Programme: English
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Item CHINUA ACHEBE’S IKEMEFUNA: A POETICS OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIO-CULTURAL NARRATIVE(2021) Ayinuola, Fortress Isaiah; Onwuka, Edwin; Uba, ImmanuelThis paper attempted a reconstruction of the Achebe’s prosaic rendition of Ikemefuna’s experience in Things Fall Apart into another form – the poetic form. Thus, we present a spaciotemporal exploration of Ikemefuna of the Igbo cultural setting transformed metaphorically into the Nigerian youth setting. The poetics of Nigerian Ikemefuna is that of mutual suspicion, fear of regional, religious and ethnic domination, aggravated by the hopelessness of a battered national psyche with prodigals in power. The narrative of Ikemefuna is a metaphor for the battered Nigerian youths, scape-goaticism and the Nigerian socio-cultural contradictions. Through the use of literary devices like imagery, metaphor, symbols and juxtaposition we poetized the narrative of Umuofia/Ikemefuna and Nigeria/youths. We adopted Vladimir Propp’s concept of fabula and syuzhet, where the manipulation of the fabula by the author/poet creates syuzhet, variations of fabula. We examined the role of de-familiarization, Barthes view on variations which resulted in the death of the author/poet and Oscar Wilde’s opinion that the critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things. The syuzhetal defamiliarization technique enabled us to reconstruct Achebe’s prosaic Ikemefuna into a poetic variant – the poem: Ikemefuna. This mode of generating a new meaning in another literary form has not only enhanced poetic innovation, criticism and craft; it has enhanced readers/writers ability to critically and creatively articulate Nigerian diverse socio-cultural experiences.Item Identity, History and Caribbean Experience in Select Poems of Derek Walcott(Covenant Journal of Language Studies (CJLS) Vol. 10, No. 2,, 2022-12) Onwuka, Edwin; Eyisi, JoyThis study examines how history has shaped social identity and the impacts of both on Caribbean experience in Derek Walcott’s poetry. Using New Historicism as theoretical framework, it critiques some Caribbean historical realities highlighted in the selected poems and their impacts on society at individual and societal levels with particular emphasis on identity. Four poems from different collections of Walcott are analyzed in this paper, which are “Codicil”, “The River”, “Love after Love” and “The Sea is History”. The conclusions of this critical engagement show clearly that identity in Caribbean reality is inescapably tied to the traumatic history of displacement, enslavement, migration and alienation of the Caribbean peoples.Item Portraits of the Nigerian Soldier in Isidore Okpewho’s The Last Duty and Festus Iyayi’s Heroes(SAGE, 2021-09) Onwuka, EdwinAn essential feature of Nigerian literatures is their capacity to exploit history and social experience to bring to light the human condition in society without compromising literary aesthetics. Thus, Nigerian novels often appear to be more educative than entertaining by their ability to illuminate social realities far more effectively than historical or sociological texts. This is evident in the representations of soldiers in Nigerian novels which are highly influenced by historical and social circumstances. This paper carries out a comparative and descriptive analysis of portrayals of Nigerian soldiers in Isidore Okpewho’s The Last Duty and Festus Iyayi’s Heroes from a new historical perspective. Most studies on the military in Nigerian novels often focus on their actions in war situations and their disruptive and undemocratic activities in politics. However, these studies frequently explore the military as a group with little attention to the texts as expositions on character types in the Nigerian military. This study therefore contributes to criticism on the nexus between literary representation, history, and society. It further highlights historical and social contexts of military explorations in Nigerian novels and their impacts on the perception of the Nigerian soldier in society. These are aimed at showing that depictions of the military in Nigerian novels go beyond their capacities for disruptions anItem The Spectacle of Militancy in the Niger Delta in Habila’s Oil on Water(BU Journal of Language, Literature and Humanities VOL. 9, No.1,, 2025) Omesu, Modupeoluwa; Onwuka, EdwinThis study investigates Helon Habila’s Oil on Water, which depicts militancy as a sort of performance and spectacle in response to neocolonial exploitation and environmental degradation in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. While previous studies have concentrated on the novel’s ecological and political components, this study focuses on how militancy is intentionally staged to acquire awareness, question authority and reclaim agency. The problem this paper addresses is the insufficient scholarly attention to the performative and symbolic dimensions of militancy in Oil on Water, which are often overlooked in favor of interpretations that treat violence either as criminality or political protest. This gap in the literature necessitates a deeper exploration of militancy as a form of postcolonial resistance expressed through spectacle. Using postcolonial theory (Edward Said, Frantz Fanon, Gayatri Spivak, and Homi Bhabha), the study investigates the hybrid identities and dramatized tactics of militants operating in a zone of marginalization and state neglect. Militant operations like as kidnapping, attack on oil infrastructure, and staged media interactions are interpreted as purposeful protests designed to recapture narrative authority and draw world attention. The methodology involves a close textual analysis of key scenes in Oil on Water that depict militant activities, with a focus on the symbolism and narrative techniques employed to dramatise resistance. Through this interpretive lens, militant operations are read as purposeful performances that aim to reclaim narrative authority, attract global attention, and highlight the injustices of oil capitalism and state negligence. By treating militancy as a symbolic and performative resistance, the novel offers a critical lens for understanding subaltern agency and the aesthetics of protest in postcolonial African literatureItem TRADITION AND LEADERSHIP IN ELECHI AMADI’S THE GREAT PONDS(International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviews Vol.11 No.1, 2021-01) Onwuka, Edwin; Awogu-Maduagwu Edith AbisolaExplorations of indigenous African traditions in pre-colonial and colonial African societies in imaginative literatures have historical and aesthetic values. Historical for the great insights they offer on the human condition and social experience in pre-literate communities; and aesthetic for the refreshing and exciting images of the African world recreated through the human imagination and the genius of gifted writers. Elechi Amadi’s The Great Ponds is a quintessential novel that imaginatively recreates an authentic African community totally regulated by its tradition to the exclusion of any Western or foreign influence. This paper explores tradition as a central motif in the novel with an aim to highlight its centrality in regulating social existence and communal harmony in the society depicted in the text. It also interrogates leadership and the models reflected in the novel on political and military planes. The study is a qualitative and library based one limited to content analysis of the novel in focus. It therefore contributes to criticism on the nexus of history and literature. It highlights supernatural and mythical social experiences through analyses of traditional world-views about gods, ancestors, the dibia, and leadership in traditional Igbo societies. New historicism is the theoretical perspective deployed in the paper.Item Exploration of Oil Bunkering in Chimeka Garrick's Tomorrow Died Yesterday(Exploration of Oil Bunkering in Chimeka Garrick's Tomorrow Died Yesterday, 2025-06-30) Onwuka, Edwin; Omesu, ModupeoluwaThis study examines the pervasive issue of oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria through a textual analysis of Chimeka Garricks' Tomorrow Died Yesterday. The Niger Delta, is a region abundant in natural resources, has been plagued by illegal oil extraction, environmental degradation, and sociopolitical disruption. Garricks' novel offers a nuanced literary portrayal of these crises, highlighting the interplay between economic desperation, militant insurgency, and governmental corruption. This study aims to examine the representation of oil bunkering in Chimeka Garricks' Tomorrow Died Yesterday as a central socio-political and economic concern in the Niger Delta. And to also explore how the novel critiques systemic corruption, government complicity, and the failure of legitimate structures, which enable the persistence of illegal oil activities. The study is a qualitative methodology that use the text as a reflection of the Niger Delta realities and also criticticlly examines the root causes of oil bunkering and the aftermath as reflected in the text Tomorrow Died Yesterday engages with themes of environmental destruction and political corruption, it does not extensively examine the intricate operations of oil bunkering and its socioeconomic networks. This study seeks to fill that gap by analyzing the novel's portrayal of oil bunkering, foregrounding it as a critical issue rather than a peripheral theme. Through a transactional reader reponse theory, this research unpacks the thematic concerns surrounding oil bunkering, shedding light on its ramifications for both the environment and local communities. The study underscores how Garricks utilizes narrative techniques, character development, and setting to critique the exploitative dynamics in the oil-rich region. By exploring the intersections of literature, socio-political commentary, and environmental justice, this research contributes to broader discussions on resource control, state violence, and ecological sustainability in postcolonial African literature. Ultimately, this study highlights how fiction can serve as both a historical record and a call to action for socio-envitonmental justice in the Niger Delta.Item REPRESENTATIONS OF OIL COMPANIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE IN CHRISTIE WATSON'S TINYSUNBIRDS FARAWAY(International Journal of Arts, Languages, Linguistics and Literaty Studies (JOLLS) Vol. 14 (3) 2025, 2025) Onwuka, Edwin; Omesu, ModupeoluwaThis study explores the representation of Western oil companies and environmental degradation in Christie Watson's Tiny Su.nbirds Far Away , situating the novel within the broader discourse of environmental degradation and socio-political unrest in the Niger Delta. Through the voice of the young narrator, Blessing, Watson crafts a poignant narrative that unveils the destructive impact of oil exploitation on both the natural environment and the lived realities of local communities. The analysis foregrounds the oil company not merely as an economic actor but as a faceless embodiment of neocolonial exploitation, ecological devastation, and systemic injustice. By highlighting the loss of traditional livelihoods, the rise of militancy, and the deterioration of health and social structures, the novel underscores the deep entanglement between environmental collapse and human suffering. Drawing on ecocritical perspective, this study shows how Watson's work, despite being authored by an outsider, amplifies silenced voices and confronts global complicity in the Niger Delta crisis. Ultimately, the research affirms literature's power to humanize ecological destruction, transforming statistics of oil spills and gas flares into lived experiences of pain, resilience, and resistanceItem Religiosity and Family Dysfunction in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus(Benin Journal of Literary Studies (BJLS) Vol.2, No.2,, 2021-12) Onwuka, Edwin; Kehinde, KemiThis discourse explores the disruptive character of religiosity in the family in Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. The study appraises conflicts arising from religiously informed decisions of major characters in the novel and their consequences on their families. It also critiques characters’ contempt for indigenous mores that have sustained family cohesion in African cultures, in this instance, the Igbo culture of Nigeria. Analysis in this discourse is from literary and sociological perspectives.