The Life Story and Trial of Awolowo and 23 others

The Life Story and Trial of Awolowo and 23 others

Political

Chinaka's political pamphlet The Life Story and Trial of Awolowo and 23 Others tells the story of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Awolowo was the leader of the Action Group, a political party once active in Western Nigeria, and was integral in Nigeria's independence in 1960. Chinaka divides The Life Story into three parts. First, Awolowo divulges the details of his childhood and education in first-person. Despite his initial ambivalence about school, Awolowo aggressively pursues education even after his father dies and leaves his immediate family a poor inheritance. Here, Awolowo is a sympathetic character. His thirst for education (his father's instills in him an ambition to be a clerk in Lagos) typifies the ambition and class mobility important in Nigeria's high-life modernity. Second, the pamphlet reproduces court records and newspaper articles about Awolowo, though the sources are not properly cited. Finally, the pamphlet ends with a play that dramatizes the tension between Awolowo and his accusers in court. Despite being a political pamphlet, The Life Story seems ambivalent about Awolowo and his Action Group. The story of Awolowo's education and struggles as a child incite sympathy, but the rest of the pamphlet stays silent about Awolowo's guilt and doesn't vilify Judge Sowemimo (who sentenced Awolowo to ten years in jail).

Chinaka, B.A.

Njoku & Sons Bookshop, ℅ Arondizuogu Street, Fegge—Onitsha/Nigeria

All Star Printers, 19 Emodi Street, Onitsha

n.d.

Political