The Leader and the Led" by Niyi Osundare

 

                      “The Leader and the Led”

 

                              -NIYI OSUNDARE

 

The lion stakes his claim

To the leadership of the pack

 

But the Antelopes remember

The ferocious pounce of his paws

 

The hyena says the shudder is made for him

But the impalas shudder at his lethal appetite

 

The Giraffe craves a place in the front

But his eyes are too far from the ground

 

When the zebra says it’s his right to lead

The pack points to the duplicity of his stripes

 

The elephant trudges into the power tussle

But is colleagues dread his trampling feet

 

The warthog is too ugly

The rhino too riotous

 

And the pack thrashes around

Like a snake without a head

 

Our need calls for a hybrid of habits

Proclaim the forest sage,

“A little bit of a lion

A little bit of a lamb.

 

Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe

Transparent like a river mysterious like a lake

A leader who knows how to follow

Followers mindful of their right to lead”

 

 

A Brief Biography about the Poet

 

              Niyi Osundare is a Nigeria prolific poet, dramatist and literary critic, born 1947 in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.  He has his degrees at the University of Ibadan (BA), The University of Leeds (MA) and York University, Canada (Ph.D, 1979).  A Professor since 1989 and Head of English (1993-97) at the University of Ibadan, he became Professor of English at the University of New Orleans; He is married with three children.

             Some of his books and poem anthologies include:  City without People, The State Visit, Waiting Laughter, The World is an Egg, Early Birds and others.

 

Setting/Background of the Poem

 

            The Poem “The Leader and the Led” is a political poem which addresses the general problem of leadership not only in Africa, but also in Nigeria. It is a contemporary 21^st century poem written by Osundare as a social commentator.  In an interview for poetry international web in November 2002, Osundare was quoted as saying.  “You cannot keep quiet about the situation in the kind of countries we find ourselves in Africa, especially when you wake up and there is no running water, when you have a massive power outage for days and night”.  And the only way for him to change the situation is to write.

 

Content Analysis

 

            Osundare’s  “The Leader and the Led” is a metaphorical poem which generally addresses the problem and the attitude of our leaders and the followers towards politics in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, using animals and their kingdom as objects of symbolism.  “The leader” here represents politicians, while the led refers to followers or masses.  Over the years, leadership challenges in Africa has been adjudged to be one major factor that has affected the development of Africa, as some of these top leaders prefer either to remain in office forever or relinquish power to their family members or friends who may not be competent enough to occupy such position.  The nature of politics mentioned in the poem is that of survival of the fittest, tinged with violence, corruption, betrayal, lack of trust and lack of transparency and accountability.  The followers, that is, the “led” are also responsible for the leadership struggle in Africa for their inability to rise to the challenge of a better society and must give account of their Lukewarmness, with little or no effort to challenge the power that be.

              In line 1-8, the persona begins to explore the nature of leadership struggle of Nigeria.  He uses the animal kingdom and wild animals and other peaceful and cool animals to represent some of our politicians whose stock in trade is to play politics using violent means and others who see it as a process or way of serving one’s own country and affecting lives positively to their generations.  The lion who is often referred to as the king of the jungle”…stakes his claim/ to the leadership of the pack”.  This shows how the lion asserts its authority as the leader of other animals.  The way and manner in which the lion rules the jungle, with iron hand and maim other animals at will is metaphorically portrayed here, just like the ruling class and politicians lord it over the masses in Nigeria, for they often use them to win elections and dump them afterwards.  Naturally, the other less-powerful animals in the animal kingdom are sick and tired and they lack the will power and potency to challenge the Lion’s claim and stronghold to the leadership position of their kingdom. 

However, they are too scared to stand up to the lion’s authority as they remember its ferocious nature, that is, its aggressive and violent nature.  The lion is so blessed with powers that even “The antelopes remember the ferocious pounce of his paws”.  In the same vein, the masses or the led (followers) are tired of the dominance of some politicians, particularly the way they go about piloting the affairs of the leadership of the country.  They are afraid to challenge them because of heir brutal nature, for they use money at their disposal to buy them over for cooperation.

             In addition, even in the animal kingdom, the animals don’t even consider anyone worthy to lead them because “The hyena says the shudder is made for him/But the impalas shudder at his lethal appetite”.  This means that hyena, that is, a wild animal like a dog that eats the meat of other animals that are already dead, who claims that he has the ability to shake and turn things around cannot also rule the kingdom because impalas (An African antelope) doubt his credibility and ability to rule because it has lethal (deadly) appetite for flesh of dead animals.  Therefore, hyena is such an example of some politicians whose aim of assuming public office is to enrich their pockets.

             In line 9-12, the persona continues in search of which animal is qualified for the leadership role.  Unfortunately, not even the elephant, the biggest animal in the jungle is worthy of that role because it is feared by other animals.”…its colleagues dread his trampling feet”.  They doubt his ability to rule them because he might end up becoming a dictator and remain in power forever, since no one is fit to challenge him.  This means that size should not be a yardstick for any political office, but the good qualities possessed by the potential politician.

“The Giraffe craves a place in the front

But his eyes are too far from the ground”.

             Here the Giraffe who is blessed with a long neck and it is expected to be a visionary and focused leader, but unfortunately, he is not capable, and he represents those African leaders in power who may not see the plight of the masses, for they don’t pay attention to the cry of the masses.  Even one of the most beautiful animals on earth Zebra is not qualified to lead or govern the animals because they don’t trust him due to the “…the duplicity of his stripes”.  His score card as a potential leader is dented with poor past records so he cannot fit in.  Also, “the warthog is too ugly / the rhino too riotous”.

 

 

 

 

The warthog,  that is an African pig and rhino have been single-handedly screened out of the contest because of their innate attributes and manners.  When you narrow this scenario down to Nigerian society, you will agree with me that the masses are unable to find anybody among the numerous competent ones worthy enough to take over the leadership position from the ruling class because they do not trust one another to do so.  Thus, the leadership crisis in Nigeria continues unabated because the masses are not united – no common core attitude towards electoral position, and they cannot do anything about their predicaments.  Hence, they end up” … like a snake without a head” – it therefore means that our politicians are rudderless and have no political ideology as to how government should be run.

            In line 21-31, the persona demands to know what type of leadership we need in Nigeria to solve the leadership problem.  The “forest sage” suggests that we need a leader with”… a hybrid of habits”… who is not too peaceful or violent-a rugged and visionary leader who will have the interest of the people at heart, not the one that can be cajoled and manipulated by our so called greedy Godfathers.  The persona needs a leader that is both fierce like a lion and gentle like a lamb.  One that is “tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe”, that is, one that is considerate and peace-loving, a leader that is free from corruption and nepotism, and “Transparent like a river, yet mysterious like a lake”.  This is because “A leader who knows how to follow /followers mindful of their right to lead”.  It therefore means that a good leader must possess compassionate and accommodating spirit and learn how to be a follower.  That is the only way he will be able to identify with the masses’ plights.

 

THEMES

Leadership Crisis and Distrust of Africa

          The poem addresses the problem of leadership crisis in Nigeria and the lingering problem of endless search for credible and transparent leader who is brave, courageous, fearless and compassionate and our inability to find any because of lack of trust.  In the poem, the animals in the forest don’t trust one another to take up the leadership role of the animal kingdom.  “When the zebra says it’s his right to lead/the pack points to the duplicity of his stripes”.  “The elephant trudges into power tussle/but its colleagues dread his trampling feet”… Zebra and elephant therefore are not fit enough to rule because they lack good leadership quality despite the fact that facially, they are qualified.

          However, it is the same with the Nigerian masses who do not trust one another to take over the leadership role of the country.  This lack of trust is caused by religious and ethnic diversity wherein an Hausa man prefers to vote or bequeath power to his fellow brother irrespective of the leadership quality possessed by the person, while the Ibo man thinks that it is only his brother who is a Christian and Ibo by tribe, is the only person that is able and capable to lead.

           Also, the lion who is the king of the jungle feels that he is competent enough to lead, but the antelope who is a faithful follower remembers his ferocious (violent) nature and how he unleashes it on the weaker animals, he changes his mind towards him. Even hyena and giraffe cannot lead because they are not only visionless but also lack trust.

Theme of Disunity

            This theme is quite evident in this poem and it is responsible for underdevelopment not only in Africa but also in Nigeria.  In the poem, the animals are not united enough to challenge the lion who “…stakes his claim to leadership of the pack”. His dominance and ability to lord it over and subdue other animals cannot be properly put to check because the led, that is, the followers, don’t have one voice and cannot also alter their situation.  Hyena says he is qualified and credible enough to take the animal kingdom to the next level, but impalas say, he cannot, because of his deadly appetite for dead animal meats.  The animals are at one another’s neck as they just can’t agree on whom to choose to lead them.  This lack of unity and spirit of oneness among the animals can be likening to the disunity among the Nigerian leaders and the masses. This is largely because of the religious and ethnic diversity of the masses, which is responsible for their inability to pick any qualified person among them to rule and team up against the ruling class and wrestle power from them.

           Towards the ending of the poem, the persona tries to suggest the likely solution to the problem of disunity among our leaders.  “A good leader should be “tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe / transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake”. With the above-mentioned attribute, a leader can cause a change and unity to strive among the people.

Politics and Attitude of our Leaders and the followers

            The poem portrays and unveils the nature of politics and attitude of our

Leaders and followers towards public offices  Our society is indeed, in rigorous search for a trustworthy and transparent leaders who can serve the people and be ready to give account of their stewardship to the masses who voted them into power.  We are in the era of every man for himself, where everyone is fighting to occupy the public office in order to turn around the fortune in their family and enrich their pockets while the masses are left to wallow in abject and wanton poverty.  The question that demands urgent attention is that where the exemplary and reliable leaders who have are clean record and right attitude to work and serve meritoriously”.

           In the poem, “The lion stakes his claim / to the leadership of the pack / but the antelopes remember the ferocious pounce of his paws”.  Here the antelopes recognize the ability of the lion and his capability to alter things using his innate ability, but the antelopes are sharp enough to figure out the lion’s violent nature; for if given the mandate to lead he might end up becoming a dictator.  Also, hyena’s gluttonous appetite also betrays him and he’s declared and labeled as a shining example of politicians whose motive is to loot the treasury dry as soon as they assume office.  Even the zebra who says it is his right to lead is unworthy in character, for he can’t be trusted. The elephant is also doubtful because “its colleagues dread his trampling feet”, as he might use his intimidating figure to lord it over his followers.

          However, the persona sues for better representation and good leadership quality when he says “our need calls for a hybrid of habits… A little bit of a lion / a little bit of a lamb”… A leader who is purpose-driven, rugged, peaceful and humble is the way out of the wood.

The need for Transparency, accountability and humility in our political arena

          The poem which addresses the problem of leadership tussle in Nigeria using animal kingdom is an allegory and can be adjudged to be a clarion call for our leaders to possess the spirit of accountability, transparency and humility and that is the only way the political puzzle can be solved.  The persona is of the opinion that the only way to proffer solution to the leadership challenge in Nigeria is to correct the attitude of our leaders and the followers.

           The persona says in line 22-31, “Our need calls for a hybrid of habits… A bit of a lion / a little bit of a lamb/tough like a tiger compassionate like a doe / transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake” This simply means that our society is in dire need of leaders who are dogged, bumble, gentle, rugged, transparent, accountable and compassionate towards the masses.  This calls for character check and cross-examination of the leaders and their attitude. The masses are not also left out of the onerous task of searching for reliable and trust-worthy leaders because if they stand firm and vote leaders with a very high moral standard who are ready to lay down their lives for the love of their community, Nigeria will be a place to be.

 

POETIC DEVICES

1.  Smile:  The poet makes judicious use of simile to drive home the point.

Examples include. “…like a snake without a head”  (1, 21), “Tough like a tiger compassionate like a doe” (1,26)  “Transparent like a river mysterious like a lake”  (1,28).  The poet likens our leader to possess the characteristics mentioned above, and to suggest the kind of leader we should aspire for in Nigeria.  A lion is fierce, a doe is peaceful, and river is pure and blameless, while lake is tough and violent.

2.  Paradox: “A leader who knows how to follow / followers mindful of their right to lead.  “The above expression is paradoxical because a leader who has the desire to lead the people must put his/herself in the shoes of followers (masses).  In the real sense, a leader can neither be a follower nor can a follower lead.

3.  Allegory:  The poem is an example of allegory.  An allegory is a work of literature in which the writer in this case, the poet uses characters to represent ideas or a quality.  In this poem, the poet uses animal characters to represent the leader and the followers (masses) in Nigeria. The lion symbolizes the ruling class or stalwart politicians, while the other animals from the antelopes to the snakes represent the religiously and ethnically diverse masses.

4.   Metaphor:  The poem has a lot of metaphors.  For instance  “The lion” in the poem is metaphorically referred to as the ruling class or diehard politicians in Nigeria who lay claim to the leadership position of the country.  The lion is also a metaphor for dominance and violence as it possesses the attribute of lording it over other animals in the jungle.  Other animals such as “hyena”, Giraffe”, zebra, “elephant”, are metaphors for shady politicians who contest for leadership posts, but unworthy in character, for they cannot adequately represent the people.  Another set of animals in the forest such as “antelopes”.  “Impalas”, elephant’s colleagues are metaphorically referred to the masses that suffer seriously from the misrule of the ruling class and yet cannot unite to fight against the oppressive politicians

     Tiger is a metaphor for fear and rugged disposition, while “doe” and “river”.  “Lamb” is metaphor for humility, peace and purity in heart.

5.   Assonance:  There is a repetition of vowel sounds in line I: “… stake his claim”

   “…p craves a place” in line 9

6.   Alliteration:  Some consonant sounds are therefore repeated in the lines of poem.  Examples are “…pounce of his paws”, (1, 4), “… the pack points… “(1, 13), “The rhino too riotous” (1, 18)” a hybrid of habit”, (line 28), “A little bit of a lion/A little bit of a lamb.

7.   Enjambment:  There are run-on lines as each line of the poem runs into another from beginning to end of the poem.  This helps to evaluate the subject matter of the poem.

8.   Euphenism:  A method by which the poet explores this subject-matter is the use of euphemism.  Euphemism is the use of soften words or expression for a harsh condition.

(i)    “Ferocious pounce of his paws” is a euphemism for violent attack of the lion.

(ii)   “The Lion” refers to do or die politicians.

(iii)  “The Giraffe craves a place in the front / But his eyes are too far from the ground” refers to vision less rulers who come to power without any special objective.

(iv)   “The elephant trudges into the power/ tussle”. Is a euphemism for forcefulness or do or die affair.

(v)  “Like a snake without a head”.is a euphemism for a rudderless and hopeless       society.

(vi)   A little bit of a lion/ a little bit of a lamb” refers to character check and suggestion for the types of leadership quality we need in Nigeria.

9.  Use of Contrast:  The poem makes use of contrast both thematically and structurally.  The main idea in the poem is developed starting from the title and the body of the poem.  “The leader represents politicians or the ruling class in our society, while the “led” refers to the masses or better still the citizens. The poem explores the leadership tussle that exists between those we voted or intend to vote into power and the followers (masses).  The battle is between those leaders who feel that they are able and capable to rule their various communities, but their attributes and their self-acclaimed leadership skills are not to be counted on.  Such characters in the poem include: “The Lion”. “The Hyena”, “Giraffe”, “Elephant”, “Warthog” and “Rhino”, their personality and attitude are questionable and cannot be entrusted with powers because of fear of power abuse.  Other animals such as “The antelopes, impalas and “Pack” who stand as the masses have found them wanting with one form of shady character or the other and they both justify their reasons for not giving them chance to govern.

          Also, the poet does not only contrast two ideas in the poem, but also wants a fusion of the contrasted characters or attributes.  Hence, he says “A little bit of a lion/A little bit of a lamb/Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe”.

10.  Parallelism: There are both linguistic constructions in African poems which enhance the subject matter.  One of these is the use of repetitive parallel structure which is termed parallelism.  Examples include:

“A little bit of a lion.

A little bit of a lamb.

Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe.

Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake”

The above repetitive parallel syntactic pattern heightens the tone of optimism and reassurance of a better leadership control especially when things are properly done.

11.   Pun:  This is a play on words in lines, 5,6 and 7 using the word “shudder”.  The persona uses the word “shudder” both as a noun and verb to create an effect.  “Shudder” as a noun which means a shaking movement you make because you are cold, while the verb form means to shake because you are cold.

 

LIKELY WAEC AND NECO 2021-2025 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS

1.      Discuss “The Leader and the Led” as a criticism of leadership struggle and the need for better leadership representation in Nigeria.

2.     Examine the theme of leadership struggle and distrust in the poem.

3.     With adequate examples, discuss any three major poetic device used in the poem.

4.     Examine the poem as an example of allegorical poem

5.     Assess the use of metaphor and contrast.  How do they help us to have a total understanding of the poem?

6.     Show vividly that “The Leader and the Led” is an optimistic poem.

7.     Discuss in details at least three themes of the poem.

8.     Justify the meaning of the expressions “A little bit of a lion/A little bit of a lamb”.

9.     Give a detailed account of the poem, “The Leader and the Led”

10.                         Examine in details the poet’s attitude towards the leaders and the followers and how they are portrayed in our contemporary society.