THE RISE OF NIGERIAN LITERATURE: HAUSA, IGBO, YORUBA

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 Introduction

We have seen from Module One that Nigerian literature began with the oral tradition because oral literature is the root of African literature. The oral literature as the name implies was rendered orally by the unsung heroes of our literary past like the bards, story tellers, griots, priests and many others.

In this unit, you will be introduced to the works of early Nigerian writers in both indigenous and English languages. These writers are all novelists. You will see that their works were derived from the basic element of oral literature. Although one could claim that the dramatic genre was popular in the Onitsha Market Literature as you will see in the next unit, the novel as a full fledged literature developed before drama. These novels depicted the preoccupation of these early writers.

The early Nigerian writer wrote mainly in the prose form. Their works range from personal accounts which started with could be classified as fantasy and developed to the realistic mode of the novel.

3.1 Writings in Vernacular

Whenever we discuss the Nigerian novel, the focus is usually on the novels written in English language. Little or no attention is paid to the novels or other forms of literature written in Nigerian indigenous languages. Sometimes, we learn of such works in the secondary schools when we offer subjects like Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba. These are the officially recognized languages in Nigeria consequently, they are the ones taught in the secondary schools and in some department in the tertiary institutions.

However literature also abound in other major Nigerian languages. For instance there are many literary artists who wrote in the Efik language but E.N. Amaku towers above the rest. The Efik fiction evolved from the oral literature of story telling. In Edikot Mbuke which is regarded as his “greatest prose work” (Babalola: 50) he uses animal characters like Ekpe (Leopard) who is famous for his agility and the Ikut (Tortoise) who is notorious for his craftiness to tell interesting stories that intermingle fantasy with reality. These novels in the indigenous languages help to improve, the vocabularies of, popularize and perpetuate such languages. They also contribute to the linguistic development of the languages.

Literature in local languages occupies a very important position in the development of Nigerian literature but Nigerian literature in any foreign language had its roots in the oral heritage of the writers ’ traditional background. In the words of Ernest Emenyonu, “every Nigerian who tells or writes a story today in whatever language, is reflecting consciously or unconsciously something of his past, something of his people’s or community ’s heritage. An authentic study of Nigerian literature must, therefore, begin by examining and appreciating the origins and development of literature in Nigerian indigenous languages”, (34).

3.1.1 Hausa Literature

The development of the novel in Hausa is influenced by the Hausa folklore and Arabian tales. The written tradition was introduced to northern Nigeria in the 15th century by Arab scholars and traders. The Hausa folklore is unique in the sense that it is prominently, though not exclusively, peopled with animals who have human characteristics and tendencies. “These tales are in fact a significant reflection of human society in which seniority is determined not by age (as in real Hausa society) but in most cases by sheer physical size” (Babalola: 57) and strength. In such stories, the tiny animals survive through their wit and greater intelligence. In most cases, they outwit the more powerful animals. In the human tales, the weaker people use certain qualities like “keen and upright moral conscience to overcome their adversaries”. Another prominent stereotyped figure in Hausa literature is the Ogre which is usually an incredible gigantic man-eating monster who hoards wealth and keeps a young beautiful woman hostage as a maid or wife in his solitary abode. Usually a human hero fights him and eventually overpowers him and sets the hostage free. This hero is usually endowed with courage, strength, fatal sword or arrow and other charms that aid his victory. Another human stereo-type from the political point of view is the figure of Waziri who is usually very wicked, cunning, disloyal and power-hungry. These are reflected in many Hausa fictions from the earliest period. As discussed in unit, the rise of Hausa fiction was facilitated by the establishment of elementary and provincial schools in the northern parts of Nigeria between 1909 and 1928 and the interest of the government in the development of books especially literature.

The first set of literature were translations from Arabic to Hausa by the translation Bureau set up by the government. The bureau was later renamed Literature Bureau to accommodate works by indigenous authors. This bureau organized fiction-writing competitions in Hausa encouraged indigenous author to write literary works. Many writers entered for the competition but only five outstanding entries were selected and published. They were Ruwan Bagoja by M. Abubaka Iman, Shehu Umar by M. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Gandoki by Bello Kagara, Idon Matambayi by M. Mohammadu Gwarza, and Jiki Magayi by M. Tafida. These were the first Hausa novels which are still published as classical Hausa literature” (Yahaya 15).

These authors made use of the oral traditions in form of story-telling especially in their use of the narrator. However, some of these novelists made use of historical facts, while some of them historical facts with fantasy. A good example is Shehu Umar who starts his novels with a story-telling session in which the narrator recalls past historical events, based on reality of life of the people to his audience. According to Yaro Yahaya, Gandoki also starts with the narration of past events concerning the wars of British occupation of Hausa land. From real life situations, he plunges into the world of fantasy as Gandoki, the hero engages in “skirmishes with djinns and other supernatural beings.” Ruwan Bagaja is pure fiction that depicts a hero, Iman who sets out in search of healing water. He succeeds in getting the healing after overcoming all the obstacles, and forces in the wonderland of djinns in the East. In appreciation of the literary quality of Abubakar Imam’s work, the government employed him to work with the literature Bureau where he produced his Magana Jarice in three volumes. In this work, he adopted the style of the Arabian Nights but the sources remained the Hausa folktales. He also fused the tales with the English Grimm’s Household Tales and the Arabic Khalila wa Dimna. He fused them with “drastic touches of originality, by giving the narration of the stories a unifying theme through key recurring figures (Yahaya 16). Thus Abubakar Iman became the first prolific Hausa novelist.

In 1953, the North Regional Literature Agency (NORLA) was set up to augment the activities of the literature Bureau. Through these agencies, the Government helped to accelerate the growth of Hausa literature.

3.1.2 Igbo Literature

We saw in the last unit that the missionaries encouraged the development of indigenous languages. These missionaries needed to study these languages to aid their evangelization mission in Nigeria. The origin of Igbo literature could be linked with the beginnings of formal studies of Igbo language in the mid 19th century as a result of the efforts of the missionaries to develop the indigenous language. The development of Igbo orthography propelled some Igbo men to write in their language. According to Ernest Emenyonu, Rev. J. F. Schon’s publication of A Grammar of the Ibo Language in 1840 aided the development of Igbo literature. Rev. Ajayi Crowther and other missionaries also helped in to collate the unwritten Igbo materials and to put them in the written form.

Other publications followed but the Isoama-Ibo Primer published by William Baikie was a turning point for literature in Igbo. This work contains a translation of the first chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, Igbo alphabets, words, phrases, sentence patterns, the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer. It also contains some extracts, which according to Emenyonu, “became the first literary creative in Igbo written literature”. The book was revised and enlarged in 1927 to include more essays on religious and secular topics and a long narrative riddle on about the sun and a folktale. After the revision, the title was changed to Azundu and it remained the major work in literature in Igbo language for nearly a century. This and other such publications eventually served not only the primary religious purpose of evangelization but also as a sound foundation for the written indigenous literature in which folktales and other genres of oral tradition were recorded and woven into poetry, short stories and novels in Igbo language. In addition to textbooks in Igbo, literary texts were also written. The development of this literature like the development of the Nigerian literature, is based on oral narratives and the portrayal of life, traditional values, proverbs and other aspects the Igbo culture.

Pita Nwana’s Omenuko was the first full-length literary work in Igbo. Omenuko contained a lot of “wit, volatile humour and insistent moral overtones” (Emenyonu). The sayings of Omenuko the major character is likened to John Ploughman’s talks as Omenuko remained the dominant literary piece in Igbo language for about three decades.

F. C. Ogbalu contributed immensely to the development of Igbo literature. Apart from his own writings and efforts to promote the language, his varsity Press, Onitsha helped in the publication of Igbo literature and other literary works. This publishing house helped to encourage and revitalize the Igbo literature. Subsequently, Leopold Bell-Gram’s Ijeodumodu Jere and D. N. Achara’s Ala Bingo were published in 1963. D. N. Achara also published Elelia Na ihe Omere in 1964. These novelists made significant use of the repertoire of Igbo oral heritage in form of proverbs, riddles, and other unique nuances of the language.

3.1.3 Yoruba Literature

It is said that Yoruba Literature may have pre-dated the 19th Century because of Northern Yoruba’s contact with the Islamic religion. This presumption is based on the fact that Islam is associated with learning. However, after the fall of Oyo empire in early nineteenth century, Ilorin became a centre of learning because of its close contact with Islam. Yoruba Imams and teachers then must have written literary works but there is little or no evidence to authenticate this fact. Again if such works existed, they may have been written in Arabic.

Later in the 19th century with the return of liberated slaves and the establishment of Christian mission schools in Yoruba land, efforts were made by scholars to write both in English and Yoruba languages. However, Samuel Ajayi Crowther’s A Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language (1843) laid a solid foundation for the written literature in Yoruba language. Another major influence on the development of Yoruba literature was the cultural nationalism in Yoruba land that started at about 1880s. The Yoruba elite tried to rekindle their customs andinstitutions and this gave rise to an agitation for the teaching of Yoruba history, in schools. Consequently, some of the educated ones with creative abilities started writing Yoruba literature which they hoped would help to document their cultural and social norms so that their traditional forms of folklore, legends, histories, and parables will not get into oblivion or extinction. Moreover, the schools needed these texts in their curricula.

The pioneer Yoruba literary scholar is E. M. Lijadu. He was a school master and catechist for the Anglican mission in Ondo. His works were mainly in oral literature and religion. They include Ifa: Imole Re Ti Ise Ipile Isin Ni Ile Yoruba (1887); Orunmila (1908) and a book on poetry Kekere Iwe Orin Aribiloso (1886). A romantic fiction in pamphlet form Dolapo Asewo Omo Asewo was written by an anonymous writer in 1890. The work presented a story in a plot that followed a logical sequence though it contained some obscenities. Alo Meje, a pamphlet, a collection of short stories was published in 1893. Many imaginary stories were also published in Newspapers.

What could be regarded as the first novel in Yoruba is Itan Emi Segilola by I. B. Thomas which was published in 1930. It was serialized earlier in 1929 in a newspaper, Akede Eko. This was followed seven years later by Daniel Fagunwa’s Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole. Fagunwa has remained an outstanding Yoruba novelist. He uses allegory that is based on Yoruba folktale tradition in which “every event can be used to teach a moral” (Isola:79). His novel is presented in an episodic plot that usually revolves around the adventures of a brave hunter on a dangerous journey. It contains some popular Yoruba tales that are loosely strung together. However, he invents some of the stories and borrows some from Christian religious literature and other literary sources. The hero encounters some difficulties but in the end, he surmounts the obstacles and accomplishes his task triumphantly.His successful attempt inspired other writers like Ogundele who published EjigbedeLona Isalu Orun and Ibu Olokun (1956); Omoyajowo who wrote Itan Odeniya – Omo Odeleru (1957); Fatanmi’s Korimale Ninu Igbo Adimula and others wrote like what could be regarded as fantasy like Fagunwa though they were not as successful as him.

One of the first attempts at the writing of a realistic novel in Yoruba was made by Delano who wrote Aiye D’aiye Oyinbo (1955). It is based on the story of Babalola, an Oba who resists the incursion of the colonialists in his territory. Like many other traditional leaders, he fails because he could not match the superior arms of his adversaries.

3.2 Olaudah Equiano

Before the written tradition developed in Nigeria, a Nigerian, an ex-slave, Olaudah Equiano had published a book in Europe. He became the first African to write a literary work in English language. The novel titled The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Vassa Gustava, The African: Written by Himself was published in it in 1789. marked a significant point in the development of Nigerian literature.

The novel contains an account of how he was kidnapped as a boy of 12 from his village of Essaka, near Benin and sold to a white slave trader. He recounts how he eventually got his freedom. The novel is presented in the first person point of view. He states clearly in the novel that he is an African and that the story was written by himself.

He describes with nostalgia his African home. The novel is divided into three sections. In the first section, he gives an account of his country and the way he was sold into slavery. The second section is an account of his various adventures and his personal achievements. Finally the last section presents his involvement in the anti-slave movement and his attempt to get the British government to develop other forms of trade in Africa.

In this brief description above, one would be inclined to think that this is an autobiography but it is not. He may have presented a personal account but this is imaginatively presented and it cleared the path and led the way for not just Nigerian literature but laid the foundation for the contemporary protest literature in Africa.

3.3 Amos Tutuola

The real indigenous Nigerian literature in English was pioneered by Amos Tutuola. His work, The Palmwine Drinkard is famed to be the first Nigerian novel, having been published in 1952. This novel is seen as a linkin the transition of Nigerian literature from vernacular to English language and to the western literary tradition. It preceded Cyprian, Ekwensi’s People of the City which is regarded as his first novel though he started earlier.

The original title of Tutuola’s novel was the Palm-wine Drinkard and His Dead Palm wine Tapster in the Dead’s Town.

The novel is presented in an episodic plot technique but the loose episodes are bound together by the quest motif which is central to the novel. In it, the palm wine Drinkard losses his tapster and because he could not live without drinking palm wine, he goes to the land of the dead in search of the tapster and to bring him back to earth to continue tapping wine for him. On reaching the land of the dead, he is told that once some one has been certified dead in the land of the living, the person cannot be resurrected. However he is compensated. His tapster gives him a magical present that would help him cope without him when he gets back. This novel like Fagunwa’s, is a fantasy.

The novelist draws extensively from the story telling, myth, legend and other forms of Yoruba and Oral traditions. The major critique of the novel is on the language. The story is presented in a language that could be called a transliteration of the story-teller presentation in Yoruba. Perhaps like Coleridge in “Kubla Khan”, Tutuola recorded his story as the inspiration came to him. His proficiency in English language is very low and this could be attributed to the death of his father that made him drop out of school in primary five. However, this shortcoming could be over-looked given the manner in which he captures the English language spoken by the ordinary people in his community. In spite of this apparent flaw, the novel was a huge success. It brought him to the limelight and instantly an international fame. He followed it with the publication of other novels like My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1952), Simbi and the Satyr of the Dark Jungle (1955) Ajaiye and His Inherited Poverty (1968). The Brave African Huntress (1958) The Witch Herbalist of the Remote Town (1981). He died in 1997.

3.4 Cyprain Ekwensi

Cyprain Ekwensi’s People of the City (1954) is regarded as the first West African novel in modern English. His first creative work was a collection of short stories Ikolo the Wrestler and other Ibo Tales published in 1947 and The Leopard Claw also in 1947. In 1948, he published his first pamphlet in the Onitsha Market Literature tradition. His other works include The Passport of Mallam Illa (1960), Jagua Nana (1961), Burning Grass (1962) and many others. He has about twenty six novels and novella and could be said to be the most prolific novelist in Nigeria.

Interestingly, Cyprian Ekwensi studied forestry and pharmacy. He later studied broadcasting. He worked and retired with the media where he rose to the rank of the Federal Director of Information in 1961. This does not mean that he did not practice his original profession but he seemed to have been involved in a lot of professions and excelled in all. He was a teacher, a journalist, a pharmacist, a diplomat, a businessman, a company director, a public relations consultant and a writer. A writer summarized his personality thus:

There are two Cyprian Ekwensis. Cyprian Ekwensi, the Nigerian novelist, broadcaster, short story writer, the man who lives in the world of ink and Literature – and Cyprian Ekwensi, the pharmacist, the man of the white coat, dispensing medicine, sterilizing injections and controlling drugs (quoted in Emenyonu.22).

His most controversial novel was Jagua Nana which has been the only novel that was debated upon by Nigerians in the house of parliament. This was when a foreign company’s proposal to adapt the novel for the celluloid was stopped. The novel uses the heroine, Jagua Nana, a prostitute to satirize the Nigerian Society especially politics. Jagua was an Ibo lady who abandoned her husband in Enugu, went to Lagos and became a superlative prostitute. Through her profession, she got involved with all sorts of men from the top civil servants/politicians to rouges and armed robbers. In her encounter with

these men, Ekwensi explores the theme of corruption in the Nigerian Economic and Socio-political system. The political story in the novel is that of “exploitation of the people, fraudulent abuse of power, reckless embezzlement of public money and ultimate forfeiture of public trust” (Emenyonu 24).

The issues raised in the novel though published more than four decades ago, are still relevant to our contemporary experiences - rigging of election, assassination of political opponents, misuse of public funds, the existence of the suffering people who are in the majority and many other social vices are still burning issues in contemporary Nigeria.

Jagua Nana’s only regret is that she could not bear a child of her own. However, she ended as a very wealthy woman because one of her customers, a top politician left a lot of money that belongs to his party with her. When he died, nobody could claim the money. It became Jagua Nana’s money. Cyprian Ekwensi died in 2000

3.5 Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe has remained a household name all over the world because of his novel Things Fall Apart. In his early novels, Achebe addressed basic African problems like colonialism and propagated African values to the world. His emergence in the Nigerian literary scene marked a milestone in the Nigerian literary scene. It is difficult to discuss Nigerian Literature without mentioning Things Fall Apart which is said to be a reaction to Joyce Cary’s Mister Johnson which we discussed in the last unit.

In the novel, Achebe presents a once peaceful and harmonious Igbo society that was torn apart by the exploits of the colonial masters in Igbo land. His early works focused on the invasion of Igbo land by Europeans, and the subsequent imposition of their laws, customs, government and religion on the indigenes. This imposition succeeded mainly because they condemned the existing culture, religion and socio-political institutions of the people. The Christian religion was the most potent tool, so with it, the converts were brainwashed and they turned against their own people. This divide and rule tactics helped to destroy the society.

In Things Fall Apart, this theme of clash of cultures is presented through Okonkwo who is a successful man, hardworking, honest, courageous and brave. He however acts irrationally at times because he does not want to be termed weak. Unfortunately, he destroys himself in the process of fighting the colonialists. Apart from Things Fall Apart, Achebe has published other novels like, Arrow of God, No Longer Ease, A Man of the People, Anthills of the Savannah and others that include novelettes, collection of short stories, and poems.

In his novels, Achebe is noted for his brevity and simplicity in his use of language. In Things Fall Apart, he captures an ideal Igbo society, their government, religion, festivals, rituals and other ceremonies. He uses the Igbo proverbs, riddles, folktales and other forms of the Igbo oral tradition to stamp a mark of uniqueness in his novels.

Chinua Achebe remains the most read African author in the world. His successful first novel, Things Fall Apart, first published in 1958, has sold millions of copies and has been translated into numerous languages. Like many African writers, Achebe’s primary focus has been African identity. In particular, he has been highly critical of the way that Western literature has portrayed native Africans. His work also explores the many detrimental effects of centuries of colonialism on the African continent. In his fiction, essays, criticism, poetry, and even children’s literature, Achebe has questioned not only how the West views Africa but also how Africa views itself. Achebe’s potent social commentary has earned him worldwide acclaim.

Chinua Achebe was born into an Ibo family on Nov. 15, 1930, at Ogidi in Eastern Nigeria. He was educated at a government college in Umuahia, and he graduated from the University College at Ibadan in 1954. He worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation but his spent greater part of his life as a lecturer in various universities in Nigeria and abroad. In 1990, Achebe was involved in a serious car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down

4.0 Conclusion

Nigerian novels are written in both English and local languages. In the Northern part of the country, the government encouraged and supported the writings in Hausa. In the east and the west, individual writers wrote as inspired. However, in Western Nigeria, there was an agitation and movement against foreign culture and literature. This, directly or indirectly affected the literary productions in Yoruba. In all the cases, education was a propelling factor as tribes wanted their children to also learn through the local languages. Christianity also played an important role in the development of Nigerian Literature as church leaders needed to communicate with the indigenes. Consequently, they encouraged and indeed, pioneered the development of some Nigerian languages.

The Nigerian novel in English language started with fantasy that presented some loosely- strung episodes of fantastic incidents. Novels in both languages drew a lot of materials from the oral tradition especially that of story-telling (folktales).

5.0 Summary

We have seen in this unit that the Nigerian novel grew out of the peoples oral literature. We have also learnt that novels were written in both indigenous languages and English. These novels present fantastic tales with didactic motives. They also presented the Nigerian societies before the advent of colonization, during the colonial period and the effect of the encounter between Nigerians and Europeans. Social ills in the society are also reflected in these early Nigerian novels. Some of the novels are based on historical events.

6.0 Tutor Marked Assignment

List and explain briefly, the focus of Nigerian early writers in English language.

7.0 References/Further Reading.

Emenyonu, Ernest “The Rise and Development of Igbo Novel” in Ogunbiyi (ed).

Ogunbiyi, Yemi (ed) (1988) Perspectives on Nigerian Literature 1700 to the present.

Volume Two. Lagos: Guardian Books.

Falola, Toyin (1988) “Earliest Yoruba Writers” in Yemi Ogunbiyi (ed) Perspectives on

Nigerian Literature 1700 to the Present volume one. Lagos: Guardian Books.

King, Bruce (ed) (1974) Introduction to Nigerian Literature Lagos: Evans Brothers.

Taiwo, Oladele (1967) An Introduction to West African Literature. Lagos: Nelson

Yahaya, Ibrahim Yaro (1988) “The Development of Hausa Literature” in Yemi Ogunbiyi (ed) Perspectives on Nigerian Literature 1700 to the present volume one. Lagos:

Guardian Books.

Httm://www.writers.com/asp

Online wikipedia dictionary

http://en.wikipedia.org//writingcareer.