Dictatorship in West-Africa: The West and African Intellectuals as Collaborators in Ahmadou Kourouma's En Attendant Le Vote Des Betes Sauvages
Authors/Creators
- 1. Department of languagues and Literary Studies, School of Education and Humanities, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Nigeria
- 2. Department of French, College of Humanities & Culture Osun State University, Ikire Campus, Osogbo, Nigeria
- 3. Department of Languages, Glorious Vision University, Ogwa Edo State, Nigeria.
Description
The role played by the Western world in dictatorial politics in francophone Africa is a subject that has occupied a central position among French-speaking African writers. Previous researches have highlighted the influence of the capitalist and socialist bloc as a factor responsible for the dictatorship characterizing African politics by sparing African intellectuals. The present research, therefore, evaluates the collaborative role that African intellectuals play with the political elites in their footsteps to dictatorship. Based on sociological theory, En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages of Ahmadou Kourouma serves us as a literary tool with which, in an explanatory way, the role of the main characters is underscored. African intellectuals are implicated in the dictatorship slowing down Africa’s development; the policy of silence and collaboration in the face of oppression are the delaying factor in the continent’s progress. In conclusion, we submit that African intellectuals must engage in active politics towards the total emancipation of Africa people..