BOOK REVIEW ON A BOOK ABOUT NIGERIA DEMOCRACY

TITLE:                                    Revolt of the Hoi Polloi

AUTHOR:                               Daniel Inyang Jnr

PUBLISHER:                          Di Brainz

YEAR OF PUBLICATION:    (3rd Edition) 2012

PLACE OF PUBLICATION:  Uyo

NUMBER OF PAGES:           86

PRICE:                                    Not Stated

REVIEWER:                           Akeabasi K. Essien

Introduction       

Of what importance is a book if it does not inform, educate and entertain the reader? As a young child, I had always seen politics as a dirty game, and I still did until I read  Revolt of the Hoi polloi, which taught me that politics is considered a dirty game when the masses fail to realize the potency of their weak hands if they are put together in revolt against their political oppressors. Therefore, I can boldly conclude at this beginning that this short play is one of its kind.

The Content

The title of the play already gave-away the content of the text before I started reading. I knew the play would revolve around politics. Since I don’t like politics, I was not interested until I read the first page and could not resist the urge to read further. To start with, ‘the Hoi polloi’ is a term used to insult the ordinary people. Therefore, revolt of the Hoi polloi simply means the protest of the ordinary people or citizens. But why would ordinary people and citizens want to revolt, and against who and what?

The answers are very clear and evident in the play. The electorate have continually moved from one level of abuse to the other by governments that show little or no care for them.  Hon. Richard, a ‘dirty’ politician, represents a task master government who only takes from the people and never gives. He seeks political power for a second time after failing his people in the first tenure. Richard is a metaphor of Nigerian politicians who is ready to silence all forces that he considers a threat to his inordinate quest to perpetuate himself in power.  Richard attempts to win his second term by all crooked means: thuggery, blackmail, kidnapping of opponents, buying of votes, etc. Sampson, who represents the youths who are tired of leadership ineptitude and oppression in the society, is set up and arrested by the police on Hon. Richard’s instruction, an act that triggers off a fully-blown protest that leads to Hon. Richard’s recall from the National Assembly.

The play, tuned in Marxist’s philosophy of protestation, shows the masses’ (the hoi polloi’s) rejection and revolt against oppression. The south-south region of the country is left dilapidated as the oil extracted from her womb is used to develop other parts of the country. What the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which forms the geographical setting of the play, gets as monthly allocation is menial compared to what they produce. Mama Uyai, who visits Victoria Island in Lagos, caps her entire frustration in, ‘Monkey de work, baboon de chop’. 

There are many faces to the protests that the play projects. The people protest against their own brothers, their spokespersons to multinational companies in their communities who misappropriate the funds given for the development of their communities. They also protest against politicians who are their representatives in government who channel public funds meant to give the people a better life to their private affairs. There is also a cry against government sharing formula of the nation’s collective wealth. This call is in sync with the current call for restructuring in Nigeria to enable states to receive allocation according to what they produce.

Evaluation

From my standpoint, this play would not come at any better time than this when the Nigerian nation needs true change. The recent celebration of the nation’s 58th independence looks like a celebration of 58 years of consistent failure. The advocacy, therefore, is for a change that is a corollary of enlightenment and awareness of the masses: a change which will embolden the youths and the masses –‘the hoi polloi’ –to say NO to the capricious and greedy politicians.

The work is written for a mature audience who can look beyond the storyline to the philosophy behind it. Students in both junior and senior secondary classes can fully understand the text with the help of their teachers. It is a good text for discourse within Marxist framework of protest and social realism as the stories told are familiar ones that occur almost in a vicious circle. The beauty of the play could really be seen on the stage as the work is short enough to be staged within one hour thirty minutes.

Recommendation

Having been educated about the power that the masses have in the selection of who should represent them and in democracy, I have no hesitation to recommend this play, Revolt of the Hoi polloi, to the reading public at this moment when Nigeria is faced with the challenge of selecting leaders who care for the yearnings and the aspirations of the led. It’s a fine piece that could be adopted for literary projects and related academic exercises. To the writer, I give thumbs up as I recommend this play for your reading delight.