The Moon Also Sets:
a male economist as a feminist
By NNEDI OGAZIECCHI
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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Photo:
Sun News Publishing
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After reading through the classic, The Moon also Sets written
by the former chairman of the National Planning Commission,
Osita Ogbu, a former research economist in the African Region
of World Bank and Executive Director of the African Technology
Policy Studies Network in Nairobi and a native of Ovoko in
Nsukka, Enugu State, I came away (at the risk of sounding
immodest) with the fact that, truly, Nsukka has in its bosom,
some of the best literary minds Africa has to offer the world.
With the literary world about to celebrate Chinua Achebe and
the fiftieth anniversary of Things Fall Apart, an Orange Prize
for Literature for a Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (for her Half
of A Yellow Sun) by the middle of last year, and many other
creative writers that have had the Nsukka touch, we cannot
be wrong for always celebrating the literary yields of the
land, Nsukka.
The Moon also Sets is a beautiful narrative set in Isiakpu,
a vintage African village in all its rusticity and social
compositions and at the University of Embakassi, a university
with all the ideals of modern civilization. A mother and her
daughter, the heroine of the narrative named Oby are caught
in between the vagaries of life as they dangle between the
patently patriarchal arrangement of society as exemplified
in the traditions, religions and even the so-called modern
university community.
The choice of the protagonist, Oby, and the travails that
confront her and her widowed mother both in the village, in
the church and even in the ivory tower was in my mind a classic
say of advancing feminism. With the modern perception of feminism
as a social fight for the soul of humanity and not just women,
Osita re-directs our consciousness to the crass victimization
of the vital part of the human specie, women. He subtly but
creatively points out the fallacy that the male component
of humanity can be free when the women are tethered down by
social norms either in the traditional village setting or
in the ivory tower or even under the cover of religion.
The book is in four parts; the first part, A Widow’s
Might deals with the societal problems that confront widows
in the African society.
The second part of the novel, Searching for the Golden Fleece
sees Oby, the heroine of the narrative, getting into the ivory
tower of the University of Embakkasi to study Sociology. Here,
again, the global suppression of women’s rights does
not escape the lens of the author. Against all expectations,
the same societal pressure is experienced by the female students
from both their fellow students and even lecturers. Sexual
harassment, a major vice suffered by her mother as a widow
in the village is also perpetrated by both male students and
even some lecturers.
The third part of the novel, Is this love?, exposes the societal
hypocrisy and male chauvinism as Chike, Oby’s school
boyfriend with the conspiracy of his friends violates Oby’s
innocence and naivety. This part zooms the searchlight on
the greed and evil passion that men dress with love apparels.
Chike surreptitiously deflowers Oby as a sign of heroism but
Oby who was in love is perceived as a social pervert.
Part four of this narrative further exposes the clash of tradition
and culture and is appropriately tagged, Tradition and Ambition.
We again encounter the traditional noose on the neck of women,
Pa Okolo, Mama Oby’s brother-in-law in desperate pursuit
of personal ambition is ever ready to sacrifice both the woman
and her daughter through an arranged marriage. Again, the
tradition of the people and its clashes with the Christian
incursion into the average African setting is the highlight
of this part. The issue of female circumcision a traditional
practice that negatively affects women is the focus here.
The final part of the novel actually gives the book its title,
The Moon also Sets. With sheer will power and strength of
character, the two central figures, Oby and her widowed mother
triumph over their traducers both at the village and in the
modern world metaphorically represented by the University
of Embakassi. Pa Okolo died in frustration, Oby de-mystified
the university sexual pervert, Professor Akpanu who had misused
his masculinity by holding female students to ransom. Chike,
another representative of masculine arrogance and oppression
ended up in prison for conspiring to trick Oby into a dangerous
abortion when she thought they were real lovers.
Even when the novel centres on the travails of women in both
traditional and modern societies, the author, Osi, through
some of his characters like Chris and Dr. Inyang affirm that
feminism, as is generally seen these days, is a war to be
fought by both men and women who value the new consciousness
about human development.
He also goes a step further to emphasis the role women can
play in fighting the modern liberation battle. Gender inequality
hinders development he seems to point out. However, central
roles must be assumed by women in shear determination to change
the ideological leaning of society both ancient and modern.
Beyond its central feminist bent, The Moon also Sets recreates
the average Nigerian socio-political environment. The helplessness
of the citizen that is so very unprotective of its most vulnerable,
women and children. Mama Oby has nobody to run to when her
in-laws harangue and commit arson against her, her daughter
Oby is at the mercy of the males in her environment. Her young
son, Amechi, like her peers in the society, are left totally
to the vagaries of the trading environment, a crass display
of counseling and government involvement.
As the great Achebe celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of
his epic, Things Fall Apart, it is gratifying that he has
been an inspiration to people like Osi Ogbu who, through his
presentation of The Moon also Sets, has proved to be a good
student of not only the Nsukka norms and traditions but a
keen advocate of new ideological disposition to those values
that edify society.
Having played his part admirably, one only hopes his observations
about cultures, religion and education in our modern world
would be deployed as he infers, for the utmost development
of humanity. It is not in vain that he was a success as the
chairman of National Planning Commission traversing the entire
states of the federation stirring socio-economic developmental
consciousness of the citizenry.
At a time we are desirous of pulling down the glass ceiling
for our womenfolk, it would not be a bad idea to have, The
Moon also Sets on our secondary school curriculum. Education
and a holistic one at that should be imbued with sound, sociological
re-orientation as the book tends to preach. Women on their
part should stand up and fight gender biases armed as it were
with education and awareness and counting on male feminists
(no pun intended) like Osita Ogbu because really, setting
is not exclusive to sun; the moon also sets.
E-mail: nnedis@yahoo.com |
