaders
adopted the very tenets of their predecessors.
b. Who is the persona? How
do you know?
The persona is a driver who represents the low class.
In line 3 he says
“I drove the permanent secretary”
c. Suggest some literary and
poetic devices used in the poem.
i. Alliteration
Highly delicate diplomatic
duties..
And secretly smiling…
Cold Bell beer
ii. Barbarism
Mwananchi, I too had
none!
iii. Onomatopoeia
Ah,
he continued yawning again.
This is the sound of yawning
iv. Satire
To an important urgent
function
In fact to a luncheon at
the Vic.
Lunch is called an important urgent function, this is very satirical
v. Irony.
The title of the poem ‘Building the Nation” is
ironical because the guys in the poem were not building the nation.
d. Why did the PS ask the
question “Did you have any lunch friend?”
He asked the question just to keep himself awake
throughout the journey and not because he is concerned by the welfare of the
driver.
e. What is the tone of the
poem?
The tone is both sad and ironical/satirical
f.
The
poet says in the last stanza ‘so two
nation builders arrived home this evening’ were the two people building the
nation?.
Not really. The poet uses this as a satire to
criticise the idea that people always claim to build the nation but they end up
building their stomachs.
