Microsoft Word - IGWEBUIKE JOURNAL VOL. 2. NO. 6 IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 81 A REFLECTION OF MILITARY INTERVENTION IN THE NIGERIAN PROSE GENRE: A SOCIOPOLITICAL ANALYSIS OF ENOCH AJUNWA’S UNKNOWN DESTINATION Mbanefo S. Ogene, Ph.D. Department of English Language Literature, NAU Awka mbanefoogene@gmail.com sm.ogene@unizik.edu.ng Abstract One major problem facing the African literature which Nigeria is one is that of leadership. The level of development in Nigeria has made it easy for the military to intervene in the government more than the civilians and other sectors of the society. The intervention results in all manner of negative practices which are detrimental to the common masses as it is hallmarked in corruption and other social vices. The novel more than any other genre in Nigerian literature has being at the forefront of projecting the vices in the Nigerian society and that is why a novelist, Enoch Ajunwa, whose novel is used to analyze the problem of military intervention in the Nigerian prose takes a bitter and satirical look at the problem of corruption, with the hope that the end will be disastrous for the nation if this problem is not nipped at the bud. Introduction The theory of Literary Genre is concerned with how literature is classified into different types or forms. Genre is a French expression meaning specie. In literary studies, three major types of genre exist: they are poetry, drama and prose. Out of these three, the prose genre is the most recent and challenging as its theory seems very vast and more technical to define. The theory of genre relates to trying to understand literature through its enduring forms and conventions. Its concern is on how to classify and describe literary work in terms of their characteristics. This study is therefore within the purview of taxonomy. For the advocates of this theory, the literary kind is not a mere name, for the aesthetic convention in which a work participates shapes its character. From Plato, Aristotle and other classical scholars, to Wellek and Warren (who in 20th century expounded the theory of literature further, efforts have been made to order the total literary field into three overall classes: IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 82 1. Poetic or lyric (uttered throughout in verse and the first person and condensed form) 2. Drama (in which the characters do all the talking, using verse and prose) 3. Epic or narrative (in which the narrator speaks in the first or third person, then often lets his characters speak for themselves). The epic or narrative is the most appropriate form of prose. In a layman’s language, prose means “language not in verse form.” (Homby: 671) The prose genre developed fully in English literature in the 18th century. According to lan Watt In his English Literature and Society in the eighteenth century for example, Leslie Stephen long ago suggested that the gradual extension of the reading class affected the development of the literature addressed to them, and he pointed to the rise of the novel, together with that of journalism, as prime examples of the effect of changes in the audience for literature. (38) The novel is remarkably noted for telling story in prose. It is defined as “a fictional narrative in prose, of substantial length.”.(Schroder: 13) Prose The speed with which prose gained wide popularity among the reading public also made it possible for many people to ‘poke-nose’ into this genre, even when they don’t have the technical training for discussing this field of literature. The problems generated by quacks in literary discipline have necessitated certain explanations on this aspect of genre. In the words of Boulton Teaching, lecturing and marking examination papers have convinced me that though everyone reads prose most people are shockingly insensitive to it. Prose, though the most popular form of reading, especially as fiction, is more difficult to study critically than poetry, because the techniques are less definable and the concentration less intense. (ix) Prose as we know, is generally spoken by everybody in one way or the other. Every literate speaker can write prose, but the problem is the inability to discriminate the different prose styles used in any given situation. The distinct features of prose are its lack of metrical lines and rhymes often associated with IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 83 rhythm in poetry, the function of words in prose, the word usage in prose. A proper study of any prose piece must look into its different units like: the word, the sentence (sometimes divided into phrases and clauses), the paragraph, the chapter and in most cases smaller sections like the short story or essay. In the study of prose, an analysis of words will definitely give answers to the choice of vocabulary used by a writer; the sentence analysis will equally reveal the rhythm, grammatical structure, naturalness, eloquence and clarity of a writer; while the analysis of longer parts like the paragraph will yield meanings to new discoveries like the logical structure, narrative technique, conflicts and flow of thoughts in the passage. A critical analysis of a larger piece of prose like the novel will lead to the chapter by chapter examination and this eventually extends to the appreciation of the entire structure of the story, or testing of the coherence of ideas narrated in a book, whether argumentative, informative or persuasive. The size of prose piece to be examined in any given circumstance will determine the extent of in-depth analysis to be given to that piece. A study of a short piece of prose, for instance will need more time and attention on words and sentences, but this is practically impossible in the analysis of longer prose like the novel. According to Boulton, “no one who has a novel as a ‘set book’, or wishes to describe it for some other purpose, will be able to go over it word by word; here a more general analysis will be more profitable and practicable.” (4) In recent times, some writers like Virginia Wolf, Carlyle, Sir Thomas Browne and Pater have started some new style, of prose, writing that contain poetry properties. Some poets like Camus and P’Bitek have equally started writing poetry that run in free verse and make extensive use of prose. These developments therefore resulted to such new genres often referred to as the poetic prose or prose-poem and free verse. These terms are ambiguous and contradictory in the study of genre. It is because of this development in literature that most criticisms are no longer sound. Bearing in mind that literature, like the sciences, law and other disciplines, has its own taxonomy, emphasis must always be placed on specific genres that gave rise to any study. Studies in the prose genre have also revealed that this genre has a number of functions which very largely determines the style of a writer. The judgment on the suitability of vocabularies, rhythm and narrative views used in any prose can only be made after the function is elicited. The following types of prose have been indentified according to their functions IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 84 1. The narrative Prose This tells a story, true or imagined and written in an interesting manner. Often, the narrative builds on exciting occurrences or on the subtle and detailed portrayal of character and motives. Many other techniques can often vary this style. Examples: Enoch Ajunwa’s Unknown Destination and Achebe’s There was a country. 2. Argumentative Prose Adventures in the argumentative prose are intellectually inclined and ideas here are abstract. The objective of this type is to persuade the reader to believe something. Examples: Sir Philip Sydney’s ‘Apologie for Poetrie’, T.S Eliot’s ‘Tradition and individual Talent’, Achebe’s ‘The problem with Nigeria’, etc. Well established argumentative prose exhibits sound reasoning and often appeals to emotion; they exploit various rhetorical devices and other artistic features found in philosophy, psychology and logic. 3. Dramatic Prose This usually resembles ordinary conversation that gives evidence of drama as an imitation of life with some improvement on real life, which all art projects. Realism is one major factor that influences the dramatic prose as realism can only be achieved in prose. In this type, much prose is observed in the drama. Examples are the works of Sheridan, Goldsmith, Ibsen, Strinberg, Terrence and modern playwrights. 4. Informative Prose This type of prose communicates pieces of information. Examples: school and college textbooks, scientific books, encyclopedias, manual of instructions, reports (including newspaper and magazines journals and books of conference proceedings. Historical books can also qualify for this. 5. Contemplative Prose This type contains those materials that task the thinking of both writers and readers. They include: the ‘essay’ as recorded in anthologies, some books of religious meditation, political speeches, or fantasy, and some books on descriptive writing, that fail to fall into more definite headings. Francis Bacon, William Hazlitt, Charles Lamb and other essayists fall within this category. Apart from the five categories of prose listed, proverbs and epigrams are those sentences which occasionally stand out as units in their own. They are also studied under prose, but emphasis here is on the novel. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 85 The Novel As earlier noted, the novel is a larger piece of prose. It developed largely in English literature in the eighteenth century. Watt states that “our usage of the term ‘novel’ was not fully established until the end of the eighteenth century.” (10) What gave rise to the novel is the movement known as ‘realism’. Allied to this is individualism which became part of the plot structure and characterization of the writers of the eighteenth century English literature. The main objective of realism in the novel is to portray all the varieties of human experience, this goes contrary to the earlier forms of obscurantism and romanticism noted in the novel, which projected only those experiences suited to one particular literary perspective. Realism of course started with the French school of Realists ‘Rẻalisme’ was apparently first used as an aesthetic description in 1835 to denote the vẻrite humaine of Rembrandt as opposed to the idẻalitẻ poetique of neo- classical painting; it was later consecrated as a specifically literary term by the foundation in 1856 of rẻalisme, a journal edited by Duranty. (Watt:10) Due to its large size, the novel shares some functions of prose in its narrative and contemplative forms. According to Stevick, “the novel, moreover, is a mixed genre. Its origins lie in a dozen different forms: essay, romance, history, the “character”, biography, comic and sentimental drama, and so on. Traditionally, it is flexible and indeterminate in its form. (P.2) In his analysis of prose fiction, Northrop Fry seeks to place the novel in a continuum which includes all forms of extended imaginative prose. According to Fry, “the novelist deals with personality, with characters wearing their personae or social masks. He needs the framework of a stable society, and many of our best novelists have been conventional to the verge of fussiness.” (12) Due to its length, a good analysis of the novel should take the following aspects of the novel into consideration: the title; the plot, structure, and proportion; the setting: characters and characterization; narrative techniques; style; time and place. (See Ogene: 4-6) Sometimes a critic may not meet up with all these factors IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 86 listed above due to time and space constraint. Literary criticism needs good critical analysis and if this must be properly done, it must be done extensively well. It is on this basis that we enter into the analysis of Ajunwa’s Unknown Destination. An Analysis of Enoch Ajunwa’s Unknown Destination Author’s Background Dr. Enoch Ejunwa was born in Otampa, Isikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State – Nigeria on 3rd July, 1953. He attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1999 – 2008) where he got his PhD in Translation and the University of Benin (1987 – 1990) where he got his MA degrees. He also holds a Diploma from the Universite De Grenoble, France (1980). Ajunwa was at different times Head of Department, Modern European Languages and Dean, school of Languages, Nwafor Orizu College of Education Nsugbe. He is the Editor in Chief, Journal of Modern European Languages and author of a bilingual, novel, Destined to Survive/Destine a Survive. A very committed Christian, Ajunwa is committed to the help and support of the under privileged persons in the society, truth and justice. In a private discussion with the writer, Ajunwa stated that his mission in writing the novel Unknown Destination is not to make gains but that he would never feel free and relaxed without writing the novel. In his statements, he claims that, “people generally blame their country’s socio-economic woes on corruption, especially in the developing world. But no citizen of any country ever claims responsibility for or wants to be associated with corrupt practices anywhere in the world.” Unknown Destination is a post colonialist novel that addresses a major problem bedeviling the civilizing countries - corruption. The author is mindful of the fact that the concept of corruption is a phenomenon that is so vague that the victims are generally ignorant of and so uses a figurative style of personifying this cankerworm to register it clearly in the minds of the readers. Personification is a literary figure of speech in which life is given to a lifeless object for emphasis. Ajunwa follows Achebe’s postulation that the problem of Nigeria is leadership to personify the President/Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of the United States of Afrikaribesia as corruption IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 87 himself. Ironically, the name Afrikaribesia sounds like a derivative of Africa, and Nigeria is the giant of Africa and the country of this writer. From inferences and deductions, the reader can easily identify the past political crises caused by the military incursion into the leadership of Nigeria and other African continents as the main factors that motivated the writing of this novel. Military Intervention into the Nigeria Politics A study of the maiden speeches of the past Nigeria Military Heads of State in national leadership show that the pre-occupying issues raised by the military during coups is to wage war against corruption. Starting from Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu’s address to the nation during his coup on January 15, 1966, he states that “the aim of the revolutionary council is to establish a strong united and prosperous nation, free from corruption and internal strife.”.(7) This issue is revisited by General Sani Abacha who in his address to the nation on November 18, 1993 states that “Bribery, corruption and other economic crimes such as 419 must be tackled and eliminated.” (98-99) Earlier in his media address to the nation on December 31, 1983, General Abacha blamed corruption to be the cause of bad economy and uncertainty in Nigeria. Abacha pointed accusing fingers on the leadership of Alhaji Shehu Shagari who was democratically elected. According to him You are all living witnesses to the grave economic predicament and uncertainty, which an inept and corrupt leadership has imposed on our beloved nation for the past four years. I am referring to the harsh intolerable condition under which we are now living. Our economy has been hopelessly mismanaged. We have become a debtor, and beggar nation. (45) General Muhammed Buhari in his own coup against Abacha blamed the problem of Nigeria on corruption and indiscipline. His media address on January 1, 1984 has it that While corruption and indiscipline have been associated with our state of underdevelopment, these two evils in our body politic have attained unprecedented height in the past four years. The corrupt, inept and insensitive IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 88 leadership in the four years, has been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society. Since what happens in any society is largely a reflection of the leadership of that society, we deplore corruption in all its facts. (55) Later in August 27, 1985, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida re-echoed that indiscipline and corruption have been the bane of Nigerian politics. According to Babangida, “the history of our nation has never recorded the degree of indiscipline and corruption as exhibited between October 1979 and December 1983.” (73) Influences of the Military Leadership on Ajunwa’s Unknown Destination From all indications, events of the past military leadership in Nigerian government largely influenced Ajunwa’s novel, Unknown Destination. The novel started under the atmosphere of military coup championed by the protagonist, Brigadier Corruption. The rise of this Brigadier who is also known as “Evil Genius” portend danger and woes as he has no political agenda, discipline or the charisma to lead. This situation informs the reader of the title meaning: Unknown Destination, meaning state of chaos as a result of lack of political agenda. Corruption, apathy and disillusionment are sisters to visionless leadership. Summary/Plot Analysis in Unknown Destination The plot of the novel is simple. It is designed to show the vanities of corruption and usurpation of political power. The author is apparently inspired by the Biblical book of “Ecclesiastes” which hammers on vanities of vanities, all is vanity. The novel started in a military barrack with exchange of courtesies among senior military officers. For Brigadier Corruption to still be a bachelor, living alone in the house with his dogs creates a state of suspicion on a senior officer of that rank who could not marry at his age. The three senior military officers who drive to the apartment of Brigadier Corruption at the VIP’s section of the officers’ mess are: Vice Admiral Greed, Brigadier Morality and Brigadier Corruption, their mission is to plan a coup. It is at the meeting that allegations are raised against the incumbent Head of State of Afrikaribesia of being a woman, employing only those from her tribe in the civil service (tribalism) and giving appointments mostly to her people. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 89 Prof (Mrs) Democracy is also accused of not agreeing with Prince Double-tongue, the opposition leader. (p.6) Brigadier Corruption also accuses Prof (Mrs) Democracy of not taking any of his advice as the Chief of General Staff, as well as refusing him the request to award the contract for him to buy arms for the armed forces. Corruption hates his colleague Morality for not supporting his idea to carry out coup. The two major things that coup plotters usually capitalize on are the ignorance of the masses and intimidation (usually with guns and bombs). The theme of the novel is revealed early in the novel by Brigadier Morality who stated that The military has no focus, vision or mission. It might end up taking the people to an unknown destination. Hence, I don’t see any sense in intervening militarily at this stage of our nascent democracy. Indeed, it would amount to building a house and pulling it down, without any good reason whatsoever. (9) This statement shows that the military intervention in politics is uncalled for as they don’t have any political agenda. It is this state of confusion that most African nations, including Nigeria, have passed through for many years. This led to a state of disillusionment which Ajunwa refers to as the unknown destination. Brigadier Morality is arrested and detained. The problem of who will assume the new Head of State after the coup confronts Corruption and Greed, but again the problem of tribalism made corruption to use his tribal military personnel, relations and fiends (Nepotism, Col Plunderer, Col Hooligan and Col Wizard) to arrest Vice-Admiral Greed. Through Nepotism, the reader learns for the first time that Corruption has become the new Head of state. The seven coup executors are from the same village and they swear by their own blood never to sabotage the coup d’état. (p.23) Before going public, Brigadier Corruption declares himself a Field Marshal, Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of the United States of Afrikribesia. This is witnessed by the other six members of his team. The other six were elevated to the ranks of Major General. Brigadier Morality’s voice is used under duress in recording the broadcast to media stations. In a television nation wide broadcast later, Corruption states that “the government of Democracy was about the most corrupt in the whole world.” (25) According to IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 90 Corruption, “one of the priorities of my government is to fight and eradicate poverty and corruption from our country.”.(27) Corruption was supported by the Head of state, President Hypocrite of Republic of Nabilat, while the Secretary General of UN and common wealth condemned the coup, as well as other world leaders like Akerima, Rulope, Hustlaria and parts of Heshia. Others include the Brishit Prime Minister, as well as the Canadian, Cherman, Thallian, Fotugiz, Aspanis, Rench and Pajanese Heads of state. It is very remarkable that the president of Nabilat is seriously behind violence and terrorism, no wonder he congratulates his brother corruption and assured him of maximum support to realize their political agenda. The picture of activities of Bow-and-Arrow (BOW) is very much identical with Boko Haram. (P. 37-42) After appointing his executive, Corruption invited a foreign firm, Thegzas-based concrete construction plc to build the biggest and most expensive and luxurious house in the whole world for him. The contractors are made up of Representatives like Engineer Concrete, Architect Sand, Surveyor Theodolite and Ms Dictaphone. Corruption purchased a house in Akerima at the prize of one point five trillion dollars (the biggest house in the world occupying about 50 acres of land) and builds another house in Afrikaribesia occupying one hundred hectares, with a whooping sum of three trillion dollars. He forcefully evicted those living in Urban Haven Area (UHA) to build his own private residential place. Work on the building was completed under one year and ten months. Corruption had a dream of marrying a very ugly woman, who looked more like a monster the first night he slept in his new mansion, “suddenly, the woman- beast lowered her horns and charged straight at him. Then, he woke up just before the woman-beast could pierce his stomach with the horns”. (65) Out of the fear of marrying the ugly woman, Corruption married Miss Afrikaribesia whose real name is Jezebel Pious. Jezebel earlier met the Head of State of Afrikaribesia at an international summit meeting of oil producing countries at Drome, the Thallian capital city during the years of her being trafficked and apprenticed as an international prostitute for V.I.P.s. She was a final year student of Political Science when she got married to Corruption. Her actual name is Titi, born in a remote village of Sazou. (Unknown Destination: 75) Titi (Jezebel) was cursed by her father Pious not to have any child because of the way she absconded with a human trafficker, Cain who took her away from the village without her parents knowledge and consent. The business associates of IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 91 Cain are Dr Trojan Horse and Miss Gampass. The name Titi was changed to Jezebel by the trafficking syndicate of Cain, Trojan Horse and Miss Gampass. Jezebel spent few days in Nondon amd finally was taken to a hotel in Liman to a brothel owned by an Afrikaribesian, Madam Whore. (p.99) After becoming the youngest richest man on earth Field Marshal Corruption pretended to have sold part of his country, known as Sabaki Peninsular, to the Nuremakian Head of State at the cost of 150 trillion dollars, but ended up duping President Crook, the Nuremakian Head of State. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Afrikaribesia, Prof. Lawson depicts the poverty situation in the country as he comes to lecture on bicycle and other lecturers and medical doctors no longer come to offices due to poverty caused by corruption. He was assassinated by the men sent by President Corruption few days after the lecture he gave on Human Rights, (2) for exposing the crude oil scandal committed some years ago, and (3) for exposing the transfer of four trillion cowries into Mr. President’s personal account in a foreign bank. Professor Lawson, his grand son and daughter, wife and house maid were all assassinated in cold blood. This started the events that led to the end of President Corruption. Other events include: (1) the government of Nuremak’s plan to involve the Sabaki Peninsular (2) the setting ablaze of the premises of the National Refinery Complex in Natankili, the Petroil State capital by the unknown persons who sneaked in at night and set the place ablaze. Virtually every segment of the civil service is out of service and the worst is the poor state of roads to enable the fire brigade members put off the fire. After the communiqué issued by students, Jezebel helped to incite her husband Corruption to exterminate the lives of all the students who wrote the communiqué and also remove the Vice President (who she claimed that he forcefully had sex with her and that the son Crusader also raped her when she was an undergraduate, (p.173-174). Mrs. Jezebel is appointed a member of the military ruling council after the wicked advice she gave to her husband to massacre all the students of Afrikaribesia University protesting students so that their mothers would become childless like her. She is further promoted a General in the army, contrary to the military traditions. Major General Professor Jezebel Corruption is also appointed the Vice President by her husband, while Major General Vampire is now to concentrate on his duty as the Federal Minister of Education. Corruption later declared his wife Jezebel the president of the Interim IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 92 Government and later succeeded himself as a Civilian President after eliminating his political opponent, Barrister Accountability. To satisfy his wife, he promised to build the world largest supermarket for her. He chose the All Saints Cathedral ground located in the thickly populated city centre of Potabugos for the supermarket. The church is owned by the Akeriman Evangelical Organization (AEO) headed by Bishop Rock. Corruption asked Bishop Rock to hand over the church building to his wife Jezebel. Corruption now calls himself the god of Afrikaribesia. For wanting to kill Bishop Rock and eat his liver, heart and brain the next day, President Corruption entered into a serious curse. His mystic and occultic materials could not save him. (p.227). Corruption has a terrible nightmare on the night the Bishop was kept in his torture chamber to be eliminated by himself the next day. The president after narrating his experience to his wife ordered that Bishop Rock be released immediately and that his church should not be taken by anybody. The President started suffering from hysteria and sleepless nights after. His violent behaviours led to his being seized and sedated with drugs that made him sleep for seven days, before waking up. A solution is needed to solve this spiritual problem and Jezebel offered to bring the Presidential Paradise Chaplain (who the president rejected), they had to go for Bishop Rock, Bishop Rock refuses both the offer of one million dollars and key to a jeep car, as well as following them to pray for the President. The delegate led by Mrs. Jezebel later consulted the “very powerful white-robe woman seer who lived in the coasted village of Lisala. It was discovered that the woman died several years ago, and is succeeded by her only daughter. The new seer re-echoed Bishop Rock’s message and placed President Corruption on 365 days supra dry fasting, which Jezebel said was not possible and she left the presidential villa. Corruption was struck by convulsive fit and he fell publicly and defecated during his Independence Day International broadcast. A spiritualist Ghuru Chaman was invited from India for him. Above all that the Ghuru prescribed for his charm to work, President Corruption has to make love to an old madwoman living in the market square in his village in a broad day light. The mad woman available in the market is a very old woman called Dadawoman. The President’s village is Mikatona. In the course of the rape of the mad woman, President Corruption was given a deep bite and he lost much blood. True to the dream earlier narrated by President Corruption, their aircraft developed a fault on air IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 93 and changed course automatically, leading to a fatal crash, while the flight passengers are trying to send Corruption to a hospital for medical treatment after the bite. Eventually a villager phoned the soldiers who flow the president and wife to a private hospital in Frankfruit, Chernany for medical treatment. While outside the country, the Afrikaribesians rejoiced over the rumour that the President has died from the attempted rape of the mad woman and stuff like that. The President however used a three minute recorded broadcast that says he is hale and hearty to disperse rumour peddlers. After two months in the hospital, the President returned home to continue his government from his wife Jezebel who had held the mantle of leadership all those while. The recorded attempted sex film of President Corruption with the mad Dadawoman who was the oldest and dirtiest lunatic in the village and had lived in the market place for more than seventy years however leaked from the Governor. He was later arrested, court-martialed and sent to an unknown destination. President Corruption is worried at the inability of his wife to conceive and bear children, while he is getting older. The wife arranged for medical tests and invited her former friend, Prof Physician and manipulated him to confirm that her husband Corruption is impotent and not her. His new state led President Corruption to a state of psychological crisis. From his hysterical statements, it is obvious that Corruption is a homosexual. He states that “I would have married Plunderer, and it would have been clear to me that I married a fellow man.” (Ajunwa: 258) The statement is made when he realized that Jezebel could not give him a child. The last days of Corruption’s life is spent in displeasure, watching pornographic pictures and films, until he discovers the nude picture of a very beautiful sixteen- year old Heshian girl, Ananta in a colourful magazine and got in touch with her through telephone. The magazine is Hollywood International Model Magazine. Corruption proposes marriage to Ananta and got her address in Kartaja. He sends and brings the girl to his secret hotel, but is surprised to meet a rather weird looking skeletal old figure dressed in high-profile fashion and heavily perfumed in an expensive rose-base deodorant. Despite his doubt, he is quickly charmed into having an affair with the strange woman and started having nausea and fear after. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 94 The strange woman mysteriously disappeared from the hotel without any trace before the day break. Corruption did nor unfortunately inform Jezebel of this. The symptoms of serious infection which started with Corruption later extended to his wife Jezebel. After series of tests locally they decided to travel abroad for medical attention and were diagnosed of an incurable disease known as parasivirus. The hospitals they visited in Royal Hospital in Harromog, the capital city of the Republic of Ubiradia could diagnose their ailment, until they visited the largest specialist hospital in the world, located in Old York City, established by World Health Organization. Parasivirus is spherical-shaped virus living in their body cells. The virus derive their food from the cells and then excrete toxic waste materials into the cells. The toxic waste material had the potential of slow, but steady and eventual disabling of the cells. Clotadinavir is the strong hybrid antiviral and antitoxin drug discovered by the Doctors to kill parasivirus, but it also kills the body cells, thereby killing the host. The two options open for the Corruptions as a result of their health being declared threats to world health are: 1. that they be quarantined for life; or 2. that the drug clotadinavir be administered to them as a permanent solution to the problem. The second option is chosen and an overdose of clotadinavir given to Mr. and Mrs. Corruption as a result of their threats to violence and court litigations to regain their freedom. The couple was taken to the airport in a sealed ambulance and into the cabin of their aircraft which is quarantined. As the drug starts having effects on them, Jezebel slumped lifelessly and died, while Corruption drops a suicide note and shot himself inside the Presidential cabin. The suicide notes warn the living on the dangers of misusing the money they left behind or mourning or sympathizing with them. Corruption and Jezebel were sent to their village and dumped inside the evil forest, where vultures and other wild animals ate them up. A serious anarchy followed the death of the Corruptions over who should ascend the throne as Head of State, as Nepotism is generally rejected. After the bombing of the Presidential Paradise by General Killer, the United Nations intervened by sending its troops for peace keeping mission. A general election is held and Prof. (Mrs) Democracy won the President and Head of State. Narrative Style, Characters, Setting and Contents in Unknown Destination The novel is narrated in third person, omniscient point of view. No character is identified as a specific narrator in the novel, but actions generally revolve round IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 95 a fictional character known as Corruption. The death of Corruption seems to end the novel narrative, as the author seems to be confused on where to concentrate and direct the plot. Obviously the remaining actions, after the death of President Corruption and his wife Jezebel were written as postscript after the state of anarchy which engulfed the Afrinkaribesians. The author’s indeterminate ending of the story is to enable Prof (Mrs.) Democracy return to power. Ajunwa’s moral principles seem to manifest and prevail on the novel, indicating that good will always triumph over evil. The Characters in the novel are all personified characters here represented by attitudes or vices in the society. Since corruption is the main social vice that has bedeviled the African societies, especially Nigeria, where the author hails from, it is made the Protagonist in Unknown Destination, while Prof. (Mrs.) Democracy is ironically made the antagonist. As noted in the novel, the characters standing for vices or supporting Corruption are too many and are even larger in number. This portends a negative hope on the salvation of Afrikaribesians. The Settings are codified and fore grounded after the actual names of nations and continents like Afrikaribesia referring to Africa, and Heshia for Asia. Rulope stands for Europe, and Akerima for America. Ajunwa does not want to mention names of past military heads of state in his country Nigeria who were highly noted for corruption. That is why he personified them with abstract fictional qualities that identify them by deeds, not by actual names. President Corruption stands for the military, his other brothers, friends and associates include: Honourable Adultery, Senator Assassin, General Blood-Sucker, Bribery, Bunkerer… (Ajunwa: 289) Themes of the novel are that of the human trafficking, prostitution and their consequences as observed in Jezebel. Because of the type of life she lived, Jezebel really plays her role well as a heartless brute, full of wickedness and iniquity. She needs a man like Corruption to exhibit her evil and wickedness. Jezebel orders the shooting of all the undergraduates in the University of Afrikaribesia, who are supposed to be identified with her as an old girl of the school, just because she did not have any child. She engineered the killing of Plunderer by claiming that the man and his son Crusader had sex with her while she was in the university. Jezebel also compelled Professor Physician to write a report that her husband is impotent and not she herself whose womb and uterus were earlier removed. Much as Jezebel is evil, she seems to have more conscience in this novel than IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 96 corruption. At least, she claims to have worshipped at the All Saints Cathedral in her school days, “I know it. I had worshipped there on several occasions when I was a student.” (Ajunwa: 223) She is also humble to confess her past life first before the medical doctors at the World Health Organization Doc., please let me confess before I die. I worked as a prostitute in Thally for many years before I got married to Corruption. During that period as a prostitute, I became pregnant. In the course of committing abortion, I developed complications for which my womb and uterus were removed surgically. Up until now, my husband does not know that I am sterile. Rather I deceived him into believing that the problem was from him. Darling, I’m very sorry. Please, forgive me, she pleaded with misty eyes. (Ajunwa: 273) Unlike Jezebel his wife, Corruption has never entered any church in his life, but is rather an atheist. When asked to say the priest that would listen to their confessions, President Corruption tells the Chief Medical Officer, “Sorry sir. I’m an atheist”. He never confessed his sin before his wife, but only to the medical doctors when he is told that the information he gives might lead to the discovery of drugs that could cure him. (272) Even at the last moment when the wife confronted him with the question of his knowledge of the Heshian prostitute Ananta that infected him with the virus pasivirus, he denies any knowledge of this girl, “Jezebel related the story to him. Nevertheless, he denied having anything to do with the girl: “If I have any knowledge whatsoever about the lady called Ananta, may I die in this journey. May I never set my foot on the soil of Afrikaribesia. May vultures eat my corpse, “he swore,” (Ajunwa: 277) and all these happed later to him Other minor themes are that of assassination, violence, terrorism, swindling, homosexuals, coup plotting, students’ unrest and poverty. Conclusion The prose genre is very vast specie of literature. No single writing can exhaust all the contents of a given text. In this paper, efforts were made to analyze a slice of Ajunwa’s Unknown Destination. It was also observed that the novel touches on the general theme of post colonialist literature. The different currencies of the world used in the cover page symbolize the postcolonial concept, which the IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 97 Lindia spiritual master called Ghuru Chaman asked for as part of remedy for President Corruption’s malady. According to the spiritual master I also need the following for the preparation of the charms because your problem is deeply rooted in money: three thousand dollars, three thousand pounds, three thousand rubles, three thousand naira, three thousand yens, three thousand euro, three thousand francs, three thousand persos, three thousand liras, three thousand rupees and three thousand cowries. (Ajunwa: 241) The moral demand in this novel is the challenge to love righteousness and hate iniquity. As the reader observes, Ghuru’s prescription led Corruption to a mad woman who left three pieces of her teeth in his breast. At the end, there is wisdom in going after righteousness. Bishop Rock’s advice is a good one, “Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. But woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have done shall be done to him”. (234) The novel is a good one as it portrays the current foibles in the society and also criticizes them. Works Cited Abacha, Sani (General). “Address, Decemember 31, 1983” Published in Fellow Countrymen and Women. Enugu: Abic Books, 2004. -------------------------. “Address, November 18, 1993” Published in Fellow Countrymen and Women. Enugu: Abic Books, 2004. Ajunwa, Enoch. Unknown Destination. Onitsha: Enovic Publishing Company Limited, 2011. Babangida, Ibrahim (General). “Address, August 27, 1985” Published in Fellow Countrymen and Women. Enugu: Abic Books, 2004. Boulton, Marjorie. The Anatomy of Prose. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1980. Buhari, Muhammed (General). “Address, January 1, 1984” Published in IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities Vol. 2 No 6, December 2016. ISSN: 2488-9210(Online) 2504-9038(Print) (A Publication of the Augustinian Institute in collaboration with AATREPSCHOLARS) 98 Fellow Countrymen and Women. Enugu: Abic Books, 2004. 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