PUC II YEAR 12. The Voter PDF

## PUC II YEAR ### 12. The Voter **Chinua Achebe** **Pre-reading Activity:** - Do you have a voting system in your college? - To what extent is voting important for democracy? Rufus Okeke - Roof for short - was a very popular man in his village. Although the villagers did not explain it in so many...

## PUC II YEAR ### 12. The Voter **Chinua Achebe** **Pre-reading Activity:** - Do you have a voting system in your college? - To what extent is voting important for democracy? Rufus Okeke - Roof for short - was a very popular man in his village. Although the villagers did not explain it in so many words, Roof's popularity was a measure of their gratitude to an energetic young man who, unlike most of his fellows nowadays, had not abandoned the village in order to seek work, any work, in the towns. And Roof was not a village lout either. Everyone knew how he had spent two years as a bicycle repairer's apprentice in Port Harcourt, and had given up of his own free will a bright future to return to his people and guide them in these difficult times. Not that Umuofia needed a lot of guidance. The village already belonged en masse to the People's Alliance Party, and its most illustrious son, Chief the Honourable Marcus Ibe, was Minister of Culture in the outgoing government (which was pretty certain to be the incoming one as well). Nobody doubted that the Honourable Minister would be elected in his constituency. Opposition to him was like proverbial fly trying to move a dunghill. It would have been ridiculous enough without coming, as it did now, from a complete nonentity. As was to be expected Roof was in the service of the Honourable Minister for the coming elections. He had become a real expert in election campaigning at all levels - village, local government or national. He could tell the mood and temper of the electorate at any given time. For instance he had warned the Minister months ago about the radical change that had come into the thinking of Umuofia since the last national election. The villagers had had five years in which to see how quickly and plentifully politics brought wealth, chieftaincy titles, doctorate degrees and other honours some of which, like the last, had still to be explained satisfactorily to them; for in their naivety they still expected a doctor to be able to heal the sick. Anyhow, these honours and benefits had come so readily to the man to whom they had given their votes free of charge five years ago that they were now ready to try it a different way. Their point was that only the other day Marcus Ibe was a not too successful mission school teacher. Then politics had come to their village and he had wisely joined up, some said just in time to avoid imminent dismissal arising from a female teacher's complaint. Today he was Chief the Honourable; he had two long cars and had just built himself the biggest house anyone had seen in these parts. But let it be said that none of these successes had gone to Marcus's head as well they might. He remained devoted to his people. Whenever he could he left the good things of the capital and returned to his village which had neither running water nor electricity, although he had lately installed a private plant to supply electricity to his new house. He knew the source of his good fortune, unlike the little bird who ate and drank and went out to challenge his personal spirit. Marcus had christened to his new house "Umuofia Mansions" in honour of his village, and he had slaughtered five bulls and countless goats to entertain the people on the day it was opened by the Archbishop. Everyone was full of praise for him. One old man said: “Our son is a good man; he is not like the mortar which as soon as food comes its way turns its back on the ground." But when the feasting was over, the villagers told themselves that they had underrated the power of the ballot paper before and should not do so again. Chief the Honourable Marcus Ibe was not unprepared. He had drawn five months’ salary in advance, changed a few hundred pounds into shining shillings and armed his campaign boys with eloquent little jute bags. In the day he made his speeches; at night his stalwarts conducted their whispering campaign. Roof was the most trusted of these campaigners. "We have a Minister from our village, one of our own sons,” he said to a group of elders in the house of Ogbuefi Ezenwa, a man of high traditional title. “What greater honour can a village have? Do you ever stop to ask yourselves why we should be singled out for this honour? I will tell you; it is because we are favoured by the leaders of PAP. Whether or not we cast our paper for Marcus, PAP will continue to rule. Think of the pipe-borne water they have promised us . . .” Besides Roof and his assistant there were five elders in the room. An old hurricane lamp with a cracked, sooty, glass chimney gave out yellowish light in their midst. The elders sat on very low stools. On the floor, directly in front of each of them, lay two shilling pieces. Outside beyond the fastened door, the moon kept a straight face. “We believe every word you say to be true," said Ezenwa. “We shall, every one of us, drop his paper for Marcus. Who would leave an _ozo_ feast and go to a poor ritual meal? Tell Marcus he has our papers, and our wives' papers too. But what we do say is that two shillings is shameful." He brought the lamp close and tilted it at the money before him as if to make sure he had not mistaken its value. “Yes, two shillings is too shameful. If Marcus were a poor man which our ancestors forbid – I should be the first to give him my paper free, as I did before. But today Marcus is a great man and does his things like a great man. We did not ask him for money yesterday; we shall not ask him tomorrow. But today is our day; we have climbed the _iroko_ tree today and would be foolish not to take down all the firewood we need." Roof had to agree. He had lately been taking down a lot of firewood himself. Only yesterday he had asked Marcus for one of his many rich robes -and had got it. Last Sunday Marcus's wife (the teacher that nearly got him in trouble) had objected (like the woman she was) when Roof pulled out his fifth bottle of beer from the refrigerator; she was roundly and publicly rebuked by her husband. To cap it all Roof had won a land case recently because, among other things, he had been chauffeur-driven to the disputed site. So he understood the elders about the firewood. “All right," he said in English and then reverted to Ibo. “Let us not quarrel about small things." He stood up, adjusted his robes and plunged his hand once more into the bag. Then he bent down like a priest distributing the host and gave one shilling more to every man; only he did not put it into their palms but on the floor in front of them. The men, who had so far not deigned to touch the things, looked at the floor and shook their heads. Roof got up again and gave each man another shilling. "I am through," he said with a defiance that was no less effective for being transparently faked. The elders too knew how far to go without losing decorum. So when Roof added; "Go cast your paper for the enemy if you like!” they quickly calmed him down with a suitable speech from each of them. By the time the last man had spoken it was possible, without great loss of dignity, to pick up the things from the floor... The enemy Roof had referred to was the Progressive Organization Party (POP) which had been formed by the tribes down the coast to save themselves, as the founders of the party proclaimed, from "total political, cultural, social and religious annihilation." Although it was clear the party had no chance here it had plunged, with typical foolishness, into a straight fight with PAP, providing cars and loud-speakers to a few local rascals and thugs to go around and make a lot of noise. No one knew for certain how much money POP had let loose in Umuofia but it is said to be very considerable. The local campaigners would end up very rich, no doubt. Up to last night everything had been “moving according to plan,” as Roof would have put it. Then he had received a strange visit from the leader of the POP campaign team. Although he and Roof were well known to each other, and might even be called friends, his visit was cold and business-like. No words were wasted. He placed five pounds on the floor before Roof and said, “We want your vote."Roof got up from his chair, went to the outside door, closed it carefully and returned to his chair. The brief exercise gave him enough time to weigh the proposition. As he spoke his eyes never left the red notes on the floor. He seemed to be mesmerized by the picture of the cocoa farmer harvesting his crops. “You know I work for Marcus," he said feebly. “It will be very bad..." “Marcus will not be there when you put in your paper. We have plenty of work to do tonight; are you taking this or not?" "It will not be heard outside this room?” asked Roof. "We are after votes not gossip." "All right," said Roof in English. The man nudged his companion and he brought forward an object covered with a red cloth and proceeded to remove the cover. It was a fearsome little affair contained in a clay pot with feathers stuck into it. “The _iyi_ comes from Mbanta. You know what that means. Swear that you will vote for Maduka. If you fail to do so, this _iyi_ take note." Roof's heart nearly flew out when he saw the _iyi_; indeed he knew the fame of Mbanta in these things. But he was a man of quick decision. What could a single vote cast in secret for Maduka take away from Marcus's certain victory? Nothing. "I will cast my paper for Maduka; if not this _iyi_ take note." "Das all,” said the man as he rose with his companion who had covered up the object again and was taking it back to their car. "You know he has no chance against Marcus," said Roof at the door. "It is enough that he gets a few votes now; next time he will get more. People will hear that he gives out pounds, not shillings, and they will listen." Election morning. The great day every five years when the people exercise power. Weather-beaten posters on walls of houses, tree trunks and telegraph poles. The few that were still whole called out their message to those who could read. Vote for the People's Alliance Party! Vote for Progressive Organization Party! Vote for PAP! Vote for POP! The posters that were torn called out as much of the message as they could. As usual Chief the Honourable Marcus Ibe was doing things in grand style. He had hired a highlife band from Umuru and stationed it at such a distance from the voting booths as just managed to be lawful. Many villagers danced to the music, their ballot papers held aloft, before proceeding to the booths. Chief the Honourable Marcus Ibe sat in the "owner's corner" of his enormous green car and smiled and nodded. One enlightened villager came up to the car, shook hands with the great man and said in advance, “Congrats!” This immediately set the pattern. Hundreds of admirers shook Marcus's hand and said "Corngrass!" Roof and the other organizers were prancing up and down, giving last minute advice to the voters and pouring with sweat. "Do not forget,” he said again to a group of illiterate women who seemed ready to burst with enthusiasm and good humour, “our sign is the motor-car...” "Like the one Marcus is sitting inside." "Thank you, mother," said Roof. "It is the same car. The box with the car shown on its body is the box for you. Don't look at the other with the man's head: it is for those whose heads are not correct." This was greeted with loud laughter. Roof cast a quick and busy-like glance towards the Minister and received a smile of appreciation. "Vote for the car," he shouted, all the veins in his neck standing out. "Vote for the car and you will ride in it!" "Or if we don't, our children will," piped the same sharp, old girl. The band struck up a new number: “Why walk when you can ride..." In spite of his apparent calm and confidence Chief the Honourable Marcus was a relentless stickler for detail. He knew he would win what the news papers called "a landslide victory" but he did not wish, even so, to throw away a single vote. So as soon as the first rush of voters was over he promptly asked his campaign boys to go one at a time and put in their ballot papers. "Roof, you had better go first", he said. Roof's spirits fell; but he let no one see it. All morning he had masked his deep worry with a surface exertion which was unusual even for him. Now he dashed off in his springy fashion towards the booths. A police man at the entrance searched him for illegal ballot papers and passed him. Then the electoral officer explained to him about the two boxes. By this time the spring had gone clean out of his walk. He sidled in and was confronted by the car and the head. He brought out his ballot paper from his pocket and looked at it. How could he betray Marcus even in secret? He resolved to go back to the other man and return his five pounds... Five pounds! He knew at once it was impossible. He had sworn on that _iyi_. The notes were red; the cocoa farmer busy at work. At this point he heard the muffled voice of the policeman asking the electoral officer what the man was doing inside. “Abi na pickin im de born?" Quick as lightning a thought leapt into Roof's mind. He folded the paper, tore it in two along the crease and put one half in each box. He took the precaution of putting the first half into Maduka's box and confirming the action verbally: "I vote for Maduka." They marked his thumb with indelible purple ink to prevent his return, and he went out of the booth as jauntily as he had gone in. **Chinua Achebe** (1930–2013) is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. Achebe's novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of Western and traditional African values during and after the colonial era. His style relies heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He also published a number of short stories, children's books, and essay collections. Some of his works are: _Things Fall Apart_, _Arrow Of God_, _No Longer At Ease_, _Enemy Of The People_, _Girls At War_. **Glossary:** **Port Harcourt** : the capital of Rivers State, Nigeria **Umuofia** : one of a fictional group of nine villages in Nigeria, inhabited by the Igbo people **en masse** : in one group or body; all together **_ozo_ feast** : Highest and most important magico-religious festival in the Igbo clan of Nigeria **_iroko_ tree** : is a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa **_iyi_** : Native deity **landslide victory** : a victory by a large margin; a very substantial victory, particularly in an election ## Comprehension I 1. Roof was a popular young man because he a. had not abandoned his village. b. wanted to guide his people. c. was forced to return to his village. 2. Why was Marcus considered rich and powerful? 3. Marcus Ibe had earlier been a a. doctor. b. school teacher. c. politician. 4. The fact that Marcus Ibe left the good things of the capital and returned to his village whenever he could, shows, a. his devotion to his people and love for the place. b. he enjoyed all the comforts of the city in his village. c. he wanted to improve the amenities of his village. 5. After the feasting the villagers a. praised Marcus' faithfulness and generosity. b. intended to demand more for their votes. c. realized Marcus' wealth. 6. The 'whispering campaign' is a. secret campaigning at night. b. bargaining for votes. c. clandestine distribution of money. 7. The village elder Ezenwa, tilted the lamp a little because a. he could not see properly. b. the place was too dark. c. he wanted to confirm the amount paid to each. 8. "Fire wood” refers to a. Roof taking advantage of the situation. b. the advantages of being a voter. c. the benefits the elders received. 9. Roof and the leader of the POP campaign team were - a. friends. b. strangers. c. acquaintances. 10. Roof was mesmerized by a. the red notes on the floor. b. the picture of the Cocoa farmer. c. the POP campaign leader. 11. Roof's act of inserting torn ballot papers in the two boxes signifies a. keeping his promise. b. appeasing _iyi_. c. absolving himself of his guilt. ## Comprehension II 1. Trace the change in the attitude of the villagers before the second election. Give reasons. 2. What was the justification for the formation of the POP? 3. 'Roof is an intelligent manipulator'. Justify with reference to the story. ## Comprehension III 1. The POP campaign leader's meeting with Roof shows the misuse of transparency in a democratic set up. Discuss. 2. 'To every human comes a time of reckoning'. How does Roof's dilemma on the day of election reflect this? 3. What comment does the story offer on electoral system? Is it relevant? 4. 'Democracy is more than holding elections regularly.' Do you think the story highlights this statement? ## Vocabulary: Use suitable prefixes to form antonyms: A Prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of a word changes its meaning. For e.g., when the prefix _un-_ is added to the word _happy_, we get the word _unhappy_. Prefix – _In-_, _Un-_, _Im-_, _Dis-_ 1. Gratitude 2. Certain 3. Install 4. Personal 5. Honour 6. Disputed 7. Correct 8. Mask 9. Lawful 10. Grateful 11. Wavering 12. Regard 13. Perturb 14. Tolerant ## Typical African Proverbial Expressions 1. Fly trying to move a dunghill 2. Little bird who ate and drank and went out to challenge his personal spirit 3. We have climbed the _iroko_ tree today and would be foolish not to take down all the firewood we need. 4. He is not like the mortar which as soon as food comes its way turns its back on the ground. 5. Who would leave an _ozo_ feast and go to a poor ritual meal? ## Extended Activity: * Prepare a write up on your views on election. ## Suggested Reading: * A Man of the People - Chinua Achebe * ಮತದಾನ (ಕಾದಂಬರಿ) - ಎಸ್. ಎಲ್. ಭೈರಪ್ಪ ## African Words Prounced in Kannada * Port Harcourt - ಪೋರ್ಟ್ ಹಾರ್ ಕೋರ್ಟ್ * Umuofia - ಉಮುಲೋಫಿಯಾ * _Ozo_ feast - ಅಜೋ ಫೀಸ್ಟ್ * _Iroko_ - ಇರೋಕೋ * _Iyi_ - ಅಯ್ಯಿ * Chinua Achebe - ಚಿನುವಾ ಅಚೆಬೆ * Roofus Okeke - ರೂಫಸ್ ಓಕೆಕೆ * Marcus Ibe - ಮಾರ್ಕಸ್ ಐಬೆ * Maduka - ಮಾಡುಕಾ * Mbanta - ಎಂಬಾಂತ * Ogbuefi Ezenwa - ಒಗ್ಬುಯೆಫೀ ಎಜೆನ್ವಾ * _Ibo_ - ಐಬೋ * Umuru - ಉಮುರು