ADEOTI'S PRESENTATION OF HIS CONCERNS IN HIS POEM ENTITLED "AMBUSH"

Abstract/Background of the poem

         The betrayal of independence hopes by the African ruling elites after the success of the resistance waged against colonialism and imperialism, in different African countries, to secure a full-fledged independence for the betterment of all Africans in the fifties informs the idea of "NEO-COLONIALISM" which conceptually denotes the governing ideal that reflects that of white imperialists in the colonial period. In the post independence Africa, many scholars like Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Chinua Achebe, Frank Ogodo Ogbeche among others are undecided, whether to describe African rulers as "black skin with white mask" or "white skin with black mask". The independence of nations did not bring about any fundamental changes, it is independence with the rulers holding a begging bowl and the ruled holding a shrinking belly. The citizens are more of being enslaved as it was in the colonial period. Promises are left unfulfilled and the citizens are being extorted. The beliefs and hopes of the people for a better life after the colonial period are persistently sway off by those who pledged thoughtlessly to serve among them. The politicians are rather corrupt and elephants in guise, that crunches smaller animals(maybe ten at a time) with its bare foot and never seem to have make a questionable choice. They amass wealth suffered for and cooked by the masses. One of the major clogs confronting leaders of new African states is their heinous idea of using positions of privilege for personal rather than collective gain. Therefore, the repression in the economic and political faculties in the new African states could be said to be the soil in which Adeoti's "Ambush" is rooted.

How adeoti presented his concerns in the poem

Introduction

     "Ambush" metaphorically depicts the frustrations faced by citizens of new African states and the repressions in the system of governance of post independent Nigeria. Leaders destroy hopes and abort dreams of striving citizens. Workers are purely salaried and the cost of living is at its peak. The "land" which concures the government of the land is likened to many predatory animals like "The Giant Whale", "Sabre toothed Tiger" ,"Giant Hawk" etc. Who are the lords and rulers of the forest, frustrating weak animals and making them "snatch their guts from the bayonets of tribulation ".

Evaluation

In the first stanza of the poem, Adeoti likens the land to a Giant Whale.
"The Land is a Giant Whale"
The land which connotatively denotes the governing body is equated to a very great predatory animal--The Whale, preceded by the word "giant" to pictorialize its influence and suggest "Nigeria as a Giant of Africa".
The metaphorical depiction of government is said to be the one" that swallows the sinker/with hook, line and bait"(line 2-3). The sinker could be representing the working people while their "hook, line and bait" connotes their aims and hopes. The lines could therefore be interpreted as the working citizens being exploited by the government together with their aims and hopes. This shows how citizens are being exploited and made to "abort their dreams".
" fishers turn home at dusk
blue Peters on empty ships
all Peters with petered out desires".
The above lines simplifies the useless struggle of hardworking people. The "fishers" being pluralized symbolises all the strugglers for a better life and their turning home at dusk suggests they work through out the day tirelessly. And coming home on empty ships suggest the people's waste of effort, those struggling for education are rather jobless and the people desiring a better life by working hard have their desires "petered out".
"The Land is a sabre-toothed tiger "
Here, the Adeoti likens the land to a sabre-toothed tiger, whose sound alone makes smaller animal shudder home or quickly find somewhere to hide, while the "grizzled ones" of course take to their heels so as not to be devoured, running helter-skelter to save themselves from the pranks of the tiger. In a neutral sense, this is frustration suffered by the masses from the government, who want, at all cost to opprtunistically satisfy its own endless desire by freely making use of its citizens for sacrificial purposes.
 "the land is a giant hawk
That courts unceasing disaster
As it hovers and hoot on space".
The government is also likened to another harmful animal here-the hawk, that moves with "unceasing disaster" as it hovers and hoots in space.
"the land lies patiently ahead
Awaiting in Ambush
Those who point away from a direction
Where nothing happens
Toward the shore of possibilities".
 The above lines evoke the imaginary faculty of the reader here, it creates a picture in the mind, where a predatory animal hide hopefully in a secret place, waiting for smaller animals in anticipation to devour. And the picture of a weak animal is also presented.Rather confuse,  the weak animal is unsure where the predatory animal maybe hiding but aware of its hiding somewhere. Adept later declares that the weak animal has a wrong assertions and unrealistic hopes as it "point away from a direction / where nothing happens /towards the shore of possibilities "(line 19-21). This is to present the government as a freaky entity which deceives its citizen for it's personal gain. Manifested will be churned out by contestants before they will be elected . And it is only after they are elected and they off their shoes that electorate will see whether their foot is pure white or stained.