https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN <p>Welcome to the Journal of Literary Society of Nigeria (JLSN).</p> <p>JLSN publishes research articles in English/French on all aspects of literature - African, non-African and comparative. It also publishes research articles in Theatre Arts and Film/Home Video, review articles, creative works and interviews which contribute meaningfully to contemporary discourse on literature. Papers should normally be 4000 - 5000 words long, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman. The Works Cited should follow the pattern in the MLA style sheet (latest edition) and should appear at the end of the article. The Journal is published in June every year. Contributors are required to send an electronic copy by e-mail attachment to <u>lsnigeria@yahoo.com</u>.<u> </u>Hard copies of articles etc./enquiries should be directed to: The Editor, JLSN: Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria, c/o Department or English and Literature, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. </p> <p>Submission and acceptance of articles, etc.: Authors submitting manuscripts do so on the understanding that the work has not been published previously and is not under consideration or publication elsewhere. Authors should obtain permission to use materials already protected by copyright and are responsible for payment of any copyright fee where necessary. </p> <p><strong>PLAGIARISM POLICY</strong>: The Editorial Board of JLSN wishes to state that it considers plagiarism a serious offence and strongly advises that authors avoid any act that may compromise their academic integrity. The Board may blacklist any author who may be found guilty of plagiarism and articles written by such authors may be withdrawn at any stage if there are indications of plagiarism. The Board reserves the right to remove any published articles that have been found to be plagiarized. </p> <p>For details, contact the Editor: <strong>Professor Jude Aighe Agbo, FLSN (Editor)</strong>, <strong>Department of English and Literary Studies, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Phone: +2348037946910; </strong><strong>email: </strong><a href="mailto:aigbe2010@gmail.com"><strong><u>aigbe2010@gmail.com</u></strong></a></p> <p>Or</p> <p><strong>The </strong><strong>Assistant</strong><strong> Editor: </strong><strong>Prof. Diri Teilanyo</strong><strong><br /></strong><strong>Phone: +2348023316682.</strong></p> Literary Society of Nigeria en-US Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/115 Click on the PDF link to download the JLSN Issue 14, June 2024 Complete issue! 2024 JLSN - issue 14 june 2024 FINAL Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 i 255 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/99 The African diaspora emerges as a profound site of storytelling and cultural negotiation in the interplay between identity, migration, and creative expression. This intersection is vividly captured through Nollywood, Nigeria's dynamic film industry, where stories of diaspora and womanhood are brought to life, challenging conventions and celebrating resilience. Within this cinematic space, women's narratives in the diaspora stand out, offering unique perspectives on migration, identity, and empowerment. This paper explores how Nollywood is a lens for examining the feminist dimensions of diasporic experiences. It interrogates the representation of women navigating transnational spaces, their redefinition of belonging, and their roles as agents of cultural and personal transformation. By focusing on feminist narratives, this study sheds light on the complexities of gender, intersectionality, and diaspora in Nollywood films. Aligned with the conference theme, "African Diasporic Literature & Film," this paper underscores the connection between literary and cinematic storytelling as vehicles for articulating the diverse realities of African diasporic identities. Nollywood, through its vibrant storytelling, acts as a bridge between the literary and visual, creating a space where feminist voices within the African diaspora are not only heard but celebrated. IRENE ISOKENAGUNLOYE Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 1 21 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/100 The history of mankind has been the history of migration. W.M. Spellman poses the conundrum as to, “Why do people remove themselves, and often their entire families, great distances to unfamiliar lands and uncertain futures?” (1). The above question is germane to our discourse, especially as it directs the theme of this conference, “African Diasporic Literature and Film.” In the same corollary, the answer to this question will seek to slice up and expose the factors that precipitate the development and direction of African literature and film in the diaspora. The very nature of humans is inherent in mobility, travels and adventure. All these are determined by myriads of factors. In his natal state Man was originally food gatherer who moved from one location to the other in search for food. From gathering of food, Man graduated to food cultivation, using stone implements. This was long before the discovery of iron and the use of fire for cooking. At this level Man was wrapped up in the state of nature. With the ‘discovery’ of iron and the use of fire Man developed the desire for hunting of animals for food. This engagement inevitably propelled him to stray out of the immediate environment. AMIRIKPA OYEGBENU Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 23 48 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/101 African Diasporic Literature and Film deal with the study of literary and cinematic works created and produced by individuals of African origin or descent, who at a time have been dispersed throughout the world as a result of slavery, migration, and even colonization. African Diasporic Literature and Film incorporates works that delve into the histories, experiences, and cultural expressions of Africans in diasporic communities. The paper delves into the multifaceted and diverse field of African Diasporic Literature and Film, probing its significance in representing cultural resistance, identity, and representation. Taking into cognizance the main texts and films from prominent authors and filmmakers in the diasporic communities, the paper explores the social impact, critical theories, and historical context that reinforce this rich and dynamic turf. By critically analyzing the narrative strategies, theme, and historical connections in African Diasporic Literature and Film, the paper aims to throw more light on the various contributions made by authors, filmmakers, and other related movements that address the centrality of fostering dialogue, cultural expression and stimulating prevailing stories. With the clear impacts of the influence of feminist theory, postcolonial theory, and cultural education, the lead paper therefore seeks to enhance the basic understanding of the nuanced complications and socio-political inferences summarized in the context of African Diasporic Literature and Film. In a nutshell, the paper finds out that African Diasporic Literature and Film provide the opportunity for researchers to explore the impacts of historical events such as slavery, colonialism, and racial segregation among individuals living in diasporic communities. The research also finds out among others that African Diasporic Literature and film provide an insight into the diverse experiences, cultural expressions, and histories of individuals living in diasporic communities thus providing a counter-narrative to mainstream representation that repeatedly spreads stereotypes. It is recommended among others that there should be an increase in perceptibility and accessibility of African Diasporic Literature and Film in our libraries, educational curriculum, and even cultural institutions to encourage and promote African Diasporic Literature and Film. ALI SULE AKO Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 49 73 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/102 Chinweizu’s commitment to Africa’s social reality is woven in literary criticism and creativity, mythology and postcolonial themes—a consciousness for social change. His notable works, such as The West and the Rest of Us, Toward the Decolonisation of African Literature and The Anatomy of Female Power, amongst others, have raised intellectual engagements and re-interrogations of monolithic constructs that challenge Eurocentrism, while extolling African identity, cultural heritage and resistance. His fearless and avant-garde methods of discourse have earned him enormous respect and a permanent position of reckoning from scholars and students of Africanism, history, literature, politics, political science, criticism and gender studies. However, his collections of poetry, Energy Crisis and Other Poems, and Invocations and Admonitions, have not received as much attention as his other works. His deft applications of wit, wry humour, eclecticism and mythology in addressing humanity and allied themes in his poetry are as engaging as they are worth studying. This paper, therefore, critically approaches his verses through contextual and textual perspectives—a fresh and stylistic (re)assessment of his poetic style and genius to tackle the question of humanity and relations. CHIKE OKOYE IFEOMA EZINNE ODINYE Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 75 89 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/103 This paper examines protest and hope in Ojaide's The Endless Song. Tanure Ojaide's stature as an accomplished and canonical African poet is incontrovertible. However, the critics of Ojaide have mostly quarried his poetry vis-à-vis his Niger Delta connectedness ignoring other larger spectrums embodied by his poetry. This article, seeking to cover this gap, contends that Ojaide's poetry transcends such territorial confinement to a broader engagement with the dynamics and convoluting pulse of his society. Published in 1989, The Endless Song inaugurates Ojaide as a patriotic poet charged with the responsibility of re-directing his society through his satirical verses. Deploying sociological theory as a theoretical anchor via a textual analysis of the primary text, the study foregrounds Ojaide as an 'angry poet', whose poetry is emblematic of protest, jeremiads, and revolutionary calls to save the soul of a nation going awry. Further, against this backdrop, the paper conjectures that Ojaide's protest and revolutionary poetry engenders a sense of hope and optimism crucial to nation building. The study places Ojaide in the proper mapping as a national poet whose poetry transcends beyond Niger-Delta tirades to offers perspectives that challenge the perpetuation of the ethics of national disintegration and engender viable togetherness in Nigeria. IKECHUKWU EMMANUEL ASIKA Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 91 105 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/104 Affective Literature as an Inclusive Art Form JUDE AIGBE AGHO Abstract In this essay, I am largely concerned with the propensity of literature to affect the psychology of readers because of the emotion that it embeds, and I argue that literature generally is affective since it is constructed to entertain, teach, and provide pleasures to the reader. It can only achieve this meaningfully if it embeds emotions that can make the readers respond in diverse ways to express how they are affected: through anger, grief, laughter, joy, sorrow etc. It is the capacity of a literary work to generate these emotions that underlines its significance and ultimate success. New Criticism, Formalism and the later poststructuralist and postmodernist approaches to criticism censure in varying degrees contentual signification and put their stresses on the formal profundities in a text such as language and the figurative dimension of language, the apt and adroit depiction of setting, characters, and narrative techniques as ways of conveying signification, but emotions are best represented and felt through the content and message that a literary work conveys. An aesthetically flawed literary work is one that fails to fulfill the basic functions of literature through entertaining and pleasuring the readers. The capacity of literature to be affective inheres in its ability to conventionally function as explained above. Every successful literary work must in essence be affective and this underlines the inclusivity of the term as it relates to African literature. Keywords: affect, affective, literature, African literature JUDE AIGBE AGHO Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-03 2025-05-03 14 107 117 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/105 In contemporary times, the subject of trauma is perhaps one of the most globally discussed subjects and as such, maybe the verb "traumatize" has become a mere cliché in both spoken and written discourses across the globe. In fact, it is apparent that exposure to trauma is majorly at the individual level, implying its non- exclusiveness to a particular society or some societies. This means that trauma is a global issue, though, might be perceived variably by different individuals. However, since Literature as a tool for mirroring the society does not do this at the broad societal level only, but also dwells on issues or phenomena that pattern personal experiences of individuals across different societies, several writers, in the past and present times, have studied the subject of trauma in their various writings. In this regard, this paper explores the representation of trauma in African Diasporic writings, drawing copious illustrations from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah. By employing the Trauma theoretical approach, this paper attempts a psychoanalytic study of the tough feelings of being an African immigrant, dealing with moving, facing racism, and clashing with new cultures. It also studies how trauma affects personal identity and resilience of an individual, adding to our understanding of these experiences. This study further looks into the areas of cultural and historical gaps, as it unveils some differences between the Third World and the West, as well as shows how literary techniques are beautifully employed in the illustrative text, for the representation of trauma. OLADIJI, OLAYEMI ALANI Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 119 130 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/106 This paper explores the evolving themes found in contemporary Hausa wedding songs, highlighting their cultural, social, and religious significance within the Hausa community. Utilizing a combination of free and literal translations, the analysis delves into key themes such as the integration of religious elements, self-praise, modern trends, communal celebration, gender roles, and farewell rituals. The contextual theory is used as its theoretical framework. The findings reveal how these songs serve not only as a reflection of traditional values, but also as a response to contemporary influences shaping marital practices. The emphasis on communal joy underscores the importance of kinship and friendship, while the guidance offered regarding gender roles illustrates enduring expectations within the marriage framework. Additionally, farewell songs capture the emotional complexities associated with leaving one's family, illuminating the bittersweet nature of marital transitions. Overall, this study underscores the dual role of Hausa wedding songs as both cultural artifacts that preserve historical practices and dynamic expressions of identity that celebrate the interplay between tradition and modernity. By examining these musical narratives, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the rich cultural fabric of Hausa society and the symbolic significance of their wedding ceremonies. FATIMA ISA WASAGU Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 131 144 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/107 Over the years, African literatures have showcased various unbearable problems seen in the environment. Among the represented ill-treatment is degradation of living and non-living beings in the surroundings. This inhuman devastation that is being meted out to both humans and non-humans is caused by man. Apparently, one of the reasons for this ill-behaviour is the amount of valuable material possession the person has to his or her name. This, in turn, incapacitates the individual in the environment. Hence, there is environmental injustice. To avoid examining previous studies, this research investigates class and disability as environmental issues in Ikechukwu Emmanuel Asika’s Love of an Angel. Subsequently, class is the system of placing individuals into groups, that the yardstick for placement depends on the individual’s level of socio-economic status, occupation, education, lifestyle, income, accumulated assets, among others. On the other hand, disability is a cultural construct about human bodies, human economic status, human position, human identity, to mention but a few, that the cultural construct ends up handicapping the individual. Thus, this makes them have slight or no chances of survival to attain a good standard of living, owing to the cultural construct that yields inordinate behaviours of human in the environment. Moreover, disability literary theory that fights against human action, which disembodies individuals in the environment is used to underscore this qualitative research. This study unravels that the family environment Olachi finds herself in (that is, Mrs Chendo’s household) disables her through a class system that perpetuates human degradation. However, it is crucial to note that the literary writer uses class to represent environmental disability. Keywords: African Literature, Class System, Disability Studies, Eco-Critical Studies, Family Environment CHIAMAKA AMALACHUKWU UGOKA Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 145 156 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/108 This study examines child narration and trauma in Ahmadou Kourouma’s Allah is Not Obliged (AINO) and Uzodinma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation (BONN). Through the voice of innocence, child narrators serve as powerful literary devices for confronting harsh social realities, while their traumatic experiences, shaped by violence and exploitation, offer a deep exploration of psychological distress. The perceived innocence and vulnerability of children grant them a unique narrative authority, allowing them to expose controversial truths with a degree of immunity. Using trauma theory as an offshoot of psychoanalytic theory, this study draws on the insights of Cathy Caruth and Judith Herman. Caruth’s perspective emphasizes the complex, elusive, and delayed nature of trauma, while Herman highlights the process of healing. The analysis reveals that the child protagonists in both novels endure extreme psychological and physical abuse at the hands of their superiors, making them both victims and witnesses to violence. Their narratives not only reflect personal suffering but also serve as mechanisms for emotional catharsis and societal critique. This research contributes to the broader discourse on child narration and trauma theory, offering fresh critical perspectives on how literature portrays the psychological effects of war and abuse. It underscores the effectiveness of child narration in exposing uncomfortable societal truths and advocates its continued use as a literary tool for social commentary. ADAOBI OLIVIA IHUEZE IKE BLESSING CHIDIMMA Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 157 167 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/109 Public relations (PR) plays a critical role in the marketing and success of independent films, particularly in Nigeria’s Nollywood industry, where filmmakers often face financial and distribution challenges. This study explores the effectiveness of PR strategies in enhancing audience engagement, increasing film visibility, and overcoming promotional barriers for independent films. Using a qualitative research design, data was collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with independent filmmakers, PR professionals, film critics, and audience members. Findings reveal that digital PR strategies, including social media marketing, influencer collaborations and film festival promotions, have become essential tools for independent film marketing. However, financial limitations and restricted access to traditional media remain significant challenges for Nigerian filmmakers. The study also highlights that streaming platforms (such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube) and international film festivals (like AFRIFF and TIFF) provide viable promotional alternatives for independent filmmakers. The research concludes that integrating digital PR with traditional marketing techniques can significantly improve audience engagement and commercial success for Nollywood independent films. It recommends increased government and industry support, better training in PR strategies and the exploration of digital marketing tools to further enhance PR effectiveness in the Nigerian film industry. BASIRU SAIDU ABUBAKAR MUSA MIJINYAWA Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 169 187 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/111 This paper examines the representation of the diaspora experience in Adichie’s Americanah and Dibia’s Unbridled. It presents the selected texts as creative endeavors that juxtapose the fantasies and realities of migration by Nigerians across Europe and America. Using the Postcolonial tenet of “otherness”, this study scrutinizes instances of postmigration disillusionment in the selected texts through a contrastive assessment of the “here” and “there”, “home” and “abroad”, “developed” and “underdeveloped”, etc. The aim of the study is to demonstrate that literature offers a critical insight into the challenges that confront Nigerians in the diaspora. The textual analysis reveals that migration is triggered by the social, political and economic instability in the country. It is also the outcome of bad leadership within postcolonial Nigeria. The escapist approach to these challenges as captured in both texts is a massive relocation of young people who hope for a better life in Europe and America. The texts also illustrate how the high expectations of these migrants are cut short upon arrival in the diaspora and the plethora of new realities that they are exposed to in Europe and America especially as Blacks in a White dominated environment. The paper finds that their eventual choices are, however, not choices of convenience but a case of choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. ABUBAKAR SHEHU USMAN Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 189 201 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/112 A narrator’s role in a story and his relationship with the characters are determined by the point of view from which the story is told. Sometimes he is a character in the story and the story is viewed from his perspective; at other times, he is an omniscient narrator, telling the reader about all the characters in the work. On very few occasions the audience is a character and the story is viewed from their point of view. This paper discusses the linguistic techniques, language choice and their effects in the realisation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's short story, ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’. It explores the author's rare style of the use of the second person narrative perspective all through the entire work which, among other things, makes the reader not just a member of the audience, but a part of the action. This style is of particular interest to this research and discourse on its application runs through the major part of the work. A stylistic analysis of the text is adopted in order to assist readers in making proper meaningful interpretation of the story, and thereby increase their appreciation of the work. ESTHER O. ENAIKE SAMUEL M. AIYEDUN Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 203 213 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/113 For a long time, there have been series of writings on women, issues relating to women and feminism in almost all spheres of knowledge. Women writers in Nigeria have attained a status almost everywhere around the world. They present female situations such as hardship, subjugation and all such types of discrimination against women. They also try to challenge and bring about possible solutions that the woman can prefer to attain her freedom and success in society through their writings. However, there is a great need for examining these writings by women to see and direct the society towards a better understanding of the possible solutions to issues concerning women. Though women's writings in Nigeria have gained prominence over the years, there is still room for researchers to examine and explore issues presented in these writings which the woman in the society can relate to when the need arises. Alkali's Personal Angle explores issues faced in contemporary marriages, such as feelings of unfulfillment and challenges that couples encounter in their relationships. It highlights the importance of understanding the dynamics between men and women in various roles, including politics, business, and home life. Using Nego-feminism as a theory to view and analyze texts adds a wide corpus to understanding feminism, African feminism, and its different variants. This paper also points out that nego-feminism as a theory advocates peace and harmony. It is a theory that is quite different and not radical in approach. This paper also reveals that when there is understanding and negotiation there will be no war of supremacy. ZAINAB ABDULKARIM ABUBAKAR ATIKU ALKALI Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 215 229 https://jlsn.com.ng/index.php/JLSN/article/view/114 This research investigates the state of colonial justice and fairness as portrayed in Abdulrazak Gurnah's novel, Paradise. It explores the trajectory of the epistemic laws and dispositions of the colonizer towards the colonized, as the cultural values, traditional norms and taboos of the natives were not considered during colonization. Consequently, the literary representation of the irregularities in the established colonizer's epistemic law upon the colonized, makes the empiricism of justice questionable, as the malignancy of their laws hit hard on the colonized. Hence, the literary artist interrogates the dispensation of the alleged universality of justice by the West on colonial subjects, within the functionalities of their established jurisprudence in these colonies. Thus, the postcolonial literary writer, Abdulrazak Gurnah, protests against the subjugation and domination of the established colonials' hegemonic laws against the natives (their hosts), due to the obvious lack of ethical and cultural negotiations. As seen in Paradise, the Nobel Laureate, raises salient thoughts in line with Gayatri Spivak's discourse on law and the subalterns in postcolonial literary discourse. Data were collected through fictional, critical and analytical method based on textual discourse/analysis. Postcolonial literary theory is suitably applied, as it lucidly unravels the disregard and abuse of the fundamental human rights of the margins by the West during colonization in Zanzibar, a major region in Indian Ocean narratives. ABIGAIL ONOWOSEMENMEN OAIKHENA Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Literary Society of Nigeria https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2025-05-01 2025-05-01 14 231 245