FOOTPRINTS OF THE OUTSIDER
Footprints of the Outsider is a book by Julius Ocwinyo, a Ugandan novelist and poet who works as an editor with Fountain Publishers Uganda.
It tells the story of Abudu Olwit, who is born to a drunken and immoral single mother, Alicinora. Olwit goes to school against great odds and achieves a Bachelor of Arts in Economics of Makerere University. This sets the ground for his first encounter with his demigod area MP the honorable Mike Adoli-Awal and the whole meeting is creepy. Adoli-Awal refuses to help Olwit.
Olwit and Adoli-Awal grow to become sworn enemies because Adoli-Awal believes Olwit is determined to take over his coveted parliamentary seat. Adoli-Awal trumps up charges against Olwit and gets him arrested and remanded at Luzira Prison for 18 months. On his release, Olwit decides to challenge Adoli-Awal for their constituency parliamentary position. This political match is marred by whooliganism, democratic mediocrity, domineering and tyranny. Adoli-Awal trades violence both verbal and physical.
The book mirrors Uganda's history from Independence onwards. Characters represent heads of state of Uganda since 1962. President Milton Obote is symbolised by Bwete, Marshall Amin by Idi, Tito Okello and Bazilio Olara by General Ragamoi and General Museveni by Uchebi. The book ends when Uchebi is still president of Uganda and there is no extant threat to his regime.
Socially, the people are presented as illiterate and incapable of engaging in large scale production for the development of a sprawling modern economy. Therefore, the people's income is uselessly low and government revenue is dismal. Hence, the government is too broke yet state actors like Adoli-Awal are rich, and these exploit the people due to the prevailing ignorance and poverty. The people are also diseased. With ignorance, disease and poverty, the triad that befalls post colonial nation-states is complete. People are ignorant of the modern manufacturing and as a result are broke to the core. People are also ignorant about what leads to epidemics and droughts and they die resisting these in all the wrong ways. Here people are shown to be victims of nature's whims.
Economically, the independent Uganda inherits from the British colonisers a cash crop enterprise and an enclave service economy. This service economy is propped up by the cash crop enterprise and is only open to the privileged, like Adoli-Awal and a few who are willing face the storm like Olwit. Due to political ineptitude a dictatorship takes government and the reckless governance that ensues crumble the economy. Consequently, the enclave service economy falls apart and civil servants become examples of misery.
Noteworthy is the parallel between Julius Ocwinyo's book and Moses Isegawa's "Abyssinian Chronicles" and "Snakepit," Which provide detailed accounts of the same time periods depicted in Footprints of the Outsider. Reading Footprints reminds me of dystopianism which Orwell stresses in Animal Farm and 1984.
A proper understanding of Footprints of the Outsider requires a precise familiarity to the history of Uganda. It is imperative that a reader know how Uganda has faired over the years Economically and Socially.
1. Who are the characters and what are their traits?
2. What are the main themes and how are they developed?
3. What narrative techniques does Julius Ocwinyo use to make his story?
4. How relevant is Footprints of the Outsider our contemporary society?
5. What lessons can a reader learn from Footprints of the Outsider?
These questions will be answered and you are welcome to make comments and contribution to the material by email at newedgeafrica@gmail.com.
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