The Cultural and Historical Heritage of Colonialism

The Cultural and Historical Heritage of Colonialism
Author: Kenneth Usongo
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2022-02-17
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1527580830

In the time since most African countries achieved independence from European colonial powers, it is unfortunate that these nations are still politically, economically, and culturally reordered by their former colonisers. This book argues that these nations often slavishly emulate Western values to the detriment of indigenous ones. It challenges the postcolony to ground itself in local experience and then nativise external values, which entails delicately sifting through both the domestic and foreign worlds to build a decent and humane society.

The Tale of the Harmattan

The Tale of the Harmattan
Author: Ojaide, Tanure
Publisher: Kraft Books
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2016-10-06
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9789183119

In this collection, Nigerian poet Tanure Ojaide adopts the persona of a homeboy griot returning from travels to be confronted by the devastation wrought by oil greed, politics, and technology upon his beloved Niger Delta; its environment, civilisation and people. It becomes a tragedy of corruption, suffering and dispossession in sharp contrast to the eco-sensitive animism of his youth. Angry, elegiac and lyrical, this collection allows the reader insight far beyond the reach of journalism or prose.

The Activist

The Activist
Author: Tanure Ojaide
Publisher: Farafina Books
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2006
Genre: Nigeria
ISBN: 9780745785

Literature and Culture in Global Africa

Literature and Culture in Global Africa
Author: Tanure Ojaide
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2017-07-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1351711180

Engaging and interrogating the idea of a ‘Global Africa’, this book examines how African literary and cultural productions have changed over the years due to the social and political influences brought about by increased globalisation. Tanure Ojaide takes a variety of European theoretical concepts and applies these to African literature, oral traditions, culture, sexuality, political leadership, environmentalism, and advocacy, demonstrating the universality of the African experience. Challenging African literary artists and scholars to think creatively about the future of the culture and literature, this new collection of literary and cultural criticism from scholar-writer Tanure Ojaide is an essential read for students and scholars of African literature and culture.

Eco-critical Literature

Eco-critical Literature
Author: Ogaga Okuyade
Publisher: African Books Collective
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2013
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0979085888

Eco-Critical Literature: Regreening African Landscapescritically examines the representations, constructions, and imaginings of the relationship between the human and non-human worlds in contemporary African literature and culture. It offers innovative, incisive, and critical perspectives on the importance of sustaining a symbiotic relationship between humans and their environment. The book thus carries African scholarship beyond the mere analysis of themes and style to ethical and activist roles of literature having an impact on readers and the public. It is a scholarship geared towards rectifying ecological imbalance that is prevalent in many parts of the continent that forms the setting, context, and thematic discourse of the works or authors studied in this book. Besides sensitizing the African readership to the need for the restoration of harmony between man and the environment, this book equally aims to further familiarize scholars and students working on African literature and culture with the theoretical concerns of eco-criticism.

The Literature and Arts of the Niger Delta

The Literature and Arts of the Niger Delta
Author: Tanure Ojaide
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2021-04-19
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1000379051

This book examines the depiction of the Delta region of Nigeria through literature and other cultural art forms. The Niger Delta has been thrust into the global limelight due to resource extraction and conflict, but it is also a region with a rich culture, environment, and heritage. The creative imagination of the area’s artists has been fuelled by the area’s pressing concerns of indigenous peoples, minority discourse, environmental degradation, climate change, multinational corporations' greed, dictatorship, and people’s struggle for control of their resources. Taking a holistic approach to the Niger Delta experience, this book showcases artistic responses from literature, visual arts, and performances (such as masquerades, dances, and festivals). Chapters cover authors, artists, and performers such as Ben Okri, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Isidore Okpewho, J.P. Clark, and Bruce Onobrakpeya, as well as topics like the famous Benin bronze figures and Urhobo Udje dance. Affirming the wealth and diversity of the region which continues to inspire creative artistic productions, The Literature and Arts of the Niger Delta will be of interest to researchers of African literature, arts, and other cultural productions.

Tomorrow Died Yesterday

Tomorrow Died Yesterday
Author: Chimeka Garricks
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2016-02-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9781523697397

Its 2004 Port Harcourt at the height of the kidnap of oil workers in the Niger Delta, a kidnapping goes awry and four lives are reconnected. Douye aka Doughboy the career militant responsible for the crime. Amaibi the gentle university professor / eco-warrior accused. Kaniye the lawyer turned restaurateur who tries to get him off and Tubo an amoral oil company executive. Against a backdrop of corrupt practises, failed systems and injustice, these four friends tell the story of oil in a region and its effects on local communities and the Nigerian larger society. Chimeka Garricks in his extraordinary debut novel has written a frank and moving story about the realities of contemporary Nigeria. The evil long term effects of military rule resulting in the fragmentation and break down of moral values. His story paints a realistic picture of the very high price corruption exacts on a society and how no one is immune from its consequences. Chimeka has written a remarkable book; honest, insightful and tragic - Jude Dibia author of Blackbird. Tomorrow Died Yesterday is a chronicle of a region in turmoil, of a generation caught between the expectations of their parents and the depreciations of the Nigerian situation, each of these four men navigate their issues in different ways, and in their own voices. Mr Garricks is a new literary voice; unheralded, fresh, honest, unshorn of superficial flourish. Well worth the read. - Eghosa Imasuen, author of Fine Boys. I was struck by the force of the narrative - Prof. E. J. Alagoa.

Environmental Transformations

Environmental Transformations
Author: Ernest N. Emenyonu
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2020
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1847012280

Investigates what literary strategies African writers adopt to convey the impact of climate transformation and environmental change.

Delta Blues and Home Songs

Delta Blues and Home Songs
Author: Tanure Ojaide
Publisher:
Total Pages: 104
Release: 1998
Genre: Poetry
ISBN:

This work takes in two collections of poetry. The poems of Delta Blues protests against the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta, and the devastation unleashed upon local populations, victims, and caught up in the race for oil. The younger poet dedicates his work to Ken Saro Wiwa, and other civil-rights activists. He writes about the irony of their mortality, which was, their last resort and only threat; their death was the final protest. The poet contrasts the natural heritage of the river, a vital food and water source, with barrels of oil, which bring little benefit to the people of the river. He believes that remembering the past and the dead may be the only way of preventing history repeating itself. Ojaide has won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for the Africa region and the Association of Nigerian Authors' Poetry Prize twice. He has performed and been translated around the world, and is regarded as a leading voice amongst the new (younger) generation.