A CRITIQUE OF THE POSTMODERN EPISTEME IN SELECTED CONTEMPORARY 
NIGERIAN NOVELS 
 
        
 
 
 
 
By 
 
 
AKINSOLA OLUSEYI OLANIYI 
MATRIC NO:  61133 
 
 
 
SUPERVISOR:  DR. NELSON O. FASHINA 
 
 
 
Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Doctor of Philosophy 
(Ph.D), Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
             
          September, 2012. 
 
 
 
      
      
 
 
DEDICATION 
 
  
God Almighty, the giver of all wisdom, knowledge and understanding; 
Mama, the harbinger, the gladiator, who left so abruptly leaving behind no contact address, but 
like an actor, when the ovation is loudest; and 
My Girls, „Ele‟, „Sisi‟ and „Omoge‟, in whom I am well pleased! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ii 
 
ABSTRACT 
 
Western postmodern approach to literary interpretation has, arguably, misinterpreted the 
cultural and ideological meanings of African literary texts. This has been a critical scholarly 
problem since the emergence of African literature. Although African literature derives its form 
and style from Western alternatives, its cultural and ideological contents differ considerably from 
those of the West. Even though several scholars have variously enunciated the need to jettison 
Africa‟s reliance on Western modes of interpretation, no extensive research has practically 
detailed the historical, contextual and futuristic implications of the problem. This study, 
therefore, investigates the implications and consequences of applying Western critical standards 
to the interpretation of non-Western societies. It also suggests a possible way out of this problem 
in African literary research. 
The study employs the Afrocentric worldview, as propounded by Cheikh Anta Diop and 
expounded by Molefi Asante. This approach provides the African mind the epistemological 
polemic to critique postmodern literary theory. The choice of texts is informed by the thematic 
contiguity of contemporary Nigerian novels like Bandele-Thomas‟s The Sympathetic Undertaker 
and The Man Who Came in From the Back of Beyond; Okediran‟s Boys at the Border, Dreams 
Die at Twilight and Tenants of the House; Onwordi‟s Ballad of Rage; Adichie‟s Half of a Yellow 
Sun; Marinho‟s The Epidemic; Arthur-Worrey‟s The Diaries of Mr. Michael; and Mowah‟s 
Eating by the Flesh. The method of analysis is a probe into the internal arbitrariness in the texts 
to reveal the repressed meanings. This deconstructive analytical procedure gives credence to the 
assertion that the Western literary canon is inadequate to provide a development-driven 
theoretical standpoint for Nigerian literature. 
The texts reveal the contradiction in employing the Euro-American postmodern method 
for the analysis of African literature. The exploration of „traditionally forbidden‟ themes of sex, 
promiscuity, pornography, homosexuality, moral laxity and corruption in these texts underscores 
the need for a value-conscious African alternative. The innovation of disjointed style undermines 
the quest for cosmic harmony to the consternation of development-seeking African critics. The 
hermeneutic differences between Africa and the West are apparent in the different interpretations 
the two societies ascribe to symbols, totems, motifs, and rituals. The “basic principles” in 
Africa‟s relative cultural homogeneity are seen in the promotion and sustenance of her history, 
philosophy, religion, oral and written traditions, languages, ethics, values and cosmogony, 
 iii 
 
tendencies which researchers can advance in their quest for an African theory. However, these 
“basic principles” cannot be extracted from a Western source. They can only be arrived at 
through a sustained investigation of African history, culture and tradition. Africa has not yet 
evolved a fine-tuned “mega theory” which, in evolution and practice, is comparable to the 
standard now attained by the West. 
If an Afrocentric theory of reading literature must be formulated, African scholars must 
be much more grounded in African epistemology. A fuller understanding of the core tenets of 
African epistemology would show that her system of knowledge is a credible alternative to 
Western methods of inquiry. This would invariably translate to the reconstruction of knowledge 
to suit the African need. 
Key words:  Afrocentric worldview, Literary theory, Contemporary Nigerian novels, Euro-
American postmodern method, Hermeneutic differences. 
Word count:  499. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 iv 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
 So many people have imparted positively towards the successful completion of this 
thesis. They are all worthy of note. 
My deepest appreciation is reserved for my parents, Mr. David Akinbola Olaniyi and late 
Mrs. Maria Moyilola Olaniyi. The seeds you sowed and nurtured so painstakingly have now 
germinated! My lovely wife, Uduak, deserves accolade for being in charge of the home-front 
whenever the pressure of work, or my itinerant disposition, takes me away. My “jewel of 
inestimable value”, what could I have achieved without your homely touch? My girls, Olamide 
„Awero‟, Olaide „Abeke‟ and Olajire „Aduke‟, have provided the needed succour which can only 
galvanise intellectual savvy. Nothing compares to the unalloyed love and support from my 
siblings like Mrs. Rachael Oyedele, Dr. (Mrs.) Serah Sopekan, Mrs. Elizabeth Mefful, and 
messers Ademola and Ajibola Olaniyi. I appreciate your labour of love.   
I owe a debt of gratitude to my amiable supervisor, Dr. Nelson Olabamiji Fashina. His 
relentless piece of advice, knack for perfection, meticulous attention to details and unalloyed 
commitment to the successful completion of this thesis go beyond the call of duty. His is a study 
in mentoring! My Head of Department, Professor Aderemi Raji-Oyelade‟s scholarly intervention 
proved decisive at critical periods. This was the catalyst which drove me on. How can I forget 
the friendly disposition and support I got from Dr. Akin Odebunmi, Dr. ‟Remmy Oriaku, Dr. 
‟Tunde Omobowale, Dr. ‟Dele Adeyanju, Dr. Obododinma Oha, Dr. Adeshina Sunday, Professor 
Ayo Kehinde, Mr. Bassey and Mr. Gbenga Olaoye all of English Department, University of 
Ibadan?     
I cannot but appreciate Professor Niyi Osundare, Professor Harry Garuba, Professor 
Hyginus Ekwenzi, Professor Philip Oyelaran, Dr. Sola Olorunyomi, Dr. ‟Shina Afolayan, Dr. 
‟Tunji Oyeshile, Dr. Gbenga Akinwole, Mr. Pius Omole and Mr. Charles Nwogwugwu for being 
readily available, particularly at difficult moment when it looks as if heaven is about to fall. My 
„fellowship‟ group deserves accolade for „tolerating‟ me day in, day out, especially in the 
evening after a hard day‟s work. They include but are not limited to Dr. Kehinde Kester, Dr. 
Kester Ojokheta, Dr. Timothy Okemakinde, Dr. Sunday Okemakinde, Dr. Oyekunle Oyelami, 
Dr. Olumide Olajide, Dr. Muili Olajide, Dr. Abideen Olojede, Mr. ‟Diran Oladitan, Mr. Moyo 
Olutuase, Mr. Adegoroye (Igwe) and Mr. Kayode Ogunsola (BMT).   
 
 v 
 
I am equally indebted to my friends and colleagues who have taken me for who I am. The 
list is endless: Omololu Famose, Adeola Olayiwola, ‟Segun Awoyale, ‟Wale Ozogoro, Ngozi 
Nwafor, Bright Anoemuah, Olu Igbede, ‟Sola Onifade, Olapade Abdulrahman, Ayo Adejumo, 
Olaide Oladeebo, Bayo Ojo, ‟Femi Egbedeyi, ‟Tunde Ojediran, ‟Tayo Akisanya, ‟Tunde 
Sowoolu, ‟Yemi Akinremi, Akin Akinjole (Struggle), ‟Suyi Ayodele, Dr. Kola Oladejo (Steady), 
Dr. ‟Sunny Awhefeada, Gbenga Orisasona (Schilla), Engineer Abiodun Alabi (Abija), Barrister 
Gbenga Oladele, Barrister Ademola Fadare, Abdulahi Okwilague, Risikat Akinseye, Abiodun 
Ladanu, Segun Adewale, ‟Tunde Olatunji (Mighty), Henry Dickson, Kola Hamzat, ‟Dayo 
Famoyegun, ‟Dayo Muyiwa, Taiwo Ajani, Akeem Akinwale, Femi Ipadeola, Akeem Akinyemi, 
Ayo Adesiyan, ‟Toyese Jayeoba, ‟Sayo Oladosu, Gbolagade Akano, Kayode Akano, Femi 
Olalere, Muyiwa Ojo, Babatunde Oke, Adebisi Shittu, Taofeek Olaigbe, Kola Oloyede, ‟Sade 
Adegbembo, Adeola Oluponna, Ogechi Emenike, ‟Tope Adedokun, ‟Tola Oyin-Adejobi, Titi 
Ayelari, Morenikeji Afolabi, Folasade Ajao, ‟Toyin Oyebola, Julie Omotajo, Abiodun Bode-
Okunade, Mrs. Abioye, Dr (Rev.) ‟Bunmi Olujinmi, Dr (Mrs.) Folake Jegede, and Dr (Mrs.) 
Olaniyan. 
Lest I forget, the secretarial assistance was provided by Diekola, Ifeoluwa and Tinuola. 
How on earth can I forget „Engineer‟ Hameed Ajibola for those two dreadful occasions? Only 
God can reward you all for your unalloyed contribution towards the successful completion of this 
study. 
Finally, the authority of The Polytechnic, Ibadan deserves commendation for providing a 
conducive academic environment to pursue scholarly endeavour. On no occasion was I put on 
the „defensive‟ for pursuing this programme. Of all, the name ‟Tosho Ayanwale (of blessed 
memory) stands out. To live in the mind of those who love you is never to die.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 vi 
 
CERTIFICATION 
 I certify that this work was researched and written by Akinsola Oluseyi Olaniyi under my 
supervision. 
 
 
       ----------------------------- 
       Nelson O. Fashina,  Ph.D (Ib.) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 vii 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
            Pages 
Title Page:            i 
Dedication             ii 
Abstract              iii 
Acknowledgement           v 
Certification           vii  
Table of Contents          viii 
CHAPTER ONE: 
1.0 Introduction          1  
1.1 Background to the Study          12 
1.2 Statement of the Problem         14 
1.3 Justification of the Study          15 
1.4 Objective of the Study          18 
1.5 Scope of the Study          19 
1.6 Literature Review           21 
1.7 Research Methodology           27 
1.8 Theoretical Framework           29 
1.9 Organization of the Study          30 
CHAPTER TWO:  
2.0 From Modernism to Postmodernism: The Point of Convergence and Divergence 33 
2.1 Consequences of Modernity        43 
2.2 Legitimating the Enlightenment         46 
2.3 The Tenets of Postmodernism         58 
2.4 A Critique of the Postmodern Episteme        76 
2.5 Towards an Afrocentric Theory of Literary Interpretation      100 
CHAPTER THREE:  
3.0 Characterology and Inverted Morality as Postmodernist     
Existentialism in Okediran and Mowah‟s Novels     116 
 
3.1 Wale Okediran: A Brief Biodata        116 
 viii 
 
     
3.2 The Boys at the Border         117 
3.3 Dreams Die at Twilight         129 
3.4 Tenants of the House         142 
3.5 Frank Uche Mowah: A Brief Biodata       153 
3.6 Eating by the Flesh         153 
CHAPTER FOUR:   
4.0 A Nation in Comatose: Nihilism in Marinho and Arthur-Worrey‟s Novels  164 
4.1 Tony Marinho: A Brief Biodata        164 
4.2 The Epidemic          164 
4.3 Fola Arthur-Worrey: A Brief Biodata       172 
4.4 The Diaries of Mr. Michael        173 
CHAPTER FIVE:   
5.0 Postmodern Aesthetics in Selected Biyi Bandele-Thomas‟ Novels    187 
5.1 Biyi Bandele-Thomas: A Brief Biodata        187 
5.2 The Man who Came in From the Back of Beyond     187 
5.3 The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams      199 
CHAPTER SIX: 
6.0 A Deconstructive Reading of Onwordi‟s Ballad of Rage and Adichie‟s    
Half of a Yellow Sun         218 
 
6.1 Toni Kan Onwordi: A Brief Biodata       218 
6.2 Ballad of Rage          218 
6.3 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A Brief Biodata      232 
6.4 Half of a Yellow Sun         233 
CHAPTER SEVEN:    
7.0 Conclusion          255 
WORKS CITED           260 
 
 
 
 
 ix 
 
CHAPTER ONE 
1.0 Introduction 
 The emergence of the postmodern world has been facilitated by notable historical epochs 
in human history. Among the notable catalysts of the emergent postmodern order were historical 
watersheds such as the post World War 11 and the rapid dynamics of socio-political and economic 
changes that followed as after-effects of the Holocaust (Selden & Widdowson, 1993; Spielvogel, 
2000; Bilton et al, 2002). The decimation of Germany and her ally had led to resentment and 
disaffection after the World War 1 (1914-1918). New political arrangements, like the League of 
Nations formed in 1920 to ensure global peace, had failed to assuage the disaffection of nations. 
Fascism under Benito Mussolini in Italy had emerged to influence global politics. German leader, 
Adolf Hitler, came to power as the leader of the Nazi-party to espouse the so-called supremacy of 
the Aryan race over others! The need to curb German military aggression in Europe made the 
World War 11 (1939-1945) inevitable. After series of heavy defeats, Hitler committed suicide on 
April 30, 1945. A peace pact was eventually signed between the United States, Great Britain, 
Soviet Union and Germany on May 8, 1945 in Berlin (Spielvogel, 2000; King, 2006). 
 Out of all the dreadful consequences of the World War 11, the Holocaust is the most 
devastating. As the Nazi-controlled German army set out on the mission of exterminating the 
entire Jewish population of Europe and succeeded in killing about six million Jews in the process, 
it became difficult to rationalise these brutal killings with the rationalities the Enlightenment 
portends! After all, but for the Scientific Revolution that was given impetus by modernity, the 
highly organized German bureaucratic network could not have found it convenient to employ the 
instrument of science and technology towards the mindless massacre of the Jew. According to 
George Ritzer (1996:583), no form of mass killing, not even the ―irrational pogroms‖ can be 
likened to the devastating consequences for which science was employed during the war. Nothing 
compares to the use of science and a highly organised bureaucratic network to ―successfully carry 
on a mass extermination of the scale undertaken in the Holocaust‖(584). Quoting Feingold, Bauman 
(1989) provides a vivid and detailed representation of the ‗terror‘ of science unleashed on the Jews 
during the Holocaust: 
(Auschwitz) was a mundane extension of the modern factory 
system. Rather than producing goods, the raw material was 
human beings and the end product was death, so many units 
per day marked carefully on the manager‘s production 
1 
 
 
charts. The chimney, the very symbol of the modern factory 
system poured forth acrid smoke produced by burning 
human flesh...In the gas chambers the victims inhaled 
noxious gas generated by prussic acid pellets, which were 
produced by the advance chemical industry of Germany. 
Engineers designed the crematoria; managers designed the 
system of bureaucracy that worked with zest and efficiency 
more backward nations world envy. Even the overall plan 
itself was a reflection of the modern scientific spirit gone 
awry (8). 
 
Also, Jackson Spielvogel (2000) documents a gory account of Nazi brutality towards the Jews:  
After they have been gassed, the bodies were burned in the 
crematoria. The victims‘ goods and even their bodies were 
used for economic gain… The Germans killed between five 
and six million Jews, over three million of them in the death 
camps. Virtually 90 percent of the Jewish populations of 
Poland, the Baltic countries, and Germany were 
exterminated. Overall, the Holocaust was responsible for the 
death of nearly two out of every three European Jews (834). 
 
In similar vein, while commenting  on the testimony of  Rudolf Hess, a concentration camp 
commander at the famous Nuremberg trial, Margaret King (2006)  presents a vivid account of 
how Hitler‘s men killed the Jews mercilessly in their infamous operation tagged ‗‗Final Solution‖:  
Nazi managers invented a method of mass extermination: 
the gas chamber. SS guards packed hundreds, even 
thousands of prisoners at a time into the sealed rooms. They 
then introduced a precise quantity of Zyklon-B gas 
(crystallized prussic acid, normally used as pesticide). Death 
followed in just a few minutes- between three and fifteen 
(826). 
Besides the Holocaust, other related instances which expose the Enlightenment to legitimacy crisis 
and hostile criticism are the atrocities perpetrated with Stalinism. Alexander Solzhenitsyn‘s The 
Gulag Archipelago (1973) provides a monumental recap of the dastardly activities perpetrated 
under the guise of Stalinism in Italy. All these unequivocally foregrounded postmodern thinking.  
Meanwhile, these historical ‗tragedies‘ marked the demise of the Enlightenment epoch 
which was the period on which the Western intellectual pillar rested. In that era of regeneration, 
science and reason were no longer capable of providing the ultimate solution to historical and 
socio-cultural problems (Abram, 1981; Ray, 1990; Selden & Widdowson, 1993, Bertens, 1995; 
Garbadi, 2001; Milner & Browitt, 2002). New realities blurred hitherto established and 
conventional appraisal of societal realities. There emerged a new dawn which heralded a new 
2 
 
 
thinking and reasoning by sociologists, philosophers, architects, historians, anthropologists and 
literary critics in Europe and America. No one could doubt the fact that a new world has emerged 
to ‗announce‘ the demise of modern culture, at least, as it was fast emerging. The postmodern 
world is therefore accountable for as the totality of the new world outlook which has been 
mid-wived by the demise of modernity.  George Ritzer (1996) describes the new world as 
encompassing 
a new historical epoch, new cultural products, and a new  
type of theorizing about the social world. All of these, of 
course, share the perspective that something new and 
different has happened in recent years that can no longer be 
described by the term "modern", and that those new 
developments are replacing modern realities (608). 
Lawrence Cahoone (1996) describes the art of the time thus: 
This period saw the development of art which seemingly 
renounced unity of style for pastiche - and which in some 
cases threatened to break down the very notion of art - 
writing that embraced eclectism and laughed at (or with?) 
alienation rather than complaining of it, ... The idea of an 
avant-garde, of art as the most serious and truthful of 
cultural occupations, was increasingly abandoned (8). 
 
The postmodern world has therefore evolved to replace the modern belief system; hence Robert 
Ray (1990:131) calls it ‗‗the radical break with traditional assumptions about meaning‘‘. If Tony 
Bilton et al (2002:40) call modernity ‗‗the great transformation‘‘, the new world has therefore 
produced ‗‗another great transformation‘‘.  
Unarguably, the historic event that heralded postmodern culture was the World Wars 1 
and 11, thus Milner and Browitt (2002:169) refer to it as a ‗‗dominant culture of the postwar 
West‘‘. With social unrest and wanton destruction of life and property, the ability of science to 
provide order in the society became discredited. The 1950s and 1960s eras manifested the core 
tenets of postmodernism so much that Hans Bertens (1995:5) describes it as the ‗‗attitude and 
sensibility of the 1960s counterculture‘‘. According to Selden and Widdowson (1993), the 
unprecedented Holocaust and its attendant ‗‗unimaginable‘‘ consequences in the society led to 
‗‗ontological uncertainty‘‘ in a fast emerging world devoid of meaning, unity and coherence. 
Terror, chaos and disintegration became the lot of the society in a rapidly changing world. 
Established concepts or ideas became discredited and undermined through the celebration of, 
rather than lamentation of, ambiguity and disorderliness:   
3 
 
 
If there is a summarizing idea it is the theme of the absent 
centre. The postmodern experience is widely held to stem 
from a profound sense of ontological uncertainty. Human 
shock in the face of the unimaginable (pollution, holocaust, 
the death of the ‗subject‘) results in a loss of fixed points of 
reference. Neither the world nor the self any longer 
possesses unity, coherence, meaning. They are radically 
‗decentred‘ (178). 
[ 
The imperative of this reasoning method is the desire to ―subvert the foundations of our accepted 
modes of thought and experience so as to reveal the meaninglessness of existence and the 
underlying 'abyss' or 'void' or 'nothingless' on which our supposed security is precariously 
suspended”(Abram, 1981:110). This is achieved through a sustained repudiation of traditional 
belief system in a bid to undermine ―the Enlightenment belief in the unity of reason and progress, 
the idea that there is a rational purpose or teleology to history‖ (Gabardi, 2001:5). 
It is expedient to identify the raison d‟être for this social ‗earthquake‘ that threatened and 
ridiculed the foundation of Western thinking methods. Coming as a direct off-shoot of 
post-industrial Western society, technological explosion and advancement in information and 
communication across the world led to the advent of the electronic age, with computer, cable 
network, mobile phone, satellite television, and the Internet producing improved technology. 
With the whole world at our fingertips, the ‗borderless‘ interconnectivity gave rise to the 
unhindered influx of culture, norms and lifestyles that were hitherto considered the exclusive 
preserve of Europe and America. As the entire world is shrunk with recourse to e-business, e-mail, 
e-culture, man becomes ―an internationalised consumer‖ who now ―inhabit a multinational, 
multimedia, interdependent world marketplace‖ in the globalised society (Malpas, 2005:2). 
According to Bilton et al (2002), a fall-out of this development is the unhindered transfer of 
information, attitude, norm and culture across the world in our ‗‗information-laden, 
media-saturated‘‘ world, where ‗‗we experience events virtually and instantaneously from around 
the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week‘‘. The world therefore becomes a global village 
where people 
are no longer defined in a structured way by the job that we 
do, but that we actually construct our ever-changing identity 
through what we consume, be this on the internet, in 
shopping centres, on holiday or sitting in front of the TV. If 
the characteristic modern activity was manufacturing, the 
defining postmodern activity is shopping. In sum, the 
4 
 
 
postmodern age is a global, post-industrial age of 
proliferating signs, hyper-reality and deep-seated skepticism 
and uncertainty (517). 
[ 
Thus, information technology becomes a major catalyst for increased economic activities all over 
the world. 
As expected in the fast emerging world which Steven Best and Douglas Kellner (2001:1) 
describe as ‗‗the Third Millennium‘‘ which culminated in ‗‗a digitized and networked global 
economy and society,‘‘ the transformation in people‘s attitudes, fashion, norms and deeds was 
unprecedented, leading to the unhindered infiltration of Western ideals (Cahoone, 1996; Watson, 
2001). Custom and convention are allowed to freely spread across the globe in the new 
‗borderless‘ world. The ensuing global interdependent relationship turned the entire world into a 
global market controlled by the Western technologically advanced nations and multinationals. The 
end result is emphasis on money and bargaining power at the expense of the technologically 
inferior nations and their underprivileged people. Malpas (2005) puts it more succinctly: 
Contemporary culture in all its variety rests on ‗money‘, on 
‗buying power‘, and the apparently borderless postmodern 
world is so only for the Western elites who have the wealth 
and power to travel, consume and freely choose their 
lifestyles. In stark contrast to them stand the dispossessed 
peoples of those parts of the planet for which globalization 
seems often to mean a loss of security and 
self-determination rather than an expansion of opportunity 
(1-2). 
The high-point of this postmodern world is the Internet which shrinks space and time. Henceforth, 
all cultures of the world are to be seen and heard without repression, suppression and intimidation. 
According to Smart (1992:34), Daniel Bell‘s ―post-industrial‖ Western society which heralded ―a 
vast historical change in which old social relations (which were property bound), existing power 
structures (centred on narrow elites), and bourgeois culture (based on notions of restraint and 
delayed gratification) are being rapidly eroded,‖ is here with us.  
As influential as the period of the Enlightenment is, we are not oblivious of unfavourable 
critical opinions on modernist tendencies that significantly undermined modern ideals and gave 
rise to postmodern thinking. These critiques have attained the status of a consensus among critics 
hence the need to discuss them. The influence of the Enlightenment had begun to wane beginning 
from the time its inability to promote rational thinking was exposed, especially after the incidence 
5 
 
 
of the French Revolution and the World Wars 1 and 11. These events significantly cast aspersion 
on the ‗naïve‘ optimism of progress and development as articulated by Enlightenment thinkers like 
Immanuel Kant, Max Weber and Karl Marx. Although the age came with a promise to assuage 
man from irrationality, it betrayed this optimism with the killing, maiming and wanton destruction 
of lives and properties during the wars, thus critics argue that it is grossly disappointing because it 
has ―awakened many more expectations than it was able to fulfil‖ (William, 2004:635). The 
inability of the Enlightenment to sustain its enormous expectation led to its disclaimer as 
anti-Enlightenment critics engaged in deliberate polemics directed at its philosophical foundation. 
In the opinion of Grant (2001:29), the late nineteenth century anti-Enlightenment philosophers, 
like Nietzsche, directed their outright repudiation of Enlightenment philosophy ―at the hard-won 
gains of the Enlightenment itself with Nietzsche proclaiming that God is dead, and that truth, 
morality and knowledge itself were mere illusions‖.  
Meanwhile, the eventual demise of socialism in Russia and its former allies is another 
incident which undermines Enlightenment thinking. Uncertainty and tension enveloped the ‗Cold 
War‘ era and naturally, ‗‗a time of high tension‘‘ and pessimism is expected to be followed by ―a 
period of sober reflection and reassessment‖ (Williams, 2004:635). The disillusionment after the 
‗Cold War‘ led to global disenchantment and disdain for socialist thinking in its entirety, thus 
encouraging the wholesale ‗importation‘ of America‘s free-market capitalism. Now that it is 
established that even socialism cannot guarantee the anticipated utopia society devoid of mundane 
sentiment, oppression and inequality, a new lease of life is welcome. If man can no longer be 
assured of a society where he can achieve his maximum potential in a classless egalitarian world 
devoid of restriction, then communism can invariably make way for capitalism. In fact, Grayling 
(2008) submits that some anti-Enlightenment thinkers delude themselves by anticipating a 
communist utopia society which is only a mirage: 
This new line of thinking is a sad commentary for 
Enlightenment thinkers because it calls for serious scrutiny 
of the philosophical assumption that informs the foundation 
of modernist tendencies. Thus, postmodernist current of 
thought becomes inevitable (xx).  
 
It is clear that the central concern of the Enlightenment is the resolve to discountenance 
Victorian ideals of development which is espoused in various myths and traditional assumptions. 
While pre-Enlightenment critics find solace in myth and tradition to buttress their thesis about the 
6 
 
 
relationship between man and the society, Enlightenment thinkers reiterate the irrationality of 
myth and conclude that a concept that cannot pass empirical test is nothing but an ‗irritating 
misnomer‘ that should be jettisoned. Henceforth, reason should be the watchword in social 
engineering. Ironically, all the tendencies associated with modernist philosophy do not fare better 
as they also propound their own mythological speculations. For instance, Marxism articulates the 
‗myth‘ of the inevitability of utopia after the proletariat prevails over the bourgeoisie in a 
class-structured society while Christianity advances its argument with the conviction that a 
monolithic world of unalloyed loyalty to Jehovah is desirable. Unfortunately, these ‗myths‘ 
become restrictive and call to question the so-called freedom associated with the Enlightenment. 
As people seek a way out of the repressive doctrine of modernity, prominent among which are 
Marxism and Christianity, postmodern ideals emerge with the ‗largesse‘ to further liberate man 
from any restrictive ideology or orthodoxy. Post-Enlightenment critics begin to imbibe its core 
assumptions.                                                                                                                                                                     
 In addition, the overbearing attitudes of the State come to the fore in the modern era. While 
the state looms large in her capacity to promote and sustain law and order in the society, she 
nevertheless begins to exercise this authority, at times, in a dictatorial and most inhuman manner. 
This is clearly at variance with her social contract with the people. Evidence abounds of occasions 
when the inalienable rights of the people are violated and the people are suppressed in a way that is 
largely inimical to human capacity development. In the name of nationalism and in defence of 
territorial integrity, man engages in war with fatal consequences. Modern leaders like Hitler, Stalin 
and Mussolini led their people to various preventable wars with devastating consequences for lives 
and properties. These wars confirm the anti-Enlightenment position that the mere existence of the 
nation-state is not a pre-condition for order in the society. In fact, with the active connivance of the 
government, through a state sanctioned policy, the modern man is further humiliated and 
pauperized. This unfortunate reality casts the Enlightenment in bad light and informs postmodern 
thinking. 
Also, the project of the Enlightenment is heavily criticised by non-Western critics because 
of its philosophical assumptions which view development and culture only from Western 
standpoints. Instead of understanding national sentiments and prejudices, Western critics were 
erroneously influenced by Enlightenment ideals to believe that the West should provide the 
apposite benchmark to articulate world development. The likely aftermath of this parochial 
7 
 
 
thinking which merely helps to sustain Western hegemony is that non-Western culture is perceived 
with contempt hence its advocates seek a disclaimer of Western critical standard in return. 
Although landmark incidents which underscore Enlightenment thinking, like the Copernican 
Revolution, French Revolution, Industrial Revolution among others, unarguably occurred in the 
West, their significant consequences have lasting effects on global developments, Nigeria 
inclusive. Therefore while fashioning their developmental efforts along Western paradigm, 
non-Western critics are not unmindful of their indigenous peculiarities which accord them a 
certain measure of dignity and self-worth. Thus, the determination to create an identity devoid of 
Western dictation makes the series of struggles and strife by non-Western nations against 
perceived Western interest inevitable. Against the backdrop of the need to renounce Western 
critical standard, the project of the Enlightenment therefore suffers a major setback and 
postmodern critical model comes to the fore. 
In a similar vein, anti-Enlightenment critics accuse the advocates of Enlightenment ideals 
of dictating the direction of scientific research to further underscore their relevance and 
indispensability in social engineering. The obvious danger in this action is that scientific 
discoveries become a means of advancing the ideological linings of the state and an instrument 
strategically employed to articulate ― the interests of dominant social groups at the expense of 
knowledge that would benefit the common people‖ (Heise, 2004:150).  As the state begins to 
influence scientific inquiries, science loses its neutral status in political calculation. In no time, 
scientists become an ally of the state whose research findings can no longer be relied upon for 
objectivity. Therefore the quest for a more liberal science ―that would be more responsive to 
democratic and progressive political goals‖ gives rise to postmodern thinking which makes case 
for a multi-dimensional interpretations of scientific postulations. This seriously casts aspersion on 
scientific truth and value judgement. 
The Enlightenment‘s promotion of liberal science helps to advance liberal perspectives 
which eventually become its Achilles heel. As liberal ideology comes to the fore, free-market 
economy emerges with its alienating consequence for the less-privileged class. Now that the 
indispensability of man is threatened as he now has to compete with machine and fellow-men in 
the highly organised bureaucratic network, the weaknesses of science become manifest. As the 
importance of man further diminishes, the ensuing economic order relegates him to the 
background in social analysis. The expected aftermath is enough cause for concern and it 
8 
 
 
eventually gives impetus to Marx‘s theory of alienation. Therefore, anti- Enlightenment critics see 
alienation in a capitalist society as evil that must be confronted and altered to have a modicum of 
order in the world. Postmodern philosophical postulation becomes a ready beneficiary. 
Another critique of the Enlightenment is that its pronouncement on the omnipotent nature 
of science or reason in the world is largely inimical to human growth and development. If science 
can do away with man because it is capable of providing credible explanation to natural 
occurrences, then man is not better than a robot in the final analysis. Since the solution to nature is 
embedded in scientific postulations, human agency is nothing but a robot that is unlikely to 
achieve anything worthwhile without recourse to science. Henceforth, man can even fold his arm 
and expect science to salvage him from natural disasters. Landry (2000:1) identifies both Friedrich 
Nietzsche and Max Weber as critics who believe that whenever science or reason is employed 
primarily ―to maximize the manipulation of nature‖, mankind is reduced ―as subjects of reason, to 
the status of the objects they seek to manipulate‖. No wonder Williams (2004) submits that 
postmodern thinking gains preeminence in the world simply because science fails to promote 
equity for man in an unequal capitalist social structure: 
The Enlightenment made scientific thought the touchstone 
of truth in the modern world but the public was let down by 
the manner in which science was harnessed to the needs of 
industry. Instead of science being the instrument of human 
emancipation, it became the instrument of the aggrandizing 
development of the market economy. Science became 
detached from the pursuit of truth and was reduced to 
problem-solving for the capitalist enterprise (637). 
 
Thus, the negative aspect of the Enlightenment becomes an avenue to implant the legacy of 
postmodernism. 
The most decisive turning point for the implantation of postmodern ideals is the 
reactionary publication of Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno‘s ―Dialectic of Enlightenment‖ 
(1996). Having ‗disengaged‘ from orthodox Marxism, their argument elicits a repudiation of a 
‗vain‘ hope of utopia that is the hallmark of Marxist theorising. They see no hope of liberation in 
Kantian postulation on the Enlightenment, whose legacy only leads to the ‗institutionalisation‘ of 
totalitarian tendencies, hence was seriously compromised in the twentieth century. Situating their 
argument within the confine of Hegelian ―determinate negativity‖, Horkheimer and Adorno 
(1996) allude to both the positive and negative ideals that are inherent features of the 
Enlightenment, features that foreground dialectic theorising and foreclose any absolute claim on 
9 
 
 
the Enlightenment: 
Determinate negation rejects the defective ideas of the 
absolute, the idols, differently than does rigorism, which 
confronts them with the idea that they cannot match up to. 
Dialectic, on the contrary, interprets every image as 
writings. It shows how the admission of its falsity is to be 
read in the lines of its features- a confession that deprives it 
of its power and appropriates it for truth (244). 
 
To this end, Horkheimer and Adorno rebuff Enlightenment thinkers who are advocating a 
consensus model of thinking in the society. According to them, Enlightenment‘s sustenance of 
scientific knowledge is targeted towards promoting the myth of science above others. Instead of 
advancing towards attaining progressive and liberated thinking, the society can only retrogress 
because man is no longer ‗permitted‘ to use his freedom to think! The perspective to unravel 
cosmic misery is embedded in scientific postulation. No other form of thinking is credible!  
Apparently bemused at the turn of events in the twentieth century despite the ‗utopia‘ 
promised by the Enlightenment thinkers, Horkheimer (1895-1973) and Adorno (1903-1970) 
produce the most devastating critique of the age in a classic entitled ‗‗Dialectic of 
Enlightenment‘‘. Corroborating Cahoone‘s (1996:243) claim that the Enlightenment is 
‗‗self-negating‘‘, they decry the contradiction in the Enlightenment which, on one hand promotes 
liberal world view and, on the other hand, encourages totalitarian tendency. In line with Hegelian 
dialectics, they situate the Enlightenment in the context of' ‗‗determinate negativity‘‘ so as to 
expose its grey areas. In their analysis, they argue that in all situations, the realisation of the false 
claim in a system is an inherent feature of all belief system, hence no belief is sacrosanct and 
inviolable. The truth embedded in any scientific knowledge also gives room for its own negation 
as no knowledge is absolute. Such ‗truth‘ cannot even take off until we admit its inherent falsity. 
Therefore the absolute claim of science contravenes the ‗‗determinate negativity‘‘ of dialectic as 
the truth and falsity are interwoven and inseparable in any socio-cultural analysis. 
Horkheimer and Adorno chide the Enlightenment for sounding the death knell of diverse 
perspectives, so as to promote scientific mode of analysis as the grand norm. In its attempt to guide 
against recourse to mythology and traditional doctrine, the instrument of science assists the 
Enlightenment to advance a unified knowledge which it sanctions as the absolute truth to which 
the society must conform. Ironically, the Enlightenment rejects traditional orthodoxy but advances 
its own mythology. Its theory of negation, its ‗grand narrative‘, becomes its own mythological 
10 
 
 
postulation! In line with this, Horkheimer and Adorno posit that insistence on only scientific 
‗mythology‘ ultimately translates to societal retrogression towards a pre-history, 
pre-enlightenment era when mythology held sway. This forecloses man‘s determined effort to 
contribute to social growth. 
Also Horkheimer and Adorno argue that the Enlightenment becomes totalitarian and 
repressive hence undermines human‘s determination to liberate the society from retrogressive 
tendencies. Although it sets out to harmonise man‘s thought pattern, his developmental effort in 
the society becomes a futile exercise. Therefore, with the Enlightenment, societal creed becomes 
rigid with no place for dissentient opinion. This reactionary posture gives life to its bourgeois 
leaning and helps sustain its authoritarian rhetoric. It is inimical to social growth and 
emancipation. 
However despite the global inevitability of postmodern thinking, it is evident that 
postmodern ideals may not find a safe haven in African critical endeavour. The reason for this is 
not far-fetched: the precarious situation in which the continent finds itself does not warrant 
abysmal decimation of its philosophical and epistemological foundations by any theory which is 
largely unAfrican. The post-independent African society is bedeviled by all manner of evils that 
are in sharp contrast to the yearnings of her past heroes and heroines who struggled to attain 
self-rule. Ironically, while the oppressive and inhuman treatment meted out to Africans in the 
name of slave trade and colonialism have not been redressed, Western critics are still committed to 
a wholesale imposition of Western critical standard on African worldviews. Apparently in their 
bid to justify slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonial ideals, they promote ‗alien‘ theories that 
only help to sustain the pre-eminence of the West. This is done with the intention to permanently 
obliterate other cultures and pronounce theirs as the ‗norm‘, Unfortunately, these ideals are not in 
consonance with the determination of African scholars to articulate a critical standard that is 
development-conscious. Consequent on the belief that only an African-specific theoretical 
assumption can provide an appropriate critical standard for developing the continent, the 1950s 
and the 1960s witnessed the beginning of sustained critical repudiation of Western theories by 
African scholars. These African critics are committed to the task of discovering an African-centred 
theory as an alternative epistemological model. 
This study denounces postmodern tendencies that are evident in our selected contemporary 
Nigerian novels. Since these ideals are not in consonance with the desire to liberate the nation from 
11 
 
 
the shackles of poverty and cultural subjugation, the study is targeted at the bastion of 
Euro-American critical standard that is inimical to development for Africa. Besides, it is 
committed to the need to appropriate an alternative African indigenous theoretical model that has 
universal appeal and aimed at a better understanding of African cultural and epistemological 
specificities. In the quest for an African-centred theoretical paradigm that is largely conscious of 
the continent‘s historical and socio-cultural peculiarities, it interrogates the intellectual foundation 
on which Western philosophical assumptions rest and calls the bluff of Western theorists whose 
postulations are barely out to justify the ―material and socio-psychological humiliations‖ of Africa 
(Prah, 1998:1). Finally, it proposes an African-specific critical standard that can serve as a unique 
contribution to knowledge and provide a worthy legacy to humanity. After all, with Soyinka‘s 
landmark Nobel Prize in 1986, African scholars have ground to ‗announce‘ the arrival of African 
writings and criticism. 
1.1 Background to the Study 
Largely regarded as capable of guaranteeing order from the hitherto ‗disorder‘ that 
characterised Victorian age, modernism denounces in strong terms any recourse to myth, religion 
and traditional sentiments as a means of social engineering. Ironically, it soon begins to elicit its 
own limitations and contradictions in the contemporary society. The optimism associated with the 
Enlightenment had started to fall apart after series of incidents which called for serious scrutiny. 
The incidents that exposed the inadequacies of Enlightenment to public ridicule include the 
atrocities perpetrated during and after the French Revolution, the dastardly act and pogrom that are 
the hallmark of World Wars 1 and 11, the oppression and suppression that were pronounced in 
dictatorial communist regimes, the disillusionment which engulfed the world after the ‗Cold War‘ 
and the attendant ‗institutionalisation‘ of capitalist economic order. Unfortunately, the postmodern 
order which emerged as a form of reaction to these limitations and contradictions became 
manifested so much that it tremendously influenced, albeit negatively, contemporary Nigerian 
novelists! Thus, the resolve to investigate the place of postmodern ideals, as well as their 
contextual relevance to African developmental aspirations, informs this study. 
Expectedly, the entire world began to catch the bug of postmodernism and other related 
‗virus‘, no thanks to the satellites television and the Internet which gave rise to unprecedented 
global interconnectedness. As postmodern assumptions were allowed to spread unhindered across 
the globe, Euro-American ideals and norms began to infiltrate other culture of the world, albeit 
12 
 
 
with devastating consequences for non-Western societies. In no time, the influx of postmodern 
sentiments into African critical consciousness largely influenced the literary sensibilities of many 
Nigerian novelists both in content and form as evident in their literary oeuvre. This conclusion is 
foregrounded by the assumption that when an ‗alien‘ theory is permitted easy entry into a society, 
it invariably ‗imposes‘ its own critical canon on the indigenous mind. Thus, since no one can deny 
the influx of postmodern tendencies in postcolonial African society, it falls in place that 
postmodern literary theory becomes the stock-in-trade of these writers, unless they want to be 
insensitive to their environment. The looming danger inherent in this reality provides a requisite 
background to this study. Besides, we need to know that no ‗alien‘ theory can dispassionately 
articulate an appropriate theoretical model to study African art. Apart from the fact that cultural 
peculiarities differ, such theory would be clearly inadequate to address Africa‘s developmental 
yearnings. The reason for this boils down to the assumption that Western theory assumes the 
cross-cultural homogeneity across the world. Therefore from the 1950s, African critics have 
always engaged in sustained rebuff of Western ‗arm-chair‘ critics for their attempt aimed at 
sustaining the cultural hegemony of the West. To achieve this end, postcolonial African critics 
continually articulate an indigenous African-centred approach to analysing African culture, 
history, philosophy, literature, sociology and religion (Asante, 1987; Henderson, 1995; Irele, 
1999; Magubane, 2005; Zelesa, 2005; Olaniyan, 2005; Fashina, 2008). Thus at the risk of 
sounding immodest and engaging in ‗excessive nationalism‘, they call for cautious application of 
Western theory in African critical discourse for it is counter-productive and somewhat culturally 
and socially irrelevant to the African society and cosmic meaning. In place of Western theory, an 
alternative African-centred epistemological paradigm should be erected. Apparently drawing 
st
inspiration from Henry Louis Gates (1988), Fashina (2009:5) charges 21  century African scholars 
to ―evolve African specific research, reading and analytical methods‖ to serve as the appropriate 
template for African critical discourse devoid of Western dictate. In this vein, he proposes an 
indigenous African theory which is ―ensconced‖ in the Ifa corpus. Even if this ‗audacious‘ effort 
has not yet enjoyed universal acceptability for obvious reasons, the resolve to jettison the 
‗bandwagon‘ and seek an African-centred theory is commendable and can serve as worthy 
background for this study. 
 
 
13 
 
 
1.2 Statement of the Problem 
The interdependent relationship among nations of the world irrespective of cultural 
peculiarities in a ‗borderless‘ world underscores the influx of postmodern ideals into both the 
critical and creative stances of African scholars and writers. Consequent on this, overbearing 
Eurocentric worldview engulfed African epistemological persuasions. However, the challenges of 
Africa‘s development and the need to advance a development-driven alternative theory that is in 
line with Africa‘s cultural idiosyncrasies foreground the resolve to repudiate postmodern critical 
model and articulate an African-centred theoretical canon that places Africa at the centre of its 
analysis. In this vein, this study investigates the causes, consequences and implications of 
appropriating postmodern philosophy into contemporary Nigerian fiction. It also advances a 
possible way out of this ‗crisis‘ in African literary research. To achieve this, it exposes the abysmal 
application of postmodern ideals through a sustained critique and redefinition of its basic 
assumptions. This is to make them conform to and be relevant to the realities of modern Nigerian 
existence. A nation‘s quest for cultural re-awakening that is in line with her indigenous 
epistemology does not warrant tendencies that are largely inimical to the promotion and 
sustenance of her cultural worldviews. Thus, we embark on critical examination of selected 
postcolonial Nigerian novels that, either consciously or unconsciously, espouse postmodern 
tendencies. Towards the realisation of this set goal, the study will attempt to answer the following 
questions: 
(a) Postmodern discourse disavows ‗metanarratives‘ for being untenable in socio-cultural 
analysis. If this is so, how does it intend to buttress its argument for the adoption of 
‗mininarratives‘? Does this adoption not amount to generalisation it earlier disclaims? 
(b) Postmodernism deconstructs the grand narratives that support Western intellectual ideals, 
thereby seeking liberation from repressive doctrine. However, does its refusal to proffer 
alternatives not amount to being parasitic in nature? Is its deconstructive approach not 
advancing another grand narrative? Can we foreclose recourse to grand narratives with 
the puzzling array of nationalistic feelings and sentiments that influence contemporary 
global politics?  
(c) If absolute knowledge is unattainable because knowledge has been ‗relativised‘, what is 
the fate of research and sociological enquiries in a postmodern society? If postmodernism 
‗fictionalises‘ all disciplines, has it not undermined inter-disciplinary research? Has it not 
14 
 
 
sounded the death knell of all research efforts? 
(d) With creative freedom espoused by postmodern thinkers, experimentation becomes the 
hallmark of postmodern fiction. If meaning is now tentative as anything goes, can we 
guarantee that this liberty will not promote irrationality over the rational? Would it not 
support conservative linings at the expense of progressive postulations? 
(e) Postmodernism supports the transitory nature of the society from the pre-modern era, 
through the modern period, to the postmodern age. It sees social transformation as an 
inevitable consequence of social development. If this transformation attests to the advent 
of postmodern sentiment in our contemporary society, does it not contradict its claim on 
the disclaimer of universality of events? Does it not amount to an absurdity and 
‗irresponsible sophistry‘ to still claim the world does not exist? Can we still sustain the 
assertion that historic events in the world, like the Holocaust, the terrorist attack on World 
Trade Centre and Pentagon, are unreal? 
(f) In Africa, the social significance of literature is assured. Kunene (1981) and Ngugi (1981) 
reiterate that literature, particularly for a discerning African mind, is meaningless unless it 
distills social message. This would, invariably, translate to continental good. However 
with the cynical or skeptical attribute of postmodern philosophy, can it find a safe haven 
in African societies? Can its antirepresentational, antifoundational lining help to salvage 
the continent from her socio-political imbroglio? 
(g) In meaning formation, postmodern thinkers believe textual analysis should be done 
devoid of context. Ironically, critics argue that the place of context in meaning formation 
is looming and conspicuous, because it is ‗‗the spine of meaning‖ (Odebunmi, 2006:25). 
Thus, knowing full well that society provides the enabling raw materials for literary 
production, can we have effective meaning without taken context into cognisance? 
This study will attempt to address these posers. 
1.3 Justification of the Study 
Researches have shown that historical, cultural and socio-political realities that are 
predominant in a society, over a period of time, have largely influenced and continued to shape, 
direct and redirect the literary sensibilities of writers in such society both in content and form. This 
situation is not inadvertent but it is consequent on the need for writers to reveal societal realities 
since the society provides the background, the raw materials for literary works, thus literature 
15 
 
 
becomes a mirror, a reflector, a search-light through which the society is laid bare for all to see 
(Eagleton, 1975; Webster, 1990; Barry, 1995). The all-embracing and all encompassing nature of 
literature provides a writer with an enabling environment to document imaginatively the cultural, 
historical and socio-political milieu, albeit from his own subjective position. Lanrele Bamidele 
(2000) puts it more succinctly:  
Literature in its aesthetic form creates a fictional universe 
where there is a possible verification of reality at the 
experiental level of man living in the society. It could be 
stated that imaginative literature is a re-construction of the 
world seen from a particular point of view which we may 
refer to as the abstract idealism of the author or the hero (4). 
 
In Nigeria for instance, no meaningful literary work can neglect the historical cum social 
environment where it is produced and, in its place, talk about the esoteric! It is apparent that 
society has always been the bedrock of literary works of Nigerian novelists; suffice it to say that 
societal consideration is the sine qua non for Nigerian writers' literary efforts. This is consequent 
on the need for Nigerian writers to explore their society in their creative works, having come to 
terms with the realities of our existence as a nation. In a nation of failed hope, a writer cannot but 
write about corruption, injustice, moral laxity, administrative ineptitude, infrastructural decay and 
related vices which Chinua Achebe imaginatively depicts in his A Man of the People and which 
prompts an appreciative Irele (1988) to describe Achebe‘s effort as better than that of any 
socio-political commentator on Nigeria‘s situation! Therefore since our selected literary works 
present a vivid albeit imaginative account of the Nigerian situations, they overtly or covertly, 
begin to reveal some salient features of postmodernism. However, these texts merely depict a 
society devoid of order, in line with postmodern literary assumptions. The writers seem to have 
resolved to merely explore the societal ills to the status of becoming the centre-point of their 
literary sensibilities uncritically! Thus, our study is justified for it queries the social relevance of 
these texts and rebuffs their philosophical and epistemological foundations. 
Another justification for this study is its exploration of the works of contemporary Nigerian 
novelists who employ unorthodox writing styles and unconventional themes, features that are 
―traditionally forbidden‖ in African literary discourse. Since the efforts of these writers are in 
tandem with the postmodern literary tradition which celebrates vulgarity with disjointed narrative 
techniques, preferring ―arbitrariness‖ to ―a systematic and rational evaluation from accepted 
traditon‖ (Awosika, 1999:24), postmodern literary theory becomes apposite to their literary 
16 
 
 
‗misadventure‘. Thus, the topicality of the present study is foregrounded by the exigencies of 
repudiating postmodern literary theory, a theory which albeit unAfrican, yet provides a safe haven 
for ‗westernised‘ Nigerian writers in their resolve to expose the society using methods that are 
different from that of their earlier counterparts. 
Also our study is justified because it challenges Nigeria novelists whose works foreclose 
the preeminence of reason. A critical analysis of texts like Onwordi's Ballad of Rage (2004), 
Okediran's The Boys at the Border (1987), Dreams Die at Twilight (2001) and Tenants of the 
House (2009), Marinho's The Epidemic (1992), Arthur -Worrey's The Diaries of Mr. Michael 
(2000), Mowah‘s Eating by the Flesh (1995), Bandele-Thomas' The Man who came in from the 
Back of Beyond (1991) and The Sympathetic Undertaker (1991) and Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow 
Sun (2006) reveals that our society is on the precipice because established literary convention is no 
longer fashionable. This innovation is evident in the thematic and stylistic thrusts of these 
novelists. While they discuss socially ‗rejected‘ themes that celebrate vulgarity, obscenity, 
homosexuality, violence, pornography, sex, necrophilia, rape and marital infidelity, they usually 
prefer fragmented, disjointed narration, in line with the stream of consciousness technique. 
Although these texts make for interesting reading, a discerning mind begins to wonder what 
Nigeria and Nigerians stand to benefit from their uncritical stance. In fact, we make bold to say 
that these texts cannot assist in the promotion and sustenance of our cultural heritage. 
Although socialist realism is mostly patronised and explored by contemporary Nigerian 
novelists, socialism has not been accorded its pride of place in African literary discourse despite its 
promise of utopia (Onoge, 1985; Udenta, 1993; Uwazomba, 2000). The reason for this is not 
unconnected with the decline in fortune of socialism/communism in Eastern Europe and the 
former Soviet Union perhaps on account of the autocratic rule of Josef Stalin. This culminated in 
the eventual disintegration of the former Soviet Union and the production of George Orwell's 
Animal Farm (Umukoro, 1994). However, with technological advancement and the emergence of 
capitalist economy, innovation and experimentation which elicit the non-conformist nature of 
literature become the hallmark of contemporary Nigerian novels. Thus, this study is justified for it 
encourages our writers to go beyond mere experimentation and rhetoric which are incapable of 
altering the social maladies. If the society must be salvaged, they need to redirect their literary 
sensibilities to articulate the yearnings and aspirations of a nation, though comatose but in search 
of political rejuvenation and socio-economic re-birth.  
17 
 
 
Another justification for this study is that it presents Nigerian novelists who are 
professionals from diverse callings, thus exposing the society from a multiplicity of angle. This 
invariably gives us insight into related disciplines, from law to medicine, literature to philosophy, 
history to cultural studies, sociology to political science, and turns our study into a conglomerate of 
so many fields of human endeavour. With works from Arthur - Worrey (a lawyer), Wale Okediran 
and Tony Marinho (medical practitioners), and Uche Mowah (a literature teacher), our study 
becomes a microcosm of several disciplines. The multidisciplinary nature of postmodern 
assumptions has earlier been stressed. 
Finally, any academic endeavour that can generate research interests among scholars and 
critics is commendable and cannot be said to be out of place. Such effort is even more appreciated 
if it presents new writings from largely ‗unsung‘ writers. This study promotes new Nigerian 
novelists whose thematic pre-occupation explores the decadence of postindependent Nigerian 
society with the use of fragmented narrative style, in line with postmodern literary tradition. It also 
calls for research attention to shift to new writings on which an enduring intellectual edifice can be 
built. Without mincing words, our resolve to explore literary works from ‗budding‘ but versatile 
Nigerian writers is expected to be daunting. Apart from their relatively ‗obscure‘ status when 
compared with the first generation Nigerian writers, we are likely to be confronted with paucity of 
critical materials. However this challenge is worth the effort for it opens a new vista in 
contemporary critical discourse. It can be recalled that Niyi Osundare (1991:7) has earlier called 
for research attention to shift from the Tutuola, Okigbo, Achebe, Soyinka's era to new generation 
writers simply because the old generation of Nigerian writers ‗‗have been around for so long‘‘. 
1.4 Objective of the Study 
This study sets out to investigate postmodern tendencies that are evident in the literary 
oeuvre of selected contemporary Nigerian novelists. In a nation bedeviled with all manner of evils 
that have made nonsense the aspirations of her past heroes and heroines, the exigencies of the time 
do not warrant the adoption of a theory that does not take into cognisance the nation‘s seemingly 
intractable problems. It is believed that postmodern thinking is antithetical to her yearnings. To 
this end, it reveals postmodern assumptions in the works of these writers and repudiates them 
simply because they are socially irrelevant and incapable of addressing Nigeria‘s problems. Thus, 
since the literary works of our selected contemporary Nigerian novelists are dominated by 
tendencies that are clearly at variance with that of their earlier and more established counterparts 
18 
 
 
both in content and form, this study avers that this development calls for redirection of research 
attention towards repudiating tendencies that are not in tandem with the nation‘s developmental 
pursuit. This is consequent on the need to jettison Western theory that is overtly inimical to the 
resolve by African scholars to advance a theoretical model that is in tandem with their 
developmental aspirations. 
In a similar vein, this study is aimed at eliciting the inadequacies of Western theoretical 
canon to articulate indigenous African theoretical paradigms. Against the backdrop of the fact that 
no Western theory can provide an appropriate theoretical template to read African literary texts, it 
does a deconstructive reading of some selected African texts whose writers employ Western 
critical standard that is ‗alien‘ to African-centred approach to studying African culture and 
socio-political environments. 
Despite the unpopular status of postmodern thinking in African critical discourse, no one 
can deny its influx into contemporary Nigerian literary discourse. So pervasive is this influx that 
no credible discussion of recent Nigerian texts can ignore it. Thus, this study exposes postmodern 
thinking that has crept into some postcolonial Nigerian texts with a view to interrogate and critique 
their philosophical assumptions. This is to lend credence to the conclusion that postmodern 
theorising is a Western ‗tool‘ designed to promote and sustain Western cultural hegemony.   
Another objective of the study is to showcase the multi-disciplinary nature of postmodern 
aesthetics, a feature that underscores its multi-dimensional implications in disciplines like 
literature, philosophy, history, sociology, theology, architecture, anthropology and cultural 
studies. Despite disciplinary peculiarities, diverse postulations and conclusions are embedded in 
these areas of human endeavour owing to postmodern assumptions. This provides an enabling 
environment for the study to disavow these tendencies and give an insight into hidden or 
suppressed alternatives in our selected texts. 
1.5 Scope of the Study 
This study covers the linear origin of postmodernism and its contextual relevance to 
reading the poetics of our selected contemporary Nigerian novels. Bearing in mind the imperative 
of awareness of the basic ideals of modernism before any credible discussion of postmodernism 
could be done, the study also x-rays the points of convergence and divergence among modernist 
critics, upholds the basic assumptions of modernism, identifies the core tenets of postmodernism, 
interrogates the social relevance of postmodern ideals, submits that these ideals are at variance 
19 
 
 
with the developmental yearnings and aspirations of African scholars, and proposes an 
African-centred alternative in line with the Afrocentric theoretical postulation. 
Apparently owing to its traditional African story-telling narrative origin, the exploration of 
prose fiction in social analysis has attained the status of a consensus among recent Nigerian 
writers. Thus since the place of prose fiction is assured in African literary discourse, this study 
employs the genre to advance its argument that the thematic and stylistic pre-occupations of 
contemporary Nigerian writers cannot help to salvage the nation from her woes. Although drama 
and poetry are equally of tremendous importance to articulate these tendencies, our study employs 
the novels because it believes that postmodern tendencies dominate the literary oeuvres of recent 
Nigerian novelists. These novelists experiment with ―traditionally forbidden‖ themes and 
‗unconventional‘ narrative techniques. These writers and their creative works include: 
Wale Okediran:   The Boys at the Border (1991) 
     Dreams Die at Twilight (2001) 
     Tenants of the House (2009)  
 
Tony Marinho:   The Epidemic (1992) 
 
Toni Kan Onwordi:   Ballad of Rage (2004) 
    
Fola Arthur-Worrey: The Diaries of Mr. Michael (2000) 
 
Frank Uche Mowah:   Eating by the Flesh (1995) 
 
Chimamanda Adichie:   Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) 
 
Biyi Bandele-Thomas: The Man Who Came in From the Back of Beyond          
(1991)  
  The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams (1991)  
 
  
20 
 
 
1.6 Literature Review 
Critics are unanimous that most of the ideals of postmodernism are obviously contestable 
especially owing to its symbiotic relationship with philosophy. This relationship speaks volume 
about postmodern conviction never to accept any established or perceived knowledge about 
society or culture, despite its misgivings about knowledge, truth and reason. Apparently towing 
Plato's line in The Republic, as well as the existentialist philosophy of Nietzsche and Heidegger, 
postmodernism dismisses reality as not just unreal but only a figment of people's imagination with 
the consequent ―loss of the real‖ in the capitalist age of technological explosion (Jameson, 1991; 
Baudrillard, 1992; Sim, 2001; Easthope, 2001). However, the fact remains that we cannot deny the 
occurrence of landmark historic events, like the Holocaust, which led to postmodern theorising in 
the first place. If we do, we can then conclude that the Holocaust and even postmodernism are 
mere illusion. On the contrary, since the Holocaust occurred, postmodern culture is undeniable, 
and the reality of the world is unquestionable (Norris, 1992). Since truth exists in human judgment, 
behaviour and action, no theorist can hide under the banner of postmodernism to deny its existence 
unless he is either mischievous, insensitive, wicked or an incurable pessimist. When Baudrillard 
claims the Gulf war never took place, Christopher Norris (1992:11) chides his ‗irresponsible 
sophistry‘ for the killing and destruction that ensued make the Gulf war a reality. He refers to him 
as a ‗‗cult figure‘‘ who articulates ‗‗some of the silliest ideas yet to gain a hearing‘‘. No wonder of 
all leftist critics who denounce Baudrillard‘s postulation, Sim (2001:13) singles out Norris as been 
―harshly critical of Baudrillard‘s work‖ ostensibly on account of ―his flippant attitude towards the 
Gulf War‖ 
We are not oblivious that the philosophical assumptions of science can be attacked on 
several fronts particularly for advancing a ‗relativist‘ perspective on scientific postulations. 
However, critics believe there is no credible ground to deny its empirical conclusions that are 
evident in major scientific breakthroughs. No ideologue or theorist can deny the veracity of 
scientific knowledge that stares us in the face because scientific truth is empirically verifiable and 
valid irrespective of our political and religious inclinations. Science does not have a place for 
ideology in its discourse. It is an infallible concept whose stance is empirically verifiable. The fact 
is that once these postulations have successfully undergone the ―usual tests, which are independent 
of any political context‖ (Butler, 2002:37), they become sacrosanct and inviolable until ‗superior 
arguments‘ are presented to further advance knowledge. Any postmodernist who disclaims 
21 
 
 
scientific truth is perhaps mixing ideology with epistemological truth. Little wonder Butler calls 
for a clear demarcation between epistemological and ideological persuasions in postmodern 
disclaimer of scientific truth: 
This is, partly at least, because the truths of science, rather 
than those of politics or religion, seem as a matter of fact to 
be equally valid for socialist, African, feminist, and pacifist 
scientists (though some persons in these categories deny 
this). For empirical scientists only accept truths that have 
this universalizable character. Aspirin works everywhere. It 
is one of the things that they are not willing to be politically 
or culturally relativist about (37). 
 
We are aware that in some instances, political consideration may influence the articulation of 
certain scientific breakthroughs, especially if it helps to sustain the hegemony of the 
power-that-be. In fact, occasions abound when science has been employed to investigate and 
ameliorate the fatal consequences of diseases and pestilences that threaten human existence, such 
as the investigations on Sickle Cell anemia, Lassa fever and the dreaded Human 
Immunodeficiency Virus. However, such discovery may not stand the test of time if it violates 
established scientific ‗grand norms‘. Therefore we aver that even if the drive or motivation for 
some scientific experiments are ‗‗open to moral and political criticism,‘‘ it is needless to jump to 
conclusion that science is all out to articulate only the worldviews of Western super-powers and 
institutions. Butler (2002) believes that the central activities of scientists are beneficial to the 
generality of the people in the long run and cannot be said to be covertly political: 
Quantum mechanics, genetic engineering, and our scientific 
knowledge of the global climate of course have interestingly 
different relationships to the financing and pursuit of 
Western political and military objectives. But these 
contextual judgements can be accepted without it following 
that the core activities of scientists are somehow 
unsuccessful in arriving at the most reliable way of 
analysing nature we can manage .There is something very 
odd indeed in the belief that in looking, say, for causal laws 
or a unified theory, or in asking whether atoms really do 
obey the laws of quantum mechanics, the activities of 
scientists are somehow inherently ‗bourgeois‘ or 
‗Eurocentric‘ or ‗masculinist‘, or even ‗militarist‘ (37). 
 
Even if political consideration can influence scientific conclusion, leading to what Butler refers to 
as ‗‗bad science‘‘, such position can neither command validity nor stand the test of time unless it 
meets empirical verifiability test devoid of political inclination. In the same vein, Grant (2001) 
22 
 
 
reiterates that scientists are largely unaffected by postmodern philosophical narrative in their 
analysis of natural phenomena. Nature, not narrative, offers the most reliable explanation to 
science and its ally, technology. In the quest for truth, no postmodern ideal can supplant the 
indispensability of formulae and experiments. Any postmodernist who sets out to advance 
irrelevant political sentiment to undermine empirical scientific truth is either naïve or 
‗ill-informed‘. Thus, Butler avers that postmodernists who make case for socio-politics of science 
are merely ignorant of the core tenets of science itself. 
 Similarly, postmodernism is likely to result in pessimism, frustration, subversion and 
indeterminacy in the society (Brooker, 1992). While modernism attempts an all-encompassing 
explanation to address the chaos, strife and disorder in the society, postmodernism prides itself in 
celebrating the dislocation in the world. It, however, fails to proffer a categorical solution to the 
societal maladies but, instead, a relativist conclusion. The likely consequence of this, in the 
opinion of Selden & Widdowson (1993), is that postmodernism only promotes ‗‗romantic 
anarchism‘‘ with bourgeois rhetoric that is not interested in any genuine ‗‗social transformation‘‘ 
According to Spencer (2001), postmodernism is 
characterized by dissent and disillusionment in equal 
measure. Although some of the products or manifestations 
which are grouped under the heading of postmodernism are 
playful or joyous, 'postmodernism' often seems to revert to 
an attitude of an awkward and petulant teenager, wavering 
between anger and revolt on the one hand and sullen 
reproach and refusal on the other (161).  
In no time, despair and conservatism become a pastime in the world. Thus in a postmodern world, 
the utopia seeking posture of marxism is discredited because the new capitalist world order 
encourages skepticism about traditional ideal of human progressive march towards development. 
No wonder leftist critics like Jameson (1991) and Eagleton (1996) refer to the contemporary 
capitalist era as that which is antithetical to socialist thinking. The era discountenances marxist 
ideology and helps to sustain bourgeois politics. It is an era when postmodern thinking connives 
with free market capitalism to promote the perpetuation of the status quo.   
While castigating modernism on account of its submission that a single unifying 
postulation can take care of societal realities in all cases, postmodernism maintains ‗a safe 
ground‘, refusing to offer any alternative to modernist appraisal. In order to counter the totalising 
claim of modernism, postmodernism asserts that in contemporary society, no unifying postulation 
23 
 
 
is credible because multiplicity of meaning is required. Thus, no argument is superior to another 
and none can regulate the other (Cahoone, 1996; Grant, 2001; Lewis, 2001). Bertens (1995) quotes 
Lyotard as making a case for multiplicity of meaning in political situation without being able to 
categorically state how these diverse interpretations could be regulated to achieve a required end:  
The idea that I think we need today in order to make 
decisions in political matters cannot be the idea of the 
totality, or of the unity, of a body. It can only be the idea of a 
multiplicity or of a diversity. Then the question arises: How 
can a regulatory use of this idea of the political take place? 
How can it be pragmatically efficacious (to the point where, 
for example, it would make one decision just and another 
unjust)? Is a politics regulated by such an idea of multiplicity 
possible? Is it possible to decide in a just way in, and 
according to, this multiplicity? And here I must say that I 
don't know (196). 
 
Ironically, these diverse meanings are let loose as they do not have a point of convergence which 
can be adduced to achieve ―at least a basic consistency of definition‖ (Watson, 2001:54). Critics 
wonder how the advancement of conflicting positions can help sustain order in socio-political 
analysis. This deliberate ‗oversight‘ is regrettable and does not show any genuine concern to alter 
the chaos and strife that envelope contemporary society. Also, it confirms the assertion that 
postmodernism is parasitic in nature, feeding fat on other theoretical postulations without 
proffering one. 
Also, critics agree that postmodernism is self-contradictory. If it sees any claim on truth to 
be relative, how does it intend to advance its own ‗truth‘ which modern thinkers are nevertheless 
duty bound to disclaim also (Cahoone, 1996; Easthope, 2001; Wilson, 2004). A theory which 
queries the veracity of Western narrative should not have wasted its precious time advancing its 
own ‗grand narrative‘. In fact Derrida‘s ―false ‗logocentric‘ confidence in language as the mirror 
of nature‖ is nothing but an illusion, ―a false metaphysics of presence‖ (Butler, 2002:17). While 
Lyotard dispenses with grand narratives that promote absolute knowledge of the world, he prefers 
to argue for the use of ‗‗language games‘‘ as justifying human action in contemporary society! He 
thereby covertly advances another ‗grand narrative‘! As unsubstantiated as his adoption of 
―language games‘‘ is, it raises a poser on the desirability of articulating a generalisation he earlier 
opposes. ‗‗Language games‘‘ seek for legitimate knowledge which postmodernism jettisoned. 
Therefore, Haralambos et al (1995) posit that his position is untenable and unconvincing: 
The evidence he uses to support his claims is sparse, leaving 
24 
 
 
the reader with little reason to prefer Lyotard‘s 
‗language-game‘ to that of other social theorists. While 
rejoicing in diversity Lyotard ends up celebrating 
language-games conducted according to one set of rules, 
those of the technical language-game (910). 
 
Thus, Lyotard's ―language games‖ do not fare better when compare with ‗metanarratives‘ he 
condemns as untenable. His treatise is nothing but ―the most sweeping generalisations about the 
direction of human development‖. 
In postmodern texts, the authors‘ significance is reduced to the extent that they have no 
control over the texts. With ―The Death of the Author,‖ the readers have unlimited liberty to 
interprete the texts as they like and, invariably, promote divergent views. Since the environment or 
context plays no role in meaning-formation in postmodern works, the authorial intention is 
undermined for the realisation of relative, multi-various positions. The likely result of this is the 
reduction of human agency to mere robot that is incapable of altering the societal maladies. If we 
premise our thinking along this line, as the postmodernist would have us do, then we may have 
sounded the death knell to sociology and sociological enquiries en masse. When sociology 
emerged and started to flourish after the Industrial Revolution in the late nineteen and early 
twentieth century, its theorists like Max Weber, Emily Durkheim, Augustus Comte and Karl Marx 
believed they have identified a credible and reliable solution which would assist human beings to 
better understand the society, in line with modernist assumptions (Ritzer, 2008; Giddens, 2001). 
On the contrary, postmodernists argue that ‗metanarratives‘ are relative and untenable, since no 
human agency is needed in the final analysis. In fact with postmodernism, the onus of proof is 
shifted away from theorists! (Lyotard, 1996; Gibbins & Reimer, 1999). This position puts 
sociological enquiries and theories in danger. 
When postmodernism relegates the author to the background and calls for diverse 
interpretations in meaning formation, critics erroneously think it is now out to promote the 
indispensability of the readers at the expense of the author. Ironically, critics are caught in awe that 
it does not have a place for readers too. It surreptitiously ‗liberates‘ readers to read whatever 
meanings that suit them into a text because meaning is relative and there is no accurate or correct 
meaning. Therefore, if meaning is ‗meaningless‘, the implication of this line of thinking is that 
hermeneutics is discredited (Cahoone, 1996). 
 
25 
 
 
Also, postmodern texts celebrate chaos, nihilism, loss of value and absence of morality. 
Although these concepts are evidently present in the contemporary society full of strife and 
disorder, it is dangerous to dwell too much on them without deeming it fit to provide panacea for 
social change. This relativist perspective justifies any misconduct since no universal truth is 
possible. Critics see the disclaimer of absolute truth and the rationalisation of diverse perspectives 
as unhealthy and counter-productive (Cahoone, 1996; Rescher, 2003; Sean Easley, 2009). 
Since postmodernism ‗relativises‘ knowledge, most critics see it as unscholarly. A theory 
which takes a swipe at other theories without providing alternatives makes research effort 
unnecessary. Modern social theories, especially feminism and marxism, aim at discovering the 
ultimate truth about human society. However, postmodernism discountenances any quest for 
absolute truth or knowledge. This undermines research effort a great deal for it sees efforts put up 
in conducting research as incapable of leading to ultimate goal. Henceforth with postmodernism, 
research can no longer reveal the truth (Cahoone, 1996). 
Any worthwhile appraisal of the society ought to be done in a way or through a medium 
that is accessible to the people since they are agent of social change. Ironically, postmodernism 
relegates the role of the people to the background and, therefore, advances its argument using 
abstract, obscure, incoherent, disjointed narrative techniques to present its ‗unconvincing‘ treatise 
on the society. Segun Oladipo (2006) is of the opinion that although landmark events are 
associated with the Enlightenment age, fundamental changes would continue unabated in the 
world. He therefore denounces postmodernism for being too much in a hurry to condemn 
modernism whose project is still ongoing: 
After all, the process of enlightenment (seeing things in a 
better light) is a continuous one, as human experience and 
the history of science generally show. And although there 
are usually milestones (revolutionary changes, if you like) in 
this process and there can be reversals, which should and 
sometimes do serve as sources of further illumination, the 
process has not stopped and would not stop until the end of 
the world (147). 
 
Also, the aftermath of advanced technological innovation and unprecedented communication 
explosion is the postmodern suppression of the quest for identity by the less privileged and 
non-Western developing nations in our ‗globalised‘ world. As globalisation becomes entrenched, 
capitalism is ‗institutionalised‘. This ensures that the more technologically superior nations 
26 
 
 
dominate, exploit and lord it over the developing nations culturally, economically and 
socio-politically. In the emerging ‗interconnected‘ world, local peculiarities are eroded. 
Contemporary world is bedeviled with the evil of capitalism and its attendant oppression and 
suppression of anti-Western views, no thanks to the Internet, cable satellite and other instruments 
of ―electronic colonialism‘‘ (Hesmondhalgh, 1998:164) and ―economic globalization‖ (Beck, 
2000:100). Any ‗discordant tune‘ aimed at cultural nationalism and self-determination is 
immediately tagged a ‗terrorist act‘. The resolve to create a self-identity devoid of Western 
influence accounts for pockets of skirmishes between Western and some non-Western nations in 
the world. Osama bin-Laden‘s al-Qaeda‘s activities, especially the highly publicised September 11 
2001 twin attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon Building in 
Washington DC, readily comes to mind here (Malpas, 2005). Even if critics argue that his guerilla 
tactics contradict the basic Islamic injunction, a discerning mind can rationalise his action as a 
determined attempt aimed at creating an identity devoid of Western dictate. 
Meanwhile, the ‗ambitious‘ speculations of postmodern thinking remain unpopular in 
non-Western societies. Non-Western critics see postmodern theorising as a critical canon 
strategically adduced by their Western counterpart to advance and sustain Western hegemony and 
repressed non-Western cultures (Afolayan, 2007). Although the post World War 11era of 
disenchantment and the post ‗Cold War‘ period that gave rise to the entrenchment of free-market 
capitalism are sad commentary on the Enlightenment‘s claim to order, freedom, equity and 
fairness in the society, postmodern assumptions do not fare better because they are incapable of 
producing any ‗credible‘ alternative to the limitations and contradictions associated with 
modernist philosophy. Ironically, postmodern thinking overtly ‗promotes‘ liberal worldviews but 
covertly suppresses anti-West theoretical propositions in critical disciplines like literature, 
philosophy, history, theology, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. However since world 
history is incomplete without recourse to all cultures of the world, postmodern worldview is 
repudiated among non-Western people. Thus, critical discourse on postmodern episteme is replete 
with repudiation, disclaimer or outright renunciation. 
1.7 Research Methodology 
This study carries out a deconstructive analysis of our selected novels. This enhances the 
search for postmodern tendencies in them, as well as the way the authors have employed them. 
This is not inadvertent but consequent on the assumption that deconstructive reading employs the 
27 
 
 
unconventional style in its quest for the contradiction and suppressed meaning in a text. It 
therefore relegates authorial meaning to the background. This is to drive home the point that fiery 
criticism or outright repudiation of postmodern ideals can be rationalised on the premise that 
African scholars are committed to the task of articulating an indigenous critical standards. This 
would, invariably, provide an alternative critical paradigm that is beneficial to African scholarship 
on one hand, and disclaim Western intellectual discourse on the other. Unfortunately, postmodern 
thinking does not guarantee this quest for an indigenous critical canon! Yet, nothing can becloud 
the conclusion that postmodern literary tradition has tremendously influenced contemporary 
Nigerian novelists, as evident in their thematic and stylistic thrusts. Therefore through the use of 
the binary opposition method, we shall carry out a critical reading of these novels so as to identify 
these features.  
Also since postmodern thinking is uncomfortable with any restrictive tradition and 
orthodox reasoning method which inhibit literary creativity, experimentation becomes its 
watchword. Therefore, we have carefully selected some contemporary Nigerian novelists who 
experiment with unconventional themes and disjointed narrative technique to serve as our guide. 
In this vein, the data selected for this study are essentially contemporary Nigerian novels that elicit 
some ideals of postmodernism. Our choice is informed by the need to situate postmodern 
assumption in the context of contemporary Nigerian novels and critique its basic tenets in line with 
its contextual relevance to African critical discourse. This is coming against the backdrop of the 
fact that despite its ‗unpopular‘ status in African literary discourse, particularly on account of its 
‗nihilist‘ tendencies, postcolonial Nigerian writers have never failed to reflect on some of its 
features in their works. With Okediran's The Boys at the Border, Dreams Die at Twilight and 
Tenants of the House, the filth in our national institutions is revealed and condemned. While 
military rule and its attendant brutality and oppression are the themes of Mowah's Eating by the 
Flesh, Marinho's The Epidemic and Arthur-Worrey's The Diaries of Mr. Michael lend credence to 
the conclusion that both visionless leadership and irresponsible followership are the bane of 
postcolonial Nigerian society. Also, The Man Who Came in from the Back of Beyond and The 
Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams are Bandele-Thomas' graphic testimonies of a failed 
nation presented with disjointed narrative technique, while the treatment of themes of marital 
infidelity, sex and sexuality, the use of vulgar language and disjointed narrative technique stand 
Onwordi's Ballad of Rage and Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun out. All these features are 
28 
 
 
quintessentially postmodern whose relevance in African critical discourse needs to be 
re-examined.   
1.8 Theoretical Framework 
The study explores Afrocentric theoretical model to critique some selected contemporary 
Nigerian novels which elicit the core assumptions of postmodernism. This is consequent on the 
assumption that the Afrocentric critical canon provides an apposite theoretical template to counter 
Western critical standard which is at variance with an African-centred approach to analysing the 
African worldview (Chinweizu, 1975; Asante, 1987; Keto, 1994; Henderson, 1995; Obenga, 
1995; Poe, 2003). On account of its philosophical underpinning which denounces Euro-American 
critical standards and promotes an African-centred theoretical paradigm, Afrocentrism becomes a 
ready tool directed at the bastion of Euro-American canon on one hand, and sustenance of African 
identity through ―acts of consciousness, or more correctly, of self-consciousness", on the other 
(Obenga, 1995:10). In this vein, Henderson (1995:92) posits that the postcolonial African mind 
employs the Afrocentric canon ―as an obstacle to perceived Eurocentric cultural hegemony and 
white supremacism once the more obvious external trappings of enslavement and colonialism 
were removed‖. To this end, since postmodern thinking tremendously influences our selected 
texts, the Afrocentric critical alternative provides the requisite benchmark for its critique. If the 
fact remains that postmodern ideals are directed towards sustaining the cultural hegemony of the 
West, then committed African scholarship has no choice but to seek an alternative, non-Western, 
African-specific theoretical model that is relevant to Africa‘s developmental yearnings and 
aspirations. Keto (1994:vii) has earlier posited that ―Afrocentricity‖ provides an appropriate 
template to articulate ―the complex theoretical process of knowledge formation which places 
Africans at the center of information about themselves‖ while Asante (1987:6) calls it a resolve to 
situate ―African ideals at the center of any analysis that involves African culture and behavior.‖ 
This deconstructive approach enables us to expose these texts to diverse interpretations, reveal the 
repressed meanings in them, and interrogate their relevance to Africa‘s developmental pursuits. 
The conspicuous place of society in theory building for socio-political analysis has been 
stressed. To buttress the argument that cultural and socio-political environments have to be taken 
into consideration when articulating a socially relevant theoretical model to suit literary works, 
Amuta (1989) asserts that no theoretical model can be socially relevant unless it takes its cues from 
the society:   
29 
 
 
As a vital component of the critical enterprise, the 
interpretations of the literary products of a given society can 
only command validity if they are rooted in theoretical 
paradigms that either organically derive from or are most 
directly relevant to the objective conditions of life in the 
society in question. Such a theoretical paradigm must, in 
addition, derive its relevance from its commitment to the 
freedom of members of the society. For freedom is the 
precondition of art (6). 
 
The point is that the contemporary Nigerian society is bedeviled by all manners of evils and 
people that make the quest for order a mirage. This development provides new Nigerian writers 
with an ample opportunity to observe their environment and churn out literary works that lay the 
society bare for all to see as their imaginations dictate. Babatunde Omobowale (2001) quotes 
Tanure Ojaide as reiterating the interdependent relationship between literature and society: 
Literature is an art and a cultural product… The interaction 
of the individual with time and space will give birth to 
human experience… one can best understand the literature 
of a people from their total experience: historical, 
socio-cultural, political, economic and other backgrounds. 
Art has a cultural role in Africa where it is traditionally 
functional. The artist has responsibilities and certain 
dynamics relate the artist to his or her experience (64-65). 
 
Therefore if the Nigerian society determines the direction of its literary works, it falls in place for it 
to also inform the theory to be used in its analysis. Thus, this study employs Afrocentric theoretical 
praxis for it is most suitable to critique the epistemological foundation of Western cultural 
worldview.  
1.9 Organization of the Study 
Here, we present a breakdown of our chapters. 
Chapter 1: This is the introductory chapter of the study. Among others, it contains the general 
introduction, background to the study, statement of the problem, justification of the study, 
objective of the study, scope of the study, literature review, research methodology, theoretical 
framework and organisation of the study. 
Chapter 2: This chapter drives home the point that a proper understanding of landmark events that 
culminated into the age of Enlightenment is germane to a credible discussion of the ideals of 
postmodernism. To this end, it takes a cursory look at the Victorian age that precedes the modern 
epoch and to which its early origin can be traced, does an exposé on the consequences of 
30 
 
 
modernity and, despite its Western lining, legitimises its preeminence as a requisite theoretical 
assumption that is readily available to denounce postmodern ideals in African critical discourse. 
To achieve this, it enunciates the core assumptions of postmodernism, provides a critical 
repudiation of postmodern tendencies by the advocates of the Enlightenment, and concludes that 
these tendencies are at variance with the developmental yearnings of African scholars. 
Chapter 3: This chapter does a critical analysis of three fictional works of Wale Okediran, The 
Boys at the Border, Dreams Die at Twilight and Tenants of the House, and Frank Uche Mowah‘s 
Eating by the Flesh. Under the subtitle ‗ Characterology and Inverted Morality as Postmodernist 
Existentialism in Okediran and Mowah‘s Novels‘, the depth of decadence some of our national 
institutions like the Custom Services, medical establishments, National Assembly, and the military 
is revealed. As the rot continues unabated, no one ‗immuned‘ from the perfidy which is given free 
reign. In fact, any attempt to be above board in the society becomes an exercise in futility. 
Chapter 4: Here, we revisit the hypocrisy, greed and avarice of visionless leaders in Nigeria. 
Ironically, the masses that bear the brunt of the harsh standard of living are lily-livered, hence 
unable to effect any meaningful change. This is the reality of our existence as imaginatively 
created in Tony Marinho‘s The Epidemic. As corruption, nepotism, moral laxity and 
infrastructural decay become institutionalised, Arthur-Worrey‘s The Diaries of Mr. Michael sees 
no way out of the doldrum. It comes under the subtitle ‗A nation in Comatose: Nihilism in Marinho 
and Arthur-Worrey‘s Novels‘. 
Chapter 5: Aptly subtitled ‗Postmodern Aesthetics in Selected Biyi Bandele-Thomas‘ Novels‘, 
this chapter does a reading of Biyi Bandele-Thomas‘ The Man who Came in From the Back of 
Beyond and The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams. It presents a society bedeviled with 
escalating economic and socio-political travails, a nation of dashed hopes which reduces her 
people to perpetual want and misery. A graphic account of the Nigerian situation depicts 
Bandele-Thomas as a writer who is familiar with his Nigerian root. It is entitled. 
Chapter 6: Here we present the novels of Toni Kan Onwordi and Chimamanda Adichie‘s Ballad 
of Rage and Half of a Yellow Sun respectively. The exploration of the themes of sex and 
homosexuality, fragmented narrative technique and disjointed plots in these texts make them 
quintessentially postmodern. It is subtitled ‗A Deconstructive Reading of Onwordi‘s Ballad of 
Rage and Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun‘. 
Chapter 7: This chapter concludes the study. It x-rays the extent by which the study has resolved 
31 
 
 
the pertinent questions it sets out to investigate. It asserts that despite its looming presence in 
contemporary Nigerian literary consciousness, postmodern ideals may not appeal to the 
contemporary African mind hence should be treated with disdain it rightly deserves. It therefore 
enjoins African scholars to be committed to the quest for an African-centred critical theory which 
can assist in the task of salvaging the continent out of her cultural, economic and socio-political 
imbroglio. However, it warns them to be grounded in African worldview first. This would provide 
them with an African epistemology which can be employed in the quest for a development-driven, 
African-specific cultural theory. 
 
 
 
  
32 
 
 
CHAPTER TWO 
2.0 From Modernism to Postmodernism: The Points of Convergence and Divergence 
The Middle Age period in human history has always been regarded as the era of 
‗‗intellectual darkness‘‘ (Spielvogel, 2000:487). As the Victorian ideals came to the fore, myth 
was regarded as a reliable instrument for social engineering, though its plausibility cannot be 
empirically verified. How do we convince a discerning mind of the veracity of the myth 
surrounding the birth of Athena, a Greek god who was said to have no mother but ―sprang fully 
armed from the head of Zeus‖?, or that of Odùduwà, the progenitor of the Yorùbá, who was said to 
have descended from heaven with a chain? Myth hitherto provided a ‗credible‘ explanation for 
social phenomenon. It also justifies cosmogony and the activities of deified legendary 
personalities. For instance, Greek mythology was dominated by the anthropomorphic activities of 
gods and goddesses from Zeus to Athena, Apollo to Hermes, Hestia to Artemis, Europa to Orestes, 
Dionysus to Aison, while that of Yorùbá articulates the cosmic relevance of deified gods and 
goddesses from Ògún to Sàngó, Ôrúnmìlà to Obàtálá, Oya to Ôsun, as well as the much maligned 
Esu (Idowu, 1962; Ifie, 1989; Krammer, 1997; Salami, 2002; Fashina, 2009). In fact, Western 
civilisation was largely influenced by Greco-Roman mythology of which Christianity was its most 
eloquent testimony. The Bible documents so many Christian myths ranging from the creation story 
to that surrounding the birth, miracles and the ascension of Jesus Christ. Thus while agreeing with 
Krammer (1997:757) that myth is ―neither invalid, unreliable, extinct‖, we aver that it however 
derives its veracity from its capacity to articulate a civilisation and justify the action and inaction 
th
of its progenitors, be they gods or mortals. However from about the 15  century Renaissance, 
Victorian ideals in arts, history, philosophy and literature began to wither only to be followed by 
the modern era: the era which Gabardi (2001:3) claims encompasses the renaissance, protestant, 
Industrial Revolution and the upsurge of socialism.  
As an epoch, modern era is difficult to date because it spans several decades. According to 
Habermas (1992:126), the Latin variant of modern, i.e modernus, was first used in the closing 
decade of the fifth century as a mark of demarcation between the present and the Roman past. 
Although we can identify three distinctive phases of modern era to include the early sixteenth and 
late eighteenth century dawn of modern development, through the time and consequences of the 
French Revolution, to the late nineteenth century spread of modern values across the globe, yet the 
33 
 
 
precise date of Western modernity remains contentious. Some of its assumptions can be seen as 
early as the fifteenth and sixteenth century eras of slave trade and colonialism respectively, while 
its influences began to manifest from the seventeenth century Scientific Revolution, through the 
eighteenth century Enlightenment, and climaxed with the nineteenth century advent of sociology 
as an academic discipline ((Berman, 1983; Smart, 1992, Spielvogel, 2000; Henry, 2004; King, 
2006; Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). This lack of consensus explains why critics differ on its 
evolution in Europe and America; hence Sheppard (1993:1-4) says it lacks ‗‗clear chronological 
boundaries‘‘ because it is essentially a ―transitional phenomenon‖. In the same vein, Brooks 
(1990:119) opines that the perspectives of two schools of thought foreground the ideal of 
modernism as ―applying to a particular group of writers and artists in a particular period‖ and 
―describing a certain artistic posture‖. These diverse critical opinions gave rise to so many 
modernist accounts hence we have capitalist, socialist, sociological, historical and philosophical 
accounts. Thus any attempt aimed at articulating a unified definition of modernism can only 
remain a mirage. No wonder Peter Jones (2004) asserts that no single ideal encapsulates the entire 
modernist thinking in all its ramifications: 
No single idea, belief or practice unites all of the writers 
associated with Enlightenment thought; no one meaning 
informed even the banners under which dispute was 
sustained; no one definition embraces the ways  in which 
the most self-consciously used terms were employed (3).  
 
Notwithstanding divergent views on its actual date, critics are unanimous that modern period 
influenced every facet of human endeavour from history to philosophy, archaeology to sociology, 
anthropology to history, theology to psychology, literature to cultural studies, and promoted 
unprecedented social transformations from the time mankind began to strive for progress and 
emancipation from restrictive tradition and religious orthodoxy (Bilton et al, 2002; Malpas, 2005). 
Although modern era began with the revolutionary spirit of the late eighteenth century 
period which promoted an inter-disciplinary critique of the world vis-a-vis its unprecedented 
historical change, it gathered momentum with the activities of some radical nineteenth century 
thinkers, sociologists, philosophers and theorists like Sigmund Freud, Augustus Comte, Max 
Weber, Charles Darwin, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche and Albert Einstein. 
(Milner & Browith, 2002). Having been greatly influenced by seventeenth century thinkers like 
Galilei Galileo, Nicolaus Copernicus, Isaac Newton, John Locke, Francis Bacon and Rene 
Descartes, eighteenth century Enlightenment thinkers aver that for humanity to be liberated from 
34 
 
 
traditional assumption, religious bigotry and primordial chauvinism, science, as well as its 
attendant truth, rationality and objectivity, is required. According to King (2006), the second 
century Ptolemaic geocentric cosmology, which claimed that the earth was stationary at the centre 
of the universe where other heavenly bodies rotated around it, was eventually disclaimed by 
seventeenth century Copernican model which argued that the sun was at the centre of the universe 
where earth and other heavenly bodies revolved around it: 
The old model of the universe had prevailed for some 1400 
years, since it was formulated by the ancient Greek 
mathematician, geographer, and philosopher Ptolemy…This 
model was shattered by Nicholas Copernicus who in 1543 
proposed that the sun was central and that the earth was the 
third planet from the center (484-485).  
This landmark astrological ‗revolution‘ has a significant impression on natural, social and human 
development and thinking in subsequent generations. 
Modernism is a Western ideal which claims to have unraveled the direction of social 
change through a concerted and sustained critique of traditional assumptions and beliefs. Using its 
‗grand narratives‘ to buttress its claim and elicit its core values and assumptions, modernism 
attempts a single but universal explanation of the society vis-a-vis the role of man. It is premised 
on the assumption that chaos and disorder are associated with the pre-enlightened society but with 
scientific emancipation, a universal explanation is required. Having ‗demythologised‘ the world, 
man can now capture, explain, control and ultimately dominate the natural order. No one is left in 
doubt that modernism upholds and sustains ‗‗the fundamental intellectual pillars‘‘ on which 
Western ideals and society are based (Abrahams, 1981; Marshal 1994; Barry, 1995; Cahoone, 
1996; Landry, 2000). 
The eighteenth and nineteenth century European societies witnessed an unprecedented 
industrial development, the highpoint of which was the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. 
With advancement in science and technology, social development and growth became predictable 
since reason, occasioned by the seventeenth century Scientific Revolution, was now capable of 
providing the ultimate solution to social problem. Machine technology, which consequently led to 
industrial development and tremendous social growth owing to its leaning towards free market 
economy, became entrenched. Technological advancement became a major catalyst for 
unprecedented improvement in material living standard. The modern era, ‗the golden age,‘ ‗the 
age of reason,‘ the Enlightenment epoch has arrived! The idea behind Enlightenment thinking is 
35 
 
 
the resolve to articulate the indispensability of reason in the quest for human emancipation and the 
enhancement of human life. Enlightenment philosophers set out to demystify traditional sentiment 
and religious orthodoxy by employing a rational mechanism for social ordering.  In this task, they 
seek to liberalise human thinking through the instrument of science. This however promotes a 
unilateral interpretation of social phenomenon (Habermas, 1992; Cahoone, 1996; Bell, 1996; 
Kant, 1996; Bilton et al, 2002; Malpas, 2005; King, 2006). 
Meanwhile, as reason came to the fore in social engineering, myth and tradition were 
jettisoned. In the world of Enlightenment thinkers, no knowledge is credible until it has undergone 
scientific scrutiny for it is in science that rational explanation of social phenomenon and progress 
for mankind is situated. Traditional assumptions and mythology are perceived as irrationality 
aimed at undermining humankind‘s quest for emancipation from bondage and affliction. 
Henceforth Enlightenment thinkers argue that only science can lead man towards the attainment of 
his maximum potential (Henry, 2004; Schouls, 2004; Parry, 2004). A.C. Grayling (2008) is an 
eloquent advocate of scientific superiority in social analysis as espoused by Enlightenment 
philosophy: 
Thus, science shatters the systems of technology and 
metaphysics. But it is not just the victory of scientific 
knowledge as such, but the scientific method and mindset, 
which rout the old and obfuscatory orthodoxies…the 
rejection of religious‘ hegemony over thought was the 
crucial starting point for the task that the philosophers urged 
each person to undertake: to become autonomous, relying on 
reason and applying scientifically minded rationality to 
building better lives and societies (xiii-xv). 
 
Therefore, the universe ceased from being controlled solely by God. In no time, ―magical 
explanations of events were doomed‖ and in place of magic, rational man began to dominate the 
society with his ability to ‗‗postulate a rational explanation‘‘ to enhance cosmic harmony (King, 
2006: 484- 495).  
 The ‗emergence‘ of man at the centre-point of social analysis came with certain realities: 
man became the sole determinant of, and catalyst for, unprecedented social development. As a 
free-thinker who is able to dominate and control his environment devoid of any supernatural 
dictate, he is at liberty to lord it over nature and assert his own preeminent status. As he has 
acquired the knowledge to unravel the ―secrets of nature‖, gone are the days when his relationship 
with nature was characterised by unalloyed obedience and awesome reverence. Sheppard (1993) 
36 
 
 
does not mince words in referring to him in glowing term:  
Like his enlightenment predecessor, the nineteenth- century 
liberal humanist assumed that man was moral by nature and 
endowed with a power of rationality which enabled him both 
to unlock the secrets of Nature and to exercise control over 
himself. Having dispensed with God, the enlightened 
nineteenth-century free thinker filled that gap with man, 
who, he assumed, was the measure of all things (18-19). 
 
The premise for this submission is obvious: human society is not eternally organised or divinely 
ordained. It is an historical contraption that is alterable. Through the instrument of reason, man can 
query nature to redress its oppressive tendencies in his quest for emancipation from stereotyped 
tradition and primordial sentiment. Fredrick Nietzsche‘s philosophy obviously influenced the 
liberal humanist of the Enlightenment era.  
Although the modern epoch was secular in nature, Christian mythology was rife during the 
period (Habermas, 1992; Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). While Christian worldview promotes 
the Christian God, known as Yahweh, as the omnipotent controller of the ―cosmic machine‖, it 
vehemently disavows the existence of other gods! This over-bearing attitude of an ‗omniscient‘ 
God is not in tandem with the basic tenet of modernism on freewill and self-determinism, hence 
Yahweh‘s activities are clearly at variance with Enlightenment thinking. Thus on account of its 
preference for ‗mystery‘ at the expense of reason, Christianity becomes anti-Enlightenment. No 
wonder Enlightenment thinkers disclaim it, calling for the promotion and sustenance of reason 
devoid of any ―sacred mystery‖ for the world to be free from religious dogma (Calinescu, 1987; 
Malpas, 2005). In fact, Krammer (1997) recounts Thomas Jefferson‘s bold attempt at rewriting the 
bible in a manner that retains aspects that are empirically verifiable and discards those that stand 
logic on the head. 
A good example of modernist criticism is marxism. Marxist literary theory, based on the 
historic narrative of society as postulated by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, does not subscribe to 
the idea of an autonomous author who writes devoid of social constraint. To a marxist, a writer‘s 
idea or perspective is shaped by the society. A committed writer is therefore expected to place his 
work in the service of the people with the conviction that a classless egalitarian society would 
emerge where the proletariat would lord it over the bourgeoisie. Thus, in line with modernist 
assumption, society becomes an evolutionary process towards utopia (Gugelberger, 1985; Barry, 
1995; Marx and Engels, 1996; Eagleton 1996; Williams, 1997; Childs, 2000; Malpas, 2005; Daly, 
37 
 
 
2006). Thus, marxist critics believe that since the past dominates, and still wants to dominate the 
present, the only hope left for the present to liberate itself from the yoke imposed on it by the past 
can be found in communism.  
The influence of marxism on modernist assumption is enormous. From marxian 
perspective, industrial development led to advanced technological innovation and improved 
productivity. Ironically, this ‗revolution‘ gave rise to conflict and strife between the two major 
classes in the fast emerging industrialised capitalist society: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. 
Having been reduced from peasant farmers to workers without any significant access to the means 
of production except their meagre wages, the proletariat became mere commodities, tools, 
instruments, ‗‗animals, beasts of burden, or inhuman machines‘‘. His worth can only be measured 
in relation to his ‗‗functional context‘‘. He has become an ‗appendage‘ in the name of wealth 
creation and profit maximisation. Consequently, man becomes alienated from his productive 
activity, from the product, from other workers, and he ultimately fails to achieve his potential. 
Therefore in his bid to assert his humanness and restore his dignity, man continually engages in 
conflict in the society with the conviction that victory over oppression is realisable in the imminent 
‗workers‘ paradise‘. Marx‘s theory of alienation encompasses class oppression which explains the 
relationship between the two classes in an unequal class arrangement that alienates the proletariat 
in exchange for subsistence wage (Ritzer, 1996; Roberts, 2004; King, 2006; Daly, 2006). This 
perspective has lasting impression on modernist writing and justifies Childs (2000:30) description 
of Marx and Engels‘ Communist Manifesto as ‗‗the first of the many modernist proclamations of 
(the need for) a radical break from the past‘‘. Henceforth, a secular society is born where divine 
ordering of the cosmos is jettisoned and in its place, man came to the fore as the centre-point of 
social analysis. Therefore, even if their approaches differ, marxism became the blueprint, the 
article of faith, the creed, from where radical writers like Brecht, Lukacs, Jameson, Benjamin and 
Adorno got inspiration to advance modernist writings. 
Without doubt, Immanuel Kant‘s ―An Answer to the Question: What is 
Enlightenment?”(1996) provides a seminal representation of Enlightenment thought, in the 
manner which Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno‘s ―Dialectic of Enlightenment‖ (1996) 
elicits the most ‗‗engaging and challenging‘‘ yet devastating critique of the Enlightenment in the 
Hegelian tradition (William, 2004:420). Kant‘s treatise is of eloquent representation of the ideals 
of the Enlightenment because it takes into cognisance the limitations of the project, thus justifying 
38 
 
 
Williams‘ accolade that his argument is at variance with ―the usual dogmas of the movement‖. 
From Kant‘s perspective, man‘s inability to emerge from his immaturity unto Enlightenment is 
self-inflicted. He is evidently aware of his state, but is unwilling to wriggle out of it because he 
does not possess the courage to take initiative without being guided:  
Enlightenment is man‘s emergence from his self-incurred 
immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one‘s own 
understanding without the guidance of another. This 
immaturity is self-incurred if its cause is not lack of 
understanding, but lack of resolution and courage to use it 
without the guidance of another. The motto of 
enlightenment is therefore: Sapere aude! Have courage to 
use your own understanding (51). 
 
Lack of determination is his Achilles heel as he is unwilling to make a determined attempt to leave 
his present situation. Having forgotten that success is inevitable after initial failure even from the 
most difficult task, he becomes complacent:  
It is so convenient to be immature! If I have a book to have 
understanding in place of me, a spiritual adviser have a 
conscience for me, a doctor to judge my diet for me, and so 
on, I need not make any efforts at all. I need not think, so 
long as I can pay; others will soon enough take the tiresome 
job over for me (51-52).  
 
The reason for man‘s apathy and lack of courage is evident: the overbearing influence of religious 
dogma and prescriptive tradition has led the society into being controlled by stereotyped and 
uncritical doctrine that undermine human‘s intellectual faculty. In such society, man is unable to 
question religious sentiment and traditional orthodoxy even when they are inimical to social 
development! He is unperturbed and resigned to fate at a time he is expected to take the bull by the 
horn and strive towards self-liberation with his destiny in his own hand: 
Dogmas and formulas, those mechanical instruments for 
rational use (or misuse) of his natural endowments, are the 
ball and chain of his permanent immaturity. And if anyone 
did throw them off, he would still be uncertain about 
jumping over even the narrowest of trenches, for he would 
be unaccustomed to free movement of this kind (52). 
 
Therefore, for mankind to be liberated from traditional orthodoxy that hinders freewill, Kant 
advocates liberty to use one‘s reason at all times as only reason can guarantee a smooth sail 
towards Enlightenment. Nature does not inhibit man from being enlightened. It is incumbent on 
him to shake off his lethargy and ‗confront‘ his problem headlong. If he does, nothing can 
39 
 
 
overcome him on his way to ‗victory‘ in his endeavour. 
Kant is not oblivious of a certain measure of control which is imperative in the society. 
Having agreed to be led under a state‘s sovereignty, it becomes imperative for man to submit 
totally to the dictate of the state once he remains under the ‗commonwealth.‘ Since he has chosen 
to stay within the territory controlled by the state, he must obey its dictate for the overall 
well-being of the public: 
Thus it would be very harmful if an officer receiving an 
order from his superiors were to quibble openly, while on 
duty, about the appropriateness or usefulness of the order in 
question. He must simply obey (53). 
 
This conclusion is premised on the assumption that man‘s deference to state control will invariably 
enhance the overall interest of the state and facilitate social growth. The society stands to benefit 
tremendously from such unalloyed obedience. However, this does not foreclose his recourse to 
reason in as much as this intellectual exercise does not jeopardise the overall interest of the state. 
Although the state comes first in all estimation, man is at liberty to voice his opinion without 
restriction on the ―impropriety‖ or otherwise of any state policy. In the same vein, a priest cannot 
but instruct the congregation in accordance with the doctrine of the church which appoints him, 
otherwise he is bound to follow the dictate of his conscience and resign honourably. However as a 
scholar, he is at liberty to critically impart the said doctrine on the people, according to the dictate 
of his conscience, without necessarily offending his sacred duty. Under whatever guise, he is not 
expected to be unreasonable. 
Meanwhile, Kant provides a ray of hope from this perceived ‗absurdity‘ sanctioned by the 
state. It is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to perpetually impose an opinion on a particular 
group of people. Although a single perspective may subsist over a long period of time, a superior 
position is bound to replace it over time no matter how enduring it is. If an opinion dictates human 
reasoning at a time, future generation would definitely rebuff it and, in its place, advance a 
contrary but superior opinion. The incidence of the Enlightenment cannot be resisted perpetually. 
No ―religious constitution‖ can subsist permanently even if it is imposed by the state. Therefore, 
no society has inalienable authority to lord its knowledge over subsequent generations. If it does, it 
would soon be met with stiff resistance in man‘s determined quest towards enlightenment. It is 
only when man strives to promote divergent worldviews that the march towards enlightenment is 
assured. Doing otherwise is tantamount to a gross violation of inalienable rights of mankind and to 
40 
 
 
‗‗virtually nullify a phase in man‘s upward progress‘‘. Though particular knowledge may persist 
for a long period, it cannot subsist permanently. 
Also, Kant craves for the era when no one, government inclusive, would hinder the people 
from developing intellectually. People should be liberated from a stereotyped belief system that 
militates against their intellectual development, and no government should stand in their way. 
Although government is permitted to maintain an army to prevent chaos, command obedience and 
defend its territorial integrity, it should be enlightened enough not to suppress the citizens‘ resolve 
to jettison barbarism and primitivism. Whenever a leader allows dissentient opinion to be heard 
without being censored, the government benefits tremendously from divergent views to the 
betterment of the state. Kant describes such a leader as an enlightened one who deserves all 
accolades and praises for liberating ―mankind from immaturity‖. Such a leader needs not be 
troubled about the likely consequence of unlimited freedom once the interest of the state has been 
taken into cognisance. 
As regards the present period, Kant admits that limitations and restrictions have been 
reduced to a bearable minimum, thus we are fast approaching the Enlightenment. All forms of 
hindrances and obstacles that inhibit modern man from achieving his potentials are fast declining 
in the present age. Henceforth, man can now act and think freely without suppression from any 
quarter: 
If it is now asked whether we at present live in an 
enlightened age, the answer is: No, but we do live in an age 
of enlightenment. As things are at present, we still have a 
long way to go before men as a whole can be in a position (or 
can even be put into a position) of using their own 
understanding confidently and well in religious matters, 
without outside guidance (55-56).  
 
 
Even if the enlightened age still remains a mirage, the removal of all impediments against 
―universal enlightenment‖ is a good omen that we are fast approaching the age of Enlightenment. 
Man‘s resolve to jettison religious orthodoxy foregrounds this conclusion. 
Notwithstanding a barrage of criticism and assault from the postmodernists and other 
critics, Jurgen Habermas, unarguably, remains one of the most consistent and eloquent promoters 
of modernist ideals, hence Ritzer (1996:586) refers to him as ―the leading defender of modernity‘‘. 
In his ‗‗Modernity-an Incomplete Project,‘‘ Habermas (1992) observes the transition from the 
classical era to Middle Age period when science began to articulate the ‗‗infinite progress of 
41 
 
 
knowledge and in the infinite advance towards social and moral betterment‘‘. He concludes that 
though the modern era is an ‗ideal age‘, it is not a fixed historical epoch for its development is an 
ongoing exercise: 
The romantic modernist sought to oppose the antique ideals 
of the classicists; he looked for a new historical epoch and 
found it in the idealized Middle Ages. However, this new 
ideal age, established early in the nineteenth century, did not 
remain fixed ideal. In the course of the nineteenth century, 
there emerge out of this romantic spirit that radicalized 
consciousness of modernity which freed itself from all 
specific historical ties (127). 
 
Therefore, modernity prides itself in its ability to reveal its multi-dimensional framework while 
conquering ‗unknown territory‘ over a varied period of time. Enlightenment thinking employs 
cognitive skills to liberate man from esoteric linings.  
 Also, Habermas warns of the danger inherent in joining the conservative bandwagon that 
advances anti-modernist, premodernist and postmodernist sentiments. Although caution should be 
taken not to subscribe hook, line and sinker to ‗‗the extravagant expectation‘‘ of the 
Enlightenment, which has been undermined by contemporary realities, this does not translate to an 
outright repudiation of Enlightenment ideals. Instead of jettisoning modernity on account of its 
internal contradictions (as the postmodernists would have us do), we better learn from its 
shortcomings and contradictions. Our concern should be primarily to uphold the ‗noble‘ intention 
of Enlightenment thinkers and make no fuss about its limitations and contradictions: 
I think that instead of giving up modernity and its project as 
a lost cause, we should learn from the mistakes of those 
extravagant programs which have tried to negate modernity. 
Perhaps the types of reception of art may offer an example 
which at least indicates the direction of a way out (135). 
 
Thus, Habermas concludes that though modernity has been seriously undermined by the twentieth 
century realities, the contemporary world should learn from its excesses and look on to its 
continual development. It has not peaked. Commenting unequivocally, Spencer (2001) agrees with 
Habermas‘ position that the project of modernity is an ongoing process whose uniqueness is given 
credence by its penchant for self-criticism and internal-assesment: 
Modernity even in this sense, of a centuries-old tradition of 
change and debate about change, can hardly be said to have 
come to an end. The declining role of religion and the pace 
of economic and technological change are factors that will 
42 
 
 
shape the future as decisively as they have shaped our past 
(158). 
 
 The project of modernity climaxed with the French Revolution of 1789. Although this 
epochal event was largely a French phenomenon, its ‗promise‘ of liberation freely influenced 
Europe, America and the entire world. The subsequent Industrial Revolution significantly 
transformed the Western world from an agrarian to industrial society and, consequent on this, a 
new way of analysing the universe ensued, with reason, devoid of dogma, as the determinant factor 
(Sheppard, 1993; Ritzer, 1996; Bilton et al, 2002; Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). Although no 
account is exhaustive, we shall identify some of the features of modernity, as documented by 
critics like Ritzer (1996), Bilton et al (2002), and Pierson (2004), among others. 
2.1 Consequences of Modernity 
With the Industrial Revolution, industrial manufacturing replaced agricultural produce. 
The discovery of modern equipment enhanced productive capacity and, consequently, the factory 
system emerged with division of labour ensuring that productive tasks were appropriately 
distributed among workers. Although manufacturing production predates the modern era, it 
however reached its high-point with improved manufacturing activities occasioned by the use of 
advanced technology in modern period (Bilton et al, 2002). George Ritzer (1996) provides a 
concise but apt account of the instance of Industrial Revolution: 
The Industrial Revolution was not a single event but many 
interrelated development that culminated in transformation 
of the Western world from a largely agricultural to an 
overwhelmingly industrial system. Large numbers of people 
left agricultural work for the industrial occupations offered 
in the bourgeoning factories. The factories themselves were 
transformed by a long series of technological improvements. 
Large economic bureaucracies arose to provide the many 
services needed by industry and the emerging capitalist 
economic system (6-7).  
Thus, the factory system ensued as the most significant consequence of modernity. It led to the 
‗‗invention of power driven machinery‘‘ which improved productive capacity and organised the 
workers in a better way compared to what obtained in traditional society. 
Coming as an off-shoot of improved economic activity, capitalism became the new 
economic order. Consequently, an entrepreneur class emerged to engage in sustained and 
43 
 
 
aggressive pursuit of profit, leaving the proletariat to wallow in abject poverty in the midst of 
plenty. To a capitalist, workers are not better than dummy that must be gagged and repressed so as 
to make the accumulation of wealth a fait accompli. In the ensuing free market economic system, 
goods and services were produced and exchanged for the benefit of the few who had the 
technological wherewithal to engage in mass production, while the workers were reduced to robot 
who had to endure long hours of tedious labour for a relatively low wage. Citing Henry Ford as 
instance, Bilton et al (2002:28) conclude that with capitalist economic order, ―increased output‖ is 
inevitable owing to the discovery of modern and highly sophisticated technology of manufacturing 
with low cost of production. Ironically, the gain embedded in ‗‗increased output‘‘ helps to sustain 
oppression with massive subjugation of workers in a desperate attempt to eliminate inefficiency. 
This however gave rise to bickering and resistance from the oppressed class. Therefore to restore 
their dignity and guarantee survival, the modern period witnessed series of workers‘ disaffection 
and social upheavals all in a determined bid to alter or, at least, ameliorate the oppression and 
imbalance associated with modern capitalist society. Such reactions include sabotage, pilfering, 
protest, strike, work-to-rule, picketing, among others. The formation of trade unions became 
imperative and workers responded by organising themselves into groups to agitate for better wage, 
enhanced condition of service and other benefits in the capitalist industrial society. 
Also with industrial development, a large numbers of people migrated en masse to the 
cities to earn a living from the industrial system created by the use of modern equipments. While 
this benefited the bourgeoisie significantly, at least it guaranteed availability of labour at low cost 
in the fast emerging urban centres, it however led to population explosion and its attendant 
urbanisation problems such as increase in crime-rate, people living in slum and squalor, pressure 
on infrastructure, environmental pollution and over-crowding, among others. It was the challenges 
posed by population explosion that geared Thomas Malthus to postulate on the danger of 
unchecked population growth (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). It could be recalled that Malthus 
warned on the peril of population growing in geometric proportion while food supply is growing in 
arithmetic proportion. If this is left unaddressed, food crisis is imminent in the world. 
Meanwhile with science and technology, man is liberated from hitherto restrictive tradition 
that limits his potential to tame, control and dominate the world. With the Enlightenment, 
tremendous social change and innovation were propelled by the use of logic in, and sustained 
pursuit of, the ideal towards a specified end. Man is believed to be endowed with the ‗secret‘ to 
44 
 
 
unravel the cosmic misery. Therefore to be modern revolves around absolute conformity with 
‗‗rational forms of thought and rational social organisation‘‘. This highly structured system gave 
rise to a complex institution of government and corporations with efficient control, calculation and 
evaluation of product, ability to predict product‘s uniqueness, and organised control of workers‘ 
skill to elicit their dispensability. Max Weber‘s theory of bureaucracy explains institutional control 
of human and material resources towards the attainment of corporate goal (George Ritzer, 1996; 
Bilton et al, 2002; Labinjoh, 2002).  
A major defining moment for modern period occurred from the early twentieth century. By 
this time, science and technology had transformed the world into an artificial construct whose 
control is subject to man‘s dictate. Science gained a preeminent status and technology took a 
driving seat towards progressive articulation of the society. Henceforth, medicine became capable 
of explaining the nature of man after a rigorous medical examination, unlike the pre-modern era 
when all misfortune was seen as ‗an act of God‘. Bilton et al (2002) attribute the tremendous social 
transformation of the twentieth century to science and technology: 
During the twentieth century, science became a huge 
undertaking, and technology grew rapidly in pervasiveness, 
scale and power. Scientific knowledge and technological 
systems have played a pivotal role in transforming the 
natural world into a created environment subject to human 
coordination and control. The size and complexity of these 
systems means, however, that our ability as individuals to 
shape or even understand them is compromised (32).  
 
Thus science and technology provided a rational explanation for human and society phenomenon. 
Meanwhile, the nation-state emerged to assert authority and exercise control over man. In 
order to guide against lawlessness and chaos in a rational world, the ‗state‘ took over control of 
power over its citizens with its influence covering a clearly defined territory. Either in a totalitarian 
fashion or in a democratic/welfarist manner, the state is conspicuous in its regulatory task to 
achieve maximum loyalty and unalloyed obedience (Bilton et al, 2002; Pierson, 2004). Therefore 
in the name of nationalism, the state justifies the action of its citizens who engage in brutal killings 
and wanton destruction of properties during warfare! Bilton et al argue that the killing of about six 
million Jews by the Nazis during the World War 11 is a clear testimony of man‘s brutality during 
warfare, all in a bid to prove his unflinching loyalty to the cause of the state: 
 
 
45 
 
 
There is no greater testimony to the potential power and 
destructiveness of the modern state than the millions who 
died at the hands of totalitarian governments during the 
twentieth century. The Holocaust- the attempt during the 
Second World War by the Nazis-controlled German state to 
eradicate the Jewish population of Europe is an horrific 
example of this (35). 
 
Thus, states engage in warfare against one another to protect their territory and related interest. 
Towards maintaining their sovereignty, states employ man who, having been trained with modern 
equipment, has to kill and maim fellow men all in the name of nationalism and defence of 
territorial integrity. 
2.2 Legitimating the Enlightenment 
The incidence of the Enlightenment has always been characterised by ridicule, scorn and 
disdain. Postmodern thinkers overtly undermine its philosophical postulation ―with ambivalence, 
skepticism, or resistance‖ on account of its core ―assumptions about nature, progress, human 
observation, appropriate methodologies for creating knowledge, and the role this knowledge 
should play in shaping public policies‖ (Heise, 2004:137-138). Anti-Enlightenment critics argue 
their case by bemoaning Enlightenment‘s inability to fulfill high expectation and optimism its 
advocates promise. They premise their opposition to Enlightenment ideals on the assumption that 
modern thinkers‘ conclusion on the libertarian lining of the Enlightenment is grossly exaggerated. 
They notice a glaring contradiction in modernist quest for liberty while, at the same time, imposing 
the doctrine of science as the ‗grand norm‘. They do not see the rationale behind Enlightenment‘s 
so-called promotion of freedom from primordial sentiments while overtly justifying the ‗myth‘ of 
science. Postmodern thinkers argue that the incidence of the Enlightenment has further ―led to the 
reinstatement of myth at the centre of the human world‖ (Williams, 2004:425). They, therefore, 
aim their repudiation ―at the basic building-blocks of Enlightenment thought by questioning the 
ideas of rationality, autonomy and the very possibility of establishing universal truths‖. They chide 
Enlightenment thinkers for allowing the totalitarian principle of Western epistemology to becloud 
a more beneficial, relativist, multi-dimensional interpretation of social processes. They further 
express their disenchantment with Enlightenment‘s ―naïve‖ over-generalisation which it elicits by 
couching development and reason only on modernist terms. Their apprehension is given impetus 
by the excesses of the Republicans after the French Revolution, a development which ―cast a 
shadow over the naive optimism of the specifically Kantian version of inevitable progression 
46 
 
 
towards Enlightenment‖.  
Citing Nietzsche‘s perspective that ―God is dead, and that truth, morality and knowledge 
itself were mere illusions‖ as a landmark, Grant (2001) identifies the late nineteenth century and 
the twentieth century as the period which heralded a sustained questioning of the ―hard-won gains 
of the Enlightenment‖: 
Progressive conflict between the narratives has therefore 
weakened them all, so that, at the end of the twentieth 
century, there seem to be no candidates to take over from 
them in tying all our knowledge and our actions to some 
coherent historical plan. All that is left is a field where the 
fragments left over from these grand narratives compete 
with one another and with new rivals. This field, however, is 
governed by a new alliance between technology and 
capitalism, constituting what some theorists have dubbed 
'post-industrial society'. But what big story does capitalism 
have to tell? (29-30). 
 
Smart (1992:165) observes the absence of synergy between societal growth and human capacity 
development in the age of Enlightenment, a situation which exposes the era‘s ―lack of 
correspondence between powerful and rapid developments in technology and slower, more uneven 
changes in the spiritual, moral, and political capacities of humanity‖. Other related instances 
which undermine Enlightenment‘s claim to order include the draconian measure of suppressing 
dissentient opinion during the reign of Josef Stalin in the former Soviet Union, the self-acclaimed 
superiority of the Aryan race under Adolf Hitler in Germany, the illiberal nationalistic chauvinism 
under Benito Mussolini in Italy, the inability of marxism to achieve utopia its advocates seek, and 
the global disillusionment after the ‗Cold War‘ period (Grayling, 2008:xix). Against the backdrop 
of inhuman totalitarian attitude which characterised communist regimes in the West, Spencer 
(2001) submits that the optimism associated with communism disappears and in its place, 
postmodern thinking is entrenched: 
Reaction against totalitarianism within the Soviet Union had 
its parallels in reaction against the closed minds and 
authoritarian practices within the politicized French left. By 
the late twentieth century both Marxism and modernism had 
become easy targets for the dissenting impulse within 
postmodernism. Both had been institutionalized, both had 
become associated with an 'establishment'-even where this 
was the 'establishment' of oppositional groups, trade unions, 
party organizations, academic faculties (165). 
 
47 
 
 
Thus, underpinning their argument is the conclusion that the atrocities perpetrated with Stalinism, 
Nazism and Fascism are consequent on the failure of the Enlightenment to sustain order and 
liberate the world from barbarity and inhumanity.   
Unarguably, the organised killings that occurred during the French Revolution, World 
Wars 1 and 11, and the dictatorial rules of Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini 
constituted a grave abuse and contradiction to the rationality associated with the Enlightenment. 
With the mindless massacre and uncertainty that enveloped these eras, Enlightenment thinking 
was no doubt grossly undermined. Nevertheless, we aver that Stalinism, Nazism and Fascism are 
in principle and practice clearly at variance with the tenets of the Enlightenment in all its 
ramifications. Although these socio-political concepts advocate a unified and absolute conformity 
to the authority of the state, feature that is overtly in accordance with the Enlightenment‘s pursuit 
of ‗stoic‘ allegiance to scientific ‗mythology‘, we submit that the central concern of the 
Enlightenment is unalloyed liberation from uncritical doctrine hence could not have sanctioned an 
imposition of a restrictive worldview in the society, a la Stalinism, Nazism and Fascism. If the 
crux of Enlightenment‘s ideals is the liberation of the world from restrictive tendencies of 
traditional assumption associated with medieval period, then it makes sense to submit that for 
articulating total submission to the authority of their respective states, Stalinism, Nazism and 
Fascism have all betrayed the hope associated with modern period hence they are clearly 
anti-Enlightenment tendencies.  No wonder Grayling (2008) refers to Nazism and Stalinism as 
‗‗counter-Enlightenment‘‘ phenomena owing to their uncritical imposition of a unified traditional 
belief system which was essentially the prime target of Enlightenment disavowal:  
For example, the argument that the historical Enlightenment 
spawned Nazism and Stalinism is answered by noting that 
these are in fact counter-Enlightenment phenomena, because 
they share with the monolithic authority structures of 
religion and absolute monarchy that which the historical 
Enlightenment emphatically repudiated: the desire to 
impose on everyone a single outlook to which everyone is 
obliged to conform and whose rule everyone is obliged to 
obey, on pain of punishment even to death (xix-xx). 
 
Therefore though Stalinism, Nazism and Fascism occurred during the period of the 
Enlightenment, their dictatorial and totalitarian tendencies are evidently not in consonance with 
the freedom associated with the period. In fact, they take their cues from traditional, pre-modern, 
48 
 
 
pre-Enlightenment era. Little wonder Spencer agrees that even Marx admits the limitation of 
utopian ideals hence he supports Jewish prohibition of seeking information about the future.  
Also, the post ‗Cold War‘ demise of socialism in the former Soviet Union and its former 
allies did not help the cause of Enlightenment thinkers. Since the disintegration of the Soviet bloc, 
the end of socialist thinking became inevitable. As the last strand of socialist ideology was being 
replaced with industrial capitalism, the ‗paradise‘ envisaged by socialist thinkers became a mirage. 
Critics argue that the Enlightenment came with the hope for an ideal, perfect society devoid of 
mundane or irrational sentiment: a utopian society. In such a society, man is expected to achieve 
his maximum potential while the society becomes ideal for human habitation. In this anticipated 
society, a classless egalitarian world would lead to equality as no one is further restricted by 
nature. However, since such a society remains a mirage and its actualisation an unaccomplished or 
uphill task, Grayling concludes that the society envisaged by modern thinkers remained elusive 
while such hope is bound to collapse. Notwithstanding the inability to achieve utopia, we submit 
that the efficacy of scientific knowledge, despite its obvious limitations and outward 
over-generalisation, is consistent with the rule of reason as opposed to myth. Even if an ideal 
society a la marxism is impossible, man‘s concerted effort to better his lot in the society, through 
the instrument of science and technology, is commendable. Grayling argues that even if 
Enlightenment philosophy is not an omnipotent narrative which can claim to have achieved a 
perfect, ideal society, yet it makes a concerted attempt towards improving the overall condition of 
mankind in the world: 
Some commentators on the latter, usually its critics, make 
the mistake of thinking that the historical Enlightenment was 
perfectibilist in its hopes, that is, took itself to be directing 
mankind towards an ideal future state. In fact it was 
meliorist, that is, committed to the idea that things can be 
made better; and this remains true of contemporary 
Enlightenment thinking (xii).  
 
 
Therefore, despite its major setback, the Enlightenment still retains its core ideals seen in 
contemporary world. Such includes liberal view, respect for law and order and religious tolerance. 
Henceforth people can now claim to be atheists without fear of persecution.  
Another criticism directed towards the Enlightenment is its penchant to advance and 
sustain its myth while, at the same time, reject traditional myth! Horkheimer and Adorno 
(1996:245) accuse the Enlightenment of contradiction and insincerity because its philosophy sets 
49 
 
 
out to ―secure itself against the return of the mythic‖ only to return to mythology, succeeding in 
jettisoning ―the classic requirement of thinking about thought‖ to advance its own in a more 
dictatorial manner. In their opinion, the Enlightenment‘s mythology imposes a unilateral view of 
the cosmos and encourages mankind to imbibe it hook, line and sinker, thereby foreclosing any 
voice of dissent. As the advocates of scientific mythology, the modernists propose ―a unified 
movement that had one central theme‖ thus imposing a way of life to sustain social engineering 
(Williams, 2004:414). For instance, while marxism argues that a utopian society is imminent after 
the proletariat‘s revolution, christianity spurns other religious affiliation owing to its conviction 
that only Jehovah can liberate man from Adamic sin in preparation for paradise. Critics argue that 
these ‗meta-narratives‘ became dictatorial and repressive just like traditional sentiments they 
rejected. They foreclose any perspective that is antithetical to scientific postulation, thus Williams 
(2004:413) chides them for being ―blind to the limitations and dangers of their own project‖. 
However, we posit that the utopia-seeking posture of the modernists is not a resolve to undermine 
diverse perspectives but an ambitious venture to articulate a world-view they perceived as capable 
of addressing socio-political phenomena. In fact, despite its ―limitations‖ and ‗messanic‘ 
attributes, marxism offers the most consistent critical paradigm to counter the irrationality and 
mundane sentiments that dominated the pre-Enlightenment era. 
The libertarian objective of science is also discredited by critics. In modern society, the 
state emerged to promote law and order and exercise authority over the people. In her 
characteristic manner of compelling obedience and protecting her territorial integrity, the state 
does not shy away from her domineering attitudes which, at times, can undermine freedom in the 
society. Ironically, instead of liberating the people from the yoke and oppression of pre-modern 
feudal society, the state becomes an instrument in the hands of the rich few to suppress and further 
impoverished the poor majority. Horkheimer and Adorno (1996:252) posit that according to the 
reasoning of Enlightenment thinkers, human beings are nothing but ―material, just as nature as a 
whole is material for society‖. Nevertheless, we submit that despite its shortcomings, but for the 
timely intervention of the state, man would probably still be existing in the Hobbesian state of 
nature where life is short, nasty and brutish as oppression resurfaces ―in a fascistically rationalized 
form‖. In modern time, the state takes up the daunting task of national development and enjoins the 
citizens to contribute their quota towards nation building. Through the provision of ―appropriate 
recipes for national development‖ such as generation of employment, mass political education, 
50 
 
 
provision of social amenities, provision and maintenance of basic infrastructures and sustaining an 
enabling environment for technological advancement, the state continues to loom large in modern 
society. Even in technologically advanced societies, the regulatory authority of the state has never 
been in doubt. On this account, the important role the state plays in modern society cannot be 
jettisoned on account of its alleged domineering capability. 
In a similar vein, anti-modern critics believe that modernism exposes itself to criticism 
because of its outward homogenous philosophical underpinning in an obviously heterogeneous 
world! The world is peopled by diverse people and made up of heterogeneous societies hence any 
attempt to homogenise it is bound to fail. One cannot but be taken aback when pro-Western critics 
articulate a homogenous epistemological assumptions for the world without taken non-Western 
cultural peculiarities into consideration. Instead of being humble enough to realise their little or no 
knowledge about the epistemological foundation of other cultures, Western critics attempt to 
‗force‘ Western culture down the throat of non-Western people! This makes the recourse to 
violence in non-Western societies inevitable. Thus as a reaction to ‗omniscient‘ Western narration, 
critics of science prefer a relativist conclusion which accords it certain level of objectivity. They 
submit that the objectivity claim of science is nothing but a ruse! Others argue that the seeming 
‗objectivity‘ of science is inadequate and has to be radically and fundamentally altered to sustain 
its remaining modicum of objectivity (Heise, 2004). Nevertheless, while we do not intend to 
generate controversy as regards the homogeneity of scientific knowledge, we aver that scientists 
are diverse on their claims on several facets of human endeavour. Scientists engage in research to 
demystify earlier postulations. Therefore, caution should be taken not to discountenance science 
on account of its alleged homogenous claims. 
Closely related to this is the allegation that scientific ‗truth‘ is not ‗‗value-neutral‘‘. Critics 
argue that the objectivity claim of science is without ground because ―fundamental beliefs and 
even ideological assumptions are hardwired into the definition, goals, and procedures of scientific 
inquiry‖ (Heise, 2004:150). When ideological persuasion, political affiliation, ethnic chauvinism 
and religious sentiment are allowed to easily infiltrate into scientific postulations, its 
value-conclusion becomes questionable. All these are aimed at justifying the domination of a 
group of people over the others through various scientific conclusions that are inimical to human 
emancipation. Similarly, Heise alludes to critics‘ claim that there is ‗‗no special cognitive status‘‘ 
in scientific knowledge. In fact it ―cannot be detached from the sociocultural context‘‘ which 
51 
 
 
upholds its credibility, hence socio-political consideration foregrounds scientific ‗truth‘! If this is 
the case, critics believe no one can adduce any objectivity and universality to scientific 
postulations. Instead, a pluralist, not universal, conclusion is plausible. They therefore advocate 
for a more liberal, socially beneficial science which takes public perspectives into cognisance. 
However if scientific inquiry is allowed to be controlled and dominated by public perceptions, we 
may have sounded its death knelt for its validity becomes subjective and therefore questionable. 
No wonder Heise (2004:154) submits that some critics of science, having discarded relativity in 
their quest towards achieving improved objectivity, engage in a sustained attempt to draw a line of 
demarcation between the objectivity of science on one hand, and its ―value-neutrality‖ on the other 
hand:  
But not all critical perspectives of science that build on 
postmodernist strands of thought are relativist and 
―culturalists‖ in this sense. On the contrary, some critics of 
science reject relativism and insist that some form of 
objective knowledge is necessary and desirable. In their 
argument, contemporary science is in fact not objective 
enough, and needs to be fundamentally changed and 
complemented to attain anything like objectivity (154). 
 
To them, the overbearing attitude of postmodern ideals does not dissuade them from seeking a 
better science that is socially desirable.       
Also, some critics observe the contradiction in the instrument of reason which, in one 
instance, serves to control and manipulate nature, and in the other, helps to subjugate mankind. 
This line of thinking justifies the ―suspicion that science might essentially be a tool of oppression 
at the service of the powerful‖, while scientists are merely ―experts who serve as mere 
mouthpieces for governments or business companies rather than for the common people‖ (Heise, 
2004:147). If this is the case, then there is no assurance that science is ―as beneficial to the majority 
as Enlightenment philosophy had claimed through the general belief that increased knowledge 
furthers the individual‘s emancipation and liberation‖. This conclusion is premised on the 
assumption that reason, in the hand of scientists, can be employed to advance and promote the 
cause of the state at the expense of human development and emancipation. For instance, the 
negative power of science, as well as that of its ally technology, was employed in a most 
devastating manner to the consternation of environmentalists in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
According to Heise (2004:146-147), science and technology may have ―lost track of the networks 
and interconnections that really make living ecosystems functions‖ because they are unaware ―of 
52 
 
 
the environmental damage that technological advanced societies inflict on natural ecosystems‖. As 
science becomes a tool employed by the powerful minority to suppress majority opinion, it 
becomes an uphill task to justify Enlightenment‘s conclusion that reason serves the dual role of 
subduing nature and bettering man‘s condition. Thus, its postulation is used to feather the next of 
the government and institutions at the detriment of the masses (Landry, 2000). According to 
Grayling (2004:xxvi-xxvii), instead of serving as an instrument to prevent oppression, science 
becomes a weapon of oppression, transforming ―against the very values that were responsible for 
its own first success‖, hence ―the ghosts that the Enlightenment sought to exorcise rose again in 
new and equally terrible disguises‖. This pessimistic assertion reduces mankind to a robot 
unworthy of any good deed. However, even if we accuse science of justifying ‗‗sexist and racist‘‘ 
remarks through its biological theories, Heise agrees that such theories have been renounced 
incidentally through the instrument of science itself. If we agree that the negative use of science 
can be detrimental to human emancipation especially at the hand of oppressive state control a la 
Germany under Adolf Hitler,  yet this contradiction should not be exaggerated as it forms the 
kernel of Hegelian philosophical postulation on dialectic. Hegelian dialectic emphasises the 
assumption that contradiction is an indispensable reality in the society. It cannot be divorced from 
the society. Thus, it is expected of a discerning mind to employ a holistic approach to its 
understanding. If this is not done, any analysis of the development of the contradiction in the 
society is bound to create further contradictions because the core assumption of dialectic is ―the 
centrality of contradiction‖ (Ritzer, 2008:45). Also, Ritzer argues that even Marx admits that 
contradiction is inevitable in the society because capitalism, as well as its attendant class 
consciousness, is central to it. However, unlike Hegel, Marx posits that philosophical rhetoric on 
contradiction is insufficient in resolving this contradiction. He avers that through conflict, the 
contradiction leads to a perfect society after the impending revolution.  
In a similar vein, another criticism directed at the threshold of Enlightenment ideals is its 
protection of the interest of the bourgeoisie in a class-structured society, hence Williams 
(2004:411) calls it ―the servant of earthly masters rather than the measure of truth‖. In the capitalist 
society, the proletariats are continually agitating for a better deal because their interests are 
perpetually relegated to the background. Therefore it is incumbent on science to fashion out a 
system to sustain the economic interests of the bourgeoisie to further maximise their economic 
benefits and prevent violent reaction. As the Enlightenment takes the interest of the minority into 
53 
 
 
cognisance at the expense of the downtrodden, the exploitation that ensued is worse than that 
experienced with Machiavelli and Hobbes. It is ironic that rather than liberating the proletariat 
from oppression in the march towards utopia, its ―bourgeois philosophy‖ extends beyond its limit 
to further pauperise the people. It eventually unleashes the free-market economy and its attendant 
inequality on them. However, we submit that even the die-hard proponents of the Enlightenment 
are aware of its limitations and contradictions. For instance, Williams (2004) singles out Kant out 
of twentieth century Enlightenment thinkers ―for presenting an understanding of scientific 
knowledge that was ultimately of no interest to the twentieth-century positivist followers of the 
Enlightenment‖. He posits that Kant is evidently aware of the limitations and boundaries of the 
Enlightenment: 
However, despite this largely symbolic significance, Kant 
was very serious about the boundaries the concept placed on 
what we can know. We can indeed account for things and 
events as they occur discretely in time and space, but we 
cannot account for them in their totality. From natural 
science, as Kant understood it, we can draw no ultimate 
theoretical conclusions about the nature of the universe and 
human life (417). 
 
Thus, Enlightenment is a continuous process of development whose criticism is one of its inherent 
features.       
The Enlightenment‘s promotion of liberal world-view in place of religious bigotry gave 
rise to a free-market economy which eventually became its albatross. The aftermath of a 
‗liberalised‘ economy is capitalism and its attendant alienation of the class of the proletariat. 
According to Peter Childs (2000:29), with capitalism occasioned by Industrial Revolution in 
Europe, industrialised society ensued with machine competing with human for space in the 
capitalist world order. The ‗institutionalisation‘ of capitalism led to a free-market economy where 
market-force became the sole determinant of the economy. The fast emerging factory system, with 
its highly organised hierarchical structure, began to replace the agrarian economy. Therefore, 
critics are unanimous that the claim to universal perfection by the proponents of Enlightenment 
had been discredited with the incidence of capitalism. In fact, such critics argue that the 
exploitation and alienation that were the hallmark of capitalism had made nonsense the 
Enlightenment‘s claim to better the lot of modern man. However despite the exploitation 
embedded in capitalism, it, nevertheless, liberates the society from the shackles of feudal system 
and elicits a ray of hope in the near future. Little wonder Ritzer (2008) claims that even Marx 
54 
 
 
cannot contemplate a return to pre-modern economic system despite the limitations of capitalist 
order because capitalism is ‗‗primarily a good thing‘‘: 
Notwithstanding its exploitation, the capitalist system 
provides the possibility for freedom from the traditions that 
bound all previous societies. Even if the worker is not yet 
truly free, the promise is there. Similarly, as the most 
powerful economic system ever developed, capitalism holds 
the promise of freedom from hunger and from other forms of 
material deprivation (64).    
 
Like Ritzer, Bilton et al (2002) x-ray the overall consequences of capitalism and conclude that it is 
beneficial to the society. This is evident in its ability to generate improved work-ethic backed by 
advanced technology in the management of both human and material resources. The end result is 
increased output made possible at a relatively low cost. In this vein, Williams (2004) accuses 
Horkheimer and Adorno‘s ―Dialectic of Enlightenment‖ of articulating a naïve misrepresentation 
of the ideals of the Enlightenment because some of its critics are aware of the fact that its ambitious 
project is not without limitations: 
However, in reducing the essence of the Enlightenment to 
the capitalist society to which it partly gave rise, Horkheimer 
and Adorno misrepresent the historical Enlightenment. Just 
as the ancient and pre-modern societies that were displaced 
by modern capitalism were not in every respect hostile to the 
aims of human emancipation, so not all the proponents of the 
Enlightenment were blind to the limitations of modern 
commercial society (414). 
 
Therefore, we aver that capitalism is not essentially evil. It has inbuilt mechanism for self-probing. 
Past societies were equally bedeviled with a more intense form of exploitation! The only 
difference is that such exploitation did not have an economic interpretation.  
Without mincing words, Horkheimer and Adorno are assertive in their condemnation of 
the Enlightenment, particularly its alleged ‗barbarity‘ under the Nazis during the World War 11 
and its imposition of capitalism in America. However, we challenge their sophistry on account of 
its outward conservative rhetoric. It is worthy of note that conservative philosophical lining had 
become a common feature of German intellectuals ‗entangled‘ by the atrocities perpetrated 
through Nazism and disillusioned by the recent disintegration of the former Soviet Union. While 
agreeing that capitalism is inhuman and exploitative, turning man to a tool, a commodity, an object 
whose desirability is evident in his subordination only to his ‗‗functional context,‘‘ Roberts (2004) 
chides them for their inability to proffer alternatives to the barbarity of the Nazis and the alienation 
55 
 
 
embedded in capitalism. He submits that they are too ‗rash‘ and impatient to learn the lessons from 
such experience. He attributes their impatience to ―the myriad of indignities of exile‖:  
But it is disappointing that two such gifted analysts could 
not have spent a little more time considering that question 
and the lessons, if any, that might have been learned from it 
(73). 
Also, Roberts notices a glaring contradiction in Horkheimer and Adorno‘s condemnation of 
Nazism on one hand, but yearning for the imposition of state-controlled ideological establishments 
to replace the non-performing German institutions on the other hand! He concludes that Nazism 
was better resisted with more vigour and success globally than it was even repudiated in Germany:  
At the same time it is noticeable that- despite the lamentable 
performance of all German‘s intellectual institutions under 
the Nazis, including the universities, the arts, and the law- 
Horkheimer and Adorno still hold to the Humboldtian 
notion that there is merit and moral stability in 
state-monopolized ideological establishments (72).          
 
Similarly, Williams (2004) identifies Horkheimer and Adorno as neo-marxists who, having being 
largely influenced by the Hegelian/dialectic tradition, are disenchanted by the progressivist 
tendencies of modernist assumptions and therefore invariably espoused postmodernism, a theory 
which is in tandem with their opposition to the totalising claim of the Enlightenment. He posits 
that neo-marxists are of the opinion that the ideals of Enlightenment stand discredited for it has 
failed woefully to fulfill the  optimism and high expectations its over ambitious critics elucidate:  
The Enlightenment made scientific thought the touchstone 
of truth in the modern world but the public was let down by 
the manner in which science was harnessed to the needs of 
industry. Instead of science being the instrument of human 
emancipation, it became the instrument of the aggrandizing 
development of the market economy. Science became 
detached from the pursuit of truth and was reduced to 
problem-solving for the capitalist enterprise (409).  
 
Thus, we submit that their argument is nothing but a conservative bourgeois rhetoric directed at the 
threshold of progressive Enlightenment thinking.         
It is evident that Horkheimer and Adorno are all out to seek a positive notion of 
Enlightenment devoid of suppression and domination. Ironically, they employ a dialectic approach 
which emphasises the ‗‗unity of opposites.‘‘ This cannot but reveal both the positive and the 
negative sides. The Enlightenment sets out to debunk traditional ‗irrationalities‘‘ only to elicit 
those inherent negative attributes too! In fact, for drawing its influence from Hegelian dialectic, 
56 
 
 
the ―Dialectic of Enlightenment‖ is not immune to negative allegations. Enlightenment is a 
continuous process which embedded its own criticism. Also, Enlightenment thinkers are not 
oblivious of the limitations of scientific postulations, as Horkheimer and Adorno reiterate. 
Scientists are aware of the limitations of their own project hence they embark on series of 
experiments to counter earlier discoveries. Therefore Williams (2004) maintains that Horkheimer 
and Adorno‘s ‗‗Dialectic of Enlightenment‘‘ does not reveal a full grasp of the ideals of the 
Enlightenment because it seeks a fresh understanding of the Enlightenment beyond the confines of 
its advocates:  
So Horkheimer and Adorno set themselves the task of 
recovering the emancipatory potential of the movement, and 
seek to do this without drawing too extensively from 
Enlightenment thinkers themselves. In their view, the 
original exponents of Enlightenment are too steeped in its 
errors and false ambitions to provide a wholly trustworthy 
resource for the present. They are part of a bad past that has 
to be rejected. Its critics have to look primarily to themselves 
and new, radical contemporary trends to ground their new 
thought. This accounts for the strong interest shown by 
Horkheimer and Adorno in the avant-garde, atonal music 
and new forms of personal and social expression (413).  
 
Unfortunately, their argument portrays the Enlightenment ‗‗in too stark and one-sided a way‘‘, 
thereby failing to understand its core tenets. Even in the pre-enlightened society, a modicum of 
liberty was permitted, hence freedom is not an exclusive preserve of the Enlightenment.   
Despite the inevitability of globalisation realities all over the world, there emerged 
anti-Enlightenment criticism directed towards exposing its grey areas, especially from the 1990s. 
With globalisation and the shrinking of the entire globe, genuine fears began to emerge concerning 
its tendencies to obliterate national peculiarities and idiosyncrasies. As the world becomes a 
―global village‖ devoid of national boundaries, information that was hitherto the exclusive 
preserve of a privileged class or advanced nation can now be accessed anytime, anywhere with the 
use of the Internet. In this ―borderless world,‖ no nation can protect her national peculiarities from 
the prying eyes of others or her privacy from being ‗invaded‘ by competing nations. Similarly, 
anti-globalisation critics are uncomfortable with the ―information glut‖ heralded by this era of 
information explosion. They claim to be at sea to distinguish between objective information or 
personal opinion on sensitive areas of human endeavour like science and technology. According to 
Heise (2004:141), because we are at liberty to publish without restriction or limitation, ―it became 
57 
 
 
harder to know which information derived from reliably sources and represented authenticated 
knowledge, and which did not.‖ Therefore the ‗truth‘ from the Internet source may not be 
fool-proof after all. Nonetheless, the ills embedded in globalisation are not enough to warrant its 
jettisoning. Since no nation can exist in isolation of the world, it is incumbent on us to employ its 
positive attributes to advance our national ideals. Besides, a discerning mind cannot but commend 
science and technology for the development of the world and for bettering the condition of man. 
Heise (2004:138) reiterates the landmark achievements made possible by advancement in science 
and technology. Such innovations include the exploration of the Moon and Mars, the production of 
atomic bomb and the ―path-breaking theoretical revolutions such as relativity theory, quantum 
mechanics or the discovery of DNA.‖ Even the production of our basic necessities that enhance 
living like foods, shelter, clothing, cars, television and refrigerators, as well as how they get to the 
final consumers, is made possible by advancement in science and technology. We should not 
grope in the dark for long on account of the limitations of science and technology. 
 Finally no one should suffer fools gladly. With the post World War 11 realities, especially 
the fall of the former Soviet Union and the disintegration of the entire Soviet bloc, pessimism is 
expected and it clearly engulfed the world after the ‗Cold War‘. Although this pessimism signaled 
the advent of the so-called postmodern age, we are sure it will soon be replaced or undermined by 
another, thereby turning it to a fad that will disappear over time, in line with social 
transformational theory. Nevertheless, either for good or bad, postmodern tendencies can no 
longer be ignored in our contemporary cultural, economic and socio-political studies. This 
conclusion leads us to the next level of discourse which entails the history, meaning and ideals of 
postmodernism. 
2.3 The Tenets of Postmodernism  
Any discussion on postmodernism can hardly command validity if it fails to identify its 
proponents, particularly those whose theoretical standpoints have provided it with a worthy 
identity.  Although the list is by no means exhaustive, two household names stand out: Jean - 
Francois Lyotard (1924-1998) and Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007). Lyotard and Braudrillard are 
prominent postmodern thinkers particularly on account of their hostility to the ‗grand‘ narrative 
and Platonic questioning of the reality of the world respectively (Brooker, 1992; Selden & 
Widdowson, 1993; Bertens, 1995; O‘Day, 2001; Easthope, 2001; Spencer, 2001). Jean-Francois 
Lyotard, a ―leading figure‖ in postmodern debate, is a French professor of philosophy who 
58 
 
 
‗derailed‘ from orthodox marxism to begin an extensive inquiry and questioning of it. This is 
perhaps to express his disenchantment at the pro-establishment lining of the French Communist 
Party (Selden & Widdowson, 1993; Sim, 2001; Butler, 2002). Eschewing a philosophy greatly 
indebted to Nietzsche and Heidegger, Lyotard rejects the quest for legitimate and absolute 
knowledge which inform scientific analysis in the Enlightenment period. Science prides itself in 
its ability to promote and sustain a laid-down rule or standard which explains and justifies human 
liberation and emancipation from primordial tradition and superstition. This is embedded in its 
‗metanarratives‘ that are given credence by the philosophy of Hegel and Marx, which attempts to 
legitimise it, in line with the avant-garde tradition. 
While presenting his ‗report on knowledge‘ in The Postmodern Condition: A Report on 
Knowledge (1996), Lyotard identifies two types of knowledge that are no longer credible in 
contemporary society: the narrative and scientific knowledge. Narrative knowledge ‗‗does not 
require any proof‖ but derives its validity from its ―internal consistency and rules of procedure‘‘. 
On the other hand, scientific knowledge lays claim to universality and objectivity, thus sets out to 
ridicule the former. Since Lyotard does not see the relevance of these forms of knowledge in the 
contemporary world, he seeks an outright disclaimer of scientific articulation of progressive match 
of history and quest for political emancipation. With Lyotard, gone are the days when the 
legitimacy of historical truth can be found in ―the realm of narrative‖ of scientific knowledge 
which seeks credibility in ―a metadiscourse that makes an explicit appeal to some grand narrative, 
such as the dialectics of Spirit, the hermeneutics of meaning, the emancipation of the rational or 
working subject, or the creation of wealth‖ (Bertens, 1995:125). With postmodern philosophy, 
science goofed if it thinks it has discovered a narrative that shows the progressive direction of the 
world and possesses the means for total freedom. It merely succeeded in creating a repressive 
barrier which requires the adoption of ―mininarratives‖ to surmount. No wonder Grant (2001) 
submits that Lyotard‘s The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge offers the most 
significant analysis which situates ―meta-or grand narratives‖ in the right perspective: 
While grand narratives such as the Enlightenment narrative 
of infinite progress in knowledge and liberty, or the Marxist 
narrative of progressive emancipation of labouring 
humanity from the shackles imposed upon it by industrial 
capitalism, have played a crucial role in anchoring 
knowledge and politics in modernity, postmodernity has 
entailed a crisis of confidence in them. One reason for this 
59 
 
 
crisis is the rise of critical philosophy, begun, ironically, 
with the Enlightenment (29). 
 
Lyotard‘s argument takes off on the ground that knowledge is no longer the same in the 
contemporary society. Its status has been radically altered to incorporate its manipulation only by 
those who have access to it because it has been ‗commodified‘ and can be stored for commercial 
purposes in our ―knowledge driven economy‖. Henceforth, its control lies in whosoever can make 
it functional, for its totality is now a mirage. With computer technologies, enhanced by 
multinational corporations, it can no longer produce absolute truth. In fact, it has lost its value: it is 
no longer an end but a means to an end (Bertens, 1995; Landry, 2000; Easthope, 2001; Malpas, 
2005). Sim (2001) argues that to enhance credibility, integrity and liberation, Lyotard calls for 
petit recite or ‗‗mininarratives‘‘ which are situational, tentative and relative. With the post World 
War 11realities, no one can lay claim to objective truth any longer:  
Lyotard considers that little narratives are the most inventive 
way of disseminating, and creating, knowledge, and that 
they help to break down the monopoly traditionally 
exercised by grand narratives. In science, for example, they 
are now to be regarded as the primary means of enquiry. 
Postmodern science, Lyotard informs us, is a search for 
paradoxes, instabilities and the unknown, rather than an 
attempt to construct yet another grand narrative that would 
apply over the entire scientific community (9). 
 
Lyotard posits that the totalising claim of science is illegitimate, bankrupt and without grounds. 
With warfare, disasters, earthquakes, nuclear threat and ecological crisis rampant in the 
contemporary post-industrial world of computerised technologies, the recourse to science for 
analysis of the society is no longer credible. On account of his ―incredulity towards grand 
narrative,‖ Landry (2000:85) argues that the flagrant rebuttal of Enlightenment‘s claim to 
universal perfection stands Lyotard‘s The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge out as a 
strong ―aversion against the universal‖. So germane to the understanding of postmodern thinking 
is Lyotard‘s perspective that Easthope (2001:18) concludes that he is ―the first, important advocate 
of postmodernism in philosophy and culture‖, the leading exponent of postmodernism. Also, 
Grant (2001:25) submits that Lyotard‘s postulation provides an apposite benchmark to articulate 
―a definitive character‖ for postmodernism, so much that the core assumption of his work ―is 
generally replicated in all the European theorists who supply the resources for postmodern 
theory‖! His postmodern philosophy is a determined attempt to promote ―the telling of numerous, 
60 
 
 
varied and localised 'little' narratives‖ to signal the demise of grand narratives or, at least, debunk 
the claim that the grand recite of science is legitimate even in the post-industrial age (Wilson, 
2004:427). No wonder his effort is ―widely regarded as the most powerful theoretical expression 
of postmodernism‖. But for his philosophical postulation and that of other postmodern theorists, 
Sim (2001) believes it would have been inconceivable to articulate a dissentient opinion on the 
impossibility of absolute knowledge in the world: 
There is no longer any point engaging in debate with, for 
example, Marxism, the argument goes; rather we should 
ignore it as an irrelevance to our lives. Postmodern 
philosophy provides us with the arguments and techniques 
to make that gesture of dissent, as well as how to make value 
judgements in the absence of such overall authorities (3). 
 
Therefore, these positions from Landry, Easthope, Grant, Wilson and Sim, among others, justify 
Lyotard‘s argument as quintessentially postmodern. 
Lyotard‘s treatise is premised on the assumption that certain ―historical contradictions‖ do 
not give credence to the indispensability of scientific truth as the catalyst for social engineering, 
thus ―local narrative with its emphasis on diversity and heterogeneity‖ is required in the 
contemporary world (Sheehan, 2004:29). For instance, if science is infallible, why did it become 
an instrument of terror employed for the destruction of the Jews especially during the World War 
11? In a similar vein, if communism is the benchmark for measuring progress in man‘s quest for 
utopia, has the time not come for its critics to seek for an alternative against the backdrop of the 
fact that its basic assumptions have been discredited with the atrocities perpetrated by Josef Stalin? 
Also with the free-market economy which perpetually alienates the proletariat, has the 
Enlightenment‘s claim to advance man‘s development and emancipation not been made nonsense 
of? Thus, in line with Lyotard‘s postulation, postmodern thinking disavows the possibility of order 
in the society. An attempt to create order can only lead to the ‗institutionalisation‘ of disharmony 
in the world for, as Hegel claims, contradiction is an inherent feature of life.   
Jean Baudrillard is another French sociologist and cultural critic whose controversial 
analysis of contemporary society of improved communication technology helps in promoting the 
ideals of postmodernism. So influential is Baudrillard‘s argument to the articulation of postmodern 
ideals that Grant (2001:28) refers to him as ―the high priest of postmodernism‖ while Sim 
(2001:11) submits that his works is an ―important expression of postmodern philosophy‖. In 
Baudrillard‘s view, the image of the society has blurred the reality in the society as the 
61 
 
 
advancement in communication technologies gives rise to ‗‗self-generating, self-mirroring images 
and experience‘‘. The postmodern world is ―a world of simulacra, where we could no longer 
differentiate between reality and simulation. Simulacra represented nothing but themselves: there 
was no other reality to which they referred‖. What emerges is the loss of the real for it has been 
replaced by its copy. Thus, nothing exists to differentiate between reality and its illusion. The 
world of simulation and hyperreality has therefore evolved (Baudrillard, 1992; Brooker, 1992; 
Haralambo et al, 1995; Ritzer, 1996; Sim, 2001; Wilson, 2004; Malpas, 2005).  
The kernel of Baudrillard‘s argument as adduced in his ―Simulacra and Simulations‖ 
(1992) is that in contemporary postmodern world, the ‗distance‘ between reality and its model has 
completely collapsed. Although the model is produced to have insight into, or a full grasp of, the 
real, it actually succeeded in replacing the real, becoming more real than the reality it mirrors 
initially. In this world of the hyperreal, no one can decipher reality because its model has been 
‗transformed‘. Man is now ―lost in the realm of hyperreality that refuses us the distance to stand 
back from our experiences and question them‖ (Malpas, 2005:94). In Baudrillard's world of signs 
and images, no one can comprehend reality for it has lost its meaning. What we now refer to as 
reality is nothing but ―an endless circulation of signs from which any sense of reality has fallen 
away, a world in which there are simulations and only simulations‖ (Easthope, 2001:20). The 
world is merely an image dominated by signs of another world that has never existed. Such signs 
become self-referential for we can only see the representation of simulated reality and not reality 
per se. The sign of reality which ―initially referring to a material reality beyond itself, the sign then 
distorts, disguises, and finally replaces that reality‖ (Sheehan, 2004:31). What we used to perceive 
as reality has been so ‗corrupted‘ that it now has several interpretations. This notion of the 
hyperreal presents a world where reason can no longer be adduced to justify the existence of any 
reality. What we now have is a ―transition from signs which dissimulate something to signs which 
dissimulate that there is nothing‖ (Baudrillard, 1992:153). 
The decisive turning point for Baudrillard‘s world of hyperreality is the post World War 11 
era of unprecedented advancement in mass media communication technologies. In the name of 
advertisement and television commercials, the world now witnesses a wholesale alteration of 
reality through media technology that produces its image, having supplanted reality. With 
television technology designed by the Western media establishments and multinationals, the 
message becomes ubiquitous with the intention to completely annihilate reality in the quest to 
62 
 
 
achieve a commercial end and further strengthen capitalism (Sheehan, 2004; Malpas, 2005). 
Gibbins & Reimer (1999) do not mince word before attributing this development to 
―communication technology‖:  
By this, Baudrillard means that computerization, 
communication technology and the media together frame 
human experience by producing images and models of 
reality that are increasingly supplanting reality itself as the 
gauge of what reality ‗is‘. How do we know what is real? We 
watch television and we read newspapers and books, and the 
models of reality presented in these media are the ones we 
use to gain an impression of reality (50). 
In the same vein, Marc O‘Day (2001:112) reiterates the looming place of television in articulating 
postmodern discourse. He submits that whenever discussion centres on ―postmodernism, 
postmodernization, postmodernity or just the postmodern in general,‖ television is an 
indispensable ―postmodern medium par excellence‖. His position is anchored on the premise that 
even if Baudrillard ―overstates‖ his rhetoric on simulation, it is doubtless that television can distort 
reality: 
Baudrillard overstates his case, yet there are indeed 
numerous examples where the reality of television 
problematizes or even replaces everyday reality. For 
instance, while many studies have shown that people are 
perfectly capable of distinguishing between soap-opera 
reality and real life, this doesn't stop a few of them from 
abusing the real-life actor or actress who plays the role of a 
currently unpopular character (113). 
A good example can be deduced from television commercials and advertisement where, through 
embellishment and distortion, reality is replaced by its copy or image and such copy or image 
appears to be more real than the reality it mirrors. Also, people are so influenced by television 
programmes so much that they forget their ‗unreal‘ nature. For instance, Storey (2001) is 
awestruck how television viewers in the West empathise with characters in soap opera to the extent 
of writing letters seeking or offering them assistance! He argues that television viewers in Europe 
and America relate with characters in soap opera as if they are real:  
For example, we in the West live in a world in which people 
write letters addressed to characters in soap operas, making 
them offers of marriage, sympathizing with their current 
difficulties, offering them new accommodation, or just 
writing to ask how they are coping with life. Television 
63 
 
 
villains are regularly confronted in the street and warned 
about the possible future consequences of not altering their 
behaviour. Television doctors, television lawyers and 
television detectives regularly receive requests for advice 
and help (149).  
 
Which better evidence can buttress Baudrillard‘s concept of hyperreality! He even claimed the 
Gulf war did not take place! What we have is a televised, sign or copy war! Media technology has 
a profound but pervasive influence on the contemporary society. 
Baudrillard‘s treatise on the ‗unreal‘ nature of the Gulf war centres on the inability to 
account for the real events and realities of the war, all of which have been simulated to achieve a 
commercial end, with the television assuming the status of ‗‗a gigantic simulator‘‘. In the 
‗scrambling‘ for the latest events, stories and photographs of the war by the Western media 
organisations, proliferation of signs ensued. This led to diverse signs of the hyperreal devoid of the 
actual carnage and wanton destruction of lives and properties. Thus, the representation of the war 
became a strategy aimed at justifying Western might as people were ‗fed‘ with information which 
assisted tremendously to sustain Western hegemony. The truth of the war was largely suppressed 
(Selden & Widdowson, 1993; Baudrillard, 1995). Therefore, even if Baudrillard ―overstates‖ or 
―overgeneralised‖ his controversial perception of reality in the contemporary media-saturated 
world, no one can deny the influential role of television to simulate reality. Despite some 
misgivings, O‘Day (2001) cannot agree less:   
Again the case is overgeneralized - and again there is an 
unwillingness to discuss television overtly in any detail - but 
there is no doubt that from this rather reductive perspective 
commercial TV is, and always has been, ruled by the 
economic necessity to sell audiences to advertisers. We are 
all, in a sense, working for capital when we watch television. 
Some people joke that advertisements are the 'real' 
programmes - and often the best (114). 
 
The television has continued to play a pivotal role in shaping people‘s mindset to achieve 
commercial end at the detriment of reality. In the contemporary postmodern world, advertisements 
and commercials on television are particularly driven by the desire to attain enviable economic 
height. Having succeeded in influencing audience choices, further wealth is amassed for the 
sustenance of capitalist nations and organisations.  
Heavily influenced by semiology, Baudrillard's argument to justify the unreal nature of the 
world is presented in four stages. In the first stage, the sign reflects the real or original world. It 
64 
 
 
later goes on to mask, distort or pervert the reflected reality in the second stage. Also at the third 
stage, the sign completely replaces the reality to the extent that the latter is no longer visible. 
Finally, the sign begins to exist independently of the reality such that no resemblance between the 
two can be seen. No corresponding relationship is evident at this stage. The signifier has 
‗overthrown‘ the signified (Selden & Widdowson, 1993; Barry, 1995; Haralambos et al, 1995; 
Cahoone, 1996; Watson, 2001). Besides the obvious influence of Nietzsche, Heidegger and 
Bataille, Baudrillard is tremendously indebted to Plato. In The Republic (1979), Plato does not 
have a place for artists. Since the world is ‗unreal‘ but only an imitation of another world, any work 
of art in such a ‗non-existing world‘ is twice removed from reality. This position apparently 
influences Baudrillard.  
Postmodernism can only serve as a useful critique of contemporary culture if it 
incorporates the ideals and contradictions of modernism, whose tenets it seeks to undermine. If the 
‗post‘ marks a period of succession, a time after a unique event, we can then safely conclude that 
the world is transitory in nature, with the transition from pre-enlightened or medieval period, 
through the modern or industrialized period, to the contemporary postmodern era (Calinescu, 
1987; Feher, 1990; Sheppard, 1993; Fekete, 2001). Therefore, Susan Wilson (2004:410) argues 
that for postmodern thinkers to ‗‗account for their own philosophical premises,‘‘ they have to 
come to terms with the core tenets of modernism, ‗‗the period that they claimed to supersede‘‘. 
Since the prefix ‗post‘ barely elicits the indispensability of modernism before a credible discussion 
of postmodernism can be done, we aver that the identity of the latter cannot be divorced from its 
source, otherwise it loses its meaning. Whenever critics argue that modern assumptions have been 
jettisoned or completely eroded especially owing to post World War 11 disillusionment, they 
should be reminded that these realities inform postmodern tendencies in its entirety. Therefore 
postmodernism is meaningless unless it recognises modernism as its origin or source from where 
its argument starts, and its critique begins, else its discourse cannot take off (Hutcheon, 1988; 
Krammer, 1997; Malpas, 2005). If it is meaningful at all, ―it is as it differs from modernism‖. 
Doing otherwise, perhaps on the lame excuse that modernism has been superseded, jettisoned or 
discredited is to leave postmodernism idle with nothing to condemn, nothing to undermine, 
nothing to replace, hence its argument turns to a charade. Thus, an exposé on modernism is 
germane to any credible discussion of postmodernism, for the latter is a development arising from 
the former. 
65 
 
 
It is difficult, if not impossible, to ascribe an all-embracing definition to postmodernism. 
Even among its core proponents, consensus still remains an uphill task, and this may continue for 
sometimes owing to its hydra-headed peculiarity which makes an authoritative definition elusive 
and open to challenge and repudiation. The reason for this is not far-fetched: postmodern criticism 
exists in several disciplines, academic and non-academic alike; hence it is open to diverse 
meanings and interpretations (Calinescu, 1987; Hutcheon, 1988; Bertens, 1995; Marsh, 1996; 
Ritzer, 1996; Gibbins & Reimer, 1999; Sim, 2001; Connor, 2004; Hutcheon, 2004; Hart, 2006; 
Childs & Fowler, 2006). Its multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional implications tremendously 
influenced disciplines like philosophy, archaeology, history, sociology, theology, journalism, 
music, literature and cultural studies hence an all-encompassing definition becomes intractable. 
The best we can have is ―a profusion of definitions and redefinitions‖ (Spencer, 2001; Scott, 2001; 
Heise, 2004; Pilcher and Whelehan, 2004). Hence, Awosika (1999:24) argues that the central ideal 
of postmodernism, its tenacious disposition to interpret post World War is nothing but an exercise 
in futility. 
Despite the heterogeneous nature that foregrounds its amorphous complexity, postmodern 
critics have not abandoned the quest for its origin and meanings in all facets of human endeavour. 
According to Cahoone (1996), its early origin can be traced to the works of Rudolf Pannwitz (a 
philosopher), Federico de Onis (a literary critic), Bernard Iddings Bell (a theologian) and Arnold 
Toynbee (an historian).  There is also evidence of its occurrence in journalism, music, painting, 
social sciences and the natural sciences. As a reaction to modern architectural quest for perfection, 
it gained pre-eminence with the destruction of Pruitt-Igoe and the construction of Westin 
Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles in 1972, and blossomed in literary studies (Ray, 1990; 
Jameson, 1991; Smart, 1992; Haralambos et al, 1995; Cahoone, 1996; Jencks, 1996; Curl, 1999; 
Gabardi, 2001; Grant, 2001; Easthope, 2001; Watson, 2001; Connor, 2004). Thus, Peter Brooker 
(1992) describes it as having  
an amoebic range of attributions and meanings, in academic 
debate and in journalism. In general terms it can be said to 
describe a mood or condition of radical indeterminacy, and a 
tone of self-conscious, parodic skepticism towards previous 
certainties in personal, intellectual and political life (175). 
 
This ambivalence accounts for diverse interpretations of postmodern thinking, a feature 
which underscores the need for critics to access it from an eclectic perspective. Hutcheon  
66 
 
 
(1998:3) calls it ‗‗a contradictory phenomenon,‘‘ Lash (1999:56) submits that it is 
‗‗ubiquitous‘‘, Morris (1988:242) refers to it as a ‗‗big speculation‘‘, Spencer (2001:158) 
calls it ―a paradox and a provocation‖, while Bertens (1995:3) describes it as ‗‗an 
exasperating term‘‘ which can be applied to ‗‗a wide range of objects and phenomena‘‘ and 
useful for ‗‗diametrically opposed practices in different artistic disciplines‘‘. Nevertheless, 
Watson (2001) posits that twentieth century postmodern theorists are united under the general 
skepticism over modernist ―grand narratives‖ which attempt to situate cultural worldviews 
under a solitary ―metanarrative‖: 
The key thinkers have all identified a common theme in the 
scepticism of the twentieth century towards the once great 
certainties of history and society. We no longer 
unquestioningly accept the universal claims to knowledge 
and truth of the great stories which have organized our 
culture. These include religion, the progress of modernism, 
the progress of science, and absolute political theories like 
Marxism (158). 
 
Therefore even if the attempt aimed at achieving an all-encompassing definition of postmodernism 
is futile, its proponents have succeeded in identifying its inherent features, a kind of commonality, 
which can provide it with, at least, a definitive character. Simon Malpas‘ (2005) comprehensive 
but inexhaustive list of diverse critical opinions on postmodernism is representative enough: 
As a means of thinking about the contemporary world, the 
postmodern has been defined in a huge variety of different  
ways: as a new aesthetic formation (Hassan, 1982, 1987), a 
condition (Lyotard, 1984; Harvey, 1990), a culture 
(Connor,1997), a cultural dominant (Jameson,1991), a set of 
artistic movements employing a parodic mode of 
selfconscious representation (Hutcheon, 1988, 2002), an 
ethical or political imperative (Bauman, 1993, 1995), a 
period in which we have reached the ‗end of history‘ 
(Baudrillard, 1994; Fukuyama, 1992; Vattimo, 1988),  
a‗new horizon of our cultural, philosophical and political  
experience‘ (Laclau, 1988), an ‗illusion‘ (Eagleton, 1996), a 
reactionary political formation (Callinicos, 1989), or even 
just a rather unfortunate mistake (Norris, 1990, 1993). It 
evokes ideas of irony, disruption, difference, discontinuity, 
playfulness, parody, hyper-reality and simulation (6-7). 
 
Postmodernism is a late twentieth century style, period or movement that reacts against 
modern style or ‗‗the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century‘‘ (Heise, 2004:137), 
hence Storey (2001:147) describes it as ―a populist attack on the elitism of modernism‖, while 
67 
 
 
Landry (2000:10) sees it has a concept which indicates ―a break with the modern and is defined in 
counterdistinction to it‖. It rejects established modernist features which seek unity, order, truth and 
knowledge, thus Curl (1999:516) asserts that it heralds ―a loss of faith in what were once regarded 
as certainties‖ and consequently promotes ―cynicism, fragmentation, ill-digested eclecticism‖. 
Since theories are all out to ‗‗inferiorize‘‘ or ‗‗demystify‘‘ the earlier ones (Fashina, 2005:102), 
postmodernism unmasks the inherent short-comings, oversights, contradictions and inadequacies 
that are evident in modern culture, thus foregrounding the conclusion that modernism, which 
―demythologized‖ the world, would soon become ―obsolete‖ (Anderson,1984:113). In fact, 
Landry (2000:23) reiterates the reasons why postmodern debates have continued to rage to include 
its sustained criticism of the ―Enlightenment rationality and the project of modernity, as well as for 
their ability to point to and interrogate changes in contemporary culture‘‘. In the view of Cahoone 
(1996), postmodernism represents the most consistent criticism of Western culture and the 
Enlightenment:  
At a minimum, postmodernism regards certain important 
principles, methods, or ideas characteristic of modern 
Western culture as obsolete or illegitimate. In this sense, 
postmodernism is the latest wave in the critique of the 
Enlightenment, the critique of the cultural principles 
characteristic of modern society that trace their legacy to the 
eighteenth century, a critique that has been going on since 
that time (2).  
[ 
In the same vein, Landry (2000:10) quotes Mike Featherstone (1985) as describing postmodernism 
only as ―a negation of the modern, a perceived abandonment, break with or shift away from the 
definitive features of the modern, with the emphasis firmly on the sense of the relational move 
away‖. In postmodern narrative, Awosika (1999:24) submits, ―prized concepts like classical unity 
or modernist obsessions‖ are renounced ―for their opposites‖. This is coming against the backdrop 
of the fact that modernism has ended or, at least, it is undergoing what Barry Smart (1992:141) 
calls the ‗‗irreversible transformation‘‘. With postmodernism, modern ideals, principles and 
beliefs are questioned, exposed, ridiculed and undermined without any recourse to alternative. 
This underscores its influence by the post World War 11 disillusionment in Europe (Jameson, 
1992; Selden & Widdowson, 1993; Barry, 1995; Hassan, 1996; Gibbins & Reimer, 1999; Wilson, 
2004).  
 Although postmodernism can be understood in relation to modernism, it nonetheless 
dispenses with the ‗grand‘ narratives which inform modernist assumptions, thus sounding the 
68 
 
 
death knell of Enlightenment theorising! Nineteenth century sociologists like Augustus Comte, 
Max Weber, Emily Durkheim and Karl Marx believed that industrialisation is the hallmark of 
development. With industrial development, coming as an offshoot of Industrial Revolution in 
Europe, science overcame myth, superstition, religion and all primordial prejudices, signaling the 
era of the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers conclude that science is capable of guaranteeing 
ultimate solution to cultural, historical, economic and socio-political challenges of man in the 
society. This perception is embedded in the ‗‗metanarratives‘‘ of Western intellectual framework 
and articulated by Enlightenment critics (Habermas, 1992; Haralambo et al 1995). According to 
Lyotard (1996:503), ‗‗metanarratives‘‘ mask the contradictions and inadequacies in the society 
and create the impression that the society can be salvaged. He, therefore, describes postmodernism 
as ‗‗incredulity towards metanarratives‘‘ for no singular judgment can take care of all situation. 
Featherstone (1985) buttresses Lyotard‖s argument: 
The revelatory truthfulness of the secret of the end arrived at via 
the detection of the immanent logic of the process. If history in 
general, and modernity in particular, are western myths, the 
fatefulness of modernity is cast in a new light: its fate is that we 
no longer acknowledge it fatefulness. Its forced identity is 
collapsed to release a profusion of differences, universality 
gives way to particularities and narrative and memory cede to 
counter-narratives and counter-memories (1). 
[ 
Therefore with postmodernism, it becomes unthinkable for anyone to assume that a particular 
position can be adduced for all societies irrespective of cultural affiliations or political biases. 
Never can there be a consensus of opinion on social issues as the modernists would have us believe 
because postmodernism has ―ousted notions of universalism, internationalism and 'art for art's 
sake', and replaced them with concerns for the values of specific cultures and their differences‖ 
(Scott, 2001:135). The world is peopled by people from diverse cultural backgrounds and no 
unifying ―metanarrative‖ is sufficient to address all situations. Henceforth, Western 
―metanarratives‖ are now illegitimate, obsolete and unfashionable. According to Huntcheon 
(2004:119), there is no ―single anchoring centre‖ in postmodernism for there is no longer a ―single 
truth‖ but rather ‗‗multiple truths‘‘. Therefore in place of ‗‗metanarratives‘‘, postmodernists crave 
for the adoption of ‗mini narratives‘ that are temporal, relative and tentative in explaining peculiar 
situation in a particular society. This postmodern strategy is aimed at articulating divergent 
narratives which cannot command validity about specific situation. The world is made up of 
69 
 
 
heterogeneous society and any attempt to homogenise it is bound to fail. ‗‗Metanarratives‘‘ can 
only promote the universality of events which is incapable of explaining specific local situation 
(Lyotard, 1992; Docherty, 1998). Thus, Sim (2001: 12) submits that a ―distrust of grand theory‖ is 
―the distinguishing feature of postmodern philosophy‖. 
Closely related to this is postmodern repudiation of the modernists' quest for absolute 
knowledge where none exists. To a postmodernist, no normative claim about the world is 
sufficient to explain the maladies in the society. The totality of knowledge is unattainable; it is 
reserved in whosoever has the technological wherewithal to make it functional. It has become 
fluid, mobile and can only be used for pragmatic purposes. The advent of postmodern culture 
makes an all-encompassing interpretation of social phenomenon untenable because ―if we are 
certain of anything, it is that we are certain of nothing. If we have knowledge, it is that there can be 
none. Ours is a world awash with relativism‖ (Lawson, 1989: xi). According to Scott (2001:139), 
as modernism began to denounce ―regionalism,‖ ―nationalism‖ and ―popular music‖ as 
―parochialism,‖ ―chauvinism‖ and ―entertainment‖ respectively, postmodernism responded by 
postulating its theory of ―cultural relativism‖. Invariably, knowledge in arts, philosophy, history 
and theology is relative, provisional and tentative as no two conditions are the same. The phrase 
‗‗think globally, act locally‖ sums up the philosophy of postmodernism. Henceforth, challenges in 
different societies are better addressed separately taking specific context into cognisance. Smart 
(1992) puts it succinctly: 
In its paradigmatic form the thesis on the postmodern 
condition of knowledge suggests that it is no longer possible 
to generate universal solutions or answers to problems and 
questions concerning contemporary forms of life from 
within, what might be termed, a conventional 'modern' 
problematic. In short, that the analyses, understandings, 
goals, and values which have been a central feature of 
Western European civilisation since the Enlightenment can 
no longer be assumed to be universally valid or relevant (183). 
 
Therefore, even if global reality may influence a particular line of thinking, specific local 
explanation is most suitable. Anything short of this could undermine critical thinking and 
reflection. Thus the ‗‗antifoundational‘‘ outlook of postmodern worldview denounces the 
objectivity and definitive assertion associated with modernist philosophy in its entirety (Docherty, 
1998; Fekete, 2001). 
 
70 
 
 
One of the important features of postmodernism is its penchant for disjointed, fragmented 
and irregular plot structure. In a postmodern text, narration is presented without a beginning, 
middle and ending. It has no centre, no unity, ‗‗no fixed point of coherence‘‘ and no chronology of 
events and time because ―it disorders the linear coherence of narrative by warping the sense of 
significant time, kairos, or the dull passing of ordinary time, chromos‖ (Lewis, 2001:124). 
Unrelated events are merged from a multi-facet point of view, devoid of omniscient narrator, to 
present historical and social situations in a meaningless world of strife, chaos and disorder. A well 
developed plot with related and carefully arranged events is relegated to the background and, in its 
place, unrelated, unconnected and fragmented plot is preferred a la the stream-of-consciousness 
technique. Malpas (2005) agrees that these features are unarguably postmodernist:  
For many people, the mere mention of the word 
‗postmodernism‘ brings immediately to mind ideas of 
fracturing fragmentation, indeterminacy and plurality, all of 
which are indeed key postmodern features (5). 
 
This non-conformist posture elicits the futility of order and meaning in the society. The onus now 
falls on the reader to use inference drawn from a ‗stream‘ to link these events together to make a 
whole. 
 Equally note-worthy is postmodern promotion and sustenance of freedom from 
stereotyped and totalising attitude of modernist assumption. Through repression and uncritical 
indoctrination, modernism rejects plurality of culture, views and beliefs and advocates for a 
consensus form of reasoning and thinking about the world. However, postmodernism prefers 
freedom and justice from any repressive and autocratic doctrine and calls for multiple views on the 
social world! No traditional or orthodox reasoning can suppress liberty to think and act according 
to the norms of the society where a person finds himself. According to Lyotard (1992:149), a 
postmodern writer can be likened to a philosopher whose works ―are not in principle governed by 
pre-established rules, and they cannot be judged according to a determining judgement, by 
applying familiar categories‖. Henceforth with postmodernism, nothing is good or bad, nothing is 
reasonable or proper from a programmed perspective. In fact, no judgment is valid because such 
can promote repression and injustice. Smart (1992) denounces a repressive ‗‗universal validity 
claim‘‘, preferring a liberal worldview:  
The symptoms associated with the postmodern condition 
include a displacement of the universalising intellectual, the 
legislator-prophet,by the specific intellectual, the partisan 
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facilitator–interpreter; accumulating doubts about universal 
validity claims; opposition to centralised, bureaucratically 
organised forms of politics; and the emergence of new  
collectivities and forms of subjectivity which reveal the 
limits and limitations of existing critical discourses and 
radical political strategies (203). 
 
Thus postmodernism becomes an ally in fighting the cause of the downtrodden who have been 
‗gagged‘ by Western narratives of oppression that see non-Western societies as ‗others‘ 
(Haralambos et al, 1995; Butler, 2002). In this light, Edward Said‘s Orientalism (1978) can be read 
as a postmodern resolve to liberate the Orients from totalising and repressive Western narrative 
which views the rest of the world with contempt. 
As expected, the freedom and liberty associated with postmodernism make complexity to 
become its hallmark. With the use of unintelligible, obscure and poetic language, the difficulty and 
dislocation in contemporary society are revealed. The absence of cultural cohesion and stability 
make the society incomprehensible. With cosmic disharmony and the society on the edge of 
precipice, the world is hostile and perilous for human habitation! Danger, therefore, is imminent 
(Malcom Bradbury, 1991). Thus if writing would be creative and innovative, it should not force 
order on the society that is already disorderly. 
 Also with creative freedom, experimentation becomes the order of the day in a 
postmodern text. Here, a writer is able to distance himself from ideology, culture and traditional 
norms that impede his subjective analysis of the world. According to Docherty (1998:479), he is 
free to create without pre-conceived restriction and without fear of being tagged unconventional. 
Thus, literary texts produced in cyberspace move away from conventional writing method towards 
an experimentalist's attitude of deliberate ‗destruction‘ of language materials to produce an 
unprecedented, unusual, inhibited original works (Oha, 2001). 
In similar vein, the creative freedom encouraged by postmodernism leads to innovations 
and developments that were hitherto considered unconventional or unorthodox. In contrast to 
conventional texts that treat socially acceptable themes that are expected to promote cosmic 
harmony, logic, reason, truth, love and honesty, postmodernism celebrates vulgarity, 
pervasiveness, corruption and drug-addiction. Traditionally ‗forbidden‘ topics that treat sex, 
promiscuity, prostitution, pornography, obscenity and homosexuality are freely discussed. 
Examples abound in Wale Okediran's Dreams Die at Twilight (2001) where the protagonist, Dr. 
Lamidi Bello, kills his patients at will and engage in necrophilia (sexual escapades with dead 
72 
 
 
bodies!). His promiscuous wife, Agnes Uche is an unrepentant nymphomaniac who sees no big 
deal in having unprotected sex with an unknown foreigner on a visit to Nigeria! Also in Fola 
Arthur - Worrey's The Diaries of Mr. Michael (2000), lust beclouds Nengi's sense of reasoning to 
the extent that she allows Mr. Michael, a foreign journalist, to have carnal knowledge of her, 
consoling herself with the fact that he uses a condom! In Toni Kan Onwordi's Ballad of Rage 
(2004), the coital act between unmarried couple is freely discussed without any modicum of 
decency. Marital infidelity becomes the order of the day. Worst case scenario is given 
preeminence in Chimamanda Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun. Sex and sexuality are espoused ‗in 
the open‘.  
Postmodernism justifies the importance of the readers at the expense of the author, holding 
the former in high esteem. In a postmodern text, the author cannot lay claim to absolute authority 
on a text because it is ‗immuned‘ against authorial control. No ―right reading‖ or ―correct reading‖ 
of a text is possible (Abram, 1981:2006). Citing Roland Barthes' influential essay, ‗‗The Death of 
the Author‘‘ (1968) and Jacgue Derrida's ‗‗Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human 
Sciences‘‘ (1988) as landmarks, Peter Barry (1995:66) calls postmodernism a declaration of 
radical textual ‗‗independence‘‘ which makes objective textual analysis futile and unable to 
explain historical and socio-political experiences with a simple coherent narration devoid of 
political bias, ethnic sentiment, class prejudice and religious affiliation. Commenting on ‗‗The 
Death of the Author‘‘, Selden and Widdowson (1993) argue that Barthes does not subscribe to the 
traditional idea of an autonomous author who has absolute authority over his text and can dictate 
the meaning to be read into it. As no meaning is binding on the readers, diverse meanings can be 
read into a text because meaning-formation depends on the readers who enjoy absolute liberty to 
interprete it as they deem fit. The hitherto ‗uncritical‘ perspective that a text originates from the 
author who alone can articulate criteria for its analysis is now ‗jaundiced‘. Henceforth, a reader is 
free to interprete a text without any restriction:  
What is new in Barthes is the idea that readers are free to 
open and close the text‘s signifying process without respect 
for the signified. They are free to take their pleasure of the 
text, to follow at will the defiles of the signifier as it slips and 
slides evading the grasp of the signified (132). 
 
Also, Cahoone (1996) believes that in a postmodern text, meaning can be deduced in multiple 
ways because no reading can take a preeminent status over others:   
73 
 
 
Everything is constituted by relations to other things, hence 
nothing is simple, immediate, or totally present, and no 
analysis of anything can be complete or final. For example, a 
text can be read in an indefinite large number of ways, none 
of which provides the complete or true meaning (15).  
 
Textual analysis depends on readers who are at liberty to read any meaning that suits their 
experiences into it. Thus, readers are free to deconstruct a text and still make subjective but valid 
conclusions. Butler (2002) believes the relegation of the author to the background in meaning 
formation has the tendency to produce multi-dimensional interpretations devoid of restrictions: 
Most importantly, the reader/listener/spectator involved in 
the articulation or interpretation of this play of language 
should act independently of any supposed intentions of the 
author. Attention to an author would privilege quite the 
wrong thing, for seeing him or her as an origin, or a 
delimiting authority, for the meaning of the text was an 
obvious example of the (logocentric) privileging of a 
particular set of meanings. Why should these not originate in 
the reader just as much as the author? Authorial (or 
historical) intention should no more be trusted than realism 
(23). 
 
The author's dominance is undermined on account of what Barry calls ‗‗textual harassment or 
oppositional reading‘‘.  
In Barry's ‗‗radical textual independence‘‘, ‗‗textual harassment or oppositional reading‘‘, 
the method employed by postmodernists is revealed. This method, known as deconstruction, 
makes the realisation of any ‗ultimate‘ meaning in a text impossible and futile because that is 
exactly what it sets out to disclaim from inception. It is actually meant to undermine the 
philosophical assumptions which underpin a text. While promoting negation as a sacrosanct 
critical canon, deconstruction elicits the internal arbitrariness in a text and engages in its conscious 
demystification, rather than resolve its suppositions! There is no conventional boundary where the 
analysis of a text starts or ends for its traditional assumptions have been discredited (Schuurman, 
1993; Spivak, 1999; Benjamin, 2004; Stocker, 2006). Since a text is written devoid of a unifying 
―boundary‖, it lacks a ―seeming reference, logicality, or possibility of proof‖. Its internal 
contradictions have foreclosed its supposed ‗truth‘ (Abrams, 1981:2006). The implication of this 
is that no group of people, no culture, no society can dominate others since no one has absolute 
knowledge. Therefore through rigorous and sustained analysis of a text, deconstruction reveals the 
hidden or alternative meanings and interpretations that, though neglected by the author, are 
74 
 
 
germane to its proper understanding.  According to Krammer (1997:187), deconstruction ―resists 
the closure of discourse‘‘ because it is uncomfortable with ‗‗power inequality, metaphysical 
domination‘‘ by critics who foreclose diverse interpretations of text. Butler (2002) submits that its 
suppositions hinge on the idea of relativism which characterized any attempt aimed at deriving an 
all-encompassing definition:  
The central argument for deconstruction depends on 
relativism, by which I mean the view that truth itself is 
always relative to the differing standpoints and predisposing 
intellectual frameworks of the judging subject. It is difficult 
to say, then, that deconstructors are committed to anything 
as definite as a philosophical thesis. Indeed, to attempt to 
define deconstruction is to defy another of its main 
principles –which is to deny that final or true definitions are 
possible, because even the most plausible candidates will 
always invite a further defining move, or ‗play‘, with 
language. For the deconstructor, the relationship of language 
to reality is not given, or even reliable, since all language 
systems are inherently unreliable cultural constructs (15-16). 
 
These repressed meanings and interpretations are discovered with the use of binary opposition 
methods. Deconstruction is highly influenced by the philosophy of Fredrich Nietzsche, Martin 
Heidegger, Jean-Paul Satre, Albert Camus and Sigmund Freud (Nigel Mapp, 1990). 
Structuralism attempts ‗‗a grammar of literature‘‘, believing that a text is self-sufficient 
and independent of other texts, context and society with the author ‗‗not more than a guest‘‘. 
However, poststructuralism and its ally postmodernism oppose textual self-sufficiency claim of 
structuralism but agree that a writer is irrelevant in textual analysis (Selden & Widdowson, 1990; 
Barry, 1995; Raji, 1999). With intertextuality, the ultimate meaning in a text resides not in the text 
per se, but can be arrived at in relation to other texts. Thus with intertextuality, direct references 
between different texts come to the fore. This is achieved with the postmodern use of allusion, 
pastiche and irony in meaning - formation.  
It is an indisputable fact that most of the ideals of postmodern thinking dominate the 
literary oeuvres of contemporary Nigerian novelists, both in content and form. However, we aver 
that these tendencies are largely inimical to the development of indigenous literary interpretation 
in particular and the socio-cultural emancipation of the continent in general. It is high time we 
jettison its discredited ‗promises‘ and seek an alternative that takes the development of the nation 
as its topmost priority. Our next discussion will centre on a critique of these vain ‗promises‘ to 
75 
 
 
further underscore their inadequacies in Africa‘s developmental pursuit. 
2.4 A Critique of the Postmodern Episteme 
The core assumptions of postmodern theory are obviously fraught with problems. Most 
significant among the reasons adduced for this is its symbiotic relationship with philosophy, a 
discipline that is innately skeptical in nature (Selden & Widdowson, 1993; Sim, 2001). Since the 
basic assumption of philosophical enquiry is a consistent interrogation of every area of human 
endeavour, postmodern critique of any theoretical postulations in sight falls in place with 
philosophical scrutiny of nature and knowledge claim. Apparently drawing inspiration from Greek 
philosophical tradition which largely influenced nineteenth century ‗antifoundational‘ thinkers 
like Nietzsche and Heidegger, postmodern theorists are committed to a wholesale condemnation 
of Western thought system which is aimed at articulating a unilateral, totalising and 
all-encompassing ‗‗metanarratives‘‘. Whereas modern thinkers believe that the quest for ultimate 
truth lies in ―metanarratives‖ of human and societal development, postmodern philosophers adopt 
the attitude of denouncing any attempt to attain absolute truth. According to Sim (2001), this 
negative philosophical posture is the most defining feature of postmodern thinking:         
One of the best ways of describing postmodernism as a 
philosophical movement would be as a form of scepticism - 
scepticism about authority, received wisdom, cultural and 
political norms, etc. - and that puts it into a long-running 
tradition in Western thought that stretches back to classical 
Greek philosophy. Scepticism is an essentially negative 
form of philosophy, which sets out to undermine other 
philosophical theories claiming to be in possession of 
ultimate truth, or of criteria for determining what counts as 
ultimate truth (3). 
 
However, the inherent danger in this attitude is that postmodernism only ‗succeeded‘, if only to an 
extent, in discrediting other theoretical assumptions. Ironically, it fails to advance its own 
―metanarratives‖ as alternative! If the epistemology in cultural worldview is embedded in 
―metanarratives‖ which postmodernism denounces, it therefore follows that even the fate of 
culture is not assured in a postmodern society. True to type, postmodernism is merely interested in 
―destabilizing other theories and their pretensions to truth than setting up a positive theory of its 
own; although of course to be sceptical of the theoretical claims of others is to have a definite 
programme of one's own, if only by default‖ (Sim, 2001:13). No wonder Landry (2000) concludes 
that postmodern thinkers have foreclosed philosophical theorising in any form. They are only 
76 
 
 
interested in formulating antagonistic ―practices‖: 
 
Derrida, Foucault, and Lyotard are typically seen as 
"end-of-philosophy" thinkers who "clearly oppose the 
continuation of theoretical philosophy, by any means" and 
whose writings are "explicitly proposed as [oppositional] 
practices and not theories" (33). 
 
This ‗parasitic‘ tendency is inimical to the attainment and sustenance of knowledge claim in the 
world.  
We are not oblivious of the looming danger inherent in postmodern resolve to promote 
philosophical skepticism above all other considerations in the quest for truth. In its determination 
to impress its position that the attainment of a certain level of objectivity is impossible on us, 
philosophical skepticism is premised on the assumption that certain standards must be met to 
achieve a pragmatic certainty that enhances the ‗attainment‘ of objective truth. Drawing 
inspiration from the philosophical postulations of Heraclitus, Xenophanes and Plato, skeptic 
philosophers assert that such standard needs to be proven beyond all reasonable doubt because 
―authentic knowledge must be unqualifiedly certain and undeniably true‖ (Rescher, 2004:37-38). 
Since this standard is unattainable, the process of achieving rational inquiry is flawed. If the 
society is in a constant state of flux, knowledge, particularly about nature, is an uphill task, hence 
impossible to achieve! This perspective, according to Rescher (2003), informs radical skeptics‘ 
submission that no one can adduce any plausible explanation to knowledge claim. Reason, itself, is 
‗unreasonable‘:  
For, skeptics in their more radical moments, at any rate insist 
that there is never a satisfactory justification for accepting 
anything whatsoever. By rejecting the very possibility of 
securing trustworthy information in factual matters, 
skepticism sets up a purportedly decisive obstacle to 
implementing these aims of reason (57). 
 
The best we can have is a semblance of truth because its totality is a mirage. It is a relative concept 
whose universality is unachievable. It is thus incumbent on man to employ discretion in his quest 
for truth. Nevertheless, we aver that the ‗relative‘ nature of objective truth stands logic on the head, 
contradicts reason and merely helps to sustain irrationality, contrary to what the skeptics would 
have us believe. Rescher (2003) encourages knowledge seekers to strive towards realising 
objective knowledge no matter the odds. Even if they fail eventually, their effort is worthwhile 
after all ‗there is no harm in trying‘:  
77 
 
 
 
It is self-defeating to follow the radical skeptic into letting 
discretion be the whole of epistemic valor by systematically 
avoiding accepting anything whatsoever in the domain of 
empirical fact. To be sure, when we set out to acquire 
information we may well discover in the end that, try as we 
will, success in reaching our goal is beyond our means. But 
we shall certainly get nowhere at all if we do not even set out 
on the journey—which is exactly what the skeptic‘s blanket 
proscription of acceptance amounts to (56). 
 
In the opinion of the empiricists and rationalists, skeptics set ―abstract‖ standard to deliberately 
obstruct the realisation of truth and knowledge. Its proposition is the ‗Achilles heel‘ to the 
attainment of objective knowledge. This standard is both unrealistic and unattainable. It is only 
adduced ―to show that no knowledge claims in a certain area (sense, memory, scientific theory, 
and the like) can possibly meet the conditions of this standard‖ (Rescher, 2003:58). While the 
empiricists rely on the use of five sensory organs in the quest for objective truth, the rationalists 
submit that though the five sensory organs are required, they may not guarantee absolute truth 
because even nature is not static. What is therefore needed to achieve absolute truth is for all the 
propositions that validate it to cohere. Unfortunately for the skeptics, this ‗infallible‘ standard is 
erroneous and largely misguided. As skepticism stands in the way of rational investigation in the 
society, Rescher (2003) posits that man has no choice but to repudiate it in its entirety else his own 
ideals are questioned and jettisoned: 
Skepticism defeats from the very start any prospect of 
realizing our cognitive purposes and aspirations. It runs 
counter to the teleological enterprise to which we humans 
stand committed in virtue of being the sort of intelligent 
creatures we are. It is ultimately this collision between 
skepticism and our need for the products of rational inquiry 
that makes the rejection of skepticism a rational imperative 
(59). 
Therefore, as skepticism adopts the principle of ―nothing ventured, nothing gained‖ directed at the 
bastion of ―rational inquiry‖, it invariably ―loses sight of the very reason of being of our cognitive 
endeavors‖ (Rescher, 2003:56). Its treatise fails woefully to take into cognisance the 
indispensability of reason in human endeavour hence should be discarded.  
Besides, if postmodernism accepts that human society progresses from pre-modern era 
when myth and primordial sentiments defined human behaviour, through the modern period when 
science and technology became the major catalyst for unprecedented improvement in material 
78 
 
 
living standard, to the postmodern world of simulation and hyperreality, does it not intend to 
advance an explanation for social and historical development it accuses modernism of? Is its 
acceptance of the transitory nature of the world not a knowledge claim on its own? Man is innately 
endowed with the mental capability to seek to know the truth. Instead of employing discretion to 
enhance his natural instinct to seek information, reason is preferred because its ―commitment to 
the cognitive enterprise of inquiry is absolute and establishes an insatiable demand for extending 
and deepening the range of our information‖ (Rescher, 2003:57). Any social theorist who fails to 
adduce reason for sociological proposition has defeated the exact reason for theorising at all, and 
may have unwittingly sounded the death knell of his sociological enquiry! His conclusion would 
continue to suffer from credibility problem. This is exactly the fate that awaits philosophical 
skepticism and postmodern theorising. 
In similar vein, postmodern articulation of relativism elicits an outward manifestation of 
flagrant disavowal of all knowledge claims by its advocates. So as to buttress its claim that 
absolute truth or knowledge is unattainable, postmodern thinking promotes the ideal of relativism 
unconvincingly. To a postmodernist, concepts like morality, truth or knowledge, fact or opinion, 
good or bad are relative concepts that can better be addressed only from an individualistic angle. 
They would be attained devoid of any stereotyped, totalising or restrictive conclusion. Even 
morality is informed by personal opinion which can change over time! Thus, Easthope (2001) 
believes that Lyotard has an unenviable task of convincing the world of the veracity of his own 
‗truth‘ claim at hand: 
Since he affirms that no concept of knowledge founded in 
truth is still available, Lyotard faces a certain embarrassment 
in proving that his own version of reality (no grand 
narratives, only paralogy) is right. Jameson meets no such 
difficulty in his denunciation of postmodern culture since it 
is founded in the truth of historical materialism (or not). 
Norris and Eagleton also claim a reliable ground on which to 
criticize postmodernism (25). 
 
Nevertheless, if relativist position is taken as postmodern ‗truth‘, we agree that its argument is 
overtly relative and self-defeatist. In actual fact, a theory which discountenances truth claim 
should not have dissipated energy to advance its own ‗truth‘. One is taken aback how the 
postmodernists intend to convince a discerning mind of the plausibility of their own relativity 
claim if all knowledge is relative. Wilson (2004) agrees with Rescher that postmodern relativity 
claim is nothing but a ―self-defeating‖ contradiction:    
79 
 
 
Here, we exchange belief in truth for belief in the truth of 
relativism. Via relativism we know that there is no truth to 
be known. If postmodernism means to declare that it is true 
that there is no truth, then it becomes self-defeating. Truth, 
in this instance, is dispensed with in favour of 
self-contradiction (656).  
 
Closely related to postmodern rejection of absolute knowledge claim is its disclaimer of 
―grand‖ narrative or ―metanarratives‖. Apparently taken a cue from Lyotard‘s The Postmodern 
Condition: A Report on Knowledge, postmodernists call the bluff of ―metanarratives‖ or the 
‗great‘ stories of human and social emancipation. They argue that ―metanarratives‖ act in 
consonance with the establishment to undermine freedom in the contemporary society. These 
―metanarratives‖ are largely inimical to social development because they support uncritical 
submission to the assumption that the society can be ordered or controlled. This ‗unalloyed‘ 
obedience justifies the supremacy of the privileged class but hinders the development of the 
underprivileged majority or group who are deprived of the ‗right‘ to articulate their own narrative. 
In the contemporary society, the control of knowledge lies in whosoever can make it functional 
because it has been ‗commodified‘ to achieve an economic end. To this end, what the 
contemporary society requires is the renunciation of repressive ―metanarratives‖ and the adoption 
of ―mininarratives‖, a petit recite which, though relative and situational, command validity in their 
localities. Only this can guarantee ‗freedom‘ and ‗equity‘ in the society! (Smart, 1992; Bertens, 
1995; Lyotard, 1996; Landry, 2000; Sim, 2001; Easthope, 2001; Butler, 2002; Huntcheon, 2004; 
Wilson, 2004; Malpas, 2005). Nevertheless, as persuasive as Lyotard‘s hypothesis seems, we 
argue that it has obviously failed to assuage all nerves! It is thus fraught with problems. Grand 
narratives are characterised with allegiance all over the world. Notwithstanding postmodern 
repudiation, unalloyed allegiance to some ‗grand‘ narratives is still evident and very popular, 
especially among the oppressed nations of the world. For instance, many people are still eager and 
willing to obey fatwa to achieve ‗legitimate‘ political and religious goals! Citing Islamic 
fundamentalism in Middle East and Asia as instances, Sim (2001:14) concludes that the violence 
and crisis that erupted in form of anti-globalisation movement and religious fundamentalism ―in 
the closing decades of the twentieth century‖ are contemporary manifestations of unalloyed 
commitment to some ‗grand‘ narratives. Therefore, the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and other 
instances of commitment to ‗grand‘ narratives account for crisis in some troubled spots in the 
world like that in Northern Ireland, Serbia and the Middle East. Besides the fatwa, Lewis 
80 
 
 
(2001:121) indentifies instances of sustained commitment to ―metanarratives‖ to include the 
killing of John F. Kennedy and the erection and demolition of the Berlin Wall among others. 
Therefore, the killing, maiming and wanton destruction of properties across the globe are some of 
the instances of allegiance to one grand narrative or the other a la September 11, 2001. Butler 
(2002:14-15) asserts that only ‗‗a generation brought up in Western democracies‘‘ and ‗‗liberated 
to some degree from theology by existentialism‘‘ can deny the existence of ‗grand‘ narratives. 
It is evident that grand narratives legitimise cultural norms and practices in several 
societies across the globe. For instance, African history is replete with the ―metanarratives‖ of 
historic nationalist struggle to attain self-rule status from former colonial lords. The immediate 
post World War 11 period witnessed determination by former colonies to attain self-rule. Equally 
important is the patriotic efforts of African leaders to confront anti-people, neo-colonial tendencies 
at independence, like the agitation to reclaim lost lands in Zimbabwe. So germane to the 
articulation of specific ―value judgement‖ are these narratives that Sim (2001) warns of the peril in 
disclaiming them: 
One of the problems we are left with when we dispense with 
grand narratives, or central authorities of any kind, is how to 
construct value judgements that others will accept as just 
and reasonable (9). 
 
Although the ‗oppositional reading‘ technique employed in Derrida‘s deconstruction is aimed at 
outright demystification of the ‗grand‘ narrative of the Enlightenment, uncritical disavowal of 
―metanarratives‖ would remain unpopular in non-Western societies. 
Besides, even if Lyotard ‗convincingly‘ argues that ‗grand‘ narratives are illegitimate, 
obsolete or discredited hence should be jettisoned in the contemporary world, a discerning mind 
cannot but be awestruck when he begins to adduce another ‗grand‘ narrative to buttress his 
argument on the ―incredulity towards grand narrative‖! In his polemics to ‗expose‘ the 
dispensability of ―metanarratives‖, Lyotard unwittingly makes ―value judgement‖ which becomes 
his own ―metanarratives‖! He surreptitiously produces another ‗grand‘ narrative! The question 
now begging for answer is: how can he employ ―metanarratives‖ to justify the inadequacy of 
―metanarratives‖ to sustain development in a postmodern society? Therefore rather than accept its 
failure to convince its critics on the sense in ―antifoundational‖ theoretical posture and then 
humbly understand its limitations as a cultural worldview, Sim (2001) agrees that postmodern 
philosophy continues to advance its ‗jaundice‘ perspective which further exposes its inherent 
81 
 
 
weakness:  
What Lyotard is espousing here is antifoundationalism: a 
rejection of the idea that there are foundations to our system 
of thought, or belief, that lie beyond question, and that are 
necessary to the business of making value judgements. 
Postmodernist philosophy has proved to be resolutely 
antifoundational in outlook, and unwilling to accept that this 
renders it dysfunctional in any way as philosophy (9-10). 
This posture renders its argument ‗purile‘ and antithetical towards achieving objective truth. In the 
alternative, if Lyotard‘s unconvincing treatise in The Postmodern Condition: A Report on 
Knowledge is anything to go by, we may conclude that postmodern thinkers are aware of the 
limitations of their project and do not actually seek any truth after all. In the opinion of Grant 
(2001), even the core postmodernists know that their ―incredulity towards grand narratives‖ 
forecloses their own ‗grand‘ narrative as well: 
Moreover, Lyotard, whose book The Postmodem Condition 
appeared in 1979 (Habermas's essay was first delivered in 
1981), in relating a grand narrative about the end of grand 
narratives exposes a central contradiction in his account of 
postmodernism: if there is no longer any credulity in grand 
narratives, then what grounds could there be for accepting 
Lyotard's own account? If we do accept this account 
therefore, then paradoxically, it must be wrong about the 
status of grand narratives. Moreover, in offering it, Lyotard 
must himself believe that it must have some credibility, so 
that even Lyotard himself believes his account to be false (33). 
 
Baudrillard is another advocate of postmodernism whose critical stance, particularly on 
―the loss of the real‖, exposes the inherent weakness of postmodern thinking. In his sustained 
critique of reality in the era of media technology, Baudrillard‘s influential essay ―Simulacra and 
Simulations‖ (1992) presents a controversial and ‗sensational‘ polemic to advance his concept of 
the hyperreal. According to Baudrillard, the image of reality has completely distorted reality. What 
now exists is a copy of reality which bears no resemblance to its original. In the ensuing hyperreal 
world, advertisements and commercials on television controlled by the Western media 
establishments are so perverse that reality is eventually undermined to satisfy commercial end 
(Baudrillard, 1992; Barry; 1995; Haralambos et al, 1995; Gibbins & Reimer, 1999; Easthope, 
2001; Sheehan, 2004). With communication technology, in the opinion of Malpas (2005:94), ―the 
models that can be produced to understand the world have become more real, more sophisticated 
82 
 
 
and more accurate than reality itself‖. O‘Day (2001) argues that communication revolution 
occasioned by advancement in television broadcasting foregrounds this development as various 
television stations compete for economic gains: 
Broadcast television has been supplemented and challenged 
by the arrival of satellite, cable and (more recently) digital 
and interactive TV. The diffusion of these technologies has 
been encouraged by 'deregulation', which has seen market 
forces become increasingly prevalent. In the United States, 
for instance, the network TV system dominated by the giants 
ABC, CBS and NBC has been transformed by large numbers 
of more specialized and local channels. In Europe, the 
traditional public service broadcasting systems have, to an 
extent, been undermined by competition from commercial 
subscription satellite and cable channels (115). 
 
However, even if it is doubtless that television programmes can be simulated to either embellish or 
distort the real events or occasions, caution should be taken before jumping to the conclusion that 
all what we see on television are unreal. Some events are too real to be simulated to achieve a 
postmodern end. A president‘s budget proposal to the parliament, a doctor‘s health tips, and a 
football match between two teams on the television are real, verifiable situations that no 
postmodernist can simulate. When the television is employed by a law enforcement agent to reel 
out civil or criminal offences as well as the statutory punishment for offenders, any postmodern 
thinker in sight is advised to either obey the law or be ready to face the consequence of 
disobedience. In this vein, O‘Day (2001) agrees that ―not all television is postmodern and 
postmodern perspectives provide only one set of approaches, albeit compelling ones, to TV‖:  
However, as I mentioned at the outset, we shouldn't assume 
that all TV is postmodern. Much programming and viewing 
is reassuringly traditional. I for one regularly sit and watch 
the conventional realist narratives of Coronation Street and 
East Enders pretty much from beginning to end, with little or 
no zapping or hopping (though I do sometime shifting now 
and again) (120). 
 
In actual fact, some television programmes are ‗too‘ real to be simulated by any postmodernist.  
Out of all Baudrillard‘s ‗provocative‘ submissions on simulation, his ―flippant attitude 
towards the Gulf War‖ exposes him more to barrage of criticisms of which Christopher Norris‘ 
‗vituperation‘ is the most devastating (Sim, 2001:13). More controversially, Baudrillard throws 
caution to the wind in The Gulf War Did Not Take Place (1995). He posits that even the Gulf War 
is only a media war which did not actually take place! In his ‗wisdom‘, the real events of the war 
83 
 
 
have been simulated so much by their signs and copies to satisfy the economic yearnings of the 
Western media organizations! (Selden & Widdowson, 1993; Baudrillard, 1995; Barry, 1995; 
Haralambos et al, 1995; O‘Day, 2001; Grant, 2001; Watson, 2001). However in Uncritical 
Theory: Postmodernism, Intellectuals and the Gulf War (1992), Norris chides Baudrillard for his 
overt insensitivity and flippant disposition towards the carnage and wanton destruction of 
properties that characterised the Gulf War. He argues that no attempt to ‗simulate‘ the real events 
of the war can becloud the fact that the war actually occurred and people lost their lives. While 
condemning Baudrillard‘s sophistry, he wonders how on earth anyone can descend from reason to 
irrationality on a full scale all in the name of espousing postmodern thinking. He queries where 
Baudrillard derives his evidences to buttress his claims. Even if he has some evidences to support 
his assertion, are these evidences satisfactory enough to convince a critical observer of 
contemporary reality that the world is ‗unreal‘? Easthope (2001) articulates Norris renunciation of 
Baudillard‘s philosophy:  
Norris chooses to take on Baudrillard because he has pushed 
his kind of writing as far as it will go, deliberately 
manipulating rhetoric as a weapon against opponents of the 
postmodern creed. Norris first of all attacks Baudrillard for 
retreating from rationality - for extrapolating 'far-reaching 
conclusions from limited evidence' (23-24). 
 
How else can we describe a critic who thrives in criticising everything, both real and imaginary, 
but fails to affirm anything on his own? Therefore, Norris is determined to ―see off Baudrillard and 
postmodernism‖ on account of their unwillingness to advance ―an effective opposition between 
knowledge and ideology‖ which would elicit political position that can salvage the world from 
war, chaos, diseases and pestilence. No wonder in his comparison of both Baudrillard and Lyotard, 
he refers to the former as ―altogether less serious and committed thinker than Lyotard‖ who seems 
to have derived satisfaction from ―being provocative and playful‖. Sim (2001) situates Norris‘ 
refutation of Baudrillard‘s hypothesis and Habermas‘ disclaimer of Lyotard‘s theory in the context 
of postmodern thinkers who are unwilling to postulate to salvage the society from chaos: 
For Norris, Baudrillard's denial of that war's reality is 
symbolic of postmodernism's emptiness as a cultural theory, 
and he cannot accept Baudrillard's apparent insensitivity to 
political turmoil and human suffering. Jurgen Habermas, 
too, finds postmodernism ideologically suspect, and has 
taken issue with Lyotard's philosophy on this ground (13).  
84 
 
 
Also, postmodern thinking encourages pessimism in the society. If no knowledge claim is 
credible, then pessimism would engulf the world on an unprecedented scale. In no time, 
knowledge seekers need not bother to direct their attention towards seeking for the truth which, in 
any way, is a farce in the postmodern world. Even research effort can be jettisoned since no ‗truth‘ 
can come out of it! Henceforth, man can just wake, eat, sleep and expect to die provided 
Baudrillard has not simulated death also! Man becomes so powerless that he cannot alter the social 
process. In the Nietzschean nihilist tradition, the society is bedeviled with evil and peril from 
which he cannot liberate himself. His fate is already predetermined by a higher power beyond his 
control. Therefore in such society, marxism goofed to have anticipated a ‗paradise‘ where the 
proletariat would dictate. According to Spencer (2001), the optimism that characterised modern 
era disappeared, and in its place, pessimism and hopelessness engulfed the twentieth century 
postmodern era. While modern thinkers see the past as alterable, postmodern thinkers view it with 
disdain and hopelessnees: 
But in the latter part of the twentieth century something has 
changed in the very nature of tradition and in the way that 
we relate to the past. Every aspect of the past is made 
accessible, available. But it is made available: mediated, 
packaged, presented and represented. Postmodernism could 
be described as that variant of modernism which has given 
up hope of freeing itself from the ravages of modermty or of 
mastenng the forces unleashed by modernity (158).  
 
This pessimism envelopes the society and is given impetus by the capitalist oppression and 
inhumanity in a postmodern world.  
Expectedly, pessimism influences conservative writers and critics, particularly those of 
Western extraction. A case worthy of note is the reactionary submission of American 
neo-conservative critic Francis Fukuyama. Fukuyama has argued unconvincingly in his The End 
of History and the Last Man (1992) that world history has peaked with the realisation of liberal 
democracy and its attendant freedom and ‗justice‘ in America! Although resistances, struggles and 
strives are inevitable in the society, Fukuyama believes no nation can undermine America‘s 
capitalist and democratic aspirations. Her hegemony would continue unabated in this globalised 
world! He anchors his argument on the belief that though America is bedeviled with internal and 
external aggressions, none is capable of threatening her corporate existence to the point of causing 
her disintegration. Since history is fast approaching its end, any innovation now can only assist to 
85 
 
 
reinforce America‘s capitalism and strengthen her liberal democratic norms! America‘s spreading 
of ‗gospel‘ of ‗‗free-market liberal-democratic values‘‘ to the Middle East and the developing 
world is Fukuyama‘s reference point. In fact, he advises the entire world to fully imbibe liberal 
policies because it is sufficient to address some of its challenges. Failure to do this can cause 
eventual disintegration of some nations a la former Soviet Union or retrogression towards 
theocracy, military rule, and dictatorship! However, the socio-political reality of the world, 
especially in non-Western nations, is clearly at variance with Fukuyama‘s ‗evangelistic‘ tone. In 
many African nations for example, the adoption of America‘s version of liberal democracy has not 
translated into good governance and infrastructural development! Instead, the continent is 
enmeshed in chaos and instability caused by leaders whose actions and inactions are aimed at 
perpetuating themselves and their cronies in office, albeit with the active connivance of their local 
and foreign collaborators. Even when people are allowed to vote at election, do the votes count? 
Are the ‗elected‘ leaders accountable to them? Therefore, bearing Qsama bin-Laden‘s al-Qaeda‘s 
activities in mind, we argue that the imperialistic and exploitative nature of globalisation exposes it 
to barrage of criticism, repudiation and outright rebuff particularly from the Middle East and other 
developing nations.  
In the same vein, it can be said that Fukuyama‘s position runs logic on the head when 
viewed against the backdrop of empirical evidences of injustice and oppression even in the West. 
Evidence abounds that inequality and segregation are not peculiar to Africa and the Middle East 
but dominate the class-conscious Europe and America. In this vein, Malpas (2005) concludes that 
Fukuyama‘s submission cannot but fail empirical test:  
Fukuyama‘s argument might seem immediately falsifiable 
on the basis of empirical evidence such as the growing 
inequality between rich and poor, the fact that in Britain and 
America fewer and fewer people bother to exercise their 
democratic rights, the illiberality of our treatment of 
refugees trying to enter the West, or even the occurrence of 
particular events such as the terrorist attack on the USA on 
11 September 2001 (92). 
Thus, Fukuyama‘s effort with his ―resoundingly postmodern message that liberal democracy and 
consumer capitalism would soon have finally taken over the whole world thus completing human 
history and bidding a last goodbye to the claims of any socialist or radical critique of the capitalist 
system‖ fails to take other nations cultural and socio-political peculiarities into cognizance. It also 
uncritically assumes that with free-market capitalism, political emancipation is inevitable. In this 
86 
 
 
light, Easthope (2001) sees Jacque Derrida‘s Specters of Marx (1994) as a book that exposes the 
weaknesses in Fukuyama‘s The End of History and the Last Man: 
Derrida has little trouble (in Specters of Marx (1994)), first, 
in evidencing massive gaps and omissions in Fukuyama's 
version of the 'good news' - not all states are moving towards 
liberal democracy with the suave inevitability Fukuyama 
supposes, the free market does not necessarily produce 
political freedom (oh yes, and 'two world wars, the horror of 
totalitarianism).Second, Derrida asserts that Fukuyama's 
evangelistic tone invokes a narrowly 'Christian eschatology', 
that he constantly slides between actuality and an ideal, and 
that he assumes some universal definition of human nature 
('man as man') (27). 
 
Therefore, Fukuyama and his co-travelers should not stir the hornet‘s nest. They should be humble 
enough to realise and come to terms with their little knowledge, or no knowledge at all, of other 
people‘s socio-cultural idiosyncrasies.  
Also, if pessimism is now the order of the day, we may have done away with the moral 
justification to query the oppression and inhumanity that pervade the contemporary capitalist 
world. Seeking an alternative is obviously the only way out. Doing otherwise is tantamount to 
surrendering man‘s natural inclination to ameliorate any tendency that is at variance with his 
pursuit of freedom. The danger inherent in allowing postmodern pessimism to engulf the world is 
that consequently, the quest for order, which informs modernist thinking, may no longer be 
perceived with certainty. Now that cosmic harmony has taken flight, man can no longer strive to 
capture nature and achieve personal and social development. He now takes solace in undermining 
the system. Without offering an alternative, he begins to query the veracity of scientific 
postulations. Postmodern thinkers are all out to create chaos and disorder in the society. This 
chaotic attribute of postmodernism is given credence by Lewis (2001:124) who posits that 
postmodern thinking is double edge swords which ―disrupt the past, but corrupts the present too‖. 
In its quest for a society devoid of any restriction or impediment to textual analysis, 
postmodern thinking undermines the importance accorded an author in the interpretation of his 
work. The implication of this is that authorial relevance is subverted for the realisation of diverse 
meanings. Roland Barthes‘ ―The Death of the Author‖ frees the readers from the shackles of 
orthodoxy allegedly inflicted on them by modern thinkers to promote the indispensability of the 
author in textual analysis. Thus, postmodern philosophy liberates the readers from any traditional 
87 
 
 
orthodoxy! However, we observe that the so-called liberation of the readers is nothing but a 
deliberate smokescreen to perpetuate irrationality, indeterminacy and cast aspersion on 
hermeneutic theorising. If no meaning is considered appropriate, readers are now free to adduce 
irrational positions under the guise of postmodern philosophising to denounce even the author‘s 
position. If we are to stress the social relevance of literature against the backdrop of the writer 
picking his raw materials for literary works from the society, it then makes sense to assert that the 
author‘s significance is sine qua non in meaning-formation.        
In a similar vein, we cannot but observe the danger embedded in postmodern so-called 
preference for the readers at the expense of the author. As the readers are no longer subjected to 
authorial control in meaning-formation, they are now at liberty to interpret a text as they deem fit. 
Henceforth, they are granted the ‗license‘ to interpret a text anyhow as ‗anything goes‘ in a 
postmodern world. They are free to go it all alone without been restricted by any totalising 
standard. This concept of individuality is the hallmark of capitalist economic system which 
encourages private ownership of means of productions and services. It eventually 
‗institutionalises‘ inequality and deprivation in the society. Unfortunately, no one is capable of 
effecting any meaningful change while working alone hence Marx advocates for a concerted effort 
from the proletariat to achieve positive change. According to Watson (2001), this overt support for 
capitalism further exposes postmodernism to barrage of hostile criticism:  
Critics of the postmodern perspective have pointed out that 
it can lead to an unprincipled emphasis upon personal and 
individual gratification at the expense of our responsibilities 
to others. For some writers this represents the capitalist 
market economy taken to its logical conclusion (63). 
 
Ironically, though postmodernism seemingly justifies the importance of the readers at the 
expense of the author, a discerning mind cannot fail to notice its disdain for the readers as well! A 
theory that promotes different varieties of meaning makes any ―right reading‖ unattainable. 
Meaning has become ‗relativised‘ to the consternation of hermeneutics. Therefore, if meaning is 
now meaningless because no knowledge is absolute and valid in all situations, even the readers‘ 
indispensability in meaning-formation is no longer credible!  The propagation of diverse 
meanings does not encourage order in the society. In postmodern parlance, we can as well 
pronounce the readers ‗dead and buried‘ also in the final analysis. Thus, ‗‗The Death of the 
Author‘‘ does not guarantee the existence of the reader. 
 
88 
 
 
Also, instead of advocating for a realist philosophical ideal, postmodern thinking 
encourages experimentation on a full scale. This is not inadvertent but consequent on the need to 
break barriers and ‗stronghold‘ militating against artistic liberation. With experimentation in a 
postmodern society, gone are the days when writers and critics are restricted to stereotyped themes 
and styles of writing. Henceforth, they are at liberty to advance any theme under any style! A 
postmodern deconstructive activity ensures that established themes and restrictive styles are 
jettisoned while unconventional themes and styles are pronounced. According to Lyotard 
(1992:150), postmodern thinkers are not committed to the advancement of realist ideal but rather 
the articulation of its ‗copy‘ because ―it is our business not to supply reality but to invent allusions 
to the conceivable which cannot be presented‖. A case at hand is Baudrillard‘s ‗irrational‘ 
conclusion that the Gulf War is only a media event and not a war in the real sense of it! Expectedly, 
his position provoked hostile criticism from critics who are ‗enraged‘ how anyone can experiment 
over such a sensitive matter. The danger associated with experimentation is that it gives 
deconstructionists the temerity to advance irrational philosophical positions to the consternation of 
the realists. According to Watson (2001), the desire to merely experiment may have informed 
Baudrillard blunt refusal to explain what postmodernism meant when Independent on Sunday 
offered him the opportunity of doing so. He is contented with creating a puzzle, not to seek an 
explanation to it. Thus, we aver that Baudrillard‘s submission merely elicits his desire to 
experiment so as to drive home his notion of the hyperreal. Therefore, Spencer (2001) posits that 
instead of criticising modernism, postmodernism is the ‗evil‘ that should be exposed and 
condemned in its entirety:  
Some postmodernists (Baudrillard is the obvious example) 
write in a style that is ostentatiously 'postmodern' when they 
write about postmodernism. The close fit between the tools 
of criticism and the circumstances criticized opens 
postmodernists to the accusation- which has been 
oft-repeated that their thinking is itself symptomatic of the 
ills that need to be diagnosed (159). 
 
Expectedly, the major opposition to postmodern aesthetics comes from the marxists, 
because majority of postmodernists are ‗‗ex-Marxists and socialists‘‘ (Gibbins and Reimer, 
1999:16). More importantly, marxist narrative tends to lose more ground than any other narratives 
if postmodern disdain for ―metanarratives‖ is allowed to dictate contemporary thinking. In its 
quest for an egalitarian society, marxism lays the blame of social inequality and oppression at the 
89 
 
 
doorstep of capitalism in a class-structured society, with the conviction that a utopian society 
would emerge where the proletariats would dictate (John Frow, 1990; Karl Marx & Friedrich 
Engels, 1996). Ironically, with technological advancement and globalisation in the contemporary 
post-industrial, postmodern world, capitalism becomes the order of the day. This economic order 
does not augur well for any alteration of inequality in the society hence it was roundly condemned 
by the marxists. They argue that postmodernism is primarily out to sustain the skeptic, nihilist 
philosophy promoted by Nietzsche and Heidegger. Rather than contributing to the utopia-seeking 
posture embedded in marxist philosophy, postmodernism denounces utopia as unrealisable. In 
fact, the quest for utopia is the defining moment, the point of divergence between the marxist and 
postmodern thinkers, ―the cardinal sin of that modernism which postmodernism seeks to go 
beyond‖ (Spencer, 2001:164). It is only when it dawns on marxist thinkers that utopia is a mirage, 
―having tried to realize an unrealizable dream, or having tried to lay hands on utopia and to 
engineer it in real societies‖ that they begin to inflict the world with oppression. Therefore, Smart 
(1992) submits that the point of divergence between postmodernism and marxism is the former‘s 
insistence on repudiating the latter‘s claim to an all-encompassing ‗magic wand‘ to interpreting 
socio-cultural phenomenon:  
Postmodernism challenges Marxism on a number of counts. 
It questions its generalizing aspirations, its totalizing claims, 
and its emancipatory scenario(s). It problematises its 
conception of both history and politics, and raises doubts 
about the pivotal move within Marxist discourse from 
denotative, or knowledge, statements–explanations and 
interpretations of the world–to prescriptive or political 
statements–proposals for changing the world (198).  
[[ 
In fact, Lyotard‘s rebuttal of marxism to emerge as the most prominent of postmodern theorists is 
largely due to his disenchantment with the contradiction of marxism which was manifested when 
the French Communist Party gave overt support to the French government after the suppression of 
students and workers‘ agitation during the May 1968 general strike (Grant, 2001). The tendency to 
undermine radical political reform exposes it to hostile criticism from some firebrand leftists. As 
postmodernism denounces the need for mass political action, the marxists conclude that it 
invariably justifies the inculcation of reactionary perspective into the mainstream of the body 
polity in support of the status quo. Although postmodernism may be a useful guide in the quest for 
a pragmatic realism, ―a return to common sense‖ instead of ―wilder utopia visions indulged in by 
90 
 
 
modernism‖ (Spencer, 2001:162), its impatience to jettison utopia makes it susceptible to 
accusation of acquiescence with the capitalist status quo. No wonder Cahoone (1996:19) quotes 
Jurgen Habermas as referring to postmodern critics as ―young conservatives‖. Similarly, Smart 
(1992:198) quotes D‘Amico as chiding postmodernism for being a ‗‗decadent, self-indulgent, 
irresponsible‘‘ and ‗‗a subterfuge of late capitalist imperialism‘‘. Also, Selden and Widdowson 
(1993:181) quote Terry Eagleton as discarding it for being ‗‗mischievously radical‘‘ but ‗‗utterly 
conservative‘‘, while Jameson (1991) notices a synergy between postmodern culture and the 
implantation and sustenance of capitalist economic order. In the same vein, Tony Bilton et al 
(2002:533-534) identify Habermas, Giddens and Beck as marxist critics who advocate for a return 
to the Enlightenment period. They are of the view that postmodernism expands, promotes, sustains 
and justifies capitalism and its attendant injustice and alienation in contemporary society.  
Besides the disclaimer by the marxists, feminist critics view the advocates of postmodern 
ideals with contempt and suspicion. Feminism is uncomfortable with anti-realist, 
anti-foundationalist, and anti-representationalist postures, features that are essentially the hallmark 
of postmodern thinking. Feminists wonder how postmodernism can be of relevance to their quest 
for freedom and equity if it repudiates these core tenets of the Enlightenment. They do not see how 
its jettisoning of ‗universalist assumptions‘ can conveniently articulate the position of any 
oppressed group in the scheme of things in the social ladder, like feminism would have us do on 
the issue of gender inequality. They query why any theory can stand in the way of feminist resolve 
to alter the society devoid of gender lining. If feminist philosophy is a ‗metanarrative‘ which 
postmodernism disavows, the best the feminists can do is to stay on its side to entrench their own 
―metanarrative‖. Only this attitude can help the sustenance of the epistemological foundation of 
their philosophy. Doing otherwise is tantamount to accepting the demise of feminist ideology. In 
fact, Grant (2001:42) alludes to Sabina Lovibond‘s claim that no one is fundamentally qualified to 
espouse feminist ideology unless he or she believes in gender-friendly ―social reconstruction‖ in 
the spirit of the Enlightenment. Also while articulating feminist rejection of postmodern 
philosophy, Bertens (1995) identifies Sabina Lovibond, Nancy Hartsock, Susan Bordo, and 
Sandra Harding as key feminist critics who disavow the legacy of postmodernism for being 
anti-feminism. He quotes Lovibond (1990) as rejecting postmodern repudiation of Enlightenment 
ideals of rationality and ―emancipatory metanarratives‘‘ when women have not been liberated 
from repression and injustice: 
91 
 
 
What, then, are we to make of suggestions that the 
(Enlightenment) project has run out of steam and that the 
moment has passed for remaking society on rational, 
egalitarian lines? It would be only natural for anyone laced 
at the sharp end of one or more of the existing power 
structures (gender, race, capitalist class…) to feel a pang of 
disappointment at this news. But wouldn't it also be in order 
to feel suspicion? How can anyone ask me to say goodbye to 
'emancipatory metanarratives' when my own emancipation 
is still such a patchy, hit-and-miss affair? (202). 
 
Therefore if feminist criticism is to remain ―a social and political force, aimed at changing existing 
power relations between women and men‖ and thus become ―an offshoot of ‗emancipatory 
metanarratives‘ of Enlightenment modernism‖ (Thornham, 2001:41-42), its core assumption 
cannot but be at variance with postmodern thinking in its entirety. In fact, feminist ideology is a 
―metanarrative‖ in its own right. The best its ideologues can do is to help entrench their own 
‗grand‘ narrative to sustain its epistemological assumption. The paucity of feminist criticism of 
postmodern philosophy may be a ploy to keep at bay feminist critical voices.  
 Colonial experience has contributed significantly to shaping the thematic preoccupation of 
African literature in line with Western sentiment, thus, Irele (1982:11) asserts that colonialism 
―offers an image of our experience as one not only of cultural and spiritual disorientation but of 
moral decline‖. In fact, Nkosi (1981:1) submits that anti-colonial disposition largely informs the 
insurgency and sustainability of ―modern African writing‖. This situation is given credence in 
African writings, and it consistently reflects the realities of colonial and neo-colonial African 
societies. The need to checkmate colonial ‗incursion‘ in Africa informs the recourse to literature 
imbued with social prejudice. From the era of cultural nationalism, through the period of critical 
realism, to the time of socialist realism, the social prejudice of African writers is undeniable 
(Onoge, 1985; Uwasomba, 2000; Bamidele, 2000). However with the dawn of independence in 
many African colonies, postmodern philosophy still ensued to become a valuable tool in the 
decolonisation process (Afolayan, 2007)! Here, a discerning African mind begins to wonder where 
lays the locus standi of the West to advance a theory of cultural interpretation for non-Western 
society as such may amount to re-colonialism in disguise. Having noticed its political implication, 
Soyinka (1976) denounces any attempt to foist Western worldview on African culture: 
  
 
92 
 
 
When ideological relations begin to deny, both theoretically 
and in action, the reality of a cultural entity which we define 
as the African world while asserting their relevance even to 
the extent of inviting the African world to sublimate its 
existence in theirs, we must begin to look seriously into their 
political motivation (xi). 
 
Here, Soyinka‘s position is anchored on the need to checkmate West-induced disdain for 
non-Western theoretical standpoint.     
Rene Wellek and Austin Warren (1956:75) have articulated the indispensability of the 
author in arriving at a credible meaning in textual interpretation, a development which makes an 
investigation of the author‘s personality ―one of the oldest and best-established methods of literary 
study‖. Similarly, Graham Allen‘s treatise on intertextuality is in congruent with that of many 
African writers and critics. Allen (2000:4) has argued that the real meaning of a text can be 
deduced ―from systems, codes and traditions established by previous work of literature‖. His 
submission is anchored on the premise that ―the systems, codes and traditions of other art forms 
and of culture in general‖ are germane to meaning-formation. Surprisingly, postmodernism does 
not see the interrelationship between literature and society, for it believes the former should be 
clearly separated from its context as the author is irrelevant in the scheme of things. This position 
is inconceivable to an average African writer hence it apparently hinders the popularity and 
acceptability of postmodernism on the continent. For instance, while denouncing ―the theory of the 
death of the author‖, for literary concepts such as ―intertextuality‖, ―dialogism‖, 
―counter-discourse‖ and ―cultural repository‖, Kolawole (2005:7) observes that postcolonial 
literary discourse is ―preoccupied with de-centering culture, deconstruction and decoding of 
universalizing canons, resisting cultural imperialism, orientalism, and ghetoisation‖. Similarly, 
Zine Magubane (2005) wonders how postmodern repudiation and skepticism towards grand 
narratives can be meaningful to African scholars in their quest for identity, especially when the 
atrocities perpetrated with colonialism and neo-colonialism have neither been erased from their 
consciousness nor atoned for:  
On the other hand, some Africanist scholars have rightly 
expressed skepticism about the fact that just as African 
peoples were making strides towards marking their own 
forms subjecthood, the West has declared the death of all 
subjects. Stiil others have expressed alarm about the 
challenges to effective political action posed by skepticism 
toward grand narratives. And still others have expressed 
93 
 
 
their dismay at the tendency of postmodern and postcolonial 
scholarship to detextualise, and thus perhaps trivialize, 
imperialist plunder and exploitation (viii). 
 
To this end, Paul Zeleza (2005:26) posits that postmodernism does not tally with African historical 
realities, hence it should be restricted to Western society where it rightly belongs, and where its 
ideals are championed. In the same vein, Tejumola Olaniyan (2005:39) asserts that 
postmodernism has little or nothing to say to non-Western societies ―upon whose backs that 
modernity was built and for whom it still remains a mirage today‖. He agrees that since 
postmodernism is unAfrican, it fails to take into cognisance the socio-historical realities of Africa, 
hence should be discountenanced. He claims that after Europe and America have boxed 
themselves into a tight corner with ‗‗the contradictions of underdeveloped modernity‘‘, they 
began to adopt postmodernism which promotes neo-colonial ideals as articulated by Western 
institutions and multinational corporations. He chides postmodern critics for justifying 
colonialism and neo-colonialism in different guise. However, he cautions that its positive 
inclinations, as evident in its readiness to undermine Western grand narratives that justify 
oppression and imperialism, should be imbibed and inculcated into Africa‘s nationalistic struggle. 
Unfortunately, postmodernism does not support Africa‘s liberation struggle either: 
If postmodernism is hastening the heart attack of the 
Western Subject, we can only expect that the African will 
act on the side of postmodernism by blocking all calls to the 
emergency ambulance. But postmodernism‘s deconstruction 
of the subject is both specific and general: it deconstructs not 
just the imperial European Subject but all claims to a 
subjecthood that would authorize or be the rallying point of 
knowledge or collective action or politics. This is where 
African critics interested in constructing a resistant subject 
or identity against unending Western imperialism part with 
postmodernism (40-41).  
 
Similarly, Dennis Ekpo (1995:127) notices a synergy between contemporary African 
thinking and European worldview, a development he also attributes to colonial experience. He, 
nevertheless, submits that postmodernism is far from being ―the salt of the earth, the measure and 
master of all things‖, and enjoins African scholars to treat ―the celebrated postmodern condition a 
little sarcastically as nothing but the hypocritical self-flattering cry of the bored and spoilt children 
of hyper-capitalism‖. In the same vein, Irele (1999:7-8) calls postmodernism ‗‗the most insidious 
threat to the contemporary African mind‘‘ because it fails woefully to advance ―a rigorous 
94 
 
 
scientific understanding of our lived universe‖. Although its radical repudiation of the 
Enlightenment hegemonic thinking system tallies with African scholars‘ quest for a theory that 
places African society at  the centre-point of its critical discourse, hence it ‗‗is one that our 
historical experience predisposes us to understand and to rally to‘‘, he posits that its 
‗antirationalism‘ exposes its contempt for African society. Also, Afolayan (2007:114) concludes 
that instead of incorporating postmodern thinking uncritically into African critical discourse, 
―postmodernism and all its cognates should excite suspicion in the African scholars,‖ while in the 
opinion of Osha (2005:vii), it is intended to expose ―the iniquities of western society‖. Similarly, 
Bruce Janz‘s (1995) queries the rationale behind African scholars‘ adoption of postmodernism 
when the modernism it claims to have superseded is never theirs. To this end, Fashina (2008:73) 
cautions African critics to be wary of West-induced interpretations of African texts as if such texts 
are appendages of ―Western universal discourses‖. His treatise is premised on the assumption that 
any attempt aimed at generating a credible theory of literary interpretation in Africa should be 
geared towards generating an alternative meaning which can serve continental purposes, in 
contrast to what Western citics would have us believe. This is because only this resolve can assist 
the continent‘s developmental aspirations. Thus, postmodernism may not find a safe haven in 
African literary discourse owing to its ‗unfashionable‘ tactics of not taking into cognisance 
Africa‘s developmental yearnings on one hand, and failing to articulate Africa‘s intellectual and 
practical needs on the other. This explains why contemporary African critics have no place for 
postmodern assumptions in their critical consciousness (Irele, 1982; 1999; Achebe, 1988; Ekpo, 
1995; Isamah, 2002; Kolawole, 2005; Osha, 2005; Zeleza, 2005; Magubane, 2005; Olaniyan, 
2005; Afolayan, 2007).  
With the demise of colonialism in many African states from the 1950s, there began a 
determined attempt to carve an African-specific identity devoid of colonial dictate. From these 
independent states, African scholars started to lend their critical voices to development around 
them. In no time, their writings cannot but be counter- discursive. In fact Ketu Katrak (1995:255) 
outrightly seeks for a postcolonial theory which would ―challenge the hegemony of Western 
canon‖. Therefore, apparently bemused at the concerted effort by these scholars to articulate an 
African-specific critical standard to correct negative impression on African studies, Western 
critics, expectedly, react with a theory aimed at undermining their resolve to uphold the dignity of 
Africa. Postmodernism becomes their stock-in-trade strategically designed to counter 
95 
 
 
non-Western narratives embedded in ‗subversive‘ disciplines like literature, philosophy, 
sociology, anthropology, history and cultural studies. Although the new thinking repudiates 
Western ideal of development as espoused in the Enlightenment philosophy, and unequivocally 
challenges the alleged ―supremacy of Western thinking‖ (Watson, 2001:58), it fails to contribute 
positively to Africa‘s developmental pursuit. As Afolayan (2007:113) wonders if postmodern 
philosophy ―can meaningfully explain existence for these independent postcolonial countries‖, 
Isamah (2002:135) submits that non-Western nations are too development-conscious to have 
fallen prey to postmodern thinking, a theory that possesses ―very limited applicability to the 
developing parts of the world‖. It therefore becomes clear that African critics have no choice other 
than to jettison Western ideal of development and postulate an African alternative. If an ‗alien‘ 
theorist can assert that ―there is nothing like African studies‖ other than ―a mere mental construct 
than a researchable reality‖ and that there is nothing specifically African in it, then committed 
African scholarship should be geared towards repudiating such anti-African, pro-Western 
polemic. No wonder Fashina (2008) avers that postmodernism is nothing but a Western bourgeois 
instrument directed at the bastion of African studies. Since it cannot dispassionately articulate 
cultural meaning in African critical discourse, he warns African scholars to be wary of 
incorporating it into their textual analyses:  
When we therefore apply Post-structuralist theory to the 
interpretation of African Language texts, or texts cast in the 
new linguistic and post-colonial cultural contexts of Africa 
and African continuities, we reduce such texts from their 
historical, cultural and ritualistic essence ideals, thereby 
making them mere cultural orphans, or making them look 
grotesquely gothic and hence ridiculous in the prying eyes of 
the Western world. How may African/Black world distill a 
poetics of textual meaning and epistemology from a 
jaundiced reading that denies the work of its soul and life – 
its history, rituals, gods, and its ‗grand narrative‘ of 
ideological praxis and propagation? (71). 
 
In line with Fashina‘s submission, African scholars like Gyeke, Aina, Altieri, Zeleza and Olaniyan 
condemn postmodern thinking in their quest for a beneficial and representative intellectual model 
in African critical discourse. Gyeke (1997) condemns the overt parasitic nature of postmodern 
thinking which merely intensifies critical disclaimer of Enlightenment philosophy without 
indentifying a radical discourse which can engineer a landmark alternative to the contradictions of 
the Enlightenment. This disclaimer, he argues, is ambiguous because it does not state whether 
96 
 
 
postmodern philosophy is out to undermine reason or promote its negative. Aina (1995:2) claims 
that no researcher can understand Africa‘s dilemma better than a scholar who sources his materials 
directly from the continent, where ―no amount of post-modernist, post-industrialist, post-Marxist 
or post-‗Nativist‘ conceptualization or discourse‖ can enhance understanding of African 
worldview. To this end, Altieri (1998:1) likens postmodernism to an orphan, a leper, whom no one 
―is eager to ally with‖. Similarly, Zeleza (2005:28) submits that postmodernism is only a 
face-saving mechanism by the Western ‗super power‘ and the best an African scholar can do is to 
hasten its demise. He asserts that it has outlived its usefulness. It is ―better off buried‖. In actual 
fact, its proponents and disciples have continued to diminish across disciplines. Therefore, African 
scholars should ignore the lure of postmodernism, fashion out a theory that situates African past in 
the right perspective and initiate a development-driven alternative in consonance with the 
yearnings of Africans. The simple reason that African nations are still groping with the scourge of 
under-development underscores the inadequacy of postmodern alternative to salvage their peculiar 
situation. Thus, the need to advance indigenous African-centred critical paradigms informs the 
quest for an alternative African theory by African scholars from the 1950s till date. 
 Unarguably, postmodern philosophical assumptions dominate contemporary thinking. 
Nonetheless, the fact that the world is transitory in nature foregrounds the assertion that 
postmodern rhetoric cannot endure forever. The wind of change has continued to blow on the 
society and postmodern philosophy cannot be an exception. Society has gradually continued to 
transforming from pre-modern era, through the modern period, to the so-called postmodern world. 
If postmodern thinkers agree that the world is transiting, we can then unequivocally conclude that 
their ‗highly cherised‘ postmodern era would soon transit also in the spirit of unhindered social 
transformation. If they do not, we may begin to question the veracity of their claim that 
postmodern philosophy came as a negation of modernism. Head or tail, postmodern thinking 
continues to lose credibility in the final analysis. We can even afford to jettison its basic 
assumptions without fear of losing anything worthwhile. For it to be useful in social analysis, 
Landry (2000) calls for its total overhauling so as to address the contradictions it postulates on: 
The suggestion is that the postmodernism debates need 
reconceptualization in order to address the new problems 
they present, as well as to be able to draw connections with  
the old problems alluded to above (143). 
 
 
97 
 
 
It is simply because this ―reconceptualization‖ has not taken place that Watson (2001:54) refers to 
postmodern philosophy as ―a transitory and relatively insignificant phase in our understanding of 
contemporary experience‖.  
We are mindful of the fact that the adventurous project of the Enlightenment has its own 
limitations. Even die-hard modern thinkers, like Habermas for instance, appreciate the fact that 
modern epoch has not peaked. It is only a continuous process whose inherent features would later 
correct its anomalies, thus Spencer (2001:159) argues that ―modernism is as much an antidote to 
modernity as it is to its party-programme‖. Also, it is common knowledge that a discerning mind 
cannot but interrogate these limitations in the quest for a better and foolproof alternative. If 
Christian mythology was so rife during the Enlightenment period, anti-Enlightenment thinkers are 
quick to ask why modern era spurned myth and tradition but covertly espoused Christianity! Can 
Christianity‘s ‗totalitarian‘ world view guarantee religious emancipation which the Enlightenment 
advances? If marxist perspective is the requisite ideological framework on which the intellectual 
pillar of the Enlightenment is erected, has marxist utopia not being undermined with contemporary 
realities? With the suppression of all voice of dissent during communist regimes, can we still 
unequivocally hold on to the claim that communism is the requisite benchmark for emancipation 
and justice? Has the end of the ‗Cold War‘ not sounded the death knell of communism? If science 
is the panacea for human and socio-cultural developments, was science not employed in a 
devastating manner during the World Wars 1 and 11? Are the chaos and wanton destruction of 
lives and properties that characterised the World Wars not enough to cast aspersion on the 
optimism associated with the Enlightenment? How can Enlightenment thinking promise liberation 
from repressive tendencies but help sustain capitalist economy and its attendant inequality and 
alienation? Despite the advantages embedded in technological advancement, is technology not 
being employed to satisfy a Western socio-political end to the consternation of non-Western 
nations in the contemporary society? These posers, and more, have continued to agitate the minds 
of anti-Enlightenment thinkers over the years. In no time, it attained the status of a consensus and 
they began to jettison Enlightenment philosophy to seek a refuge in postmodern alternative. 
Nevertheless, we argue that the project of the Enlightenment does not see itself as a perfect, ideal 
philosophical ‗magic‘ which is not susceptible to contradictions and limitations. It is ‗humble‘ 
enough to realise its own limitations. However, postmodern canon is too weak and less ambitious 
to have qualified as a credible alternative. According to Spencer (2001:161), it ―is much less a 
98 
 
 
programme or intellectual framework than it is a mood or Stimmung the Zeitgeist, a 'feeling in the 
air'‖. Instead of taking off as an alternative epistemological assumption, it is ‗comfortable‘ with 
waiting in the wing to cash in on ―the ambiguous legacy of modernity and of its late apologists, the 
modernists‖. This parasitic attitude does not portray it as a reliable critical model. 
We have argued that the project of the Enlightenment evidently has its limitations and 
shortcomings. Even die-hard proponents of the Enlightenment have had occasions to come to 
terms with the weaknesses of the age. However, these contradictions should never translate to 
wholesale renunciation of Enlightenment‘s ideals on any account because the age possesses inbuilt 
mechanism for self-probing. This falls in line with Hart‘s (2006:1) advice to critics never to be 
carried away to the point of describing postmodernism in term of succession to modernism. 
Besides, it is not enough to jettison the valuable contribution of the Enlightenment to human 
development just because we are committed to repudiation of a totalising Western epistemology or 
in ―a hopeless quest for innovation‖. If the ideals of postmodern thinking serve the ‗overall‘ 
interest of the West, the same cannot be said of non-Western societies, most especially Africa 
where it has failed woefully in ―advancing our interests in the modern world‖ hence for Africans, 
―Foucault, Derrida and their cohorts can be nothing other than false gods‖ (Irele, 1999:8). 
Corroborating Irele, Lewis (2001:122) identifies Sloan, Bradbury and Ruland as Western critics 
who are humble enough to observe the inevitable demise of postmodern thinking in the 
contemporary world. He quotes Sloan (1987) as positing that postmodernism ―is now in its final 
phase of decadence‖ and Bradbury and Ruland (1991) as describing it as ―a stylistic phase that ran 
from the 1960s to the 1980s‖. To this end, Spencer (2001:159) believes that postmodernism is 
―self-conscious‖ of its own inadequacies hence ―subjects itself to the most glaring scrutiny and 
endless commentary‖ across disciplines. Despite this humble remark, Spencer still goes ahead to 
denounce postmodernism because modernity is synonymous with the contemporary hence has no 
place for any other imaginary era! Until postmodern thinkers are ready to explain how they intend 
to justify the existence of ‗post‘ contemporary, or what Lewis tagged ―post-postmodernist‖ 
thinking, the veracity of their argument continues to run out of steam. Even if we agree that the 
world has continued to witness tremendous changes, especially after the World War 11, 
Onyeonoru (2002:289) submits that these changes are ―not fundamental, massive or enduring 
enough to justify the assertion of a post-modern epoch‖. The modern era has recorded landmark 
achievements which cannot be dispensed with, no matter the ‗suave‘ rhetoric or ‗suspect‘ 
99 
 
 
sophistrby of its ‗belligerent‘ detractors. 
2.5 Towards an Afrocentric Theory of Literary Interpretation 
Apparently drawing inspiration from African American writings like Du Bois‘ Souls of 
Black Folk (1913), James‘ Stolen Legacy (1954), Williams‘ The Destruction of Black Civilisation 
(1971) and Bernal‘s Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization (1987), Cheikh 
Anta Diop‘s classic, African Origin of Civilisation (1974) attempts to reconstruct history and 
debunk Western hegemonic postulation. Since the main thrust of Eurocentric postulation on Africa 
is that the ‗dark continent‘ had no history, no culture and no civilisation worthy of note 
(Graham-Heggie, 2009), Diop argues that ancient Egypt, then known as Kemet, is the cradle of 
world civilisation. According to Diop, Egypt had architecture, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, 
cosmology, geometry, and science and technology long before Greece. Also, the Greek word 
‗sophia‘ (wisdom) is derived from its African equivalent, ‗seba‘, hence the practice of philosophy 
cannot be said to have originated from Greece. In fact, ancient Greek philosophers like Thales and 
Pythagoras actually came to Egypt to learn philosophy at the temple of Wennofer! Butressing his 
arguement with critical opinions from Ben-Jochanan (1971) and Onyewuenyi (1994), Odebowale 
(2005) attests to the preeminence of Egyptian civilisation: 
Before the conquest of Alexander in 332 BC, the Greeks had 
had sufficient contacts with Egypt through visits by eminent 
Hellenic scholars. Thales, the West acclaimed inventor of 
philosophy, studied in Egypt and was influenced to develop 
his doctrine of cosmic origin, geometry, and his political and 
epistemological theories. Herodotus and Diogenes Laertius 
write that Pythagoras, a native of Samos, was initiated into 
the Egyptian Mystery System in Heliopolis, Memphis and 
Thebes. He was taught measurement, medicine, the doctrine 
of metempsychosis and dietetics. He was reported to have 
sacrificed to the Muses after the secrets of the properties of 
the right angled triangle was revealed to him (111-112). 
 
Besides, the ancient Egyptians were Negroid whose civilisation had peaked and had suffered 
series of invasions long before Herodotus ‗visited‘ between 480 and 425 B.C (Asante, 1980; 
Chinweizu et al, 1980). Stephen Prickett (1990) attests to the grandeur status of Egypt as a nation 
whose cultural preeminence predates Greece: 
When the ancient Greek historian Herodotus visited Thebes 
in Egypt, he gazed with awe at the list of High Priests of the 
100 
 
 
temple inscribed on its walls as he realized that the three 
hundred generations represented there took him back 
thousands of years before the dawn of Greek history and 
civilization (952). 
 
These positions are given credence to by archaeological evidences which have it that the first 
architectural masterpiece, the Sakkara pyramid, was built in Egypt by Imhotep, the ―earliest 
personality recorded in history‖ (Asante, 2000). Whereas Homer came in 800 B.C., the pyramid 
was completed in 2500 B.C. Unfortunately, the twin incidences of slave trade and colonialism 
further contributed to the denigration and distortion of African history. Chinweizu et al (1980) 
concur that African civilisation is not a derivative of its European counterpart: 
Long before Caesar led his Roman legions to bring 
civilization to barbarian Gaul, to Celtic Britain, and to the 
st
Druidic German tribes of Vercingetorix in the 1  century 
B.C., the African Nile valley civilizations of Pharaohnic 
Egypt, Nubia, Kush, Meroe and Ethiopia had literate 
cultures-in territories where Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt are 
today located (26). 
 
These experiences further help to sustain Western preeminence at all cost. 
This daring reassessment of the African past has a long lasting impression on 
contemporary African and African-American scholars, hence their resolve to re-cast history in a 
manner that accords Africa the respect she deserves. To achieve this, they begin a quest for a 
theoretical standpoint which places Africa and her people at the centre of any historical or cultural 
appraisal about the continent. Suffice it to say that in the onerous task of developing the continent, 
an African-specific theory for literary interpretation is required. Chinweizu et al (1980) have 
articulated the need for African critics to redirect their critical sensibilities towards the 
advancement of an African-conscious theory of reading African literary texts:  
Now, rather than a disorientive eurocentrism or a 
disorientive irrelevance, the task of our African critics is to 
formulate an African esthetic- which in the field of literature 
would include a poetics, a narrative rhetoric, and a 
dramaturgy–adapted to the needs of contemporary Africa 
(290). 
No wonder as part of the decolonisation process, postcolonial writings have largely been 
redirected towards the appropriation of a cultural worldview or ideology that better suits the 
continent‘s developmental yearnings. Fashina (2008) puts it aptly: 
Recent discussions of post-colonial literary theories have 
not confined themselves to evaluating the practice of writing 
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in the new Englishes but to a consideration of how 
postcolonial readings of canonized texts might construct 
new meanings in the service of a postcolonial ideology (74). 
After all, no one, according to Bernth Lindfors (2002), is better endowed with the analytical 
wherewithal to interprete other people‘s culture than those who are well grounded in the particular 
culture under probe:   
Bearers of a culture are better equipped to interpret that 
culture than aliens who have experienced its realities only 
vicariously. Those who share a writer‘s background can 
more readily comprehend the full implications of his 
message (3). 
 
 
 
Thus, the works of postcolonial African and African-American critics are tremendously influenced 
by the quest for an African-specific, African-centred theoretical canon that are of immense benefit 
to Africa, polemic from Western ―arm-chair‖ critics notwithstanding. Leading Afrocentric 
scholars include: Molefi Asante, Theopilus Obenga, Zine Magubane, Paul Zelesa, Tejumola 
Olaniyan, Abiola Irele, Biodun Jeyifo, Chinua Achebe, Chinweizu and Toyin Falola. However, on 
account of prolificity and profundity in promoting an Afrocentric framework for world history, the 
name Molefi Asante stands out.     
Under the generic name Afrocentrists, these scholars interrogate the core assumptions of 
Euro-American worldviews which pretend to be of universal benefit to all cultures of the world but 
is grossly impositional and parochial (Asante, 1987; Keto, 1994; Henderson, 1995; Obenga, 1995; 
Poe, 2003). This quest for a valid Afrocentric epistemology is premised on the assumptions that no 
‗alien‘ theory would be adequate to articulate a critical model that is in consonance with African 
scholars‘ goal of placing African culture at the centre-point of their creative and critical 
sensibilities. This would, invariably, serve as the launch-pad for the development of the continent. 
According to Henderson (1995: xi-xiii), rather than merely postulating ―a knee-jerk reaction to 
European effrontery‖, Afrocentric scholars direct their critical attention to ―constructing 
alternative, more appropriate, more accurate, and more relevant, social theory‖ to liberate the 
continent from Western theoretical postulation which is irrelevant to African cause. This is coming 
against the backdrop of the assumption that Afrocentrism offers "the most complete philosophical 
totalization of the African being‖ (Asante, 1987:25) which is aimed at ―self-healing for some very 
deep wounds of the past‖ (Landry, 2010:2). This would invariably guarantee psychological, 
political, social, cultural, and economic change. Fanon (1968) has earlier enjoined African writers 
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and critics to produce a unique African contribution to global worldviews devoid of Western 
standpoint: 
Humanity is waiting for something from us (Africans) other 
than such an imitation (of Europe), which would be almost 
an obscene caricature (315). 
Fanon‘s assertion is premised on the realisation of the fact that what African people want from 
their writers is not the imitation of European canon, but a consistent articulation of the African 
alternative. This is because no imitation can be original. 
Although it began with the activities of African-American scholars of late nineteenth and 
early twentieth century, Afrocentrism attained its modern meaning owing to the consequences of 
Civil Right Movement in America. As an ethnocentric cultural worldview, it places Africa and 
Africans at the centre of African reality in history. Henceforth, African ideals should dominate any 
discussion on African culture because Africans are proactive subject in history, and not passive 
onlookers. While emphasising Africa‘s central role in world history, its deconstructive 
philosophical assumption is aimed at stimulating a credible African approach to theory 
formulation which would denounce Eurocentric postulation that justifies racial discrimination. At 
a time African-American intellectuals were seeking a rediscovery of African pride in world 
history, Afrocentrism emerged as a valuable ideological weapon to sustain an inversion of 
European standpoint and, according to Asante (2000: 2), ―help lay out a plan for the recovery of 
African place, respectability, accountability, and leadership‖. Afrocentric worldview was given 
impetus by the 1980 publication of Asante‘s Afrocenticity: ATheory of Social Change. 
Meanwhile, the quest for an all-embracing African-centred theoretical model which can 
provide an appropriate theoretical template to advance the philosophical and epistemological 
foundations of African worldviews gathered momentum from the 1980s. Hitherto, the fear of 
being labeled ‗others‘ and denied publishing ‗privilege‘ by the imperialist publishing firms, 
unilaterally controlled by Western hegemonic authority, is enough worry for African scholars. 
Thus, they dare not articulate an African-specific intellectual discourse that is not in congruence 
with Western standard! Nonetheless, African critics shake off the lethargy and challenge the 
negative perception of Africa which is aimed at legitimizing the socio-cultural preeminence of 
Europe, even if, according to Fashina (2009:7), they have not had the privilege of a ―quality 
breakthrough in the search for fixed and systematic canons of reading and theorizing in African 
studies‖ till date. Although Western critics would have us believe that there is ―a wide gulf of 
103 
 
 
hermeneutic knowledge‖ between Africa and the West, yet we aver that this is not due to any 
genetic disparity in both the physiological and mental make-up of Europeans and Africans. The 
West may continue in her ‗blind‘ refusal to acknowledge the exigencies of African oral narratives, 
which is embedded in African literary culture, as this attitude does not foreclose their relevance in 
distilling an African epistemology. In fact, if Kalu‘s (2000) position that indigenous African 
system of thought can only be appreciated from an African perspective is anything to go by, then 
the inability of Western critics to come to terms with non-Western cultural specificity becomes 
understandable. Kalu has argued that  
African discomfort at inheriting two opposing worlds must 
not continue to mean Africa‘s lack and /or inability to 
theorize from a viable knowledge base. Rather, most of the 
difficulty arises from the delayed recognition of the nature 
and relevance of African texts. Ancestral African thought 
may not have been written in great books but they were 
written in African traditions and minds (57). 
 
However, Kalu‘s optimism is consequent on ―the acquisition of relevant oral narrative and 
performance skills‖. Unfortunately, many African scholars have little or no grounding in African 
socio-cultural milieu, hence they resigned to fate and imbibed, hook, line and sinker, polemics 
from Western critics. Amongst others, Fashina (2009:7) adduces reasons for this to include the 
myth associated with ―malevolent spirits and demons of the African ritual groves at the domain of 
the Ifa priest‖ and the need to keep at bay anything which could ‗taint‘ ones ―Christian status‖. 
Unfortunately, many of those who are versed in African epistemology are largely illiterate in the 
Western sense. Ironically, majority of Western critics are obviously not committed to an empirical 
study of African culture and philosophical assumptions!  
The conviction to reassess African literary scholarship against the backdrop of ‗hostile‘ 
Western models informs the determination to articulate an African poetics of literary interpretation 
to suit contemporary African needs. Achebe (1988) has earlier warned African scholars not to be 
taken in by Western ‗jaundice‘ perspective which is a ploy to denounce non-Western literature: 
But, of course, it would not occur to them to doubt the 
universality of their own literature. In the nature of things, 
the work of a Western writer is automatically informed by 
universality. It is only others who must strain to achieve it. 
So – and so‘s work is universal; he has truly arrived! As 
though universality were some distant bend in the road 
which you may take if you travel out far enough in the 
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direction of Europe or America, if you put adequate distance 
between yourself and your home (51).  
Even if Achebe‘s warning is not enough, Chinweizu et al (1980) enjoin African critics to, among 
other roles, serve as guide for creative writers in the promotion and sustenance of core African 
values. They, however, caution that critics can only attain this level if they are thoroughly 
grounded in African worldview:  
To do this effectively, African critics must develop an 
African esthetic, encourage an awareness of African 
tradition, and play the role of critical intelligence guiding the 
transmission of African cultural values. Whereas the artist 
creates cultural artifacts, the critic evaluates them. Whereas 
the artist is a maker of well-made things, the critic is a maker 
of judgements (287). 
 
Similarly, Kunene (2007:320) advises African critics to look in the direction of literary works 
written in indigenous languages if they are to be relevant in the society. He wants them to inculcate 
the habit of Western critics who ―have established themselves as the foremost authorities in the 
scholarship of English literature‖. He also charges them to assert their own preeminence in 
indigenous culture by providing ―answers demanded by the logic of our situation‖. He submits that 
only this would liberate them from the ‗all-knowing‘ pretension of Western critics who discuss 
African literature ―with pontifical authority‖! Unfortunately, Chinweizu et al aver that many 
African critics have flagrantly discountenanced this ―fundamental ground rule‖, barely turning 
works from African writers ―into the procrustean beds of an alien esthetic‖. This ―mentality of 
cultural inferiority‖ can be attributed to the inability to ―develop a contemporary African esthetic‖ 
which can be discovered through a sustained investigation of African epistemology. In the same 
vein, while affirming the indispensability of oral narratives as an integral medium which can be 
positively employed to advance African literary theory, Kalu (2000:49) situates Africa‘s 
developmental yearnings on strict adherence to her tradition because ―productive strategies should 
create change that must not disconnect us from our origin‖. Thus, Fashina (2008) warns African 
scholars of the dire consequences of articulating Eurocentric sentiments in the interpretation of 
African texts, all in a bid to contribute the so-called ―African dimension of knowledge to the great 
Western tradition, and as a way of internationalizing their scholarship‖. This attitude amounts to 
mere chasing the shadow. It does the quest for an African-specific theory of literary interpreting no 
good:  
 
105 
 
 
 
There is, indeed, the need to receive with severe 
caution, the critical discourses that tend to police 
literary interpretation and theorization of African 
texts only in the direction of a particular ‗post‘ such 
as post-structuralism, post-deconstruction, 
postmodernism, post-coloniality and so on, a 
situation which Niyi Osundare 1993, 2001) 
describes as an empty text-technology with no 
relevance to the nature of African knowledge (67-68). 
 
If Fashina‘s ‗note of warning‘ would suffice, an African alternative theory is required. Chinweizu 
et al are of the opinion that African scholars should begin an investigation into African 
epistemology. Their findings should be ‗transferred‘ to African writers and their audience for the 
betterment of the society. The ―paucity of available material‖ on African worldview should not 
deter them. It should rather be a source of encouragement for them to embark on a sustained 
investigation. Only this can guarantee the sustainability of the ‗anticipated‘ theory for the 
interpretation of African texts. 
The simple reason that Africa and the West ascribed different socio-cultural meanings to 
symbol, motif, ritual, values and cosmogony foregrounds the conclusion that if an Afrocentric 
theoretical alternative is required, a sustained investigation of African history, tradition and 
religion is the sine qua non (Chinweizu et al, 1980; Kalu, 2000; Fashina, 2008, 2009). Although 
Kunene (2007) and Ogundipe-Leslie (2007) opine that Africa may not boast of a unified, 
homogenous historical and traditional worldview, a development which is traceable to diverse 
colonial experiences, Fashina (2008:65) believes her ―relative cultural homogeneity‖ underscores 
its unique credential as a veritable ‗gold mine‘ in the quest for an African-centred theory for 
textual interpretations. While resisting the ‗temptation‘ to lump diverse African societies together 
in a desperate bid to advance an all-encompassing African worldview, African scholars have no 
choice other than to promote the unity of Africa and reiterate the ―unbreakable thread of cultural 
link‖ which unites the continent and the diaspora. This is in congruence with Soyinka‘s (1976: xii) 
position that even if no worldview is unique, man‘s existence ―in a comprehensive world of myth, 
history and mores‖ elicits ―the virtues of complementarity‖ which underscore the uniqueness of 
African culture. An incontestable instance of this cultural tie is given by Henry Louis Gates, jr 
(1988). Gates observes the cosmic relevance of the ubiquitous Esu Elegbara in the activities of the 
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Yoruba and the Fan in Nigeria and Dahomey respectively, as well as in Brazil, Haiti, Cuba and 
America. Thus, the necessity for African scholars to have a fuller understanding of African 
epistemology which encapsulates the totality of African worldview is non-negotiable. This 
awareness is indispensable if a credible Afrocentric interpretation of the cosmos must evolve. 
Henderson (1995) accords tradition a pride of place in African theory formulation: 
Paradigm construction and theory building cannot simply 
exist as an academic exercise. We must wed our thought and 
practice in a novel, interpretative way that is well grounded 
in the tradition, reason, and practice of the best of our 
peoples and by implication the best of humanity. 
Emphatically, we maintain those examples are not to be 
found at present, in their entirety, anywhere in the world. We 
must build them and proceed in earnest to make these 
institutions and programs the centerpiece of our Afrocentric 
enterprise (197). 
In the light of this, Chinweizu et al (1980: 290) urge African scholars to employ ‗orature‘ to distill 
an African epistemology which is ―grounded in an African sensibility,‖ while Fashina (2009: 15) 
proposes the exploration of Ifa corpus because of its cross-cultural ubiquitous nature in Africa and 
the diaspora. This would, invariably, become a legacy that can be presented as an African specific 
contribution to knowledge pool across the globe. 
African history is replete with the anthropomorphic activities of gods and goddess, 
monarchs and emperors, heroes and heroines. Her oral tradition is peopled by daunting tasks and 
adventures of deified personalities whose actions and inactions justify their respective places in the 
world. The communal living and reverence for traditional cultural ethos are unparalleled. The 
unwritten constitution and succession principle of Benin, Kanem Bornu, Mali and Ghana empires 
are legendary. Long before any contact with Baron de Montesquieu, the French writer who 
propounded the theory of checks and balances for modern democracy, the checks and balances in 
old Oyo Kingdom had operated and ensured that the paramount ruler (the Aláàfin) discharged his 
traditional duties in a manner which promoted social development, else he could be ‗impeached‘ 
by the legislative arm of the government (the Oyomèsì). To avert this ugly trend, the griots and 
bards employ their vast retentive memory to warn the kings of the consequences of their actions, 
thus promoting cosmic harmony. So influential is the artistry of these traditional poets that Fashina 
(2008) refers to them as ―the unacknowledged sociologists and anthropologists of the African 
space of their time‖ whose records formed part of the materials employed by European critics for 
107 
 
 
modern literary interpretation:  
The historians and poets were court officials. Although they 
were not appointed or designated by formal university 
tradition as research fellows and scholars, they never the less 
perform such roles and functions in their relative conditions, 
age and time as researchers in history, ethnography and 
culture (65). 
 
It is now incumbent on African scholars to investigate this historic and cultural landmark from 
where an African epistemology can be derived. This makes the evolution of an African-specific 
theory for textual analysis inevitable. 
Also, traditional tales and mythological accounts which uphold the dignity of African 
society are veritable tools at the disposal of theory-seeking African scholars. In order to privilege 
Eurocentric mythological accounts which are employed by Western critics to justify the 
preeminence of the West, African myths are denounced as barbaric and primordial! Although 
myth may be grossly inaccurate, subjective and contradictory, Ajayi (2005: 27) believes it contains 
―certain historical truth‖ which is transferred from generation to generation. Therefore, if the 
biblical account has it that the world was created by a ‗jealous‘ omniscient God in His 
magnanimous benevolence, then it is incumbent on African scholars who are versed in Yoruba 
cosmology to promote Odùduwà to the status of the Supreme Being who barely delegated the task 
of creation to the arch divinity, Obàtálá. In the same vein, if Moses can ‗divide‘ the red sea into two 
for the Israelites to pass unhurt, if Elijah would not see death but could only be ‗taken‘ to heaven 
with ―a chariot of fire‖, if Joshua can cause the sun not to set throughout a day, if Jesus Christ can 
be ‗conceived‘ without a man, feed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fishes, 
heal the sick, raise Lazarus from the dead, die but resurrect on the third day, if Athena had no 
mother but only ‗emerged‘ from the head of Zeus, what makes it less plausible for Odùduwà to 
have descended from heaven to Ile-Ife with a chain? Why would Obàtálá not be accepted as the 
creative essence? If Western critics like Cain Felder (1994), Grover Furr (1996), Mary Lefkowitz 
(1997) and Wilson Moses (1998) have concluded that Afrocentrism is ―sensationalism‖, 
―pseudo-science‖, ―pseudohistorical‖, ―racist‖, ―reactionary‖, ―bogus history‖, ―factually errant 
and theoretically flawed‖, a manipulation of history and myth in a manner ―sympathetic to African 
peoples‖, can Eurocentric racial conclusions, particularly its unsubstantiated postulation on the 
mental make-up of Europeans and Africans, pass the empirical test? Can we ‗discharge and acquit‘ 
108 
 
 
Eurocentrists of these allegations? If Graham-Heggie (2009) regards Molefi Asante and Anta Diop 
as ―extremists‖ who engage in ―scholarship of dubious value‖, are critics like Ann Roth, Mary 
Lefkowitz, Felder Hope and Wilson Moses less extremists? Cases worthy of note here are Roth 
and Lefkowitz‘s suspect sophistry on Afrocentrism, a position which calls for serious scrutiny the 
veracity of Eurocentric rhetoric. Roth (1992) has argued that Afrocentric philosophy is targeted at 
―stressing the achievements of African civilizations, principally ancient Egypt‖. She asserts that 
Afrocentrists make ―extravagant claims about ancient Egyptian achievements‖, and justify their 
positions by citing ―authors of dubious credibility and outdated theories‖ to buttress their 
‗unconvincing‘ treatise on Africa as the cradle of world civilisation. In a similar vein, Mary 
Lefkowitz argues that the teaching of Afrocentism among African-American students is aimed at 
poisoning young mind hence no one should waste ―tay-payers money‖ on such ‗ill-conceived‘ 
scholarship. She submits that no one should ever doubt the veracity of ancient Greek civilisation 
from where modern American democracy originated. This conclusion lays bare the fact that 
Eurocentric sophistry primarily sets out to articulate the preeminence of Greek and Roman 
civilisations over others. Myth remains a ‗credible‘ means of social engineering and any attempt to 
undermine African myths amounts to a subterfuge intended to discredit African past. These myths 
are embedded in African oral tradition from where a theory of literary interpretation would evolve. 
Little wonder Chinweizu et al (1980:290) refer to African oral tradition as the ―incontestably 
uncontaminated reservoir of African sensibility‖. Perhaps, Lefkowitz needs to be asked about the 
source of Greek civilisation. 
Afrocentrists have never assumed that African culture is monolithic and monolingual. 
Despite the emphasis on the pride of place Egypt occupies as the cradle of civilisation, Africa 
remains a continent, and not a country. The series of invasions and eventual annexation of Egypt 
gave rise to the influx of foreign cultures whose influence freely spread among the early 
Egyptians. The slave trade and colonialism became the final straw that exposed Africa to European 
languages and cultural domination. It is against the backdrop of the limitations of European 
languages to genuinely articulate African worldview that informs Nkosi (1981), Kalu (2000), Wali 
(2007), Ngugi (2007) and Kunene‘s (2007) postulations that only indigenous languages can 
properly articulate African traditional worldviews in African literature. In actual fact, Ngugi has 
even gone a step further, choosing to publish works like Ngaahika Ndeenda, Caitaani 
Mutharabaini, Maitu Njugira, and Matigari Ma Njiruungi in his native Gikuyu language. He 
109 
 
 
tenaciously holds on to the belief that only an African language, rooted in the proletarian cause, 
can genuinely articulate African cultural norms and values which are the sine qua non for 
continental emancipation. Failure to do so, he argues, these writers would only produce ―another 
hybrid tradition, a tradition in transition, a minority tradition that can only be termed as 
Afro-European literature‖. However, critics like Mowah (1997) and Anozie (1981) are quick to 
move beyond the emphasis on language as the central feature in literary analysis, arguing that style 
can be of tremendous importance too. Mowah (1997) concludes that only literary standard, not 
ideological predilection, can determine the literariness of a text: 
 
For behind the firm ideological commitment to truth is the 
peculiar structure of literature that gives the truth of 
literature its particular or significant essence. T.S. Eliot has 
infact warned that ―we must remember that whether it is 
literature or not can be determined only by literary 
standards. In essence, the criticism of African literature 
demands a thorough scrutiny of the aesthetic framework of 
it. For the meaning of African literature to become bare, the 
mask of allegory, images, fables, symbolism, myth and 
metaphors in African literature must be penetrated (25). 
 
In the same vein, Chinweizu et al (1980) submit that language alone is not capable of generating 
and appropriating cultural worldview in a different culture:  
Given the fundamental differences in values and 
experiences which often appear between two nations who 
use the same language, it should be obvious that the fact that 
two works are written in the same language is far less than 
sufficient grounds for judging them by identical criteria (12). 
 
Although language, among others, plays a pivotal role as ―a means of expression of human cultural 
values‖ (Madubuike, 2005:326), the adoption of colonial languages cannot totally obliterate 
African values in African literature. For instance, the adoption of the English language by Tutuola 
and Achebe does not indicate that an understanding of the language translates to a full grasp of 
Yoruba and Igbo cultural worldviews expressed by these writers in The Palmwine Drinkard and 
Arrow of God respectively. Although Nkosi (1981) agrees that the accrued benefits of writing in 
indigenous languages ―would prove overwhelming‖ as it would invariably eliminate ―a situation 
of extreme cultural ambiguity‖, as well as the inability of even ―the most sophisticated and 
articulate of modern African writers‖ to employ indigenous languages, yet he asserts that the 
instrument of language is not the sole determinant to gain inroad into traditional African culture: 
110 
 
 
 
 
The relationship between language and national cultures 
cannot be too strongly emphasised. Like other peoples, 
black Africans possess a rich and living heritage in 
philosophy, ethics, religion and artistic creation, the deepest 
roots of which are embedded in the rich soil of African 
languages. To re-possess that tradition means not only 
unlocking the caskets of syntax, disentangling metaphysics 
from poetry and proverb; it also means extracting social 
philosophy and habits of moral thought from the rhythm, 
imagery, repetitiousness, sometimes from the very 
circumlocution of native African speech (3).      
So pervasive are these heterogenous cultural values that a ‗nativisation‘ of the English language is 
African writers‘ preoccupation in the textual exploration of African worldview in English. Even 
Ngugi, a hard-to-please advocate of African language for African writings, does not agree less.  
Equally worthy of close scrutiny is the suitability of prose fiction to capture a 
quintessential traditional African worldview, in a manner desired by theory-seeking African 
scholars. Albert Gerard (1971: 379) is quick to assert that since the origin of the novel genre is the 
West, a society whose tradition is at variance with traditional African society, African writers 
would most likely encounter an encumbrance in articulating any worthwhile African values with 
the novel! Even the so-called hybrid peculiarity of African literature does not remove this 
bottleneck but, ironically, underscores a devastating influx of a domineering Western 
epistemology. This almost renders such literature ‗impotent‘ and ‗weak‘ at espousing the core 
African cultural sensibilities. Surprisingly as European theoretical postulations do not reverence 
African cultural specificities, some African writers even doubt the existence of African literature! 
Nonetheless, we aver that it is undoubtedly evident that Western prose tradition may not be the 
appropriate template to articulate African worldview which is ensconced in African literature. This 
rather hostile tradition informs what Nkosi (1981:5-53) aptly describes as generating ―the feelings 
of dislocation‖ which beam its search-light on the Africa worldview ―through a mirror which 
continually refracts African experience according to its own optical ‗illusions‘-if not actual 
delusions‖. He suspects the ―double ancestry‖ of the modern African novel as partly responsible 
for its inability to ―properly reflect African reality‖, and consequently becomes a reflector of 
―many cultures and genres, the accumulator of many styles and traditions‖. Although he finally 
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submits that the diversity, ―the embarrassing mixture of styles and traditions is often a source of 
strength and vitality, not a cause of weakness and diminution of insight‖, its import is not lost on a 
discerning African mind. A core African, non-Western alternative, which advances the 
value-conscious African traditional system of thought as articulated through the indigenous 
African story-telling narrative technique, is desired.   
Unarguably for the ‗much anticipated‘ African theory to have global credibility and 
acceptability, it must ‗liberate‘ itself from any tendency to suppress or malign other cultural 
idiosyncrasies.  If Eurocentric theory is ‗accused‘ of totalitarian parochialism, its emerging 
alternative (i.e. Afrocentric theory) should not tow the same line, else parochialism becomes an 
albatross to theory formulation. It should not condemn an act, only to promote its alternative. It 
must ‗preach the gospel‘ of freedom and liberation for mankind irrespective of cultural affiliations. 
The philosophy of Afrocentric criticism should, among other things, be ―rooted in the reality that 
all culture groups have the right and obligation to, as Karenga notes, shape their reality in their 
own image and interests and speak their own special cultural truth‖ (Henderson, 1995:197). For 
this to be achieved, less emphasis should be placed on the alleged ‗superiority‘ or otherwise of 
African culture. Rather, the core tenets of pragmatic African worldview should be espoused for all 
to see else, Henderson warns, ―African-centered scholars will simply founder adrift on the castoffs 
of Eurocentric practice and ordering systems‖ (197). Also the distinctive cultural divergence 
between some African nations should not be relegated to the background else the gains of the 
anticipated Afrocentric theory become reprehensible in some communities. Okolo (2007) has 
cautioned against this: 
The solution may not lie in adopting any of the proposals as 
an isolated variable. Aggregate acceptance of any of the 
ideology will obscure important differences across the 
continent. There is no need for homogeneity of political 
ideology among all African states. What is called for is an 
ideology or ideologies that will best promote the 
accomplishment of acceptable political goals with minimum 
political stress for a given African country. What may work 
best for one particular state may not be appropriate for 
another. Even what works for a particular state at one time 
may not work at another (137). 
 
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If cultural specificity is respected, and Fashina‘s ―relative cultural homogeneity‖ is espoused for 
the world to appreciate, a concensus of opinion which would serve continental purpose is 
inevitable among African writers and critics. The global awareness of the basic tendencies in 
African epistemology which would ensue is expected to elicit global consternation and, invariably, 
respect for African values would soar. The ‗journey‘ towards attaining cultural pride and 
continental development would have started.   
Nonetheless, even if the enormous contributions of Africa to world civilisation would be 
espoused, Afrocentrists should not emphasize the preeminence of Africa over Europe. Instead, 
they should direct their efforts towards substantiating the thesis that Africa contributed immensely 
to global development. Since no culture is universal, Afrocentrism should not assume all cultures 
of the world would follow its dictate, because the particular should not be substituted for the 
universal. Besides, the superiority of a race over others should be discountenanced. In addition, 
Afrocentric treatise should not assume a homogenous African culture which is static and 
monolithic but rather come to terms with the reality that heterogenous but mutually exclusive 
African and Africa-American cultures are central to the Afrocentric enterprise. Similarly, 
Afrocentrists should acquaint themselves with non-racial Western critics who have advised on 
how Afrocentric postulation can be made beneficial to all and sundry. Ann Roth has charged them 
to employ a ―source-based approach‖ to theory formulation which would, invariably, guarantee 
their postulations respect across the globe. It may also lead to a rethink of Eurocentric 
assertiveness by the West. Also, Hope Felder‘s cautious disposition towards a would-be 
Afrocentric thinker should be fully imbibed. Felder has advised Afrocentric thinkers to distinguish 
between friendly and hostile Western critics, instead of engaging in a wholesale demonization of 
all without exception. Among others, he also enjoins them not to replace Eurocentric mythology 
with another race-induced mythology. Doing so would be tantamount to vilifying a tradition only 
to sustain the other.         
In this vein, theory-seeking African scholars should be humble enough to come to term 
with certain socio-cultural realities. Appiah (1995:120) has warned that it may be a mirage for 
African scholars to realise a distinct African identity devoid of European taint, particularly with 
the post-independent cross-cultural mingling between Africa and the West. He, thus, concludes 
that post-colonial theorising in Africa is largely an appendage of ―Euro-American formation‖. 
Similarly, citing the hybrid peculiarity of post-colonial cultures as instance, Helen Tiffin 
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(1995:95) argues that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to create an indigenous variant of 
African culture like what obtained in the pre-colonial era because ―pre-colonial cultural purity can 
never be fully recovered‖. Also Fashina (2008:68) submits that European cultural standpoint has 
positioned itself as ―the mega research methodology and data analytical tool that has regimentation 
in universities globally‖, at least for now. This humility is not a weakness. It is rather an 
appreciation of the onerous task before them if an African-centred, African-specific, 
African-conscious alternative theory of literary interpretation must emerge. This obviously 
informs Irele‘s cautious disposition towards the uncritical indoctrination of non-Western 
theoretical assumptions, particularly Afrocentric alternative, all in a quest for innovation. Citing 
Senghor‘s Negritude as instance, Irele (1982:13) is not excited about the so-called ‗positive‘ 
inclinations of the Afrocentric worldview. He faults the ―fundamental pre-suppositions‖ of 
African philosophy, wondering what it holds for ―African development‖. He warns that an 
uncritical commitment to African worldview, in the name of cultural nationalism, is likely to limit 
one‘s potential because ―to stress one‘s distinctiveness is to set oneself apart, and this is an attitude 
that contains equal possibilities both for cooperation and for conflict‖. In his opinion, ―excessive 
valuation of tradition‖ amounts to conservative rhetoric which is capable of sustaining reactionary 
tendencies. If Irele‘s treatise is anything to go by, we can then deduce that Afrocentrism, 
Orientalism, and even the ‗almighty‘ Eurocentrism cannot articulate fool-proof scientific 
paradigms. They are means to an end, not an end on their own. Their inability to ‗overcome‘ 
scientific scrutiny is enough to undermine their postulations and cast aspersion on their 
philosophical certainty. This reality, perhaps, informs Henderson‘s (1995) posture that 
Afrocentrism should promote awareness of the fact that because worldviews merely imply 
theoretical paradigms which overtly may not pass scientific verifiability test, Afrocentric 
theoretical assumptions may not have immediate global acceptability:  
Afrocentrists, in their zeal to attack the white supremacism 
that is manifest in aspects of Eurocentric thought and 
practice, have failed to develop scientific paradigms from 
their Afrocentric worldview. This has been attempted, as we 
saw earlier, by some Afrocentrists in various disciplines; 
however, this attempt has been absent from world politics 
(191). 
To this end, if Afrocentic thinkers fail to place their researches at the centre-point of ―world 
politics‖, their effort at theory formulation becomes suspect and inadequate to project a credible 
114 
 
 
Afrocentric alternative. It will merely produce ―theory, programs, and policy that are as easily 
anticipated as they are ineffectual‖ (Henderson, 1995:197). Thus, Afrocentric critique should be 
tailored towards the attainment of a scientific paradigm which is situated within the confine of 
global politics. All the same, the fact remains that Afrocentric thinking has tremendously 
influenced global system of thought, particularly in Africa and the diaspora, so much that even 
hostile critics, like Ann Roth and Mary Lefkowitz, agree that its influence is enormous within 
African and Africa-American scholarship. 
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CHAPTER THREE 
3.0 Characterology and Inverted Morality as Postmodernist Existentialism in Okediran and 
Mowah’s Novels 
 
3.1 Wale Okediran: A Brief Biodata 
th
Adewale Okediran was born in Iseyin on the 14  April 1955. He attended Olivet Baptist 
High School, Oyo between 1967 and 1972, and Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro between 
1972 and 1974. He was admitted to University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1974 
to study medicine and surgery. He graduated in 1980. 
There was never a dull moment in Wale Okediran‘s University life. He was the vice- 
captain of the university hockey team between 1976 and 1979; a team which won four medals at 
the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) events. This feat accorded him recognition 
hence he was among the first set of students to receive the coveted university sports scholarship 
which he enjoyed between 1977 and 1980. Besides sports, Wale Okediran was the president, Ife 
Medical Students Association (IFEMED) between 1978 and 1979, and president, Dolfak Club in 
the same year. He was also the editor, Rip Off, a campus magazine which relentlessly engaged in 
socio-political commentaries on campus. 
After observing the mandatory national service (NYSC) in 1982, Okediran had a brief stint 
as a medical practitioner at University of Ife Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife. He later established 
Cornerstone Medical Centre, Sango, Ibadan and became its Medical Director from 1987 till date. 
He also served as the secretary, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of 
Nigeria between 1990 and 1995. He was the chairman, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) 
Oyo State chapter and the national secretary of the same association between 1997 and 2001. He 
was elected member, Federal House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007 under the auspices 
of Alliance for Democracy (AD). 
Armed with a diploma in writing obtained from London through correspondences in 1984, 
Wale Okediran shot into national limelight through literature. Among others, he has to his credit 
novels such as Rainbows are for Lovers (1987), The Boys at the Border (1990), Storms of Passion 
(1991), Dreams Die at Twilight (2002), Weaving Looms (2005) and Tenants of the House (2009). 
His The Boys at the Border was shortlisted for the 1991 Commonwealth Prize for Literature while 
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Dreams Die at Twilight was also shortlisted for the 2004 NLNG Literature Prize. It was also 
reputed to be one of the best twenty five books in twenty five years in Nigeria. Besides, he has 
several short stories and over two hundred and fifty newspaper articles to his credit! He has 
travelled widely to Europe and America.  
Wale Okediran, a newspaper columnist, novelist, short story writer and politician, is 
happily married with children. 
3.2 The Boys at the Border 
In a quintessential postmodern tradition, evil predominates and cosmic harmony becomes 
a mirage. Societal maladies like smuggling, official corruption, ethnicity, nepotism, blackmail and 
prostitution have become the order of the day. Wale Okediran‘s The Boys at the Border (1991) 
reveals these tendencies. The text reflects on the illicit activities of smugglers in Nigerian border 
posts. It x-rays the nefarious deeds of smugglers who engage in this dastardly act in active 
connivance with the officers and men of Nigerian Customs and Excise Department. In a manner 
detrimental to the nation‘s economy, this unpatriotic act leads to a sharp reduction in the country‘s 
revenue while her expenditure profile continues to soar. This development is a sad commentary for 
a developing economy like ours which largely depends on proceeds from oil. The Head of State‘s 
complaint to the Director of Customs, Mr Emodi, is a cause of concern:  
Cocoa and groundnuts are top on the list. Unfortunately, the 
activities of smugglers have not allowed the country to be 
able to export these commodities as much as we would have 
liked to. For examples, from cocoa alone, the country loses 
about sixty-thousand tonnes every year. This at the present 
rate of five thousand naira per tonne comes to about three 
hundred million naira. Same goes for groundnuts and other 
items like textiles, shoes and even refined oil which are 
being smuggled across the border (6).  
He thereafter, gives Emodi a matching order to ‗arrest‘ the tide of smuggling within three months 
or risk being replaced! 
The ‗unholy‘ alliance between the smugglers and custom officials does not translate to 
reverence for either of the parties. While the smugglers, led by the notorious Lati Baba, treat the 
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custom officials with contempt and disdain, the latter are barely interested in whatever pecuniary 
advantage the relationship holds. Both care less about their reputation, the danger it portends 
notwithstanding. For instance, Samuel Adigwe‘s is gruesomely murdered while Peter Ikoku 
narrowly escapes being killed with a native grenade. This arrangement becomes apparent in a 
secret talk between Ikoku and Lati Baba. Instead of arresting Lati Baba even if only on the ground 
of suspicion, he merely charges him to produce the killer instead. Lati Baba feigns ignorance: 
Sam so it was Sam who was killed? But why? 
None of my boys could have done it. We 
have no problem with you and we had 
already agreed on what to give you. I 
personally handed over the money to you last 
night (10). 
Ikoku dares not arrest Lati Baba because he has also benefited from the largess meant to ‗settle‘ 
custom officials at the border post. Such is the unwholesome arrangement between both parties. 
Government institutions and corporations are not left out of endemic corruption and 
mal-administration in Nigeria. The Customs and Excise department is not immuned against these 
vices. In an organisation which is largely short-staffed, under-funded and ill-equipped, official 
bickering, ethnic sentiment, backstabbing and inordinate ambition are vices which do not give 
room for cooperation between the top echelons of the Customs Services. While Alhaji Jibo 
(Deputy Director, Enforcement), Mallam Hanayo (Revenue) and Alhaji Shamir (Inspectorate) are 
united to undermine their Director‘s effort, apparently an account of their ethnic affiliation, Dele 
Adepeju (Investigation) and Felix Chukwuka (Economic Relations and Planning) from the south 
are relatively behind the Director. When the ‗northern caucus‘ wants Mr. Emodi to implicate the 
army, so as to land him into trouble, Chukwuka warns him of the consequence: 
That‘s right. In fact, all the noise they are making about 
disliking the army is just a ploy to make you offend the 
president. Once you capitulate to their plans to antagonise 
the soldiers, they‘ll then spread the news that you don‘t like 
the military government (16).  
 
Ironically, Mr. Emodi still falls prey to their ploy. He implicates the military and damns the 
consequences. Unfortunately for him, none of his deputes is ready to stick out his neck to save him. 
In fact, Alhaji Jibo indicts him further. Besides accusing him of incompetence, he vehemently 
denies any knowledge of Mr. Emodi‘s ‗unfounded‘ allegation against the military:  
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Your Excellency, that is the most ridiculous allegation I 
have ever heard in my twenty-five years of service. Those 
who say such things are enemies of this country. If I were to 
be in your shoes, your Excellency, I would prosecute such 
people for treason (35).  
 
The die is cast. Mr. Emodi has to face the consequence of his effrontery alone. Expectedly, he is 
dismissed from service without benefit! He ends up with cerebrovascular attack that leads to 
paralysis. What else should we expect from Alhaji Jibo who is inordinately ambitious and 
corruption personified. He has successfully set up Mr. Emodi and abandoned him at the Supreme 
Military Council meeting. He collides with his fellow northerners not to corroborate Emodi‘s 
allegation. Apparently to give a dog a bad name so as to hang it, he submits that bad leadership in 
the Customs Services is the major impediment to smuggling in the nation‘s border. As Emodi is 
dismissed from service, he takes over. Unfortunately for him, he loses the opportunity to further 
perpetrate corruption sooner than expected. 
The announcement of Alhaji Jibo as the new Director of Customs Services further 
contributes, in no small measure, to the perpetuation of the illicit activities of the smugglers. Peter 
Ikoku‘s team arrests Lati Baba‘s convoy bearing smuggled items made up of different brands of 
cigarettes, shoes, textile materials, alcoholic drinks and imported wrist watches. Ikoku stands his 
ground despite Lati Baba‘s offer of twenty-five thousand naira bribe! When Baba‘s entreaties falls 
on deaf ear, he begins to boast of his connection in high places: 
Nothing will come out of this. You can be sure that none of 
these boys will spend a day in detention. On the other hand, 
it might be you who would lose your job…Alhaji Jibo, my 
very good friend, is now your director (51-52). 
 
Baba‘s statement is prophetic as he and his men are released after agreeing with Controller Arobo 
to part with twenty five percent of the proceeds from the auction of the items. Ikoku‘s ‗reward‘ is 
immediate transfer to the personnel section at the headquarters in Ibadan! He has to resign his 
appointment in protest to pick up a job as a journalist in Daily Press. 
Meanwhile Mrs. Emodi vows to avenge the injustice meted out to her husband. She 
becomes more daring and determined on receiving a letter ejecting her from the Director‘s official 
residence. She finds a willing accomplice in Peter Ikoku who also wants to get back at Alhaji Jibo 
and Lati Baba on account of the premature end of his blossoming career. Through the assistance of 
119 
 
 
the secretary, Maria Fernandez, Jibo‘s conversation with Lati Baba is recorded. Although Alhaji 
Jibo tries as much as he can to give the scandal ethnic colouration, the Head of State remains 
unconvinced. He arranges ‗a safe landing‘ for him, allowing him to resign with full benefit. 
Controller Arobo is so scare stiff that he sends a message to Lati Baba to go underground.  
Having accomplished the task of masterminding Alhaji Jibo‘s fall from grace to grass, Mrs. 
Emodi sets out to nail Lati Baba by all means. Against her recuperating husband‘s wish, she goes 
to Abata and establishes Crossroads Hotel. Through the assistance of Bayo Adeli, Lati Baba and 
other smugglers are introduced to the hotel. After a drinking-spree, Baba‘s request for a call-girl 
makes Mrs. Emodi to act fast. She introduces Ajo whom she has specially trained to poison Baba, 
though without letting her know her real intention. However, although the girl actually poisons 
Baba‘s drink, he has enough ‗traditional protection‘ to escape. His magical ring from Agadagidi 
saves him. This does not dissuade Mrs. Emodi who goes ahead with her plan to kill Lati Baba at all 
cost. She secures the service of a hired assassin to do the job. Unfortunately for her, Lati Baba, 
once again, overpowers the man and kills him in the fight that ensues. Mr. Baba‘s investigation 
reveals why Mrs. Emodi wants him dead. He reconciles with her and promises to leave smuggling. 
He also purchases Crossroads Hotel from her.  
 The Boys at the Border offers an eloquent commentary on the cankerworm of corruption, 
nepotism and moral laxity ravaging the nation, in line with the postmodernist celebration of 
societal vices. All these have negatively affected the nation‘s development as a whole. The 
activities of smugglers can be nipped in the bud, or reduced significantly, if the officers and men of 
the Customs Services are patriotic enough to ponder on what the nation stands to benefit 
economically if the smugglers are kept at bay. Apart from promoting locally-made goods, thereby 
enhancing the sustenance of small, indigenous industries, the nation‘s earning from imported 
goods would soar considerably. Besides, substantial revenue would accrue from the exportation of 
commodities like cocoa, groundnut and refined oil. Unfortunately, official corruption has made 
nonsense the yearnings for increased revenue. Omobowale (2001) quotes Soleye‘s graphic 
description of corruption among very senior custom officers: 
A very top officer smuggled an expensive car into the 
country in a container declared as containing essential food 
items. Two young but efficient custom officers (young 
idealistic university graduates) wanted to make an example 
of this important officer in order to show that those who 
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make laws must themselves obey the law. The boss of these 
young officers appreciated their loyalty and devotion to duty 
but warned them against confronting V.I.P. who obviously 
had the power to influence their dismissals from their 
jobs…A week later, the highly placed officer sent a 
substantial gratification in Naira to the boss and the boys 
(359). 
Evidence abounds in the text to buttress Soleye‘s position on endemic corruption ravaging the 
Customs Services. On one of Lati Baba‘s trip to and fro Nigeria, he is so sure he would be able to 
pay his way to Nigeria that he has already earmarked six thousand naira to ‗settle‘ men of the 
Customs Services. When Peter Ikoku refuses, he even promises to increase it to twenty-five 
thousand naira. Another instance of official corruption being perpetrated at Customs Services is 
revealed when Controller Arobo negotiates with Lati Baba to collect twenty percent of the 
proceeds on behalf of the Director of Customs Services, Alhaji Jibo! Besides making his own five 
percent from the bargain, Arobo shameless agrees to auction the goods and give the largess to Lati 
Baba, even at higher price. Nemesis however catches up with Alhaji Jibo as his conversation with 
Lati Baba is taped. Even if it is said that Ikoku acts uncharacteristically of customs men, we aver 
that he cannot be absolved from corrupt practices either. In fact, he has collected bribe from Lati 
Baba on several occasions. No wonder Mr. Baba has the effrontery to accuse him of corruption 
before his recent ‗holier-than-thou‘ attitude:          
Ha-ha-ha- Peter. I have always told you that too much 
education is bad for the head. See how much English you‘re 
talking now instead of begging me for pocket money. You 
talk of punishment for my crimes as if you were not part of 
the game all along. I can tell you that you and your boys 
have made nothing less than fifty-thousand naira from me 
during the last two years. Now…you-you talk of 
punishments (68). 
Perhaps he only arrests Lati Baba because the latter wants to kill him with a native grenade. Also 
one cannot but wonder why he chooses to resign in protest after being posted to a ‗redundant‘ 
office assignment at the headquarters in Ibadan. Would he have resigned if he is still at Abata? He 
actually tells Mrs. Emodi that he resigns because of his new ‗unattractive‘ posting: 
It‘s due to this kind of thing. I arrested the ringleader of the 
smugglers, not knowing that he was in league with the 
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director. I was therefore transferred immediately from my 
post to an obscure job. That was why I resigned (71-72). 
 
Also, if he can help Mrs. Emodi to lodge counterfeit money in a bank, then his integrity becomes 
questionable.  
Besides corruption, ethnic sentiment is a major determinant of people‘s action and inaction 
in the nation. Since the northern group (made up of Alhaji Jibo, Mallam Hanayo and Alhaji 
Shamir) are united in opposition to the southern group (comprising of Mr. Emodi, Mr. Adepeju 
and Mr. Chukwuka), the organisation largely suffers from the fate that awaits a divided house. Mr. 
Emodi prefers to confide in Mr. Adepeju and Mr. Chukwuka while Alhaji Jibo continues to fight 
his succession battle with Mr. Emodi with the active connivance of Mallam Hanayo and Alhaji 
Shamir. Although Mr. Adepeju cannot speak for Mr. Emodi at the SMC meeting, he, like Mr. 
Chukwuka, has earlier warned him to be very careful of what he says. In fact, he is the first officer 
to express his solidarity to Mr Emodi after the meeting. This is in sharp contrast to the northern 
officers who have resolved not to support him. Even Alhaji Jibo has the temerity to blame his 
misfortunate on ethnicity occasions by his being of northern extraction:  
It‘s them sir, the Southerners. That is what they are always 
trying to do-tell the whole world that we, northerners are 
incompetent. They hope by slandering me I would 
eventually be removed from my job so that they could take 
over but…(86).  
When the Head of State dismisses his excuse and reminds him that the two most senior officers of 
the Customs Services after him are of northern extraction too, he goes ahead to accuse Mallam 
Hanayo for his predicament: 
You see sir, I believe that some southern politicians have 
bribed Hanayo to set me up and my feelings is that once 
Hanayo gets to the post, they will do to him what they did to 
me and…(87). 
Unfortunately for him, the Head of State does not see the logic in his position. He rebuffs Alhaji 
Jibo‘s claim: 
Jibo? I find your story highly ridiculous and to say the least 
very illogical. You‘ve always gone about flogging this your 
tribal sentiment as the basis of everything that happens in 
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this country. I am not saying that some amount of tribalism 
and sectionalism does not occur, but this time, I think you‘ve 
over flogged the issue (87). 
At last, Alhaji Jibo has no further defence to put up. He owns up to the offence. Omobowale has 
warned of the danger in adducing ethnic colouration to activities of the Customs Services. 
 On his part, Lati Baba is all out to feather his own nest, irrespective of the consequence on 
the nation‘s economy. He prides himself as the President of the Traders‘ Association. Apart from 
being a shrewd ‗business man‘ who goes to any length to amass ill-gotten wealth, he keeps to 
terms of any dealing he has with people. He ‗settles‘ the customs officers regularly for his ‗trips‘. 
He ‗negotiates‘ with Controller Arobo and collects the money from Alhaji Jibo. He calls a 
meeting of his association where a ten thousand naira bribe is arranged to be given to the new 
Director of Customs, Mallam Hanayo, after Alhaji Jibo‘s unceremonious retirement. He is so 
‗generous‘ with cash reward, particularly to women and prostitutes. He is considerate else he 
would have killed Ajo and Mrs. Emodi who have plotted to kill him. However, his ploy to 
eliminate Peter Ikoku with a native grenade made from his baby‘s placenta shows him as a mean 
person who can go to any length to protect his illicit trade. Notwithstanding, we aver that he is 
merely a product of a society where lawlessness and official corruption have permeated the 
societal psyche. No wonder he is ready to leave smuggling and become the new proprietor of 
Crossroads Hotel.   
Ostensibly, Mrs. Emodi is presented as a loving and devoted woman par excellence. She is 
ready to avenge the injustice meted out to her husband on one hand, and the untimely death of her 
brother, Samuel Adigwe, on the other. Having got rid of Alhaji Jibo, she is determined to eliminate 
Lati Baba. Unfortunately for her, Lati Baba‘s protective ring from Agadagidi saves him on two 
occasions. She however succeeds in talking Baba out of his illicit trade. However, a deconstructive 
reading of Mrs. Emodi‘s personality elicits in her the ‗devil‘ in a woman. Although she can be 
praised for her unalloyed love for her husband even when he is bedridden, her resolve to engage in 
blackmail and murder to have her way is appalling. Whereas African women are noted for their 
submissive nature, Mrs. Emodi‘s nature is to the contrary. No one can persuade her to have a 
rethink once she has made up her mind. Peter Ikoku, who should know better, warns her of the 
danger she would face on her revenge mission to Abata. Her recuperating husband also tries 
123 
 
 
unsuccessfully. If a woman can lure a man and almost have him poisoned, if she can employ 
prostitute and hired assassin to commit murder, we cannot but wonder what has become of the 
‗woman‘ in her. How on earth would she have handled the backlash? What if her true identity has 
been discovered early enough at Abata? What moral status would she hold on to if she can 
‗employ‘ prostitutes to achieve her objectives? Even if she can end Alhaji Jibo‘s career 
unceremoniously, is she immuned from the fate that awaits blackmailers? Would Lati Baba not go 
back to smuggling? If he goes back to smuggling to meet the self-inflicted financial burden on him 
because of his large family of five wives and twenty children, has she not ‗labour‘ in vain? Perhaps 
Mrs Emodi‘s determined mien merely confirms the so-called patriarchial thinking that behind the 
veil of meekness and submissiveness, women are full of deceit and treachery. Besides, morality 
claim has never been associated with postmodern philosophy. While Lyotard (1996) articulates 
postmodernist‘s ―incredulity towards grand narratives‖, Sim (2001) argues that the main thrust of 
postmodernist theorising is its skepticism towards socio-cultural truth and morality claim. 
Therefore, adjudging Mrs Emodi as worthy in character and moral may be antithetical to 
postmodernist depiction of morality and truth claim. Its theorists have never failed to advance its 
‗antifoundational‘ and ‗antirational‘ rhetoric.         
The top echelon of the military is peopled by officers who are unpatriotic and corrupt. 
Although Mr. Emodi is unable to substantiate the allegation that some unpatriotic officers in the 
army smuggle or connive with smugglers, no one is left in doubt about the nefarious dealings of 
some military personnel. It amounts to act of official irresponsibility for some members of the 
Supreme Military Council to leak official secret to Alhaji Jibo, perhaps to cover their track. In 
fact, even Lati Baba boasts of his connection at the Supreme Military Council. An instance of this 
is revealed in the bias nature of the decisions taken on both Mr. Emodi and Alhaji Jibo. While Mr. 
Emodi is dismissed for leveling ‗false‘ allegation against the military, Alhaji Jibo, who is caught 
red-handed negotiating with a notorious smuggler, is retired with full benefits! This double 
standard casts aspersion on the mental capacity of the officers that make up the Supreme Military 
Council. 
 Also, in a manner reminiscence of postmodern articulation of Nietszche‘s nihilist 
philosophy, the leadership of the nation lacks the political will to arrest the ugly tide of corruption. 
Apparently bereft of ideas to tackle the menace of smuggling, the Head of State barely pays lip 
124 
 
 
service to the task of ending smuggling. Although he agrees that security reports have indicted the 
military officers of smuggling, he does not do anything to purge the military of the act. He does not 
show himself as a dispassionate leader in the manner he dismisses Mr. Emodi. His decision to 
commute the dismissal to retirement and readiness to foot Mr. Emodi‘s medical bill abroad can be 
seen as an afterthought. What would he have done if Mr. Emodi had died from his ailment? Would 
he have given him a post-humous pardon or award? Why does he allow Alhaji Jibo to retire with 
full benefit despite the damning revelation of his illicit connivance with Lati Baba? Does that not 
amount to double standard? No one is left in doubt that military leaders are ill-equipped to govern 
a nation. Of late, even in Africa and other developing nations, pariah status is assured for any 
nation governed by the military.  
One is moved to pity about the cerebrovascular attack which Mr. Emodi suffers after his 
dismissal. However, he does not come to mind as a man who commands the respect of his senior 
officers. Also he should have read between the lines to know that most of his Deputy Directors are 
plotting against him. Unfortunately for him, he lacks the mental capacity to take decisive decisions 
which, perhaps, could have saved him. He does not acquaint himself creditably. Alhaji Jibo and 
Mallam Hanayo capitalise on his suspect leadership acumen to advice him wrongly. Both, 
however, let him down when the chips are down! It is expected that his deputies would deny him if 
he indicts the military. Suffice it to say that his fate serves him right.  
 Wale Okediran‘s The Boys at the Border exposes the dastardly act of smuggling at the 
nation‘s border. Although smuggling drains the nation‘s resources, more worrisome acts are 
perpetrated by other government agencies. Official corruption has become the order of the day in 
our capitalist society where high premium is placed on wealth, even when such wealth is 
ill-gotten! It is only when wealth acquisition is deemphasised in our national life that nefarious 
activities like smuggling, armed-robbery, prostitution and drug trafficking would stop. No wonder 
Lati Baba has the effrontery to equate smuggling with more heinous crime like abortion and 
official corruption: 
People say that our profession is not honest, that we break 
the rules of the country by smuggling. But let‘s face it, in 
which professions are rules not broken?. Look at the doctors 
for instance, abortion is illegal but it‘s an open secret that 
many doctors made their fortune from it. What of politicians 
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who squandered our money. Are they not still gallivanting 
about with their ill-gotten wealth? Or the military...? How 
much does a major general earn that has made many of them 
millionaires overnight? (138).  
Thus, we aver that re-orientation of national psyche to promote good above evil is expedient if the 
nation must develop. The likes of Lati Baba, Alhaji Jibo and Controller Arobo would not thrive in 
such clime. 
Amorous relationships between successful men and ladies of easy virtue have become a 
pastime in Nigeria. Men flaunt their ill-gotten wealth and promiscuous ladies are quick to make a 
go for it. Alhaji Jibo has hardly become the Director of Customs when he is caught in illicit 
romance with a lady right in the office! This untoward action is at variance with the work ethic of 
any organisation. Such moral debasement among wealthy men is what Mrs Emodi capitalises on to 
quickly ‗arrange‘ Ajo for Lati Baba. The latter, along with his colleagues, has requested to have a 
prostitute for the night after a drinking spree. On these occasions, Wale Okediran does not conceal 
romance and sex away from the prying eyes of the readers. He describes the romance between 
Alhaji Jibo and the girl in a manner that leaves sour taste in the mouth! As if this is nothing but a 
child‘s play, the sexual scenes between Lati Baba and Ajo are graphically depicted without a 
modicum of decency! This is antithetical to the writing tradition given preeminence by ealier 
writers. Moral laxity has become the order of the day.     
Professor Baki‘s disposition and arrogance do not portray him as a worthy ambassador of 
medical practice. Although he is up to the task as a surgeon, his proud and pompous gait is 
unethical in medical practice. Nobody matters to him in the medical theatre as he ‗barks‘ out order 
to anyone in sight. Such aggression is characterised of persons who suffer from inferiority 
complex. His short height is a psychological let-down for him thus he prefers to command 
obedience if he cannot earn it. He nearly ‗kills‘ Mr. Emodi. 
 Whereas Agadagidi is given prominence in The Boys at the Border as a fiery, evil medicine 
man, a closer look at his activities would show that he is not bad after all. If mention is made of his 
providing Lati Baba with a native grenade to kill Peter Ikoku, one should not underestimate his 
magnanimity for pardoning Atere who probably would have died for his refusal to confess his 
murder of Samuel Adigwe. Besides, but for his protective ring, Lati Baba would have been killed 
by Mrs. Emodi. His provision of ―àwíse‖, ―àwátì‖ and sex-stimulant aid the smugglers‘ trade. As 
126 
 
 
another herbalist who is called to unravel the mystic native grenade accuses him of working for the 
smugglers, one is awestruck how one herbalist exposes the ‗secret‘ of another! Such is unheard of 
in Ifa divination where it is said that ―êtë awo ni ìdùnnú ôgbêrì‖ (i.e the shame of the initiated 
amounts to joy for the uninitiated). In a private conversation with ‗omo awo‘ Ìshòlá Fásehun 
Ôjëtúndé of Dásofáyô Compound, Igbó‘pê in Òkè-Ògùn Area of Oyo State, it is revealed that a 
well-trained babaláwo will never engage in evil because he knows the consequences of his action 
which, at times, may be fatal. ―Onìsègùn may perpetrate evil but a true babaláwo dares not‖. His 
assertion is given credence to by Odù Ôwönrínsìkà, one of the 240 minor Odù in Ifá corpus. The 
abridged rendition of its verse goes thus: 
Ôkárá, Òkoro:     Okara, Okoro    
Omi nú Ìgbín ògbe:  The water in a snail dries not  
A dífá fún Olóòtítö:    It divined for the righteous 
Tí sawo Òde Ôrun:    Who divined in heaven 
Òtí tö balê, ò di omi:     Righteous comes down and becomes water 
Ìka balê, ó di yangì:   Wickedness comes, it becomes sedimentary  
Ìfë òtítö ni ê bá jë ámáa se:    Let us endeavour to do good 
Ení sòtítö, á máa bótìtó rìn:   Righteousness exalts the doer 
Ení sèkà, á máa bá ìkà wolê lo:  He who does bad perish with it. 
The lesson to be learnt from this verse is that people would definitely reap whatever they sow. 
Similarly, Ogbè Méjì enjoins people to be honest in all their endeavours. The shortened version, as 
given by Ayo Salami (2002:4), goes thus: 
Olóòótó tí n be láyé     The upright that are on earth  
Wqn ò pógún mö     Number less than twenty 
Sìkàsìkà tí n be níbê     The wicked ones therein 
Wön pô      They are so many 
Wön sì ju egbààgbëjè lo They number many more than one forty 
thousand 
A díá fún Ôrúnmìlà     Cast divination for Orunmila 
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Nìjö ôrô gbogbo ò mo dùn ún nínú On the day he would be saddened by all 
compelling incidents 
Ifá pé òótö ni ká möo so    Ifa enjoins us to be honest  
Irúnmolê ò níí jë à so òótú nù o The Deities would not allow us to 
compromise the Truth  
Wön ní kí won ó möo rúbo kí Olóòótö ó pô  They were asked to always offer sacrifice so 
that there would be many upright men in the 
world  
Wön bá rúbo      They offered the sacrifice 
Olóòótö bêrê síí wà láyé Thereafter, honest men started to be in the 
world 
Ayé bá å gún.      Life then became well organised. 
Thus, Ogbè Méjì is unambiguous about the consequences of being upright and wicked. Ironically, 
a dangerous trend among Western critics and uninitiated African scholars is the penchant to 
erroneously arrogate evil deed to the personality of the herbalist (babaláwo). The fact remains that 
Agadagidi is less guilty compared to Lati Baba who gives out his child‘s placenta.  
The overt reliance of Africans on the Supreme Being for the interpretations of nature and 
mystery has been stressed, particularly in indigenous African religion. Fatokun (2005:131-133) 
observes that despite having ―a great pantheon of gods‖, the Mende, Akan, Yorùbá, Bini, Isoko 
and Igbo believe in the Supreme Being. However these communities worship Him in diverse 
ways. For instance, while the Ashanti have temples, altars and priests for him, the Yoruba worship 
him in the open because of the belief that He is ―limitless and could not be confined into space‖. 
Therefore, the Yoruba society has a belief system which encompasses deference to divinities like 
Ôrúnmìlà, Qbàtálá, Sàngó, Ògún, Qya and Èsù, who are worshiped through their priests. The 
priest of Ôrúnmìlà (babaláwo) consults the deity on behalf of the people and offers appropriate 
propitiation. Fatokun opines that this belief system regulates man‘s conduct in the world. In this 
vein, a proper understanding of the personality of Agadagidi depends on the awareness of Yoruba 
tradition and belief. Nwachukwu-Agbada (1990) has earlier quoted Achebe thus: 
There are people in my village, today who can claim aspects 
of my work because it is their story. My parents can claim 
part of it. But what is even more important is our tradition, 
128 
 
 
which can claim 90 percent of it, because that is the tradition 
that has created the framework in which this sort of thing can 
happen (122). 
Suffice it to say that Lati Baba‘s regular consultation of Ifa priest for protection is in compliance 
with Yoruba belief system. Bolaji Idowu (1962) supports the indispensability of Ifa before any 
venture is undertaken in Yorubaland: 
It seems absolutely impossible for a Yoruba whose soul is 
still fettered to his traditional belief to attempt anything at all 
without consulting the oracle by Ifá…Before a betrothal, 
before a marriage, before a child is born, at the birth of a 
child, at successive stages in man‘s life, before a king is 
appointed, before a chief is made, before anyone is 
appointed to a civic office, before a journey is made, in times 
of crisis, in times of sickness, at any and all times, Ifá is 
consulted for guidance and assurance (778). 
Thus, if Peter Ikoku (a non Yoruba) does not know what to do on discovering a native grenade on 
his bed, a fellow custom man, who is a Yoruba man, summons another babalawo to help out. The 
efficacy of Ifá in man‘s affair has been stressed.  
In all, The Boys at the Border reflects on the menace of corruption, backstabbing, ethnicity 
and mal-administration that have become a pastime in contemporary Nigerian society, most 
especially in public corporations and institutions. It also x-rays the decadence that permeates our 
national life. However beyond the catalogue of woes, a discerning mind cannot but see a ray of 
hope in personalities who stand above board despite the societal rot. No matter how little these 
restorative tendencies are, the nation‘s developmental yearnings rest on them. Uncritical polemics 
on the negative side of the nation amounts to mere rhetoric which does the nation no good. This 
restorative agenda should, henceforth, dominate the literary oeuvres of development-seeking 
African writers and critics. Its gains for the continent are enormous. 
3.3 Dreams Die at Twilight  
 To further underscore the futility of order in a postmodern world, Wale Okediran‘s Dreams 
Die at Twilight (2001) presents the nefarious activities of medical personnel in Nigeria‘s medical 
establishment. It is a fictional testimony of the atrocities perpetrated at medical institutions by 
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medical doctors and other medical personnel. It exposes the rot and decadence that have permeated 
medical establishments, institutions that are supposedly expected to be above board because of the 
social significance of medical practice. It also reflects on the gloom that is evident in a society 
which celebrates mediocrity at the expense of merit. It however warns of the peril in engaging in 
acts that are inimical to public good. It foresees the inevitability of nemesis catching up with the 
perpetrators of heinous crimes over time.  
The text centres on the life and career of a brilliant but partially cripple, squint-eyed doctor 
in trainee, Lamidi Bello. With unsteady gait, heavy-orthopedic shoes and a scar on the forehead, 
Lamidi Bello looks so unattractive before ladies. He is so horrible that ladies cannot withstand his 
presence, let alone date him. Owing to his constant rejection by ladies, Lamidi Bello becomes 
frustrated and soon loses confidence to woo a lady: 
Because of his unattractive profile Lamidi Bello was not 
popular with girls and had received a lot of rebuffs from 
them in the past. None of the girls could bear the thought of 
going out with the ugly doctor. His bullet-shaped head, the 
squint in his left eyes, the face deeply etched with long tribal 
marks and the big scar on his forehead which was from a 
childhood fire accident, created a grotesque appearance. All 
attempts by his friends to help him secure a girlfriend had 
been unsuccessful (7). 
 
His friend, Jimoh Gomez, has to take over the task of ‗arranging‘ ladies for him. However, Lamidi 
Bello still has difficulty in freeing himself from the inferiority complex he has whenever he comes 
across beautiful ladies! This ‗weakness‘ is not helped by the attitude of Salome who turns down his 
offer of a visit to the cinema and, instead, prefers to go out with Dr. Bartholomew Boniface, the 
Consultant General Surgeon and Head of Surgery Department at the hospital. Bello watches in 
awe as the lady rebuffs him for another man: 
Lamidi‘s heart suddenly sank at this revelation. And as he 
thought for what to say next, a Mercedes V-boot pulled up in 
front of the couple. The side door open and Salome made to 
enter the car. Seeing that the object of his effort and hard 
work was leaving him, Lamidi dashed towards the girl as she 
entered and closed the door…He did not complete his words 
because his eyes met those of the driver of the Mercedes 
130 
 
 
V-boot. It was Dr Boniface. As the car drove off, Lamidi 
became aware of the people staring at him. (11). 
 
Besides the humiliating treatment he gets from Salome, he receives a slap for trying to fondle 
Dorcas Adeyi. As the information spreads within the length and breadth of the hospital, he 
becomes the subject of gossip. Not even the highly promiscuous Bisi Abass would want to have 
anything to do with him! He has no choice but to patronise prostitutes for a fee. Unfortunate, he is 
always too anxious before ladies hence he fails to ‗perform‘ too soon! The only lady who can 
‗tolerate‘ him for her own selfish reasons is Agnes Uche. Eventually, he turns to a sex pervert who 
has no confidence to successfully have sex with women. It is either he fails to achieve erection or 
has premature ejaculation. Ladies make jest of him for being ‗impotent‘. His weakness with 
members of the opposite sex is naunseating to him, particularly as it causes him further 
embarrassment with Gloria Etuk, Yemi Tella and Dr. (Mrs.) Sheri Mahuk. Entangled by low self 
esteem, he finds solace in unethical conduct quite unbecoming of a man of his social standing. It 
takes the intervention of a sex therapist, Dr. (Mrs.) Talabi, who tutors him to be confident with 
ladies.  
Instead of facing his flourishing medical training and later medical practice, Lamidi Bello 
is too preoccupied with his physiological make-up to the detriment of his health. Although Jimoh 
Gomez tries so much to help him out of his predicament, his anxiety and exuberance whenever he 
comes in contact with ladies do not help his cause. His childhood history of being bullied 
repeatedly had negatively affected his feelings of self worth and confidence. Also the emotional 
trauma which ensued made him to bed-wet hence his sex life was badly affected. Besides, he had 
erectile malfunctioning which reduced his sexual prowess. In no time, he ‗derails‘ to become a 
murderer. Agnes has brought her son to the Memorial Hospital for circumcision. Dr. Boniface 
performs the operation ―under general anaesthesia‖ and sends him to the recovery room. There, 
Lamidi Bello sees him and suffocates him to death: 
Suddenly, a wild, incongruous thought took hold of his 
feverish brain. The more he thought about it, the more his 
hatred for the boy increased. Suddenly something snapped 
in his head and the right part of his face started twitching 
uncontrollably. He found himself moving towards the 
sleeping figure on the couch as if dragged by unseen force. 
When, moments later, he walked out of the recovery room, 
131 
 
 
the twitching on his face had ceased. It was as if a heavy 
weight had been lifted off his mind (81).  
 
The killing of Gloria Etuk is more gruesome. She has visited the Memorial Hospital with a friend 
to examine the lump in her breast. Ironically, she refuses to have herself examined by Lamidi 
Bello, whom she describes as ―that horrible looking doctor in the funny cloth‖. Moments later as 
she sleeps away under the influence of anesthesia in the recovery room, Lamidi Bello ponders 
about meeting her later at the cadaver room, where her pompous gait would have varnished: 
Then his eyes drifted back to Gloria‘s half-naked body on 
the couch. The sight now reminded him of the cadaver he 
had laid with a few days back. He suddenly wondered how 
nice it would be if the girl could take a place in the cadaver 
room. Then, he would be able to go there and do whatever he 
liked with the body. The more he thought about this idea the 
more he liked it. A strange thought suddenly exploded in his 
mind and his head began to spin…Seconds later, he took a 
few steps back, glanced at the still figure and suddenly felt 
happy. It was as if a heavy load had just been taken off his 
mind (88-89). 
Also, he takes her pound of flesh from Yemi Tell who had earlier described him as ―impotent‖ and 
―cripple‖. The lady is in the Memorial Hospital to see the plastic surgeon over her amputated 
fingers, occasioned by a scuffle with Lamidi Bello. As she lies unconscious at the recovery room 
after the operation, Lamidi Bello decides to sniff live out of her: 
As Lemmy stood by Yemi‘s bed and stared into her face, the 
desperate idea that had flashed through his head earlier on 
while in the lift now took a grippng possession of him. The 
old hatred for the girl now continued to build up in him to a 
feverish level. Then he started shaking with indignation. He 
could no longer control the rage building up in him. 
Suddenly, the right side of his face started twitching and he 
felt himself moving towards the still figure on the bed. When 
he finally left the room seconds later, Lemmy was smiling 
and the twitching on his face had stopped (112-113). 
 
It is therefore not surprising when he begins to sneak out at night to have sex with female cadaver! 
His first experience is appalling: 
132 
 
 
It was the body of a married woman who had died in her late 
twenties… He soon finished undressing and now stood 
naked near the cadaver. But, he could not get an erection. 
The body, however fresh it appeared, was not enough to 
arouse him…After a few minutes of waiting without any 
success, he tried to stimulate himself by caressing the cold 
firm breasts of the cadaver. Gradually, he felt a stirring in his 
crouch. The erection was coming…Gradually, he sought out 
the space between the thighs of the female 
cadaver…Moments later, he felt an intense feeling of 
exhilaration run through him as he reached the peak (84-85). 
What else can one say about a doctor who commits necrophilia! This malfeasance is better 
imagined from a medical practitioner who is expected to be above board in his professional 
conduct involving both the dead and the living. Perhaps Dr. Bello‘s character may be Okediran‘s 
postmodernst ploy to denounce any claim to ethics, order and harmony in a postmodern society.  
Jimoh Gomez, fondly called Jimmy, is a true friend of Lamidi Bello. Besides his readiness 
to provide his friend with girlfriends, he takes him for who he is. He does not mind Bello‘s 
repulsive mien and unpleasant personality, thus agrees to be his ‗bestman‘. He once advises him to 
change his name to Lemmy, put on good clothes, use a pair of tinted glasses, and see a plastic 
surgeon. He is so convince that if Bello can do all these, his grotesque appearance before ladies 
would soon become a thing of the past: 
First and foremost, I know you‘re not so well off to afford 
some expensive clothes. However, your badly cut clothes 
and your heavy shoes make you too inconveniently 
conspicuous. I know a good shop near the Marina where we 
can get some good second hand clothes and soft shoes…The 
next important thing is to get a pair of tinted glasses which 
could obscure the squint in your left eye…The last and 
definitely not the least of your problem is that ugly scar on 
your forehead. It‘s the real culprit. If only we could get the 
plastic surgeon to take a look (14-15).  
 
If Lamidi Bello is suspected but not implicated over the death of Milton John jnr. and Gloria Etuk, 
the death of Yemi Tell would not follow the same pattern. The media backlash gives rise to the 
composition of an Investigative Judicial Panel with the mandate to unravel the causes of series of 
death at the Memorial Hospital. Again, Jimmy is at hand to secure the service of a lawyer, Bayo 
133 
 
 
Oshodi, for the newly-employed Dr. Lamidi Bello. Barrister Oshodi successfully defends him at 
the panel. Although the testimonies of Agnes Uche, Lara Moses, Mrs Adeleye and Ada almost 
implicate Dr. Bello, his lawyer is able to save his neck through the assistance of the psychiatrist, 
Professor Alkali, who declares him medically unstable. Eventually, the panel agrees that even if 
circumstantial evidence nails him, Dr. Bello cannot be convicted of murder on this ground alone. It 
also concurs that Dr. Bello is emotionally unstable. The stage is now set for his release: 
However, by the powers of section 230 (1) of the Criminal 
procedure Act, I hereby commit Dr Bello to psychiatric care 
under Professor Anwar Alkali for a period of at least six 
months after which is case shall be reviewed. During this 
period, he shall not be involved in any patient care in the 
hospital until he‘s declared to be mentally capable of 
continuing his medical practice (134).  
It is to Jimmy‘s relieve that Dr. Bello is only transferred to the Anatomy department to continue his 
medical practices. 
Okediran‘s portrayal of Agnes Uche is startling. In her, we see a character whose past 
lifestyle continues to hunt. She finds solace in committing crimes. She is morally bankrupt, 
academically dull and emotionally unstable. She dates every man that can pick her bills and assist 
her academic pursuits. She has undisguised amorous affairs with Dr. Boniface because he is the 
Head of Surgery Department and Lamidi Bello owing to her academic deficiency. Apart from her 
numerous ‗clients‘, she does not consider it a big deal to sleep with Milton John, who barely comes 
to Nigeria for a show! As she gets pregnant, she dares not consider the choice of abortion, 
especially having already perforated her uterus after five earlier ones! When her boyfriend, Larry 
Okon, bluntly refuses to have anything to do with the pregnancy owing to her promiscuous nature, 
she turns to Lamidi Bello. Although Jimmy is skeptical, he has to go along with his friend who is 
happy to have proved to everyone that he is not impotent. Agnes later marries Lamidi Bello in 
order to secure a job at the Memorial Hospital, cover her track over her illegitimate child, and 
escape public scorn. The bubble however bursts when the baby is delivered a mulatto. Lamidi 
Bello had come to the Memorial Hospital to see ‗his‘ baby: 
It took Lemmy Bello an extra moment to convince himself 
that he was actually looking at a mulatto baby and not a full 
Negroid…Leemy looked again trying to clear the log from 
134 
 
 
his mind. But, it was there-the almost yellow skin, the curly 
hair and…As he picked him up, the baby stopped crying and 
stared back at him with large blue eyes. Then it hit him fully 
in the face the resemblance was startling! The baby was a 
spitting image of that popular British musician-Milton John 
whose photograph he had seen many times in the papers (58). 
Henceforth, Lamidi Bello becomes a shadow of himself. He has wasted his hard-earned resources 
and time on a venture that ends up in deceit and ignominy! He can never remain the same. He 
begins to have the erroneous inclination that everybody is discussing his plight. The matter gets to 
the head when a psychiatrist, Dr. Alkali, confirms he suffers from ―a classical case of depressive 
psychosis‖! To allow him ample time to rest and recover in a different environment, Dr. Boniface 
sends him to a conference of the African Surgery Association in Alexandria, Egypt. Ironically, his 
experiences in Alexandria are nothing to write home about. He is taken for a fool by two Egyptian 
youths and made to suffer the indignation of washing dirty plates at a restaurant to make up for the 
bill of ―fifteen Egyptian pounds‖. Also, a certain Dr. (Mrs.) Sheri Mahuk absconds with his paper 
at the conference! The frustration is so much that his mental condition relapses! He has to be sent 
back to Nigeria. 
Meanwhile, Agnes Uche is not done with Dr. Bello. Having reunited with him at Dr. 
Gomez wedding party where they dance together, she offers to help him out of his sexual 
inadequacies by being readily available at all time. Dr. Bello is swept off his feet in appreciation. 
When she eventually sells the idea of providing her with an embalmed body for her drug trade, he 
has no choice other than to agree, albeit reluctantly. He is to make cadaver available while Agnes 
Uche would ensure that certain kilogram of cocaine is stored in the body to be sent to her baron 
abroad. In a confidential discussion with her former roommate, Folasade Olabisi Badmus, she 
reveals her ulterior motive for luring Dr. Bello back to her life: 
In that case you‘ll do well to keep it very secret. Lemmy 
works in the Anatomy Department where he has authority 
over some dead bodies that are brought in from government 
mortuaries to be used for dissection by medical students. I 
have done some calculations and I presume that if Lemmy 
could supply us with a body every month, we shall be able to 
take out all our consignment (155). 
 
Besides, she is to register a hearse delivery van to shield her real intention from the prying eyes of 
law enforcement agents: 
135 
 
 
I‘ll register a hearse service and once in a month, a citizen of 
one of the West African countries resident in the country 
will ―die‖. The relatives of the deceased would, therefore, 
request for the body to be transported home. That will be my 
alibi for getting the body out of the country…No problem. I 
have got expert forgers to work on that. And once I get 
outside the country‘s border, my agents will take over the 
movement of the drug to its final destinations (155-157). 
Unknown to Dr. Bello, Agnes Uche has planned to employ blackmail to ensure that he supplies her 
cadaver on a regular basis. Although she capitalises on his sexual weakness to get the body at first, 
subsequent supplies are made possible through treat and blackmail. Having achieved her heart 
desire from a reluctant Dr. Bello, she blackmails him into conniving with her to perpetrate her 
cocaine business repeatedly, threatening to expose him if he stops:  
Agnes took a glance at her wrist watch and said, Lemmy, 
don‘t let us waste time over this. I have an appointment in 
half an hour, and I know you too have your lectures to give. 
Supposing I write an anonymous letter to the University 
letting them know that you supplied the last body to us, do 
you think you‘ll like that? On the other hand, just to release 
another dead body out of the hundreds at your disposal 
might seem a more comfortable option to a long jail term. 
Think about this (179-180). 
 
Also, Agnes Uche explores the corrupt nature of government officials to cover her track at the 
Licensing Office after her hearse service, The Evergreen Hearse Service, is detected by the 
Interpol to be an avenue for drug trafficking. As Kweku is arrested in Ghana, Agnes Uche tries to 
tidy up all loose ends: 
She therefore decided to start seeing the necessary people in 
town just in case any investigation began. Her first port of 
call was the Lagos Mainland Licensing Office where she 
had registered the van. With a hundred naira tip, she was 
able to locate and destroy the papers with which the van was 
registered. And just to be doubly sure, she had placed a call 
to her Asian businessman boy-friend who was alleged to be 
a good friend of high-ranking officers of the Nigerian Police 
Force…She also took the time to visit her bank where she 
instructed the Manager not to send any letter to her until 
further notice (185).  
136 
 
 
Unfortunately, she meets her waterloo sooner than expected. Her fate serves her right as she is 
eventually killed by Dr. Bello before the police get at her. However, Agnes Uche would not have 
been able to perpetrate her illicit drug business but for the connivance of some highly placed 
government officials. If she can bribe her ways through medical school, are we still surprise that 
she is able to delete her van‘s registration number from the records at the Licensing Office? If the 
government officials that come in contact with her have done their work dutifully, perhaps she 
would have been arrested a long time ago. This would have saved Dr. Bello from her troubles. 
Unfortunately, the societal rot continues to aid her to further perpetrate her crimes. This also 
explains why her classmate, Bisi, is able to engage in the crime of currency trafficking unmolested.  
 Another character worthy of note is Dr. Boniface, the Head of Surgery Department. Dr. 
Boniface is a pervert who has the unenviable record of dating his students and other medical 
personnel who come his way. He is the first person to bruise Dr. Bello‘s ego when he takes away 
Salome whom he has a date with. Besides, he enjoys romance with Agnes Uche, Gloria Etuk and 
even Mrs. Dagogo. In fact, he would have married the latter but for his infidelity. He has soft- spot 
for ladies hence cannot reprimand Gloria Etuk for insulting Dr. Bello. The young doctor has 
complaint that Gloria Etuk is rude to him. Instead of protecting his younger colleague, he merely 
placates him and decides to perform the operation himself: 
The surgeon took a glance at the girl and noticed that she 
was giggling. He knew very well that he couldn‘t reprimand 
her, so he quickly took the younger doctor 
aside…Thereafter, the surgeon went back to examine the 
girl himself. Lemmy was however unhappy that the surgeon 
couldn‘t reprimand the girl in his presence (87-88). 
Besides, he suspects Dr. Bello for the killings of Agnes‘ baby and Miss Etuk but cannot implicate 
him, perhaps to cover up his own track. He is only worried because the two inquests might affect 
his professorial appointment: 
Each of the inquests blamed me for one thing or the order. 
And as you know, my professorship appointment is two 
years behind…I want you to re-assess Dr Bello. He‘s a very 
brilliant man. I wouldn‘t want him to become a chronic 
psychiatric case. I also don‘t want him to cause any further 
problem for me. Remember, I told you my promotion is two 
years behind? (91-92).  
137 
 
 
Perhaps he could have ignored the series of enquiries but for their negative implication for his 
professional growth. Such a character cannot be relied upon in serious circumstances. He may not 
acquaint himself creditably. 
Dreams Die at Twilight presents a gloomy picture of Nigeria‘s medical practices and 
institutions. Behind the ‗mouthing‘ of slogan which depicts the institution as an ideal haven for 
succour-seeking patients, there lies a group of fun-seekers, professionally unfit personnel. 
Although Dr. Boniface is eminently qualified as a medical practitioner, his lack of self-esteem, 
particularly about women, does not portray him as a worthy practitioner. He descends so low to 
visit female hostel, goes to musical show with a female student, and finds it difficult to 
differentiate between pleasure and official duty when Gloria Etuk comes to remove a lump in her 
breast. This is clearly against the ethics of medical practices which frown at sexual relationship 
between physicians and patients. Wikipedia- the free Encyclopedia has warned of the danger in 
sexual relationship between a physician and the patient: 
Sexual relationships between doctors and patients can create 
ethical conflicts, since sexual consent may conflict with the 
fiduciary responsibility of the physician. Doctors who enter 
into sexual relationships with patients face the threats of 
deregistration and prosecution. In the early 1990s, it was 
estimated that 2-9% of doctors had violated this rule. Sexual 
relationships between physicians and patients' relatives may 
also be prohibited in some jurisdictions, although this 
prohibition is highly controversial. 
 
Therefore, Dr. Boniface‘s sexual relationship with Gloria Etuk amounts to grave violation of 
medical ethics. Perhaps his flagrant violation of medical ethics foregrounds postmodernist 
disavowal of ethical issues and conducts. 
Also Professor Alkali‘s sense of judgment and evaluation is suspect. An academic cum 
medical trainer of his very high professional standing should have saved the society from having to 
condone a psychiatric patient as a medical doctor. Despite Dr. Boniface‘s testimony which 
implicates Dr. Bello of killing Agne‘s child and Gloria Etuk, he refuses to admit that he has 
become a psychopath. In fact, his revelation that Dr. Bello is under his medical examination 
provides Barrister Bayo Oshodi an alibi to save him. Also if he admits before the panel of inquiry 
that Dr. Bello is a psychopath, why does he deny same when Dr. Boniface takes him up? Why 
138 
 
 
can‘t he advise the hospital‘s board of governor to sack him and save the establishment from the 
harrowing experiences of scandals and enquiries? When does it dawn on him that section 28 of the 
criminal code presumes an insane person not liable for his action and inaction? Jonsen, Braddock 
and Edwards (1998) have argued that a profession reserves the ―right to train, admit, discipline and 
dismiss‖ its members who have failed to meet the minimum standard requires in competence, 
duties and responsibilities. To this end, a physician is expected to be altruistic, accountable to the 
patient, professionally excellent, dutiful, possesses honour and integrity, and respects the feelings 
of patients, professional colleagues and medical trainees. Unfortunately, Professor Alkali‘s action 
contradicts this jealously-guided professional norm. His refusal to discipline Dr. Bello undermines 
his claim to professional altruism, competence, accountability and respect for the dignity of others.  
Meanwhile, a close scrutiny of Dr. Bello‘s behaviour towards beautiful ladies reveals that 
he develops the attitude after series of neglect, scorn and disdain from them. After suffering 
relentlessly from Agne‘s antics and pranks, frustration is expected. Who could withstand the 
frustration of investing so much on a beautiful lady, only to be paid back with an illegitimate child? 
How else would he have handled Agne‘s blackmail other than to murder her? What moral 
justification does Gloria Etuk has to mock him in the presence of her friend, Lara? How on earth 
would anyone not be offended to be insulted by Bisi Abass and Yemi Tella? What is wrong in 
giving his conference paper to Dr. (Mrs.) Sheri Mahuk who shamelessly absconds with it? If 
everyone now discusses his sexual abnormality, is he not being ‗pushed‘ to patronise ladies of easy 
virtues? Can we not have an understanding society where Bello‘s sexual weaknesses would be 
accepted or, at least, tolerated? Even if we cannot, is it right for ladies, medical trainees for that 
matter, to turn him into a laughing stock? These and more turn him to a psychosis that sleeps with 
prostitutes, kills patients at will, and commits necrophilia. The society, not Dr. Bello, should be 
blamed. 
Similarly, African society accords high premium to hardwork and competence in all 
endeavour, especially at work. Unfortunately, Dr. Bello‘s brilliance is not appreciated more than 
being given the offer of a ‗thankless‘ medical appointment. While a dull and carefree Dr. Jimoh 
secures better and more lucrative dual appointments with Federal Palace Hotel and MACO 
Specialist Clinic, Dr. Bello has to make do with less attractive appointment. To this end, Dr. Jimoh 
is able to leave a comfortable life while Dr. Bello resorts to borrowing. He cannot even afford a car 
until the largess comes from Agnes. Besides, he has an aged mother and a sick sister to cater for. 
139 
 
 
The fate which befalls him does not encourage professionally-minded individuals to be dedicated 
to their profession.  
The personality of Jimi Gomez elicits the level of moral debasement and penchant for 
mediocrity that has become associated with Nigerian society. He explores the influence of his 
highly-connected and wealthy father to secure admission into Lagos Southern University despite 
his very weak academic status. Also with the assistance of his friend, Lamidi Bello, he manages to 
pass through medical school, though several years behind schedule. He barely makes up for his 
academic deficiencies with his popularity among ladies on campus. No wonder he tolerates 
Lamidi Bello no matter what befalls him. Okediran‘s conclusion on Jimi Gomez is apposite here: 
He had remained grateful to Lamidi for helping him through 
medical school. Not being a brilliant student, Jimi‘s affluent 
father had used his influence to get the boy into the medical 
school of the Lagos Southern University which used the 
Memorial Hospital as its teaching hospital. Consequently, 
Jimi had to repeat almost every class. He was able to pass the 
last two years on first attempts due to special coaching from 
Lamidi when they became classmates, although Jimi had 
started medical school three years before Lamidi (8).  
When a supposedly qualified medical doctor cannot interpret Electrocardiograms, it leaves much 
to be desired the manner of treatment he would administer on any patient who has the ‗misfortune‘ 
of coming to him for medical attention! If Dr. Jimoh cannot make use of a sigmoidoscope, one 
cannot but wonder the manner of students being produced in our medical schools. In actual fact, 
his decision to cover up whatever Dr. Bello does is understandable, though it may lead him into 
trouble. He almost catches Dr. Bello pant down with a cadaver but still cannot talk him out of the 
shameful act. By so doing, he has violated medical ethics. Edwards, McCormick and Braddock 
(1998) have admonished even medical students to take up their resident if he or she is caught 
engaging in unethical conduct: 
Ideally, you could talk with your resident about what you 
observed. Everyone has a unique perspective and your 
resident may have a rationale for his behavior that was 
unknown to you. Approaching him honestly, with simple 
questions, may allow him the benefit of the doubt and open 
up a dialogue between you. The nature of the observed 
'unethical' act determines what your obligations are. In 
140 
 
 
simpler cases, it can be a matter of treating it as a negative 
lesson in how NOT to be a physician. In more complex 
instances, patient care may be in jeopardy and you may have 
an obligation to report the resident's behavior if he refuses to 
discuss it with you directly. 
Perhaps, Dr. Bello would have turned a new leaf if his friend can scold him. Besides, the fact that 
he is willing to assist a friend gets the sexual fulfillment he seeks does not come from any genuine 
intention to help. Even if he deserves credit for persuading Agnes Uche to pay the two thousand 
naira bill for Dr. Bello‘s sex therapy, yet we aver that his action is borne out of a resolve to pay 
back a ‗benefactor‘ who assists him to graduate from medical school. Despite his suspicion of 
Bello‘s recent countenance and actions, particularly on seeing him with a wet-trouser coming out 
of cadaver room, he finds it difficult to talk his friend out of necrophilia. Even when the bubble 
burst, he advises Bello to quickly proceed on sabbatical to allow fray nerves to calm down. He can 
arrange girls for Bello and take him to a sex therapist but do not have the effrontery to hurt him by 
speaking the truth. He can sense danger in Bello‘s union with Agnes but cannot stand his ground 
and call a spade a spade no matter his friend‘s disposition, particularly after the lady has perforated 
her uterus. Besides, the consequence would have been devastating if he is caught persuading Dr. 
Bello to provide a sigmoidoscope to help remove cocaine from a lady‘s anus. He even uses the 
largesse from Agnes Uche to establish ADA clinic! This portrays him as a selfish individual who 
knows but ignores the peril in assisting a criminally-minded friend. His nefarious activities lay 
credence to the danger embedded in according mediocrity a pride of place in our national life.   
In all, Okediran‘s Dreams Die at Twilight presents characters that are less guilty of their 
heinous crimes compared to the society that promotes monstrous personalities. Dr. Bello‘s 
incessant rejection and ill-luck, particularly with beautiful women, leads him to crime and 
necrophilia. Perhaps he would not have become a psychopath but for his awful appearance caused 
by his poverty-stricken background and sexual inadequacies. In fact his brilliance and academic 
astute would have endeared him to people, women inclusive, such that his mates would envy him. 
Besides, if the two senior colleagues, Dr. Boniface and Professor Alkali, have taken the bull by the 
horn and recommended him for dismissal, perhaps the hospital would have been spared the 
indignity of several probes and attendant media backlash. The same professional ineptitude 
accounts for Dr. Jimoh Gomez‘s progress and eventual graduation as a medical doctor despite his 
overt medical inadequacies. Worse of all, even Agnes Uche passes out in flying colours! 
141 
 
 
Therefore, we can conclude that Dr. Bello, Dr. Gomez and Agnes are all victims of a morally 
debased society, administrative ineptitude and official corruption. Apportioning blames to them, 
outside the context of contemporary Nigerian society, may not promote corrective measures which 
can be adduced to serve societal goal.  
Besides, the social importance of medical practices has been stressed. It is a well known 
fact that medical institutions are indispensable in the promotion and sustenance of people‘s 
wellbeing in the society. Although some undesirable elements may have constituted themselves 
into a clog in the wheel of progress for the establishments, core professionals abound in the 
system. Despite their weaknesses which underscore the fact that medical officers like Professor 
Alkali, Dr. Boniface, Dr. Bello and Mrs. Dagogo are merely human, no one is left in doubt about 
their mastery of their chosen career. In the same vein, none of Dr. Bello and Agnes Uche goes 
unpunished. The victory of good over evil is foregrounded as Dr. Bello kills Agnes Uche before he 
is eventually arrested by the police. Therefore, behind the postmodernist depiction of gloom and 
despair, there lies a ray of hope for the society. 
3.4 Tenants of the House 
 Tenants of the House (2009) is a graphic reflection of a writer who has witnessed the 
intrigues, intricacies, horse trading, and blackmail that are the hallmark of Nigeria‘s politics. This 
faction satirises the higher echelons of the nation‘s body polity who, ordinarily, should provide the 
much needed direction for national developments, economic emancipation and socio-political 
rebirth. It does not fail to expose the greed, avarice and ostentation of the political class. It also 
chides the sycophants, praise-singers and bootlickers in government. 
After ignoring the dictate of his conscience by paying for the services of party chieftains, 
thugs, hangers-on and other political jobbers, Samuel Bakura is elected to the nation‘s House of 
Representatives to represent Kaduna South Federal Constituency. He narrates his ordeal before 
and during the election: 
But I found that most of the dirt in the dirty game was about 
money, not merit. Also, the godfathers ignored merit; they 
were in it for money…And the money! Every step of the 
way it was more and more and more money. Money for the 
chieftains; money for the constituency moguls; money for 
142 
 
 
party stalwart; money for party thugs; money for the polling 
agents…(4-5).   
On getting to the House, the company of Honourable Elizabeth Bello from his state further 
exposes the mind of many Nigerian politicians. Honourable Bello encourages him to maximise 
this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and make money on all fronts. This would uplift his financial 
status even among fellow parliamentarians. Also the availability of money would enable him to 
settle power brokers that would ‗arrange‘ his second-term bid: 
Huge loads of fertilizer is what you need. Money, money, 
money is the fertilizer of politics. Sam, don‘t be a small boy. 
How much do you earn here as a Member of Parliament? 
Peanuts…peanuts that godfathers and constituents swallow 
up as quick as chickens devour maize…How many Reps 
make it backs? Only two out of ten. Sam, Sam, Sam, and 
how many times did I call you? You want to make it back? 
Take the money; make the money, from anywhere, 
everywhere. Prepare for the raining day. Politics can be 
good for you. In this Nigeria, life outside parliaments is 
hard, hard, hard (6).  
 
True to her conviction, Honourable Bello soon introduces him to the ‗movers and shakers‘ in the 
parliament. So desperate is the lady that she carries a gun in her hand bag! Her political philosophy 
is represented in her common refrain ―to kill is a crime; to kill at the right time is politics‖, meaning 
that she can kill if the occasion warrants it! She can even use her body to achieve lucrative political 
ends. She once lures Honourable Bakura with money to support the impeachment of the Speaker. 
She is a shrewd politician who often acts as a mole to gather information to nail the speaker.  
Meanwhile, the attempt to impeach the speaker, Honourable Yaya Suleiman, elicits the 
insincerity and unpatriotic nature of many of the so-called Honourables in the House. Honourable 
Wenike wants the chairmanship of the lucrative committee on NDDC. His inability to get it puts 
him on collision course with the speaker. His spurious allegation against the speaker is therefore a 
ploy to feather his own nest. He claims that the speaker violates House Rule Order VII Section 10 
(a) and (b) in appointing Honourable Ojebode who had ‗settled‘ him with one hundred thousand 
dollars to bag the chairmanship! For the onslaught, Honourable Bello is to serve as a mole. She 
picks vital information from the speaker‘s camp and divulges it for the Wenike‘s group. She gets 
ten thousand dollars for Honourabe Bakura for the ‗project‘. As the plot thickens, the contradiction 
in the major players of Nigeria‘s constitution is revealed. While the basic provision of 1999 
143 
 
 
Constitution of Nigeria upholds the principles of separation of powers between the executive, 
legislature and the judiciary, the reverse is the case in Nigeria. The executive infiltrates the 
legislature effortlessly with financial inducement. President Dominic Oneya mandates his 
Presidential Liaison Officer, Senator Kayode Smollet, to mastermind the speaker‘s removal and, 
invariably, soften the ground for his tenure-elongation agenda. As the uproar generated by the 
speaker‘s refusal to allow Honourable Junaid to present a petition leads to commotion, Honourable 
Kasali, ―a former chairman of the drivers‘ and conductors‘ union‖ from Oyo state, forcefully takes 
the mace away. The PLO later explains to the president the rationale behind the ‗removal‘ of the 
mace from the custody of the House: 
Your Excellency, the absence of the mace has put the 
Speaker and his group on the defensive. The whole nation 
knows that the mace is the symbol of the authority of the 
House. If they don‘t do our will, we can form a parallel 
House (28).  
 
When the president asks about how to secure the required two-third majority as stipulated by the 
constitution, the PLO demands for money to prosecute the deal: 
It has been done before, Your Excellency. Fertilizer! We 
shall spread the muck and woo enough Members to our 
side…Your Excellency, success costs money. The strategy 
is pure and simple: hit them, hit them hard; give them what 
they dare not reject. Sir, we must remember it is a contest of 
wills and resources. It‘s a tug of war: naira for naira, dollar 
for dollar. Money is the name of the game; Your Excellency 
(28-29).  
The plot may not have been imagined but for cash reward which the PLO makes readily available 
to willing Members of the House. The president has no choice other than to release a substantial 
amount of money for the plot. The speaker‘s private and official residency is to be bugged by the 
security agencies. 
Expectedly, the speaker begins a ‗fight‘ to hold on to his exalted office. He goes to 
Honourable Bakura‘s official residence apparently to talk him out of the plot. He persuades him to 
offer himself for patriotic assignment and not mingle with unpatriotic, selfish and ill-educated 
Members of the House. He assures him of his readiness to collaborate with like-minds to move the 
nation forwards through the passage of bills that have direct bearing on the masses. His long 
144 
 
 
speech speaks volume of a drowning man who is desperate to cling unto anybody for survival, 
even when he is aware his conversation is being recorded:  
As you are aware, we all came into this National Assembly 
from different backgrounds and with different 
intentions…Despite this, I know that with your brains, 
charisma and drive, there are other important duties I can 
saddle you with. There are very important bills, motions and 
legislative activities which you can help to organise…With 
due respect to them, I still believe that you are too superior in 
educational and moral background and should normally not 
be conniving with the likes of Wenike, Lasisi and Muktar to 
unseat me…You and I know why Wenike and his group 
want to get me out of my seat. It‘s just the first step in the 
long-term plan to install a Speaker who is the President‘s 
lackey 
 (52-54).   
Even if he can‘t match the president‘s largesse, he gives Honourable Bakura a token for his time. 
As the speaker takes his leave, Honourable Bakura is transformed. He remembers how he had 
vowed to his late father to study law so as fight the causes of the downtrodden, most especially to 
assuage the injustice meted out to his people by Fulani herdsmen. He refuses sexual overtures from 
Honourable Bello and offers to refund the money he had earlier collected. He has to join hand with 
like-minded parliamentarians and the speaker at a media conference to denounce the impeachment 
moves. The president is jolted. Although the Wenike group attempt to suspend dissentient 
members of the House, thereby securing the required two-third majority as stipulated by section 
50, subsection (c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the back 
door, the plot falls like pack of cards. The heroes are the mass of the people like the students, 
labour unions, market women, journalists, diplomats and other patriotic Nigerians. They rebuff the 
security threat, teargas and arrest. President Oneya has to quickly call for a truce between the 
presidency and the belligerent legislators. The deputy speaker does not mince words as he showers 
encomium on the people for their relentless defence of the nation‘s democracy: 
Today you have established beyond all doubts the power of 
the people, their collective will and wisdom, moulded and 
merged together in synchronizes movement, is indeed 
mightier than the guns of tyranny and the tanks of 
oppression. ..you have, by your staunch opposition to a 
conniving captain-of-state and his conspiratorial minions, 
145 
 
 
restored hope and confidence to millions of Nigerians and 
re-established the truth now ringing all over the world that 
there is hope for the black man…This parliament will erect a 
plague that will symbolize today‘s victory at this very site 
where the battle against nepotism, avarice and 
totalitarianism was bitterly fought and won (120-121). 
 
Ironically, the interest of the people is not taken into cognizance when the leadership of the House 
throws its weight behind the president‘s bid to extend his tenure beyond the stipulated two-terms! 
Although the botched plan to impeach the speaker and make way for an executive- friendly 
legislative house shows the limitation of money, especially on sensitive political issues, president 
Oneya fails to read between the lines. He pursues his self-perpetuation agenda vigorously. He 
earmarks mouth-watering amount of money, mostly in foreign currency, for the onslaught. He 
surprisingly recruits the speaker, thereby confirming the maxim ―no permanent friend in politics, 
only permanent interest‖. On his part, the speaker, as well as the leadership of the House, is to 
persuade Members of the House to support a proposed Constitution Amendment Bill. If the said 
bill is allowed easy passage in the House, the president assures him of presidential support for him 
to become the governor of his native Borno state. Other parliamentarians are to secure automatic 
ticket for their return bid into the House: 
Perhaps, my dear Speaker, we could get you into the 
Governor‘s lodge at Maiduguri? How about that?...You see, 
the opposite of continuity is not change. It is discontinuity, 
instability, chaos. But we want continuity, stability, order 
and peace. Even political scientists know that a rapid change 
of government can disrupt things. A term is four years, all 
right. But you and I know it takes that number of years just 
for a government to settle down (137-138). 
 
The speaker is not easily convinced. He wants the president to clear the air on how the 
parliamentarians will be lobbied to support the agenda. He also foresees opposition from the mass 
of the people, the ever critical press and, most importantly, the northern group. Eventually, his 
inordinate ambition to become governor beclouds his sense of judgement. He buys into the plan. 
He instantly supports Honourable Bakura‘s proposed Conflict Resolution Bill. Honourable Bakura 
only requests for five million naira to prosecute the bill. He gets seven million naira without much 
ado! However, Honourable Bakura is not someone to be swayed from the path of honour. After he 
146 
 
 
had been denied access to the speaker and the House leader, the deputy speaker bears his mind on 
what informs their support for the bill: 
Honourable Samuel, politics is not arithmetic. One plus one 
may not always equal two. In this country clean politics is a 
loser‘s game. How do you want to survive? To be a good 
politician you must think of your survival, of yourself first. 
How much did you spend to win your seat? Election 
expenses will continue to rise. If you come across an 
opportunity to return to your seat at little cost, will you not 
jump at it? Sam, answer me now (159). 
He nonetheless meets his match in Honourable Bakura who defiantly stands his ground because of 
the belief that it is now the turn of the north to produce the next president: 
DS, I beg to differ. It is painful that just a few weeks ago you 
and I were on the same side fighting a common cause as 
worthy comrades. Now we are on different sides. Let me tell 
you point blank: the cause you are promoting is a lost one, a 
hopelessly lost one (160). 
His resolve does not convince the deputy speaker who only enjoins him to join the Members who 
are supporting the bill whenever he has had a rethink. 
Even if the speaker has any reservation about the Tenure Elongation Bill, the promises of 
cash reward, gubernatorial ticket and automatic support for members‘ re-election bid sway him to 
back the president. In the name of continuity, he puts his own reputation and the integrity of the 
parliament on the line. He tries to convince Honourable Bakura unsuccessfully. Neither president 
Oneya nor governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Salisu Mohammed, could persuade him too! The 
desperate speaker ensures that Honourable Rimi is suspended for exposing the corruption and 
insincerity in the House. After extensive deliberations from Honourables like Yahaya, Olurin, 
Shehu and Oguka, Honourable Rimi is suspended for one month in the first instance, before the 
Ethics and Privileges Committee suspends him for three month without pay. All these nevertheless 
prove abortive. However, the speaker has to battle with the determined opposition from the Arewa 
Group and the threat of impeachment and harassment by the state-sponsored anti-graft agencies. 
The anti-self perpetuation legislators take up the gauntlet against the president. They take 
their campaign outside the shore of Nigeria. They seek the support of African leaders in Kampala, 
mobilise Nigerians to oppose the bill, and reject a bribe of two hundred thousand dollars each. Led 
147 
 
 
by Honourables Kalkulus, Socrates, Bakura, Ogochukwu, Chuks, Angel, Yellow, Ibrahim and 
Dantata, opposition to the bill soars. Under the banner of the 2007 Group, they sabotage an attempt 
to buoy the president‘s image with a Vote of Confidence Bill. Others united in opposition to the 
bill include the press, the Northern Governors Forum, some retired generals and the mass of the 
people. The stage is nonetheless set for the presentation of the Tenure Elongation Bill. However, 
when the bill is presented at the Senate, it is overwhelmingly defeated. The speaker has to quickly 
suspend further deliberation on it. 
Expectedly, the Tenure Elongation Bill infuriates Nigerians from all walks of life. The 
Arewa Group feels slighted at the president‘s attempt to jettison zoning arrangement which 
favours the north. The group does not hesitate to mobilise for the president‘s impeachment. In a 
delegation of the group to the speaker, its leader Ambassador Shehu Dalhatu chides the House for 
its role in the Tenure Elongation Bill. He however calls on the House to commence impeachment 
move against the president. He warns the speaker not to undermine the process in any way: 
When everybody from the North was fighting against the 
tenure prolongation plan, we have evidence to show how 
you hobnobbed with the President to get the Bill through. In 
fact, if the Senate had not thrown out the Bill before the 
House aborted it, it is very unlikely that you could have 
stopped it…we have it on good authority that the President 
wants to punish some top political leaders and businessmen 
in the country whom he blames for blocking his Bill…In 
order to forestall this move, the Arewa Forum, in 
collaboration with other political and business leaders in the 
country, have agreed with the Honourable Members to start 
impeachment proceedings against Mr. President (268). 
 
Even the vice-president cares no hoot what befalls the president, after all he is the direct 
beneficiary in line with the constitutional provision as stipulated in section 143, subsection (1, 2, 3, 
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) of 1999 Constitution. He therefore ill-advises the president to stay on and 
damn the consequence even when other members of the kitchen cabinet advise him to resign. He 
enjoins the president to do the usual: bribe the legislators even ―if it needs emptying all our 
5-billion-dollar foreign reserve‖: 
Mr. President, we are all politicians and we know that it is 
never over until it‘s over. My advice therefore is for us to 
fight this matter to the last. Democracy, they say, is a game 
of numbers. While it is true that one-third of the Members of 
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the National Assembly should sign the notice of 
impeachment, section 143 subsection 9 states that ‗the final 
decision must be taken by not less than two-thirds majority 
of each House of the National Assembly‘. Mr. President, if 
we move quickly, we can make sure that the two-third 
majority is not achieved (280). 
 
 On their part, the president‘s wife and the PLO encourage him to play the last joker. Senator 
Smollet is to send twenty million dollars to the National Assembly through Senator Julius Kanu 
and Representative Elizabeth Bello. Unfortunately for him, he is recorded and shown presenting 
the bribe on a private television station!  As the president‘s impeachable offences increase, his 
fate is better imagined. 
President Oneya is an example of corrupt, despotic African leaders. He is so desperate to 
hold on to power though not for public goods but for personal aggrandizement. He has allies in 
corrupt politicians, shrewd businessmen and a section of the press like The Clarion, The 
Ambassador and The Clean Broom. He once directs his PLO to ensure that all federal, state and 
local government ministries, parastatals and agencies pay for a full-page congratulatory 
advertisement bearing the photograph of his mother on her birthday! He abuses his office so much 
that he cannot imagine life after office. His determination to extend his tenure in office against the 
general provision of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria depicts him as a 
desperate man who neither respects the constitution nor the Oath of Allegiance he sworn to uphold 
on assumption of office. Section 137, subsection (b) of the said constitution is clear on the 
disqualification of any person to the exalted position of president in Nigeria. Among others, it 
disqualifies anyone who has hitherto been elected to the office ―at any two previous elections‖. 
Therefore, since he is statute-barred from perpetuating himself in office, his action is in flagrant 
violation of the provisions of the constitution. This ―gross misconduct‖ is an impeachable offence.  
The determination to set aside or amend section 137, subsection (b) of the constitution 
exposes the beast in president Oneya. Since the leadership of the House of Representatives is 
hostile, he seeks a change in the leadership. He goes for the ‗jugular‘ of the speaker, desiring to 
replace him with a lackey who would do is bidding. A tidy sum of one twenty million naira is 
committed to bribe two hundred and forty Representatives who make up the required two-third of 
the House. Despite the adoption of federal might, however, the speaker is able to garner the 
support of ‗patriotic‘ Members of the House, media practitioners, students‘ groups, market women 
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and labour unions to foil the plan. Honourable Bakura has to back out of the ploy after being 
convinced of the ‗genuine‘ intention of the speaker for the nation. Even the stealing of the mace 
does not help the course of the ‗dishonourable‘ Honourables from the Wenike Group. As the plot 
fails, the level of corruption in the National Assembly, where decisions are taken not for altruistic 
intentions but for self-enrichment and personal aggrandizement, is exposed. While some 
Representatives support the removal of the speaker because they feel alienated from ‗juicy‘ 
committees, the president is able to penetrate the House because he has unrestrained access to 
public fund which he dispenses at will! Even the speaker knows the influence money can generate 
in the parliament hence, he gives Honourable Bakura undisclosed amount of money to further 
convince him. Nevertheless, the fact that the plot eventually fails is a good commentary on the 
commitment of patriotic Honourable Members and the generality of the people. It shows that 
beyond the gloom that envelops Nigeria‘s body polity, no one, no matter how highly placed, can 
take the people for granted. It gladdens the heart that none of the presidency-backed bills see the 
light of the day. 
The speaker, Rt. Honourable Yaya Suleiman, is an inconsistent personality. He is a 
vacillating politician whose actions and inactions are unbecoming of the occupier of such exalted 
office. Having escaped the ploy to impeach him through the skin of his teeth, we are taken aback 
by the speed with which he quickly switches allegiance to the president, the man who hitherto 
wanted him out of office. Besides conceding some lucrative committee chairmanships to the 
Wenike Group, his unreliable personality gets to the head when he becomes the arrow-head of the 
Tenure Elongation Bill, apparently to facilitate his emergence as the next governor of his native 
Borno state. His reckless approval of seven million naira, instead of five million, for Honourable 
Bakura‘s Conflict Resolution Bill is a Greek-gift meant to sway him to his side. No wonder the 
chairman of Arewa Group, Ambassador Shehu Dalhatu, enjoins him to follow the House rule to 
the letter in the proposed impeachment of the president. Ambassador Dalhatu also chides him for 
supporting the botched Tenure Elongation Bill, not minding the constitutional bottleneck. If not 
for his ignominious role in the bill, why does he still think the president should be spared, despite 
the position of the senate president to the contrary? Fortunately for the nation, no one can save 
president Oneya now that his PLO, Senator Kayode Smollet, has been caught red-handed given 
bribe on his behalf to the parliamentarians. It is good that his clandestine move and dastardly act 
have been revealed to the generality of Nigerians on air. 
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Whenever senator Smollet‘s scheming and style of politics comes to the fore, what readily 
come to mind is the activities of sycophants, boot-lickers and praise singers that dominate 
Nigeria‘s political space. Having served as a senator before his present appointment as the PLO, 
senator Smollet obviously understands the intrigues of law-making. He knows that decisions are 
taken to feather the nest of some powerful legislators and their backers outside the parliament. He 
does not believe any legislator can take a principled stance against any issue once ‗fertilizer‘ is 
available. He argues that everybody has a price. Instead of following the dictate of his assignment 
to liaise with the parliament for the presidency, he becomes the conduit pipe to siphon money from 
the president to willing parliamentarians. He milks the president so much that the latter once 
threatens to replace him, calling him unprintable names. He prefers to tell him whatever he thinks 
he wants to hear. However, his crude tactics of persuading the president to bribe the legislators 
whenever any issue crops up do not work for once. The cash-induced Representatives merely 
collect money but can neither effect the speaker‘s impeachment, see the Tenure Elongation Bill 
through, nor abort the ten-count charges of impeachment leveled against the president. It is to the 
credit of the National Assembly that the legislators do not pass these bills, even when majority of 
them have collected money from senator Smollet. 
Ordinarily, Honourable Samuel Bakura should represent the hope and aspiration of the 
nation. Having trained as a lawyer to nip in the bud the hostility and destruction meted out to his 
farming community by the Fulani herdsmen, he comes to the National Assembly with youthful 
zeal and determination to help mankind. Unfortunately, the company of fellow parliamentarian 
from his native Kaduna state exposes him to the scheming, lobbying and nocturnal activities of the 
House. Honourable Bello enjoins him to possess a gun for political expediency and relate with the 
power brokers in the House. She also introduces him to Honourable Wenike. This increases his 
rating so much that he is admitted into the inner caucus of the group out to impeach the Speaker, 
despite his membership of the official opposition party. It is also from Honourable Bello that he 
discovers that successful women patronise ―gigolo‖, i.e men who they pay for ‗services rendered‘ 
with no string attached! However, when it dawns an Honourable Bakura that the president wants 
the speaker impeached to prepare the ground for his self- perpetuation agenda, he backs out of the 
arrangement and retraces his step. He discountenances Honourable Bello‘s threat of blackmail, 
murder and unsolicited offer of sex! He also offers to refund the money he has earlier collected out 
of conviction to support a worthy cause. He is active in the public mobilisation which eventually 
151 
 
 
saves the speaker. Even when the speaker recapitulates to put his weight behind the Vote of 
Confidence and Tenure Elongation Bills, he refuses to be dissuaded from the path of honour, 
pecuniary gain notwithstanding. He collaborates with like-minds to sabotage the Vote of 
Confidence Bill and stands his ground against the Tenure Elongation Bill despite entreaties from 
the speaker and the president. Even his state governor fails to convince him. Nevertheless, if 
Samuel Bakura is said to be a conscientious and patriotic Nigerian, some incidences in his 
legislative career may have casted aspersion on his glorious adventure in office. He is expected to 
have defined his relationship with Honourable Bello, particularly having seen a gun on her. He 
should have read between the lines when Honourable Wenike gives him a dirty job towards 
removing the speaker. He agrees to do the job, collects ten thousand dollars cash, and only back 
out when the speaker visits, gives him money and reminds him of the calibre of Representatives in 
Honourable Wenike‘s camp. Besides, does he think the speaker‘s monetary assistance on his trip 
to United Kingdom is for nothing? How about his lustful affection for Honourable Bello whose 
character he knows to be questionable? Would he have supported the bill to impeach the president 
if the removal would affect his own bill? If he uses his privileged position to beat hard-fighting 
Gidado to the hand of naive Batejo in marriage, does the attack from Gidado‘s compatriots not 
serve him right? These and many more expose Honourable Bakura to insinuation and cynicism. He 
may not be above board after all. Perhaps the crude manner employs by Honourable Wenike, 
Honourable Kasali and Honourable Bello is due to their low educational attainment. However, 
when a lawyer cannot decipher between right and wrong, the end result can be untoward. 
From all indication, Wale Okediran‘s Tenants of the House provides an eloquent 
representation of the postmodernist intrigues and clandestine activities which have become the 
hallmark of Nigeria‘s parliament. It unequivocally reveals the unpatriotic dispositions which 
inform many actions of the said Honourables. It does not mince word on the determination of the 
executive to infiltrate the House and influence its decisions to feather the nest of the power-that-be, 
irrespective of the tenet of the constitution which clearly upholds the principle of separation of 
power between the three organs of government. It satirises the despotic and sit-tight inclinations of 
Nigerian leaders in their desperate bid to perpetually remain in public office, even when their 
presence in office is no longer for public good. Although the actions and inactions of these leaders 
are inimical to development and societal growth, the activities of credible personalities, in and 
outside government, are enough to point towards development for the nation. For every Oneya, 
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Suleiman, Wenike, Kasali, Bello and Smollet, the nation can boast of eminent parliamentarians 
like Bakura, Kalkulus, Socrates and Chuks. As the president employs federal might to compel 
obedience, the press, the masses, labour union, students union and market women form a strong 
bond to defend the constitution. It is to their credit that the nation is saved the ignominy of 
‗tolerating‘ a recalcitrant and despotic president. 
3.5 Frank Uche Mowah: A Brief Biodata 
Frank Uche Mowah was born in 1954 in the former Bendel State of Nigeria. He was 
educated at universities in Lagos and Ibadan and obtained a B.A (Hons), M.A (Literature) and PhD 
degrees respectively. He joined and rose through the ranks to the position of senior lecturer at 
Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma in the present Edo state of Nigeria. 
A social crusader, essayist, literary critic, writer and teacher of note, Frank Uche Mowah‘s 
versatility and profundity have endeared him to lovers of art and the press. Besides being a 
newspaper columnist, he got published in reputable and peer review journals. His published works 
include Eating by the Flesh (1995), Psychology and African Literature (1996), The Poetry of the 
Egwu Ota of Asaba-a Mytho-Historical Experience (1996) and A Structuralist Discourse on 
African literature (1997). 
Unfortunately, Frank Uche Mowah had a rather bizarre marital life. He later died in 1998 
of asthma-related complications. As evident in the glowing tributes by eminent writers like Aliu, 
Sam Asowata and Wale Okediran, the art industry had lost an icon and a rare gem in the demise of 
Frank Uche Mowah. 
3.6 Eating by the Flesh  
 Eating by the Flesh (1995) presents a vivid account of governance during the successive 
military regimes in Nigeria. It is a graphic reflection of activities that characterised military 
adventures in Nigeria‘s body polity. In a nation bedeviled with escalating economic and 
socio-political misdemeanour, the military seize power for personal aggrandizement, corrupt 
enrichment and lust for power. The ruling military officers amazed ill-gotten wealth while the 
masses only make do with available crumb from their tables. Although military officers enjoy their 
loot and the attendant paraphernalia of office, officers and men of the Armed Forces suffer 
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deprivation in silence. Little wonder post-independent Nigeria‘s history is replete with the 
adventures of military officers in the nation‘s political landscape, all in a bid to have a share in the 
proverbial national cake. 
Military incursion in Nigeria‘s politics has never been for altruistic intention. Although 
successive military regimes in the nation flaunt their revolutionary credentials, hardly had they 
settled down in power when they began to manifest their oppressive and totalitarian tendencies. 
Military personnel are fond of treating civilians with contempt, hence the negative reactions they 
receive from the generality of the people. Majority of them are so unpatriotic that they engage in 
dastardly act like smuggling, drug trafficking and corrupt practices in flagrant violation of their 
professional ethics. 
 Mowah‘s Eating by the Flesh depicts military incursion in politics as an aberration which 
further exposes the nation to gloom and despair. Although the Head of State, Colonel Moses 
Azuga, is determined to salvage the nation from her economic and socio-political travails, his 
revolutionary fervor brings him on collision course with his fellow ‗comrades‘ and colleagues in 
the Army. His bosom friends, Colonel Sale and Brigadier Danladi, plot against him and eventually 
succeed in overthrowing his government in a palace coup de‟tat. However the peril which awaits 
the nation is underscored by the inability of the coupists to understand the real intention for taken 
over. Mowah‘s treatise, according to Aliu (2000), depicts the ―upper echelon‖ of the military as 
intellectually naïve and ideologically up-start: 
He dramatizes the situation effectively by focusing on its 
upper echelon. Pre-eminently, the fearless novelist reaches 
the disturbing conclusion that the Nigerian Military in 
particular, is intellectually hollow and bereft of worthy ideas 
save those of mischief, intrigue, mutual distrust, blind and 
arrogant penchant for self projection and political positions 
(41).     
How better can we describe a cabal who merely takes over the mantle of leadership without a 
well-articulated blue-print for economic growth and political re-awakening? 
Heavily bank-rolled by foreign elements and local collaborators, Brigadier Danladi 
emerges as the new Head of State without a clear-cut vision for national development. Ironically, a 
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true patriot is lost in Colonel Azuga while a corrupt, morally bankrupt and intellectually inept 
Brigadier Danladi takes over. Expectedly, the nation continues to retrogress in an unprecedented 
scale as hardship and stagnation remain: 
Why would anyone in his right mind want a messiah, a 
selfless leader like Azuga out of the way? Well, life is like 
that. Messiahs have never been known to last long… Well, 
life is like that. Life will return to normal, it will return to its 
normal swing of hardship and tiredness. We are used to 
hardship, we are used to struggling on our own without the 
guidance of self-proclaimed leaders (119). 
 
th
This has been the lot of the nation since the first military coup de‟tat on the 15  January, 1966. 
More importantly, an assessment of the inaugural proclamation of successive military 
regimes in Nigeria becomes expedient. Having capitalised on the mis-rule, corruption and 
ineptitude of civilian governments, the military take over only to soon betray the real intention of 
their adventure in politics. In no time, oppression, brutality, corruption, self-perpetuation in office, 
and professional misconduct become a past time in the land. Recent examples of such regimes are 
that of General Buhari, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Sani Abacha. While General 
Buhari came to power on the heel of public outcry over corruption and mal-administration 
associated with the administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, General Babangida seized power with 
a self-proclaimed resolution to alleviate oppression and brutality associated with the regime of his 
predecessor, General Muhammed Buhari. In the same vein, General Abacha claimed his 
government is ―a child of necessity‖ occasioned by the annulment of June 12 Presidential Election 
and the judicial declaration of the ill-fated Chief Shonekan‘s interim government as illegal. He 
therefore promised to stay in power for a ―very brief‖ period. Ironically, hardly had he settled 
down in office that he began to manifest a self-succession ploy! Like these three ‗reluctant‘ 
leaders, Brigadier Dankoso Danladi ‗reluctantly‘ accepts to lead the nation after the death and 
arrest of Colonels Azuga and Sale: 
My dear compatriots, as you have already been told, the 
heavy mantle of leadership of this country has fallen on my 
reluctant head. I shall do my best with divine guidance and 
direction. A new Armed Forces Revolutionary Council has 
been formed. We shall continue with the policies of our 
155 
 
 
fallen hero, we shall try to follow the footsteps of Col. 
Azuga (118). 
Unfortunately, he lacks the administrative acumen to effect quality legislation and purposeful 
leadership. As if this absurdity is not enough, Tamund, who had earlier been indicted for cocaine 
trafficking under the regime of Colonel Azuga, assumes a new role as economic adviser to the 
president and commander-in-chief! Only God knows the quality of advice such a character would 
offer.  
 Colonel Sale is a study in treachery, perfidy, opportunism and betrayal. He is equally an 
ingrate who epitomises corruption and insatiable lust for power, women and even food! He desires 
power for personal aggrandizement and not for public good. He despises the poor and ignores their 
yearnings. He seeks Wura‘s wife lustfully and has to set up his compatriots, Brigadier Danladi, 
who beats him to her. His morbid obsession for food and beer is legendary as he ‗devours‘ large 
quantity of food and beer voraciously. Besides conniving with Tamund in the drug deal, he solicits 
and gets the support of foreign agents and the powerful Kaduna Mafia to overthrown his bosom 
friend. His co-conspirators include Alhaji Dankerifi (a traditional ruler), Dr. Mafiri (Chairman, 
Association of Commerce), Mr. Philip (a drug baron) and Major Markson (Military Attache to 
American Embassy). Ironically, he recognises Colonel Azuga‘s high sense of devotion and 
selfless service to mankind. Although he is also aware of his own limitation and ability, yet he 
wants power. On a second thought before the coup de‟tat, he wonders why he wants Colonel 
Azuga‘s populist regime toppled: 
Why do I conspire against Azuga, my mentor and 
benefactor? He wondered. What do I stand to gain? Nothing, 
nothing, for whosoever aspires to rule Nigeria gains nothing 
whatsoever. In my own case, it is pure inordinate ambition, a 
meaningless lust for power, for futility. Futility because 
now, as the second in command, I am as powerful as ever 
can be. I am even the most feared man in the country and not 
Azuga. So, what am I up to? (102-103).  
Therefore if Colonel Sale knows that Colonel Azuga‘s regime, not his, would benefit the nation 
more, yet goes ahead to participate actively in the coup de‟tat, then we can conclude that he 
deserves his fate after the military putsch. Despite Azuga‘s humane role of given him opportunity 
to survive after his parents abandoned him to alms-begging in the cold northern harmattan, despite 
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being raised and nurtured by Azuga‘s parents, despite knowing Azuga‘s revolutionary potentials 
from their time at Sandhurst in England, he still goes ahead to stab him at the back! 
 Also, Birgadier Danladi is presented as an opportunist who hides under the pretext of 
advocating for general wellbeing of the masses to cut corners. He mingles with the people, buys 
them food but has ulterior motive of wooing Wura‘s wife. He sneaks back to meet the woman only 
to be injured by a trap. His limping after his misadventure with Wura‘s wife is a metaphor for his 
resolve to inflict the nation with corruption and bad governance, such that everyone would suffer 
and ‗limp‘. He plots with Colonel Sale to overthrow Colonel Azuga‘s regime, only to have Colonel 
Sale arrested and accused of killing Colonel Azuga. As his government ‗spreads‘ poverty, 
armed-robbery, infrastructural decay and promiscuity, violent uprising becomes inevitable. His 
cabinet is made up of social misfit like Tamund who had hitherto been indicted for drug peddling. 
He however mows the masses into silence! Although he recalls the fond memory of Colonel 
Azuga, he goes ahead to suspend his decrees, replacing them with more dictatorial ones. His 
sexual inadequacy which leads to unholy alliance between him and his uncle, Awodu Dauda, 
makes him to despise every man and woman. He sets out from the outset of his regime to malign 
and oppress people, the real reason why he enlists in the army. He once instructs his minister of 
culture to humiliate people through a macabre dance, ―something fascinating enough to give me a 
hard on and a place in history‖. Chandu views his regime with contempt: 
My laughter hung in the air of my room like a stench of fear. 
This fear which was gripping the entire land was the fear of 
yet another uncertain beginning. A beginning built on lies 
and straw…But, gradually, I started hearing this slow 
mournful music of pain and hopelessness, the much which 
started since that morning when Brigadier Danladi presented 
the nation a rhetorics of lies (120).      
Chandu is prophetic as Brigadier Danladi is determined to inflict pain and confusion on the nation.  
Nigerian creative writers have had occasions to reflect on the nuances of the military in 
power. Unfortunately, such reflections have depicted the adventures of the military in a repulsive 
manner. In the genre of poetry, none of Clark-Bekederemo‘s ―The Cleaner‖, Odia Ofeimum‘s 
―The Messiahs‖, and Niyi Osundare‘s ―Siren‖ depicts the military in glowing terms. They all come 
to agreement that military intervention in the polity is an aberration full of deceit, corruption, 
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insensitivity and mal-administration. In the same vein, Soyinka‘s Madmen and the Specialist, A 
Play of Giant, and The Beatification of Area Boys reveal military misrule and retrogressive 
leadership style in the genre of drama. Osofisan‘s Aringindin and the Night Watchmen is equally a 
study in treachery and perfidy that are inherent features of military rule. In prose fiction, Achebe‘s 
Anthills of the Savannah readily comes to mind. Therefore, it can be deduced that creative writers 
of Nigeria‘s extraction have always view the military with disdain, scorn and resentment. 
Although military officers often betray their unpreparedness for political offices, Colonel 
Moses Azuga is an exception. From his youthful days, he has always comported himself as 
humane, selfless and revolutionary-minded personality. As a youth, he saves Sale from the neglect 
of his parents whose poverty-stricken livelihood almost costs him is life. His determination to 
redirect the nation from the path of perfidy encouraged him to seize power from the ―long-capped, 
heavily-embroidered agbadaed men who had built a conduit pipe between the Central Bank of 
Nigeria and the Dumping Vaults of Switzerland‖, politicians who mastermind the looting of the 
nation in an unprecedented manner. He does not ‗remove‘ himself from the reality of the nation 
hence he disguises and drives out alone at night, sometimes to his village, Atuma-Gaskiya. He 
does not allow traditional sentiment to becloud his sense of reasoning hence he debunks the 
assertion that his wife, Agnes, is a witch. He elicits his sincerity of purpose right from his days as a 
trainee in the military. He orders Tamund to be placed on surveillance so as to have first-hand 
information on his narcotic dealings. He does his best to promote a patriotic Toubi and other loyal 
officers such that even if he dies in the coup de‟tat, the revolutionary spirit would not abate. 
Unfortunately, he is overthrown in a bloody coup de‟tat. Despite his shorthcomings, his character 
is worthy of celebrating. 
Colonel Azuga is not alone in the struggle for economic growth and political rejuvenation. 
He has an ally in Toubi, a journalist. Expectedly the two of them suffer the same fate from a 
society which abhors the truth. Toubi is poisoned by his estranged wife, Fani, who now works for 
the coupists! He actually sets out to unravel the truth surrounding the history of Nigeria and 
Tamund‘s ignominious role in it. His death arising from this perilous adventure makes a statement 
about the professional hazard a journalist faces in the discharge of his duty. Besides the death of 
Kris Imoudibe of The Guardian and Tayo Awotusin of Champion Newspaper in war-torn Liberia, 
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Dele Giwa was killed with a parcel-bomb during Babangida regime. Others have had their 
freedom curtailed while practicing their profession.  
Besides the interrogation of theme of perfidy in a military regime which forecloses the 
so-called corrective tendencies of the military class, Mowah tells his story in Eating by the Flesh in 
a quintessentially postmodern fashion. In place of the traditional chronological plot structure, the 
story is told in a loosely disjointed narrative style without recourse to order. The exploration of this 
postmodern fragmented narrative technique further enriches textual aesthetics so much that 
Garuba (1996:137) praises Mowah‘s ―remarkable grasp of craft and technique‖ in the creation of 
what Aliu (2000: 43) describes as ―a multi-layered universe‖. Employing the symbol of treachery 
to a great effect, the novel presents Colonel Sale and Brigadier Danladi, two high-ranking military 
officers, who pretend to be friends but stab each other at the back. As Brigadier Danladi beats his 
colleague to the adulterous game over Wura‘s wife, the turn of events in the course of the story 
begins to unfold. The pyrrhic victory of Brigadier Danladi symbolises his impending triumph over 
Colonel Sale in their treacherous ploy to overthrow Colonel Azuga. 
After the ‗prologue‘, the story line digresses to and fro, beginning from Colonel Azuga‘s 
determined resolve to salvage the nation. This is achieved with the employment of ―diegesis‖, in 
postmodern parlance. Without a word on his ascension into office, it shifts to the witch-doctor, 
Dambe, who enjoins Colonel Azuga to act fast before he is overthrown by his military colleagues: 
My duty is to warn you...However, if you can trust your 
friend so much, then you are a greater fool than I imagined. 
You are simply a sitting duck for martyrdom…I am thus 
telling you for the last time, Sale is a vulture (22-23). 
Also from Dambe‘s admonition, the story moves to the botched meeting of the Ruling Military 
Council. It is on this note that it presents Colonel Sale as a sex pervert whose lust for pleasure and 
power knows no bound. His actions bring to the fore the morally repulsive role he is to play as the 
masterminder of the impending coup de‟tat. Another ―diegesis‖ occurs without notice as Colonel 
Azuga ‗sneaks‘ out at night, only to be assaulted by armed-robbers! 
Meanwhile the character of the ubiquitous Chandu is note-worthy in driving home the 
import of Mowah‘s stylistic thrust in Eating by the Flesh. In his dual role as the narrator and active 
player in the unfolding events in Nigeria, Chandu alludes to events in a futuristic manner, 
presenting the doom and pestilence that herald Brigadier Danladi‘s government, even when the 
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narration has not presented the fall of Colonel Azuga. This flexible narrative structure violates the 
traditional sequential ordering of events in a narration. Aliu (2000) puts it succinctly: 
This is rather per-emptive of events that are to occur later in 
text…By this narrating and drawing conclusions from 
events that are yet imperceptible to the reader, Chandu‘s 
narrative approximates to a direct reversion of the traditional 
narrative order which prioritizes a sequential patterning of 
plot (48). 
This ‗disharmony‘ marks a decisive postmodern turn in the narrative. Furthermore, as Colonel 
Azuga hallucinates on getting to his village, the metaphor of banality, the myth surrounding the 
near ‗earthquake‘ in his village, the ‗vision‘ of Gogo, Nana and Tashi, as well as a retrospective 
revelation of Lily‘s miscarriage all underscore the doom which awaits the nation. Also, the 
discovery of the corpse of Colonel Saluhu portends danger, hence, Ejembe admonishes Colonel 
Azuga to be wary of friends. The forward and backward narrative device employed in the text 
ensures that the narration is told devoid of structural harmony. As the epilogue re-opens the 
narrative, when ordinarily it should end it, the logical arrangement of a text from the beginning, 
through the middle, to the ending is undermined and outrightly subverted. Aliu (2000) submits that 
the ―structural discord‖ embedded in Mowah‘s Eating by the Flesh stands it out as a postmodern 
text ―with claim to fame‘‘: 
The fame derives from the fact that the text cannot be read in 
an organicist fashion. The reader arrives at the end of its 
story only through sewing up the bits and scraps of 
metanarratives (56).  
 
This non-conformist stylistic posture marks Mowah‘s Eating by the Flesh out as a credible 
addition to the long list of postmodern African texts. Its preferred style is in line with the 
stream-of-consciousness narrative technique.  
A deconstrutive interpretation of thematic and stylistic preoccupations of Mowah‘s Eating 
by the Flesh interrogate some events and characters as textualised by the author. Colonel Azuga is 
fictionalized as a revolutionary-minded character that sets out from his earlier days to secure 
power for public goods. He is a dedicated and patriotic Nigerian unlike some of his colleagues and 
adversaries. He is so passionate about effecting positive change in the nation so much that all his 
actions, and inactions, are tailored towards the betterment of the nation and her people. He 
despises the corrupt nature of the politicians who had amazed ill-gotten wealth which they stashed 
160 
 
 
away in foreign banks. He is so transparent that nobody, not even Colonel Sale and Brigadier 
Danladi, ever doubts his commitment to national development and his resolve to rid the nation of 
corruption, inept leadership, administrative lapses, infrastructural decay and moral laxity. This 
attitude presents him as a credible alternative for leadership role in a nation bedeviled with evil 
machination of corruption. However, a discerning mind is not unaware that Nigeria has never been 
known to produce such a patriotic military leader. Successive military regimes in the nations had 
always come to power in a messianic fashion, eager to flaunt their development-seeking 
revolutionary credentials. A gullible nation, overtly desiring progressive development, a virtue 
which the politicians lack, is often ready to encourage and welcome them into power. 
Unfortunately, hardly had they settled down in office when they begin to betray their 
unpreparedness for political offices. As they compel obedience and uncritical reverence for public 
offices, retrogressive and reactionary governance come to the fore. Political leaders are hounded 
into detention or forced to go underground. Press freedom is undermined in the name of national 
security. Self-perpetuation in office becomes a ‗national agenda‘. According to Adeoti (2003:9), 
sooner than expected, ―the erstwhile saviours‖ transform ―into the realm of vampires, and whose 
total exist from power became mandatory if the country was to make progress‖. A few examples 
would suffice. Besides Generals Obasanjo and Abubakar who handed over power to 
‗democratically elected‘ civilian presidents, others have curiously developed cold feet whenever 
they are to leave public offices. General Ironsi was killed in office; General Gowon was 
overthrown; General Buhari lost power in a palace coup de‟tat; General Babangida had to ―step 
aside‖ when danger loomed; while a deus ex machina prevented General Abacha from transmuting 
to a civilian president! If Colonel Azuga is not toppled in a palace coup, who knows if he would 
seek to perpetuate himself in office under the pretext of completing his revolutionary agenda! If he 
does, he would have justified Fawole‘s (2001:61) position that the military has ―a predatory 
mechanism for plunder‖ because they are ―generally contemptuous of people‘s rights and 
freedoms, and consequently have elevated sheer lawlessness and banditry to a norm‖. Besides, 
evidences in the text have it that people like Agnes, Pa Itogha, Ejembe, Colonel Saluhu and 
Colonel Dembe have warned him on a number of occasions to beware of Colonel Sale and 
Brigadier Danladi. His inability to take a proactive measure to prevent the coup d‟état exposes him 
to danger. Also, he is expected to have taken decisive action on Tamund who had been indicted for 
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drug peddling. Perhaps he pays the supreme price for his inability to take decisive step in the nick 
of time.  
Also, Toubi becomes a target of assassination because of his professional misconduct. He 
takes side with Colonel Azuga whereas a professional journalist is expected to be a watchdog for 
public officers. If he had discharged his professional duty without bias towards Colonel Azuga‘s 
course, he may not have suffered the attack from the enemies of the regime. Professionalism in 
journalism ensures that journalists go about their duties independent of the executive arm of 
government. When a journalist flirts with the government, the consequence can be untoward. On 
one of such occasion, Colonel Sale has to publicly express his displeasure at Toubi‘s knowledge of 
state matter, being a journalist: 
I don‘t have anything against journalists or against Toubi for 
that matter. But you know as well as I do that it is dangerous 
to allow them so much power.  Real blood flows in their 
pens. If we allow them, they‘ll simply write us out of power 
the way they did our predecessors. Anyway, to be specific, I 
like Toubi as a person but I don‘t like him as a journalist (32).  
 
In fact, it soon becomes obvious that both Colonel Sale and Toubi know each other too well even 
before the latter‘s invitation to dinner. Therefore, if Colonel Sale does not want his power-seeking 
agenda to be derailed, Toubi has to be eliminated. That he survives the coup d‟état which topples 
Colonel Azuga‘s government is due to mother luck. 
 If Colonel Azuga and Toubi ‗derserve‘ their fates, the story of Tamund leaves much to be 
desired. Here is a minister of petroleum who connives with unpatriotic members of Supreme 
Revolutionary Council, as well as local and foreign cartels, to peddle drugs. He relishes in wealth 
and connection in high places thereby undermining the nation‘s economy. He amasses so much 
wealth which he employs to prosecute the coup d‟état. Unfortunately, such a character still 
emerges as an adviser in Brigadier Danladi‘s regime. Little wonder he has the temerity to attempt 
to publish his doctored biography while in power. But for Toubi‘s resolve to write and publish the 
true account of Tamund‘s ignominious role in office, the public would have been fed a falsehood. 
Biography and autobiography are generally known to largely suffer from half truth, subjectivity 
and fallibility of human memory. They have become exercises at self glorification (Oriaku, 1990; 
Adeoti 2003). 
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 Although Mowah‘s Eating by the Flesh largely depicts the military as an institution which 
produces officers who seek public offices either for good or bad, we aver that good or bad 
governance is not an exclusive preserve of one institution in Nigeria. Experiences have it that the 
nation had produced benevolent military leaders who contributed immensely towards national 
growth. These officers and men were responsible for the provision of order from the disorder and 
mal-administration associated with civilian leadership. In fact, the institution saves the nation from 
disintegration during the civil war fought between 1967 and 1970. Nevertheless, military 
incursions in the national life of Nigeria have untoward consequences for nation growth and 
development. Its regimented training is not in congruence with the liberty associated with civil 
rule. No wonder military rule is viewed with contempt and perceived as an aberrant political 
misnomer. In fact, successive military regimes in Nigeria are always eager to announce their 
transition agenda to civilian rule as soon as they come to power even if they would renege later 
(Igwe, 1994; Ezeani, 1994). Therefore, the articulation of benevolent or populist policies does not 
foreclose the conclusion that military rule is anti-people, anti-democratic, and a violation of every 
legal document. In this vein, the nation would be better off if Mowah‘s Colonel Azuga, Colonel 
Saluhu, and Colonel Dembe keep their revolutionary credentials within the confine of the 
barracks.     
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CHAPTER FOUR 
4.0 A Nation in Comatose: Nihilism in Marinho and Arthur-Worrey’s Novels 
4.1 Tony Marinho: A Brief Biodata 
Anthony Olatokunbo Marinho was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland in 1947. He 
attended St Gregory College, Lagos between 1961 and 1967. In 1968, he gained admission to 
University of Ibadan to study medicine. He graduated with distinction in Anatomy in 1974. 
After the one year national service in 1975, Tony Marinho joined the service of University 
College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan. His busy schedule at University College Hospital between 1975 
and 1981 did not prevent him from serving as Chief Consultant, Oluyoro Catholic Hospital, 
Ibadan. He later established St. Gregory Specialist Clinic and Ultra-Sound Diagnostic Services 
and became its Medical Director in 1981. Among others, he is a fellow, Medical College of 
Obstetricians and Gynecologist and also West African College of Surgeon. His book Handbook of 
Obstetrics and Gynecology was published in 1978. He established Educare Trust, an 
enlightenment and philanthropic centre saddled with the task of educating and creating awareness 
for the public on socio-political and cultural matters. 
Tony Marinho is a novelist, poet, playwright, fiery social crusader, political activist and a 
much sought-after newspaper columnist. Among other texts, he is the author of The Victim (1984), 
Deadly Cargo (1986), Objection (1986), The Epidemic (1992), Bobo learn to Fly (1994), and Why 
UI? (2003).   
Tony Marinho is married with children. 
4.2 The Epidemic 
 Tony Marinho‘s The Epidemic (1992) is a classic reflection of the treachery, insincerity, 
sycophancy, perfidy, cover-up and blackmail that have characterised Nigeria‘s odious march 
towards under-development. It x-rays the nation‘s retrogressive governance and visionless 
leadership. It highlights the unpatriotic resolve of her leaders to hold on to power no matter whose 
ox is goored. It elicits the knack for corrupt enrichment and self-perpetuation in office, tendencies 
which cast aspersion on public officers‘ claim to integrity. It exposes the manner by which public 
officers abuse their offices and cover up their track under the guise of protection of state interest. It 
also chides the citizenry for being lily-livered hence suffer in silence and bear the brunt of 
mis-rule. It rebuffs the people for lacking the gut to take their destiny in their own hands. It, 
164 
 
 
however, commends the patriotic adventures of her scientists and researchers for their 
determination and resolve to engage in researches for public good. Their trail-blazing scientific 
discoveries, despite the scorn and disdain from a non-appreciative government, amount to good 
commentary for the nation. It also projects the image of the nation which had been smeared by 
government directionless leadership. 
 A deadly epidemic ravages the nation. So fatal is the epidemic that it kills without notice. It 
strikes its victim, overpowers him, makes him unconscious and defies any attempt to revive him. It 
accounts for the loss of over eight thousand lives and has the tendency to continue if not checked! 
Unfortunately, the origin and cause of the epidemic is unknown while the vaccine to either stop or 
alleviate its scourge in the country is not readily available. As the nation continues to wait for 
government intervention, the Council of Ministers holds regular executive sessions with the 
president to discuss the way forward and unravel the causes and cure of the epidemic. The minister 
of health does not mince words on the devastating nature of the epidemic: 
The epidemic affects the different parts of the country; the 
North, South, East and West. Everywhere. Over two 
thousand deaths have been reported in each of these areas. 
We do not know the origin of the disease. The number of 
deaths is increasing daily and is compound by our 
non-existent emergency services and low stocks of useful 
medicines. If something is not done soon the chances are 
that the population shall be decimated (1-2).       
To prevent further death and expected public outcry, he enjoins the Council of Ministers to call for 
international assistance in form of ―intravenous fluids, drugs, and personnel‖. 
 The submission of the minister of health exposes the beast in the members of the council on 
whom the fate of the nation rests. While the minister of external affairs rebuffs the suggestion on 
account of its alleged implication for the nation‘s international reputation, the minister of 
economics and planning would have none of it because he perceives that if the national calamity 
should come to the awareness of the world, it may lead to a decline in the value of the naira! Even 
the finance minister is against any decision which would invariably lead to increase in the 
budgetary allocation to the ministry of health, even if it is meant to fight the epidemic. Expectedly, 
the president is encouraged to jettison the advice of the minister of health. He orders the denial of 
the epidemic because in his opinion, private and party interests should take preeminence over 
public interest:  
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When we make decisions here in this room, we make them 
primarily in the interest of this government and secondly in 
the interest of the people of this great Nation of ours. Our 
party interest must of course guide the interest of the 
government…I agree with the Minister of Health that one 
would save a few thousand lives by getting what he is 
proposing. But the relative gain in that direction would be 
far outstripped by the relative less in public image, 
credibility, earnings and bargaining power and of course 
political advancement for the government (6-7).   
 
This is quite unbecoming of a civilian president who rides to public office on the back of the 
electorates. 
 A cursory look at the actions and inactions of the ministers reveals that they are not worthy 
of the public offices they hold. Many of them are merely interested in the influence and the 
paraphenelia of office at their disposal. Consequent on this, they dare not disagree with the 
president who has the power to hire and fire. They so much cherish their ‗hard-earned‘ offices such 
that they must concur to whatever the president says, either they hear him or not! They care no 
hoot what becomes of the nation once their bank accounts swell. At the risk of losing his exalted 
office, the vice-president has to be seen supporting his boss. He shouts the minister of health down 
when the latter objects to the regular reduction in his ministry budgetary allocation: 
Look here, Honourable Minister of Health. Everyone has a 
job to do. I mean we are all trying to do our jobs. But there 
have to be checks and balances…It is the Minister of 
Finance‘s task to check and introduce balances. He did not 
know there would be the epidemic (3-4).   
Even the recalcitrant minister of health has to mellow-down when he is faced with blackmail over 
his past misdeeds in office, particularly his role in ―the drug important scandal‖. He has to 
chicken-out completely when the secret file on him shows that he is far from being a saint he 
professes. Besides other evidences of his loot in office, the president blackmails him into 
submission when his ‗secret‘ is exposed: 
He was surprised that they knew about the Medical 
equipment supply company that he had set up and given 
about thirty million naira worth of contract to…He 
wondered if they knew about the account in Budapest. They 
did…As if that was not enough, the President read off a list 
of houses, flats and even a mansion…the President read out 
a list of contracts for which the Minister was expecting a 
Peugeot 505 Saloon Car, a cheque for one hundred thousand 
dollars, a free ticket to fly around the world and complete 
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furnishing of his newly built chalet at Tarkwa Bay, a holiday 
resort across the lagoon (14).  
This revelation finally forces him to change gear. 
Also, if the minister of health is perceived to be sincere in his determination to investigate 
and solve the menace pose by the epidemic, further revelation exposes his inadequacies. He is not 
genuinely interested in fighting the epidemic but wants to drag the government into 
acknowledging its existence for him to have more fund, locally and international, to feather his 
own nest. He has counted on local and international donations to fight the epidemic, fund he would 
have diverted to personal use. Every natural occurrences or public policies have been maximised 
immensely to his benefit: 
What really had upset him was the fact that since the 
Government refused to acknowledge the epidemic it could 
not set up a relief fund. No relief fund meant no Government 
donations and more importantly no external donations. He 
remembered how much he had made during the Sahelian 
drought and more recently during the expulsion of aliens 
from the country (18). 
His position therefore is self-serving and not for altruistic intention. As a face-saving measure, he 
has to quickly organise an official trip to government medical institutions as a smoke-screen 
towards the official cover-up. Since he has to be seen as working, he employs crude tactics of 
commanding obedience from the staff in his ministry. He orders a memo, which completely 
‗obliterates‘ the sign of the epidemic from their memory! However, he protects himself and his 
‗privileged‘ team on the trip to the rural clinic. In fact, he embarks on the trip in the first instance to 
garner fund to travel outside the shore of the country, check on his foreign bank accounts and 
escape the epidemic with the members of his family. Nemesis however catches up with him during 
the trip.  
Like their counterpart in the health ministry, other ministers have to play along with the 
president so as to keep their respective jobs. So myopic is the quality of their advices that a 
discerning mind begins to wonder if they actually love the country or the president who appoints 
them in the first place. Since they must act according to the president‘s body language and 
understand his line of thinking, they liberally read several implications to the upsurge of the 
epidemic to convince the president of their genuine concern for the nation. Although they wear 
protective masks to the cabinet meetings, the minister of transport still blame the Americans for 
the epidemic while the minister of aviation heaps vituperation on the Russians. On his part, the 
167 
 
 
minister for youth and culture casts aspersion on the South Africans for the country‘s woes. None 
has the effrontery to speak the truth they know so well. Such is the character of people at the helms 
of affairs in Nigeria.  
Besides the ministers, even the president does not comport himself as a patriotic leader 
worthy of emulation. Instead of arrogating to himself the onerous task of ameliorating the plight of 
the people who are ravaged by the epidemic, he resolves to deny its existence as a matter of fact. 
He coerces the ministers into following this path of perfidy. He blackmails the equally corrupt 
minister of health to deny the epidemic in the face of several deaths. He believes once he keeps his 
office, nothing else matters in life. To achieve this, he keeps a security file on his ministers who 
can only oppose him at their peril! He even arranges electronically teleguided prepared speech 
which the minister of health ‗reads‘ on air to a bemused nation. He is so callous and evil-minded 
such that he ‗arranges‘ a road accident for a University of Toro Medical team on a fact-finding 
mission. He orders the immediate transfer of Dr. Ahmed and Professors Aliu and Nwafor to the 
Archives Department of the health ministry for revealing information on the epidemic to the 
nation. He ensures that this decision is gazzetted with immediate effect. He instructs the Police 
Force to raid, close and burn uncooperative media houses! To him, the people‘s lives are nothing 
compares to the benefits that accrue to him on account of his exalted position. He so much enjoys 
the paraphernalia of office that he holds daily cabinet meetings where deliberations centre 
principally on how to deny the existence of the epidemic. He is so gullible that his ministers 
capitalise on his weakness to tell him only what he wants to hear! He even proposes to travel to 
Greenland when the entire nation gropes in fear and affliction. He unilaterally votes fund to 
purchase drugs without recourse to the National Assembly. He readily comes to mind as a sit-tight 
dictator whose major concern is self-perpetuation in office. 
Professor Abubakar, Head, Department of Medicine, University of Toro, is a sad man 
because the affliction of the people multiples as the epidemic ravages the nation. He enjoins fellow 
professionals, like Professor Adenuga and Professor Agah of Statistics and Anatomy Departments 
respectively, to assist in researching into the cause and prevention of the epidemic. Although these 
researchers get a clue from their investigations that a victim of the epidemic has blisters and rashes 
at the mouth and feet, their inability to get a survivor hinders their efforts. Fortunately, an 
intellectual discussion between Dr. Darna, a rural medical doctor, and Dr. Patkin, a veterinary 
doctor, gives insight into the likely causes of the epidemic and those that are proned to or immuned 
168 
 
 
from it. Dr. Patkin suspects the epidemic has link with rinderpest epidemic which ravaged the 
animals at a time. He submits that the cattle-rearing communities may have been immuned from it 
because of their earlier encounter with rinderpest virus through their cattles. This, he further 
suspects, may have accounted for its devastating consequences particularly in non-cattle, 
rinderpest-free urban communities! The rising death rate in the rural areas is largely due to 
urban-rural migration and the attendant mingling of the people. They also conduct an empirical 
survey of some rural areas to have accurate statistics of the death rate. Convinced about their 
discovery, they agree to send it to experienced academics at the University of Toro.  
 Meanwhile, the research team at the University of Toro is on the verge of having similar 
discovery. Professor Adenuga‘s research has revealed that little or no cattle-rearer is afflicted by 
the epidemic. Professor Nwosa, Head, Veterinary Department, does not agree less. Their research 
findings tally with the information from Drs. Darna and Patkin thus, they agree to send their 
findings to the government for prompt actions and interventions. However, when their discoveries 
do not produce the desired government interest and attention, Professor Abubakar sends it to the 
prestigious English Medical Journal for publication. Research interests now shift to the discovery 
of antibodies from survivors or the immuned. Drs. Okon and Amadun collaborate with British 
officials to discover antibodies meant to fight the epidemic. These antibodies are taken from the 
minister of health whose plane has been quarantined. They work perfectly. Professor Abubakar‘s 
team continues its investigation by vaccinating several people. The result is good hence, it is again 
sent for publication. 
 The beast in the president is let loose again! Since he can no longer convince the nation that 
the epidemic is non-existing, he owns up at last. He however blames foreign ‗adversaries‘ for it. 
He orders a security search and surveillance on offices and homes of members of the research 
team. They are to remain silent for ever else the government would further humiliate them. Even 
the people soon forget them. Ironically, while they suffer humiliation at home, Professor 
Cummings is celebrated and even knighted in England! It takes the acknowledgement of their 
findings abroad for them to be accorded the desired respect and accolade. Also a change in 
government restored their honours and privileges. 
 Tony Marinho‘s The Epidemic depicts the societal ills bedeviling the nation. It chides a 
non-responsive government, enmeshed in self-glorification and corrupt enrichment, as the bane of 
the nation. It satirises the naivety of the personalities who relish in the ‗good fortune‘ of holding 
169 
 
 
public offices. It exposes their perfidy and treachery but warns of the peril which awaits them. The 
minister of health merely supports the need for government intervention to fight the epidemic so as 
to have access to relief fund from government and international agencies. He has to play along 
with the status quo, knowing the consequences of not. He, thus, has his ways and takes his family 
abroad at government expense. Unfortunately for him, the epidemic he runs away from at the rural 
clinic eventually inflicts him with fatal consequence. He becomes an ‗item‘ for scientists who 
require the antibodies to fight the epidemic. More importantly, his loot ends up in other hands. 
While his foreign accounts are seized by the banks, family members and relatives are engrossed in 
‗battle‘ to have their share. Marinho‘s testament on this attests to the futility of wealth acquisition: 
Wisened to the fact of his death by the news of the epidemic, 
all the big international banks had checked their files to 
determine if the late minister had been on their client 
list…Those that found him on their lists were cautiously 
delighted. They at first checked the contents of the safety 
deposit boxes and balances in the accounts. Then they had to 
check the mode of making a withdrawal. That meant that the 
banks were free to close that account on the demise of their 
customer and utilize the money or valuables for their own, 
usually the manager‘s use (114-115). 
 
With this reality, one can only wonder if there is any benefit in ill-gotten wealth which ends up in 
other people‘s hands. 
 The novel, once again, brings to the fore the age long ‗animosity‘ between the town and 
gown. The town is a euphemism for the society while the gown is a symbol for the academics. 
While the former prides itself as the policy executor, the latter is committed to research, 
experiment and policy formulation. Ironically, it depends on the former for political-will to have 
its policies implemented. Unfortunately, most Nigerian leaders are not favourably disposed to 
academic researches. They seek immediate gain in most of their endeavour. They are self-centred 
and intellectually naive to know that researches have long-standing benefit for the society at large 
in the long run. They therefore earmark insufficient fund for researches in the various institutions 
and government agencies. Little wonder Dr. Darna and Dr. Patkin‘s research interests do not enjoy 
government attention and support. If the entire medical team on a fact-finding mission can be 
‗sacrificed‘ on the altar of a self-seeking public interest, if senior academics, like Dr. Ahmed, 
Professors Aliu and Nwafor, can be made redundant for revealing information on the epidemic to 
170 
 
 
the public, if hardworking academics, like Professors Abubakar, Adenuga, Agah and Nwosa are 
humiliated, dehumanised and silenced for publishing their research findings in a reputable journal, 
then no one should be left in doubt about the utter neglect in which characters like Drs. Darna and 
Patkin practice in the rural areas. The power-that-be does not bother about the fate which befalls 
them, the commitment they put into their works notwithstanding. 
 Also, the people are expected to serve as check on the government. Even if government 
desires to betray the confidence repose in it, it is incumbent on the people to call the men and 
women in public offices to order. African history is replete with the resolve of the people to alter 
government policies that they consider inimical to public goods. Evidences have it that victory 
over injustice is assured, though it may not be achievable on a platter of gold. Unfortunately, while 
those in government continue to play politics with a matter of life and death, the people ignorantly 
believe whatever the government tells them! Even if the government derives satisfaction in 
denying the existence of the epidemic in the text, its reality ought to have compelled the people to 
react and confront the government. This inaction encourages the minister of foreign affairs to 
publicly deny the existence of the epidemic even after media attacks on the demise of the health 
minister. If the people have protested the transfer of Dr. Ahmed, Professor Aliu and Professor 
Nwafor to the Archives Department, if they have reacted angrily to the humiliation meted out to 
Professors Abubakar, Adenuga, Agah and Nwosa, perhaps the government would have turned a 
new leaf. Once these academics are ‗silenced‘ and made redundant, the people soon forget about 
them, especially when the epidemic has subsided. No wonder Dr. Darna is pessimistic about any 
meaningful change emanating from the people. 
 Meanwhile, a sustained investigation of Tony Marinho‘s The Epidemic does not elicit an 
all-round catalogue of woes.  Although the politicians are casted in bad light, the text presents a 
ray of hope in the nation‘s scientists and researchers. For every mis-directed politician, there is a 
researcher whose effort is geared towards promoting and sustaining the overall wellbeing of the 
people. Researchers like Drs. Darna, Patkin, Okon, Amadum and Professors Abubakar, Adenuga, 
Agah and Nwosa are committed to their researches despite the hostility from the government. Dr. 
Darna‘s mobile clinic does not present itself as a comfortable, well-equipped medical ‗institution‘, 
yet he does his job diligently and conscientiously. Although so many deaths are recorded on a 
daily basis, apparently due to the ill-equipped nature of the clinic, his medical expertise is never in 
doubt. He successful performs a craniotomy on a pregnant woman to Dr. Patkin‘s delight, though 
171 
 
 
she eventually loses the baby. His role in conjunction with other researchers in discovering the 
causes and vaccination for the epidemic is commendable. Besides Drs. Diana and Patkin, other 
researchers from University of Toro deserve accolade for their significant role in stopping the 
epidemic. Even if they suffer humiliation from their government, the foreign recognition is 
pleasing to the ear!  Sir Cummings does not mince words in praising them lavishly, calling for a 
standing ovation in appreciation of their enviable scientific attainment. This foreign respect has 
impacted positively on the new government who reinstates them. Perhaps in saner clime, they 
would have been individually bestowed with a Nobel Prize. Such is the import of their research 
efforts. 
 Finally, the fall of the government and the reversal of fortune for its members signal the 
fate which awaits anyone, no matter how highly placed, who tramples on the collective will of the 
people. The end of the government is predictable because the interest of the people cannot be 
forsaken on a permanent basis. No wonder its policies and actions are soon jettisoned and repelled. 
The reinstatement of the members of Professor Abubakar‘s research team is enough to signal the 
inevitability of light at the end of the tunnel. 
4.3 Fola Arthur-Worrey: A Brief Biodata 
Born and bred in Lagos, Nigeria, Fola Arthur-Worrey works and lives in Lagos. A 
Barrister at Law, Arthur-Worrey devoted all his professional life to the service of Lagos state 
government. He belongs to the core civil service. 
A social commentator, political analyst and welfarist, Arthur-Worrey rose through the rank 
to the exalted position of Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General, Lagos State Ministry of 
Justice. He was also a one-time Commissioner of Lands in the state. In all his public activities 
while in office, Arthur-Worrey discharged his duties meritoriously and dispassionately until he 
eventually retired voluntarily in 2006. 
An appreciative public would not allow a golden fish an opportunity to hide hence 
th
Arthur-Worrey was soon called back to public office on the 7  November, 2007. At present, he 
manages Lagos State Security Trust Fund in his capacity as the Executive Secretary. This position 
of authority enables him to collaborate with eminent personalities like messers Remi Makanjuola, 
Waheed Kassim, Reuben Abati, Apollos Ikpobe, Kehinde Durosimi-Etti, Jide Sanwo-Olu and 
Lanre Balogun on the board to supervise the collection and disbursement of fund for security 
172 
 
 
matters in the state. Henceforth the task of provision of security equipments would no longer be 
the sole responsibility of government and the Police Force. 
Fola Arthur-Worrey has published books like The Prosecutor in Public Prosecutions 
(2000) and The Diaries of Mr. Michael (2004). The latter has enjoyed diverse critical attentions 
which foreground its acceptability as a concise testament on Nigeria‘s socio-political realities 
from someone who has seen it all. No wonder it made the last list of books shortlisted for the 
maiden NLNG Literature Prize in 2004. 
4.4 The Diaries of Mr. Michael 
 Fola Arthur-Worrey‘s The Diaries of Mr. Michael (2004) is a novel which gives a vivid 
account of Nigeria as a nation bedeviled with societal menace like corruption, infrastructural 
decay, administrative ineptitude, moral laxity, ethnic chauvinism and religious bigotry. It depicts 
the nation as assemblage of people whose actions, and inaction, are tailored towards retrogressive 
and reactionary tendencies. It presents Nigeria as a nation which is designed to fail from inception, 
hence finds herself grappling with untoward yet debilitating angst from which survival seems an 
uphill task. Although it appreciates the odds and challenges the nation faces, apparently owing to 
her historical and socio-cultural backgrounds, yet it chides her leaders for dearth of administrative 
savvy and intellectual wherewithal to direct the nation on the right path. Without sparing the 
masses for the penchant to rationalise the nation‘s comatose economic and socio-political realities 
as divinely-ordained or colonial inflicted, it rebuffs the leaders for their inability to articulate ―an 
exit strategy‖ from the nation‘s myriads of woes and misdemeanours. If Uche Mowah‘s Eating by 
the Flesh heaps the blame for the nation‘s woes on the military in Nigeria‘s politics, 
Arthur-Worrey‘s The Diaries of Mr. Michael is set in the so-called democratic Nigerian society! 
Ironically like Tony Marinho‘s The Epidemic, it, more than Marinho‘s text, reflects on 
mal-administration, nepotism, ethnicity, decadence and rot that have since defiled solution. It sees 
Nigeria as ―the land raven by anger, hatred, violence, failed expectations and fear for the future‖. 
 A certain European journalist named Mr. Michael pays a scheduled investigative visit to 
Nigeria. His fact-finding mission is geared towards having first-hand information on a nation on 
which so much have been said and written. His purpose is to acquire eye witness account of the 
political and socio-economic realities in the nation since the ascension into office of Nigeria‘s 
democratic leaders. He writes for ―a well-respected weekly journals‖ in England. 
173 
 
 
 On arrival at the imposing but dilapidated and ill-equipped terminal of the Murtala 
Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, he is surprised to see that neither the wall-clock nor the 
monitor is working! The hostile attitude of the immigration officers and others who demand 
gratification from him notwithstanding, he is set for an adventure into Nigeria. Who knows if this 
adventure would correct the negative impression about Nigeria and other African nations, an 
opinion not informed by empirical investigation of our socio-cultural milieu, but by ‗arm-chair‘ 
polemic from Euro-American critics? Perhaps his quest for first-hand information would suffice. 
 After the airport and taxi-park scuffles, Mr. Michael is to behold the nation at a nauseating 
glance! Besides the encounter with policemen who demand and take bribe from Dede and other 
minibus drivers plying the road, he notices, to his chagrin, the badly-illuminated area network, 
malfunctioning street-lights, unkempt environment and ―ill-fitting‖ police uniforms on unfit 
policemen. In a conversation, Dede educates him on the filthy environment and its causes: 
This is Oshodi, probably the worst place in Nigeria. Too 
many people in one spot because a major bus top, a train 
station and a street market all meet in a place. That is the 
worst combination you can have…The result is total 
confusion. There are no control. In the day time traffic can 
drive you mad. In fact, it defies description. At night, gangs 
of miscreants swarm out of the motor parks where they‘ve 
been drinking and smoking marijuana all day to harass and 
rob people at will or to forcefully collect protection money 
from the traders and bus drivers, right under noses of the 
police (33-34). 
Also, Dede chides the government for its inability to manage the nation‘s transport system hence 
gives private owners of vehicles opportunities to have a field day. In no time, Mr. Michael is 
convinced of his great analytical mind such that he strikes a deal with him: Dede is to serve as his 
guide throughout his stay in Nigeria, albeit for a fee. 
 From his hotel at Sheraton, Dede takes Mr. Michael round the city of Lagos, beginning 
from the following day. However since he is unaware of events and happenings around him, Dede 
assumes an all-knowing disposition, employing his critical but analytical skill. Dede informs him, 
that the badly-maintained road network, the nonchalant attitudes of mini bus drivers who pick 
passengers on the road, the tangled electrical and telephone cables, heaps of garbage which litter 
the streets, ramshackle stalls and kiosks, the menace of beggars, the ubiquitous presence of cachet 
water which liters the road, the readiness and penchant of the minibus drivers and the policemen to 
174 
 
 
give and take bribe respectively, the nefarious activities of hoodlums, drug-peddlers, prostitutes 
and street-urchins popularly called area boys, are all evidence of system collapse occasioned by 
bad governance. He argues that a nation which places high premium on wealth without a 
corresponding emphasis on cultural values and social rejuvenation should expect retrogressive 
development. He is quick to chide the police who ‗benefits‘ from the rickety vehicles plying the 
road, the feudal servitude which ‗institutionalises‘ begging culture, and the poverty and moral 
declines which turn the youth to street hawkers, armed robbers and prostitutes. In another 
conversation with Mr. Michael, Dede identifies the ill-equipped Police Force and corruption as 
factors militating against the attempt to eradicate the menace of area boys and curb the ocean surge 
in Lagos respectively: 
Those guys are called Area Boys, the quasi-criminal 
elements that inhibit virtually all public places in 
Lagos…The near total breakdown of the economic and 
social systems under the military mismanagement, 
especially the weakening to the police force, has encouraged 
their growth in number and spread… The government has 
made much noise about its determination to end the scourge. 
Billions have been allocated for the job and I doubt if up to 
ten percent of it has actually gone into addressing the 
problem (59-61).  
Unfortunately, the government neither possesses the political will nor the intellectual capacity to 
nip these ugly tendencies in the bud. 
Also, Mr. Michael notices that although average Nigerian is determined and resolute to eke 
out a living from the societal malady, yet he is at sea on why no one resolves to address the myriads 
of problem bedeviling the nation. Both the rich and the poor are condemned to a lifestyle of 
survival against all odds. The rich do not mind once their nest is feathered. In such ‗hopeless‘ 
situation, the leaders turn deaf ear to the need to salvage a nation which provides opportunities for 
them to rise from humble backgrounds to their enviable status. Dede‘s position here is apposite: 
Our leaders are invariably not driven to success beyond 
personal aggrandizement…The sorts of people who have 
been thrown up by the system to exercise power, not lead, 
have hardly ever been committed to anything other than self 
enrichment…It is as if the elite feel threatened by the 
prospects of other people aspiring to better life…They are 
irresponsible; they resist any attempt to get them to pay 
175 
 
 
tax…And the pity of it is that many of these nouveau riche 
themselves come from very humble, if not wretched, 
background (74-75). 
On another occasion, he chastises the leaders for their failure to provide qualitative leadership: 
Failure of leadership has been one of the most monumental 
tragedies of this continent. The leadership has ignored the 
human element of the equation so vital to the progress of a 
people (312). 
As the rich arrogantly flaunt their ill-gotten wealthy, disobey traffic laws and continue to lord it 
over the masses, the poor brazenly discountenance decency and orderliness at public places. 
Michael is taken aback why people strive to justify ―this level of unruliness as fact of life‖: 
Things seem to be so otherwordly here, at least by his own 
standards, that it appears almost an impossible task to find a 
rational basis for co-existence. And yet life seems to go on. 
Here he is, speaking with a perfectly normal and intelligent 
human being who gets on with his life, in spite of his own 
clear knowledge that things border on the extreme, that life 
ought not be so brutish and uncertain (84). 
Mr. Michael‘s discomfiture is premised on his conviction that even if every society has its ups and 
downs, as well as its self-imposed standard for social ordering, it should promote and sustain a 
standard it cannot go below, a benchmark of a sort. This shows that even among Nigerians, there is 
no doubt that there exists a moral consensus that has its roots in the acceptance of an 
‗internationalised‘ standard of human co-existence. The only problem is how to adhere to this 
standard. 
A discerning mind cannot but wonder what on earth is responsible for this conundrum in 
Nigeria. In a market-driven economy like ours, capitalism is the norm. As the rich get richer, the 
poor continue to wallow in abject poverty in the midst of plenty. As inequality is 
‗institutionalised‘, corruption, infrastructural decay, ethnicity, red tapism, neglect of public 
enterprises and loss of cultural pride envelop the society. Successive Nigerian governments are so 
insincere to the extent that they pay less attention to the funding of institutional control 
mechanisms provided by the court, Police Force, Custom Services, civil services and others. 
Despite the abundance of resources in Nigeria, the nation has to grapple with teething problems. 
Expectedly, incessant change of government becomes a past time in an independent Nigeria. 
However, if the military regimes are adjudged incompetent and ill-trained for public offices, the 
176 
 
 
advent of civilian rule has not translated to progressive development as the much sought-after 
dividend of democracy remains elusive! Again, Dede‘s position is worthy of note: 
In Nigeria, many people had hoped that our fresh democratic 
process would open up the political space for a new 
generation of younger leaders to emerge and challenge the 
old way of doing things and in the process, clean up public 
life, but it hasn‘t gone that way. In fact, for a lot of people 
things are getting even worse (250). 
Omobowale (2009) has earlier identified ―inept political leadership‖ as the bane of the nation‘s 
developmental yearnings. He sets a standard for would-be leaders in Nigeria: 
They must eschew bitterness, rancor and embrace peace. 
They must not be motivated by personal gains while 
performing their official duties. They must also endeavour 
to do away with tribalism, nepotism and favouritism all of 
which have collectively been the bane of the Nigerian polity 
for the past several years (233). 
It is because these standards have proved unattainable that the nation continues to produce misfit 
leaders. 
Besides, the political history of Nigeria makes synergy between the north and south 
extremely difficult. The nation is polarised along ethnic lines hence ethnic chauvinism informs 
state policies. While the south, with its vociferous press, prides itself as the intellectual warehouse 
of the nation, the north resolves to cling unto political power with which it lords it over the whole 
nation. So prevalent is ethnic dichotomy that even the nation‘s constitution makes provision for 
federal character in the distribution of national offices at the expense of merit! Section 153, 
subsection 1(c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria establishes, among 
others, the Federal Character Commission which it saddles with the task of preventing lopsided 
representation of member states of the federation in all government agencies, parastatals and 
executive bodies. Furtherance to this, ethnic sentiment dictates people‘s line of thinking so much 
that you dare not insult anybody ethnic sensibilities as the consequences may portend danger. 
The rot of the nation is not peculiar to Lagos alone. The journey to Benin-City opens the 
eyes of Mr. Michael to self-inflicted chaos, anarchy and disorder. Apart from the toll fare which is 
not employed for any meaningful road projects, the overall condition of Lagos/Ibadan/ Benin 
expressway is appalling. Even Benin metropolis is not better. Evidences of decadence and 
aggressive lust for ill-gotten wealth are seen in the failed public transportation system on one hand, 
177 
 
 
and the mass exodus of Benin girls to Italy for prostitution on the other! The city has its own fair 
share of corruption, crime, drug addiction, drug peddling, prostitution and general confusion. 
However like Lagos, night-life continues with frenzy, depicting the fun-loving disposition of 
Nigerians despite the societal challenges.  
Although Nigeria is a nation which is bedeviled with myriads of societal ills that threaten 
her cooperate existence, the fact remains that societal decadence and mal-administration are 
tendencies seen all over the world. History is replete with daunting cases of oppression and 
injustice meted out to the less privileged all over the world. The advent of capitalist economy is not 
without its attendant alienation and deprivation. In fact, the West cannot be exonerated from the 
continent‘s woes, from the era of slave trade, through that of colonial affronts, to the neo-colonial 
influx of alien values. In a conversation with William, Dede casts aspersion on the West for their 
intrusion into Africa‘s affairs:  
But what do we do when Western nations prevent the 
development of Africa by supporting dictators when it suits 
their interests…and when they encourage wars so that they 
can take advantage of the instability and pay us peasants for 
our natural resources? And who is going to make up for the 
centuries of exploitation by the white man? (181). 
Therefore, we can conclude that most of the problems in Africa are West-induced. 
Besides, societal maladies like drug addiction, drug peddling, corruption, nepotism, 
ethnicity, infrastructural decay, poverty, and prostitution are associated with a developing nation, 
hence are not peculiar to Nigeria alone. In fact, even Mr. Michael concurs that corruption is 
prevalent in Europe too ―as the recent revelations about the French president and the fact that Italy 
could elect as its premier a man facing criminal prosecution for fraud‖. Although a sustained effort 
is made to tackle the menace in the West, African leaders are mostly short-sighted to be able to 
devise a long term solution to these unethical conducts. Even if the inability of Nigerian leaders to 
imitate their Western counterparts is an eloquent testimony to their weakness, yet we aver that 
Western nations are not immuned to corruption and mal-administration. 
From the prologue in The Diaries of Mr. Michael, Arthur-Worrey does not hide his disgust 
for the nation‘s leaders. He does not mince words in heaping the blame for the nation‘s woes on the 
dearth of visionary and focused leaders who have the interest of the people at heart. He does not 
fall for their ill-conceived developmental plans which are designed to fail from inception. He 
decries their penchant for wealth acquisition, lust for political offices, and inability to formulate 
178 
 
 
policies which are beneficial to the nation at large. He bemoans their utter neglect for public 
utilities, infrastructure, social amenities and recreational facilities. He accuses them of corruption 
and naivety in addressing the myriads of problem facing the nation. However, he betrays emotion 
by castigating the leaders only as if the people are blameless. Evidences abound in the text to 
buttress the assertion that the mass of the people are equally guilty as well. For instance, the 
attendants at the museum are interested in making extra tips from their official transaction with the 
people while the policemen have seen the collection of bribe as a way of life. People see no qualm 
in driving against traffic, dumping of refuse indiscriminately on the road, begging for alms as a 
means of survival, hawking on the road and constituting nuisance to others! Chuks identifies the 
tendency for the people to act contrary to expectation as due to lack of consciousness. In his words, 
the people are not aware of the duties the nation desires from them: 
We seem not to understand how important it is to be 
conscious of certain things that need to be done or might not 
to be done…The way we drive, the way we park our cars in 
the most awkward manner without a care how it will affect 
traffic, the way we dump our waste on any available spot, 
the way we carry on our business on the streets, the way we 
piss and defecate without shame in any open place, the way 
we crash into railing and lamp post and just do not bother 
about repairs, all these actions reveal a consciousness failure 
at all tiers of our life (477-478). 
 
While corroborating Chucks, Dede posits that government‘s intervention may be meaningless 
unless the people decide to make it works: 
But the thing we can‘t run away from is the fact that for 
government policies and programs to have any effect, there 
must be a measure of awareness and support from members 
of the public. If government builds public toilets for 
instance, and the people, due to ignorance or just plain 
disregard for others, use them roughly and carelessly so that 
within a mouth, no decent person would go near them, then 
the extent to which government can change and control 
things is very limited (478-479). 
 
Therefore, we can conclude that the bane of Nigeria‘s development is not government alone. The 
people cannot be exonerated. 
179 
 
 
Also, a close scrutiny of the character of Dede reveals a frustrated, disgruntled and 
unpatriotic Nigerian. His failure to secure a white-collar-job after graduation has badly affected his 
sense of evaluation. To him, therefore, nothing is good about Nigeria and Nigerians. He is an 
incurable pessimist who has lost all hope that the nation can be salvaged and redirected towards the 
path of honour. He willingly agrees to be a ‗tool‘ in the hand of Mr. Michael to expose the nation, 
albeit from a subjective perspective. Without knowing Mr. Michael‘s mission in the country, he 
carelessly lets out information even to his chagrin. He portrays the people and government as 
misguided and misdirected groups whose actions and inactions are geared towards a retrogressive 
march to peril. Rather than appreciating the uniqueness of Nigeria vis–a-vis her socio-cultural 
peculiarities, he submits that nothing good can come out of the nation. He sees successive 
governments in Nigeria as comprising of leaders who have resolved to sustain the status quo. He is 
so disenchanted and disillusioned that even Mr. Michael, despite his own prejudice, still considers 
his outburst an exaggeration. He considers any attempt to fix Nigeria an exercise in futility: 
If the operators of the rules are themselves corrupt, if every 
political arrangement has to be a makeshift compromise of 
deal making to allow space for all the diverse and competing 
interests, then nothing is going to change. It is what we 
conveniently call the Nigerian factors (252). 
However, such pessimism does the nation no good. If everybody resigns to fate like Dede, then the 
nation has begun her journey to oblivion. Unemployment, corruption and infrastructural decay are 
all realities facing a developing society. Obviously, Dede is ‗created‘ to espouse the pessimism of 
Arthur-Worrey about Nigeria. As much as he tries to hide under the character of Dede while 
reflecting on the realities of the nation, his pessimistic conclusion on the fate of the nation leaves 
much to be desire. His ‗dangerous‘ analogy in the prologue, that God deliberately created people 
who would not be able to manage the nation‘s abundant resources for her, points to his frustration 
about Nigeria. He may not be able to escape ―some post writing dialogue‖ because 
development-seeking African critics would not find his submission funny. 
     In the same vein, if Dede and his co-travelers concur that corruption is endemic in Nigeria, 
we are quick to argue that the menace of corruption has become a global phenomenon. Although 
Mr. Michael agrees that corrupt practices are evident all over the world, he does not see himself as 
a morally bankrupt and sexually pervert personality! He can count on Dede as a friend indeed but 
keeps his mission in Nigeria a top secret throughout his stay in the country! Who knows if Dede 
180 
 
 
would even appreciate it the more if he knows his genuine mission in Nigeria. Also, he lusts for 
Nigerian ladies, most of the time, at first sight. He desires to befriend Queen and actually has 
sexual intercourse with Nengi despite not been sure where the relationship would lead to. His 
actions do not portray him as a ‗saint‘ who has just arrived from a ‗saner clime‘. 
If Mr. Michael is a dispassionate commentator on Africa in general and Nigeria in 
particular, he should have observed and appreciated the survival instincts in Nigerians. Against all 
odds, Nigerians strive to make ends meet, defying any measure that militates against survival. 
Even Dede is an example of a Nigerian who is determined to eke out a living from the 
unemployment reality in the country. Collins, despite her ‗infancy‘ educational attainment is 
relatively successful in his business dealings. Other Nigerians, one way or the other, struggle to 
earn a living from the hostile environment. Unfortunately, the bias attitude of Europeans on 
Africans, which overtly informs Mr. Michael‘s visit in the first place, beclouds his sense of 
judgment. He fails to commend Nigerians for surviving against all odds. On one occasion when 
Mr. Michael becomes overwhelm with the nation‘s myriads of problems, even the highly critical 
Dede, of all people, commends the survival instinct of the people: 
You see, we‘ve become so accustomed to things not 
working right, to governments never delivering on their 
promises that we‘ve learnt to design our own responses and 
solutions to the problems…African leaders are not 
necessarily representative of their people and its people have 
learned to survive, even prosper in some cases in spite of 
their greedy and grasping political elite (137-138). 
Expectedly, Western critics have turned the other way, refusing to commend or, at least, 
acknowledge the people‘s determination to wriggle out of a crisis situation. Although they have 
little or no knowledge of Africa and her people, Eurocentric critics assert their position on the 
superiority of Europe over Africa, and invariable, Europeans over Africans. Without having a 
credible explanation to justify the so-called preeminence of Europe, they argue that Africa is a land 
which reveled in pestilence, disease and plaque, conditions that are uncomfortable for decent 
human habitation. They see African leaders as ―intellectual Lilliputians‖ with little or no 
administrative acumen to redress the social maladies. Foreign media are quick to depict the horror 
in Africa. The ―dark continent‖ is often the subject of discussion on British Broadcasting 
Corporation and Cable News Network! Without identifying any natural defect in the physiological 
make up of Africans, they conclude that Africa is peopled by inferior beings that are sexually 
181 
 
 
perverse, unintelligent, heathen, primitive, savage and barbaric. According to Robert Miles 
(1989), 
Africa was represented as exhibiting a potent sexuality. 
African women were considered to be especially desirous of 
sexual intercourse while African men were thought to 
possess an unusually large penis and to be particularly virile 
and lusty (27). 
 
In actual fact, Mr. Michael originally comes to Nigeria to gather enough data to buttress the West‘s 
claim to superiority over others. However, African critics have since resolved to rebuff these racist 
remarks in their entirely. While Peter Kanyandago (2003:35) traces the foundation of Eurocentric 
postulation to the era of slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism, Chiedozie Okoro (2003:25) 
submits that only the deconstruction of Eurocentric sophistry can guarantee ―rapid overcoming of 
most of the conflicts that bestride the globe‖. Achebe (1997:120) unashamedly challenges 
Eurocentric racist conclusion on Africa, wondering why Africa had to be civilized at all cost, if the 
land is perilous and unfit for decent co-existence. Therefore, Western postulation on Africa cannot 
be taken as the ‗gospel‘ truth. Most of the time, this position is grossly biased and unsubstantiated. 
In the same vein, sustained investigations of the continent could convince a discerning 
mind that a semblance of hope exists in Africa, despite the endemic corruption and infrastructural 
decadence everywhere. Rather than ‗arm chair‘ criticism, an empirical survey would reveal the 
good in Africa. Mr. Michael becomes a ‗changed‘ man because his encounter and conversation 
with both Dede and William have clearly altered his ‗jaundiced‘ perspective about Nigeria and her 
people. He is now convinced of the fallibility of his people who merely write half-truth or outright 
falsehood about Africa. His task now is to correct this unsubstantiated perspective with his 
writings: 
He intends to devote his article to more than a mere 
outsiders‘ usual patronizing assessment of Africa‘s 
difficulties and struggle. He must look under the surface and 
try to fathom, to explain, to educate, to generate 
empathy…It occurs to him that un-informed observations 
made from a distance have been the bane of reporting Africa 
and the Third world. He intends to be part of the process of 
reversing that ignorant and arrogant trend (178 -235). 
 
Thus, henceforth, he would learn never to be ―judgmental‖ especially when he discovers that some 
of the presumptions and stereotypes, which inform his thinking, lack validity and cannot pass 
182 
 
 
empirical test. He can now go back to England with a superior knowledge of Africa, unlike his 
counterparts in Europe who still delude themselves claiming they know Africa:  
Michael feels extremely privileged to be exposed to these 
precious insights into the complex overtones of the African 
social system. He will not be able to avoid feeling a little bit 
superior when he returns home with this valuable body of 
knowledge to challenge the ignorant perceptions of his 
countrymen about the African way of life (440). 
 
Perhaps with more sojourners like Mr. Michael coming to Africa, the continent would have been 
saved from misleading and ill-informed interpretations of Africa‘s socio-cultural milieu. 
 We are not unmindful of the unfortunate military interventions which have dominated the 
political space in Nigeria. Before the present democratic experiment in 1999, Nigeria has had to 
grapple with about twenty nine years of military rule. This long military incursion has negative 
consequences for national development and democratic maturation. The regimented professional 
training of the military is at variance with the liberty associated with democratic dispensation. In 
no time, military fiat, oppression, brutality, centralization of power and resources, press 
censorship, mal-administration and violation of human rights become part and parcel of our 
national life. When Mr. Michael confronts Dede with the nagging question of how the nation 
would have feared if the military had not truncated democratic rule in 1983, Dede has this to say: 
I believe that key institutions like the courts, the police and 
the houses of assembly would have developed into much 
stronger and more relevant institutions if the military had not 
returned to seize power; and I also believe that we would 
have been a much less aggressive and violent people first 
because we would not have been exposed to the crude and 
physical methods the army used in its attempt to impose 
control…And life did not improve for the generality of the 
people under the military (287). 
 
Even if the civilians have not fared better, continuous mistakes and corrections would have finally 
led to near-perfect, improved democratic governance. As nascent as Nigeria‘s democratic 
experience is, it has produced some landmarks enough to give it a pass mark. With press freedom, 
freedom of speech and association, and respect for human right, Nigeria can only get better. The 
liberalisation of the telecommunication industry has further lessened the burden in information 
dissemination. It has also created employment for a significant percentage of people in Nigeria. 
183 
 
 
The assertion that Nigerians are religious bigots and ethnic chauvinists has been 
discredited with recent realities. Although the zeal and commitment which inform religious and 
ethnic sentiments are unparallel among non-Western nations, we have had occasions when 
religious consideration and ethic jingoism are jettisoned for the adoption of reason in national 
th
discourse. On the 12  June, 2003, Nigerians from all walks of life rose in unison and voted 
massively for the Muslim/Muslim ticket of Moshood Abiola and Babagana Kingibe in a 
presidential election. In 2011, Goodluck Jonathan emerged the president of Nigeria despite been 
from the minority part of the nation! He secured more votes among majority of the ethnic groups in 
Nigeria. These are clear indications that Nigerians are not blind to merit when they see any. 
Meanwhile the sub-regional importance of Nigeria stands her in good stead in the comity 
of nations. The regional power of Nigeria cannot be ignored in sub-Saharan Africa. More than any 
other nations, Nigeria has invested huge human and material resources in troubled spots in Africa 
in her bid to promote regional harmony. Nigeria‘s diplomatic role in apartheid South Africa, her 
military assignments in Liberia, Sudan, Serra Leone, Darfur and Somalia, and her commitment to 
peaceful return to democratic governance in Sao Tome and Principe (after some military 
adventurists seized power) are recent instances which lay credence to her sub-regional 
indispensability. This ‗big brother‘ role is commendable both locally and internationally. It, 
perhaps, may have informed American‘s subtle and cautious diplomatic dealings with Nigeria 
even during her own experiences under the military. 
Although we cannot but notice the unpatriotic activities of several Nigerians, either rich or 
poor, either the ruler or the ruled, we should be objective enough to appreciate the sacrifice and 
commitment of people who have imparted positively into the development of the nation. History is 
replete with the conscientious disposition of Nigerian leaders who fought for independence from 
the British. Although they suffered deprivation and stigmatization, they stood their ground until 
Nigeria became a sovereign nation. Even after independence, some leaders have contributed to 
national development in no small measure. This selfless contribution should be celebrated, instead 
of dwelling too much on the atrocities of the villain, because the feelings of angst do not translate 
to development for the nation. It may even amount to ‗defeatist‘ politicking. However, such 
accounts should not merely be an avenue for self glorification. Adeoti (2003:8) has warned 
Nigerians to be wary of writings which tend towards self-glorification. In his opinion, the genre of 
biography and auto biography has provided some ill-fated Nigerian leaders an ample opportunity 
184 
 
 
to glorify their role in government, having been ―goaded by the quest for acclaim and 
immortality‖.  Therefore unlike Mowah‘s Tamund who strive to rewrite his own role in 
government in a biography, Dede seeks for Nigerian heroes who deserve accolade for their selfless 
contribution to national life: 
I think of the great people Nigeria has produced, not those 
who are manufactured into relevance by praise singers and 
newspaper reports merely because they have been able to 
smuggle themselves into positions of political power or 
because they possess large fortune of indeterminate source, 
but true achievers, those who by dint of individual effort and 
extraordinary ability in their chosen fields, along with 
strength of character and force of personal conviction, have 
raised the profile of the country and challenged the status 
quo (292). 
Justifying the reason for the shifting of his thematic preoccupation to accommodate heroes and 
heroines whose activities have positively imparted on us, Osofisan (2011) posits that readers 
should no longer be bored with uncritical reflection on corruption, criminality, deception, and so 
on. Instead, the heroes of our nationhood should be the subject of our recent discourse as they 
begin a journey towards immortalization: 
So I thought that one of the things we probably should do is 
to try and begin to provide an image of the positive things of 
our lives, to begin to focus on the exemplary leaders rather 
than on traitors, on visionaries rather the looters. We need to 
point out that, just as we have these ―opposite people‖…so 
we also have truly positive ones (23). 
 
Thus, true heroes and heroines should inform our critical endeavour, in line with Osofisan‘s 
postulation.  
It is a truism that Nigeria is bedeviled with problems of dangerous dimension. Nonetheless, 
Nigerians are generally fun-loving and enjoyment-seeking people. They visit club houses, musical 
shows and few recreational facilities in the country like the bar beach, motherland, film houses and 
parties. In the same vein, Nigerians are highly accommodating. Dede becomes accustomed to Mr. 
Michael without much ado despite being from different backgrounds. His family members warmly 
receive Mr. Michael, offering to ‗spoil‘ him with the little they have. Chuks volunteers to take Mr. 
Michael and Dede to a friend in Benin-City so as to enable the former to have knowledge of 
another city. The trio is warmly received by Collins who has not had the opportunity of meeting 
185 
 
 
them before! Yet he offers them accommodation, food and a lavish drinking-spree at the city‘s 
Hearts Hotel and Nightclub Annex. When Mr. Michael is suddenly inflicted by a bout of malaria, 
Collins takes him to the hospital where he is properly examined and taken care of. As Mr. Michael 
is put on a flight back to Lagos, even Ude regrets his inability to host the group the next day. Such 
is African hospitality that is unrivaled in other climes. Who knows if Mr. Michael would be able to 
do the same if the situation is reversed? 
Fola Arthur-Worrey‘s The Diaries of Mr. Michael, no doubt, makes a statement about 
Nigeria and her inability to rise above board in the comity of nations. It presents a vivid account of 
the filth in Nigeria‘s socio-political system. It x-rays the nation‘s realities and concludes that 
Nigeria‘s myriad of problems are occasioned by plethora of bad leaders, many of whom lack the 
requisite administrative acumen and intellectual wherewithal to lead the nation on a progressive 
march towards the desired development. It presents Nigerians as a group of people who have 
resigned to fate and are barely interested in having their lion share of the proverbial national cake. 
However, as captivating and thought-provoking as the novel is, its pessimistic disposition is 
inimical to genuine and concerted resolution to alter the perfidy and mal-administration that have 
become the bane of the nation‘s socio-political development. A discerning mind can only wonder 
how the novelist‘s exposé on Nigeria, without a corresponding commentary on the positive 
inclinations of some Nigerians, no matter how little, can assist to redress the malady he eloquently 
reveals. In the same vein, the task of redirecting the nation back on track for progressive economic 
and socio-political rebirth cannot be left for the leaders alone. Here, the active connivance and 
cooperation of the entire citizenry are imperative. Unfortunately, Arthur-Worrey heaps the blame 
of the nation‘s woes on the leaders alone. Although the leaders are expected to lead by example in 
the guest for development, the significant role of the people in national rejuvenation cannot be 
over-emphasized. The fact that successive regimes in Nigeria have not got it right in the task of 
fixing the nation is enough testimony to buttresses the conclusion that all hands must be on deck if 
the nation is to be salvaged from her self-inflicted retrogressive tendencies. Therefore the task 
expected of our writers in this era is not to only document the catalogue of woes which are 
undoubtedly evident in Nigeria and other developing nations. Thus, Arthur-Worrey‘s The Diaries 
of Mr. Michael does not come to mind as a text strategically designed to posit a way out of the 
doldrums. Such pessimism is antithetical to development. 
  
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CHAPTER 5 
5.0 Postmodern Aesthetics in Selected Biyi Bandele-Thomas’ Novels 
5.1 Biyi Bandele-Thomas: A Brief Biodata 
Born in Kafanchan, northern part of Nigeria in 1967 to Yoruba parents, Biyi Bandele- 
Thomas had his early education and upbringing in the north. He later attended Obafemi Awolowo 
University Ile-Ife where he studied Drama between 1987 and 1990. He has since relocated to 
London. 
A multi-talented playwright, novelist, poet, short-story writer and theatre director, 
Bandele-Thomas won the British Council Lagos Award and International Student Playscript 
Competition with Waiting for Others and Rain respectively in 1989. He also won the Best Nero 
Play Award at London New Play Festival with Two Horsemen in 1994. He has written and 
produced works like Marching for Fausa (1993), Resurrection (1994), and Death Catches the 
Hunter (1995). Apart from writing several plays for radio and television, he has also adapted 
Achebe‘s Things Fall Apart and Aphra Behn‘s Oronooko for the stage in Leeds and London in the 
year 1997 and 1999 respectively. Besides, he is the author of novels such as The Man who came in 
from the Back of Beyond (1991), The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams (1991), The 
Street (1991) and Burma Boy (2007).  
Biyi Bandele-Thomas has worked at several theatre organisations in London, particularly 
Royal Court Theatre and Royal Shakespeare‘s Company. He was the Arts Council Resident 
Dramatist at Talawa Theatre Company, London, between 1993 and 1994; Writer-in- Resident at 
Royal National Theatre in 1995; Judith Wilson Fellow at Churchill College, University of 
Cambridge between 2000 and 2001; Royal Literary Fellow, London College of Printing between 
2001 and 2002; and Resident Playwright at Bush Theatre between 2002 and 2003.  
Biyi Bandele-Thomas is still active on the London scene with a promising career which 
endears him to critics. 
5.2 The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond  
In The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond (1991), Biyi Bandele-Thomas presents a 
novel-within-a-novel where characters operate at rather absurd, erratic and supernatural levels to 
depict a nation bedeviled with escalating banality, corruption, violence and psychological 
dislocation. In tandem with the surrealist tradition, the text underscores the disillusionment 
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occasioned by dashed hope in post independent Nigerian society. It employs several metaphors to 
drive home its point on the tragic consequence of actions and events in the society. The kernel of 
its argument is premised on the assumption that Nigeria is a complex and hostile nation hence no 
one can ‗navigate‘ through her unscathed. Its strength lies in the experimental technique of 
alternating between two novels, one between Lakemfa and Maude, and that of Bozo. Also the 
disjointed narrative technique is weaved masterfully by the novelist to make a whole. Despite his 
adoption of the stream-of-consciousness technique, Bandele-Thomas carefully presents well 
rounded characters who are allowed to develop fully. 
An eccentric literature teacher, Maude, invites one of his mischievous students, Lakemfa, 
to his apartment. Since Maude has never invited anybody to his flat before, Lakemfa feels 
honoured and privileged to have been singled out. Maude does not bother what the people say 
about him hence he lives a solitary live. Although his intellectual prowess should ordinarily endear 
him to the students and colleagues, his free-thinking philosophical disposition does not stand him 
in good stead in an environment where religious chauvinism has become a way of life. In fact he 
would have lost his job because of his belief but for the intervention of the biology teacher. 
On one of Lakemfa‘s regular visits, Maude reveals the horrible nature of his background to 
him. His grandparents were consumed in the political upheavals of the early sixties. Only his 
mother survived, though she became a social outcast on account of the family misfortune. She had 
to flee Lagos and settle in Jos where she became a prostitute to make ends meet. She lost her 
virginity at the age of thirteen and eventually died of breast cancer! Left with no one and nowhere 
to turn to, Maude abandoned school and took to the street where he did menial jobs to survive. He 
once brewed local gin (ogogoro), worked as a garbage collector, newspaper vendor, fast food 
vendor, ‗shoe shine‘ boy, among others. He wandered about until he was arrested and sent on a 
three-month stint in prison. He later ran to Cotonou when a fellow thief was caught and lynched! 
Luck however smiled on him as a philanthropist rescued him on his hospital bed and offered him a 
job. His fortune had changed for good. Undaunted, Maude was determined to be educated. He sat 
for GCE A level in history, literature and economics and passed in flying colours. He enrolled and 
got a degree in Drama from the University of London as an external student. After the one-year 
mandatory national service, he secured appointment as a teacher. 
Besides the story of Maude, the story of Bozo is a metaphor for the tragedy and banality 
that are prevalent in contemporary Nigerian society. Bozo had the misfortune of a rather difficult 
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birth. After a prolonged labour, a caesarian was performed on his mother, Mrs. Abednego. She 
also underwent a hysterectomy which foreclosed further child-birth. This enraged Mr. Abednego 
who, henceforth, could no longer have sexual intercourse with his wife! Bozo became ‗guilty‘ of 
her mother‘s situation and his father despised him intensely, despite the fact that Mrs. Abednego 
enjoined him severally to either marry another wife or visit brothels to meet prostitutes! On an 
occasion with his sister, Moyo, Bozo complaints about the estranged disposition of his father 
towards him: 
So he does hate me, Bozo thought bitterly. So he hates me so 
much because I made him impotent. Me, make somebody, 
impotent? That‘s crazy; I don‘t have a magic wand! I didn‘t 
make anybody impotent. All I know is somebody‘s impotent 
and he can‘t reconcile himself with reality and he‘s making 
me the scapegoat. He‘s blaming me for something that 
happened before I was born. And now he wants to kill me. 
Now he wants me dead. Oh, God, wherever you are, I am 
tired of being a fall-guy (35).  
[ 
Mrs. Abednego assumed the responsibility of father and mother as Bozo followed her to church. 
Bozo had unrestrained access to several metaphysical books, ironically, courtesy of his 
mother. This helped to nurture his interest in philosophy hence in no time, he began to question 
religious orthodoxy, particular Christianity, to the consternation of his mother who was a catholic. 
His inquisitive nature led him to the point of searching for the inconsistencies in the bible. He later 
renounced his faith in Christianity in absolute defiance to his mother‘s position. When he tried to 
impress his new-found faith in the school, he was expelled in the last year! The authority saw an 
absurdity in his comparison of Mithras, the Persian god of light, with Jesus Christ. Such a 
character cannot be tolerated. 
Meanwhile Mr. Abednego had been having an incestuous affair with his daughter, Moyo. 
Unfortunately for them, Mrs. Abednego eavesdropped on their conversation. She became so 
enraged up to the point that she killed both father and daughter. She was sentenced to live asylum. 
Consequent on the horror and loneliness occasioned by the family tragedy, Bozo took to drug. He 
had an ally in Mitchell Socrates who dealt in marijuana. Their relationship blossomed so well that 
he soon became a drug addict. 
As the societal injustice and oppression became unbearable, Bozo began to nurse a 
revolutionary idea of altering the socio-economic decadence in preparation for an egalitarian   
189 
 
 
society. In line with the socialist tradition which forecloses private ownership of means of 
production and service, he yearned for mass action to redress perceived injustice. He was 
distraught by the glaring inequality in the society, wondering how the few acquired so much 
wealth while the poor wallowed in abject poverty.  He despised the corrupt government officials 
and the policemen who mounted road blocks to extort money from motorists. In his ‗ideal‘ state, 
offenders would be severely reprimanded with death penalty to serve as deterrent to others. In 
preparation for the impeding revolution, he worked on a piece of land at Kafanchan where he 
planted marijuana seed. 
Exactly two years after he had left for the countryside, Bozo came back to meet Mitchell. 
Both recruited ten men who assisted in harvesting the ‗herb‘ for onward passage to a drug cartel in 
Lagos. He also recruited four men for the final onslaught towards achieving ―an Alternative 
Society‖. The men agreed to play a part in the revolution though they doubted its workability. 
Under the ages of the movement group, he combed the neighbouring cities of Kano, Kaduna and 
Jos and returned to Kafanchan with fifty under-16 almajirai. With this brain-washed, rag-tag 
‗army‘, Bozo hoped to change the society with articles of war like dane guns, daggers, arrows, 
bows and spears. Mitchells was to help acquire bombs through the assistance of an army sergeant. 
Unfortunately for Bozo, the revolution did not even take off! Policemen raided the ‗hideout‘ while 
he was away and arrested everyone in sight! Mitchell was shot and Maria managed to escape. Bozo 
came back to behold the frustration. The revolution had failed! 
Distressed and highly disillusioned, Bozo took a sizable portion of marijuana. Heavily 
armed with ―a brand new, menacingly shimmering, malevolently mute, forty-five-calibre colt 
automatic‖ rifle loaded with ―150 rounds of ammunition‖, he headed straight for the Nigeria Police 
Force headquarters at Kafanchan. He successfully killed seven police officers including Steven 
Daniel. He effected the release of his detained ‗comrade-in-arms‘ namely Kiss, Banjo Modupe, 
Moses Nkrumah and Odia Irabor. Later on, he committed suicide. 
Although the story of the adventure of Bozo is nothing but fiction, it has a positive impact 
on Lakemfa who decides to turn a new leaf and abandons his thieving escapades with Yau earlier 
fixed for the night at the school poultry. According to him, ―the system is rotten as it is. I don‘t 
want to be part of those who are making it rot‖. Therefore, the import of Maude‘s story is not lost 
on Lakemfa: he has dutifully discharged his duties as a teacher. Lakemfa has become a changed 
personality. Despite Yau‘s objection, he is reformed for good. He is now set to confess his ‗sins‘ 
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no matter the consequence. The transformation of Lakemfa foregrounds the conclusion that 
Maude seeks a man who would belong to his ―world‖ in him hence the unusual invitation. He 
eventually gets one in a transformed Lakemfa.  
The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond is an ‗ambitious‘ novel which underscores 
Bandele-Thomas‘ familiarity with the postcolonial Nigerian socio-political reality where survival 
is of the fittest. It explores the symbol of Maude and Bozo as metaphors to depict the tragic nature 
of contemporary Nigerian society. With corruption, ethnicity, arms peddling, drug addiction, 
violence, armed robbery, prostitution and infrastructural neglect, the society is doomed. This fact 
which defies logical social ordering is however not lost on the novelist. His The Man who came in 
from the Back of Beyond clearly depicts him as a man still conversant with the hostile Nigerian 
environment, in contrast with works of writers who have removed themselves from the reality of 
their nations because of their vantage position as ‗privileged‘ persons outside the neocolonial rots. 
According to Negash (1999:91), ―the writings of Bandele-Thomas are less about exotic syncretism 
and more about the brutalities of exploitative systems‖, unlike that of writers ―who have 
subjectively separated themselves from national cultural resistance. Maude‘s unpleasant 
background is primarily occasioned by the post-independent western region crisis of the ‗wetie‘ 
era in Nigeria. This leads to the total annihilation of his immediate family and culminates in his 
near-tragic story. Despite the life-line offers by a certain hypocritical philanthropist, he still 
remains unfulfilled. His inability to ‗wriggle out‘ of his unsatisfactory teaching career is a 
metaphor for the somewhat incapacitation of man to ‗triumph‘ in a hostile environment, in line 
with Nietszchean existentialist philosophy. On his part, Bozo‘s erratic father, who does not hide 
his disgust at the sight of his ―sonofabitch‖ son, cannot but produce a defiant of a son. The family 
tragedy, after Mr. Abednego‘s incestuous relationship with his daughter is discovered, further 
accentuates a society where cosmic harmony has taken flight. Also, the failure of Bozo to attain 
utopia is a stark reality which faces a revolution-seeking personality who intends to change a 
system with the employment of crude means. Finally the treacherous connivance of even Mitchell 
Socrates to dupe him of his entire ill-gotten wealth makes a loud statement on the games of deceit 
and arm-twisting that pervade the system. If his trusted ‗comrade in arms‘ can betray him, the 
world is indeed hopeless. 
Besides the theme of unprecedented corruption, narrative technique employs in The Man 
who came in from the Back of Beyond, more importantly, underscores its pride of place as a 
191 
 
 
quintessential postmodern text extraordinaire. Aliu (2000:27) attests to this position when he 
submits that though the novel can be read as a social document, yet narrative technique grounds it 
in the mainstream of African prose fiction tradition. In line with the Barthean deconstructionist 
tradition which overtly sets out to undermine the preeminent status of the author in 
meaning-formation, Bandele-Thomas‘s The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond promotes 
textual structural disharmony in a manner prefers in postmodern literature. The disjointed and 
diverse narrations are presented with recourse to fragmented narrative centres with characters like 
Maude, Lakemfa, Yau, Mitchell and Bozo adopting the position of narrators at one time or the 
other. This disconnected narrations are presented with what Aliu (2000:27) aptly tags ―a multi 
voice consciousness‖ and multi various points of view. It shifts from the omniscient first person 
narrative point of view, to the third person narrative point of view, all in a bid to present diverse 
fictional worlds. The following examples of diverse narrative centres would suffice to present the 
strange character of Maude: 
He walked like a wraith like a man in a nightmare…He was 
a man of very small stature, standing like the cob of a 
corn…He despised being greeted and would cock his 
unshapely head violently towards the north when attacked 
with greeting from the south (1-2).  
Swiftly, the narration shifts from the third person singular to the first:  
I cannot say when or why he first invited me to his flat at the 
staff quarters, but I do remember that I was quite flattered, 
all the more so because I know that Early man had never 
invited anybody or student, male or female, to his flat before 
(6). 
Although this fragmented technique evidently problematises the narrations in the text, its sense of 
plural disorder further justifies its place as an important addition to the postmodern textual 
tradition. It foregrounds Douglas Hofstadter‘s (1980) treatise on ―diegesis‖ where events are 
submerged in other events to present a complicated disjointed narration where each ―hypo‖ or 
narrative level is regularly subordinated with others to form Aliu‘s ―cluster of diegesis‖. Aliu 
(2000) cannot agree less: 
These passages constitute an evidence of the problematised 
angle of narration which is the hallmark of The Man who 
came in from the Back of Beyond. Apart for the multiplicity 
192 
 
 
of narrative angles in the text, there is equally a pluralisation 
of fictional worlds (28). 
 
The ―pluralisation of fictional worlds‖ with ―diegesis‖ is a postmodern experimental 
technique to drive home the futility of order in Bandele-Thomas‘ The Man who came in from the 
Back of Beyond. A simple straight-forward narration, involving the adventures of school students 
and their erratic tutor, is immediately submerged in another narration which centres on the ill-fated 
background of Maude. In no time Maude leads Lakemfa through the orgy of violence that 
characterised his childhood: 
In legal and societal terms I was a bastard. A philosopher, of 
course would dispute that with you. I never knew my father 
and neither, I think, did my mother know who he was. You 
see, she was a prostitute…I used to be quiet ashamed of my 
mother, of her profession, but later I came to realize that I 
shouldn‘t be ashamed. She was my mother (11).  
Unfortunately, the death of his mother ‗sends‘ him to the street where he does menial job until an 
encounter with a philanthropist on his hospital bed changes his fortune for good. Lakemfa is so 
awestruck by Maude‘s stranger-than-life story that he begins to view him differently since then. 
Who would not be surprised how a reasonable man can leave a lucrative job in Lagos for a 
‗thankless‘ teaching job in Kafanchan. Lakemfa wonders: 
They story of your life reads like a book, sir (20). 
Futher ―diegesis‖ continues the structural disharmony in the text. In a deftly superimposed 
epistolary narrative centre, Maude presents a manuscript containing the story of Bozo as told by 
his girl friend, Maria. It is entitled The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond. It presents the 
passionate discontentment of a railway worker, Mr. Abednego, with his estranged wife. As he 
finds solace in an incestuous affair with his daughter, the family is engulfed in a devastating crisis 
which eventually has a tragic consequence. Left alone, Bozo takes to drug and begins to nurse a 
bizarre revolutionary idea of altering the Nigeria system. Unfortunately the intended revolution 
does not take off as he is deceived and duped by his comrades. Enraged and frustrated, he goes 
haywire, killing several policemen before committing suicide. The futility of man to overcome the 
system has been stressed.  
More importantly, The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond makes its mark through 
its seemingly dislocated structural technique, a postmodern feature which accentuates its morbid 
complexity and its inherent nuance of deliberate obfuscation of rational interpretations. As no 
193 
 
 
―correct reading‖ is possible, diverse interpretations are permitted, although these can be derived 
only from sustained attention to multi-various media of meanings, and not from a straight forward 
linear plot structure. This informs Aliu‘s (2000) conclusion that the text  
makes its artistic commands by its dislocated, illogical and 
chaotic structural outlay. It is a locus of complex motifs and 
meanings; and to construct a satisfactory interpretation of it, 
the reader must follow the complex web of cross-references 
and linguistic equivalences and repetition which function 
independently of, or in addition to, the codes of casuality and 
sequence (32). 
Besides the fragmented plot structure, the text ends on a note which leaves no one in doubt about 
the ‗fictionality‘ of its open-ended conclusion. Evidently, this open-ended narration forecloses the 
trope of denouement, as the conflicts surrounding the personalities of Maude, Lakemfa, Maria, 
Mitchel and other are left unresolved. As Maude interferes in the course of Lakemfa‘s positive 
transformation, after listening and reading the stories of Maude and Bozo respectively, Lakemfa is 
‗scandalised‘ to hear that the two stories are nothing but only figment of Maude‘s imagination. 
Thus, Lakemfa has been fooled to have been taken in by the stories of Maude and Bozo. Maude is 
emphatic about the ‗fictionality‘ of the manuscript entitled The Man who came in from the Back of 
Beyond: 
What I‘m trying to tell you, Lakemfa is that all that story I 
told you today, all that script you read, was fiction. There is 
no iota of truth, no soupcon of reality in it all. It was all a 
figment of the imagination. That manuscript was actually 
the remains of a proposed novel by my kid brother (135). 
 
Commenting on the text, Gikandi (2003:69) attests to the ‗fictionality‘ of Maude and Bozo‘s story 
by asserting that in Bandele-Thomas‘ The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond, ―life is so 
much embedded in fiction and where truth is sometimes blurred by the illusions that surround it‖. 
Afterall, no one, not even Lakemfa, is immuned from ―aprilpholologism‖. 
The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond is a caustic satire of Nigeria‘s socio- 
political realities which underscores the novelist consciousness of his Nigerian root. Its celebration 
of escalating banality, moral laxity, political violence, family disharmony, psychological 
dislocation, drug peddling and addiction, armed robbery and prostitution however casts it in bad 
light from writings which are expected to promote social harmony, moral rectitude, dignity of 
labour, heroic deed, unalloyed patriotism, and selfless service to mankind. While Lakemfa, Yau 
194 
 
 
and fellow students derive satisfaction in mocking their literature in English teacher, the school 
management looks the other way simply because Maude‘s philosophical disposition is considered 
inimical to students‘ religious development. In fact, he almost loses his job on account of what the 
scripture master refers to as his atheist posture, but for the timely intervention of the biology tutor. 
Therefore if no one enjoys his company, he is justified for not inviting anyone, student or teacher 
to his house. When he eventually encourages Lakemfa to visit him regularly, the boy begins to 
understand his behaviour up to the point that he can no longer ‗connive‘ with his classmates to 
deride him: 
I became subdued whenever he was in the class. I could no 
longer join my mates in making fun of the wiry, mysterious 
master. I could no longer guffaw or snigger even when 
someone wanted to make him the butt of the latest untested 
practical joke (9). 
Similarly, when the understanding of Maude‘s stories dawn on him. He is totally transformed from 
his thieving misadventure to a ‗saint‘ who even tries to persuade Yau to get reformed else he 
would report him to the authority: 
I‘m through with all that, that‘s why…I‘m through with 
―tapping‖ books from the library, ―raiding‖ the school farm, 
―lifting‖ ceiling fans from the classroom for sale in the 
town…I‘m through with it all. I want to be different, Yau…I 
want to be part of those who want to cleanse it and if I want 
to cleanse it I must be clean myself (138). 
Thus if Maude is considered an outcast, it is because none of his ‗detractors‘ belong to his ‗world‘ 
nor did he share their ideals. Lakemfa enters his ‗world‘ and comes out a refined personality. 
Also, Bandele-Thomas‘ sense of pessimism is evident in The Man who came in from the 
Back of Beyond. Like no one else, the two major protagonists in his story- within-a-story, Maude 
and Bozo, operate in a predominantly hostile environment where survival is of the fittest. Maude 
has the unenviable experience of losing both parents early in life to assassination and cancer. As 
the society presents itself without a modicum of affection for his less-privileged status, he has to 
engage in nefarious activities to survive. His deus ex machina remains the encounter with the 
hypocritical philanthropist. In the same vein, the society has no plan for Bozo or his likes who 
takes to the street early in life. His resolve to alter the system only leads him to hobnob with social 
miscreants who let him down in the end. As the system conquers him, the futility of changing a 
hostile society is foregrounded. This conclusion has the unfortunate implication of weakening the 
195 
 
 
resolve of development-conscious Nigerians to alter a retrogressive inclination in the society. No 
wonder Yau denounces Lakemfa‘s newly found ‗holier-than-thou‘ attitude because no one would 
appreciate it: 
Look, lakemf, I don‘t know what sort of metamorphosis 
you‘ve undergone. And I don‘t know how serious you really 
are. But if you‘re as serious as I think you are, then I must 
tell you, you‘ve got a rough, rough road to travel. And a 
lonely one too. A very, very lonely one. Man Lakemf. You 
want to go the way of Fela? Gani? You want to go the way of 
Rodney? It‘s a lonely one, man. It‘s the most thankless of all 
thankless jobs (139). 
This conclusion from a youth who is perceived to be member of future generation is a sad 
commentary for the nation‘s developmental drive. The youth should be enjoined to engage in 
patriotic venture at all time. 
Ironically, a nation which revels in oppression and inequality sees no inconsistency in 
sustaining religious chauvinism! As religious sentiments soar, zero tolerance for diverse religious 
persuasion comes to the fore. The scripture master, who is also the school chaplain, detests 
Maude‘s anti-Christian affiliation, particularly his regular contribution of articles to ―an 
intellectual, mystic journal supported entirely by atheistically inclined members of the academic 
community‖. He sees no contradiction in the biblical injunction which promotes good 
neighbourliness on one hand, and his hatred for Maude on the other. He finds Maude‘s personality 
unworthy and passionately detests this ‗devil‘ incarnate. He regularly sends petition to the 
authority to have this aberrant teacher transferred. This is the height of religious intolerance 
especially in an academic environmental where dissentient opinions should be espoused. Besides 
Maude, Bozo is expelled from Kagoro Secondary School for likening Jesus Christ to Mithras, the 
Persian god of light whose birthday coincides with the Christians‘ annual celebration of the birth 
th
of Jesus Christ on the 25  of December! Other instance of contradiction in the text is that of Mrs. 
Abednego who professes to be a staunch catholic but gives metaphysical books to her son Bozo. 
No wonder she gives no damn about committing murder when she discovers the incestuous affair 
between her husband and daughter. 
Meanwhile on reading the story of Maude, a discerning African mind begins to wonder 
what has become of the communal living tradition in African society. Having lost his father and 
mother to the post-independent Western region crisis and the terminal illness of cancer 
196 
 
 
respectively, he begins his journey through the turbulent ‗sea‘ of Nigerian society unaided.  He 
―drifted with the wind‖, moving from Jos to Ibadan, Aba to Port Harcourt, Cote-d‘ivoire to Ghana, 
Lagos to Cotonou. On his wandering escapades, he does so many menial jobs and even joins a 
gang which specialises in pick-pocketing until fortune smiles on him on his hospital bed. 
However, we cannot but ask what has become of the sense of communality in African society. If 
Maude‘s mother can be abandoned to her fate by other family members on account of the death of 
her husband, it is inconceivable that such abandonment of a relative who is perceived to have ―the 
curse of Jonah‖ is possible in Africa. It is unAfrican and may only be possible in an individualistic 
Euro-American society, after all her fate cannot be adduced to any divine arrangement. She is only 
a victim of socio-political and economic imbalances in a capitalist social ordering.  
The so-called magnanimity of the philanthropist who ‗rescue‘ Maude from his hospital bed 
can also be called to question. He may not have assisted Maude and other underprivileged people 
out of altruistic intention after all. In actual fact, the economic dependency of these people might 
have been occasioned by the illicit actions and corrupt tendencies of the privileged members of the 
society, a class which the philanthropist belongs to. Evidence has it that such gesture may have 
been embarked upon merely to score cheap political goal and convince the electorates to vote for 
him. No wonder he ensures that the annual ‗ritual‘ of coming with gifts for the underprivileged and 
the sick at Christmas, is well reported by the media, like the biblical Pharisees. Even Maude is not 
impressed: 
Two days before I was due to be discharged from the 
hospital, a big shot, one of those self-styled philanthropist 
who own companies from Bodija to Fagge, came with the 
usual retinue of newsmen, to the hospital to wish the patients 
a happy keresimesi…He went from bed to miserable bed 
handing out gifts and making quotable quotes while the 
newsmen clicked away, danburubanka, like nobody‘s 
business and followed him with their notebooks, tape 
recorders and cine-cameras (37). 
This media coverage is enough to show that this philanthropist has ulterior motive behind his 
spendthrift, father-Christmas disposition. 
Similarly, Maude is able to have his way with the philanthropist because of the dearth of 
investigative journalism in Nigeria. He gets more than others form the philanthropist because he 
lies conveniently. He claims to possess a first class degree in French, a family and a teaching job in 
197 
 
 
Port Novo. He deceives everybody into believing that he has lost all he had, including his 
certificate, in the accident. Ironically, the journalists around are not committed to investigating the 
authenticity of Maude‘s claim. They are merely interested in the sensationalism of their stories, 
one of which read ―Accident Victim bailed out by Popular Philanthropist‖. Such ‗unprofessional 
conduct‘ by the supposed watchdog of the society is quite unbecoming. They have turned 
themselves to sycophants and bootlickers unworthy of occupying the ―fourth estate of the realm‖. 
No wonder some of them are now at the beck and call of political office holders. 
The policemen who pay the supreme price after Mitchell and Bozo‘s houses are raided 
might have deserved their fate. It is unthinkable that after making such discoveries and having 
everyone on sight arrested, the premises are not cordon off! Surprisingly, the policemen merely 
raid the house in search of marijuana weeds which they know so well that Mitchell sells to people! 
In fact, the raid might have been occasioned by Mitchell‘s non-payment of the usual protection fee. 
Although they discover the fifty almajiras undergoing training in guerrilla warfare, yet they care 
no hoot if those that escape unleash a reprisal attack on them, especially as Mitchell is shot but not 
killed. It is therefore a matter of time before Bozo kills any policemen in sight and commits 
suicide. They have paid dearly for their ‗unprofessionalism‘. 
The Man who came in from the Back of Beyond is unarguable, a masterfully crafted story 
told by a novelist whose affinity with Nigeria society is doubtless. It depicts Nigeria as a failed 
nation, and Nigerians as disillusioned, because the nation offers no good for her people. 
Corruption and moral laxity pervade all strata of the nation. The futility in the quest for order in 
such society is underscored by the failure of her people to achieve utopia, no matter their 
doggedness. In order to drive home its point, it employs disjointed episodic narrative techniques to 
present diverse fictional worlds in sharp contrast to the earlier tradition in Nigerian novels which 
places emphasize on unity of plot. Although its pessimistic fervour and artistic aberration may not 
be in tandem with the philosophy of development-seeking African scholars, Negash (1999) 
submits that its perceived pessimism and penchant to foreclose the tradition sustained in earlier 
novels underscore its radical inclination: 
This expression of disillusionment should not be interpreted 
as cynical and apolitical but rather as radical, critical and 
displaced articulation. Paralleling these criticisms are 
utopian movements such as the Islamic Maitatsine rebellion 
in Kano, northern Nigeria. Bozo the anarchist uses the same 
198 
 
 
soldiers, students of Islam (almajirai) for his ill-fated 
insurrection. In spite of the utopian elements underlying 
these insurrections, these movements are dystopian because 
they originate from present fears and anxieties projected into 
the future (88). 
 
Its vision of contemporary Nigerian society bedeviled with corruption and disorder is indisputable. 
It, therefore, makes a strong case as a text written in the emerging postmodern literary tradition. 
5.3 The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams 
Apparently clad in the foremost postmodern tradition, Bandele-Thomas‘ The Sympathetic 
Undertaker and Other Dreams (1991) exhibits an undisguised but morbid rhetoric to present a 
strange world peopled by characters whose deeds are enmeshed in illogicality, contradiction and 
absurdity. Depicting the futility of mankind to exhort a corrective influence on a deranged society, 
the text makes an eloquent statement on the overwhelming instrumentality of the state to coerce 
the people into obedience in a manner which underlies her Gestapo nature. Echoing the realities of 
the economic and socio-political maladies of post-independent Nigerian society, it masterfully 
displays several images of violence to drive home the point that Nigerian society is a chaotic one 
devoid of order and institutional control mechanism. Employing disjointed episodic narrative 
technique as its adopted style, it tasks the readers‘ sense of organisation to link diverse narratives 
told from multi-layered narrative centres together to form an organic whole. 
The themes of violence, corruption and brutality pervade all strata of the society, both real 
and imaginary in the text. From events at St Peter‘s High School (where Rayo ensures that both 
Toshiba and the school principal regret their bullying and anti-people antics), through the stories of 
Baba Ayafa and the killing of Teejay by a trigger-happy soldier, to the imaginary ―ultra‖ corrupt 
president of Zowabia (whose Machiavellian disposition tallies with that of some African 
dictators), no one is left in doubt about the chaos and violence in modern Nigerian society. The 
graphic description of Oshodi and other slums underscores a deranged Nigerian system which 
defies all known logic in the country. Also, the survivalist instinct of Tere, who takes to 
prostitution to pay her way through the university, is a testimony to the ‗institutionalisation‘ of 
violence in the nation, a development which casts aspersion on the so-called reformative 
inclinations of the military in government. Through diverse narrative angles, military regime and 
its penchant for retrogressive governance, brutality and mis-directed politicking are laid bare. 
199 
 
 
Like Maude in The Man who came in from the Back Of Beyond, Rayo is a fire-brand 
radically-inclined youth. He is humane, determined, focused and very brilliant. He detests 
injustice and oppression though he regularly lands himself in trouble in a society where inequality 
has assumed a dangerous dimension. Little wonder his behavior runs contrary to that of others. 
Kayo attests to his ―strange‖ behavior among his peers: 
Rayo had always been a strange one. Ever since we were 
kids he had gone around with this macabre streak in him. He 
was a weird one, that Rayo. Always wanting to be a hero (5). 
 
Although his ―strange‖ attitude sets him apart from other students, his idealistic and non- 
conformist posture do not stand him in good stead in the face of the authority. Only a hardworking 
professional like Dr. Dakwa notices that potential in him when he is to be circumcised at the age of 
seven: 
I beg your pardon…did you say prepuce…A Thesaurus? 
You use a Thesaurus? Excuse, madam, but your son here is a 
wonder. How old is he?...Worried, madam? You shouldn‘t 
be worried. This gentleman here is a genius. Hold your head 
high in pride (15). 
 
A genius that he is, he secures double promotion at the high school level.  
Meanwhile Rayo is not left in doubt that injustice must be confronted in clear terms. Even 
at the risk of sacrificing personal comfort, he does not hide where his allegiance is: always on the 
side of the oppressed and downtrodden. When senior Toshiba turns to a monster that junior 
students dare not disobey, he connives with four other colleagues to have him drugged and 
humiliated up to the point that Toshiba has to be sent to another school by his parents! Also when 
the injustice meted out to Baba Ayafa comes to his attention, he gets his own pound of flesh from 
the recalcitrant school principal and has Baba Ayafa retired with full benefit. More importantly, 
his ideological lining leads to his expulsion from University of Ife when he leads a violent 
students‘ demonstration. He is an altruistic personality who cannot stand oppression and injustice. 
This is in sharp contrast to the selfish and self-centered professor Olentelaafaa, a former university 
teacher who now serves, defends and supports the oppressive military regime where he is an 
adviser. The level of debasement which now engulfed even the ivory tower can better be imagined. 
With the combination of realism and satire, The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other 
Dreams documents the horror that is associated with military rule in Nigeria. While the masses 
wallow in abject poverty, the rich thrive in ill-gotten wealth which they flaunt with reckless 
200 
 
 
abandon! In a country where military leaders visit ―Milan to have a toothache examined‖, the 
General hospital in Kafanchan is always overcrowded and ill-equipped to meet the medical needs 
of the citizens from neighbouring villages of Tudun-Shanu, Kagoro, Ungwar-Rimi and 
Zango-Kataf. Medical services used to be free but now, patients have to pay through their noses for 
hospital cards and prescriptions, ―from headache pills to transfusion drips‖. The hospital is a 
pitiable sight where people must book in advance to enjoy ‗prompt‘ medical services: 
The queues, especially in the injection rooms, often 
stretched out across the length of the hospital itself. The 
overworked nurses and attendants were sometimes so 
ill-disposed, so foul tempered that mere confrontation with 
them often effected instant cures in patients, without the 
benefit of medication (10). 
 
Such is the level of neglect and insensitivity of the nation‘s leaders. 
Several instances of system collapse abound in the novel. At St. Peter‘s High School, 
senior Toshiba has constituted himself into law which must be treated with reverence. Nobody can 
beat Toshiba at his bullying best! Junior students dread him. He regularly collects ‗tithe‘ from 
them and even has the gut to keep a ―carefully updated list of names and collection dates‖. Kayo‘s 
account of the illicit activities of Toshiba is startling: 
He operates a protection racket in the hostel. For a 
percentage of your pocket-money and provisions every 
month you were guaranteed absolute peace and rest of mind 
at school. He would guarantee that no prefect or senior 
student would punish you except if you were foolish enough 
to commit one of the capital offences, namely, making a pass 
at a senior‘s girl, or refusing to step down for a senior in a 
‗love triangle‘ (meaning, in this case, that the girl you were 
both after would rather have gone out with you (85). 
 
Besides extorting money and provisions from the junior students, Toshiba has two junior students 
at his beck and call. While reading his usual sex comics or watching ‗blue film‘, they would stay 
by his side, fanning him to sleep. It takes the giant stride of Rayo to finally cut him to size. The 
school management, under which authority he meted out inhuman treatment to fellow students 
cannot reprimand him if only to deter other senior students who connive with him! 
Apart from Toshiba, the school principal is also a man who revels in inhuman treatment of 
fellow human beings. In a clear case of insensitivity, Baba Ayafa (the school‘s night-soil-man who 
201 
 
 
has worked for over thirty years) continues to work even at over seventy years of age! His abode is 
a rickety, ―wheeless 1955 Bedford bus‖ within the school‘s compound which has the inscription 
―shit money doesn‘t smell‖. It takes the intervention of Rayo to ‗liberate‘ him. Having been greatly 
disturbed at Baba Ayafa‘s plight, Rayo confronts the principal with the demand for flush toilets or, 
at least, pit latrines. Interestingly, the principal frowns at such impudence, wondering how a ‗little 
brat‘ can teach him his job! He therefore whips Rayo without pity. However, he would leave to 
regret his action as a determined Rayo injures him with the broom in the toilet. As flush toilets are 
introduced, Baba Ayafa is retired with full benefit. The principal has to be transferred to another 
school. 
Meanwhile, the military personnel continue to lord it over the nation. To command 
obedience, the military churn out decrees which the people must comply with. Rayo is arrested, 
tortured and expelled from University of Ife for leading a students‘ demonstration where he 
addresses the students on the state of the nation. Nobody dare question the military leaders. Rayo 
has to face the consequence of questioning the status quo! How on earth could he have exposed the 
fact that the president‘s child attends a school in Switzerland where the students attend classes in 
helicopters? What gives him the effrontery to comment on the bribery allegation, of over one 
hundred thousand pounds, leveled against the second-in-command by Rahman, an international 
con-man? Similarly, Teejah is shot by a corporal for having the audacity to question a group of 
soldiers who beat up a station manager on the excuse that he cannot ensure the smooth operation of 
the rail system. In fact, Jeremiah Pategi (later to be known as Sosoman) has to feign madness to 
escape the wrath of rampaging soldiers who chase him all over the town. He escapes through the 
skin of his teeth. 
Ironically, the ivory tower which should provide a ray of hope from the intellectual 
doldrums occasioned by incessant military intervention, does not fare better in the generally lull. 
Experience has it that university egg-heads are quick to abandon their students and researches for a 
place in government. Having achieved their heart desire, they soon join the corrupt bandwagons in 
government. In flagrant disavowal of their hitherto cherished radical inclination, they contribute 
negatively to the deprivation in the system. Majority of them are ready to boot-lick for the man in 
power no matter whose ox is gored. While the libraries face dearth of books and journals, and the 
laboratories dilapidated and ill-equipped, they look the other way and even act as the regime‘s 
mouthpieces! In no time, their megalomaniac attribute comes to the fore. The example of professor 
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Olentelaafaa would suffice. A former professor of philosophy at one of the nation‘s universities, 
professor Olentelaafaa has the penchant to endorse all government polices hence he is appointed 
an adviser in government. Now, he writes all the president‘s speeches among others. He turns 
himself to a bouncer who must fend off critical questions meant for the president at a press 
conference. Having persuaded the reluctant president to answer few questions, he takes up the 
responsibility of determining which other questions the president can answer: 
His Excellency shall not entertain any question pertaining to 
politics at the present moment. As you are all aware, the ban 
on politics has not been lifted yet. Any discussion, therefore, 
bordering on politics would be tantamount to jumping the 
gun. Will security kindly see Mr. Ibidudu to the floor (157). 
 
Also in his determined bid to curry the favour of the president as a loyal and dutiful adviser, he 
takes it upon himself to answer some questions meant for the president. When a BBC World 
Service Correspondent seeks the president‘s comment on the weighty allegation leveled against 
him by barrister Kurchia, professor Olentelaafaa steps in unconvincingly: 
Mr. Kurchia‘s unfortunate and misguided outburst merely, 
goes to show how tolerant and accommodating his 
Excellency is to criticism of whatever gender by his 
subjects. Go to anybody today, I beg of you, stop anybody 
on the street today. They will all bear testimony to the 
chewing-stick brightness of His Excellency‘s teeth…How 
could such a person, such, such…such personification of 
kindness…how could one such as he bear ill will towards 
another person (157- 158). 
Similarly, when a woman reporter asks for the president‘s position on women emancipation, 
professor Olentelaafaa‘s response only shows the cabinet members lust for women of easy virtues. 
To a reporter from Radio Moscow, he counts the reporter lucky to have escaped execution due to 
his ―neo imperialist audacity‖. He therefore calls for the security to ensure his deportation within 
the next twenty four hours! This is sycophancy taken to a dangerous level. On one occasion when 
professor Olentelaafaa takes sycophancy to a ridiculous extent, even the president, whom he is 
ready to defend at all cost, castigates him in a most indecent manner. He is ordered to apologise to 
the assaulted lady: 
Halt, you monkeys, set the lady down at once! I‘m most 
disappointed, Prof. That display was a classic manifestation 
of intellectual senility. You shall write an apology to the 
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lady. In addition, you shall find an exercise book and write 
in it two thousand times the sentence: ―I am intellectually 
senile (159). 
What else can the professor do other than to simulate laughter? 
Besides professor Olentelaafaa, Zowabia has the misfortune of being led by political 
jobbers who are desirous of keeping their offices by not incurring the wrath of the ‗almighty‘ 
president. Discussions at the cabinet meetings are tailored towards greasing the elbow of the 
president. Members try to beat themselves to the president‘s attention and favour. When the 
president expresses his displeasure at Barrister Kurchia‘s declaration on the state of the nation 
while abroad, the cabinet members scramble to be seen as providing the most credible advice to 
him: 
President: All I want is that Kurchia of a lawyer. I want his head-and not 
necessarily on a platter of gold. 
Member Two:  Do you suppose, after all he said against the government, he would 
still have the guts to come back home? 
Member One:  Are you saying that he might just decide to stay put over there? 
Member Three:  I know the way he operates. The man is in love with publicity. I‘m 
sure he would die of disappointment if we didn‘t welcome him at 
the airport with a Black Maria (167).  
When the president insists he only wants him dead, they begin to advance the most suspicion-free 
assassination methods: 
Member One: In espionage we call it extreme prejudice. When we tell an 
agent to treat a subject with extreme prejudice we mean slit 
his throat open.  
Member Two:  Slit his throat indeed!...There are more civilized ways of 
going about it, in case you don‘t know. Modern ways 
too…State of the art. That‘s one reason I love those 
Nigerians. They are always up to date. Can you believe 
they‘re already into parcel bombs? 
Member One:   Let‘s send him a parcel-bomb! 
President Babagee:   Do you think that would be wise? 
Member Three:   What do you mean, your Excellency? 
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President Babagee:   It might look suspicious. 
Member Three: You think so? Not if we planned it well. Rope him up in a 
drug scandal or something. Better still, make out he‘s an 
arms dealers (167). 
Other options which the cabinet members consider include kidnapping. This conversation reveals 
the intellectual ineptitude of the cabinet members who are to serve as presidential advisers! The 
quality of advice expected from these characters is better imagined. None is to be given for 
patriotic, altruistic intention. Perhaps the president is right to have reduced them to mere numbers 
unworthy of any specific portfolio. 
The political elites constitute themselves into cabal which cares less for the generality of 
the people. Having abdicated all sense of responsibility and justice, they amass wealth not minding 
the state of the nations‘ finances. As the external debt soars to about forty billion America dollars, 
the value of the local currency continues to nosedive. Nevertheless, their corrupt and inhuman 
postures do not escape the people‘s attention. Even secondary school students, led by Rayo, are 
aware of their self-centred disposition hence regularly mock them with jokes and anecdotes 
particularly during the so-called Political Science Hour. In a graphic illustration of political rallies 
and campaigns, Rayo, in his jocular best, captures the vain promises of a typical Nigerian 
politician seeking electoral votes. Decked in expensive attire and surrounded by thugs and 
supporters who have the unenviable task of applauding whatever he says, the politician promises 
to build bridge first in a village and later construct a river beneath it: 
If the good people of this great village should do the sensible 
thing of voting me into power, I shall make sure that within 
six months you have a modern, fully- stocked library, two 
more primary schools, five secondary schools and two 
universities of transferred technology. I shall ask the farmers 
to throw away their hoes and machetes-because believe 
me-every last farmer shall be supplied with tractor, a 
mechanical harvester and a planting and weeding machine 
(33). 
These empty promises include the immediate provision of solar-powered electricity, dams and 
airports in a village where the roads are not even motorable! 
The spate of corruption and mal-administration in Nigeria is not without its casualties. In 
The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams, the character of Tere speaks volume on the level 
205 
 
 
of moral laxity in Nigeria. Since she has to survive and fund her university education without 
assistance from her poor parents, Tere finds succour in flirting with men who are about her father‘s 
age. In fact, she derives satisfaction in sleeping around with different men once they can pick her 
bills. She consoles herself with the fact that the ―two way traffic‖ affair with her ‗sugar daddies‘ is 
better when compares with that of ―her course mates who goes to Lagos every weekend‘‘ to 
prostitute. In a frank conversion with her boyfriend Kayo, after a round of sexual intercourse, she 
attributes her reason for dating a man who is older than ―her father‘s elder brother‖ to the need to 
acquire university education: 
He‘s a nice old man. Fussy and affectionate. And 
unbelievable generous. That‘s why I went out with him in 
the first place. Starting with the last reason. He‘s been 
paying my school fees for the past two semesters. If I had to 
live on the crumbs my parents are able to give me I‘d have 
dropped out long ago…So, Kayo, I need my sugar dadies. I 
give them my body once in a while and they keep my bank 
account comfortably in the black. It‘s a two way street, I 
know. I offer them promises of rejuvenation- I make them 
young again. For a fee. But they too-they take away 
something from me-my youth (25). 
Therefore no one should be surprised that her fiancé, Joe, rejects her outrightly on getting 
information about her escapade. 
The chaotic nature of Nigeria is foregrounded in the metaphor of Oshodi. A study in 
disorderliness and confusion, Oshodi is described as ―the craziest and busiest bus stop this side of 
the Sahara‖. It prides itself in its notoriety as the haven of criminals, hangers-on, drug peddlers, 
petty thieves, street urchins and ladies of easy virtues. While the people are always in a hurry, 
traffic-jams mostly result from the inability of motorists to maintain law and order. Besides the 
dastardly act of swindlers and con-men, marijuana is freely sold irrespective of the time of the day. 
In this tensed environment, traders, hawkers and even preachers have a field-day in the 
overcrowded molue bus. As law and order have broken down, policemen look the other way as 
they either cannot enforce the law, or connive with the lawbreakers. Gory sights of lynching are 
rampant. Sporadic gun shots are common albeit amidst carefree people. In one of Rayo‘s notes, 
Oshodi is depicted as an environment of ―cosmic nightmare of organized chaos‖. A bus conductor 
can stop his driver in the middle of the road on the slightest provocation, without minding the 
attendant traffic jam his action can cause! In such an environment where ―no fewer than 50,000 
206 
 
 
people are waiting for, racing after, struggling for or scampering in into buses, licensed taxi or 
kabukabu‖, two shameless individuals are engrossed in romance in one of the parked molue buses: 
In one of the two motor parks, an orange-pip spit away, sit 
two silhouettes in an early parking Molue. They are 
unashamedly merged together as one, _ategor indifferent, as 
it were to the prosaic concreteness of the world around. Two 
mouths shakings hands lip-to-lip, exchanging views 
tongue-to-tongue. An ashie probably, and an off-duty driver 
(76). 
Such incident is not uncommon at Oshodi. It is indeed a metaphoric manifestation of a nation and 
her people whose actions negate that of every sane society. This same reality of Oshodi has earlier 
been laid credence to by Bandele-Thomas and Arthur-Worrey in their respective novels, The Man 
who came in from the Back of Beyond and The Diaries of Mr Michael. 
Of all, the illicit activities of the deranged president Babagee of Zowabia, more than 
anything else, make an eloquent statement about the intellectual naivety which culminated into 
retrogressive leadership style of Nigerian leaders. Having gagged the press and have opposition 
leaders executed, president Babagee assumes the status of a fearsome military dictator, 
reminiscence of some African leaders. None of his decision is informed by national interest. He 
violates human right at will, amasses ill-gotten wealth, sets opponents up on the flimsy excuse of 
planning a phantom coup d‟état and slights the international community with reckless abandon. 
Since he trust no one, he only discusses state matter with his wife, Mamagee, a lady whom no one 
dares ignores. In a nation where ‗presidential romance‘ is a national assignment, the president sees 
politics as war that should be fought with all arsenal at one‘s disposal! In his wisdom, power 
should be protected at all cost: 
In this game-as you call it-there are no permanent friends. 
Plenty of permanent enemies, though. And-point of 
correction, my dear-the name of the game is power. And 
power is no game. It‘s a war in which all rules are thrown 
overboard. If you can‘t win fair, why not win foul? Winning 
is the name of the game. Hit below the belt. Stab them in the 
back. Shoot first-and be ready to shoot again after 
apologizing. Then, my dear, and only then, might you be on 
the way to making your first million (137-138). 
 
With the president‘s statement, it becomes clear why he must tame the radical lawyer, Kukar 
Kurchia by all means. To achieve this act of suppressing all dissentient voice, he makes Bayor 
207 
 
 
Success the head of the Gestapo. The justice minister, whom he refers to as ―toilet idiot‖ in his 
moment of rage, is to promulgate retroactive decree which makes rumour-mongering a capital 
offence with a five year retroactive effect! 
The fate which has befallen Zowabia owing to president Babagee‘s crude method of 
administration is further captured in the president‘s dream. Zowabia used to be a land flowing with 
milk and honey. It was a prosperous nation where the people enjoyed the comfort the nation 
offered. Unfortunately, the reign of governance was hijacked by shylock and greedy few. In no 
time, the rich began to flaunt their wealth in the midst of abject poverty: 
Things continued in this manner for a long while, until a few 
greedy one, who thought they were wiser than everyone else 
(truth be told, they were), decided that it wasn‘t such a good 
idea that everybody could get to shore and acquire a canoe or 
a boat. These greedy, cunning ones put their heads together, 
over plates of goat head pepper soup, and hatched out a plan 
to make the river bank as inaccessible as it could be (144). 
 
However the people managed to survive against all odd. Undeterred, the elites connive to assume 
the mantle of leadership and thus produce a guide known as the constitution. Expectedly the 
constitution does not reflect the yearnings of the people! It is ―the Bible of Double Standards‖ 
which negates the law of natural justice. Justice is now a commodity which can be purchased 
according to the dictate of the market-force. Stealing is a ‗crime‘ only if the perpetrator is caught. 
In the same dream, president Babagee assumes the role of the chief justice of the high court 
of Zowabia. To further underscore the corrupt system, a policeman in charge of a case collects ten 
thousand dollars bride from an accused person, on the instruction of the chief justice. He however 
keeps a large chunk and gives ten thousand naira to the equally corrupt chief justice! Having paid 
for justice, the accused has the effrontery to condemn his arraignment. Yet he is discharged and 
acquitted with ―deepest apologies‖. Ironically, the case of barrister Kukar Kurchia elicits the gross 
pervasion of justice in Zowabia. Barrister Kurchia is accused of smearing the image of the nation 
in a press conference. He is to be held responsible for all social maladies in Zowabia: 
That on the strength of the aforementioned charges you are 
held singularly responsible for all the ills-economic, social 
and political that have befallen this country within the last 
thirty years. You are responsible for corruption, nepotism, 
armed-robbery, gun-running, drug-trafficking, gross 
immorality, general baseness and the failed economy (152). 
208 
 
 
Expectedly, the chief justice, who has earlier ‗discharged and acquitted‘ an accused, is quick to 
pronounce barrister Kurchia guilty as charged, even before he is brought to the dock! He is to be 
executed by firing squad at the president‘s favourite shooting club. 
The myriads of problem which bedevil the nation have made any recourse to decency 
among the citizens a mirage. Therefore, The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams revels in 
the exploration of unrestraint description of sexual scenes and organs, a development which 
further lays credence to its overt affinity to postmodern textual experiment. As the power-that-be 
makes survival difficult for the downtrodden, Tere decides to use what she has to get what she 
wants! In a manner unheard of in traditional African novel, sexual intercourse between Kayo and 
Tere is freely discussed without any modicum of decency. Kayo is the narrator: 
We had brought the mattress to the floor. The creaking of 
my base-springed bed was enough to wake the dead. Our 
clothes were flung all over the floor. . . I ran my hands all 
over her-her breasts stood high, and proud and faintly bristly 
at the tips. I ran my fingers down her stomach, down, down, 
over the lush hair-growth that serenaded the lips of her 
vagina…My middle finger ran briefly over her vagina. She 
purred… I drew my middle finger in a curve and rubbed her 
clitoris with it…I parted her legs with my left foot and 
manoeuvred myself between her legs. I spread them wide 
open and brought my head down to the cleavage. My mouth 
came down on her public hair and my tongue, probed deeply 
into her… I lifted her gently and turned her on her face. Then 
I enter her from behind, gently, roughly and slowly (22-24). 
As if this is not enough the readers are led into Toshiba‘s favourite story in a sex comic, the story 
of a randy guy and a nympho lady. Husband and wife are so fond of each other that they must have 
sex anytime, anywhere, anyhow: 
They screwed every hour of the day and everywhere they 
were: in the bedroom, on the couch in the bathroom, on the 
stairs, in the kitchen, in the car, public toilets on street 
corners, on the beach, once even on top of a tree…They did 
it in every position you could think of: front, rear, 
upside-down, sideways, 69… and in many international 
styles too. To name a few: the impossible kangaroo style, 
from Australia; the acrobatic, Japanese position; the 
running- commentary American initiative; the all-silence 
British invention and the Yeparipa! Nigeria variety… (48-49). 
209 
 
 
Also as documented in one of Rayo‘s notes, sex and marital infidelity are everywhere without any 
pretext to self control. When the poverty-stricken Kazeem catches Kasali, ―the jerry curled Molue 
conductor‖, having sex with his wife, he decides to attack the man, cutting off his penis in the 
ensuing melee! All these are clear indication of a society on the edge of precipice. Cosmic 
harmony has taken flight. 
Unfortunately in this hostile nation, it is needless for any individual to attempt to alter the 
overwhelming social maladies. Those that attempt to ameliorate or redress the oppression in the 
society merely expose themselves to the danger of being consumed. Rayo‘s reformist activities 
present him in bad light in the eyes of senior students and the authority at St Peter‘s High School. 
He is viewed with contempt and maligned for his ‗pious‘ disposition in a ‗crazy‘ world. While the 
senior students are amazed at his impudence to question the legitimacy of their antics, the authority 
frowns at his inability to keep away from trouble. For humiliating Toshiba, he gets reprimanded 
with five days of hard labour on the school farm. Luckily he escapes being expelled. Also when he 
injures the school principal for Baba Ayafa‘s sake, he is ‗sent‘ to another school. However, he 
meets his waterloo at the University of Ife when he leads a violent students‘ demonstration on the 
state of the nation, a development which Aliu (2000:36) calls ―an ominous anti climax which later 
becomes a melting point for the remaining half of the narrative‖. He is arrested, tortured, brutalised 
and finally expelled from the university. He has to go to Lagos where he manages to survive on a 
free-lancing job. He becomes frustrated at his inability to effect the desired change so much that he 
attempts suicide in resignation. Awosika (1999) captures his frustration thus: 
It is not just that Rayo is frustrated in the adult world, he 
actually does not survive the violence. His final surrender is 
preceded by a gradual weakening. The case of the two 
hundred tablets of valium, though unadmitted by him simple 
points to severe frustration and surrender. The prelude to 
madness. The other intellectuals in the story also crumble 
(26). 
Besides Rayo, Teejah and Pategi also regret the consequences of their attempt to redress military 
brutality. Teejay is most unlucky because he pays dearly with his life! Pategi has to feign madness 
to escape. Therefore, the stories in the text underscore the postmodern futile effort at seeking for 
order in a society which is disorderly. In actual fact, it may be insane for anybody to seek sanity in 
the world. 
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In Bandele-Thomas‘ The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams, a postmodern 
‗doubling‘ technique is employed to espouse the overt ‗displacement of meaning‘ in postmodern 
parlance. The narrator and Rayo is one and the same person! They are however presented in two 
fictional worlds from where readers, according to Negash (1999), are expected to decipher the 
reality of one and the ‗fictionality‘ of the other: 
Bandele-Thomas uses madness in surrealistic terms to 
convey the co-existence of two worlds and as a literary 
device that is self-consciously postmodernist. These 
intentions are best demonstrated in The Sympathetic 
Undertaker through a clever construction of the 
schizophrenic character Rayo, the narrator‘s brother, who 
turns out to be one and the same as the narrator… At the end 
of The Sympathetic Undertaker, and right after the dramatic 
revelation that Rayo and the narrator are the same person, 
the narrator observes the bodily disintegration of the ‗other‘ 
as the other and the narrator merge (89-90). 
 
Kayo‘s story simulates Rayo while that of Rayo is presented in a diary-like fashion. Essentially, 
Kayo‘s narration simulates Rayo and Tere so much to the extent that their non-existence becomes 
unclear. The image of reality has blurred the reality. 
As it obtains in postmodern texts, tangentially diverse stories are told to depict the violent 
nature of the world. Both Kayo and Rayo tell several stories which centre on violence, corruption, 
hopelessness, pessimism and brutality. In an apparent surrealist tradition which places premium on 
dream-like images and symbol to depict the condition of existence in neo-colonial Nigerian 
society, allusion is made to several sore aspects of our national life. Examples abound from the 
condition at the hospital to the comatose rails system, from corrupt judicial system to police 
ineptitude, from military brutality to politicians‘ vain promises, from infrastructural decay to 
moral laxity. Textual references to these realities include president Babagee‘s dream of occupying 
the exalted office of the chief justice of Zowabia where he can dispense justice in absentia or 
according to the dictate of the market-force; the ‗Political Science Hour‘ at St Peters High School 
provides an opportunity to satirise politicians who can promise heaven on earth to attain political 
height; the level of environmental filth and dirt in Zowabian High Commission in Zimbabwe 
which earns her the appellation ―dirt house‖; and Tere‘s debase sexual escapades with several 
‗sugar daddies‘. 
211 
 
 
Besides surrealism, phantasmic device is employed as a deliberate textual strategy of 
character exploration in a bizarre world where survival is almost a mirage. This textual 
super-imposition of reality, satire and the grotesque give credence to the exploration of madness as 
a useful device in the text. Commenting, Negash (1999) applauds the artistry of Bandele-Thomas 
for its penchant to employ a device which mingles reality with absurdity while depicting the 
repulsion in the contemporary world: 
Consequently he adopts a surrealistic approach in which he 
mixes the phantasmic with the naturalistic to refract 
Nigerian realities. Tales of cruelty, abuse of power and 
corruption are strung together to build parables on the moral 
and political questions of truth and falsity, idealism and 
freedom. Humour and irony lighten the horror and provide 
hope at the same time as they satirize systems of oppressive 
power (77). 
 
In this vein, Rayo‘s extreme frustration and deprivation lead him to a psychic condition which his 
mother seeks to purge through Mamasoso‘s ritual intervention. Since he now has fantasies, 
dreams, terrible thoughts and terrifying images (like his eyes disappearing in his face or his 
manhood ―vanishing‖ form his body), he might have become a psychosis occasioned by his 
long-suffering antecedent. As the text combines both the rational and the irrational to drive home 
its point, Bandele-Thomas‘ novels can be said to employ a semblance of magical realism to attest 
to the novelist familiarity with his Nigerian root. This approach, in the opinion of Negash, stands 
his works out: 
It is the superimposition of the believable images over the 
inexplicable that gives the narratives of Bandele-Thomas 
their compellingly dreamlike quality (83). 
 
Also, the narrative centres in The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams are 
indiscriminate. It employs diverse points of view to underscore its episodic narrative technique. 
Through the feature of ―diegesis‖, several stories are presented to depict its erratic characters and 
bizarre fictional worlds. Awosika (1999) describes the narrative centres of The Sympathetic 
Undertaker and Other Dreams as a tasking device meant to present narrations which are unrelated 
and digressional, a feature which underscores postmodern penchant for ―organised violence‖: 
The narrative voice is indiscriminate in its adoption now of 
the first person mode, and then of the third person; it is 
infinitely erratic and without the slightest pretence towards 
212 
 
 
distance. The structure is episodic and blatantly digressive. 
All the characteristics mentioned above amount to a 
violation of all that good taste in criticism since Aristotle has 
taught us to dislike (24). 
 
Nevertheless, Bandele-Thomas‘ novels are able to articulate the traumatic nature of postcolonial 
Nigeria society, despite their endless digression and absurdist themes. Utopian speculation is 
foreclosed. With particular emphasis on Bandele-Thomas, Booker (1995) affirms the inability of 
postcolonial writers to achieve the much-sought after utopia hence their disenchantment and the 
consequent advancement of themes which foreground hopelessness, banality and illogicality:     
Postcolonial writers, actively engaged in the construction of 
cultural identities for their new societies, include strong 
utopian elements in their work. On the other hand, actual 
experience in the postcolonial world has been anything but 
utopian. It thus may not be entirely surprising that recent 
postcolonial literature has taken a powerfully dystopian turn. 
This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in African 
fiction (58). 
Thus by churning out themes of disillusionment, The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams 
has, no doubt, cemented its place as a quintessential postmodern text. 
Although Rayo‘s activities as an intellectual, radical, non-conformist activist may have 
endeared him to people, most especially Dr Dakwa, yet his regular brushes with constituted 
authorities, present him as an eccentric personality. He is a clear example of a person who does not 
know how to survive in a hostile environment. Irrespective of their bullying disposition, Toshiba 
and the school principal at St. Peter‘s High School represent constituted authorities at their 
respective levels, hence must be obeyed. Rather than come to terms with the system collapse 
which has failed to regulate their nefarious activities, Rayo chooses to confront them without 
minding the consequence. Although strict adherence to schools‘ rules and regulation is part and 
parcel of students‘ training, Rayo decides to be the odd one out. His altercation with Toshiba and 
the principal almost cost him is high school education, but for the timely constitution of a panel of 
enquiry as well as the prompt intervention of the commissioner of education. He, however, gets 
expelled from University of Ife, tortured and psychologically wounded by the authority. He may 
have fulfilled his mission of acquiring university education if, and only if, he can keep his head as 
even Marx does not contemplate a one-man revolution. In the same vein, if Toshiba can escape his 
bulling escapades despite series of ‗confessional statements‘ from his victims, if the principal 
213 
 
 
would only be transferred despite his overt administrative ineptitude, if the corporal who killed 
Teejah is merely strip of a rank, of what benefit is man‘s resolve to confront injustice in a deranged 
society? Besides, with the support given to Toshiba by the senior students at St Peter‘s High 
School, would his transfer to another institution guarantee the end of bullying for the junior 
students? Do the soldiers who kill Teejah not have the effrontery to still want to inflict further 
injury on Pategi? Perhaps both Rayo and Teejah realise this rather too late! No wonder Rayo is 
taken for a ‗madman‘ wherever he finds himself. 
Also the rampaging soldiers, who beat up the station manager, kill Teejah and chase Pategi 
all over the town, may be excused of any alleged wrongdoing: they only seek to make a comatose 
system more efficient, even if their actions militate against the dignity of mankind. The level of 
infrastructural decay is worrisome. Nothing seems to be working as the leaders turn deaf ear to the 
yearnings of the people. The rail system which used to be the major means of transportation for the 
masses has been grounded. In no time, railway stations become the haven of stranded ―travelers, 
wayfarers, hawkers a notoriously seasoned crop of thieves and pick pockets, a thriving bond of 
mendicants, a resolute tribe of plain clothes policemen‖. Salihu and his notorious gang of 
pick-pockets hold sway unmolested, tormenting stranded travelers. The soldiers‘ train has been 
grounded in the bush for over three days, yet the Kafanchan-Enugu bound journey is stalled! Even 
Teejah survives the delay courtesy of Pategi‘s magnanimity. Although the station manager may be 
blameless in all this (for ―the minister of transport went to India and bought refurbished coaches 
and engines which had gone out of use over there twenty years ago‖), yet everyone agrees he is 
guilty of what even Teejah calls ―normal bureaucratic sloppiness‖. Thus if everyone can wait at the 
station ‗till kingdom come‘, the soldiers, obviously, don‘t have the luxury. 
If the entire system is deemed inefficient, the concerted effort of some professionals 
provides a ray of hope from the societal doldrums. Regularly and repeatedly, barrister Kurchia 
remains a torn in the flesh of the regime. Although president Babagee spares no time in calling for 
his head, yet he remains resolute. He even takes his campaign against the regime‘s excesses 
abroad, granting series of interviews to foreign press. He is no doubt, committed to the need to 
salvage the nation from dictatorship and mal-administration. Similarly, despite the overcrowded, 
ill-equipped hospital at Kafanchan, Dr. Dakwa discharges his duties conscientiously and 
diligently. He is a warm person, humane, time-conscious and ever ready to do his job. He only 
214 
 
 
comes late to honour his professional assignment if he is coming from an emergency duty. On an 
occasion when he arrives late at his duty post, he apologises to Rayo‘s mother: 
Patient had a relapse. Shortage of doctors. They came to 
wake me up at four this morning. Two hours after I‘d gone to 
bed, actually. That‘s a doctor‘s lot, young sirs. If you‘re 
thinking of becoming a doctor, you must be prepared for 
hardwork. Terribly sorry, madam. Terribly, terribly (13). 
Even the nurses on duty do their work dutifully at the ‗dreaded‘ injection room. Other 
professionals like the journalists, are equally committed against the odds mounted by a dictatorial 
military regime. When the opportunity presents itself at a press conference, journalists bombard 
president Babagee with series of questions. Although Mofine Ogongo of the Zowabian News is 
insulted and assaulted for having the audacity to seek to know the government‘s position on 
women emancipation, she courageously stands her ground. In fact the president has to order for 
her to be ‗released‘ while professor Olentelaafaa is to apologise. Even Bob Vaughn and Nyet 
Karpov of BBC and Radio Moscow respectively are core professionals in their line of duties. Rash 
Ibidudu of The Labour Militant has to be rebuffed and ordered out of the premise because 
professor Olentelaafaa fears his question may be politically motivated. Therefore, despite the 
gloom which pervades the land, few professionals are committed to the development of the nation. 
The ‗ultra‘ corrupt nature of president Babagee may have defied logic in a manner 
reminiscent of recent African leaders. Nonetheless, the crop of persons who constitutes his cabinet 
is unbecoming in a development-conscious nation. As the ministers struggle to outsmart 
themselves to gain the president‘s attention, no form of credible advice should be expected from 
these sycophants. To soothe the president‘s ego, they offer series of advices designed to nail the 
recalcitrant barrister Kurchia. Professor Olentelaafaa is the worst culprit in the game of deceit, 
cover-up, insensitivity and sycophancy. No wonder he is despised and treated like a leper 
everywhere he goes. Even the president scolds him occasionally. Therefore since no one can 
advise the president appropriately, he may not be solely guilty of his regime‘s misrule. 
In a manner which forecloses any sense of decency, Bandele-Thomas‘ The Sympathetic 
Undertaker and Other Dreams discuses sex freely! Kayo‘s sexual escapades with Tere are nothing 
but a child‘s play compared to her illicit sexual spree with her ‗sugar daddies‘. Although Tere calls 
it a game of survival and Kayo quite agrees with her, African society frowns at such amorous 
relationship outside wedlock. Kayo‘s mother passionately despises Tere and vehemently 
215 
 
 
condemns her dastardly act. Her fate thus serves her right as she loses Joe and later dies of 
complication after an abortion. Therefore, the manner in which the text treats ‗traditionally 
forbidden‘ themes of sex, infidelity and prostitution are inimical to good taste in African literary 
tradition as pioneered by the Achebe school of thought. A situation where sex is discussed with 
graphic illustrations of various sexual styles and organs is unheard of in traditional African 
writings which espouse themes that promote cultural values and tradition. 
As the metaphor of Oshodi underscores the chaos and perfidy in Nigeria, Bandele- 
Thomas‘ The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams casts aspersion on the array of people at 
this notorious area of Lagos state. It blames the people for always being in a hurry to get things 
done, a development which aggravates tension in an already tensed environment. Nevertheless, 
Oshodi offers a clear manifestation of communal living tradition in African society. The 
experience of a woman who gives birth at Oshodi and how the passers-by rally round her in 
assistance is a statement on African hospitality and communal sentiment. This is in sharp contrast 
to the individualistic, everyman-for-himself style of living in the West. More importantly, the 
child-birth is a metaphor for rejuvenation and new lease of life to be expected at Oshodi. This has 
proved prophetic as it is gradually coming to past of late. Oshodi now wears a new look. 
Although Bandele-Thomas‘ writings may not readily come to mind as 
politically-motivated, utopia-seeking writings from a vintage fire-brand writer, his commitment to 
the development of Nigeria is never in doubt. If his novels do not come to the fore as 
radically-inclined a la the marxian tradition, critics like Negash (1999), Awosika (1999) and Aliu 
(2000) agree that they are ensconced in socio-political realities of Nigerian nation which offer little 
hope. In the opinion of Negash (1999), familiarity with Nigerian environment lays credence to 
Bandele-Thomas‘ dystopia poetics which elicits the condition of living in a hostile economic and 
socio-political environments. Nigerian society is inimical to public goods: 
The parodies and satire in The Sympathetic Undertaker and 
the brutalities redeemed by humour in The Man who came in 
from the Back of Beyond are consequently morally and 
politically engaged. However, neither utopian nor political 
vision is prescribed. On the contrary, the tales of brutality 
and despair give his novels a dystopic turn for the most part. 
Finally, the theme of madness accommodates an escape 
from the harsh realities of these marginals, at the same time 
as it serves as a metaphor for the ultimate economic and 
216 
 
 
cultural distortions in the neocolonial backyards of Nigeria 
(91). 
Therefore, his mastery of literary devices such as symbolism, imagery, satire, parody, allusion, 
surrealism and phantasm, under which he disguises to make socio-political commentaries, justifies 
his place as a committed contemporary writer. Even if critics are quick to allude to his ‗apolitical‘ 
pessimistic credential, a development which underscores his categorisation along with the 
art-for-art‘s sake tradition, his experimentalist writings stand him in good stead as an influential 
writer whose works are worthy of serious critical attention. No wonder Gikandi (2003:69) refers to 
him in glowing term, describing him as ―one of the most promising of a new generation of African 
writers‖. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
217 
 
 
CHAPTER 6 
6.0 A Deconstructive Reading of Onwordi’s Ballad of Rage and Adichie’s Half of a Yellow   
    Sun 
 
6.1 Toni Kan Onwordi: A Brief Biodata 
Anthony Kanayo Onwordi is an award winning novelist, short-story writer, essayist and 
poet. He holds a Bachlor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree in English (literature) from 
Universities of Jos and Lagos respectively. 
Having worked for five years as a practicing journalist, he garnered vast experience in 
writing, editing, book review, marketing, research and corporate communication. He has served as 
Managing Patner, Radi8, a public relation outfit in Lagos. Besides his foray at research department 
of banks like Zenith Bank and Bank PHB, he once served as Head, Corporate Communications at 
Visafone. 
Toni Kan Onwordi is a prose writer and literary critic. As an undergraduate at the 
University of Jos in 1992, he got a month stint at the University of Edinburg, Scotland for winning 
the British Council Essay Competition. He also came first in Swiss Radio International Essay 
Competition (English language category) and the Liberty Short Story Competition. He also 
received a poetry prize at 2001 Muson Poetry Festival in Lagos. A fellowship from Heinrich B 
Foundation took him to Germany in 2003. His poetry collection, When a Dream Lingers too Long 
(2002) came second only to Ogaga Ifowodo‘s work in the 2002 ANA poetry prize. His Ballad of 
Rage (2004) also made the last short-list for the maiden NLNG literary prize in 2004. His second 
collection of poetry, Singing Songs of Absence and Despair (2009) is already receiving rave 
reviews; the same critical attentions which heralded the publication of his collection of short 
stories entitled Nights of the Creaking Bed (2008). Apart from regular appearance at newspaper art 
columns, his works have appeared in Salthill, Drum Voices, Revue, Farafina, Sentinel Poetry 
Quarterly and ANA review. 
6.2 Ballad of Rage  
Toni Kan Onwordi‘s Ballad of Rage tells the story of three estranged personalities whose 
troubled souls are entangled in the odious realities of contemporary Nigerian society. In a 
sustained attempt to articulate the futility of a deranged psyche to take rational decision, it depicts 
human species as not capable of coming to terms with societal forces which impede his rational 
218 
 
 
thinking mechanism. This largely underscores the existentialist disposition of mankind in a hostile 
environment. It employs omniscient first-person narrative technique to tell the story of rape, 
brutality, corruption, frustration, betrayal, infidelity, incest and murder, with the protagonists 
telling their separate but related stories. These stories are, however, presented in a disjointed 
narrative manner which further accentuates the absence of cosmic harmony in the world.  
An unnamed narrator is compelled by fate and circumstance of her barren situation to 
marry a frustrated ―old‖ doctor. The marriage is that of convenience since the doctor has earlier 
vowed never to raise another family having lost his last to the infidelity of a wife. Rather than find 
solace in the company of a caring and dutiful husband who loves her despite her status, she 
becomes a sex-maniac, addicted to the point of seeking sexual satisfaction wherever she can, and 
from whosoever is readily available! Perhaps to pay men back in their own coin, she relegates 
feelings and affection to the background in sexual relationship. She finds a willing accomplice in 
Jeff, a twenty-four-year-old cab-driver. Without uttering a word, they make love anytime they 
meet, and anywhere it suits their whims and caprice, either on the couch, on the beach, in a car, in 
fast food joints, or in his room! Their first encounter which takes place in her matrimonial home is 
startling:  
He took my shopping bags upstairs and after he set them 
down on the dining table he reached for me. I could have 
pushed him away. I could have screamed. But no was a word 
I could not utter. I let him pull me down on the couch. I was 
a dry and thirsty land, he was a long sought water. I clung to 
him for dear life. A short while later, my whole body 
tingling. I stood on the balcony, his semen running down my 
inner thigh as I watched him drive away (28).  
 
On a similar occasion, she visits his house for the now regular sexual ‗dosage‘. Unfortunately, she 
meets his girlfriend. He quickly thinks of the way out:  
So, I took a cab and the journey to his house had never taken 
so long. When I got there, I met a girl in his room. He 
introduced me as a friend and, leaving the girl in the room, 
drove me back home. He took me in the sitting room, 
wordlessly, violently. When he was done he pulled on his 
trousers and left without a word (35). 
219 
 
 
Although she prefers to disguise by going and coming in buses, the affair is not without a trail! It 
however proves fatal as the doctor murders her and damns the consequence! He has earlier 
threatened to kill her if she engages in extra marital affairs.  
 Even before the doctor‘s wife meets Jeff, she has often been engaged in romance and sex 
outside wedlock against her mother‘s entreaties to be wary of men on campus. When she meets 
Pam at ―the department‘s end of year party‖, she throws caution to the wind and allows lust to 
becloud her sense of reasoning. At a later date, she allows Pam to have carnal knowledge of her 
―atop a knoll at Shere hills‖. Also, her encounter with the doctor does not portray her as a worthy 
lady of integrity. Before they finally tie the nuptial knot, she has encouraged the doctor to make 
love to her when the doctor visits her in the apartment she shares with a friend. Always the first to 
make a move, she practically lures him to bed:  
I remember washing my hand, even though I can‘t seem to 
remember why. Then when I was done I had asked for a 
napkin but instead of a napkin, she dropped her frilly panties 
in my outstretched palms…Still laughing she had dropped to 
her knees and kissed me, deep, hungrily. We made love for 
the first time that night and afterwards, as we lay naked in 
her small bed, Roberta Flack‘s voice issuing from the radio 
had lulled us to sleep (43).  
The only time she does not consent to sexual intercourse is when the policemen rape her and other 
girls on the rock! The policemen have come to campus to quell a violent students‘ demonstration. 
 If the doctor‘s wife is said to be a pervert, her lover, Jeff, can be described as a randy young 
man who is equally frustrated and disturbed. Having been rebuffed by his parents who turn down 
his choice of music as a career, he becomes a deviant. He sees no fuss about being a banker or 
doctor. He drives a cab and smokes marijuana heavily! He nurses an ambition of going abroad to 
pursue his ‗dream‘. He therefore becomes an outcast in the family, especially after his 
grandmother who had stood against his parents‘ refusal to have him study English in the university 
had died. Only the doctor‘s wife understands and encourages him to be focused on his dream else 
he may live to regret his decision later in life: 
Regret is a terrible word. The saddest word, if you ask me. 
It‘s a mirror you do not want to look into because all it 
reflects is pain…That‘s why you must pursue this dream, 
you know, your music, if you are really convinced that‘s 
220 
 
 
what you want to do. Or else you will look into that mirror in 
years to come and cry (125). 
This advice further endears her to Jeff. Henceforth, nothing can stop them in their treacherous act 
until the bubble bursts! 
The story of the doctor leaves sour taste in the mouth. The circumstances surrounding the 
death of his two sons almost turn him into a misogynist who detests women with passion. This 
perhaps informs his lack of attention to Rosa‘s show of love. He would not marry a woman whose 
children would remind him of the death of her sons! When he eventually comes across a woman 
whom he had earlier diagnosed of having ruptured uterus and damaged fallopian tubes, he has to 
change his disposition towards marriage, after all the chance of pregnancy for her is almost a 
nullity. Unfortunately for him, he is about to take a decision which would ruin his blooming career 
and hard-earned reputation. He proposes to her six months later:  
You have brought me so much joy and I can‘t tell you how 
much I love you. This my own way of saying Thank You for 
all you‘ve done, for bringing sunshine back into my life. I 
know I‘m not that young, but we can be happy together. I 
promise that. And you know I don‘t care for children. I want 
to live just for you. All I ask for is your love and your 
faithfulness. And in turn, I promise to be all you expect and 
more (23). 
When a fifty-two year old man speak in such glowing terms to a woman who has lost all hopes of 
ever enjoying marital bliss, her response can be predicted. A marriage is hurriedly arranged. 
However at thirty-two and being a pervert, he cannot meet her expectation in bed: 
Like a guide leading the blind, I was the eye he needed to 
see through the fog of passion that swirled around us. I 
made the first moves, I was always the one who had to get 
him in the mood but when passion flared, he always gave 
as good as he got. But age was not on his side and so many 
times, as the after sex glow faded, I would catch myself 
wondering whether I would be content with what he had to 
offer…But then at thirty-two and barren I was grateful to 
find a man to call my own. What I felt for him was no more 
than gratitude (23-24). 
221 
 
 
Therefore, she seeks sexual satisfaction from men outside wedlock. She barely manages to 
‗escape‘ Afam‘s lustful gesture when they meet at an Art Workshop. When she eventually meets 
Jeff, she succumbs cheaply to her inner passion, daring her husband‘s threat in the process.  
As a dutiful and caring husband, the doctor provides his wife with whatever she needs. 
When she loses her job, he encourages her to turn to her childhood hobby, painting, offering to sell 
some of her painting to his patients and friends. He is so convinced of his actions that when he 
eventually discovers her wife‘s infidelity, he has no regret killing her. He also prepares himself for 
the consequence. The circumstance of his falling from grace to grass does not deter him to offer his 
professional services to other inmates even in the prison. He accompanies inmate who has ulcer to 
the general hospital in handcuff, agrees to follow the injured captain of the Hard Men XI to the 
hospital, obeys the instruction of the chief warden to make a miserly list of drugs to treat inmates, 
and offers therapy to a sexually-abused Bernard in prison! While awaiting trial, he pays the tuition 
of his nephew in medical school and appreciates Rosa‘s concern, though he turns down her offer of 
securing the service of a competent lawyer to defend him in court. As the defacto ‗resident doctor‘ 
in the prison, his qualities endear him to the inmates and the authority. Nevertheless, these good 
qualities do not becloud the opportunist inclination of the doctor. He capitalises on the awareness 
of his wife‘s bareness to lure her into marriage, knowing full well that he does not want to raise 
another family for personal reasons. On more than one occasions, he bribes the wardens to have 
access to books and other personal effects. He receives visitors occasionally in the prison and 
whenever he does, the wardens are ready to give him extra time beyond the stipulated time. He has 
the luxury of collecting his salaries while in the prison though he is able to pay for his nephew‘s 
education and send a card to Rosa. He attacks and almost kills Jeff who has come to confess his 
misdemeanour to him. His desire to seek revenge may have hitherto influenced his readiness to die 
before the confession. He later regrets his action of killing his wife when he could have sent her 
packing.  
The rate of bribery and corruption in the system is quite alarming! Policemen take bribe at 
will, most of the time with reckless abandon. Instead of arresting Jeff and his lover who are caught 
with marijuana, they merely collect bribe and look the other way. On another occasion, they 
collect money from a bank‘s managing-director and throw his driver to jail for impregnating his 
sister-in-law! When the driver, Godfrey, repeatedly proves his innocence, the doctor is not fooled 
because he knows the police inside out:  
222 
 
 
I knew what would happen. One day he would be taken and 
shot, his body displayed on TV alongside other 
bullet-riddled bodies with a cache of locally made pistols 
arrayed beside them. The tone of the newscaster would be 
sober as she relayed the headline: police gun down six 
robbers (37).      
 
This scenario is not uncommon in Nigeria and many innocent lives have been lost in the process. 
Even a trumped-up charge of rape may be leveled against him and a ‗witness‘ hurriedly arranged 
to testify against him in court. There is also the case of eighteen undergraduates who are arrested 
after a fatal cult clash. Of the eighteen suspected cultists, seventeen children of wealthy parents are 
released while only one is clamped in jail! Such incidence has become a pastime amongst officers 
and men of the Nigerian Police Force.  
As if bribery and corruption that permeate the Police Force is only a child‘s play, officers 
and men of the Nigerian Police Force have taken brutality to a dangerous dimension. Having been 
sent out to perform their statutory duties of maintaining law and order, the policemen throw 
caution to the wind and engage in act capable of further enmeshing the image of the Force in 
disrepute. A minor peaceful demonstration by undergraduates in the university has turned violent 
as the police arrive to quell the riot. Ironically while they fire teargas canister to disperse the 
students, many of them have ulterior motive behind the performance of their constitutional duties. 
The narrator presents a bizarre story of police brutality:  
Smoked out of hiding by tear gas, we ran for the gate at the 
rear of the campus, but anti-riot policemen had blocked it. 
We turned and headed for the hills and that was where the 
nightmare began. They let the boys escape. They grabbed 
the girls. They dragged us into a thicket. They raped us, on 
the bare rocks, thorns and briers digging into our backs and 
buttocks. Not once, not twice (10).  
 
This is a sad commentary particularly coming from an institution which is trained, maintained and 
sustained by tax-payers money. When an institution saddled with the duty of protecting lives and 
properties is involved in act inimical to public good, the end result would be catastrophic for the 
nation.  
It is not only the Police Force and medical institutions that are affected by the general rot in 
the system. The prison service is worse hit by general recession ranging from dilapidated structure 
and leaking roofs. On one occasion when it rains in the prison, the doctor is aroused from his sleep:  
223 
 
 
It is raining. The patter of rain drops on the roof brings me 
awake from a lazy sleep. I stretch and yawn and snap awake 
when I feel the first drop of rain on my skin…I move my thin 
mattress from the direct path of the rain and in the process 
awaken one of my cell mates…To catch the rain drops, I 
place bowls at four points and sit to watch them full up (56).  
 
Evidences have it that Nigerian prisons are ill-equipped, underfunded, over-crowded and have 
generally become haven for breeding criminals contrary to their supposed reformative tendency 
(Adelola, 1994; Atere, 2000; Okunola, 2002; Okunola, Aderinto & Atere, 2002). Although 
Okunola (2002:363) submits that a prison system is strategically designed ―to remove the 
undesirable elements‖ from circulation, the reality on ground cannot justify this claim. Okunola, 
Aderinto and Atere (2002) believe that once the dangerous elements in the society have been 
restricted within the confine of the prison‘s wall, they are expected to have been reformed and 
trained on how to live harmoniously with people in the society. Unfortunately, the reverse has 
often been the case in Nigerian prison system:  
All the problems mentioned above-congestion, inadequate 
and poor facilities, recidivism etc and there attendant 
consequences have made the prison function of reformation 
and rehabilitation difficult to achieve (331-332).  
 
These problems, in the opinion of Adelola (1994:127), have been compounded by the intimidating 
presence of significant number of awaiting-trial inmates in Nigeria prisons. This reality is 
textualised in Onwordi‘s Ballad of Rage as the doctor‘s sojourn in prison reveals the decadence 
which ravages Nigeria‘s prison system:  
You get all sorts here. Those who have been here so long 
they will never fit in outside…Then there are those who will 
never get used to prison life…There are the real freaks, men 
who are women. Those who spend their time here gratifying 
the sexual needs of fellow prisoners. I have often wondered 
what drives them? Fear perhaps (67).   
 
This development makes nonsense the perceived reformative role of the prison. One can only 
wonder how such system can play a reformative role in the life of an inmate!  
Meanwhile as an experienced medical practitioner, the doctor is disgusted at the 
ill-equipped nature of the prison. Although he does not seek a way out of prison life because he 
believes that he deserves his incarceration and inevitable execution, he is at loss about the reality of 
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the prison. He keeps on wondering how so many sick people suffering from tuberculosis, herpes, 
ulcer, meningitis and the dreaded Human immunodeficiency Virus are kept together in a cell 
without medication or doctor to care for them! Also hardened criminals like armed-robbers, 
murderers, homosexuals, cultists, petty-thieves and pick-pockets stay together. The doctor‘s 
account is startling: 
Then there are those who cause me the most heartbreak. The 
walking dead, AIDs victims. You see them and for the 
trained eyes you know at once that these are dead men 
pretending to be alive. Colonized by opportunistic 
infections, meningitis, herpes, tuberculosis…Here in prison 
there are no drugs, no care, so you catch these men, dead 
already, surviving just by the sheer effort of the will. Every 
morning when the cells are thrown open, corpses are pulled 
into the corridors. Hard labour inmates must have lost count 
of how many they have buried so far (67-68).  
 
The doctor‘s testimony only confirms the general assertion that the commonest thing in Nigeria‘s 
prison is death by installment. The danger in keeping petty-thieves with hardened criminals and 
condemned inmates in the same cell is enormous. Besides the possibility of producing inmates 
who are more hardened and notorious than before, no one can rule out conflict and disagreement 
which can have fatal consequences. The example of the crisis between the remandees and the lifers 
over space would suffice. Four remandees are kept overnight with nine condemned men. An 
argument ensued over space in the cell and in no time, the condemned men have lynched the 
remandees! Enraged by this gruesome murder, other detainees and prisoners swoop on them and 
lynched them in reprisal. As the wardens flee from the mob, policemen have to be invited before 
the riot can be quenched. Even the hurriedly organised football match between the hard labour 
inmates and the condemned inmates does not assuage ill-feelings and hatred. After the hard labour 
inmates win the game by three goals to one, their captain is attacked later in the toilet. He never 
makes it to the hospital.  
As dehumanizing as the prison‘s environment is, window-dressing can assume an absurd 
dimension in it. After the death of thirteen inmates of the prison, the government suspends the 
controller of prison and hurriedly constitutes a panel of inquiry to investigate the crisis and 
condition of living in the prison. So as to save his face and create the impression that all is well in 
the system, the chief warden invites the doctor to his office and instructs him to help equipped the 
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sick bay with ―essential drugs and items‖. He is therefore led to pharmaceutical stores where he 
purchases the drugs. As the panel of inquiry sits, the inmates are to smile and pretend all through. 
Even the hard labour inmates and the condemned inmates have to bury the hatchet temporarily. No 
one is to rock the boat else he would have to face the consequences afterwards:  
Prisoners and remandees are at their best behaviour. We 
laugh and smile and say all is good because we have been 
asked to and because we know that the Members of the 
Judicial Panel will not be here forever. They are here for a 
short stay and then we return to our routine and there will be 
no mercy for anybody who steps out of line. The Hard men 
and coasters even seem to have buried their differences (98).     
 
This development is a pointer to the fact that even those in authority know what is good for those 
under their care. However, there is a whole lot of difference between knowing what is right and 
doing it. Nigerians are so used to fire-brigade approach to solving problems such that a discerning 
mind cannot but wonder why they cannot take the pain to do it consistently before the day of 
reckoning. Such ‗lousy‘ preparation to cover-up ones track has been subject of Osundare‘s 
scathing criticism in his ―siren‖ and State Visit.  
The case of double standard rears its ugly head even in the prison. Although it undermines 
the law of natural justice, yet it finds a safe haven in Nigeria‘s system. While some inmates wallow 
in deprivation in their over-crowded cell, the ‗privileged‘ inmates enjoy unrestricted access to the 
outside world with various communication gadgets at their disposal. With the wardens at their 
beck and call, albeit for a fee, they live like kings and emperors in their prison ‗domain‘. The 
political activists/detainees belong to this ‗privileged‘ category. Having turned activism into a 
‗lucrative industry‘, they seem to derive pleasure in their continual incarceration so much that they 
now savour the unprecedented benefits which accrue from their adventures. Their cells are always 
bee-hive of activities with party and merry-making always part of their daily routine:  
The political detainees are having a party. One of them is 
celebrating his birthday. I remember him from pictures and 
stories in the magazines as well as interviews on TV…They 
are frying bean cakes and drinking from plastic kegs which 
no doubt contain alcohol spirited into the prison through a 
trusted courier. In prison anything is possible once the price 
is right (55).  
 
226 
 
 
Nigeria‘s postcolonial history is replete with the activities of several so-called human right 
activists who are merely after personal gains. Such individuals later outsmart their colleagues in 
the quest for pecuniary benefits. They are ready to discard their socialist credentials for capitalist 
ideology once their interest is taken care of. Their actions smack of greed and selfishness.  
If the manner Nigerians observe the ‗ritual‘ of worshipping in the church is juxtaposed 
with their corrupt and evil machinations, a critical mind would marvel at such glaring 
contradiction. One cannot but be awestruck at the level of ‗religiosity‘ of these criminally minded 
personalities from all walks of life. While they consistently perpetrate evil deeds ranging from 
marital infidelity to prostitution, bribery and corruption to nepotism, armed-robbery to 
drug-peddling, they, nonetheless make it a point of duty to attend churches and other unorthodox 
places of worship! The doctor loses his first family owing to the infidelity of a wife who does not 
fail to attend Sunday Service in a church. In flagrant non-compliance with biblical injunction 
which abhors adultery and fornication, she keeps a lover whom she brings home whenever she 
wants. Yet this adulterous wife has the conscience to admonish her husband to lay good example 
for the children to follow! One would have been surprised if her own example too is worthy of 
emulation by the children. In the same vein, the prison is comprised of inmates who are 
homosexuals, cultists, armed-robbers, conmen, murderers and rapists who still attend regular 
church services. Even the preacher is an awaiting trial inmate who is been detained for the murder 
of ―his wife, her mother and sister‖. He is described as a fiery preacher:  
For he saith unto Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will 
have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have 
compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him 
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy (54).  
 
He also enjoins them to believe in God who only can show mercy. However when a prison inmate 
becomes a preacher of Jesus Christ, one is surprised at what brings him the ‗salvation‘ he now 
proclaims.   
The philosophy behind Toni Kan Onwordi‘s Ballad of Rage can be likened to that of 
ancient Greek drama, particularly as exemplified by Aristotle‘s Poetics, where supernatural forces 
play trick on man‘s destiny with little or no possibility of being exorcised from the dictate of the 
gods. In classical Greek tragedy, vendetta-seeking Greek gods are fond of lording it on mankind 
who are entangled in their furies, unable to wriggle out of their ‗belligerent‘ dispositions. Man 
becomes a mere toy tossed up and down by the gods. His destiny is fatally tied to their pranks and 
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antics. Sophocles Oedipus Rex offers an eloquent representation of man‘s inability to escape the 
wrath of the gods, despite the fact that such wrath may not have been occasioned by any fault of 
his, besides a divinely-inflicted hubris which justifies his inevitable fall. Shakespeare‘s Othello is a 
text written in the same Greek tradition. In the same vein, Ballad of Rage presents three 
protagonists who vainly seek to be set free from odious fate which impedes on their sense of 
self-fulfillment. Cruel fate has always led the doctor to marrying women of easy virtues. Besides 
Rosa who loves him passionately, other women have always capitalised on his unalloyed love, 
cheating on him in the process. His first marriage ‗crashes‘ because his wife has the effrontery to 
invite a lover to her matrimonial home! Unaware that the gas is leaking the lover lights a cigarette 
and the house goes on in flames. Although the two love-birds escape unhurt, his two children and a 
maid die in the inferno. He almost becomes a misogynist until he meets a lady who ‗agrees‘ with 
him never to raise children who would remind him of his two sons. Unfortunately, her second 
marriage is anything but better. He marries a sex-addict whose insatiable sexual desire gets to the 
extent where she seeks sexual pleasure from anybody, anytime, anywhere, anyhow! The fatal 
consequence of her action leads her husband to the prison and, perhaps, a date with the hangman. 
His kind disposition offers enough clues to his attitudinal nuances as a gentleman. Ironically, fate 
plays a fast one on him.  
Besides the doctor, his wife may be excused from her behavioural misdemeanour for 
obvious reason. Before the rape incident where several policemen gang-raped her, she enjoys a 
blissful sexual life full of passion and devoid of any ill-feelings towards men. She cherishes the 
fond memories of her romance with Pam, her lover in her undergraduate days. She only becomes a 
‗monster‘ when the policemen assaulted her, passing her to one another like article, a 
better-forgotten experience which infringes on her sense of self-worth. As if the psychological 
torture arising from her humiliation is not enough, she gets pregnant and while seeking abortion, 
has her uterus and fallopian tubes damaged! In a society where single mothers are viewed with 
contempt, nothing but Dilation and Curettage (otherwise known as D and C) would be worthwhile, 
especially as her boyfriend would have none of it. Her fate, therefore, evokes pity.  
Even the randy Jeff may not be a bad quy after all. The blunt refusal of his parents to 
support whatever career he chooses may have been mainly responsible for his action and inaction. 
Fate has given him parents who assume an all-knowing disposition, relegating his free-will to the 
background. They refuse to pay his tuition for choosing to study English at the university, contrary 
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to their preferred ‗lucrative‘ courses like medicine and accountancy. Even when he graduates with 
a degree in English, they stand their ground against his choice of music as a career, without taken 
his talent and dream into cognisance. He comes to mind as a focused man who refuses to be 
distracted from his cherished dream of becoming a music star when he gets abroad. To achieve 
this, he drives a cab to save enough money for the trip. His problem, however, starts when the 
doctor‘s wife boards his cab home and lures him to have sexual intercourse with her. He later 
realises his folly and goes to meet the doctor in the prison to confess his misdemeanour, like Judas 
Iscariot in the bible. If none of his family members would understand his plight, who would blame 
his recourse to marijuana for succour? If fate offers him no hope, especially after the death of his 
grandmother who pays his tuition in the university, why would he not revel in the bosom of a 
woman who offers him company and emotional stability? Therefore the hard-line posture of Jeff‘s 
parents in a society where talent is downplayed and, in its stead, premium is placed on one 
profession over the other, is equally responsible for his action.      
Apart from its philosophical underpinning which foregrounds the inevitability of fate in 
social engineering, Onwordi‘s Ballad of Rage discusses sex, promiscuity, infidelity, lust and 
homosexuality without any modicum of decency. In a manner contrary to established literary 
convention in Africa where premium is placed on morality and values, the text displays graphic 
details of sex and sexuality in flagrant disavowal of highly-cherished African literary tradition. 
The doctor‘s wife is an unrepentant nymphomaniac who sleeps with any man that catches her 
fancy, from Pam to Jeff. All these sexual scenes are vividly described in the text. Her experience 
with Pam is nothing compares to that of Jeff: 
I craved for more. He lived at the back of his father‘s house. 
Once we drove in and stepped into his room, passion would 
take over…Most times when there was a power outage or 
when our passion was spent, we would lie naked in bed, his 
fingers tracing circles around the dark aureoles of my breast 
(33).  
Also, Jeff describes his first encounter with her in details:  
I heard her purse fall and her moan was hot ash sprinkled on 
my wood. I was boiling. She had no panties on. I remember 
that. I also remember that she was the one who lifted her 
skirt and lay on the couch with her legs spread open. I drove 
home not believing that it had happened. That I had just 
229 
 
 
made love to a married woman in the sitting room of her 
matrimonial home, with the door open and the risk of 
discovery quite high (121).  
Other sexual scenes describe in the text are that between the doctor‘s wife and the policemen, the 
doctor, his wife and Rosa. All these scenes are laid bare for all to see and imagine. However, a 
discerning mind can only wonder the lesson one stands to learn from these images. They merely 
portray Nigerian society as morally lax and valueless. The text‘s penchant for art-for-art‘s-sake 
philosophy is quite unbecoming, especially in a society which seeks cultural rebirth and 
rejuvenation.  
In similar vein, a morally bankrupt society can only produce youth who are morally inept 
and corrupt. The youth presented in Onwardi‘s Ballad of Rage do not comport themselves as 
capable or altering the rot and decadence in the society. Their activities range from cultism to 
armed-robbery, prostitution to homosexuality, violence to during addiction. They contribute 
ignominiously to the maladies in Nigeria. If the so-called future leaders are enmeshed in social 
vices of such magnitude, Nigeria‘s future can be said to be bleak. Therefore, the text does not make 
a worthy representation of value-conscious African texts, texts specifically written to correct 
societal vices. Its depiction of African youth does not tally with the ideals expected from 
value-conscious African writers and critics.  
Marital infidelity and promiscuity are twin-vices which dominate Onwordi‘s Ballad of 
Rage. The doctor is always the victim of women who cannot but have extra martial affairs. His 
first marriage ended abruptly, resulting in the death of her two sons. The second marriage does not 
fare any better since the wife does not have any inkling of affection for him. As a married woman, 
she almost falls in love with Afam. When she eventually meets Jeff, she frantically lures him to 
bed severally. Her fate serves her right as she is caught and killed by her husband. A man who had 
‗rescued‘ her from the psychological trauma of living with her condition obviously deserves better 
treatment. This is in sharp contrast to what obtains in traditional African society where women 
have unalloyed love for their husbands.  
In all, Toni Kan Onwordi‘s Ballad of Rage is written against the backdrop of the novelist‘s 
belief that the injustice, oppression and corruption in contemporary Nigerian society have the 
tendency to create monster out of Nigerians. As people struggle to make ends meet in a nation 
which does not take the plight of her people into consideration, nothing other than banality, moral 
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laxity, marital infidelity, corruption, administrative ineptitude, official brigandage, infrastructural 
neglect and religious hypocrisy should be expected. In such a deranged society, no one can 
contemplate love, affection and relationship. People barely manage to survive hence survival is 
only possible for the fittest. In an interview with Henry Akubuiro (2009), Onwordi‘s attributes this 
―siege mentality‖ to incessant military interventions and the nascent democratic experiment in 
Nigeria‘s history. In his opinion, this reality leaves much to be desired. It has, indeed, forecloses 
any fictional reflection of love and marital harmony:  
I tried to make a case that, if you look at contemporary 
fiction-using Maik Nwosu‘s Alpha Song and Invisible 
Chapters, Helon Habilas prison stories in Waiting for an 
Angel, Nengi Illegha‘s Condolences, Akin Adesokan‘s Ode 
to the Tribe, my own Ballad of Rage, and a few others-which 
were set against a backdrop of our recent history, that is, the 
military dictatorship of Babangida and Abacha up to the 
beginning of this democracy, you had people who were 
under siege. And I felf that siege mentality wasn‘t 
supportive of relationships. So we couldn‘t incubate 
emotions into love.  
 
Thus, it becomes apparent that the socio-political experience in recent Nigeria‘s society informs 
Onwordi‘s treatment of themes which would be largely ‗unheard‘ of in traditional African society. 
This marks Onwordi‘s Ballad of Rage out as a text sets in the postmodern order where social 
harmony is absent.  
Besides its themes of violence and corruption, Ballad of Rage is written in the postmodern 
disjointed, narrative technique. Three protagonists are involved in the presentation of several 
fragmented but interrelated stories. With special emphasis on omniscient first-person-singular 
narrative model, each protagonist tells his or her story in a manner which draws pity unto him or 
her. The doctor‘s wife tells a story where some randy policemen inflict rape on her and other 
fellow students. This singular act, apart from turning her to a barren, leads her to the point where 
she now sees all men as ‗articles‘ meant to be used and dumped. She becomes a sex addict whom 
no single man can satisfy sexually henceforth. Besides satisfying her sexual lust, she neither 
speaks nor cares for even her lover. Her husband has almost become a misogynist before he meets 
her. Unfortunately for him, his first wife is a lesser ‗devil‘ compare to his new wife. He has to 
spend the rest of his miserable life in jail where he meets several characters whose lives offer clear 
231 
 
 
insight into Nigeria‘s situation. Even the lover boy, Jeff, is entangled in hostile family intercourse 
where he takes decision alone with no love and support from his parents. He has to seek and gets 
‗comfort‘ from the doctor‘s wife. He ends up in jail too. Therefore these related stories are 
revealed in episodic manner to depict the postmodern penchant for structural ―diegesis‖. When 
they however, form a whole, the import of the novelist‘s message is not lost on the readers.  
By and large, the philosophy behind Toni Kan Onwordi‘s Ballad of Rage does not conform 
to that of a nation in search of cosmic harmony! Its treatment of theme of marital infidelity in a 
nation bedeviled with escalating corruption, injustice, moral laxity and infrastructural decay is 
clearly at variance with the developmental aspiration of the people. A value-conscious nation 
would definitely discard any theme that undermines traditional assumption and core values, 
particularly themes of sex, rape, promiscuity and marital infidelity. Besides, its recourse to 
Graeco-Roman ethos which privileges divinely-ordained fate as the sine qua non for social 
engineering is antithetical to the instrumentality of man as a potent agent for social change. Also, 
fragmented narrative style makes nonsense the stereotyped linear plot structure which is the 
established norm in African writings. This experimentalist posture forecloses hitherto established 
writing style in its entirety. Its exploration of disjointed narrative experiment, even if it 
underscores the futility of order in the society, may not be apposite towards achieving redress from 
the maladies which are evident in the society. These thematic and stylistic thrusts are, though 
postmodernist, clearly not in tandem with the developmental yearnings of Afrocentric scholars. 
Therefore, the text may not appeal to a discerning African mind in the quest for social growth in 
line with Afrocentric paradigm.       
6.3 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A Brief Biodata 
th
Born to the family of professor Nwoye James and Mrs. Ifeoma Grace Adichie on the 15  
September 1977, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in the university town of Nsukka, where 
she had her elementary and secondary educations. As a teenager in 1996, she left for the Eastern 
Connecticus State University in the United State of America, enrolled and graduated with a degree 
in Communication and Political Science. She also received a Master degree in Creative Writing 
from Johns Hopkins University and another Master degree in African Studies from Yale 
University. 
Chimamanda Adichie‘s works are undoubtedly of international repute. They include 
Pupple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) and The Thing Around Your Neck (2008). 
232 
 
 
She also has several short-stories to her credit among which are ―A Private Experience‖ 
―Limitation‖, and ―Jumping Monkey Hill‖ published in The Thing Around Your Neck. Others 
include  ―Ghosts‖, ―Tomorrow is Too Far‖, ―The Colour of an Akward Conversation‖, ―My Old 
Man‖, ―The Untold Story‖, ―Sierra Leone-1997‖, ―Cell One‖, ―The Headstrong Historian‖, and 
―A Tampered Destiny‖. 
Chimamanda Adichie has published widely and her literary efforts have been applauded 
across the globe. Her fiction and short-stories have been published in reputable outfits like Granta, 
The Financial Times, Zoetrope and Farafina Magazine. Among other awards and fellowships, she 
was the O. Henry Prize winner in 2003 and Hodder Fellow at Princeton 2005/2006. Her first novel, 
Purple Hibiscus won the 2005 Common-wealth Writers Prize and Hurston Wright Legacy Award. 
It was also shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and 
the Booker Prize. Her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun won the mouth-watering thirty thousand 
pound Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction in 2007. In 2008, she received a Macarthur Foundation 
Fellowship for five years.  
Although Adichie‘s disaporic experiences have influenced her creative scope significantly, 
her affinity with her Igbo ancestry is evident in her literary oeuvre. Her works are dominated by 
references to Igbo towns and villages from Nsukka to Orlu, Umunnachi to Abba, Enugu to 
Umuahia. On the heel of international recognition and accolade, an appreciative Nigerian public 
has not denied her place as one of those who employ literature to earn national pride for Nigeria in 
the comity of nations. No wonder her Purple Hibiscus is now on the reading list of West African 
Examination Council‘s (WAEC) Literature in English syllabus.  
6.4 Half of a Yellow Sun 
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) fuses together the themes of 
love and betrayal, loyalty and frustration, corruption and deprivation, war and grief, hope and 
disappointment. In the context of Nigerian civil war, it centralises the Igbo nation as peopled by 
ambitious, resilient but ill-prepared group of people. Albeit from a subjective standpoint, it 
fictionalises the events surrounding the Igbo cause and the quest for self-determination in a hostile 
environment. Even if the title is reminiscence of the emblem of the still-birth Biafran nation, its 
pan-Africanist disposition underscores its relevance in articulating the socio-cultural milieu of 
Africa. Nonetheless, the historicity of events described does not becloud its style and technique. Its 
stories are told with recourse to traditional African story-telling technique which emphasises the 
233 
 
 
significance of craft and artistic innovation in advancing socially relevant themes. Its diction, as 
well as back and forth narrative experiment, foregrounds the literariness of an obviously 
socio-political text. Its adoption of literary devices like irony, metaphor, folktales, proverbs, 
suspense, symbolism and imagery are in line with African prose tradition whose modern form is 
given impetus by Chinua Achebe‘s Things Fall Apart. Its methods of character delineation, 
unstable narrative structure, and third person narrative perspectives further attest to its quality. 
In Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie masterfully weaves the gloom, despair and wanton 
destruction of lives and properties around the characters of Odenigbo, Ugwu, Olanna, Kainene and 
Richard. From events of the early 1960s (before the war), through the war periods (1967 to 1970), 
to the after-effect of the war, these characters are largely instrumental to Adichie‘s narration. 
Odenigbo is a mathematics lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He always plays host to 
like-mind intellectuals with whom the pre-war socio-political intrigues are laid bare. This group of 
unofficial ‗think-tank‘ is made up of academics from all walks of life in the university. Over foods 
and drinks, they lead the readers into the events which culminated into the civil war. These regular 
discussions expose the idealistic, revolutionary and fire-brand disposition of Odenigbo. Besides 
his pan-African leaning, he subscribes to the idea of war to liberate the Igbo from the ‗shackles‘ of 
poverty, injustice and oppression allegedly perpetrated by the Gowon administration in Nigeria. 
He actively participates in the pre-war rallies and sensitisation at the freedom square on campus. 
He serves at the Manpower Directorate at Umuahia during the war. He also endears himself to 
people as a caring and selfless personality, qualities which underscore his welfarist and humanist 
perspectives. He suffers the harrowing experiences of war as an air-raid mars his wedding. Also a 
landlord ejects him for a tenant who offers to pay more! He has to move his family to a one-room 
apartment where strange characters co-habit, in contrast to his more convenient campus residence. 
He collaborates with other men to build a bunker where people can hide from the incessant 
air-raids from federal troops. After the war, he is harassed and humiliated by Nigerian troops who 
discover his Nsukka linkage. He lost books, manuscripts, and other academic materials to the 
destruction of Nsukka campus. His ‗revered‘ Mathematical Annals had served as toilet paper for 
the ‗vandals‘! His character can be contrasted with that of other Biafran leaders who are merely 
benefiting from the war. For instance, while intellectuals like Odenigbo and Okeoma suffer 
humiliation and death respectively, Ojukwu is severally accused of dictatorial rule and general 
insensitivity to the plight of his people. It is ironic that he led Biafra into war ill-equipped and ill- 
234 
 
 
prepared! Time without number, Kainene assumes the role of Ojukwu‘s fiery critic. In a 
conversation with Richard, she chides Ojukwu for misleading the Igbo nation into a war they are 
not prepared for: 
Madu told me today that the army has nothing, absolutely 
nothing. They thought Ojukwu had arms pilled up 
somewhere, given the way he had been talking, ―No power 
in Black Africa can defeat us.‖ So Madu and some of the 
officers who came back from the North went to tell him that 
we have no arms, no mobilization of troops, and that our 
men are training, with wooden guns, for goodness sake. 
They wanted him to release his stockpiled arms. But he 
turned around and said they were plotting to overthrow him. 
Apparently he has no arms at all and he plans to defeat 
Nigeria with his fists (183). 
 
It is also ironic that while Biafran leaders complaint of injustice and oppression in Nigeria, events 
soon prove them to be worse off. In fact her maximum leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, is accused of 
intolerance and dictatorial rule, a development which undermines his ‗messianic‘ pretext. He is 
accused of favouritsm, nepotism and self-centeredness. Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010) 
document the allegations leveled against the former Biafran warlord in the novel: 
In Half, the Biafra leader is accused of favoring soldiers and 
civilians from his own part of Biafra, of dictatorial 
inclinations, and of oppressing the very people he professes 
to be protecting. He is accused of running Biafra like a 
family business, maltreating his colleagues, snatching their 
wives and being generally insensitive to the plight of the 
people (332-333). 
 
In the same vein, Alexander Madiebo (1980) is quick to dismiss Ojukwu‘s sense of suspicion and 
dictatorial tendencies. He asserts that these weaknesses, amongst others, account for the failure of 
the self-determination cause: 
It was because of the lack of mutual trust by people pursuing 
the same aim, that Ojukwu dispensed with the inner 
confidence of military experts and highly experienced 
political leaders…It is my view that Biafra never had a 
government but merely operated under a leader…what 
Biafra needed most but never had was collective leadership. 
Over concentration of powers into one hand is bad enough in 
235 
 
 
peace time, and should never be allowed in time of war 
when mental strains affect good judgment. As Ojukwu once 
said to Effiong, Biafra‘s effective policy-making body 
consisted of Chukwuemeka, Odumegwu and Ojukwu in 
short, himself alone (379-380).  
 
Unfortunately, Odumegwu Ojukwu does not acquaint himself of these heinous and weighty 
allegations. 
Odenigbo‘s house boy, Ugwu, is a study in hardwork and dedication. Coming from a 
humble rural background into the city life of Nsukka campus, Ugwu adapts quite easily as he had 
promised his aunty. Always at Odenigbo‘s beck and call, he acquaints himself creditably so well 
that he becomes the toast of everyone who comes into Odenigbo‘s campus residence. He quickly 
brushes aside the startling bewilderment which characterised his first coming to the city and settles 
down into middle class household. His loyalty to both Odenigbo and his live-in-lover, Olanna, is 
unflinching. He even nurses ‗their baby‘ for them. His constant eavesdropping to the conversations 
between Odenigbo and other intellectuals on campus has influenced his sense of evaluation on 
socio-political events in the world hence, he aligns with the Biafran cause. In school, he learns so 
fast that his teacher, Mrs Oguike, attests to his ―innate intelligence‖ and recommends him for 
double promotion. He even teaches at the school established by Olanna during the war. He actively 
participates in the war, earning the nickname ―target destroyer‖ after his skillful bombing of the 
‗vandals‘ on one occasion. Wounded almost to the point of death, he comes back to behold a 
devastated Nsukka campus where so much have been destroyed. His mother had died during the 
war while his sister, Anulika, was raped! His ‗beloved‘ Nnesinachi now has a baby for a ‗caring‘ 
Hausa soldier who took care of her during the war. No wonder his hatred towards Nigeria and her 
troops soars.  
Another narrative perspective is presented by Richard Churchill, a British researcher 
sojourning in Nigerian. A lover of Ugbo-Ukwu art, he is introduced into Odenigbo‘s ‗conference‘ 
apparently because of his relationship with Kainene, Olanna‘s twin sister. A ‗naturalised‘ Biafran, 
he believes in the cause of the Igbo and offers to contribute articles to propagate the ideals of the 
Igbo to the world at large, so as to correct erroneous impression being peddled by anti-Igbo 
nations. A detribalised personality, he rejects a fellow Briton, Susan, for Kainene and remains 
committed to her despite the fact that both are never married. He jealously wards off other suitors 
236 
 
 
from her. He stands by her throughout the war and after. Together with Olanna, he organises a 
search-party to seek for Kainene who does not return from the afia attack after the war.  
From these three narrative perspectives, Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun tells the story of 
love and betrayal, intrigue and corruption, blackmail and wanton destruction of lives and 
properties that are evident in the crisis-ridden immediate post-independent Nigeria. Having been 
swept off her feet by Odenigbo‘s sense of order at a theatre in Ibadan, Olanna Ozobia falls in love 
with him, preferring to end it all with Muhammed. She refuses to be used as sex- bait by her 
parents who want her to marry chief Okonji, the finance minister, to further their business interest! 
To demonstrate her resolve, she rejects a lucrative job-offer from the finance minister and chooses 
a teaching appointment at the department of sociology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She had 
earlier shone marriage proposals from both Igwe Okagbue and chief Okaro‘s families. On campus, 
she quickly endears himself to Odenigbo‘s friends and teaches Ugwu how to cook in a modern 
environment. 
A self-opinionated lady who preferred to be suspended from school than to apologise to her 
teacher over a controversial argument on pax Britanica, Olanna attends the meeting of the Igbo 
union in Kano when she pays a visit to uncle Mbaezi‘s household. She actually beholds the killing 
of these relatives as well as fellow Igbo before the riot that precedes the civil war. She barely 
manages to escape through the skin of her teeth and endures the tortuous journey back home. 
During the war, she contributes immensely to the upbringing of Igbo children whom she teaches at 
Akakuma Primary School, together with Ugwu and Mrs. Muokelu. She later establishes her own 
primary school for the same purpose. Although an air raid by the ‗vandals‘ mars her wedding, she 
remains undauntedly committed to self-determination for the Igbo. She devises survivalist 
strategy, like soap making, to make end meet. Her strong-willed disposition comes to the fore 
when she leads the search-party for Kainene after the war. This is commendable, especially when 
men like Odenigbo and Richard have lost all hopes. When Odenigbo and Richard betray emotion 
over the death of mama and inability to trace Kainene respectively, she is ever-ready to console 
both men. Her resolve to adopt and care for ‗Baby‘ is a good commentary on her love for 
humanity.  
The personality of Kainene makes a strong statement on the virtue Adichie bestows on her 
female characters, especially in Half of a Yellow Sun. In a quintessential Igbo fashion, Kainene is a 
determined business-minded character. She is saddled with the enviable task of managing her 
237 
 
 
father‘s vast business concern in Port Harcourt. She discharges this duty meritoriously and 
becomes the cynosure of all eyes that the family is proud of. This quality endears her to people 
hence Richard sees no qualm in denouncing Susan for her. Although she repeatedly casts aspersion 
on the ill-preparedness of Biafra for war against Nigeria, she plays her part during the war. After 
the fall of Port Harcourt, she relocates to Orlu and establishes a refugee camp to care for the 
displaced and homeless. Although she benefits in terms of contract from the war, she comes to 
mind as a determined Igbo woman whose commitment to the cause of Biafra is never in doubt. She 
refuses to ‗escape‘ to London with her parents and resolve to thrive in war-torn Biafra. Her trade 
along enemy zone is a testimony to her determination to make her mark during the war. She never 
returns. 
Another strong-willed woman in Half of a Yellow Sun is Mrs Muokelu. A barely literate 
woman, she joins hand with Olanna and Ugwu to train Biafran children during the war. A 
committed woman, she trains and feeds her large family and assists displaced persons to get food 
at the relief centre. Her commitment knows no bound as she never touches anything from Nigeria. 
To guide against starvation and deprivation occasioned by the civil war, she trains Olanna the art 
of soap-making which can be sold for survival. She is even ready to go for afia attack if occasion 
demands. Irrespective of class and status, other women in Half of a Yellow Sun enjoy considerable 
influence on the affairs of men. Despite Odenigbo‘s displeasure, his mother almost forces him to 
marry Amala, a village girl who eventually has a child for him. Similarly, one of the reasons why 
Olanna rejects Muhammed for Odenigbo is the unfair treatment earlier meted to her by his mother. 
Besides the themes of love, betrayal, corruption, war and destruction Adichie‘s craft 
consciousness is espoused in Half of a Yellow Sun. Unlike some postcolonial novels which merely 
betray socio-political rhetoric, Half of a Yellow Sun combines the use of literary devices like 
metaphor, imagery, symbolism, humour and narrative dexterity to drive home its socio-political 
point. Its title is a metaphor of Biafra shrouded in pain, devastation and hope for prosperity. With 
the Biafran flag as the symbol, Olanna takes the pain to imbibe this ‗tutorial‘ in her young pupils. 
The serious nature of this historical novel does not becloud Adichie‘s sense of humour. She 
explores this device in Ugwu, Mrs Ozobia and Pastor Ambrose. Ugwu is bewildered at the cozy 
atmosphere of Nsukka campus compared to the rural setting of his village. He marvels at seeing a 
refrigerator and a tap in Odenigbo‘s kitchen: 
238 
 
 
Ugwu entered the kitchen cautiously, placing one foots 
slowly after the other. When he saw the white thing, almost 
as tall as he was, he knew it was the fridge. His aunty had 
told him about it. A cold barn, she had said, that kept food 
from going off. He opened it and gasped as the cool air 
mashed into his face…He touched the chicken again and 
lick his finger before he yoked the other leg off, eating it 
until he had only the creaked, sucked pieces of bones left in 
his hand… Ugwu turned off the tap, turned it on again, then 
off. On and off and on and off until he was laughing at the 
magic of the running water and the chicken and bread that 
lay balmy in his stomach (6). 
 
Also the reader cannot but laugh at Mrs Ozobia‘s ‗craze‘ for jewelries to the point of carrying her 
highly-cherished jewelries box all about. As if this is not enough, pastor Ambrose stays in the 
house to ‗pray‘ fervently to God to destroy Gowon. He would have done better if he joins the army 
like other men. 
In Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie‘s narrative is heavily influenced by Igbo universe and 
tradition. This perhaps influences her choice of simple and accessible diction. Her ‗nativisation‘ of 
the English language is blended with elements of Igbo folk-tales, riddles and proverbs. As the 
messages reach the readers without ambiguity, this technique further endears her works to them. 
According to Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010), this overt acknowledgement of traditional 
sensibilities makes an eloquent statement on Adichie‘s sense of absolute ―conformity with 
tradition‖: 
She tries to reflect the Igbo folk universe in her fiction, 
especially in the form of proverbs and the folktale. In her 
deployment of proverbs, she either uses them to garnish her 
narrative, injecting local colour and conveying the speech 
patterns and nuances of her indigenous Igbo, or as a 
structural element, which determines the entire formal 
outlook of the story (319). 
 
Thus, despite her early exposure to Western culture, her affinity with her Igbo root is undeniable.  
Adichie‘s characters in Half of a Yellow Sun are quintessentially human in their actions and 
inactions. It is clearly evident in the novel that these characters are ‗equipped‘ with both virtues 
and vices as obtain in normal human beings. They are imbued with strengths and weaknesses 
which further accentuate both flatness and roundness as the narration unfolds. As idealistic and 
239 
 
 
revolutionary Odenigbo is, his amorous relationship with Amala does not stand him in good stead 
as a committed and dedicated lover. This weakness lends credence to the suspicion that under 
intense pressure, he may capitulate and renounce the cause of Biafra too. Also, Ugwu‘s loyalty and 
stoic dispositions are not enough to dissuade him from participating in the gang-raping of a hapless 
bar maid during the war. Similarly, Olanna‘s dispassionate love for Odenigbo, which is given 
impetus by her conviction to stay with him despite family pressure, does not prevent her from 
sleeping with Richard, her sister‘s lover! Besides, all these characters enjoy opulence before the 
war but suffer greatly during and after it. Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010) submit that Adichie‘s 
characters are both flat and round because they are human hence open to human follies. According 
to them, Adichie 
does not compromise the fact that they have to be true 
blueprints and reflections of real life figures. This is why she 
presents them as human beings, in their strengths and flaws, 
in their modesty and excesses, in their joys and sorrows, in 
their triumphs and defeats, in their aspirations and regrets. 
This is why her characters though credible, are not perfect. 
Half of a Yellow Sun presents us with characters whose 
essential humanity often control (323). 
 
Therefore, even if Adichie‘s characters do not come to mind as people who are above board in 
their attitudinal nuances, yet critics appreciate their all-round ‗genuiness‘ as mortal. Their 
humanity is never in doubt.  
The entire narrative in Half of a Yellow Sun is presented with the employment of the third 
person narrative perspective from which events that make up the novel are revealed. Here, Adichie 
avoids the first person narrative voices but espoused the third person narrative perspective to 
depict the historic events in the novel. With the characters of Ugwu, Olanna and Richard, she tells 
the stories of class segregation, domestic responsibility and Western misconception about African 
society respectively. From these diverse perspectives, the socio-political realities of Biafran 
society during the civil war are laid bare. Ugwu‘s ‗underprivileged‘ status affects his sense of 
judgment so much that he beholds with awe the ‗grandeur‘ that is Nsukka campus! No wonder he 
eavesdrops at Odenigbo and Olanna‘s privacy as couple at night, finds it difficult to reconcile with 
live outside Nsukka during the war, and connive to rape a bar maid! Through him, the readers are 
exposed to the negative influence a ‗naïve‘ experience can have on someone who has just been 
exposed to middle-class environment. Also Olanna‘s role, particularly her relationship with 
240 
 
 
Odenigbo, attests to the contemptuous manner the rich behold the poor in a class-conscious 
society. Her parents cannot come to terms with her preference for Odenigbo, a university teacher, 
when a serving finance minister seeks her hand in marriage. They are uncomfortable with the 
‗madness‘ which informs her choice of a teaching career when a ‗lucrative‘ appointment awaits 
her in the finance ministry. However her experience as a master of the domestic chore is an 
advantage for Ugwu‘s personal development. She also provides Odenigbo the sexual satisfaction 
he needs. Similarly, Richard‘s personality elicits the resolve to denounce Western ‗jaundice‘ 
perspective. His relationship with Kainene, his research on Ugbo-Ukwu art and his experience 
during the Nigerian civil war have all combined to reshape his perspective on the Igbo. His articles 
are to expose the world to the injustice and oppression meted out to the Igbo in Nigeria. His 
Biafran leaning has always been stressed.  
Besides the narrative perspective which gives credibility to Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie‘s 
careful handling of structure in the text provides a suspense effect which helps to sustain the 
interest of the readers all through. As the narration moves forth and back, the import of the historic 
novel is not lost. The early 1960s is a point in time when events that make the civil war inevitable 
occur in quick succession. Odenigbo‘s ‗conference‘ reveals this reality. Ugwu‘s coming to the city 
is also seen. As the narration moves forth to the late 1960s, the coup d‘etat and the mindless 
killings of people of Igbo extraction come to the fore. The civil war has also started with 
devastating consequences for the ill-prepared Igbo. From this point, the narration moves back to 
the early 1960s when Richard‘s research effort takes him to Ugwu‘s village for the Ori-Okpa 
festival. Also Odenigbo‘s illicit affair with Amala and Olanna‘s infidelity with Richard are 
discovered. Finally, the concluding chapters take the readers back to the war time in the late 1960s. 
Its negative consequences of killing, destruction, starvation, and deprivation are also evident. 
Everybody is badly affected in a way. As the war ends, the intellectuals count their losses on 
campus while others have either lost some relatives or have them bruised, raped or killed. Even the 
industrious Kainene is lost.  
Even if Adichie tirelessly puts up an objective mien in Haf of a Yellow Sun, no one is left in 
doubt about the side of the divide her interest lies. Although Charles Nnolim (2010:149) attests to 
the ―greatness‖ of the novel on account of its ―impartiality, the refusal to take sides, the absence of 
a judgmental stance‖, Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010:104) are quick to dissent for the simple 
reason that Adichie‘s tone is enough to draw the attention of the readers to the side of the divide 
241 
 
 
she aligns with. In their opinion, ―the reader can hardly resist the temptation of reading these vital 
lessons into the objective presentation of the horrors of war‖. Her Igbo ancestry, though suppress, 
comes to the fore in the epic novel. Besides the commitment to the course of Biafra by her major 
characters like Odenigbo, Olanna, Ugwu, Richard and Kainene, other recourse to Nigeria is 
presented in a manner that depicts her as a hostile and blood-thirsty nation led by inhuman and 
oppressive leaders! While serious intellectuals who regularly converge in Odenigbo‘s campus 
residence to cast aspersion on Nigeria and Nigerian leaders whose intransigencies, they argue, 
make the civil war inevitable, ‗clown‘ like Pastor Ambrose is eager to call on God to reserve the 
worst part of hell for Nigerian leader, Yakubu Gowon! Ironically, Biafran leaders are equally 
guilty of nepotism, favoritism, corruption and general insensitivity to people‘s plight. Kainene is 
highly critical of Biafran leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, whom she accuses of dictatorial tendencies. 
She sees the civil war not as a war of liberation but as a war led by self-serving, power-hungry and 
over-ambitious Igbo leaders. Although she benefits tremendously from the war, she consistently 
questions the rationale behind leading the people to a war without adequate preparation. She does 
not see any sense in recourse to war when food supply is not guaranteed. She blames the corrupt 
nature of the elites and applauds the survival-instinct of the downtrodden. Nonetheless, her faith in 
the cause and survival of Biafra is unshaken. In line with that of her creator, Adichie, she aligns 
with her people on one hand, and criticises the approach on the other hand. Although this attitude 
reflects Adichie‘s creative ingenuity, speaking from both side of the mouth does her claim to 
objectivity no good. A critical mind would be at home more with the text‘s stylistic dexterity 
compared to any claim that adjudges it as an objective documentation of historical events. 
In the same vein, the perceived corruption in Nigeria may be a child‘s play when it is 
compared with what obtains in Biafra. Chief Ozobia and his acolytes make ill-gotten wealth while 
people wallow in abject poverty. As their investment continues to multiply, poverty becomes 
entrenched in the land. So materialistic is Mrs. Ozobia that she possesses a box of jewelries which 
she carries about. True to type, she is quick to arrange the family‘s relocation to United Kingdom 
as the war looms. It serves the family right that they lose some of their ill-gotten properties to 
‗abandon property‘ syndrome after the war. Unfortunately, the air-raids and killings affect the 
people the more. While the people are distraught and left displaced, intellectuals lost valuable 
books, materials and research papers. The mindless raping of a barmaid by some soldiers and the 
242 
 
 
spate of harassment and extortion justify the conclusion that the condition of living in both Nigeria 
and Biafra is equally bad. Oppression abounds everywhere. 
With the publication of Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie has announced her arrival as a 
leading advocate of the tradition described above. Obviously, her exposure to Western 
‗liberalised‘ culture has taken its toll on her depiction of sex and sexuality. Having embraced sex 
as an instrument to tell the story of Nigerian civil war, Adichie‘s characters are presented as either 
sex-maniac or sex-starved. On her first encounter with the intellectuals in Odenigbo‘s house, 
Olanna inwardly craves for their departure because she already feels the urge towards Odenigbo. 
To achieve emotional purgation, Olanna lures Richard to have sex with her! Even Ugwu has the 
same feelings towards Ifesinachi. In the same vein, Chineyere regularly comes into Ugwu‘s room 
to have a ‗quickie‘ behind close door while Amala sneaks into Odenigbo‘s room for a bout of sex 
when the latter is drunk. Evidence has it that when Kainene desires Richard, she invites him to her 
apartment in her father‘s hotel. Most of her female characters do the unusual by luring, cajoling or 
thrusting themselves at men in a manner unheard of in African society.  
As if the unrestraint sexual urge of Adichie‘s characters is not enough, the coital act is 
described with impunity and without a modicum of decency. This justifies Uko‘s (2006:93) 
postulation that contemporary women writers in Africa are all out to depict African women as 
equally ―free to love and express love‖ like their male counterparts, thus ―essentially surmount all 
sexist depictions and picturesque portrayals‖. One of such occasion is between Odenigbo and 
Olanna: 
His tone was gently teasing. But his hands were not gentle. 
They were unbuttoning her blouse, freeing her breast from a 
bra cup. She was not sure how much time had passed, but 
she was tangled in bed with Odenigbo, warm and naked, 
when Ugwu knocked to say they had visitors…After Ugwu 
served drinks, Olanna watched Odenigbo raised his glass to 
his lips and all she could think of was how those lips had 
fastened around her nipple only minutes ago. She 
surreptitiously moved so that her inner arm brushed against 
her breast and closed her eyes at the needles of delicious 
pain (49-50). 
 
Another occasion is more graphically described:  
‗Touch me‘. She knew he didn‘t want to, that he touched her 
breasts because he would do whatever she wanted, whatever 
243 
 
 
would make her better. She caressed his neck, buried her 
fingers in his dense hair, and when he slid into her, she 
thought about Arize‘s pregnant belly, how easily it must 
have broken, skin stretched that taut (160). 
 
Even the deprivation in wartime does not prevent Odenigbo and Olanna‘s sexual escapades from 
bloosoming. The emotional trauma at the sudden disappearance of Ugwu and the news of 
Okeoma‘s death can only be assuaged with the therapeutic dosage of passionate sex in their one 
room apartment: 
She did not let go of his arm until Dr Nwala stumbled back 
into the rain, until they climbed silently onto their mattress 
on the floor. When he slid into her, she thought how 
different he felt, lighter and narrower, on top of her. He was 
still, so still she thrashed around and pulled at his hips. But 
he did not move. Then he began to thrust and her pleasure 
multiplied, sharpened on stone so that each tiny spark 
became a pleasure all its own (392). 
 
On another occasion, they decide to go unconventional, preferring the ‗dog style‘ manner: 
Her lips were still against his and her words suddenly took 
on a different meaning and she moved back and pulled her 
dress over her head in one fluid gestures. She unbuckled his 
trousers. She did not let him take them off. She turned her 
back and leaned on the wall and guided him into her, excited 
by his surprise, by his firm hands on her hips (282). 
[  
Similarly, Olanna‘s ‗minutes of madness‘ with Richard is presented in a vivid manner: 
She could hear his rapid breathing, she unbuckled his 
trousers and moved back to pull them down…She took her 
dress off. He was on top of her and the carpet pricked her 
naked back and she felt his mouth limply enclose her nipple. 
It was nothing like Odenigbo‘s bites and sucks, nothing like 
those shocks of pleasure. Richard did not run his tongue over 
her in that flicking way that made her forget 
everything;…Everything changed when he was inside her. 
She raised her hips, moving with him, matching his thrusts, 
and it was as if she was throwing shackles off her wrists, 
extracting pins from her skins, freeing herself with the loud, 
loud cries that burst out of her mouth (234). 
 
244 
 
 
Also, Ugwu and Chinyere secretly meet in Ugwu‘s room to have a ‗quickie‘. Adichie feels no 
qualm describing the ―hasty‘ thrusts in the dark‖ in details: 
The light was off, and in the thin stream that came from the 
security bulb outside he saw the cone-shaped rise of her 
breasts as she pulled her blouse off, untied the wrapper 
around her waist, and lay on her back…She was silent at 
first and then, hips thrashing, her hands tight around his 
back, she called out the same thing she said every time (127). 
 
Other instances of ‗indecent‘ depiction of sex and sexuality abound in the text. In a conversation 
between Alice and Olanna on men‘s infidelity, they describe the sexual prowess of their men with 
a finger and a clenched fist respectively! The worst case scenario is Ugwu‘s participation in the 
gang-raping of a hapless bar maid: 
On the floor, the girl was still. Ugwu pulled his trousers 
down, surprised at the stiffness of his erection. She was dry 
and tense when he entered her. He did not look at her face, or 
at the man pining her down, or at anything at all as he moved 
quickly and felt his own climax, the rush of fluids to the tips 
of himself: a self-loathing release (365). 
 
These descriptions of various sexual activities run contrary to the tradition pioneered by Achebe 
and other earlier Nigerian writers. Sex is a taboo and should be done with the curtain drawn. 
Evidently, Adichie‘s brand of Western libertarian feminism is at variance with African 
tradition. In traditional African society, sex is never contemplated except after marriage which is 
traditionally contracted between two families. Ironically, none of Odenigbo, Olanna, Amala, 
Kainene, Richard, Ugwu and Chinyere is married. Olanna prefers to live in Odenigbo‘s house even 
against her parents dictate. She sees no big deal sleeping with Richard too because, in her view, sex 
is for emotional purgation. Whenever Odenigbo suggests marriage to her, she is quick to turn 
down the offer, preferring to just leave with him. She even has the gut to say it to her mother! In 
fact, she only wants to conceive and bring forth a child despite not been formally married to him. 
The stigmatization that goes with the birth of a child outside wedlock means nothing to her. Even 
the not-so-attractive Kainene is averse to marriage. She gives Richard inclination to think the affair 
may not lead to marriage eventually. Ironically, both Olanna and Kainene cannot stand the sight of 
infidelity from their ‗spouses‘. Both ladies ‗punish‘ their men in their own ways on discovering 
their infidelity. Also Ugwu enjoys sex while it lasts with Chinyere despite their age and social 
245 
 
 
status. Even Kainene sleeps with both Richard and Madu without being formally married to 
anyone of them. Such adventure is only permitted in Western culture where Adichie spends an 
impressionable part of her live. It is unthinkable in African traditional environment where sex 
before marriage is frown at. Societal aversion to this cohabitation is shown in Arize‘s conversation 
with Olanna. She attributes Olanna‘s ‗unAfrican‘ disposition to too much Western education. 
Similarly, Adichie‘s female characters always dictate the pace in sexual acts. Apart from 
their abilities to go for, and get men who catch their fancy, they always take the lead in the coital 
act. When Olanna seeks to win Odenigbo‘s heart after the event at the theatre in Ibadan, she 
demands and gets his attention effortlessly. She has been swept off her feet by Odenigbo‘s sense of 
order: 
Olanna had stared at him…already thinking of the least 
hurtful way to entangle herself from Mohammed. Perhaps 
she would have known that Odenigbo was different, even if 
he had not spoken; his haircut alone said it, standing up in a 
high halo. But there was an unmistakable grooming about 
him, too; he was not one of those who used untidiness to 
substantiate their radicalism. She smiled and said ‗Well 
done‘! as he walked past her, and it was the boldest thing she 
had ever done, the first time she had demanded attention 
from a man (29). 
 
She now has the effrontery to discard Muhammed. The same can be said of Kainene when she 
meets Richard at a cocktail party. She tells Richard that she is available for any ‗prospective‘ 
bachelor: 
Have you ever been to the market in Balogun? They display 
slabs of meat on tables, and you are supposed to grope and 
feel and then decide which you want. My sister and I are 
meat. We are here so that suitable bachelors will make the 
kill (59). 
 
Even in bed, both ladies always have their ways over men. While Olanna ‗directs‘ sex over 
Odenigbo and Richard, Kainene ‗acts‘ the man over Richard. Thus in Adichie‘s creative hands, 
men are object to be exploited to satisfy women sexual urge. Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010) 
are of the opinion that Adichie‘s female characters are not to be relegated to the background in the 
act of sexual intercourse: 
Adichie‘s female characters, in line with the various degrees 
of their radical orientation, are also strong, proactive and 
246 
 
 
confidently assertive when it comes to the sexual act proper. 
Adichie, on her own, has proved an authorial feminist point 
by her unrestrained projecting of her sexuality. But she also 
allows her characters to do the same in line with what 
contemporary feminists like herself consider as the 
imperative of sexual assertiveness (221).  
 
They are of the opinion that her Western orientation and exposure have provided impetus for her 
literary outlook. However, no discerning African mind would find Adichie‘s postulation funny. It 
is nothing but an absurdity of unimaginable proportion. 
In order to realistically drive home their liberation from sexual deprivation and 
exploitation, Adichie‘s female characters discuss sex with impunity. In Half of a Yellow Sun, her 
female characters are active discussants in sex-related matter and not passive onlookers. Besides 
their penchant to initiate sex, they are vulgar in their assertive claims on sex. Olanna is distraught 
and disenchanted at Odenigbo for sleeping with Amala while she is away. She expresses her 
displeasure to Aunty Ifeka who goes vulgar: 
I am not asking you to go back to his house. I said you will 
go back to Nsukka. Do you not have your own flat and your 
own job? Odenigbo has done what all men do and has 
inserted his penis in the first hole he could find when you 
were away (226).     
 
In the same vein, the deprivation of war does not prevent Adichie‘s female characters from 
expressing their ‗humanity‘. Alice and Olanna‘s description of sexual intercourse in a 
conversation is humorous but vulgar: 
Alice:   And he could not do 
Olanna:  What? 
Alice:  He would jump on top of me, moan oh-ah-oh like a goat, and that 
was it. (She raised her finger). With something this small. And 
afterwards he would smile happily without ever wandering if I had 
known when he started and stopped Men! Men are hopeless! 
Olanna: No, not all of them. My husband knows how to do, and with 
something like this. (Olanna raised a clenched fist) (335-336). 
247 
 
 
Similarly, Olanna and Kainene are not left out in direct reference to sex and sexual organs. Both of 
them have just discovered the infidelity of their spouses. When Odenigbo tries to blame his mother 
for his ‗sin‘, Olanna‘s response becomes vulgar: 
Did your mother pull out your penis and insert it into Amala 
as well! (241). 
 
 And when Kainene confronts her sister, having just discovered her escapade with Richard, her 
vulgarity knows not bound: 
You fucked Richard…You are the good one…The good one 
shouldn‘t fuck her sister‘s lover (254). 
 
Chimamanda Adichie has never hidden her penchant to say it as it is. Reporting an encounter with 
Adichie at Fidelity Bank Creative Writing Workshop, Akeem Lasisi (2008) documents her resolve 
to call a spade a spade even if sex is the issue. She is reported to have wondered why people 
pretend whenever occasions demand vivid description of sex, as if sex is no more part of human 
day to day activities. According to her, the authenticity of a work of art would have been dealt a 
devastating blow if euphemistic terms are used in the presentation of any sexual scene: 
It is about being honest with your art. The story is greater 
than you. Ejiro the writer has to be different from Ejiro the 
self. Otherwise, the story will not be good…If I were the 
editor, and you used manhood instead of penis, I would not 
published it. I would consider it dishonest (44).  
 
Although Adichie‘s disaporic experiences have, no doubt, significantly widen her horizon and 
influenced her perspective on a wide range of issues, sex inclusive, the untoward consequence of 
wholesale importation of Western ideals hook, line and sinker into African consciousness is a 
justifiable worry. In fact, value-conscious culture advocates are quick to denounce Western 
perspective which they consider inimical to African cultural rebirth. Even if a liberal mind can 
excuse her on account of her close affinity with Western values, her flippant and unrestraint 
treatment of ‗traditionally forbidden‘ themes would never escape fiery criticisms from cultural 
nationalists, particularly older generation of Nigerian writers. Thus, Adichie needs be reminded 
that some themes are better left in the domain of queer theorist in the West. Africans have nothing 
worthwhile to aspire to in them. Perhaps she needs be warned of the negative implication of 
exposing the youth to premarital sex. The danger embedded in such act maybe devastating in this 
age of sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the dreaded human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 
Also, one is tempted to conclude that unrestraint exposure to sex in the West has led to the advent 
248 
 
 
of gay marriage, homosexuality, lesbianism, and others which are clearly at variance with African 
highly-cherished values. Of recent, Nigerian parliament outlawed gay marriage, homosexuality 
and lesbianism with the recent passage of Same-Sex Prohibition Bill by the senate. Despite 
Western entreaties and threat, the passage of the bill is greeted with commendation by Nigerians 
from all walks of life. 
Adichie‘s feminist philosophy may have led her into collision course with value- conscious 
African critics. Although she consistently maintains her position that sex is explored only to elicit 
the humanity of her characters, the fact remains that premarital sex, graphic illustration of sexual 
acts and marital infidelity are frowned at in traditional African society. Even if we agree with Flora 
Nwapa (2007:532) that ―a woman is also flesh and blood. She has a heart and soul and she is 
capable of human feelings,‖ yet we aver that sex should not be promoted into a situation where it 
becomes an all-comer affair, particularly with unmarried women going out of their ways to seek 
sexual satisfactions from men a la Olanna, Kainene and Chinyere. It is traditionally reserved for 
couples. No wonder Nwapa is quick to relegate feminist politics to the background and agree that 
the panacea for cultural reawakening can be achieved in ―indigenous traditions such as democracy, 
tolerance, sharing and mutual‘s support‖. Ogundipe-Leslie‘s (254-546) brand of feminism is more 
accommodating to African cultural heritage. Amongst other roles, she asserts that feminism does 
not promote oppositional rhetoric to men, is not out to echo Western sentiments, and is not averse 
to African cultural heritage. It is only a gender-friendly ideological signpost to promote 
‗womanhood‘ and prevent exploitation. 
Exploitation, corruption and brutality are part and parcel of every capitalist society, hence 
is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Karl Marx‘s treatise on alienation in a capitalist society is 
premised on the assumption that exploitation, brutality and corruption are embedded in every 
class-structured society. Adichie‘s depiction of Nigeria as a corrupt society in Half of a Yellow Sun 
gives the impression that Biafra would be better off. Ironically, exploitation and brutality assume a 
more dangerous dimension in Biafra. While Biafran leaders live in affluence, majority of the 
people wallow in abject poverty. The fall of Nsukka leads to the scampering of the intellectuals for 
safety while Biafran leaders thrive in opulence and have the audacity to even marry other wives! 
Coloniel Ojukwu is accused severally of punishing any voice of dissent with arrest, detention and 
execution. He is alleged to have promoted some junior officers at the detriment of more senior 
ones. While an intellectual like Okeoma is killed, Ojukwu escapes to Cote D‘Iviore unscathed! 
249 
 
 
Kainene thrives and blossoms for being a government contractor. Odenigbo loses his rented 
apartment to a tenant who offers to pay more, despite his heroic assignment at the Manpower 
Directorate Division. The rape incident is a statement on the exploitation meted out to the 
downtrodden, even in Biafra. Suffice it to say that exploitation, corruption, brutality, ethnicity and 
other social vices that make the Nigerian civil war inevitable have continued unabated till date. As 
the political leaders lord it over the masses without any form of decency, poverty, occasioned by 
inept leadership, soars! Minority agitation for equal representation in the body polity has never 
been so persistent, hence violence has become a pastime in minority enclave like the Niger Delta. 
Ethnic chauvinism has never abated and has given rise to sectional militia like Odua Peoples 
Congress (OPC), Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM), Arewa Youth Forum (AYF), 
Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and other 
self-determination groups agitating for regional autonomy. Religious fundamentalism 
spearheaded by the dreaded Boko Haram sect has led to bloody clashes and wanton destruction of 
lives and properties especially in the north. Looting of public treasury has never been done with 
greater impunity despite the huge resources allocated to the various anti-graft agencies. Therefore 
the war has achieved nothing other than to increase suspicion and generate tension in Nigeria. Its 
futility as a means of altering perceived injustice in the society is a matter of fact. 
In Half of a Yellow Sun, Nigerian army is regarded to as peopled by inhuman and wicked 
soldiers, as if these vices are not associated with warfare generally. In an attempt to protect and 
defend a nation‘s territorial integrity and sovereignty, soldiers are specially trained to kill, maim 
and destroy properties in time of war. Although Nigerian soldiers ask Odinchezo to urinate on 
Ojukwu‘s photograph, a development which makes fellow Igbo to hide any clue that can reveal 
their ancestry, yet we submit that such acts are not uncommon during warfare. For instance, every 
announcement of a successful onslaught against Nigerian troops by Biafran soldiers is greeted 
with jubilation and pumping of champagne. Even after surrendering to Nigeria, Biafran, like 
Olanna, is still glad to behold a destroyed Nigerian fleet on the way back to Nsukka and gladly say 
―we did this‖. It is however strange how Adichie wants Nigerian soldiers to be different! Although 
the humiliation meted out to Odenigbo, who is forced to carry wood for using Biafran number 
plate on his car, is inhuman and wicked, yet we make bold to say that nothing can be more barbaric 
and inhuman compared to the gang-raping of a hapless barmaid by fellow Biafran soldiers. 
250 
 
 
Though man‘s inhumanity to man has no ethnic colouration. It is essentially a reality in a 
class-conscious society. 
In the same vein, if people of northern extraction are perceived to be hostile and bestial, 
particularly for the pogrom on the Igbo before the civil war, the character of Muhammed offers a 
credible alternative. The psychological trauma of being rejected for another man does not dissuade 
him from protecting and saving Olanna‘s life during the riot in Kano. During the war, he sees no 
big deal in sending letters, gifts and provisions to her. He readily comes to mind as a caring 
gentleman who does not repay evil with evil. His aristocratic upbringing does not affect his sense 
of judgement. He goes the extra mile to call for caution before and during the needless war.       
Religious hypocrisy is also evident in Half of a Yellow Sun. Father Ambrose hides under 
the guise of providing religious support for the cause of Biafra to escape being conscripted into the 
army. Unfortunately for him, his carnal corruption is exposed as he is caught peeping at Olanna‘s 
nakedness. Also father Marcel is alleged to have impregnated some displaced women who seek 
succour in the church during the war! Ironically both Gowon and Ojukwu are of Christian faith. 
The post military era in Nigeria has given rise to new crop of writers whose thematic 
engagements have shifted from serious socio-cultural themes of cultural nationalism during 
colonial rule and disillusionment at independent.  From the advent of civil rule, new Nigerian 
writers are quick to dispense with literature imbued with serious political messages. The high hope 
associated with civilian dispensation unequivocally influences their thematic thrusts which now 
centre on individuality, promiscuity, sex, women and wine. Since their works are meant for 
audience who care no hoot about cultural revitalisation, they flood the literary arena with themes 
which negate the core African values cherished by their predecessors. Onukaogu and Onyerionwu 
(2009) adduce reasons for this development to include dearth of serious issues worthy of concerted 
socio-political appraisal in the society. In their opinion, recent writers ―appear more interested in 
getting the audience to appreciate them for what they are artists, and not as social crusaders‖ (106). 
Consequent on this, they become ―a little bit more indifferent, a little bit more conscious of artistic 
restraint, a little bit less angry and a little bit more detached from his/her subject matter‖ (112). Femi 
Osofisan (2009) and Charles Nnolim (2009) agree that new writers have taken a different route 
thematically. They link the shift in thematic preoccupation of these writers to the advent of civil 
rule and the aspiration associated with the demise of military adventurists. Osofisan argues that 
none of the earlier generation of Nigerian writers ―dare venture, except in the deflected language 
251 
 
 
of metaphor and refringent echo, into the contentious area of carnal experience‖(39). This is simply 
because sex is meant to be shrouded in the secrecy tradition demands. Instead of tenaciously 
holding on to the tradition held sacrosanct by earlier writers, he is at pain that contemporary 
writers have jettisoned the need for cultural nationalism and have embraced the ‗bug‘ of 
Westernisation: 
But nowadays, when we look at our new crop of 
writers…and note their seemingly unbridled surrender to the 
goddess of Eros, the question inevitably rises to confront 
us-has our present literature walked away then from that 
original purpose? (42). 
  
On his part, Charles Nnolim posits that these writers are misguided elements that prefer the 
satisfaction of the body to the purity of the soul: 
The fleshy school of writers are those authors whose main 
characters are in dire pursuit of the flesh, writers for whom 
the excitements and satisfactions of the body are far more 
important than the sanctity of the soul; for whom the 
pleasures of the flesh are of more moment than the essence 
of the spirit (232). 
 
While identifying writers like Toni Kan Onwordi, Jude Dibia, Chris Abani, Wale Okediran, 
Chimamanda Adichie, Chika Unigwe and others as ‗eminent‘ representatives of contemporary 
Nigerian writings, Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010) assert that these writers have imbibed the 
tradition given impetus by the liberty enjoys by their Western counterparts: 
The conscious imaging of sexuality has become such a 
dominant feature in Nigerian and African literature as a 
whole to the extent that it appears to have been elevated to 
the status of a narrative subject. For the contemporary 
Nigerian writer, sexuality has become more of a rule than a 
taboo; it has emerged from the provinces of the sacred and 
has now been banalized to degrees that new ‗blasphemous‘ 
grounds are being broken in the artistic conversations 
involving it (174). 
 
Unarguably the place of Adichie is conspicuous amongst Nnolim‘s ―fleshy school of writers‖. Her 
position is assured amongst 21st century Nigerian writers. 
Nigerian literature, like its African counterpart, has always maintained and sustained its 
social rhetoric. Apparently due to the nation‘s colonial and neo-colonial realities, it is unthinkable 
252 
 
 
for any writer to be apolitical with the economic and socio-political mess the nation has found 
herself in. In such clime, earlier writers like Achebe, Soyinka, Osofisan, Osundare, Iyayi, Ojaide 
and Saro-Wiwa dominate the literary landscape with works which elicit cultural nationalism, 
st
revolutionary fervour and environmental consciousness. However the 21  century Nigerian 
literature has occasioned new creative temperament. Instead of the nationalist, revolutionary and 
radical dispositions of established writers, recent writers adore craft-consciousness above 
socio-political commentaries. While identifying Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as ―a leading 
exponent of the ethos of new Nigeria writing and the most recognized young voice in Nigerian 
literature‖, Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010:116) attest to the dominant role form plays over 
content in post military Nigerian literature.  
With every sense of modesty, Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun can be said to provide a 
seminal representation of Nigerian civil war better than many creative works of similar historical 
persuasion. Its skillful documentation of a sordid but decisive era in Nigeria‘s history and its 
craft-mindedness are legendary. Although hostile criticism continues to trail its vivid description 
of sex and sexuality, its prominent status as a ‗credible‘ historical narrative is note-worthy. In the 
opinion of Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010:31), Adiche remains ―one of the most remarkable 
st
stories of literary success the 21  century world has known‖ despite having written only ―three 
major books‖ till date. They posit that no recent African writer deserves to be inducted into the 
revered ―African writers‘ hall of fame‖ more than her (34). This position is anchored on the premise 
that her works ―have sufficiently demythified and demystified the Nigerian literary canon, and its 
seemingly calcified socio-political underpinnings‖ (41). They go ahead to buttress their conclusion 
with undisguised references from the perspectives of three revered Nigerian critics of the earlier 
generation: Achebe, Nnolim and Obumselu. Achehe is quoted to have referred to Adichie in 
glowing terms: 
We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but 
here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient 
story-tellers. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie knows what is at 
stake and what to do about it…Adichie came almost fully 
made (41). 
 
On his part, Nnolim sees Adichie‘s Half of a Yellow Sun as a text which ―compels criticism‖ like 
every good work of art. In the same vein, Obumselu is of the view that Adichie may have 
reincarnated ―from the chief historian of the royal court of Mata Karibu‖ because ―she has the 
253 
 
 
slow, patients, assured skill of an old timer‖. With ‗endorsements‘ coming from these household 
names in African literary writing and criticism, no one is left in doubt that Adichie occupies a 
frontal position in recent African writings. No wonder Onukaogu and Onyerionwu (2010:96) liken 
the ―informative quality‖ of her Half of a Yellow Sun on Nigerian civil war only to Homer‘s 
classic, Illiad and Odyssey.                 
                             
 
                            
  
254 
 
 
CHAPTER SEVEN 
7.0 Conclusion 
One of the devastating consequences of the World War 11 is the loss of belief in the ability 
of science to avert socio-political misfortune in the world. The rather ignominious role for which 
science was employed for mass destruction foregrounds the conclusion that it was neither capable 
of guaranteeing and sustaining order in the world, nor enough to promote social harmony. This 
amounts to a sad commentary for the proponents of the Enlightenment as it adversely affects their 
philosophical postulation on the so-called age of reason. It overtly justifies the need for a 
postmodern alternative.  
Also, technological wherewithal, which is associated with science in the electronic age, 
negatively ‗battered‘ non-Western cultures. The advent of the Internet and cable satellites 
promotes unprecedented interconnectivity between diverse cultural groups. In no time, a 
‗borderless‘ world ensued where heterogeneous cultures cohabit. In this ‗unholy‘ relationship, 
Western culture is preeminent since the West possesses advanced technology. At the peril of 
non-Western societies, advanced technological enablement invariably translates to outright 
control of information, attitude, fashion and ideals by the West. Improved communication 
revolution propels her to infiltrate the world with Western norms and culture effortlessly. This 
‗incursion‘ has untoward consequences for non-Western writings because the Western 
philosophical worldview is not sufficient for any credible appraisal of non-Western literature.  
Expectedly, a barrage of criticism or outright repudiation becomes the lot of the 
Enlightenment era. Its promise of progress and development has been discredited. It suffers 
serious setback with the atrocities perpetrated during socialist regimes. The eventual end of the 
‗Cold War‘ further decimates its political philosophy. Also, its recourse to the ‗myth‘ of science to 
replace Victorian myth, its totalitarian disposition, its Western lining, and its subjectivity in 
employing state ideology to achieve socio-political ends are all evidences of its limitations. 
Without doubt, a new dawn of ‗liberation,‘ when a reasoned order for the interpretation of social 
development is no longer fancied, has become a fait accompli. The postmodern era is here with us.  
Postmodern thinkers assert the credibility of their philosophical sophistry with so many 
assumptions aimed at discrediting the modern epoch. If Josef Stalin, Benito Mussolini and Adolf 
Hitler are leaders associated with the age of Enlightenment, anti-Enlightenment critics have no 
choice other than to discountenance modern era for its inability to fulfill the high expectation and 
255 
 
 
the ‗exaggerated‘ promises it advances in the society. They doubt its neutrality in the sustenance of 
the authority of the state in the face of injustice and inequality. They accuse modern thinkers of 
replacing Victorian myth with the ‗myth‘ of science. They argue that Western totalitarian 
philosophy has largely undermined a relativist, non-Western interpretation of social processes. 
They do not see how development can be advanced and measured only on modernist terms and 
criteria. They observe a contradiction in modernist thinking which promises freedom and justice 
on one hand, only to sustain capitalist oppression and inequality on the other. They conclude that 
the failure of marxism to achieve utopia invariably translates to the global disillusionment which 
characterised the post ‗Cold War‘ period. However, they fail to realise that the core tenet of the 
Enlightenment, particularly its disposition towards the attainment of a free, egalitarian society, is 
clearly at variance with the dictatorial posture of Josef Stalin, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. 
In fact, biological theories have shown that irrespective of racial differences, there is no significant 
difference in the mental make-up of man. Also, the limitations of science do not imply that it is no 
longer a virile articulator of human emancipation. Besides, public or personal prejudice is not 
permitted in scientific postulations else science loses its value neutrality. In fact, the state merely 
exercises her authority for national development in trust for the citizens who cannot imagine 
drifting back to the Hobbesian state of nature. Similarly, the oppression and alienation in the 
capitalist societies notwithstanding, improved technology, mass production of goods and services 
at a relatively low cost, division of labour, and effective and efficient allocation of resources are 
associated with free-market capitalist economic order. Also, capitalism has never claimed to be 
without limitations. Therefore, we aver that the shortcomings of the Enlightenment are not enough 
to sound its death knell and signal the ‗triumph‘ of an experimental, ‗crisis-free‘ postmodern 
alternative. 
Arguably, post-colonial African writings have been largely influenced by colonial and 
neo-colonial ‗affronts‘ which have ‗engulfed‘ the contemporary African mind. Euro-American 
critics are committed to the wholesale imposition of Western standpoint which they perceive to be 
the apposite benchmark to critique literature regardless of cultural specificities. In their own 
wisdom, they ‗coined‘ the world universal and gave it a self-serving interpretation to suit their 
whim and caprice. In other words, any worthwhile venture which does not meet this ‗parochial‘ 
consideration is unworthy of scholarly inquiry. The consequence of the wholesale transfer of 
foreign culture into another without a modicum of respect for non-Western cultural peculiarities is 
256 
 
 
seen in the outward denigration of African culture. African culture, and invariably African 
literature, is classified as ‗others‘ hence unworthy of any critical inquiry, unlike its ‗totalising‘ 
Western counterpart! 
The hybrid nature of African literature is occasioned by the incidences of slave trade and 
colonialism. This peculiarity produces a blend of traditional ancestral culture and West-induced 
prose tradition. It becomes a matter of time before Western culture begins to erode its African 
counterpart. Western postmodern ideals invariably influence Nigerian literary sensibilities. 
However, against the backdrop of the fact that cultural idiosyncrasies differ, a Western theory of 
knowledge cannot be adequate to provide the requisite epistemological template for reading the 
poetics of Nigerian literature. Even if the Enlightenment epoch is accused of betraying a ‗vain‘ 
hope of utopia, the postmodern alternative does not fare better. The inadequacy of postmodern 
theoretical assumptions in the interpretation of non-Western literature has been stressed. 
Therefore, a ―transitional‖ alternative, from where an African theory of literary interpretation 
would evolve, becomes inevitable. The ‗emerging‘ theory is thus expected to give rise to 
functional use of literature for cultural emancipation and, invariably, national development, 
particularly in Africa.   
Despite the ‗inadmissibility‘ of postmodern tendencies in African literary discourse, no 
one can deny their pervasiveness in recent Nigerian writings. This is clearly evident in the literary 
oeuvre of our selected contemporary Nigerian novelists. As postmodern ideals find their way into 
the critical stance of Nigerian critics, Western philosophical sentiment influenced Nigerian 
creative writers unequivocally. However, the essential features of postmodern culture have 
negative implications for non-Western societies, particularly the African society in dire need of 
development. The manner it disavows truth claim and quest for knowledge can only promote 
pessimism and undermine research effort. Its acceptance of the transitory nature of the world is a 
covert knowledge claim. Its Western lining makes a case for the sustenance of Western hegemonic 
authority. Its ―incredulity towards metanarratives‖ has been discredited with the allegiance to 
national and religious sentiments in Africa and the Middle East. Its ‗antifoundational‘, 
‗antirepresentational‘ rhetoric is inimical to the feminist quest for liberation, justice and equity. Its 
insensitive posture of denying the reality of the Gulf War has been called ―irresponsible 
sophistry‖. Its abstract standard for sustaining objectivity is only a wild goose chase. Its penchant 
for experimentation gives room for irrationality. Its preference for fragmented, disjointed narration 
257 
 
 
merely encourages nihilism and social disharmony. Its disclaimer of the marxian‘s utopia in the 
face of oppression in a class structured society is more or less a tacit connivance with the status 
quo. Its deconstructive rhetoric on the ―Death of the Author‖ without a corresponding reverence 
for the readers leaves much to be desired for hermeneutic philosophy. Its rebuttal of the social 
relevance of literature is antithetical to African literary discourse which places high premium on 
the society for literary interpretation. Its so-called ‗universal‘ appeal but Western lining exposes its 
limitation in articulating development for non-Western society. It also underscores its inherent 
weakness as a reliable epistemological model. To this end, it is not in consonance with the 
developmental yearnings and aspirations of African scholars who intend to use literature for social 
rejuvenation. Therefore, the need to checkmate abysmal application of postmodern tendencies in 
the literary oeuvres of our selected Nigerian novelists makes the quest for a 
development-conscious indigenous alternative theory for literary interpretation necessary.  
Ironically, some post-colonial African scholars are comfortable with the implantation of 
Western critical polemic into African consciousness. They, therefore, continue to pay lip service to 
the need to denounce Africa‘s overdependence on Western canon. They erroneously believe that 
‗alien‘ standards can provide the requisite critical template to investigate African society! In fact, 
majority of them imbibed European worldview uncritically as the ‗gospel‘ truth, apparently to gain 
‗undue advantage‘ from Western publishing authority. However, even if it is indisputable that the 
West provided the launch-pad for prose writing, over-reliance on Western canon has the tendency 
to encumber African history and thought system from giving rise to an indigenous African theory 
devoid of Western sentiment. Thus, as a counter theoretical discourse, post-colonial African 
scholars are committed to an outright renunciation of Western theoretical standpoint. An 
African-centred alternative, in line with Afrocentric philosophical tradition, is thus required. 
The quest for an African theory of literary interpretation should lead African scholars in the 
direction of African culture and tradition. Although colonial ‗intrusion‘ has encouraged diverse 
cultural experiences in Africa, her ―relative cultural homogeneity‖ has positioned her as a reliable 
repertoire of the African worldview. Also, the fact that indigenous African societies are peopled by 
―culturally diverse‖ groups of people, who are heterogeneous in languages, economies, customs, 
myths and legends, does not becloud the quest for ―common denominators in the core African 
values‖ which are ensconced in African worldview. This worldview is encapsulated in the 
traditional African system of thought and it is ‗distilled‘ from Africa‘s philosophy, history, 
258 
 
 
religion, oral tradition, myth, legend, folktales, riddles, proverbs and cosmogony. A thorough and 
consistent investigation of the basic assumptions of her worldview would reveal a reliable African 
epistemology which researchers can advance in the quest for an African-specific theory for global 
consumption vis-a-vis the reconstruction of knowledge. A fuller understanding of African 
epistemology would evidently show the contradiction in equating it with Western standpoint.  
Therefore, since only an African theory can articulate a credible interpretation of African 
texts, postmodern sophistry should be confined to the trash can of history, a place where it rightly 
belongs. Its philosophical assumptions should never be permitted further in-road into African 
literary discourse. Once this is achieved, it becomes a matter of time before Nigerian novelists 
begin to churn out works which promote African values, moral uprightness, heroic deeds, 
patriotism, dignity of labour, and selfless service to mankind. Charging Nigerian writers to discard 
the esoteric, D.B. Amos (2010) advises them to begin to produce works which are geared towards 
national rebirth and social rejuvenation else they become irrelevant in the scheme of things in the 
society: 
It is therefore, pertinent for the contemporary Nigerian 
writer like his African counterparts to possess at all times, 
the highest degree of national consciousness and patrotism. 
For he cannot as maintained by Nnolim, be a hypocrite 
chasing with the hounds and at the same time running with 
the deer (152).  
 
If this can be achieved, the death knell of postmodernism, as well as other Western theoretical 
postulations, would have been sounded, at least in African critical discourse. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
259 
 
 
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