Nigerian Literary Imagination and the Nationhood Project (African Histories and Modernities)

This view of Nigerian Literature puts the ideological contentions and contradictions of old in perspective. Toyin Falola, in this effusion, not only charts the course for the reinvention and invention of the Nigerian Nation through its literature but troubles the literary taboos as well as the theoretical postures and leanings in the art of Nigerian literary artists. -Adedoyin Aguoru, President, African Association for Japanese Studies This fascinating and original piece of scholarship by Nigerias most celebrated historian has successfully linked the wide and varied Nigerian literature to the complexities of the nation. The indomitable Toyin Falola maps cogently the cultural, elitist, ideological, feminized and the fetishized aspects of the Nigerian experience. The book masterfully shows us a space that is complicated, inhabited by enigmatic people who see their country as peculiar and unique. - Bosede Funke Afolayan, University of Lagos, Nigeria, and editor of Nigerian Female Dramatists: Expression, Resistance, Agency This book explores how modern Nigerian fiction is rooted in writers understanding of their identity and perception of Nigeria as a country and home. Surveying a broad range of authors and texts, the book shows how these fictionalized representations of Nigeria reveal authentic perceptions of Nigerias history and culture today. Many of the lessons in these works of literature provide cautionary tales and critiques of Nigeria, as well as an examination of the lasting impact of colonialism. Furthermore, the book presents the nation as both the framework and subject of its narrative. By conducting literary analyses of Nigerian fiction with historical reference points, this work demonstrates how Nigerian literature can convey profound themes and knowledge that resonates with audiences, teaching Nigerians and non-Nigerians about the colonial and postcolonial experience. The chapters cover topics on nationhood, womens writing, postcolonial modernity, and Nigerian literature in the digital age. Toyin Falola is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and a Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. He is a recipient of many distinguished awards, including 16 honorary doctorates. Preface 7 Acknowledgments 11 About the Book 12 Praise for Nigerian Literary Imagination and the Nationhood Project 13 Contents 14 About the Author 16 List of Figures 17 Chapter 1: The Nation as Fiction/Fictionalizing the Nation 18 Introduction 18 Part I: Colonial Phase 47 Chapter 2: Literature and the Colonized Nation 48 Introduction 48 Self Against the Other: Tutuola, Achebe, Soyinka, Others Against Colonialism 52 The Fate of Women in the Literature of the Colonized 63 Classics as Reflections of Nigerian Culture and a Counter-Discourse 69 Post-Independence Literature 73 Conclusion 79 Chapter 3: Literary Founding Fathers and Ideas of Nationhood 83 Introduction 83 Nationhood and Nationalism 84 Ethnic Nationality: The Threat to Nationhood 90 The Quest for Nationhood in Chinua Achebe’s Works 93 Violence in the Journey to Nationhood 100 National Character in the Writings of Nigerian Literary Founding Fathers 106 Conclusion 108 Chapter 4: Women Writers and the (Post)colony: (Writing) the Colony in Nigerian Women’s Literature 111 Introduction 111 Women’s Writing: Its Origin, Definition, and Periodization in Nigeria 112 Women Writers 114 The First Generation of Women’s Writers in Nigeria 114 The Representation of Postcolonial Nigeria in Women’s Writings 117 Androcentricism in the (Post)colony: Writing as the “Other” in the Post (Colony) 118 The (Post)colony as Slave to the Colonial Master: Suppressed and Castrated Male Figures 120 The (Post)colony and the Colonialists’ Religion: Religious and Cultural Domination 123 Rape as a Metaphor for the Possession and Colonization of the (Post)colony 126 The Empire and the Colony: Power Relations Between the Nation and Nigerian Women 127 The (Post)colony and Women’s Liberation Struggle 128 The Marginalization of the (Post)colony and the Female Child 129 Sexism and Gendered (Post)colony 130 The (Post)colony and Class Consciousness 132 In a Man’s World: Domination and Control of the Female Body in the Colony 133 Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the (Post)colony 136 The Dissonance with Colonial Nigeria and Marginalization of Women in Politics 138 Living in a Hybrid Society: The Woman in the (Post)colony 139 The Politics of Gender, Culture, and Colonialism in the (Post)colony 142 Representation of the (Post)colony in Female Writers’ Thematic Preoccupation 144 Spatio-temporal Setting as Symbolization of Suppressed (Post)colony 147 Conclusion 147 Part II: Postcolonial Phase 151 Chapter 5: Postcolonial Modernity and Literary Imagination 152 Introduction 152 Themes and Motifs 159 The Empire Writes Back to the Center 159 Morality and Utilitarianism 161 Defense of African Culture 161 Spiritualism 162 Law and Justice 164 African Orality 166 The Empire Writes to Itself 166 Literary Imagination and Postcolonial Modernity 168 Conclusion 180 Chapter 6: Contemporary Women Writers and the Imagining of Postcolonial Nigeria 184 Introduction 184 Literary Periods/Generations 185 Contemporary Women Writers 188 Military Regimes and Repression 190 Religious Bigotry and Intolerance 193 A Country of Corrupt and Profligate Leaders 196 Sex and Sexual Liberty 198 The Crude Oil Era and Its Impacts 199 A State of Lawlessness and Criminality 201 A Failed Nation and Alienated Citizens 203 A Country of Terrorism 206 Feminists and Women’s Activism 207 The Civil War in Nigeria 208 Infant Country in Search of Growth and Identity 210 Social Realistic Portrayal of Nigeria 212 Spatial and Temporal Settings 214 Characterization as Metaphor 217 Conclusion 220 Chapter 7: Literature and Nigeria in the Digital Age 225 Introduction 225 Fan Fiction as a Digital Phenomenon in Nigeria 230 Literature on the Go: Social Media and Literary Blogs 236 Themes and Topical Issues in the Literature of Nigerian Digital Platforms 239 Orality Reincarnated 243 Emojis: Metaphors Redefining the Digital Age 249 Conclusion 251 Part III: Concluding Thoughts 255 Chapter 8: Shifts and Ambiguities: Unstable Literature or Unstable Nation? 256 Introduction 256 Bibliography 279 Index 291