A Re-Evaluation of Power, Discourse, and Leadership Responsibilities in Anthills of the Savannah

Resumen

This paper examines Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah through the lens of political discourse and the ambiguities of power and leadership responsibilities. It interrogates how language, both as a medium of control and a site of resistance, shapes the exercise and perception of power in the fictional state of Kangan. Drawing from critical works and contextual insights, the study reveals how Achebe constructs a narrative in which leadership collapses under the weight of moral ambiguity, rhetorical performance, and institutional decay. Using discourse analysis, the paper explores how Achebe’s characters engage with and distort language to assert or undermine authority. While existing scholarship addresses dictatorship and post colonialism, few interrogate the linguistic and ethical complexities of leadership responsibility in the novel. This re evaluation foregrounds Achebe’s warning against the theatricality of power and the failure of leaders to speak or act with moral clarity.