DEVELOPMENT (KUNDI FARAJA)
A man of the people
Enters his office
To sit on the throne
Of party and state
His stick of power
Across the table.
He looks into the files
To see the demands
Of the millions of people
Who for years since Uhuru
Have just managed to survive
They ring out one message
Man of the people
You have always been telling us
What we need…
Health centres,
More school,
Clean water,
Better transport facilities,
Better living conditions.
Do you plead incapable
To bring about development?
I declare running
Better than walking
For a young and poor country;
I plead fighting undervelopment
Tougher than fighting
A wounded buffalo
With a pocket knife;
I plead underdevelopment
Stronger than the blows of the sea
When the hurricane is at its height,
I plead fighting underdevelopment
Tougher than combating colonialism;
I see that its more difficult
To maintain peace
Than to stop a coup d’etat
I plead the cry
Of the nation
More painful than the yell
Of a woman
As her husband dies of sickness;
Its more painful than screams
Of a man
Dying in agony
In the coils of the greater python
Found in the African forest
How is development
To be brought brother
When the people to whom
We have entrusted power
Are corrupt?
I plead the stomachs
Of the privileged few
Greater than the Rift Valley;
They cannot be satisfied
With a normal share.
I plead the thirst
Of the minority
Greater than that of Sahara;
No rain can quench it
I reckon the minority
More sensitive to egoism
Than to National Development;
Nothing that is not theirs
Is of any interest.
Their response to egoism,
Is faster than camera film to light
But as slow as tropism
To nation-building.
The majority plead
Exploited
Cheated
Disregarded
But brother
How is development to come?
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1. What is the poem about?
The poem is about development in developing society or country. The poet argues that whenever there is selfishness, corruption, exploitation and oppression there will be no development and this is revealed in the last stanza, when the persona says;
“..The majority plead
Exploited
Cheated
Disregarded
But brother
How is development to come?”
2. Is the persona happy in this poem? Why?
The persona is not happy in this poem. This is because he is complaining about the behavior of some leaders who are corrupt, selfish and irresponsible; such leaders cause the country not to develop.
3. What does the term “Egoism” mean in this poem?
Egoism means selfishness. It is thinking of one’s own interest or needs without thinking about others. It means not sharing what one has with others.
4. What are the possible themes portrayed in this poem?
The following are the possible themes portrayed in the poem:-
i. Selfishness
It is thinking of one’s own interest or needs without thinking about others. It means not sharing what one has with other. In the poem, the poet has depicted selfishness of some leaders who consider only their needs and interests not considering the interests and needs of the others (majority). Selfishness is shown to be an obstacle towards the attainment of development in a society. In the poem its shown that the leaders are sensitive to selfishness than building the nation. The persona says
“…I reckon the minority
More sensitive to egoism
Than to National Development;
Nothing that is not theirs
Is of any interest..”
ii. Corruption
It is the immoral action where one gains his favour by giving bribes. Corruption can be in terms of sex or materials. In the poem its shown that some leaders are corrupt and its also shown that it is very difficult for a nation to develop when corruption dominates the society. We cannot get development with corruption. The persona says
“…How is development
To be brought brother
When the people to whom
We have entrusted power
Are corrupt?..”
iii. Classes in the society
In the poem there are two classes presented, that is the upper class and the lower class. The persona seems to dislike the upper class and to him this class includes the minority in the society. They are selfish and corrupt.
According to the persona, this class is the class of people who are privileged. This is shown when the persona says
“…I plead the stomachs
Of the privileged few
Greater than the Rift Valley;
They cannot be satisfied
With a normal share…”
Also the people in this class are more sensitive to egoism than to the National Development. On this the persona says:-
“…I reckon the minority
More sensitive to egoism
Than to National Development;
Nothing that is not theirs
Is of any interest….”
The other class is the lower class; this is the class of majority who are exploited, cheated and disregarded. This is justified in the last stanza when the persona says:
“….The majority plead
Exploited
Cheated
Disregarded
But brother
How is development to come?...”
iv. Exploitation
Exploitation is the use of materials or manpower selfishly or unfairly. In the poem the minority are selfish and not satisfied with what they have. He says
“..The majority plead
Exploited
Cheated
Disregarded
But brother
How is development to come?..”
The lower class is complaining that the upper class is exploiting them. So with these evils, there will be no development.
v. Poor social services.
In the poem the persona has discussed the issue of social services in the society. Since independence people are demanding better living conditions and improvement of social services.
But all these years of Uhuru have proved failure and leaders are proved incapable of bringing development. In the poem its shown that people are in need of health centre, more schools, clean water, better transport facilities and better living conditions. This one is shown in the second stanza when the persona says;-
“…He looks into the files
To see the demands
Of the millions of people
Who for years since Uhuru
Have just managed to survive
They ring out one message
Man of the people
You have always been telling us
What we need…
Health centres,
More school,
Clean water,
Better transport facilities,
Better living conditions….”
5. What is the form of this poem?
a) Type of the poem.
It open form type of poem. The poem’s length varies syntactically in the length of verses, and in the number of verses in each stanza.
b) Structure of the poem.
The poem has twelve stanzas. The first stanza has six verses, the second has fourteen verses, the third stanza has two verses, the fourth stanza has ten verses, the fifth stanza has five verses, the sixth stanza has ten verses, the seventh stanza has five verses, the eighth stanza has five verses, ninth stanza has four verses, tenth stanza has five verses but the eleventh stanza has four verses and the twelfth stanza has six verses.
c) Language use or diction.
The language used in the poem is simple, ordinary, clear and straight forward. In the poem some words are repeated for emphasis such words are “plead” , “development” and A man of people”
In the poem there are some figures of speech used including the following
i. Exaggeration
In the poem this one is used to magnify the idea, example
The stomachs of the privileged few greater than the Rift Valley likewise….. the thirsty of the minority greater than that of Sahara”
ii. The poem is use of personification when the persona says
I declare running
Better than walking
For a young and poor country
d) Tone or voice
The altitude of the poet is ironic, symptithetic or satirical. The persona is in very deep feeling specifically about the development of his society as the leaders are corrupt and selfish.
e) The mood
The state of mind of the poet is ironic, serious and angry. This is due to exploitation, selfishness and corruption. The persona hates the leaders who are selfish and corrupt.
f) Rhyme scheme.
In the poem, there is no regular rhyme scheme or pattern, its because of different sounds used in the poem.
6. Is the poem relevant to your society? Why?
The poem is relevant to my society, especially to the developing country like Tanzania and the other African countries where corruption is rampant. This is shown when the persona says
How is development
To be brought brother
When the people to whom
We have entrusted power
Are corrupt?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. “It is believed that poor leadership in most of the developing countries has acted as an obstacle to development” With reference to the poem DEVELOPMENT discuss this statement.
2. “Egoism is not a problem in the process of developing the developing countries.” Discuss.
Prepared by:
Emily A Mwambola
Tel: 0757290816
Email: emilyam016@gmail.com
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