Political Oppression and the Role of Intellectuals in Obi Egbuna's The Madness of Didi

Power abuse and political oppression are the ruling strategies implemented by some rulers in postcolonial African societies. Thus, the masses feel oppressed and subject to creeping social injustice. In The Madness of Didi, Obi Egbuna depicts these different situations while imagining, however, that the solution could come from African intellectuals. He therefore depicts his intellectual characters as guides and revolutionaries who could lead Africa out of the deadlock in which it finds itself. This thus creates a conflicting relationship between the political authorities and the intellectuals in the novel. Drawing from the postcolonial critical approach, this article explores how the abuse of power operates in Obi Egbuna’s fictional society and then the role and responsibility of intellectuals in raising awareness and educating the masses. The work analyses how Obi Egbuna portrays the relationship between political oppression and intellectual engagement in The Madness of Didi. It further shows that intellectuals can serve as agents of resistance and social transformation in Africa.