Mark Emenike

Mark Emenike is a Permanent Secretary, a midlevel bureaucrat in the postcolonial government of an African nation. Although his family enjoys such economic privileges as private schooling for the children, a car, and a houseful of servants, Mr. Emenike is constantly made aware of his own lowly status in comparison to those who are wealthier and more powerful. As a civil servant, he is not permitted to express his views on education in the local newspaper and must be content to comment on his friend Mike Ogudu' s letter to the editor. In Cabinet meetings, he must refrain from any participation in the debate; even laughter is prohi.b1ted for a civil servant, and when he violates this strict protocol, he receives a "scorching look" from the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, he is an important man in his home village and is easily able to persuade Martha...