The Madman, The Voter Summary

Chinua Achebe's collection Girls at War and Other Stories is a selection of 13 stories dealing with life in post-colonial Nigeria. Major themes that recur in the collection are official corruption and the resilience of the old gods in a new Christian and secular era.

The first story in the collection is The Madman. It concerns Nwibe, a rising pillar of his community whose star is on the rise. At the beginning of the story, Nwibe approaches the ozo men of his village, the most powerful body. He has a proposal that he be admitted into their hierarchy. They tell him they must wait to see now his fortunes progress. Nwibe is not concerned, knowing that he will follow up on his business plans.

On Eke day, however, Nwibe has to mediate a dispute between is elder wife...