Icons Behind Unprecedented Rise Of Nigerian Fiction

Nigerian literature is known throughout the world through exploits of literary icons like Wole Soyinka who won the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature and the first black African to receive the award.
Other Nigerian literally giants with world wide audience include Chinua Achebe, Buchi Emecheta, Flora Nwapa, , Gabriel Okara, Kole Omotoso, John Pepple Clark, Ben Okri and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, among others.
Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Ben Okri led the way, but a wave of women writers have taken over. In October 2019, writers from all over the world converged in Lagos for the Ake Arts and Book Festival, one of the biggest literary events on the African continent. Among them were authors whose narratives are helping to propel the phenomenon that is Nigerian Fiction on the global stage.
The festival showcased a newly minted Man Booker Prize Winner in Bernardine Evaristo announced as joint winner for her novel, Girl, Woman to win the prize. It does not hurt that she is born in London to a Nigerian father.
Now in its ninth year, the festival is a major highlight of the burgeoning Lagos Art Season, but this vibrant scene would not have been possible a few decades ago.
The pioneer generation of Nigerians writing in English emerged prior to independence from Britain in 1960 and included Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Amos Tutuola, then followed long periods of military dictatorship leading to a decline in the publishing environment with many intellectuals fleeing the country in one of the darkest episodes. A renowned writer and environmentalist and the former President of Nigerian Authors , Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged with eight other activists of Ogoni extraction by the military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1995.
The second spring of Nigerian fiction came from abroad, from the first sign of resurgence as well as the international character of much of future literary expression came in 1991 when Ben Okri won the Booker of the Famished Road. Okri has been living in London for many years and his win energised writers back home.
It took another 10 years for the promise to come to fruition with Helen Habilas emerging as the seasoned winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2001. His winning story, Love Poems was an urban fable about the triumph of the imagination, over military repression, just as Nigerian writers would use the internet to find new publishing opportunities and readers.
By the time Chimamada Ngozi Adichie showed up on the orange prize shortlist with her debut novel, ‘Purple Hibiscus’ in 2004, Nigerian fiction was in full stride. She won the prize with ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ in 2007, the year Vanity Fairs Africa Issue described her as parting the literary waves like Cleopatra and parted the wave she did. Following closely behind were many of her compatriots now taking the literary world by storm with publishing deals and awards in tow.
Decades after independence, there are concerns different from that of their pioneer generation, grappling instead with shifting notions of freedom and individuals in a globalised world. They are exploring themes including gender, sexuality and feminism, many are based in the west and thus are making significant contributions to the growing canon of immigrant stories.
Adichie is now firmly established as a literary superstar and cultural icon, winner of Mac Arthur Genius Giant, her TED talk, “We shall all be feminists” was sampled by Beyonce and also distributed to 16 year-old in Sweden. Her third novel, ‘Americanah’ is being made into a film starring Cupita Nyonyo.
The 2019 Booker also recognised Chigozi Obioma for his second novel “An Orchestra of Minorities”, his second time on the shortlist. Several Ake Festival guests have been long listed including Oyinkan Braith Waith, (My Sister the Serial Killer) and Ayobami Adebayo (Stay With Me). 2013 Caine Winner, Tope Falarin was also listed with his debut novel, “A Different Kind of Blackman”. So was Uzodinma Iweala, author of “ Beasts Of No Nation”, which was adapted for Netflix movie starring Idris Elba. It is very important to note that the festival was also organised by a writer, Lola Shoneyin, author of “The Secret Life Of Baba Segi’s Wives”.
Whereas the independence era, was dominated by male, the table has turned with the current generation as many of the most prominent players are women. The latest Caine Winner, Lesley Nneka Arimah is the sixth Nigerian to win it, making the country the most successful at the award so far. Also on the list was Nnedi Okorafor, a leading author in the fantasy genre she tags “African Futurism”.
She is responsible for several projects in the Marvel Comics, Black Panther stable and her novel “Who Fears Death” has been optioned for a series by Cable Network HBO, with the involvement of Game of Throne Creator, George R. Martin, NLNG Nigeria for Literature Winner, China Wigwe was also at the festival with her collection of short stories, ‘Better Never Than Late’.
These are some of the writers driving the increasing visibility of Nigerian fiction on book shelves around the world perhaps for a country of nearly 200 million people and 250 ethnic groups who like to call their country, the “Giant Of Africa”. With more of the country’s writers finding their voices to explore their live experiences and history, the rise of Nigerian fiction looks set to continue its explaits on the global stage.

By: Jacob Obinna