Ongoing Censorship of Press in African Countries
INTRODUCTION
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie addresses censorship of the press by authoritarian government in her short story “Sola”. Through telling the story of the disappearance of the outspoken journalist Sola, Adichie criticizes the corrupt government of Gambia in order to induce curiosity (namely from the English-readers of the story) in the inner workings of African countries with a similar history and political outcome. It is clear to anyone who attains this curiosity that many leaders of countries similar to Gambia (who seemingly have the best interest of its country's citizens in mind) are actually violators of human rights, which are defined in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
BACKGROUND
“Sola” takes place in Banjul, the capital of the West African country of Gambia. It is never explicitly stated when exactly the story takes place, but it can be inferred that it happens after December 16, 2004: the date of the a**a**ination of the Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara (a critic of the current president of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh) because Sola's father makes a valid comparison between Sola and Hydara.
Gambia gained independence from the UK on February 18, 1965. Despite widespread belief that the country would not be able to stand alone, it in fact prospered, partially due to Gambia becoming a significant tourist destination. The country was mainly led by President Dawda Kairaba Jawara until a coup led by Yahya Jammeh in July 1994. Jammeh planned on securing the position of President for himself until 1998, but after an economic hit caused by advice to tourists to avoid the country, Jammeh responded by announcing that free elections would be held in 1996. Jammeh repeatedly won the elections in 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011. They will be held again on December 1, 2016.
Nigeria gained independence from Britain in October 1960, leaving the situation of regional hostilities (a situation much too complex to be gone into detail here) to be dealt with themselves. From June through October 1966, pogroms k**ed tens of thousands of Igbo people in northern Nigeria. From 1967 until 1970, the Nigerian Civil War (aka the Biafran War) was fought to counter the secession of Biafra (consisting of the Igbo people) from Nigeria. Although the country has recently seen relatively quiet times, there is still currently political unrest as its citizens are disillusioned by “years of inept governance, military rule and corruption”.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born on September 15, 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria. She was raised in Nsukka by her parents who both worked at the University of Nigeria (located in Nsukka) where she would study medicine and pharmacy for a year and a half before moving to the United States at age nineteen. She studied communication at Drexel University in Philadelphia for two years, received her degree in communication and political science from Eastern Connecticut State University, and then received her master's in creative writing at John Hopkins University, Baltimore. Adichie identifies with the Igbo people, and the theme of the Biafran War is recurring in her novels and short stories. Although this war is evidently not a theme of “Sola”, it is not difficult to identify possible motives Adichie had for writing it. We will do so after a brief an*lysis of the story.
STORY an*lYSIS
“Sola” is the story of the disappearance of a journalist who works for a media outlet called the Express which he and the narrator resentfully agrees is a mouthpiece for the president. In other words, the Express only publishes articles which support the Gambian government. Sola attempts to publish a “tame” version of an investigative piece on the country that he plans on publishing in its entirety via journalists in Europe. The story is narrated by Sola's girlfriend, an English woman who considers herself silly in comparison to Sola, due to the fact that her parents will always be able to support her while Sola is a hardworking man who supports his family. As the investigative article is almost finished, Sola is taken away from his home by the police following an argument Sola had with his editor. When Sola's girlfriend and father arrive at the police station he was rumored to be taken to, they are told that he was never there.
Due to the way the story is told, it is fairly safe to a**ume it was Adichie's intention to imply that Sola will be incarcerated for the rest of his life, if not a**a**inated, by the Gambian government: the Jammeh administration.
INTERPLAY & SOCIAL REALITY
This section will address the following questions that may arise from the reader: How does history play a role in “Sola”? Why is Adichie concerned with Gambian politics in the first place? What potential does “Sola” have to make a change in the real world?
“Sola” is a fictional story but can only be cla**ified as such due to the fact that Sola was not an actual person. Yet the story of Sola is a very real one in the sense that it gives us an accurate depiction of current events in Gambia and other African countries under authoritarian rule. Sola represents those in Gambia attempting to shed light on the misconduct of their government, only to be wiped away and made an example of. Since Gambia and Nigeria share similar storylines, it is not hard to see why Adichie resonates with the citizens of Gambia. Gambia is a specific example of the cases of countries who do not receive human rights under how the UN declares them. Attention brought to Gambia is attention brought to the situation of people not receiving human rights as a whole, which is a perfectly viable reason why Adichie wrote this story.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Which human rights are being violated in “Sola”?
Unsurprisingly, a lot. Article 9 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights published by the United Nations in 1948 states: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” In other words, no one should be arrested in cases where there is no evidence or likelihood of crime being committed. Article 10 states: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.” This means those convicted of crimes are entitled to a fair trial. Finally, Article 19 states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Freedom of speech. In “Sola”, the violations of these rights occur in reverse order as stated here. First, Sola was denied freedom to express in concerned for the country. Second, he was taken away by the police without any explanation. Last, Sola was imprisoned (if not a**a**inated) without any evidence of wrong doing. These are just to name the most obvious rights violated.
CONCLUSION
In the Background of this essay, it was stated that following Jammeh's seize of power, he had won four consecutive free elections. The argument may arise from this that Jammeh's administration could not possibly be as corrupt as the story and this essay claims. Here is what makes that an invalid argument: The reason for Jammeh implementing free elections in the first place was to lighten the perspective the world had of him as a dictator. Still, he maintains stability in office by instilling fear in his people, making examples of those who speak out against him such as Deyda Hydara. Even if the elections were not rigged (although the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) characterized them as "not to be conducive for the conduct of free, fair and transparent polls"), he still threatens the citizens of Gambia by stating things like "I will develop the areas that vote for me, but if you don't vote for me, don't expect anything”.
“Sola” does an excellent job of nonviolently combatting the violation of human rights by spreading awareness of the situation. Its characters are developed in a way that make us feel compa**ion for those oppressed by their government and make us identify with the narrator. Human rights should not be neglected and should be our goal as a species to ensure they are met.
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