GENERATIONAL EVOLUTION AND THEMATIC PREOCCUPATIONS IN NIGERIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

Abstract

Nigeria boasts of a rich literary culture that has its roots in the oral, ethnic and linguistic traditions spanning over several centuries. Colonialism marks the beginning of written literature in Nigeria and the first literary works were produced by the European missionaries and explorers, set to ‘civilise’ and explore the country, misrepresenting and misinterpreting the Nigerian. Thus, the Nigerian Literature in English, is also an act of ‘writing back’ to the colonialist. This article engages in a generational analysis of the rich tradition of Nigerian writers in English, who paved way for the Nigerian subject to evolve into today’s transnational subject, from the postcolonial and colonial subject of the past.