Nigerian Writers in English: Challenges and Cultural Identity

Introduction

This paper presents a personal response to Ayoola's article "Challenges to a New Generation of Nigerian Writers in English," which was first printed in Cambridge University Press's English Today, 85th Edition, Vol. 22, Issue 1, dated January 2006.

The article's author narrates the challenges new Nigerian writers encounter in an atmosphere that treats rising authors in an unfriendly way. The experiences portrayed and analyzed in the article typify the experiences and predicament of these new creative writers. Language choice issues — native tongue or English — are reviewed, in addition to the many justifications, whether noble or not, presented for aspects such as genre choice, audience recognition issues, the writer's reactions to the phenomena of globalization and democracy, and ineffective do-it-yourself (DIY) marketing, promotion, and publishing (Kehinde Ayoola, 2006).

The Journey So Far

Through this response paper, the aim is to articulate a personal standpoint with regard to the abovementioned article and the values and concepts expressed in it by the writer, connecting personal experiences with the topic of the essay. It is hoped that this reaction paper will offer readers a meaningful and transformative reading experience, arising from the interaction between the meanings construed from the article and the reader's own meanings (WHAT A RESPONSE PAPER IS AND IS NOT, 2016). This paper will not forthrightly refute Kehinde's views; rather, it will look into the factors contributing to Nigerian literature's current state.

English literature by Nigerian writers has seen extraordinary headway over the last fifteen years, expressing the struggles faced by a nation transitioning from colonialism to independence to democracy. Following a long-drawn-out 1967–70 fratricidal internal conflict and the oil boom turned oil doom that led to political and social upheaval — from which the country has still not fully recovered — Nigerian writers would inevitably accept a challenge. They have developed the different forms of Nigerian literature into a societal act against new Nigerian society's "wantonness" (Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, 2014).

The Northern Nigerian literary conference saw the country's writers brainstorming on how they could establish institutions aimed at promoting Hausa literature. These entities, especially those geared at supporting publishers, translators, scholars, and reviewers ready to teach, are vital to making Nigerian readers as well as readers across the globe aware of the thriving Hausa literature. People should be given no reason to believe the north remains quiet (Carmen Mccain, 2012), and such negativity may be redirected by good literature, projecting a positive image of the nation's people. Within the country, literature addressing the most effective means to place Nigeria on proper footing would serve as a motivating catalyst to propel everyone in the nation towards sound nation-building.

Lastly, Nigerian literature can be seen improving beyond inadequate sponsorship, the absence of publishing houses and publishers, poor reading culture, and other challenges. Adding to this is the need for new literature and authors, especially in the children's and gender-focused genres, for enabling the nation to achieve an enviable global techno-literary position (Taye Awoyemi-Arayela, 2013).

A Typical Nigerian Writer

Though publishing is considered rather unimportant from an economic standpoint, it is highly vital to a nation's academic, cultural, and intellectual life. Furthermore, the creation and distribution of knowledge products is crucial to all civilizations. It forms a central component of the emerging knowledge sector network as well, which proves highly valuable to postindustrial nations. It is therefore unsurprising that the WTO's (World Trade Organization's) latest trade negotiations debated and focused on the knowledge sector's regulation at an international level. Knowledge product conception and ownership are becoming increasingly important owing to the significance of knowledge and information to postindustrial nations. Books continue to be a pivotal aspect of knowledge conception and ownership. Despite all this, the publishing sector is marked by major inequities, with most parts of Africa and the rest of the globe being sidelined by leading North American and European publishing centers (K.O. Darko-Ampem, 2000).

Nigerian authors, being products of a blend of cultures, firstly belong to a society wherein oral traditions form part of their routine lifestyle. Such integration of conventional spoken sources relies on their closeness to the source, the setting, their writings' ideological patterns, and their stylistic engagement. Moreover, as they form part of Nigeria's society, their material will be sourced from Nigerian culture and, hence, their literary works will be guided by their social life.

As suggested previously, Nigerians — and in fact all Africans in general — are the product of two different worlds: the dual instruments of formal education and colonialism have trained them in European economic and social class systems. Such contact, owing to a historical accident, exposed foreign cultural values, beliefs, tastes, and philosophy to them. The outcome of such exposure was the absorption of many Western concepts by colonized Nigerian people. Undoubtedly, the educated Africans of the colonial era considered white Europeans as exemplars of civilization and leaders of contemporary existence. To the colonized mind, English literature would then denote the standard, according "eternal value" to all kinds of literary works.

At this juncture, one should bear in mind the fact that English literary works were a weapon employed to colonize and apparently "civilize" the people of Africa. The Europeans believed the "Dark Continent's" inhabitants were dark on a cultural, mental, and spiritual level as well, and required European "finesse" for becoming humans from the "beasts" that they originally were. Hence, imperialists relied heavily on colonial literature as an instrument for accelerating their self-assumed responsibility of "taming" and refining Africa's people. Taking the above into account, one may be able to envisage the conditions that created the Nigerian nation as well as its literature (Taye Awoyemi-Arayela, 2013).

Conclusion

2. Federal, state, and local governments must make passing native language assessments compulsory for employees at all levels.

3. Federal, state, and local governments must provide scholarships to students studying native languages, both within Nigeria and abroad.

4. Native language graduates must be recognized at both the national and local level and given priority in employment.

5. Secondary school pupils who distinguish themselves in native languages must be commended at the national and local level.

Nigerian authors have undoubtedly remained connected to their native heritage. Their use of oral native tradition in their works clearly demonstrates their cultural nationalism. In utilizing oral traditions, Nigerian writers exhibit fraternal ties with oral artists who compose in native tongues. Those who doubt Nigerian authors' authenticity on the grounds of the foreign tongue they use should equally take note of their engagement with oral sources, despite the creative application of this material — revealing that Nigerian authors use oral tradition as a means to extend heritage and integrate chosen style, medium, and form for superior artistic effect.

Reading and appreciating their works is the least the global community can do for these authors, as it would demonstrate that their worth is acknowledged. The global reading community must participate and help Nigeria realize its literary and developmental visions (Taye Awoyemi-Arayela, 2013). Self-help endeavors by Africans, with donor agency support, appear to contribute to local publishers' growth. The literary sector forms the foundation when it comes to promoting African education and literacy, as books are vital to development and education. In the words of Altbach: "The responsibility is considerable, the challenges are substantial, but the endeavor is worthwhile since publishing is at the center of the intellectual and educational development of the Third World" (K.O. Darko-Ampem, 2000).