What is the preoccupation of the poem "Motoka"?

Masterofbooksdirected

6 years ago

The Motokaby Theo Luzuka: The persona in this poem is a tomato
seller and he/she looks at the government from a mesmerized
peasant’s point of view. The poet makes this peasant use the
minister’s vehicle which seemingly is a long limousine car to
expose the excessive powers and privileges that government
officials enjoy. Therefore this poem deals with both economical
and political issues. The persona uses words that suggest
hyperboles which we can assume are products of rumours of the
market place. Because the whole poem is hinged on
unsubstantiated and unconfirmed facts, it is bound to have a lot
of hyperboles. The minister’s vehicle is said to have a TV set, a
radio station and gears. A vehicle of such features is in-deed
expensive and buying it for a government official is wasting public
funds because the minister does not need all those features in his
vehicle for him to discharge his/her duties. These are some of the
strategies African government leaders use to squander public
funds. Elsewhere a hyperbole intertwined with similes has it that
the vehicles movement is compared to how a Lyato sails while its
speed is as fast as that of a swallow. Additionally, this vehicle is
designed in such a way that the minister can enjoy a s*xual affair
‘while driving in the back seat with his darly between his legs
without the driver seeing a thing.’ (Lines 12-13). The hyperboles
are meant to draw your attention as the reader to the many
privileges that the immoral ministers enjoy. Despite these
hyperboles, the issues that the poet wants to put across are real.
Issues of excesses of government officials and ministers sneaking
into campuses and stealing young ladies are well brought out in
the poem. Another serious issue conveyed is the idea of political
doctorates where University authorities award non-deserving
politicians doctorates of Honoris Causa so that such University
chiefs may enjoy political favours, patronages and protection from
those politicians