Contrapuntal reading: Annotating Edward Said

Recently I have had some reasons to think over Edward Said’s concept of contrapuntal reading/analysis and how that concept is often exemplified in our everyday conversations, especially on political debates in the Nigerian social media space. At the basic definitional level, contrapuntal reading can be said to be the consideration of entwined perspectives such that for example, when a text on any given subject is being interpreted, both sides of events are considered. Scholars of colonial history for instance will suggest that for contrapuntal reading to be said to have been conducted, the perspectives of both the coloniser and the colonised must be considered.

Said’s first claim to fame as a scholar is often attributed to his contributions on the nature of power and knowledge and how that can be understood in the concept of European colonialism. Although he also contributed to music which is often less well known, especially on classical music on which he prominently focused his intellectual energy during the last phases of his life. Said even trained at Julliard where he became a professional pianist, making music a significant aspect in his intellectual project. Interestingly, his expertise in music provided the methodological insights that led to the idea of contrapuntal reading of history and literature. Despite that, Said’s musical interests did not receive the critical attention that should be accorded to it. For instance, there is a lot of information that could be pulled out from studying events in Said’s days in Cairo and his collaborations with the conductor Daniel Barenboim, wherein one can learn that more than the other cultural interests of Said, music was for him a typical example of that which is a model political universe, and which was at once utopian and revolutionary.

In his famous work, Orientalism, Said defines the relationship between the Occident and Orient like that of power and domination respectively, and he further posits that that the concept of Orientalism is entirely male phenomenon, while the Oriental woman is merely a projection of European male fantasy. Within this backdrop, it is safe to examine the writings of say, the Algerian women as feelings of resistance to the Empire. Interestingly, some scholars who took interest in contrapuntal reading have proposed to read Assia Djebar and Said’s personal trajectories in a contrapuntal manner, while applying the latter’s theoretical concepts especially the idea of contrapuntal reading to the writings of the Algerian novelist. It is important to state though, that there are concerns by some scholars that Said largely marginalised noncanonical writers and most women and their works because they suggested that Djebar, who shares Said’s self-absorption with cultural imperialism, is well-fitted for the extension and development of the Orientalism and imperialism in her work.

In the past few weeks in the Nigerian social media space, I have noted that not many people are interested in the idea of contrapuntal reading especially when we debate the current political realities in the country, particularly now that the elections are close by. For example, it is easy to come across even the most educated people who are not comfortable when we put forward some discussions that do not sit well with their sentiments. The first line of attack for these people is to dismiss that which is put forward. And the easiest way to find out if people have the capacity for contrapuntal analysis is to be observant to the way they react when questions are raised regarding say, their own ethnicity. For example, certain persons make a hero out of people with whom they share ethnic and religious identities-even though there is no problem with that. Where the problem is, is when, at the very least, such persons are not even willing to consider the perspectives of the people in the other part of the ethno-religious divide who resist them or their narratives.

I am African and may recognise the positive sides of colonialism from the perspective of the coloniser, but at the same time I encourage the documentation of a perspective that seeks to resist colonialism-that is, the perspective of the colonised. I am also Muslim and belong to the Fulani ethnic group, and I am proud of these identities and take them along wherever I go. But at the same time, I am not hostile to people who bring forth a perspective that resists the perceived domination of other ethnic groups-that is, from the perspective of the people who are/were dominated. Thus, many times people have wondered why I am able to sustain friendship with people who are perceived as having a deep animosity for say, the Hausa-Fulani Muslim people of northern Nigeria. But I have no problems with them because I have a desire to listen to an alternate perspective-even though I may or may not agree with all that perspective.

Additionally, I do not disrespect any Muslim Hausa-Fulani person who defends say, President Muhammadu Buhari’s every action vehemently once I am convinced that such person has the capacity to tolerate alternate (but convincing) perspectives. Now, the person I do not have respect for is that one who camouflages their defence for say, Buhari as genuine even though you can argue it is patently parochial given that they have, time and again, demonstrated that they only like the man because he is simply one of them. It is important to state that those kinds of people exist across Nigeria. We have seen them during the Jonathan administration. We are seeing them during the Buhari administration. And each time they are here, it is not difficult to prove their parochialism because when issues regarding ethnicity and religion arises, they are always unwilling to accommodate-how much more debate-at the very least, the perspective of the Other.