The book, Politics, Pussy & Power, authored by multi-talented award-winning broadcast journalist and creative writer, Adaora Onyechere Sydney-Jack, is an enquiry and, at the same time, an assessment of the extent of interconnectedness in the dialectics faced by womenfolk in the game of politics and power. While the use of ‘pussy’ by the writer may be abhorred by moralists, the word is used as a double entendre. According to Wikipedia, ‘pussy’ is a double entendre as the word carries “a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacceptable, or offensive to state directly”.
Pussy is used in the English language as either a noun or an adjective, and in rare instances used as a verb. The word has several connotations and is mostly used as slang or euphemism. When used as a noun, it carries the meaning of “cat”, “coward” or “weakling”. When used as a slang, it refers to the female genitalia, and has multiple connotations, including vulgarity and innocence.
Synoptical review
Adaora’s 134-page book comprises three chapters, namely, Politics, Pussy and Power, including the Epilogue. In Chapter One, the author concentrates on politics, politricks or politicks, and sees politics as collective processes by individuals and groups working towards achieving certain societal goals. Politics is fraught with negotiations and promoting inclusiveness for justice and equality. In a power game that is more guided by out-of-the-book rules, politricks refers to the subtle strategies, “usually characterised by dishonesty and manipulation for personal gain”. The author notes that the difference between politics, politicks or politricks is the distinction between using power for the public good and getting power for pecuniary gains.
In Chapter Two, pussy is explicated from its linguistics etymology and transformational definitions across times. In a society ruled by a patriarchal system, the female gender, as symbolised in the word, ‘pussy’, is often railed at by menfolk. While the book dwells on the need to redefine politics in providing equitable platforms for both genders in the quest for power, Adaora takes a deeper look on the perceived gender-imposed political power enjoyed by men at the detriment of women.
In this chapter, ‘pussy’ symbolises the womenfolk seen by some as an object of sexual pleasure that demeans the female as an item of entertainment and pleasure. Adaora debunks the lowering of the female gender by profiling distinguished women of repute, especially in Nigeria and Africa, who have shattered the glass ceiling in their chosen professions and public service. Names of Lady Dr. Nma Love Onyechere and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria); Winnie Mandela (South Africa); Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai (Kenya) and Dr. Mae Jemison (United States of America), among others, and their astounding strides, as detailed in the book, documents inspiring footprints of greatness.
In Chapter Three, the concept of power and how society can benefit from its idealistic application is clearly dealt with. In cognisance of the fact that politics is a game of compromise among diverse groups with concomitant interests, the writer differentiates between power and control. Power is seen as the acquisition of authourity over others; whereas control is the ability to control emotions. Power is external, while control is internal. Identifying various flaws of leaders and what power should do for society; Adora recalls that most times, leaders quarantine themselves from people they lead; thereby giving an opportunity to grovellers to deceive them.
Judge not by the cover
When I got a copy of the book, I was anxious to go through it. After a skimp reading, I found out that though moralists may quarrel with the book’s title, it is an attempt at resolving some of the issues that have stultified efforts in the emergence of an ideal society. The title obviously belittles the major preoccupation of the work that provides an illumination into the denigration and exploitation of the female in the game of gender equality due to parochial orientations by society.
Due to most of Africa’s patriarchal system that favours males over females, the leadership recruitment process is bound to be flawed. In a society that glorifies objectification of the female for sexual pleasure, a male-dominated politics is disposed to demeaning women. After reading the book, I came to the irrefutable conclusion that the book, authored by a journalist, can only be a curtain raiser to the main book. Rightly, the author, who took a break from the media and jumped into the murky -some say sharky- waters of Nigerian politics, confirmed that this is the first part of the book.
“The second part of the book is soon to hit the street”, she declared.
Having read the theoretical framework upon which the dialectics of politics and power that womenfolk must confront; this first part of the book only salivates readers for the second part. I can’t wait to read the story of an idealistic mind that attempted to realise her ideals of gender equality in a vicious male-dominated political environment that is unwilling to subjugate themselves under a female power that is strongly emerging from the stranglehold of male malevolence in politics. Thus, in the second part , Adaora is set to reminisce on her days in the dungeon of Nigeria’s politricks of male dominance that is afraid of being pussy-whipped into accepting gender equality for power sharing.