2026 IJRSE – Volume 15 Issue 9
Available Online: 5 May 2026
Author/s:
Kwaw, Josephine
University of Cape Coast, Ghana (kofiohemeng5@gmail.com)
Yaw-kan, Joseph Peter*
Gambaga College of Education, Ghana (pjoseph340@gmail.com)
Abstract:
What does ‘ambassadors of poverty’ mean in Philip Umeh’s “Ambassadors of Poverty”? Drawing on formalism as a critical perspective which has rarely been given attention in the literature, this paper undertakes a reading of Umeh’s poem as a critical literary work that satirizes the systemic corrupt acts and complicit roles of political leaders within the Nigerian geopolitical setting. The paper argues that the symbolic ambassadors of poverty are corrupt politicians who amass wealth meant for the development of the nation-state, Nigeria. The paper specifically explores the poetic form, stylistic elements, and linguistic devices that unravel the corruption thematic. This critical perspective underscores the diversification of analytical perspectives in deconstructing poetic meaning, but also presents a text-immanent pedagogical relevance to teaching and learning of African poetry.
Keywords: ambassadors, corruption, formalism, poverty, politicians
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2026.26127
Cite this article:
Kwaw, J., & Yaw-kan, J. P. (2026). Disguising corruption as poverty: A formalist reading of Philip Umeh’s “Ambassadors of Poverty” (2012). International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 15(9), 67-76. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2026.26127
* Corresponding Author