If the raison d’être — or reason to be — of an educator is to impact as many students as possible, then Issiaka Diakite, a fifth-grade French teacher at Daspit Road Elementary School, should be more than pleased with the immediate success of his first novel.

“Sisyphe L’africain,” a narrative nonfiction account of an African student’s journey abroad and quixotic attempt to implement democracy in his corrupt and impoverished home country, is a novel Diakite says might be too advanced for students enrolled in Daspit’s French immersion program. But Diakite (pronounced dee-uh-KEE-tay) says the novel, published just last month and written entirely in French, has already caught the attention of several educators on the other side of the pond.

At least 10 high school teachers in Paris, he says, have decided to make the book part of their curricula.

Sloane LaBiche, left, gets smiles from her teacher Dr. Issiaka Diakite, seated right, and fellow classmates Sydnie Dubose, Ethan Riggs, Ross Comeaux and Blair Blanchard in their class at Daspit Road Elementary. Bill Smith / The Daily Iberian Advertisement

“Sisyphe L’africain” categorically assails African political systems of governance and depicts what Diakite says is the inevitable plight and frustration of millions of Africans who live under oppressive governments that are only interested in filling their own coffers while others starve.

Neither the protagonist nor his home country are named in the book, which Diakite says adds a certain intrigue to the story.

“I kept writing ‘he this’ and ‘he that’ and it just began to grow on me,” he said in a recent interview in his classroom. “I didn’t want my readers to form a relationship with the main character but focus instead on the main message.”

That message comes across in the title of the book itself. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king whose deceitfulness and greed earned him a maddening life sentence from the gods: He was compelled for all of eternity to push a heavy stone up a steep hill, but just before he reached the apex each time, it would come rolling back down and he had to start all over.

In the novel, Diakite implies that people in many African nations today bear a Sisyphean burden.

“Take the Ivory Coast for example,” Diakite said. “Who would know that they’re the No. 3 exporter in coffee and cocoa in the world? Politicians don’t want to fulfill the will of the people and Africa’s not going ahead. We have resources but not a leader.”

The protagonist in “Sisyphe L’africain” bears a few striking similarities to Diakite himself. Much of the novel is based on observations Diakite recorded while traveling the United States and Europe. The book’s main character develops his ideas for reform after a similar journey.

Ironically, the main character grows up in a rich and powerful family that can’t understand his desire to reform a system that’s always benefited him. At one point in the book, the protagonist is jailed for arranging a rally and his father, a corrupt government official, uses his power to get him out of jail and prove that point. 

For all his hard work though, the main character’s efforts prove futile as his country suffers a coup and many are forced into exile. He makes his way to the States again and moves for a time to Iowa where he finds the cold weather and snow unbearable. Diakite taught for a year in Iowa himself, but he said he hated the snow and later moved to Florida.

The book ends in New Orleans just as Hurricane Katrina is approaching. Pre-Katrina New Orleans, he said, was one of his favorite cities.

At the moment, he’s working on a theater piece and a sequel to “Sisyphe L’africain” that picks up where the first one left off, in post-Katrina New Orleans. He won’t give much away about the plot of the next novel but says it’s also politically charged.

“The United States rebuilt all of Europe after World War II,” he said. “So why is it such a struggle to rebuild New Orleans after Katrina?”

Diakite said he could probably write several books about that.