Textual Analysis Of Harvest Of Corruption SS1 Literature-in-English Lesson Note

THEME – THE CENTRAL MESSAGE OF HARVEST OF CORRUPTION

1. CORRUPTION: According to the Oxford Illustrated Dictionary corruption is moral deterioration, especially the widespread use of corrupt practices such as using bribery or fraudulent activity to achieve one’s desired goal or ambition. It can also be described as an irregularly altered form of word, from its original. 

Chief Ade Amaka is the Honourable Minister of Foreign Relations. He uses his official position to corruptly enrich himself. He realizes that there has been graduate unemployment in the country, so he uses that as an avenue to victimize young graduates who are in desperate need of a job. Many in their bid to secure the illusive job ended up being seduced by the chief. He employs Ochuole as an administrative officer but he regularly sleeps with her in Madam Hoha’s holes in the suburb of the city.

Again Chief Ade Amaka uses her and Madam Hoha to recruit fresh girls returning from national service into his nefarious business of drug trafficking. Aloho, a schoolmate of Ochuole, stumbles into Ochuole and narrates her ordeal in the labour market. Ochuole, playing tricks, promises her a nice job available in the ministry. On meeting the minister, he offers her the job of a protocol officer. The job soon turns to cocaine-pushing. Aloho after being seduced by the honourable minister was forced to travel with documents to be handed over to a friend in America, right at the airport before departure; a customs officer catches her red-handed with drugs suspected to be cocaine. 

The Minister to sweep the case under the carpet meets the chief judge and the police commissioner. He pacified them with a reasonable amount of money and made the prosecuting officer decline to come to court to prosecute the case. 

Listen to their conversion.

The Judge: Chief, this is not easy, but I shall try as usual and you have to be reasonable this time. The heat has been turned on and this is not a child’s play. If this girl squeals, you are in for it.

Chief A. Amaka: That’s no problem…………… I shall come to the house with five hundred thousand naira this evening

The Judge: That’s all right and will discuss it with her lawyers and the case be dismissed because of evidence. The amount should be raised to one million naira to take care of the people involved in the case…….” p.50

With this action of bribery and corruption, the case is dismissed. Another case involving wide-scale allegations of embezzlement has equally been instituted against Chief Ade Amaka, through the Assistant Commissioner of Police. 

   2. DRUG TRAFFICKING: The Ministry of Foreign Relations being the gateway to go out and come into the country of Jacassen, makes it possible for the minister to send out goods and import other commodities chief Ade Amaka has been using his unique position to get involved in drug trafficking. He has agreed with the middle women who assist him in recruiting young girls into prostitution and drug trafficking.

He has recruited Aloho and handed over the document. The customs officer discovers that the document she is carrying contains a drug that is suspected to be cocaine. At the trial, because of the huge amount of money, Chief Ade Amaka had provided the case was dismissed for want of evidence.

   3. JUSTICE: It surprises the two police officers. Constable Ojo is shocked by this rape of justice. Yakubu is equally unstable with the dismissal of the case. In amazement, he asks “What is wrong with our legal system? Have we come to a point where any money-bag or highly placed individuals will and can try with the judiciary and get away with any crime committed no matter how heinous that case may be?

This is ridiculous? Ojo wonders why the prosecuting counsel was absent, “Constable Ojo” Sir what is more surprising is why the prosecutor and the defence counsel were absent at the different times the case came up. I think something went wrong…..p 56. In their amazement they plan to ensure that the chief is severely punished for any other offence he will commit… If the old crook is left off the hook of the cocaine racket, surely he will be nailed after we have concluded our investigations of smuggling going on? There is a pointer to him. P 57.

As they are discussing, Ogeyi arrives and gives the details of what transpired between Chief Ade Amaka and Aloho. Yakubu the Assistant Commissioner vows to make the matter known to the media. The press ran it for some periods. This drums the government and secret intelligence unit into it. Chief Ade Amaka and his staff (Ochuole and Ayo) are arrested together with Chief Judge Odili. In the trial that ensued, Chief Ade Amaka the Judge, Ochuole, and Ayo were all found guilty and sentenced accordingly. 

Thus the long arm of the law catches up to the perpetrator of evil; proving that evil can only triumph for a while but justice remains the ultimate avenger of all evils.

Listen to the courtroom drama

Registrar: Suspects at the bar, you stand convicted of fraud, embezzlement, drug dealing, bribery and corruption, abuse of public officers, betrayal of people’s trust etc….. Has any of you anything to say for yourselves why the court should not give you judgment according to law?

Ade-Amaka: Please be lenient with me and temper justice with mercy. I never did all that I am being accused of today, think of all that I have done for this country. What will happen to my family? My entire village and government depend on me. I am already advanced in age, please don’t send me to jail.

The Judge: For all the atrocities you must have perpetrated in this country under the cover of the Minister which have not been detected, I say nothing. But for those known and in which you stand convicted. I find you guilty as charged and therefore sentence you to twenty-five years imprisonment with hard labour in addition; you are to refund the sum of one point two billion naira to the government.

As for you, the commissioner of police and chief justice, all I can say is that you are a big disgrace to our noble profession. Greed and avarice have denied you the profession and you have to pay for your sins. You are both sentenced to twenty years each with hard labour. You must reap the harvest of your corruption” P.120.

The clerk for accepting two thousand brides to do his official duty bags a five-year jail sentence.

Ochuole and Madam Hoha are sentenced to ten years each but Madam Hoha’s hotel is to be sealed to avoid its being used as a haven for criminal activities.

CHARACTERIZATION

CHIEF ADE AMAKA:

He is the hero of the play. He is an educated man who has been working as the Minister of Foreign Relations. Ade-Amaka is not disciplined. He lives a careless life and is a greedy man. He loves to acquire money through dubious crooked methods. To realize his dreams. He floats chains of companies and is dubious. p.13

He slashes government money through some conduct pipes. P.13. 

He employs the services of irresponsible women like Ochuole and Madam Hoha, to carry on the nefarious business.

He employs Ochuole as the Chief Administrative Officer. Her real job is to connive with Madam Hoha, who runs a hotel nearby. The activities include recruiting young women to be employed as drug traffickers for the minister and to volunteer themselves for sex whenever the Chief desires them. There is a certain percentage that goes to them each time success is made on the employment of these girls, they also stand to benefit from the procedure of each successful travel any of these drug pushers make. 

This explains the reason why Ochuole passionately works on Aloho her former school friend to accept the offer of a protocol officer in the ministry. 

The Chief’s major concern is to sleep with any of the new employees and to send them on Foreign trips to carry out cocaine across to America or any other designated country. He spends money recklessly and lacks self-control. His relationship with Ochuole casts more right on his irrational behaviour and extravagant spending. 

“……look, Chief, stop this baby thing and don’t refer to me as a baby again.

“……just try and be yourself for once. Chief, I am not happy. Several things are worrying me. 

Ochuole: I need twenty thousand naira Chief to send to the village. I got a message yesterday that my mother is sick and is in the hospital”. P.16.

Chief Ade-Amaka, does not question her to know the source of that money. He simply produces money.

That’s twenty thousand naira baby. You can send it now if you like, but please let me enjoy my stout when it is cold, you know I like my drinks chilled.” P.16. 

He is like a Chameleon with effective colouration. He informs Aloho that she will work as a protocol officer but pushes her to push cocaine for him, he seduces and impregnates her. The trial judge describes him as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is a thief who uses his biro to steal huge amounts of money from the government “You and your likes are the real armed robbers that the Jacassan people should be afraid of”. P.119. He awards contracts and inflates the price. He cooks and changes revenue figures. He pretends to be a man of the people but he is indeed a selfish man. He has an inordinate ambition to liquidate the government he serves. He is extravagant and is also amoral. He knows how to free himself in a difficult situation. For example, when he realizes that Aloho has been caught, he calculates the shame that it will bring upon him. Instead of seeing his reputation being dragged into the mud, he contacted Odili the judge and ensured that the case was dismissed. He uses his connection with the Commissioner of Police to perpetrate his atrocities.

He lost his bid to win the battle when Ogeyi the born-again friend of Aloho re-characterizes the cocaine episode and his involvement in bribing the police commissioner and the judge. 

As his power of manipulation failed him, justice prevailed and he was jailed for twenty-five years because of his unstable and questionable character. 

ALOHO:

She is slim with dark skin and is 4 ft.6m. Aloho is a fresh University graduate who is in search of a job. She is equally a born-again Christian. Her inability to secure a job compels her to abandon her faith in her God.

“I am tired of searching for a job. I want to settle down…..Look at me with all the decency that I have achieved. Where has decency or dignity taken me? I am tired. I need some rest; just leave me alone. I want to think (….). But Ogeyi you see, I tried to live outside the world all along right from my youth, I see that the world is leaving me behind can’t you see? You can call me a rebel, but I need a job. That is what matters to me now. Have I not tried to live a holy life all along? What has become of that joblessness…..

She meets Ochuole in this spirit of discouragement. Impatience pushes her to accept the job despite repeated warnings from Ogeyi, her girlfriend and the one that is harbouring her in a strange land.