Summary Themes and Analysis of THE LEADER AND THE LED 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 crown 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 its 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”, 
Proclaims 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

About the poet

Niyi Osundare (born in Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria, in 1947) is an essayist, writer for the theatre, lecturer and one of Nigeria's most celebrated poet. He has published 18 volumes of poetry, several plays, essays, articles and criticism. Previously a professor at the English Institute of the University of Ibadan, he is currently Distinguished Professor of English at the University of New Orleans.

Niyi Osundare

Background to the poem

The poem ‘The leader and the led’ depicts different kinds of politicians who fight for power and leadership positions in Nigeria and Africa. The poet presents the relationship which exists between the leaders and their followers. Niyi Osundare uses animals as characters like in a fable to present the power tussle in Nigeria and Africa. This power tussle, desperate quest for power some Africans and clench unto by some greedy and blood-thirsty African leaders have hindered Nigeria and other African nations from developing and becoming a dominating force in the world. 

Niyi Osundare uses ‘The leader and the led’, to show that the claim to leadership position has been a big the greatest challenge to the development of African nations which is one of the blessed continents in the world. Africa has experienced different kinds of leaders. The consistent coup d’etat, civil wars, dictatorial rules and incomplete elections are different facets of the aggressive quest for leadership.

 Niyi Osunadare also uses the poem to depict the kind of followers ‘the Led’ present in Nigeria and Africa. Some of these followers make their choice of leaders based on fear of oppression, ignorance, poverty, personal bias, political affiliation, deception and so on

 

Analysis of the poem

 

 Niyi Osundare’s ‘The leader and the led‘ depicts different kinds of politicians who fight for power and leadership positions in Nigeria & Africa. The poem ‘The leader and the led’ by Niyi Osundare has 12 stanzas. Each stanza of the first seven stanzas has contrasting ideas, which presents the problems of leadership in Africa while the remaining stanzas proffer possible solutions. Each stanza carries unique meaning related to the understanding of the poem.

The poem starts by presenting the Lion’s stake to the throne in the pack. The pack in this poem represents Nigeria or African nations. ‘The lion stakes his claim/ To the leadership of the pack’ lines 1&2. The Lion represents the kind of leaders who seek for power because of their physical strength and bravery. These kind of leaders assert and compel people to obey them through the use of coercion. They use their strength, power and authority to instill fear on their followers who cower at their presence.

Lions are brave and outspoken (roar of lions) the later – a quality some of these leaders possess and use effectively through their great oratory power to manipulate people’s beliefs.

The followers in this stanza are the Antelopes. Antelopes are animals known for taking quick actions and with keen eyesight for being watchful. They are preys to lions. The Antelopes remind the lions of their destructive devouring nature and intimidating tactics which are not the qualities needed in a complete leader. This is depicted in line 4, ‘The ferocious pounce of his paws’. The Antelopes can be likened to the elites and the educated members of the society – the top civil servants.

‘The hyena says the crown is made for him’Lines 5. The hyena is the next animal to quickly lay claim to the throne. These are the set of leaders who see political positions as their entitlement. In the poem ‘The leader and the led’ these leaders feel the people should be grateful for having them as leaders. Therefore, they strive to hold onto power until death. Remember hyenas are usually associated with death and feeding on carcass and they don’t hunt for their food but wait for other animals to hunt, then they come to take over.

 

These leaders are opportunists and are very selfish. No wonder Niyi Osundare uses the Impalas to remind the hyenas of their bad side. This is found in line 6, ‘But the Impalas shudder at his lethal appetite’ The Impalas fear these leaders will bring with them wars, chaos, tribal sentiments, religious bigotry and other forms of destructions instead of peace, unity, growth and development associated with good leadership.

Next in the quest for leadership position in the poem ‘The leader and the led’ is the Giraffe. The giraffe is known for vision and gracefulness because of the length of its neck and the way it carries itself. Then the pack rejects the giraffe because its vision is vague – Line 8, ‘But his eyes are too far from the ground’. This is because its long neck is too far away from the ground to take note and understand the problems facing the people at the grassroots.

This reflects African leaders with vague visions that are not related to the needs and indigenous demands of Africans. These leaders care about less important things and focus on bogus and unrealistic projects which probably only satisfy the needs of a set of people usually the top class and not the needs of the masses.

The Zebra says that leadership position is also meant for him. The poet uses the pack to remind him of the duplicity of his stripes in Line 10, ‘The pack points to the duplicity of his stripes’. The duplicity of Zebra’s stripes depicts the unpredictability of some kinds of leaders. They are so unpredictable. These leaders are deceitful in nature and unstable with their policies and campaign promises. They flutter at criticism because they are not sure of what is right or appropriate for their nations.

Stanza 6 & 7 presents leaders who lay claim to the crown because of their physical size and appearance. These leaders are represented by the elephant, the warthog and the rhino. The size of the elephant is deemed a threat to the lives of pack. The warthog is termed too ugly while the rhino is described as riotous.                                ‘

The Elephant trudges into the power tussle

But its colleagues dread his trampling feet

The warthog is too ugly 

The rhino too riotous’

The poet shifts the blame to the followers. They reject these leaders because of their appearance without considering for the innate qualities which they possess. But in reality these leaders are judged by what it is known about them. No nation wants an infamous leader. This can be as a result of the leaders past like rascality (the warthog), their ‘destructive’ gentility (the elephant) or their uncultured lifestyle (rhino).  The rhino’s solidity is also considered a threat because leadership requires flexibility as a quality.

            The banter continues in the pack until the intervention of a Sage. Lines 17 – 18, ‘Our need calls for a hybrid of habits, / Proclaims the Forest Sage’. The Sage here represents the voice of wisdom which Africans and their leaders should listen to. Through the voice of the Sage the poet shares his opinion into the power tussle in Africa using Nigeria as a case study.

The Sage proffers hybrid leadership. A would-be leader should be someone who has little bit of different qualities possessed by the different claimants to the crown found in the Pack. The quality of bravery, strength, creativity, stability, flexibility, meekness and gentility mixed in a bottle.

            In lines 19 – 20, ‘A little bit of a lion / A little bit of a lamb’, the poet states that the crown requires a kind of leader who is tough on defaulters and compassionate enough to grant a pardon when the need arises. The poet posits that a leader should be plain and perplexing. This implies the African leaders should be candid in their political agenda and discernable or ‘discrete’ enough to easily detect manipulative cabals or foreign influence.

            The poet concludes the poem by stating that a leader in Africa should be mindful that every follower under his leadership knows that it is his/her right to rule just like the leader. The poet presents leadership as a humbling position and not an enticing position to amount wealth and riches to oneself.  The poet uses this poem to condemn the desire of African leaders to cling unto power until death. On the contrary, African leaders need to relinquish power at the end of their tenure in office.   Once again this enquiry into Niyi Osundare’s ‘The leader and the led‘ depicts different kinds of politicians who fight for power and leadership positions in Nigeria & Africa.

THEMES

 Inordinate Quest for power/ Power tussle:The poem explores the inordinate ambition and power tussle found in many African leaders. The reader is first made to know that they stake their claim to power. To stake means to get firmly tied or to clinch on to something. Everyone exhibits their quest to clinch to power by all means. All of them have to claim to the leadership pack or the other. This breeds power tussle. The lion sticks to his claim of being the most superior leader. The hyena claims the crown is made for him. The Giraffe craves a place in the front. The Zebra maintains that it is his right to lead. This power tussle continues until the most potent one trudges into the power tussle. His emergence sets others on the run because they dread his trampling feet.

Intimidation of the Masses: The poem also shows how the masses are fiercely intimidated such that they do not speak or stand for their rights. With brute intimidation, those who consider themselves lords and superiors muzzle the masses and make them to be in their cocoons perpetually. Here, the masses are presented as the weakest part of society. They are subject to fear and trepidation. Hence, they quake at the ferocious pounce of his paws. To pounce means to attack one furiously. Because of the Intimidation, the masses become sore afraid to contribute to society or to criticize the autocratic style of leadership they are facing.

Incompetence of our Leaders: The poem explores the high level of incompetence found in our leaders. Many struggle by all means to get power even when it is clear to them that they lack competence and moral standing to be there. The poet describe this situation as having lethal appetite. To have a lethal appetite is to have a steady mongering for power despite the person's gross incompetence and ineptitude. according to the poet their eyes are too far from the ground. The lack basic foundations and tutelage to be in the leadership level. 

Hope for the Masses: The Leader and the Led also explores the theme of hope. The masses are not forever left in utter despair. Hope comes at last as a saviour comes to salvage the situation. He has come to maintain sanctity and sanity in the entire polity. Such a leader has a proven integrity and other qualities required of his calling. He is a man of many parts; one who responds to the calls for a hybrid of habits. He is indeed, a leader who is principled but humble; a good follower.

POETIC DEVICES

Language: The poem uses a great deal of satire, it reveals the ills of the society with the main aim of correcting them. The poet uses terms that relate to animals to achieve this purpose. Animals used in the poem connote human beings and their leadership structure. 

Tone/Mood: The poem has both the tone of awe and that of mirth. There is a mood of fright at the beginning. however, at the end of the poem, there is mood of hope.

Imagery: The dominant imagery used in the poem is animal or pastoral imagery. The imagery convey strife and tussle. Such words such as 'pounce', 'paws', 'lethal appetite', 'trampling', 'warthog' all create ferocious imagery in the reader.

Simile:- Line 16, Like a snake without a head Line 21, Tough like a tiger, compassionate like a doe

            Line 22, Transparent like a river, mysterious like a lake

Metaphor:- Line 7, The Giraffe craves a place in the front

            Line 17, Our need calls for a hybrid of habit

Paradox:-  A leader who knows how to follow, Followers mindful of their right to lead Lines 23 & 24

Symbolism:- The poet uses ‘pack’ in lines 2, 10 and 15 to depict Africa and Nigeria.

The animals such as lion, antelope, hyena, impala, giraffe, zebra, elephant, warthog and rhino are used to represent various types of leaders and followers.

The sage is used as the voice of wisdom.