The Dialectics of Elitist Leadership in Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People and Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautiful Ones are not Yet Born

Abstract

Leadership as a human endeavour and its impact on the people presents issues and disputationsbecause certain leadership patterns are objectionable and antithetical to the common expectationsof the people. These usually manifest in forms of tyrannical and autocratic leadership, briberyand corruption, selfishness and general abuse of power by the leadership. Elitist leadership isusually political, in which case the people more often entrust power on a few assumed would-beinfluential individuals. These personalities present to be good leaders but incidentally onembracing the privileges of office thwart the initial good agenda and mission. The Africancontinent contends with such issues of bad leadership and failed expectation of dividends.Chinua Achebe and Ayi Kwei Armah in their respective texts, A Man of the People and TheBeautiful Ones are not Yet Born present perceived elitist leaders who ordinarily started well asindividual members of their societies but shortly pursued personal goals. Using a philosophicalmethod of argument on the trajectory of Hegelian principle of Dialectics; the thesis, antithesis,and synthesis, this paper makes a literary analysis of the incidents and patterns of leadership inthe two mentioned texts. Specifically, the paper investigates the chameleonic pattern inpersonality of the leaders and consequent failure of leadership, and sues for effectual leadershipfor the common good and for humanity.