5 Nigerian voices still alive in their works
Nathaniel Bivan Before their death, they had already contributed to the country’s literary development in no uncertain terms. Their works are voices of activism and a cry against the decay in the society. Ken Saro WiwaHe is the author of several books: Songs in a Time of War, published in 1985, Sozaboy in 1985, Basi […]
Nathaniel Bivan
Before their death, they had already contributed to the country’s literary development in no uncertain terms. Their works are voices of activism and a cry against the decay in the society.
Ken Saro Wiwa
He is the author of several books: Songs in a Time of War, published in 1985, Sozaboy in 1985, Basi and Company: A Modern African Folktale (1987), Prisoners of Jebs (1988), Adaku and Other Stories (1989), Four Farcical Plays (1989), On a Darkling Plain (1989), and Genocide in Nigeria: The Ogoni Tragedy (1992).
The works of Wiwa were not unnoticed. Basi and Company became a popular television show – which he produced – on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and focused on corruption in Nigeria. Born in Ogoni, in present day Rivers State, his writings always revolved around the plight of the people. This was evident in ‘Forest and Flowers’ (1986) where he showed his disapproval with how land was taken away from the Niger Delta people in one of the stories, ‘Night Ride.’ He did not relent in his activism until his death in 1995.
Amos Tutuola
Amos Tutuola was born in 1920 and died in 1997. When it comes to early literatures in Nigeria, his name cannot be discarded. He is the author of The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952), My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1954), Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle (!955), The Brave African Huntress (1958), Feather Woman of the Jungle (1962), Ajaiyi and his Inherited Poverty (1967), The Witch Hunter in the Bush of the Ghosts (1982), Yoruba Folktales (1986), Pauper, Brawler and Slanderer (1987) and The Village Witch Doctor and Other Stories (1990).
After his first three works, Tutuola attained international repute. His most famous book, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, was based on Yoruba folktales and tells the mythological story of a man who follows a palm-wine tapster into the land of the dead where he finds a world of magic, ghosts, demons and supernatural beings. Richly inventive with fantasies, his second book, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, makes this skill at putting together an engrossing work of fantasy even more evident. It is the story of a boy who in trying to escape from slave traders, finds himself in the bush of ghosts.
Daniel O. Fagunwa
This writer who wrote in Yoruba language was born in 1903 and died in 1963. His works include, Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmale, 1963 (The Forest of a Thousand Daemons), Igbo Olodumare, 1949 (The Forest of God), Irinkerindo Ninu Igbo Elegbeje, 1954 (Wanderings in the Forest of Elegbeje), and Adiitu Olodumare, 1961 (The Secret of the Almighty) and a number of short stories. His works contain many folktale elements: Spirits, monsters, gods, magic, and witchcraft.
His language is vivid: a sad man “hangs his face like a banana leaf,” a liar “has blood in his belly but spits white saliva.” Every event points to a moral, and this moral tone is reinforced by his use of Christian concepts and of traditional and invented proverbs. Fagunwa’s imagery, humour, wordplay, and rhetoric reveal an extensive knowledge of classical Yoruba, reveals Encyclopedia Britannica.
Chinua Achebe
His death left a vacuum in Nigerian literature. He is the author of No Longer At Ease (1980), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of The People (1966), Anthills of the Savannah (1987), Girls At War and other Stories (1972). His last work was a memoir, There Was A Country.
For many writers, a particular work sold them to their readers. Things Fall Apart (1958) was the novel that earned Achebe international acclaim. It is about the tragic fall of the protagonist, Okonkwo, and the Igbo culture. Chinua Achebe died in 2013.
Cyprian Ekwensi
This author is known for his short stories (ranging to hundreds) and children’s books. He is the author of When Love Whispers, published in 1948, An African Night’s Entertainment (1948) – a long tale of vengeance, adventure and love, People of the City (1954), The Drummer Boy (1960), Iska (1966).
Ekwensi’s style of writing flows and is easy to understand. His imaginative prowess and ability to recreate a world of fantasy sets him apart from many Nigerian authors. He died in 2007, but is alive in what he has contributed to the world in his writings.