A Kenyan’s take on ‘I am Sheikh Mujib’

Christopher Okemwa
Published : 19 March 2022, 11:07 PM
Updated : 19 March 2022, 11:07 PM

The accomplished Bengali-Swedish poet and playwright, Anisur Rahman, has produced a masterpiece in 'I am Sheikh Mujib: An Epic Monologue'. The work caught my eyes because of the relevance of the issues in Kenya: socio-political concerns, politics of language and human rights violations.

In the monologue, we gather that the father of the Bengali nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, took the government head on over the issue of language. He promoted the idea of recognising Bengali as an official language alongside Urdu in Pakistan when Pakistan and the then East Bengal, today's Bangladesh, were together. In Kenya, we are currently grappling with the issue of language. Debates are currently on as to whether our country should drop the colonial language (English) and embrace our own regional language (Swahili) as a language of instructions in schools and official places. Our leading writer, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, is already promoting indigenous languages and writing in them. Many see Ngugi's stand as an exercise in futility since English, although foreign, has taken roots and is impossible to replace it with Swahili or any other indigenous language (s). Bangladesh's language issue in 1948 was in many ways similar to that we are currently facing in Kenya in 2022.

Both the Bengali and the Kenyan people have had similar sufferings in the past. The Bengalis, although they are the majority, have been poorly represented in Pakistan's civil services, in the police and in the military, as well as in revenue allocation. In Kenya, we see this kind of inequality. "Big tribes" have owned power since independence and their people are awarded prime jobs in the country, and therefore huge resources, while the rest of the "small tribes" are left with almost no top jobs, and therefore little resources. Thanks to Sheikh Mujib's leadership that East Pakistan earned independence to end such inequality.

An epic monologue is not a new form of writing in the world. Monologues were in operation in early dramas done in Greek. In fact, stage works were all about monologues and no dialogue, until later when the latter was incorporated into the theatre. 'I am Sheikh Mujib: an Epic Monologue' can be referred to as an interior monologue, in which this Father of the Nation's thoughts and feelings unfold before the reader or the audience. Students of Kisii University, Kenya, staged this monologue at Sagini Hall on Oct 18, 2021, infusing the words with humour and music.