Quest Journals Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science Volume 3 ~ Issue 2 (2015) pp:01-09 ISSN(Online) : 2321-9467 www.questjournals.org *Corresponding Author: Asika, Ikechukwu Emmanuel 1 | Page Department of English Anambra State University, Igbariam Phone no: +23480386793214 Research Paper Literature Can: A Sociological Reading of Ngozi Chuma-Udeh’s The Presidential Handshake 1 Asika, Ikechukwu Emmanuel, 2 Ifejirika, Echezona E. (PhD) 1 Department of English Anambra State University, Igbariam Phone no: +23480386793214 2 Department of English Anambra State University, Igbariam +2348037426884 Received 22 December, 2015; Accepted 20 February, 2015 © The author(s) 2014. Published with open access at www.questjournals.org ABSTRACT:- Literature mirrors society and literary artists reflect the realities of lives in their various societies through their literary works. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh is one of the Nigerian writers who have continued to use the avenue of literature to project the realities of lives in our 21 st century in the hope that through the powers in literature we could still achieve the changes, ethical values and reformation needed in many spheres of our lives. The novel, The Presidential Handshake is her second novel, a sequel to her first novel, Teachers on Strike. This paper adopted a sociological approach as the framework for the study of the novel. This approach is rooted in the idea that literature is a product of the society. It sees a literary work as nothing but a product of several real aspects of the society of a writer. Armed with this approach, the paper is interested in determining the real life social – political and economic issues that obviously gave rise to the issues in the novel under discourse. The study discovered that politics and political disillusionment as peculiar to our society formed the bedrock of the novel. But unlike many writers and works critical of politics, the writer adopted a rather different approach by casting aspersion this time, not on our leaders but on the masses whose actions and inactions provide the taproot with which the leaders continued to exploit them. The paper projected how the writer reflected a realistic picture of our society decaying as a result of bad politicking, insensitivity on the part of the masses that have lost faith in politics and view it as an avenue to loot and enrich one‟s generation rather than a call to serve. How the writer portrayed our society, her optimism on the emergence of new political ideology, selfless leaders and a new generation of masses who would once again glorify politics and politicians and view it as our avenue of redemption rather than exploitation is the crux of our study. Keywords:- Society, Politics, Exploitation, Orientation, Reformation, Embezzlement, Oppression, Masses, Government, Leaders, Patriotic I. INTRODUCTION Literature as a mirror reflects society and writers and literary artists from time immemorial and in different climes around the globe reflect their societies in their literary works. In this regard, literature has continued to fulfill its own unique function in nation development. No society exists without its literature and no literature functions in isolation of its society. Ngugi wa Thiong‟o in recognition of this fact expresses thus: Literature does not grow or develop in a vacuum. It is given impetus, shape, direction, and even area of concern by social, political, economic forces in a particular society. The relationship between literature and these other forces cannot be ignored, especially in Africa, where modern literature has grown against the gory background of European imperialism and its changing manifestations. (Homecoming, 16) [1] Thus, literature exists in society and is given its shape, direction, concern and thematic expositions by the socio-political, economic as well as religious situations in society. This is what Ngugi wa Thiong‟o rightly maintains and literature ought to at all times reflect the actions, activities and situations of men and women in society in their quest to understand their world better and make more meaningful assessment. As Charles Nnolim posits: Literature as art deploys language embellished with pleasurable accessories, to paraphrase Aristotle … and it is around the embellished use of language that the creative energy of the story deploys itself. And to invest the story with meaning, there must be some truth about life, something to chew over, some theme, some