Ethnocentrism, otherness and power abuse in post-colonial cameroon as depicted in Alobwed’ epie’s selected fiction

Abstract

This study explores concepts of ethnocentrism, otherness and power abuse as depicted by Alobwed‟Epie‟s selected fiction: The Death Certificate; The Bad Samaritan; The Day God Blinked; and Exhumed, Tried and Hanged. It applies qualitative methods of data collection and analysis and uses the tenets of New Historicism theory to reflect on the selected themes. More specifically, this study seeks to determine the social dynamics of ethnic and linguistic differences in a multi-cultural society and how political leaders attempt to exploit them in advancing their political agenda. The study thus analyses how ethnic discrimination, injustice, exploitation, and marginalization plunge the discriminated groups into extreme hopelessness, gloom and poverty and how this leads to a chaotic situation among Ewawa nation, the author‟s fictive name for Cameroon. This work proceeds on the premise that, in Epie‟s fiction, the geographical, historical, ethnic, and cultural differences among the peoples of Ewawa are presented as leading to „othering‟ (discrimination against) some of the people and consequently there is denial of their rights by those in power. In this case, the unity and the reunification process remain on paper. Ethnocentrism should be understood as the fact of judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one‟s own culture. Ethnocentric leaders in the study judge other groups in relation to the formers‟ particular ethnic group or culture, especially with regard to language, behaviour, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and subdivisions have served to define each ethnicity‟s unique cultural identity. As far as the „other” is concerned, it refers to the excluded, or the oppressed because of their ethnic belonging or cultural origin. The term is used to refer to those from the “other” provinces, i.e. the Anglophone Cameroon. In the course of this analysis, someone who is not the “other” is referred to as “the son or daughter of the soil”. The method that was used for this research was fundamentally qualitative. It is a desk research involving textual analysis. The study was library based. The library was used to research and review what scholars have written about Africa in general and Cameroon in particular and the predicament after colonization and the re-unification process in order to understand and interpret the selected texts. Alobwed‟Epie‟s four basic texts were my primary sources. My analysis was aided by secondary sources and existing literature on Cameroon, which consisted of books related to the topic, literary magazines and journals, articles, reports, official documents from the Anglophone publications and websites which are relevant for grounding my arguments. This discussion used two theories which are the Postcolonial theory and New Historicist approach of literary criticism. This study fits in the Postcolonial theory in the sense that it is a continuation of the major issues and debates in the field of post-colonial literary studies. These issues are, among others, discrimination, representation or identification modes, difference, nationhood, etc. New Historicism is relevant to this study in that it concentrates on those at the top of the social hierarchy (i.e. the church, the government, the upper-classes) without sparing those at the bottom of the social hierarchy (the lower-classes and other marginalized peoples). The two theories that inform this study are complementary one another rather than contradicting. The research findings show that post-independence Cameroon is still suffering from the politics of discrimination and oppression based on ethnocentrism and otherness. Too much centralisation in the society of our concern makes it possible that the ruling tribe discriminates, oppresses and amasses the country‟s wealth while the rest of the population is still considered as “othered” and pushed to the margins. This has created social strata where the “sons and daughters” of the First and Second Provinces (i.e., Cameroon Francophone) own the nation while natives from the other provinces (i.e., Cameroon Anglophone), because of their ethnic-linguistic origin, are strangers in their own country. The so-called reunification politics process that appears only on paper has not yielded any hope for peace and democracy in Cameroon. The study concludes that Epie‟s characterisation and portrayal of his society are influenced by Cameroonian history and his personal experiences. His fiction presents the geographical, historical, ethnic, cultural differences among the peoples of Ewawa as leading to discrimination against some of the people and denial of their rights by those in power. Given the fact that the nature of political power remains linked to ethnic agendas and resource control and that the attraction of power is still strong in the Ewawa nation and many of the African countries, there is a need to confront and overcome the extreme tensions that elections have created. Leaders should learn that to change terms limits amendments in order to hold on to power results into the people‟s revolt and this is the root of instability and poverty in Africa