AFRICAN LITERATURE: THE WAY FORWARD

African literature is a body of literary works of African people concerned about

their culture, language as well as about their way of life. We can trace its
development to beyond the colonial period as asserted by some European critics.
African writers and novelists such as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiongo and the
rest of them have clearly depict the tune and real image of Africa‟s culture. African
literature is rich in its variety and full of information that proves to the world that
most of it has been distorted by a few European writers. According to Julia
Devardhi, “the way the African tried to express himself is Universal and while
teaching them the “River Between and Things Fall Apart, we come to understand
the richness of the African culture and many of experiences are common to
mankind in a large sense” she concludes “To me, it was invigorating and gave me
a whole new sense and feeling about Africa and its diverse cultures”
African literature deals with literary works of the African continent written
in diverse African languages and deeply enriched by genres such as oral literature
depicting Africa‟s rich oral traditions, myths, proverbs, legends, folktales etc.
These genres play the role of educating and entertaining the children of the African
descent through learning the heroic deeds of the founding fathers (ancestors) of
their community. This also acted as a reminder of their origin thereby aiding the
sustenance of their cultural heritage.
Writers like Olaudah Equiano who vividly described the horrors of slave
trade, started what is today referred to as “the African literature”.
The African literature thrived in three periods, namely: the pre-colonial era,
the colonial-era and the post-colonial era.
The pre-colonial literature is the literary works done before the coming of
the white men to the African continent. Before then, there was the use of oral
traditions and folktales and these made the literature of this period very interesting
to children. The youths were entertained as well as educated by stories, dramas,
riddles and jokes, songs, proverbs and oriki and praise singers who often
accompany a narrative with music.
The colonial era had works of the colonial periods which mostly portrayed
slave narratives one of which is Olaudah Equiano. His book “the interesting
narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equaino(1989)” Ethiopia Unbound” studies in
race emancipation by Joseph Ephraim Hayford and “the Black Hermit” by Ngugi
Wa Thiongo to mention a few. We must note here that, „Things Fall Apart” by
Chinua Achebe which came at a later end of this period analyzed the effect of
colonialism and the effects it had on the psyche of the Traditional African man and
African Society in general.
African literature during this late colonial era diverted slightly by dealing
with themes of liberation, independence, Negritude (rejection of the white mans
imposition of his culture on the black man through the policy of total assimilation
by the French in areas of Africa they colonized) the writers of this era suffered
directly and deeply even at the hands of their own governments. The jailing of
Wole Soyinka for “The Man died”, Ken Saro Wiwa was hanged by the Nigerian
Junta. Mongance Wally Senote of South Africa was detained under the countries
terrorism Act No 83 of 1967, Dennis Brutus of South Africa was incarcerated and
„The Letters to Martha” was the beautiful poetic outcome of his days at Robben
Island. Our own Christopher Okigbo was killed during the Nigerian civil war to
mention but a few.
The post colonial era/writers “enjoyed” the dividends of the war fought and
won by their predecessors. Deviations from the original intent of literature which is
to educate and entertain became notable as self acclamation and Narcissim
(psychological obsession and exclusive interest in oneself) dominated this era.
African literature of this era grew in volume, quantity and recognition with
numerous African works appearing in western academic curricular and some even
emerged as best works published in the 19th century. The palm-Wine Drinkard
(subtitled “and His Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in Dead‟s Town”) is a novel
published in 1952 by the Nigerian author Amos Tutuola. The first African Novel
published in English outside Africa, this quest tale based on Yoruba folktales is
written in a modified Yoruba English or Pidgin English. In it, a man follows his
brewer into the land of the dead, encountering many sprints and adventures. The
novel has always been controversial, inspiring both admiration and contempt
among Western and Nigerian critics. The point worthy of note here, is that this
novel emerged as one of the most important texts in the African literary canon,
translated into over a dozen foreign languages.
The literature of this era also dealt with the endemic corruption in
government circles, conflicts and economic disparities as well as the rights and
roles of women. Feminist movements also became rampant and more female
writers emerged and gained more recognition. Worthy of note are the following
female writers: Buchi Emecheta, Nadine Gordimer, Ama Ata Aidoo, Aminata sow
Fall and Flora Nwapa etc.
The greatest tragedy of the African literature was the emergence of colonial
elites who trained in colonial schools and aspired to the lifestyles of those who
colonized them. During this period, writers who wrote in their colonial master‟s
language were hailed as having made the greatest achievement a “native” could
make. Most writers who wrote in Africa languages were marginalized and had
difficulty publishing their works. The diverse nature of the African literature also
posed a problem. With the numerous languages, cultures and writers involved
expatiate critics accuse African literature of having weak storyline/plots,
superficial characterization and narrow narrative structure. The African literature
was further critiqued as suffering from a taint of linguistic impurity, because some
are oral; written in vernacular or tribal tongues, written in foreign tongues: English,
French, Portuguese and sometimes within the foreign language in which it is
written, it is done in pidgin and Creole which further bends the language and
distorts the message it sets out to portray.
Much of contemporary African literature reveals disillusionment and dissent
with current events. From Wole Soyinka‟s, “The man Died” to Femi Osofisan‟s
„Cholrea College”, V.Y Mudimbe in “Before the Birth of the Moon” (1989) which
explores a doomed love affair played out within a society riddled by deceit and
corruption. In Kenya Ngugi Wa Thiongo was jailed shortly after he produced a
play in Kikuyu which was perceived as highly critical of the country‟s government.
Ayi kweh Armah of Ghana in “The Beautyful ones Are Not Yet Born” to mention
a few. There was a proliferation of writings using songs and Lampoons to achieve
their desired effects in literature of this era. Apparently, what seemed most
effective about those works was the use of songs to emphasize their messages.
The weaving of music into the Kenyan‟s play points out another
characteristic feature of African literature at this time. Many writers incorporated
other arts into their work and often weave oral conventions into their writing. Okot
P‟Bitek structured “songs of Lowino” (1966) as an Acholi Poem; Achebe‟s
Characters in “Things Fall Apart” (1958) and “A man of the people” pepper their
speech with proverbs and others, such as Senegalese novelist Ousmane Sembene,
have moved into films to take their messages to people who cannot read.
On the way forward, new creative processes such as African literature rising
has come to represent the optimistic portrayal of the continent in this literature,
though some critics believe it is largely hypocritical in the sense that it is choosing
to ignore the reality that is indeed poverty and war on the African continent or
more precisely, emphasizing “the good life” at the expense of the poverty, hunger
and violence that have become synonymous with the reality of the continent.
Literature on the continent is on the rise. Whereas African writers in the past
owed their success to western structures and platforms such as the African Writers
series and the pacesetters series that put the literature of the continent in practically
every home, the collapse of these series and the publishing industry on the
continent coincided with the decline of literature on the continent and the further
distancing of Francophone and Anglophone literature even though their
preoccupations and concerns are similar.
There is however an internally driven resurgence on the revival of African
literature. The Writivism literary festival in Kampala held June 2014 testifies to
this new flair. This festival started small in the East African country of Uganda by
some young passionate Ugandans under the passionate drive of Biversigye Bwa
Mwesigire and a partner who set up the centre for African culture Excellence
(CACE) that administers the Writivism programme in 2013. This new idea grew
into writing workshops in several African cities including: Abuja, Johannesburg
and Kampala among others.
Stories from participants at this workshop , were published in newspapers in
several countries. African writers from different parts of the continent shared not
only their works but their ideas and challenges.
In the way forward for African literature, there is the urgent need for
cohesive networking among writers on the continent. Books by Nigerian writers
published locally can hardly be found in some corners of Nigeria, not to mention
places like Daar es Salam or Addis Ababa. The distribution network must be
improved to reach every African home and people who literate enough to read.
Currently, the distribution network is deplorable if not non-existent. But with this
Book festivals like Writivism, bringing together publishers and authors across the
continent, the potential for greater connect to be forged and new distribution chains
to be formed with new market frontiers to be opened is a reward worth exploiting.
The Writivsm festival, driven by African minds, for African purposes,
among which is to develop writing talents on the continent has inadvertently,
perhaps deliberately opened up African writing to Africans.
Local businesses should show faith in African writings (literature) through
supporting writers and publishers. There is currently a huge reliance on foreign
donors who support and power literary events within the continent. This is an
indictment on local business who do not believe in giving back to the society from
where they draw their profit. There should be more local sponsorship for these
events in subsequent years.
The Ake literary festival is another promising literary event driven by the
inimitable passion of a Nigerian writer Lola Shoneyin and this festival debuted in
the historical city of Abeokuta last year. The Ake festival has staked its legitimate
claim to being the biggest literary gathering on the continent. About a hundred
writers from the continent and beyond attended the meet. Intelligent panelists
thrashed out issues affecting literature and arts on the continent, book producers
and consumers interacted and exchanged not just books but ideas and shared
concerns. African literature is healthier as a result of these exchanges.
The good thing about these festivals and meets including the several in
South Africa and elsewhere on the continent, is that; it provides a vista for
networking and literary discourses, they provide literary workshops where aspiring
writers are tutored in the craft of writing and in these workshops, one gets to
experience firsthand, the enormous promise that writing on the continent holds.
There is also the need for solid structures on whose backs the diverse writing from
all corners of the continent can float. This is where the publishing houses come in.
Traditional publishing houses have collapsed as a result of callous and deliberate
anti-intellectual policies by the government.
It is noteworthy to state here also that African literature should be written in
indigenous languages and made to take their pride of place in the various
department of studies. African writers should gather ideas and styles from their
predecessors and reconceptualize the text from which they borrow.
In conclusion, these new vehicles of African fiction though are being
inundated by economic challenges and distribution problems that have continued
to stifled their growth and their capacity to put more scintillating African literature
in the eager hands of book lovers. All things considered, African literature is on the
rise. The fear now is: this progress made, is it sustainable?
We must all join hands to find the way forward and move African literature to the
next level of her development.

Thank you.

Bibliography
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright (c)
2012,Columbia University Press.

Encyclopedia > Literature and the Arts, Literature in other modern Languages
Miscellaneous World Literature

African Literature Rising Lecture. By Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

Publish in Daily Trust Newspaper, July 20, 2014