Anthills Of The Savannah

Anthills of the Savannah (1987) is a postcolonial literary novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Achebe’s influence looms large not only over modern African literature but also over postcolonial fiction and theory; his African Trilogy, consisting of Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, and No Longer at Ease, is considered a modern classic. Achebe received multiple honors, including the Nigerian National Merit Award for intellectual achievement and the Man Booker International Prize for lifetime achievement. Anthills of the Savannah was Achebe’s final novel and was shortlisted for the 1987 Booker Prize.

Set in the fictional West African nation of Kangan, the novel follows three childhood friends whose relationships deteriorate as their country falls under increasingly authoritarian military rule. The work draws heavily on postcolonial African political experiences and incorporates traditional Igbo mythology and oral storytelling traditions to examine contemporary political crises. The novel explores The Corrupting Nature of Absolute Power, The Intellectual’s Dilemma in Times of Crisis, and Storytelling as Cultural Preservation and Political Resistance.

This guide refers to the 2018 Penguin Books edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, child death, graphic violence, gender discrimination, racism, and sexual content.

Plot Summary

The story opens in Kangan, a fictional West African nation ruled by a military government under His Excellency (Sam), who is surrounded by a Cabinet that includes Christopher “Chris” Oriko (commissioner for information), Professor Reginald Okong (commissioner for home affairs), and other ministers. During a tense Cabinet meeting, the ministers discuss a petition from Abazon, a drought-stricken province requesting a visit from the head of state. His Excellency refuses, displaying authoritarian behavior and growing suspicion of both dissent and his own officials. Chris observes a shift in government dynamics, reflecting on his increased disenchantment, the complicity or fear of his colleagues, and the fate of his old school friends. These friends include Ikem Osodi, the editor of the state-run National Gazette, and Sam himself.

The meeting is disrupted by news that a large delegation from Abazon has gathered outside the palace. His Excellency is alarmed, seeing the demonstration as a threat, and he directs Professor Okong to receive the group and publicly portray their visit as a gesture of goodwill, strictly forbidding any mention of complaints or petitions in the press. Privately, His Excellency consults the attorney general, seeking confirmation of rumors that Chris and Ikem may not be loyal to him, which the attorney general provides by fueling Sam’s suspicion with references to their school days.

Chris, pressured to control the press narrative, contacts Ikem to instruct him on the official version of the Abazon delegation’s visit, but Ikem resists. Ikem has a history of penning passionate editorials, such as his campaign against public executions. These efforts, though sometimes at odds with Chris, have at times influenced government decisions. Afterward, Ikem reflects on his own background, including his school days with Chris and Sam at Lord Lugard College and Sam’s transformation into the head of state. The regime increasingly cracks down on dissent, as seen in its treatment of “Mad Medico,” a controversial hospital administrator. Relationships among the three friends grow distant; Beatrice Okoh, Chris’s girlfriend, observes the increasing resentment between them.

A social gathering at Mad Medico’s bar brings together Chris, Ikem, Beatrice (who is also a senior assistant secretary in the Ministry of Finance), Elewa (Ikem’s girlfriend and a shopgirl), a visiting British poet and editor named Dick, and others. The group exchanges stories about the past and discusses the transformation of Sam from a “pleasant fellow” into a dictator. 

Beatrice receives a sudden invitation from His Excellency to a private dinner at the Presidential Retreat at Abichi Lake. The evening quickly becomes uncomfortable. She observes the new power brokers around Sam, including Major Ossai, who is the director of the State Research Council, and Lou Cranford, an aggressive American journalist. Beatrice senses that she is there merely to lend local color to the event, especially for the benefit of the American guest, and she is further discomfited when Sam flirts with and attempts to seduce her on the balcony. She rebuffs his advances, resulting in her prompt and humiliating dismissal from the retreat. The day after the party, she tells Chris everything that happened and urges him to speak out on Ikem’s behalf, as the conversation about him disturbed her.

Meanwhile, Ikem visits the Abazon delegation at their hotel and is warmly welcomed. The group’s elder delivers a powerful speech highlighting the dire situation that Abazon faces after refusing to support Sam’s referendum for life presidency. The elder emphasizes the power of storytelling and the need for collective struggle.

Political tensions escalate as His Excellency accuses Ikem of conspiring with the “agitators” from Abazon. Sam orders Chris to suspend Ikem from the Gazette. Chris refuses and tenders his resignation, which Sam declines, asserting his absolute control. Ikem receives a suspension letter from a defunct board. The two friends, joined by Beatrice, discuss their predicament and are split over whether to remain silent or continue speaking out. Ikem insists that he will continue to answer questions publicly.

Shortly afterward, Ikem is invited to give a lecture at the University of Bassa. Before a record-breaking crowd, he delivers the parable of “The Tortoise and the Leopard,” a political meditation on the imperative of struggle. He challenges core audience assumptions about revolution and the roles of workers and students, calls for self-examination, and criticizes the unthinking application of external ideologies. However, the Gazette sensationalizes an off-the-cuff remark about the president’s image on currency, accusing Ikem of inciting “regicide.” Shortly after, Major Ossai escalates the investigation, detaining and deporting Mad Medico.

Ikem is abducted from his apartment at night by security officers; fearful neighbors witness the event but are powerless to intervene. The next day, a government statement claims that Ikem was shot and killed when he tried to seize a guard’s weapon. Chris, now in hiding, works with foreign correspondents and student leaders to spread the truth through local networks and international media. The university erupts in protest over Ikem’s death, police violence escalates, and the university is closed.

As the regime falls deeper into chaos, Chris is declared wanted, accused of plotting a coup. With help from Emmanuel Obete (president of the Students Union), Braimoh (a taxi driver), and others, Chris evades capture by staying in safe houses and later disguising himself for travel. They plan to flee to Abazon, where Braimoh’s wife has family and where, they hope, Sam’s influence has frayed.

The journey north exposes Chris and his companions to the growing poverty and environmental disaster in Abazon. After traveling by bus through numerous checkpoints and rapidly declining towns, they pass into the province’s drought-stricken interior. Near the border, the sudden news of a coup and the president’s disappearance throws a checkpoint into chaos as drunken celebration breaks out. Amid confusion, Chris intervenes to stop a police sergeant from abducting Adamma, a student nurse from the bus. The sergeant shoots Chris dead in front of witnesses. Emmanuel, Braimoh, and Adamma witness his death and mourn him on the roadside.

In the aftermath, the regime collapses but is replaced by another military dictatorship. Beatrice, traumatized by Chris’s death, cares for Elewa, who is pregnant with Ikem’s child. Once Elewa gives birth to a baby girl, Beatrice organizes a modest naming ceremony in her apartment, attended by Emmanuel, Braimoh, Adamma, Captain Abdul Medani (a sympathetic military officer), and others from their circle. The group reflects on their losses and muses over the need for responsibility and communal healing. Beatrice names the baby Amaechina (“May-the-path-never-close”). When Elewa’s uncle and mother arrive, the mother protests the breach of custom, but the uncle is amused and accepts the new, communal tradition of naming. He offers prayers for the child. In the course of the gathering, Emmanuel recounts Chris’s final moments, and Beatrice reveals that Chris’s last words were a private joke and warning referring to their precariousness as political elites. The ceremony ends with a sense of community, the formation of new allegiances, and the emergence of hope and resilience in the wake of national tragedy.