By Edwin Ntumfon Tangwa (PhD)
In
a society that is rigged by institutionalized corruption and an amateurish
political system that feeds on its own inefficiency, truth and honesty are
heretic values that can only be cherished by the most peripheral. Recent works
from Cameroon have either been scathing attacks in this political system or
critiques of the social climate in the country. Achingale’s latest play
deliberately avoids such obvious, overt political themes but by no means
remains apolitical. The playwright artfully foregrounds the simple striving of
ordinary people against the backdrop of elemental political corruption and
successfully depicts the institutional failure in the postcolonial nation-state
and its attendant vexatious social upshots in the most subtle, yet poignant, tone.
Some
people read plays or watch performances for the entertainment and/or to see how
much of their own lives is mirrored in the characters, while others look for
the playwright’s political message; for as Ngugi Wa Thiong’o puts it, all
postcolonial writers are ‘writers in politics’. The Wrong Decision will certainly satisfy both groups, for it is a
play about young people pursuing education as a means to build a bright future
for themselves in a society plagued by moral decadence where schools teach corruption.
These young people sharply differ in their perception of what that bright
future is and how to build it.
For
Ango and Gambesso, that future is already assured because of their admission
into the Major Academy for Neo Elite (MANE) where they are “trained to be rich”
(a subtle reference to the thievery for which graduates from that school are
reputed). Ule and Besingi, on the other hand, believe in hard work, love and
modesty and their dreams are limited to Elamron Instructors College (EIC) which
Ango calls “cheap, popular side”, (again a subtle denigration of the teaching
profession which is despised by many in the corrupt Republic of Remak).
There
is an unstated conflict between Besingi, Ule and Bih on the one hand and Ango
and Gambesso on the other. We only get a sense of this conflict through a
passive reference to history made by Besingi in a conversation with Ule.
Thereafter it becomes evident that Remak is a divided country and that the
opposing circumstances of Ango and Besingi are not the work of chance but
rather the consequence of a historically constructed marginalization of people
like Besingi, Bih and Ndemazia. It is in the contrast between these characters
and their ideas of life that the playwright’s message comes through. The
writer’s successful juxtaposition of the simple and the complex, of greed and
generosity of heart brings home the message that we reap what we sow but
without the usual moralising clichés that usually accompany such themes.
The Wrong Decision is
not an elitist play. Entirely absorbing and beautifully crafted in the typical
local Cameroonian speech, it is accessible and relevant to every society.
Achingale successfully portrays the prevailing political and moral corruption
of the barely concealed Central African country through the eyes of its young
victims who seem to have sharply contrasting views about good and evil. The
students’ experiences at the university and their survival strategies will be
familiar to anyone who has been a student in any Cameroonian university while
the use of popular names like Bate Besong and Bole Butake brings the play ever
closer to the unsuspecting reader.
Finally,
Douglas Achingale’s pedagogic drive for which his previous works are reputed is
unmistakable in this play. His successful combination of the virulence of Bate
Besong and the subtleness of Bole Butake sets him on the path towards a new
genre in Cameroonian drama. This is a play that deserves a place in our school
syllabi both for its pedagogic and moral undertones. I look forward to more
works from this budding writer with a lot of promise.
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