Ethical Apprehensions and the Pedagogic Millstone in Camillus Uka’sWhen the Wind
Blows

Iwunze Davidson Chimezie

Abstract

Among the numerous novels that inaugurate examination malpractice as a major malaise
currently devastating the educational sphere and its multifaceted implications within the socio-
political cum economical spaces of post-colonial Nigeria, Camillus Uka’s When the Wind Blows
stands out prominently. Given his social vision, and his quest for academic meritocracy, Uka’s
absolute denunciation of mediocrity in the novel is aptly foregrounded. Incidentally, the novel, in
spite of the profundity of its pedagogical commitment and social vision, has not received the
critical attention it deserves. In narrowing this gap, while relying on the ethical theory of
Utilitarianism by Jeremy Bentham which contemplates an individual’s action in relation to the
pleasure or pain it imparts on the aggregate number of people involved, this paper contends that
Uka’s When the Wind Blows provokes not only some ethical apprehensions that demand exigent
response but also underscores the dire sensationalism of examination malpractice and its
attendant consequences on the lives of individuals and society as well.

Keywords: Examination Malpractice, education, ethics, Camillus Uka, When the Wind Blows

Introduction

Camillus Uka’s predilection for quality education, and his commitment to reading culture as a
prerequisite for a developing nation like Nigeria to thrive in the comity of nations, forms the
primary establishment of his social vision in When the Wind Blows(2007). An award winning
contemporary Nigerian writer educated at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ukah has authored
eleven creative literature books among other literary engagements. His novel When the Wind
Blows (2007) was listed for the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2008, while in 2012 his
entry, Nkechi the Heroine, won the ANA/Lantern Prize.



Uka’s When the Wind Blows (2007) stands out conspicuously among the countless
narratives that decry the decay of examination malpractices in the Nigeria education system.
Beyond its thematic preoccupation and social vision, the frequent stylistic insertion of local
idioms and proverbs distinguish the novel as a balanced narrative. The novel, however, is an
eloquent signature of bastardization of educational standard in the Nigerian society. It
articulately underlines the phenomenon of cyclical structure of sowing and reaping, which
synchronizes with the law of karma. Uka’s engagement of mediocrity in the novel seems to be
borne out of his disenchantment with compromise of meritocracy in the nation’s educational
system. This, however, buttresses Nnolim’s (2014) submission that “Every generation of writers
confronts the burning issues in its society and wrestles with them” (p. 158).

Elsewhere, Uka (2020) has enunciated his belief in quality education accessible through a
reading culture with a slogan “let’s go back to books, the sure ladder to excellence, read your
books every day, read one book every week, read four books every month, read fifty two books
every year and you will shine as a star” . It is, therefore, no surprise that When the Wind Blows
(2007) demonstrates the projection of a reading cum studying culture which the protagonist of
the novel, Adaku, brazenly repudiated. Awuzie (2017), in his analysis of the novel, identifies the
challenges that have faced different generations of the African states and how African writers
have been able to depict such challenges through their literary engagements. From the first
generation that confronted colonialism through post-independence disillusionment and currently
the issue of poverty among other challenges. He further distinguishes between poverty of the
pocket and poverty of the mind, identifying poverty of the mind as the worst. He, however,
reiterated that African writers do not revel in the deployment of evil occurrences in their
environment but had to be realistic in the portrayal of societal happenings. Differentiating
between the two kinds of poverty, Awuzie (2017) posits that:

We have come to see that the survival of the youths of this generation is generally
threatened by poverty of different kinds. First is the poverty of the pocket while the other is
poverty of the mind. Poverty of the pocket may be more bearable than poverty of the mind.
Hence, it is important to note that in a generation where poverty of the mind takes preeminence,
what happened in Bakare’s Once upon a Tower and Ukah’s When the Wind Blows reign
supremely. In such generation the youths would do anything to survive. (p.9)

In the same vein, reflecting on the students’ desperation for “success” Afolayan and
Inyang (2005) citing Ike, reveal that “the inordinate scramble for the all-important Certificate of
Secondary Education (CSE) could lead anxious students and unscrupulous men to any length”
(p.92). A reading of the novel raises not only some ethical issues but also bears testimony against
the character of Adaku whose desperation for short-cut success structures the dominant discourse
of this work.

Ethical Apprehensions and the Pedagogic Millstone



Examination malpractice, when measured against the backdrop of Utilitarianism, becomes an act
that is egoistic in nature and does not promote the general good of the populace. In
differentiating utilitarianism from egoism, Julia Driver (2014) notes that “egoism has to do with
the scope of relevant consequences; while on the utilitarianism view, one ought to maximize the
overall good- that is, consider the good of others as well as one’s own good” (p.15).
Utilitarianism, therefore, is defined by Jeremy Bentham as “generally held to be the view that the
morally right action is the action that produces the most good… that the theory is a form of
consequentialism: the right action is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced”
(p.6) (quoted by Driver (2014). In consonance to the above thought, John Stuart Mill reveals
that people desire happiness — the utilitarian end — and that the general happiness is “a good to
the aggregate of all persons.” (p.81). Therefore, this definition provokes a serious ethical concern
since one’s action, to a very great extent, can cause serious consequences on the generality of
people.

Driver (2014) citing Bentham, discussing Utilitarianism identifies the good with pleasure.
He further advises human beings to maximize the good; that is, bringing about “the greatest
amount of good for the greatest number” (p.5). Bentham’s desire for legal and social reform
influenced his thoughts on Utilitarianism. The understanding is that morally fitting actions will
not hurt others, but instead spread happiness or utility. Driver (2014) reveals that Bentham’s
conviction was:

influenced both by Hobbes' account of human nature and Hume's account of social utility.
He famously held that humans were ruled by two sovereign masters — pleasure and pain.
We seek pleasure and the avoidance of pain, they “…govern us in all we do, in all we say,
in all we think…” Yet he also promulgated the principle of utility as the standard of right
action on the part of governments and individuals. Actions are approved when they are
such as to promote happiness, or pleasure, and disapproved of when they have a tendency
to cause unhappiness, or pain. (p.6)

In view of the above thoughts, however, any action which does not seek nor bring about
the happiness of most people should be frowned at. Bentham seems to be saying that humans
should weigh the consequences of their actions on their fellow humans; whether it will bring
happiness or pain to them. In When the Wind Blows, Uka’s belief parallels with the principles of
utilitarianism since the actions of the protagonist did not promote happiness of the society rather
her actions inflicted so much pain on the people. However, Stephen Darwell (1995) views
beyond the individuals’ actions and emphasizes on the motives behind their actions. He notes:

that the moral sense is concerned with motives… it is the motives rather than the
consequences that are the objects of approval and disapproval. But inasmuch as the
morally good person cares about what happens to others, and of course she will, she will
rank order acts in terms of their effects on others, and reason is used in calculating effects.
(p. 16)



However, both the protagonist’s motives and actions are contrary to the values of
utilitarianism; they do not promote the happiness of many people. Her involvements and
subsequent attainments in life through corruption via examination malpractice simply underline
the micro reflection of what is obtainable in Nigerian society at large. An apparent manifestation
of poverty of mind in the Nigerian academic space is the undue recognition and scramble for
“paper certificates” above skills acquisition and competency. The obnoxious crave for paper
certificates instead of possession of skills and expertise has become an increasing goal among a
large population of youths in Nigeria’s educational system. To Adie and Oko (2016) “the quest
for certificate in the face of poor academic performance has been identified as some of the major
causes of examination malpractices in Nigeria” (p.59).

The enthronement of mediocrity in place of excellence seems to be a recurring factor that
has not only reduced drastically the standard of education but has also affected almost every
sector in Nigeria. Adie and Oko (2016) further state that “The hues and cries about examination
malpractice taking place at all levels of the Nigerian educational system is nothing but a
reflection of the decay in the value system of the society. The Nigerian society is that which
celebrates mediocrity and views cheating as being smart” (p.60).In fact in Expo ’77(1980), the
author Chukwuemeka Ike exposes the defiant justification of a mother whose daughter was
arraigned for examination malpractice “Is it only the Lieutenant-Colonels? Who doesn’t cheat in
this country? The people in power. Top civil servants, contractors, judges, soldiers, policemen,
pastors. Who doesn’t cheat? (p.14)”. Her mentioning of different professionals in the country as
being guilty of cheating is, indeed, a grave indictment against society.

Ukah, through his protagonist Adaku, reveals that “Government establishments in such a
corrupt country as mine suffered the fate of the public goat. Such institutions best existed as
monuments of twenty first century retrogression and civilized mediocrity; governed by the
whims of pot-bellied godfathers” (p33). Equally, citing Nnolim, Awuzie notes that “Seeing the
level of poverty in the country, Ben Okri lamented on the state of the country through one of his
characters in The Landscape Within, thus: ‘I think ours is another damned generation of loss.’
(cited in Nnolim,2009,p. 326). To Omoregbe (cited in Okaneme, 2013) such a generation is an
immoral and a sick society:

An immoral society is also a sick society. By immoral society we mean a society
permeated with corruption, dishonesty, fraud, selfishness… such a society is sick and
cannot be in sound order. Its organs cannot function properly because they are not in
sound health condition. Life in such a society becomes increasingly difficult, insecure
and unhappy (p.135).

Quoting Maduemezia, Anzene (2014) identifies that “Examination malpractice is not a new
phenomenon in Nigeria. The first examination malpractice in Nigeria occurred in 1914 during
the Senior Cambridge Local Examination where papers were leaked before the scheduled date of
examination”. (p.1). Ironically, this establishes examination malpractice as old as Nigeria given



the fact that Nigeria came into existence as a country in 1914 through Lord Lugard’s
amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates. The perennial effects of examination
malpractice, as emphasized by the author, is deeply rooted and extended to various sectors of the
nation’s polity like education, military, health, law among others. Lawal (2017) accentuates:

The devastating effects of examination malpractices are usually expressed through the
erosion of creativity, resourcefulness, ingenuity, technical know-how, and moral values.
Industries and corporate organizations suffer because people who are qualified for the
jobs are in the real sense not qualified for the jobs – they cheated their way through, most
often through examination malpractices” (p.6).

Considering the subtle penetration of examination malpractice into the fabric of the
society, and its colossal destructiveness, Ukah bares its implications on the soul of Nigerian
nation on the long term basis. Using Hematology, the study of blood, to foreground his
denigration of fraud in the novel demonstrates the author’s intention in exposing what is seen as
a bane of Nigerian educational system. Nnolim on the cover back of the novel considers the use
of Hematology as a “touch of genius” on the part of the author, since blood is life essence. The
usage of blood, which lays the life of human beings, undoubtedly, connotes the relationship
blood shares with a nation as a living entity. Metaphorically, the author uncovers the diseased
blood (corruption) that has been responsible for the ailment of Nigeria. It purely reveals the
extent of mortal damage the nation has been reduced to; revealing its condition as being terminal.

Given the influence of power, and its tendency of abuse by a few individuals, most
Nigerian institutions have been subjected to the destructive nature of mediocrity. Almost every
facet of the Nigerian state is bedeviled by mediocrity to the extent that those who are competent
seldom gain employment to unleash their creativity. A “paper qualified” Adaku, who
meritoriously graduated as a Medical Laboratory scientist, secures employment both in a
government owned and private hospitals at different times not necessarily out of excellence but
through dubious means. Subjecting her body as an instrument of job negotiation makes it
possible for her to navigate her ways through the bureaucratic exigencies while retaining her job
without difficulty. Manipulating the system to suit her selfish inclination has been a trade she
learnt well from her mother during her days in primary school. Therefore, taking “shortcuts” to
success has become a familiar path. To her “the end justifies the means”.

However, this arrangement, in spite of its transient condition, becomes a currency
through which Adaku shops her immediate convenience without considering the long term
implications. Her educational itinerary, right from primary school to the university, has been one
typified by examination malpractice. Therefore, her obvious incompetency in the work place is
only a reward of her many years of academic compromise. Obasanjo’s assessment of a
perpetrator of examination malpractice accurately defines Adaku’s motivation. (cited in
Akinrefon, A.A, Adeniyi, O.I,Bamigbala, A.O. and Ikpa, O.C 2016). To him “[t]hey see
education as a means of meal ticket, getting a job and so must acquire the paper qualification by



hook or crook. We must change that perception or orientation so that they will appreciate the
intrinsic value of education which is the total development of the individual to be able to make
meaningful contribution to the family, community and nation.” (p.177) Sadly, Nnolim
(2008)identifies the novel as: a weeping novel, a lamentation at the depths into which corruption
in [Africa] has descended even in its educational engagements where parents and educators assist
their children to thoroughly corrupt the system whose probity they are supposed and expected to
uphold” (p.160).

After her youth service while working in a hospital, she reaps her first fruit of “labour”
which resulted in death. While on her many trips of truancy, a new Head of Department steps in
and changes the course of events which, ultimately exposes her incompetency. In a twist of fate,
she is “forced” to carry out a cross-matching test. Unfortunately, she could not perform it which
happens to be one of the simplest tests. Impulsively she labels a wrong blood group to the
specimen of the patient to avoid embarrassment. Expectedly, the death of the patient is not only
imminent, but also underscores the inevitable reward of retributive justice. Mr. Eze, the dead
patient, happens to be the husband of the Headmistress that compromised her integrity by
accepting bribe from Adaku’s mother during Adaku’s Common Entrance Examination. Adaku’s
escape from the wrath of the law, however, reinforces her power of manipulation as she engages
the Acting Chief Medical Director in amorous relationship. To her “I have no other option than
to grit my teeth and fight…I had fought all through my university days to date, fighting to eat my
cake and still have it” (p.44). Incidentally, her belief in manipulating events to her wishes paid
off. The Acting Chief Medical Director pulls his strings and her case was dropped but after she
had “used” and dumped him.

Adaku’s incompetency does not end in her professional terrain but it festers into her
matrimonial home. She is so uninformed that she could not even contribute positively to her
children’s home assignments. A common question of what organism causes malaria unsettles her
deeply. She dare not give a wrong answer to a child that had corrected her severally in
pronunciations! To rightly reflect her current state, she recalls that “The wind is blowing”
(p.249). The wind is blowing and her negotiated engagements with education have started
unveiling. Her situation merely recalls the biblical parable of those who built their houses on
rocky and sandy foundations. Those who built on the rock escaped damages during a windstorm,
while those who built on the sand suffered great loss. Adaku basically builds her academics on a
sandy foundation with ease, and the consequences of such endeavor have started unfolding! To
further buttress the dire implication of academic “compromise” prevalent in Nigeria educational
system, the author incorporates the experiences of “half-baked” teachers whose academic
ignorance and incompetency were clearly exposed. The story of inept English and Agriculture
teachers is relieved by Adaku; while the English teacher fumbles at the teaching of “Superlative”,
the Agriculture teacher explains away the concept of “shifting cultivation”.

Of primary significance to the breeding of “half baked” professionals, and the subsequent
harvests of mediocrity in the socio-political and economic sphere of the Nigerian state, is the



illicit and active participation of the so called “defender of education” as accomplices. Students,
as represented by Adaku, could not have succeeded in their illegal negotiation of short-cut
accomplishments, if the teachers and lecturers had maintained their pledges of integrity. While
Adaku’s parents, through their “fat envelopes”, are able to influence their daughter’s way up to
the secondary school; Adaku extends and consolidates it to the university with her power of
“female anatomy”. In fact, Adaku’s harvests of brilliant performances are nothing but mere
dramatization of mediocrity as well as an indictment on the educational institutions. If Mrs. Eze
had remained unyielding in her pledge of integrity, she would not have lost her husband to
incompetency! Her earlier compromise many years ago manifested in a situation she least
expected. Adaku recalls disdainfully her moment of initiation into examination malpractice:

I wished I could go back to that day and fight against my initiation into a practice that had
become my undoing. Their well-intended help assumed the stature of barbaric savagery. I hated
them all the more. Then a note of tragic coincidence struck me. The Headmistress, MrsEze, was
the one whose husband died as a result of my incompetence. I remembered a saying that if one
sees a fowl scratching at faeces, the person should chase it away because nobody knows who
will eat the leg that had scratched the shit. How would she have known that the seed of
incompetence she helped to sow would cause the untimely death of her husband? (p.127)

The author seems to be sounding a strong warning not only to the vendors of education
but also to humanity at large because whatever one sows one reaps. Emenyonu (1994) rightly
emphasizes that “Nigeria believes that it can produce lawyers, teachers, politicians, engineers,
scientists, and professors without educating them. When they go into the world to perform, they
are equipped with mental mediocrity and emptiness of character… we are only reaping what we
sowed with reckless abandon in our indiscretion” (p.64)

Given her dexterity in fixing problems, and reliance on manipulation of the system, the
day of reckoning comes to her rather too soon thereby exposing the content of her intellectual
ineptitude. While in the hospital, praying for the speedy recovery of her husband, she is called
upon to cross-match her husband’s blood since the laboratory scientist on duty was not around.
Incidentally, the laboratory scientist on duty is found later malingering and frolicking with her
boyfriend in the darkness of night; revealing the rot that has eaten deep into the fabric of socio-
political and economic life of the nation where truancy is tolerated with impunity. As a
“qualified” medical laboratory scientist, taking such a simple test would not have been a problem.
Unfortunately, this encounter exposes her as an educated illiterate. Taking this case as an
extended metaphor, the Nigerian best brain is facing destruction in the hands of incompetent
leaders at the helm of affairs. Little wonder the authorial voice bemoans:

I weep for this generation. I weep for a generation hunted by its own machination and
ensnared by its own trap. I weep for a generation that squirms with the poison of its own
concoction. Look at how a wasteful and backward looking generation has cut itself off
from the source of life giving water. You can see that that water was designed to flow



from the old formidable buildings to water the new buildings. But now the chasm has
created a gap. (p.166)

It is pertinent to note that the author did not present a totally hopeless situation. In spite of the
dwindling fortunes of education, there are a few persons who still believe in the tenets of
perseverance and determination. Ken, Adaku’s husband, represents the author’s model of
academic success whose life is nearly cut short by incompetent hands! Considering the author’s
redemptive message, and his projection of hope, the survival of Ken in the novel stresses triumph
of meritocracy over mediocrity. Ken embodies a model of some graduates whose academic
journeys are characterized by diligence, focus and hard work. Similarly, in Ike’s The Naked
God(1970) the author endorses the essence of merit and condemnation of fraud through the
character of Professor Ikin who was being lured to compromise his stand over the position of a
Vice Chancellor. He asserts that “… I would rather remain unqualified than accept a doctorate
degree… ARRANGED for me… I do not want an INSTANT Ph.D” (p.11). In other words, he
prefers working for his success to mere acquisition of it.

Symbolically, that Ken survived gunshots shows that there is hope for the nation’s education.
Ken epitomizes the sound product of academic thorough-bred who secured his educational status
through devotion and resilience. Ironically, Ken’s marriage to Adaku does not only unveil an
intellectual mismatch at home front, where home is the foundation of the society at large, but
also a mismatch that is threatening the existence of Nigeria where a lot of socio-political and
economic mismatches have pitched the nation at the precipice of destruction. Juxtaposing the
two individuals, the author is merely presenting the choice of meritocracy and mediocrity. He
creatively, as well as deeply, carries out this vision through his novel substantiating the
implications inherent in the choice one takes. Already, some students have taken the path of
“shortcut” to success just to “really survive at all costs- even those that can barely read” (p.3) as
enunciated by Awuzie (2017).

Conclusion

Contemplating on the foregoing experiences of the protagonist, as well as its predictable
repercussions both on established institutions and human lives, the author’s disenchantment with
mediocrity is, indeed, sustained and quite revealing. Adaku’s inability to carry out a simple test
shows the extent of damage examination malpractice has caused in the educational system of
Nigeria, and the government’s insensitivity towards the dreadful state of the nation. Those who
are not qualified are gainfully employed at the expense of the competent ones. Therefore,
meritocracy becomes a lonely path seldom tread by the youths who are obsessed with instant
success. However, the author degrades such enthronement of mediocrity by showing the eventual
destruction of Adaku’s certificate. Adaku realizes, rather too late, that possessing a paper
certificate without the corresponding knowledge is nothing but a lethal weapon in the hands of
an amateur. When Adaku’s actions, however, are weighed on the scale of humanity; it is found
wanting! Driver (2014) raises serious concerns:



We are to promote pleasure and act to reduce pain. When called upon to make a moral
decision one measures an action's value with respect to pleasure and pain according to the
following: intensity (how strong the pleasure or pain is), duration (how long it lasts),
certainty (how likely the pleasure or pain is to be the result of the action), proximity (how
close the sensation will be to performance of the action), fecundity (how likely it is to
lead to further pleasures or pains), purity (how much intermixture there is with the other
sensation). One also considers extent — the number of people affected by the action. (p.5)

Adaku’s personality does not identify her as one who is capable of such contemplations because
her egoistic nature will make such meditations impossible. She succeeded, through her actions,
in bequeathing pain, unhappiness and misery to people in contrast to the ideals of utilitarianism.
In conclusion therefore, the author’s portrayal and repudiation of acquisition of fake certificates,
and its attendant consequences, is wholly sustained in the novel through evaluation of its
thematic concerns, characterization and stylistic employment of narrative techniques like
flashbacks, symbols and metaphors. However, the author does not stop only at the exposition and
condemnation of the ills plaguing the educational system; he also offers a solution. In one of her
nightmares, Adaku recalls a sixty-five year old woman who embarked on academic redemption
as a result of her inability to discuss or participate in a conversation with her white daughter-in-
law in the English language. Despising shame and mockery, she eventually accomplished her
goal of literacy and became proficient in the English language. It is the author’s practical way of
presenting the possibility of redemption, notwithstanding the obstacles of: age, mockery, shame,
impossibility etc.

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