Interpreting The Powerfulness Of Exilic Intellectuals In You Must Set Forth At Dawn And The Other Side Of Truth

The author of this paper attempts to seek the possible causes of Nigerian exilic intellectuals’powerfulness reflected in Wole Soyinka’s You Must Set Forth at Dawn and Beverley Naidoo’s The Other Side of Truth, hoping that the reading of the two texts would inspire the study of exilic intellectuals as a whole.Exilic intellectuals from such totalitarian countries as Nigeria are a paradox group. On the one hand, they can be even more powerless as being captured between different cultures; on the other hand, they find it possible to be empowered in some foreign countries. On the basis of careful studies on power, the author of this paper points out that exilic intellectuals’ powerfulness should be understood as their capacity to make a difference towards intentional effects, i.e. democracy, freedom and a free press. Socio-political changes, the insistence on knowledge in the form of alternative facts against totalitarianism and the help of overseas media are highlighted as the three possible causes of exilic intellectuals’power reflected in the two texts.Accordingly, the paper consists of six chapters.The necessary information for understanding the paper is put forth in chapter1, such as the proposition, the rational and significance in the form of literature review. Moreover, the two texts for discussion, namely You Must Set Forth at Dawn and The Other Side of Truth are introduced in this chapter.In chapter2the notion of power is discussed;"power" is used to refer to exilic intellectuals’ability to make a difference in their struggle against totalitarianism.The next three chapters analyze the possible causes of such empowerment.Chapter3points out that exilic intellectuals’empowerment is first and foremost a response to socio-political changes, as shown in the change from Nigeria to U.S. and London in the two texts. A deconstructive reading of border-crossing and the intellectuals’gain of physical freedom are the concerns of this chapter.Knowledge in the form of alternative facts is discussed in chapter4as a strategy against the manipulative regime of totalitarian propaganda; such alternative facts enlarge the public’s knowledge and give greater freedom to choose what to believe.Chapter5goes on to argue that the popularity of alternative facts would not be possible without the help of overseas media, both the mainstream media, such as the London TV news in The Other Side of Truth, and the alternative media, such as the opposition radio in You Must Set Forth at Dawn.Lastly, chapter6draws a conclusion, pointing out that socio-political changes, the knowledge of intellectuals in the form of alternative facts and the help of overseas media are the three causes of the empowerment reflected in You Must Set Forth at Dawn and The Other Side of Truth. Moreover, even though Nigeria is moving slowly in its democracy path after the death of General Sani Abacha, the study on its exilic intellectuals is of significance in today’s world.