SYNOPSIS OF ISIDORE OKPEWHO's THE LAST DUTY

 SYNOPSIS OF Isidore Okpewho's 

"THE LAST DUTY"

By: Abdullahi Inuwa Engineer

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IMPORTANT DETAILS

Full Title: The Last Duty

Author: Isidore Okpewho

Type of Work: Novel Genre: Historical, War and Political novel 

Language: English Time and Place 

Written: 1976 in Essex 

Date of First Publication: 1976 

Publisher: Longman publishers

Narrative Technique: Collective Evidence Technique / Internal Monologue / Confession Mode

Setting: Place— Urukpe, a town in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria

Time—1960s during the Nigerian Civil War 

Protagonist: No central character Major 

Conflict: The conflict between the Nigeria central government (Zonda) and the rebel Biafran (Simba) Rising Action: The arrest and imprisonment of Oshevire 

Climax: The release of Oshevire

Themes: Betrayal, Ego Vs Over-Ambition, Evil of Rivalry, Evil of War, Oppression, Societal Conflicts and Poverty

Symbols: Gun, fire Foreshadowing: At the beginning of the novel, we are told that it took the combined efforts of the federal troop to drive away the rebels from the town. This incident foreshadows what will be the fate of the people of Urukpe. The fatal fight between Private Sule who is a minor in the army and the Sergeant also foreshadows what will happen between Odibo and Toje.

INTRODUCTION

     Like most of the other war novels, The Last Duty presents the physical devastation and suffering caused by the war, but its real emphasis is on the havoc caused to human relationships and, in particular, the mental, physical, and emotional torture to which women were exposed.

     Isidore Okpewho’s The Last Duty is a recast of the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970. It was a war between the secessionist Biafran Republic of the Eastern Nigeria and Nigeria itself. The Nigerian Civil War is fictionalized in this novel – a fictive world. This fictiveness is seen in the imaginary setting,  events and characters. The Last Duty gives fictitious historical records of the experiences of the people of the Delta region during the Nigerian Civil War between 1967 and 1970. Using what he calls ‘collective evidence mode’ characterized by disjointed and episodic segments, Okpewho presents graphical details of the effects of the civil war on the people of this region.

AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND

     Isidore Okpewho (1941—2016) is a well known classical scholar. Born in 1941 in Abraka, Delta State in South-south region of Nigeria, he attended St. Patrick’s College, Asaba and the University of Ibadan in Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria from where he earned a First Class Honours in Classics in 1968. After he had spent a brief period working with Longman Publishing Company in Nigeria, he left for the University of Denver, Colorado where he received a PhD in Comparative Literature in 1975. A year after, he returned to his alma mater where he taught Oral Literature and Creative Writing for more than a decade. It was during his first year as a lecturer in University of Ibadan that The Last Duty was published. He served as a Professor of African Studies at the University of Binghamton in New York. Like many other authors, Okpewho wrote about the history of the Nigerian civil war. He is among the best known writers in Nigeria. Apart from The Last Duty (1976), his other novels include The Victims (1970), The Tide (1993) and Call Me by My Rightful Name (2004). The Last Duty won the African Arts Prize for Literature in 1972.

     Okpewho was married with five children and was a member of so many national and international academic or scholarly associations until his death, in Binghamton, New York on 4th- September,2016 at the age of 74.

SETTINGS

     Set in the Federal Republic of Zonda an imaginary nation or country in 1976. The secessionist tribe is Simba, perpetrating mayhem in Urukpe which is a border town comprising the people of Igabo and Kweke clans. Urukpe is in the Black Gold state in the Zonda Republic and it is the war zone or setting in the novel.

STYLE

     Okwepwo uses different techniques and styles in the novel such as:  Collective Evidence Technique / Internal Monologue / Confession Mode where each character often narrates his story individually.

LANGUAGE

      Written in English language, compound and complex sentences as well as proverbs were used by the writer and the work is very attaractive.

PLOT SUMMARY

     The novel revolves round the enmity between two successful rubber merchants—Toje Onovwakpo and Mukoro Oshevire. Before the novel begins, the Simbian rebels were already in control of the town before the federal troop came to save the people of Urukpe from their grip. They had forced the people to obey them. With the presence of the federal troop led by Major Ali, the people can now heave a sigh of relief. Before this time, Chief Toje Onovwakpo had been the only prominent rubber merchant in the town. With the coming of Mukoro Oshevire, things have now changed. Unlike Toje who sometimes adulterates the quality of his latex and inflates the price, Oshevire is more honest in his dealings. For this reason, Oshevire draws more customers than Toje. Not quite long, Oshevire becomes the leader in the rubber business. This sudden subjugation of the prominent position in the rubber business by Oshevire does not go down well with Toje who later devises a sinister means for the elimination of his rival.

     With the arrival of the federal troop, Toje now has the opportunity to vent his anger on his competitor. Naturally, when the federal troop comes, those who are either in support of the rebel or come from the rebel side flee the town for fear of being prosecuted by the federal troop. However, Oshevire remains in the town despite the fact that his wife is a Simbian.

     With his connection with Major Kunya Bello, the commander of the federal troop, Toje has gone to report to the federal troop how Oshevire had collaborated with the rebels. Because of his position in the town, Major Bello has believed him and in no time Oshevire is arrested and sent to prison at the headquarters at Iddu. After the arrest and subsequent incarceration of Oshevire, Major Bello is relieved of his command because of his drunkenness and acts of indiscipline and Major Ali is now the commanding officer in charge of Urukpe. With the connection he has had with the federal troop, Toje is appointed to supply food to the troop.

    Now that Oshevire is away, Toje now begins to show excessive love, kindness and affection to Aku, Oshevire’s wife who is now placed on house arrest and kept incommunicado by others since she is a Simbian. Aku, who is ignorant of the role played by Toje in the arrest and detention of her husband, sees him as both a saviour and a benefactor but with some reservations that he may want to use her to satisfy his sexual orgies. Toje makes sure that everything is kept under control so that he can fulfil his sinister dream in keeping Aku as his concubine. He goes to Ali to convince him beyond every reasonable doubt that all is well with Aku and her son. Ali believes him totally and promises to work with him together to make sure that the woman is well taken care of.

     Meanwhile, Toje uses Odibo as his intermediary and errand boy whom he often sends to take some provisions to Aku and at the same time invite her to meet him in his (Odibo’s) house where he will fumble with the poor woman in the name of having sex with her. Since Toje does not want Aku’s little son to be an impediment in their affair, he often instructs his crippled nephew to remain in Aku’s place to take care of her son until his mother returns. This ritualistic routine continues for some time until Aku herself inwardly gives in to her instinct as she becomes aroused sexually but she gets frustrated to know that Toje cannot really makes her feel like a woman.

     As he continues to fumble with Aku, Toje makes sure that Oshevire’s detention is prolonged, so that his illicit affairs with Aku will continue. He pays one Mr. Rukeme the sum of one hundred and fifty pounds to go to Iddu to testify against Oshevire. During the trial, Rukeme becomes inconsistent and the tribunal rejects his evidence as insubstantial. Toje hears of Rukeme’s failure and he visits him at Iddu where he threatens him to make sure that he wins the case else his money will be returned. Toje is now doubly frustrated—there is no hope that he will win the case and his manhood is now limp. Since he knows that Oshevire may return anytime, he now visits a local medicine man that deceives him by preparing a concoction of sheep dung for him to cure his impotency.

    One day, Aku returns very late from her meeting with Toje and because of the curfew in the town, she implores Odibo not to go back to his house for fear of being killed for breaking the curfew. After Odibo has been prevailed upon, he decides to spend the night at Aku’s place. In the middle of the night, Odibo becomes sexually aroused and he tiptoes into Aku’s room and finds her sleeping almost naked. In no time, he gives in to his natural inclination and Aku herself who has been aroused lately by the effeminate Toje now begs Odibo not to leave. She leads her into her person and from that time, she becomes fond of Odibo and she occasionally arranges their sexual bouts.

     Not quite long, Toje becomes suspicious of Odibo and after a brief investigation; it becomes clear to him that Odibo has been having an affair with his kept mistress. In a fit of anger and a determination to prove his superiority over the duo, Toje visits Odibo in his house where he also finds Aku on his bed. Without wasting time, he bounces on Odibo and in a moment, a serious fight ensues between the duo. Toje who feels unsatisfied by the first round of the fight goes back to his house and returns almost immediately with a cutlass which becomes a weapon of mutual stabbing. Both men almost stab each other to death. With the kindness of Ali, Toje and Odibo are taken to the hospital after being attended to by the military doctor.

     Not quite long, Oshevire is released for want of substantial evidence and with the magnanimity of some benevolent soldiers; he is given some fare and driven in the military Land Rover to a place near his village. On getting to the village, Oshevire soon finds out that things are not the same again. Okumagba, a soldier attached to keep watch over his house, directs him to the barracks where he reunites with his wife and son.

     But before Oshevire could settle down to enjoy his freedom, he is confronted with another form of thraldom as he learns that Toje and his crippled nephew, Odibo, has been having frequent sexual bouts with his wife while he was away and that has led to a bloody fight which almost sent the duo to their early graves. In frustration, he decides to run away from this monumental shame. He hurriedly leaves the town with his family at dusk after setting his house ablaze. On their way out of the town, the federal troop orders him to stop but he refuses. In anger, one of the soldiers shoots at his direction and the bullet knocks life out of him leaving his wife and Oghenovo, their little son, to wallow in tears.

CHARACTERS

Mukoro Oshevire: He is one of the citizens of Urukpe who is arrested and detained at the command of Toje. He is the husband of Aku and the father of Oghenovo. Oshevire is intelligent and hardworking. Because of his honesty in doing business, he soon takes the lead in the rubber business and Toje hates him for that. His intelligence is revealed in his evidence during his trial at Iddu. He carefully proves his innocence and the tribunal have no other option than to set him free. It can also be said that Oshevire is a peace-loving and law-abiding citizen. Despite the fact that it is quite obvious that he is charged falsely, he maintains his integrity and does not resist the authority. He even advises his co-detainees to keep calm waiting for their vindication. From the mouth of Aku, we come to know that he is also a loving and caring husband. Like every other man with integrity who would not want to disparage their names, Oshevire has to take a decision to flee the town when he learns of the sexual escapades between his wife and her lovers but unfortunately, he is killed by a trigger-happy soldier.

Aku: She is Mukoro Oshevire’s wife in her late twenties. She was a virgin before she got married to her husband and for this reason; she always strives to remain virtuous to her husband. There is no doubt that Aku has a genuine love for her husband. To show her unflinching love for him, she is ready to wait for him no matter how long it will take for him to return. Aku is also a very determined and fearless woman. Despite the fact that her fellow Simbians had run away at the wake of the coming of the federal troop, she remains in the town by refusing “to do what the normal, natural instinct for survival wound have urged”. A few moments of her transgressions can be said to have been borne out of natural inclination and the need to keep her body and soul together rather than deliberate acts of dishonour to her husband.

Major Akuya Bello: He is the last commander in charge of Urukpe where Ali is now in charge. He was relieved of his command on account of drunkenness and indiscipline. He is a close friend of Toje who orders the arrest of Oshevire on account of collaborating with the rebels.

Ali: He is Brigade Major commanding the XV Brigade of the federal army at a tribal border town between the Igabo and the rebel Simba. He takes over from Major Major Akuya Bello. Unlike most soldiers in a war situation who always use the women to satisfy their sexual urge, Ali does not entangle himself with such thing. He is a soldier with the difference. He does not want to be drawn into any personal acrimony. Above all, Ali proves himself an intelligent and skilful soldier by his dynamic strategies in beating back and defeating the rebels.

Oghenovo: He is Aku’s and Oshevire’s son. Oghenovo does not grow up to see his father because no sooner he was born than his father was arrested and thrown into prison. Like his father, his mother and very many others, Oghenovo is a victim of war and the caprices and foibles which characterize human society.

Chief Toje Onovwakpo: He is a civilian, a businessman and a native of Urukpe—another town liberated from the rebels. He is a rich man with gargantuan power. He is one of the key players in the war. He is boastful as he often gives a profile of his personality. For him to play a judge and a wife snatcher as he tells us, we can then say that Toje is inhuman and insensitive to the feelings of others. In twenty-five years he has borne ten children and he is still messing around with women including other men’s wives. He is a capitalist who represents the rich and affluent class who exploits and oppresses the poor masses. He exploits his worker, his nephew and everybody that comes his way. His adulteration of the latex is a proof of his dubiousness. He is egoistic, over ambitious and hot tempered. All these negative character traits lead him to his downfall.

Odibo: He is the nephew and a servant of Toje. He is crippled in one arm. Although he is disabled physically, he is no way handicap sexually. As he continues to get closer to Aku, After his sexual bout with Aku, he becomes more of a man as he now begins to see through the exploitative tendencies of Toje. His gallant fight with Toje also portrays him as a brave young man who would not allow his disability to put him at a disadvantage.

Agbeyebge: He is one of the detainees. By all calculations, he seems to be the youngest and the most vocal among the detainees. The novel potrays him as well learned person.

Chief Onagwolor Ovuede: He is the Otota or the head of the town. He is illiterate and at such Ali cannot really relate with him as he should.

Emuakpor: He is the native doctor who prepares sheep dung for Toje to cure his impotence. Although he is poor, his astute character does not allow him to be exploited by the affluent class. Instead, he is the one who exploits them.

Eseoghene: He is a madman in Urukpe. He is the first person who meets Oshevire when he returns from detention. It is through his mouth and countenance that Oshevire comes to know that all is not well with his family.

Esiri: He is a tailor in the town.

Fegaje Omomaro: He is a neighbour to Aku.

Godinheaven: He is an herbalist who claims to have solution to every problem including a charm that can make a bullet turns to water.

Johnson Oviri: He is the assistant head of the local Red Cross.

Madam Dafe: She is the woman whose son is killed in the latest attack.

Mr. Agoloje: He is the lawyer to one of the detainees.

Mr. Emeni: He is another detainee and a former court messenger who had served the court for thirty-two years before he was arrested and detained.

Mr. Eziregbe: He is the head of the local Red Cross.

Mr. Ogbe: He is the oldest man among the detainees. Because of his age, he is fondly called Baba by his co-detainees. He is a poor farmer.

Mr. Opubor: He is the commissioner.

Mr. Rukeme: He is a witness who is paid by Toje to testify against Oshevire. For accepting financial incentives from Toje to testify against Oshevire, Rukeme can be said to be inhumane and a traitor.

Mr. Samson Ajijala Etuwewe: He is one of the detainees charged with collaborating with the rebels.

Okoro: He is another detainee.

Onome: He is Oghenovo’s friend. 

Ozegbe: He is one of the detainees.

Private Okumagba: He is a private soldier in the federal troop and an indigene of Urukpe. Unlike many young people conscripted to fight in the war, he joins the federal troop voluntarily to beat back the rebels.

Robinson: He is one of Toje’s sons.

Sergeant Alao: He is the soldier in charge of food inspection.

THEMES

BETRAYAL

      There are various forms of betrayals in Okpewho’s The Last Duty. The first and more glaring is the rebellion of the Simbians which leads to the civil war which forms the thematic thrust of the novel. Another is how Toje betrays Oshevire, his fellow rubber merchant whom he sees as his rival in the rubber business. He does not only have him arrested and incarcerated but also uses his wife as a concubine. The effect of this betrayal on Oshevire’s family is better told than experienced. Although we may be quick to blame Aku’s concession to Toje’s dalliances on poverty, Aku also betrays her husband by opening her legs not only to cruel and selfish Toje but also to crippled and imbecile Odibo. Odibo on the other hand also betrays his uncle, Toje, by sharing Oshevire’s wife with him. Again, the Sergeant also betrays Private Sule by going out with his girlfriend. All these acts of betrayals give rise to various conflicts sufferings and cosequences in the novel.

EGO VS OVER-AMBITION

     Apart from the rebels who wreck so much havocs and destruction on the people, much more atrocities which touch on human angles are committed by Toje who is a victim of male ego and over ambition. Despite the fact that Toje is a prominent figure in the society who is not in want of anything, he goes on to persecute Oshevire just because of his ego which he feels has been slighted by Oshevire. His incessant abuse of Odibo and his persistent fumbling on Aku despite the fact that he has lost his manhood are all attempts to preserve his ego. This selfish need to preserve his ego naturally makes him over ambitious. He seems not to be satisfied with anything, anybody or any explanation. His egoism and over ambition later lead to his shameful downfall.

EVIL OF RIVALRY

    Human history has always been punctuated with rivalry. Arguably, every human being always sees another human being as his or her rival. This can be found in every society. With the coming of Oshevire into the rubber business, Toje begins to see him as his rival and therefore plans his elimination. After he has successfully put Oshevire in the cooler (prison), he soon finds another rivalry in his crippled nephew whom he suspects as having an affair with Aku who is not even his wife in the first place. Toje, Odibo and the Private Sule who kills a Sergeant for befriending his girlfriend are all victims of the evil of rivalry.

EVIL OF WAR

     It is indisputable to say that The Last Duty deals with the psychological effect of war. The war brings enmity between families and people. It brutalizes people and destroys the masses. The effect is very complicating, in that, those involved hardly engage freely in social and/or any other activities. The novel explores the psychological impact of war on the masses and the family. Historically, it also looks at how families, especially children, were affected by the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70. The theme of war is the overriding issue in this novel. It is a very tragic novel. It also tells us how one can be exploited during war time. Okpewho uses Aku and Oshevire to depict how wars affect families and the star victim is Oshevire. The ties and bonds which hitherto existed between Igabo and Simba are also destroyed by the war. By extension, it shows how the Nigerian Civil War has destroyed the bonds and ties which existed among different tribes in Nigeria. It is not an exaggeration to say that tribal bigotry in Nigeria became more glaring after the civil war.

OPPRESSION

     Throughout human history, oppression, suppression and dehumanization have always been the bane of the society. As Agbeyegbe has rightly said in the novel, there is no doubt that Oshevire and his co-detainees are mere victims of oppression and suppression by the rich class. Even in war situations the rich do not often suffer as the poor. Apart from the guns, sometimes the affluent civilians become another weapon in the hands of the soldiers to oppress and victimize people. Toje is an epitome of oppression. He does not only oppress Oshevire and his family but also dehumanizes his crippled nephew and his workers. We are also told that he does not pay his workers well and on time. With the guns, the soldiers often victimize and dehumanize the so-called civilians. This can be seen in the manner the soldier calls the detainees to present their evidence. Sometimes he will use the butt of the gun to call them to order. This is quite dehumanizing. In most cases, it is oppression that often causes people to revolt and this, more often than not, leads to a kind of civil war we witness in the novel.

SOCIETAL CONFLICTS

    Okpewho uses The Last Duty to satirize conflicts in human society. There are different levels of conflicts in the novel—war conflicts, conflicts between individuals and internal conflicts within the characters themselves. On the surface, it may look as if the war is the only conflict in the novel but a closer look will reveal that there are several levels of conflicts. There is a conflict between Toje and Oshevire which makes the former raise false charges against the latter. There is also a conflict between Toje and Odibo whom Toje now sees as his rival. Okumagba, the Private assigned to protect Oshevire’s family, is also in conflict with his nature and inclination whether to kill Aku and his son and then blames it on the war. Again, in an attempt to settle the internal conflict going on in his mind, Oshevire sets his house ablaze and leaves the town only to meet with his untimely death from the trigger happy soldiers, who shot and killed him for ignoring their order.

POVERTY

    The effects of poverty are often dangerous. There is no doubt that, poverty leads Aku to succumb to Toje’s evil desire which renders her like a prostitute. Aku has no means for livelihood after her husband Oshevire is jailed. To avert the brutality of hunger due to poverty, she had to accept Toje. That is why it is very good to empower women educationally, economically and politically.

CONCLUSION

     Peace is everything, wherever there is no peace, there would be no gain. Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states are clear examples of catastrophic effects of war. The devastation and ruins of war are very bad indeed.

REFERENCE:

1. Okpewho I. (1976). The Last Duty.Lagos:Longman.

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