Reclaiming Independence, Pumping Oil, and Exporting Nigerian literature
Reclaiming Independence
According to a lengthy section on History World on "History of Nigeria," Great Britain, the massive political power that has ruled many other countries throughout history, held control over Nigeria from 1900 to 1960. During this time frame, Nigeria was forced to rename multiple regions of their own country with Britain's authorization. The country divided itself into Northern, Eastern, and Western regions and each had their own house of assembly. Yet, even though the massive British Empire had lots of power, they would not be able to hold on to Nigeria for long. Nigeria gained more and more leaders from their own country and through the rebelling power of the leaders, Nigeria gained freedom from Britain.
Pumping Oil
Continuing with information from the section on History World, Nigeria is known for its large abundances of oil. Industries flock to the land, drilling first palm oil and now petroleum and, ten years after Nigeria's independence from Britain, the "output is more than two million barrels a day, the value of which is boosted by the high prices achieved during the oil crisis of 1973-4" (History of Nigeria). According to an informational excerpt from the Environmental Justice Atlas, some of the more well known oil companies currently within the Niger Delta include Royal Dutch Shell from the Netherlands, the Chevron Corporation from the United States of America, and Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited from Nigeria (Greyl). These companies benefit greatly from the oil boom of Nigeria but they are not the only ones that do. Drawing from an informational section on the Oil Boom Era of Nigeria from OnlineNigeria, we find that whereas agriculture exports account for 48.23% of total GDP in 1971, by 1977 they only make up 5.71% because oil export revenue suddenly accounts for 85% of total exports. As a result of this oil boom, the citizens and leaders of Nigeria were rolling in the income and boisterous way of life that the oil was bringing.
Exporting Nigerian Literature
As Nigeria transitioned into their new found freedom and the discovered oil abundance in their land, all eyes were on them. Companies from all around the world raced to gain land and rights to drill while writers from Nigeria were publishing works again and again that were now being shown in the spotlight. These literary works not only celebrated the independence that Nigeria now had but also held a quiet warning about the dangers of what was occurring. According to Rob Nixon's Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, Ken Saro-Wiwa, a prominent author and activist during Nigeria's independence and the oil crisis that was looming on the horizon, "continued to believe that written testimony, backed by activism, could make a difference. Like many African authors before him, he recognized that in a society with frail democratic forces and a thin intellectual elite, interventionist writing required versatility and cunning" (108). Saro-Wiwa was not the only writer on the scene, however. Other authors like Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka were making a statement about Nigerian literature more than thirty years before Saro-Wiwa.
Chinua Achebe (Albert Chinualumogu Achebe)
While I looked for information from the online version of the well known Encyclopedia Britannica, I found that Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist who was "acclaimed for his unsentimental depictions of the social and psychological disorientation accompanying the imposition of Western customs and values upon traditional African society" (Britannica). His first novel, and possibly his most well known, was Things Fall Apart in 1958. The novel looks into the life of Okonkwo, an Igbo community leader, and addresses the colonial government that is controlling the Igbo societies. His influential works continued with No Longer At Ease (1960), a sequel to Things Fall Apart, and Arrow of God (1964), which tells the story of a chief priest in the 1920s whose son becomes a Christian under British rule. His works now help many scholars and students understand Nigeria's history up to and during the time of their independence and scholars can now use his works to look at the Niger River Delta with a eco-critical and postcolonial lens to understand the issue further.
Wole Soyinka
Also quoted from the online version of Encylopdeia Britannica, Wole Soyinka, Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka, is a Nigerian playwright who was granted with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. He graduated from the University of Leeds in England before moving back to Nigeria to write A Dance of the Forests (1963) which looks at showing how the present Nigeria is no more glorious than what the past Nigeria was. He has participated in many groups including the National Democratic Organization and the National Liberation Council of Nigeria.
Fitting it All Together
The oil boom that rang through Nigeria should have helped to solidify their independence from Britain as they began to create their own country in the wake of the income. Yet, many Nigeria writers saw the dangers of the oil boom as soon as the other industries began to take their place in Nigeria. They voiced their concerns through many writings and letters. The writers' warnings, however, weren't taken seriously fast enough. Drawing from Nixon, as the oil situation begins to spiral out of control, "journalists, writers, and intellectuals are singled out for harassment, detention, torture, and execution, often as much for what they represent as for anything they say" (Nixon 121). These writers are soon targeted, some by their own country, for fighting against the one thing that is putting them above all other countries. As fast as the oil boom came, it was going to fall just as fast.
Works Cited
"Chinua Achebe." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
Greyl, Lucie. "Multinational Oil Companies on the Niger Delta, Nigeria." Environmental Justice Atlas. Eds. Leah Temper, Daniela del Bene, and Joan Martinez Alier. ejatlas.org. Web. 2 March 2016.
"History of Nigeria." History of Nigeria. History World. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Cambridge, US: Harvard University Press, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 1 April 2016.
"Oil Boom Era (1971-1977)." An Overview of the Nigerian Economic Growth and Development. NigeriaOnline. Web. 20 March 2016.
"Wole Soyinka." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
