Mr. Rufus Okeke is the subject of the plot.

He works as a bicycle mechanic and has

political clout in his community. Roof is his people’s nickname for him. Roof’s party, the People’s
Alliance Party (PAP), is supported by the entire village. Mr. Marcus Ibe is the party’s
nominee.Marcus Ibe began his career as a schoolteacher before becoming a politician and
Minister of Culture. Ibe is now a member of Parliament. He is so tough in his district that he
does not want anybody to run against him in the race.Roof is thought to have a strong
persuasive capacity. As a result, he is almost always listened to by people of all ages and social
statuses. “He had become a real expert in election campaign at all levels – village, local
governmennt, or national,” the writer says of Roof.

Normally, people do not want money from their representatives, but rather solutions to
their issues, such as infrastructure building and improved healthcare and education for children.
The vast majority of the time, of things though, elected officials forget about the people who
voted for them. It is also said that they are only elected because of their wealth. Even after five
years in power, they return to the citizens of their community to get votes. This is what the
people of Umuofia village go through.

Villagers have witnessed the constant wealth of politicians for the past five years.

Marcus Ibe, for example, was a poor mission school teacher with a dreary life before
entering politics, but after joining politics, he has become one of the wealthiest people in the
country, owning luxury cars and beautiful homes. Marcus Ibe, in reality, does not support his
Umuofia colleagues; instead, he enriches himself by investing in a variety of items and in
various locations. The author says;

“..he had two long cars and had just built himself the biggest house anyone had seen in
those parts”.Marcus Ibe prepares a large feast (party) at the time he opens his largest home,
dubbed “Umuofia Mansions,” to deceive the public. To amuse his people, he slaughters five
bulls and countless goats, and they are content with these small pleasures in life when
compared to the expense of their votes. He is praised by all at the party.One old man called
Ogbuefi Ezwnwa even says;

“Our son is a good man; he is not like the mortar which as soon as food comes its way
turns its back on the ground”. When election time arrives, Roof, as is customary, plays a key
role in the campaign to ensure Marcus Ibe’s return to his former position. Roof gathers the
elders in Ogbuefi Ezenwa’s house during the campaign and bribes them to vote for Marcus Ibe
during the election. Ezenwa himself says;

“We shall every one of us drop his paper for Marcus. Who would leave an Ozo feast and
go to a poor ritual meal? Tell Marcus he has our papers and our wives’ papers too.”All of this is
being done to help Mr. Maduka of the Progressive Organization Party (POP) win the election.
POP is represented by Maduka, who competes with Marcus Ibe. POP also budgets heavily for its
initiative.The author says;
 “No one knew for certain how much money POP had let loose in Umuofia but it was said
to be very considerable. Their local campaigners would end up very rich, no doubt”.Roof
receives an unusual visit from the POP’s campaign manager in the final days of the campaign,
when both campaigners were doing whatever they could. The man has made the decision to
bribe Roof in order to get him to vote for Maduka. On this subject, Roof is given five
pounds.The writer says’

“No words were wasted. He places five pounds on the floor before and said ‘ We want
your vote’”.Roof accepts the money and swears before the ‘iyi’ that he will vote for Maduka,
and that if he does not, he will be hurt by the iyi. Iyi can be a blessing or a curse, but Roof
agrees to both of these terms because the contract is worth a lot of money.On election day,
Marcus Ibe sits to one side shaking hands with various people, while Roof sits to the other side,
playing his part in ensuring Marcus Ibe’s victory.The writer says;

“Roof and the other organizers were prancing up and down giving the last-minute
advice to the voters and pouring with sweat”.As election day approaches, Marcus Ibe proposes
that Roof be the first person voted for by the PAP campaigning team. He attempts to conceal
the bribery by swearing that he was bribed to vote for Maduka. Even in secret, he finds it
difficult to betray Marcus Ibe. He spends a significant amount of time in the voting booth.He
eventually chooses to rip the paper into two parts and place half of each in each box, Marcus
and Maduka, after spending a long time in the voting booth debating what to do. As a result,
his vote becomes null and void because it is ripped apart.Roof makes an unexpected decision.
He rips his paper (ballot) in half, rationalizing that his behavior against each candidate
constitute a vote for either ‘the right thing to do’ or ‘the wrong thing to do. The story gives the
message to the most African countries and people who do not conduct free and fair elections.
In most of the African countries, politicians bribe the voters so that they can win. The author
therefore intends to correct these vices and injustices done by the political leaders during
campaigns, elections and when they are in power. Political tolerance is the philosophy or belief
of the writer of this story. The writer believes that when it comes to politics, people should be
tolerant.

As previously stated, the story is applicable to the majority of African countries that do
not adhere to democratic norms. During elections, countries simply practice injustices such as
corruption and bribery, which are not conducive to holding free and fair elections. Away from
the hellish and difficult lives of the electorate. They are so reassuring in their promises, and
some of them deceive the voters into believing that parliament is a hell where they only
sacrifice themselves to go in order to create a good life for the voters, when in reality they use
the voters to create their own heaven and escape the voters’ hell and hard. The state of not
understanding or not having specific information about anything. It is simply defined as a lack
of knowledge about a subject. In the story, for example, most villagers are unaware that the
politicians are defrauding them. Some of them even believe that having a Doctorate in
Geography or Politics qualifies a person to attend to patients.
 The author used plain words that everyone could understand. His use of words
represents the people of Umuofia Village and other contemporary societies’ use of everyday
language