Donald Uwanaka

The Teacher Donald Uwanaka

THE TEACHER is a tale of inequality, set in Africa. Inequality is one of the menaces that ravage most African societies. It manifests in many ways. There is gender inequality, which still favours the male over the female. There is also inequality in the means of production, distribution and exchange. In this case, the privileged few control the wealth of the nation, while the majority of the citizenry wallow in abject poverty. There are also traces of racism, tribalism and nepotism. Inequality is the primary reason the commoners struggle to survive, and only the fittest can subsist in those societies. The protagonist, Nzute, who was a school teacher, rose from grass to grace as he overcame the hurdles of life through determination, hard work and uprightness. He escaped poverty and joined the elite class despite his accident of birth. His life-experiences teach other positive virtues that a commoner needs in the quest for survival. The subplot is a treatise on the plight of teachers today, falseness in some private schools, the strength of the 21st-Century scholar and unemployment. The author, Donald Uwanaka, studied English and Literary Studies at Imo State University Owerri. He teaches Advanced Level English Language and Literature in Lagos, Nigeria. He is also a writer, an editor and a researcher.