Book Review: Giant in Hiding: A cry to the man to reposition himself as head

As the role of the woman in society changes too, the man set adrift in the sea of his own confusion, unable to find safe harbour in the way things once were.

Also, as equality amongst the sexes takes hold, a man must share household tasks, pay for most of the bills, help raise the children instead of simply raising the money to raise the children.

Then, for all his efforts, he is often declared as less of a man by the wife and society. This is why fewer and fewer men are manning up to role of being a man.

Well, partly, as we shall see.

All in all, though, men have fled the home. Their traditional roles feminized by the role of provider being taken over by the woman.

It is in this context that Jennifer Mudondo Nyiiro attempts to make sense of a senseless reality in her 216-page book, “Giant in Hiding: A cry to the man to reposition himself as head.”

In this well written book, she analyses the diminished role of men in society against a personal experience.

Her story begins with her own forbear, Nyiiro, a man in every sense of the word, who is married to Geremina in the village of Bugabula in Luuka.

Nyiiro takes pride in his role as a provider, believing that the “art of manhood was handed down from generation to generation.”

He thus rose children, male and females, to be equal to the demands that society would inflict upon them.

However, with the focus on his sons, Kuntaangho, the leonine teacher, and Obbo, a local chief in the government, we see how manhood evolves and detaches itself from Nyiiro’s vision of the same.

However, before this happens, Nyiiro, whose son Obbo builds a home within his compound, is the admired elder in the village; until the proverbial road turns.

That is a snapshot of chapter one and two, while in the subsequent chapter “Part II: The Mutation”, we are introduced to the story of Santa and Andrew, the parents of triplets.

Andrew, the husband, serves as the personification of a man-child.

Ill-prepared for the role of raising a family larger than what he had planned for, he debunks his duties to his wife and children when he feels his wife, Santa, does not appreciate how hard it is to raise a family in a “tough” world.

Jennifer, a very insightful author Pulse

In Chapter 4, we return to Nyiiro, a man identified by the accomplishment of how he raises his children.

He feels weak when he compares himself to others who have raised their children to reflect the values of manhood.

His awakening as a man is linked to how he initiates his boys into manhood. To succeed in this sense ensures he blooms in perfect harmony with the immense energy of traditional reality. The finite force of tradition assuming his masculinity to be based upon preconceived masculine roles.

‘The worlds of the elders do not lock all the doors; they leave the right door open” reads a Zambian proverb which opens Chapter 13: “Where are the elders?”

Here, we see Nyiiro regaining some of his former esteem as an admired elder and, wait.

I will not serve any spoilers beyond saying that Jennifer offers her view that family is society’s foundation stone. And how this foundation may be cemented towards ensuring it is saved instead of disintegrated by the role the man plays in the home.

One of her prescriptions towards saving society from itself lies in boy-child empowerment programmes.

Here, she advises we “talk to boys, build them up, reassure them and engage their parents. Get model men, fathers, husbands; and family men to share their experiences and build capacity.”

Thereby unlocking the doors that the Zambian proverb quoted at the start of Chapter 13 talks about.

“Giant in Hiding” is essentially a book that seeks to ensure that we all realise our true strength by knowing who we are at depth, right now.

It calls upon the men to man up, explicitly.

However, its subtext teaches us all, male and female, to learn an awareness of self fully, so we know ourselves as a conscious presence. This way, we grow to trust the fullness of our lives.

Our capacity to embody this profound force of presence in our beings, in our every breath and action, determines our perceived value in terms of gender and how this engenders the authentic power of our awakened hearts through the wholesomeness of family.

On this score, Mudondo’s book achieves its purpose.

Again, it is readable, relatable and rational in how its helps society find its way through the lens of a writer who passionately believes that fatherhood must be celebrated as a way of steering society back to the richness of the true manhood of Nyiiro.

The book is being launched today; I would recommend everyone get themselves a copy.

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