Ethical Apprehensions and the Pedagogic Millstone in Camillus Uka’s When the Wind Blows

Abstract

Among the numerous novels that inaugurate examination malpractice as a major malaisecurrently devastating the educational sphere and its multifaceted implications within the sociopoliticalcum economical spaces of post-colonial Nigeria, Camillus Uka’s When the Wind Blowsstands out prominently. Given his social vision, and his quest for academic meritocracy, Uka’sabsolute denunciation of mediocrity in the novel is aptly foregrounded. Incidentally, the novel, inspite of the profundity of its pedagogical commitment and social vision, has not received thecritical attention it deserves. In narrowing this gap, while relying on the ethical theory ofUtilitarianism by Jeremy Bentham which contemplates an individual’s action in relation to thepleasure or pain it imparts on the aggregate number of people involved, this paper contends thatUka’s When the Wind Blows provokes not only some ethical apprehensions that demand exigentresponse but also underscores the dire sensationalism of examination malpractice and itsattendant consequences on the lives of individuals and society as well.