Colonial History and the Crises of Nationhood in Ahmed Yerima’s Attahiru (1998)
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Date
2022
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Department of French, College of Humanities and Culture, Osun State University, Osogbo
Abstract
Literary and cultural critics that have engaged with the evolutionary trends in African literature have always given due prominence to the impacts and manifestations of materials from history in the compositions of African writers. In Nigeria, this tradition has been entrenched in the works of pioneer modern dramatists and the generations that follow. However, although some critics have given attention to the place of historical plays in nation building, critics have mostly concentrated on the historicity of those plays in ways that seem to overshadow their contemporary relevancies. This paper, from a postcolonial theoretical perspective, focuses on Ahmed Yerima’s eponymous play, Attahiru (1998) to explain the social values of history to the contemporary challenges that confront most developing nations, especially Nigeria. The paper, in looking at the diverse manifestations of history in literary texts, situates Attahiru within a sub category of colonial history which focuses on resistance to colonial rule. However, beyond the historical value of the play, the paper engages with the mimesis of the author by concentrating on the contemporary social relevance of the play as it concerns critical issues of resistance and nation building. After a critical assessment of the crisis in the play which culminated in loss and fatal casualties for the Caliphate people, the paper concludes with due emphasis on the sacrosanct and dignified roles of the leaders and the led in the task of nation building or resistance to the social malaises that threaten human existence.
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Colonial history, Resistance, Nationhood, Crises