Explorations into Sociopolitical and Sociocultural Protest in African Postcolonial Literature : The Nigerian Novel as an Example

Abstract

This study has been conducted to explore the contribution of postcolonial Nigerian novelists in identifying postcolonial sociopolitical and sociocultural issues through their protest literature. The study is aimed at identifying and analyzing dominant protest themes in post-independence Nigerian novel, investigating the causes of protest in the post-independence era in Nigeria, assessing the Nigerian novelists’ commitment in articulating sociopolitical and sociocultural challenges, analyzing the novelists’ successes and failures as regards the solutions they provide in their narratives and investigating the significance of protest literature in raising people’s awareness, The study focuses on Achebe’s A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987), Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood (1979) and Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun (2006). The research methodology of this study adopts an eclectic multi-dimensional qualitative approach as the literary tool of analysis. The chosen approach infuses Afrocentricity, socio-cultural criticism and the historical-biographical approach with the theory of Africana Womanism. The study has found out that postcolonial Nigerian protest novel is effective in introducing a real change to the African society. It can play a key role in raising the African people’s awareness and consolidating their struggle to entirely liberate themselves from sociopolitical threats such as neocolonialism, corrupt leaderships, dictatorships and militarism. In addition, it highlights important sociocultural issues like the demise of traditional values, women status in a patriarchal society, nepotism and ethnical rivalries. Protest literature helps to interrogate a society’s values, beliefs, attitudes and convictions questioning their reliability, relevance and usefulness. Postcolonial Nigerian protest novel proves that literature is a real vital tool for political, social and cultural transformation and reformation. The study recommends that protest novels have to provide constructive and corrective criticism with suggested solutions. Further studies on the theme of protest should be carried on in other literary genres like drama, short stories and poetry to test their role in leading the Africans towards overcoming their political, social and cultural crises.