October 2010, Volume 7, No.10 (Serial No.

82) Sino-US English Teaching, ISSN 1539-8072, USA

Thematic changes in postcolonial African literature:

From colonialism to neocolonialism

Sunday Agboola Olatunji

(Department of Theatre Arts, Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo P.M.B. 1089, Nigeria)

Abstract: Postcolonial African literature emerged as a reaction to colonialism as theory and practice. It
comes under the banner of postcolonialism—a theory of oppositionality that encapsulates the totality of practices
which characterize the third world nations, especially in Africa, from the inception of colonialism to the present
day. The main thrust of the paper is to examine the thematic changes associated with the development of African
literature. To do this, the definitional problem with postcolonialism is resolved to have an operational definition.
Foundational issues in postcolonialism are considered. These issues—history, universalism and difference, and
language—recur in every phase of postcolonial African literature. It is ascertained that history has been a site for
racial tension. The European ethnocentric concept insists that Africans have no history or culture, while Africans
are subverting the European centralist notion of history and re-inscribing African history. European universalism
suggests that European culture is the standard culture, while postcolonial writers insist on pluralism of culture,
emphasizing the beauty and virility of African culture. Apart from the use of African languages in writing,
postcolonial writers are domesticating the European languages to express African experience. The paper analyses
the thematic changes in postcolonial African literature which are found to be dictated by the prevailing
circumstances during each phase. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to make postcolonial African
literature more effective and responsive for the good of Africans and Africa.
Key words: postcolonial theory; universalism and difference; cultural plurality

1. Introduction

Postcolonialism is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon which yields itself to various interpretations,
uses and multiplicity of meanings (Olatunji, 2005). What is common to all, however, is that postcolonialism,
unlike postmodernism, with which it shares some affinities, is a historical phenomenon which is linked to the
observation, consideration and interrogation of the philosophical orientation, praxis and effects of colonialism on
other societies. “It questions, rather than confirms, the process of history” (Hutcheon, 1997, p. 133).
1.1 Defining postcolonialism
The complexity of postcolonialism in practice has led to a definitional problem. This issue requires
clarification, at least for the purpose of this paper. According to Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin (1997), a school of
thought considers postcolonialism “as designating an amorphous set of discursive practices, akin to
postmodernism…” (p. 117). This is true to an extent that because like postmodernism and post-structuralism,
postcolonialism has subversive and interrogative tendencies. This is corroborated by Selden (1994) who insisted

Sunday Agboola Olatunji, chief lecturer of Department of Theatre Arts, Federal College of Education (Special); research fields:
postcolonial literature and theatre, creativity and creative arts.

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that it is associated with “a set of concerns marked by the indeterminacies and decenteredness… associated with
deconstruction” (p. 188).
Even though it is true that postcolonialism and postmodernism have some things, like subversion of centres,
in common, it is noteworthy to remember that postmodernism is historical, while postcolonialism brings into
focus on the issue of power relations among western cultures, which are presumed to be the centre of human
culture by the European ethnocentric philosophy, and the cultures of the third world nations, which have been
relegated to the margins by the Eurocentric ethos. So, unlike postmodernism, it attempts to interrogate history and
has political considerations. This is why Hutcheon (1997, p. 130) reiterated that “postcolonialism has distinct
political agenda and often a theory of agency that allows it to go beyond postmodern limits of deconstructing
existing orthodoxies into the realms of social and political action”.
In corroboration, Brydon (1997, p. 138) distinguished between postcolonalism and postmodernism by
focusing on their different uses of politics. Her words are “The name postmodernism suggests an aestheticising of
the political while the name postcolonialism foregrounds the political as inevitably contaminating the aesthetics,
but remaining distinguishable from it”.
Considering the above, it would be unreasonable to attempt to use postcolialism and postmodernism, or any
other European-oriented modern theories, interchangeably or attempt an outright conflation of the two phenomena
as authors like Berry (1986) and Selden (1994) have suggested. The two theories are not oriented towards the
same theoretical outlook. This attempted conflation is intent on recuperation of postcolonial cultures into a new
universalist paradigm embarked upon by the West.
1.2 Postcolonialism as referent for post-independence period
Another school of thought postulated that postcolonialism should only refer to “the period after
independence” (Ashcroft, Griffiths & Tiffin, 1998, p. 26). This may be useful and reasonable. However, it does
not cater for the multifaceted nature of postcolnialism as a theory or the heterogeneity of the term as succinctly
described by Slemon (1997). His words are
It (postcolonialism) has been used as a way of ordering a critique of totalizing forms of Western historicism as the
name for a condition of nativist longing in post-independent national groupings; as the inevitable underside of fractured
and ambivalent discourse of colonialist power; as an oppositional form of reading practice (p. 45).

To this extent, the “post” in postcolonialism is something slightly different from the “post” in a compound
word like post-independent. It has an extended meaning. It has interrogative and subversive tendencies. The
“post” suggests the prefix “anti”. Inherent in postcolonialism is the subversion of existing structures; decentring of
established centres and orthodoxies; recognition of and encouragement of plurality of centres; indeterminacy of
meaning; interrogation of the process of history, and so on. This idea has corroboration in the statement of Appiah
(1997) who posited that postcolonialism:
is after all this and its “post” like postmordernism is also a “post” that challenges earlier narratives. And it challenges them
in the name of the suffering victims of “more than thirty republics”. But it challenges them in the name of ethical universal; in
the name of humanism… and on that ground it is not an ally for western postmordernism but an agonist (p. 123).

To a large extent considering evidenced historical antecedents, it may not be out of place to assume that
postcolonialism as a praxis influenced the development of mordernism, postmordernism, deconstruction, and so on.
According to Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin (1998), these modern European theories “may be more indebted to the
cultural effects of the material practice of colonization and its aftermath than is usually acknowledged” (p. 156).

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1.3 Postcolonialism as a referent for the period from colonialism to the present day
The third school of thought postulates that postcolonialism represents the period from the inception of
colonialism to the present. It is considered as a theory of oppositionality occasioned by colonialism. It is
predicated on the subversion and interrogation of western totalizing principles. It is also intent on affirming
difference, cultural plurality and the consideration of the process of history.
This paper adopts the definition of postcolonialism by this third school of thought. It is accepted as a term
that encapsulates the totality of practices which characterize “third world” societies from the inception of
colonialism to the present.

2. Major issues in postcolonial African discourse

Postcolonial African literature or African written literature is relatively new. It commenced with the advent of
colonialism. This does not indicate that Africans had no literature or culture before their contact with western
civilization, considering the existence of vibrant oral traditions in Africa (Olatunji, 2009). It opposes and
interrogates the European ethnocentric philosophy which considers the western culture as the centre of human
cultures or a “sommun bonum” that all other cultures must aspire towards. It emphasizes the beauty and
potentialities of the “third world” cultures tactically pushed to the margins. It is the voice of the liminalised
peoples against the philosophical arrogance of the so-called established centres (Amuta, 1982; Ngugi, 1993;
Boehner, 1998).
2.1 The importance of history in postcolonial discourse
Over the times, certain issues have been of paramount interests to postcolonialism. One of such issues is
history. Knowledge of history is necessary, because it enables human beings to learn from the past in order to
modify the present so as to create a better future. On the importance of history to a people, Woodson (1984)
asserted that “If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the
thought of the world and it stands the danger of being exterminated” (pp. 10-11).
This indicates that a people need to affirm their history, if they must continue to be responsible members of
the human race. History, however, becomes problematised, because it tells of changes and it is subversive. For this,
it has become a tool for political manoeuvring, especially in the hands of tyrants and imperialists. Ngugi (1993),
in this vein, said,
History is the result of struggle and tells of change that is why it is perceived as a threat by all the ruling straits in all
the exploitative systems… and it is because it is actually subversive of the existing tyrannical systems that there have
been attempts to arrest it (pp. 96-97).

The Eurocentric concept of history foregrounds Europe as the end of history and denies that Africa does not
have any history or culture. The words of Hegel (as cited in Ojo, 2000) represent this attempt by Europe to
denigrate the other races. He insisted:
Africa proper, as far as history goes back, has remained for all purposes of connection with the rest of the
world—shut up, it is Gold-Land compressed within itself—the land of childhood, which lying beyond the days of
self-conscious history, is enveloped in the dark mantle of the night. The negro as already observed exhibits the natural
man in his wild and untamed state. We must lay aside all thought of reverence and morality—all that we call feeling—if
we would comprehend him; there is nothing harmonious with humanity to be found in this type of character. At this point
we leave Africa never to mention it again. For it is no historical part of the world; it has no movement to exhibit.
Historical movement in it—that is in the northern part—belongs to the Asiatic or European world… What we understand

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by Africa, is the unhistorical underdeveloped spirit, still involved in the condition of nature… The history of the world
travels from East to West, for Europe is absolutely the end of history, Asia the beginning (p. 7).

This Eurocentric philosophy has been sponsored by the West for cultural, economic and political reasons. For
instance, it is important for the western imperialists to deny, distort or bastardise the history of the black race to
authenticate their erroneous claims to cultural supremacy, and economic and cultural deprivation of Africans.
Conversely, postcolonial writers have made it a major issue to re-inscribe the history of Africa by a
subversion of Euro-American concept of history and by celebrating the past of the African peoples. This has led to
the production of theoretical works like The African Origin of Civilization (1988) by Diop. The book recounts
how Egyptian civilization, with black Pharaohs, has contributed immensely to modern world civilization.
Mudimbe (1988) in The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy and the Order of Knowledge interrogates the
Western notion about Africa and indicates how western anthropologists and missionaries have distorted the
knowledge of and about Africa. Also, Rodney (1996) in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa concentrates on the
negative impact of slavery and colonialism on Africa, and the enviable development of Africa before the coming
of the Europeans.
Apart from theoretical works, very few of which are mentioned here, many imaginative works by Africans
are based on the reconstruction of African history. Such works include Chaka (1931) by Mofolo; Things Fall
Apart (1958) by Achebe; Two Thousand Seasons (1973) by Armah.
2.2 Difference as subversion in postcolonial discourse
Another main issue in postcolonial discourse is the maintenance of difference as a subversion of western
universalism. The concept of universalism is predicated on the erroneous notion that there exists a unitary and
homogenous human nature. The best expression of this in modern theories is found in structuralism which insists
that “underneath all particular instances of writing, of social relations and culture lies some basic universal
structures” (Stevens, 2005).
Universalism is precipitated by the hegemonic western epistemology developed to devalue the cultures of the
other societies. It is rather unfortunate that many Africans accept the western concept of globalization without
questions. The concept means economic and cultural developments of the West at the expense of the Africans.
People should first develop locally, so that they can interact well with other peoples at global level. This is what
Eliot (1953, pp. 55-56) meaned when he said “universality can never come except through writing what one
knows thoroughly… I don’t know whether a poet or a novelist can be universal without being local”.
The African writers have tried to interrogate universalism by maintaining “difference”. This is based partly on
laying “emphasis on the beauty, dignity and excellence of black African life and culture” (Palmer, 1977, p. 126), the
privileging of the “distinctive characteristics, the difference of postcolonial societies” (Ashcroft, Griffiths & Tiffin,
1997, p. 55); and according to Hall (1997, p. 226), “the displacement of the ‘centred’ discourses of the West…
questioning its transcendental claims to speak for everyone while being itself everywhere and nowhere”.
In maintaining “difference” the writers embark on hybridism and syncretism, and “misreading” of the so
called “master scripts”. Hybridity involves the hybridization of African oral tradition and the imported literary
forms from Europe. The “misreading” exposes “the uncertainties and the ambivalences of the colonial text and
deny it an authorizing presence” (Parry, 1997, p. 42).
The essence of “difference” in postcolonial discourse is for the Africans to foreground their roots so as not to
go into oblivion culturally by following those who Soyinka (1976, p. x) described as “universal humanoid who

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theorize and prescribe their world, history, social neurosis and value systems as universal”.
2.3 The language question in postcolonialism
Furthermore, one other major issue in postcolonialism is language. To underscore the importance of language
to postcolonial discourse, Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin (1997, p. 283) posited “language is a fundamental site of
struggle for postcolonial discourse because the colonial process begins in language”. Amuta (1982, p. 117) argued
that “the most enduring symptom of the colonialist fixation of discourse on African literature is the
problematization of the language question”. Also, Olaniyan (1995, p. 39) corroborated “the imposition of colonial
languages is the imposition of colonial culture”.
With the coming of colonialism, the languages of the captive nations were suppressed and so “the culture and
history carried by these languages were thereby thrown on to the rubbish heap… to perish” (Ngugi, 1993, p. 31).
Considering the importance of language, African writers have engaged in a debate. From this debate, two
dominant positions have emerged. Writers like Ngugi, Wali and Osundare suggested that linguistic indigenization
should be a condition for the existence of African literature. Ngugi (1981, p. 254) asserted “to neglect our
languages and grab those of foreigners is tantamount to blasphemy”, while Osundare (1998, p. 66) insisted that
“the future of African literature and culture belongs to African languages”.
On the other hand, writers like Gabriel Okara, Chinua Achebe, Ayi Kwei Armah and some others opined that
European languages could be domesticated to convey African experiences. Achebe (1982) said “I feel that English
language will be able to carry the weight of my African experiences. But it will be new English, still in full
communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings” (p. 62).
The foregoing are the major issues in postcolonial African discourse. Because of their importance, they are
recurring elements in every phase or thematic changes in postcolonialism from colonialism to the present day.
What then are the thematic changes observable in postcolonial African literature?

3. Thematic changes in postcolonial African literature

For the purpose of this paper, as earlier stated, postcolonialism encapsulates the totality of practices which
characterize postcolonial societies from the inception of colonialism to the present day. Because of some
prevailing circumstances between the period of colonialism and the present day, which dictate changes in attitude
and experience, there are observable phases. Each phase creates different response(s) in African postcolonial
literature. What are these phases, their characteristics, and how have they affected African literature?
3.1 Colonialist literature: The predominant themes
The first phase is the period when the West was trying to label Africans and gave them an identity of their
own. This is the early part of colonialism. The period is important because it laid the foundation for postcolonial
African literature. The umbrella term for theoretical and imaginative works of this period is “colonialist literature”.
The purpose of colonialist literature is “to justify the conquest, occupation and destruction of non-Western
societies” (Ching-Liang, 1985, p. 1).
The literature presents the colonized peoples as barbaric and inferior, while the western culture is
foregrounded as the universal standard. JanMohammed (1997, p. 18) described the literature as “an exploration and
a representation of a world at the boundaries of civilization, a world that has not been domesticated by European
signification or codified in detail by its ideology… presented as uncontrollable, chaotic, and ultimately evil”.
Colonialist literature is a product of works by western citizens at home or residing in colonized areas. They

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used their creative imagination and philosophy to portray Africans as sub-humans, evil and culturally inferior. For
example, according to Hill, et al. (1998, p. 8), the Calvinists (The Puritans) insist that Africans represent evil and
are “cast among the non-elect” and for this they are “ideal subjects for enslavement”. They also insisted that
“Africans were really offspring of Satan who was himself a black man, and that the black skin was the mark for
certain old testament curses”.
“The Great Chain of Being Theory”, a western view of the universe, also supports the inferiority of the black.
According to Jordan (1968) (as cited in Hill, et al., 1998, p. 8), it “led to the assumption that black people are the
link between animals and humans”. Imaginative texts like Robinson Crusoe (1998) by Defoe, Heart of Darkness
(1999) and Lord Jim (1931) by Joseph Conrad, and The Tempest (1975) by Shakespeare are part of the colonialist
literature. They are parts of what Ngugi (1993, p. 18) has described as “collaborative literature” in which “the
noble and intelligent was the character who cooperated with the colonial process. The bad and the ugly was the
African who opposed colonialism”.
Other texts that could be classified as colonialist include diaries, biographies and autobiographies, memoirs
by white travellers, settlers, administrators and soldiers who were representatives of the imperial power. The
writings hide the imperial discourse within which they are created. They cannot form the basis for African
indigenous culture because they “privilege the centre… the metropolitan over the provincial” (Ashcroft, Griffiths
& Tiffin, 1998, p. 5).
3.2 Major themes in colonial literature
Colonialist literature indirectly gave birth to another phase of African postcolonial literature which could be
referred to as early colonial literature. The emergence of this phase coincides with the early subtle reaction to
colonialism, its orientation and praxis. Works in this phase were produced by Africans under imperial license.
Most of the works were written in any one of the imperial languages. The subversive nature of their themes is not
easily appreciated, because they are prohibited from full exploration of their anti-colonial possibilities. This is
because the acceptability of form, publication and dissemination of works in the colonized areas were controlled
by the imperial ruling class. According to Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin (1998, p. 6), African literature at this level
“comes into being within the constraint of a discourse and institutional practice of patronage system
which…undercuts their assertion of a different perspective”.
A good example of such works is Chaka (1964) by Thomas Mofolo. The novel recounts the historical
potency of the denigrated native cultures, albeit in a subtle subversive manner. As against the European
supremacist description of the universality and centrality of western culture and history, and the attempt to
annihilate the other histories, Mofolo celebrates the history and culture of Africans.
The next phase in postcolonial African literature is what can be called modern colonial literature. It takes its
cue from works of writers like Mofolo. This phase is dominated by works of writers, like Chinua Achebe, Mungo
Beti, Ferdinand Oyono, Camara Laye, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thing’o, and so on. The ideological orientation of
such works is to combat and interrogate the colonialist literature and philosophy which function “to articulate and
justify the moral authority of the colonizer… (and posit) the inferiority of the native as metaphysical fact”
(JanMohammed, 1997, p. 27).
For example, the first part of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) lays emphasis on pre-colonial African
culture. This encapsulates the mores, including the judicial system, its sustenance and means of social mobility. In
place of the docile, weak, inferior and uncivilized black characters like Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest,
Friday in Robinson Crusoe, there is Okonkwo, bold, strong in will, physique and intelligence. Also, in place of

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chaotic, evil, and unorganized African societies as presented in works like Heart of Darkness by Conrad, there is a
picture of a well organized, cultured, virile and progressive African society, though not without its own
shortcomings and frailties that are not uncommon with societies elsewhere. According to Ogungbesan (1978, p.
vi), the writers of such works “were content to affirm the worth of African civilization”, and there was “the desire
to rediscover and uphold African traditional values” (Egejuru, 1980, p. 3). The main intention of this phase in
postcolonial African literature is to inform the world that “African people did not hear of culture for the first time
from Europeans… they (Africans) had a philosophy of great depth and value and beauty and dignity” (Achebe,
1964, p. 158).
The works have anthropological values as they put in proper perspective the strain on African cultural values
by the contact with western culture. They serve as the starting point for the interrogation of western universalist
and centralist mind set about white culture, thereby entrenching the idea of difference and plurality of cultures.
The later stage of colonial literature becomes seriously anti-colonial. The works move away from mere
“imaginative recreation of a common cultural past crafted into a shared tradition” (Appiah, 1997, p. 120) to the
demand for independence and self-governance. This is thematically accentuated in works like Ngugi’s Weep Not
Child (1964). In the novel, the dispossessed Africans, at a point in time, are demanding for the return of their land.
The insistence of the blacks for equity, higher wages, and the repossession of their land lead to serious
anti-colonial struggle which culminates in the “big strike” and the Mau mau independence struggle.
By the late 1960s, many African nations had become independent. However, African writers and people have
become disappointed and disillusioned. The African politicians who took over the reins of governance from the
white colonialists are corrupt, selfish and worse than the colonial masters. African writers and people discovered too
late that “The ruling elite was more interested in considering its own dominance, and in monopolizing the continent’s
natural resources than in improving the abject condition of the common people” (Ogungbesan, 1978, p. vi).
3.3 Postcolonial African literature and the neo-colonial problems
The situation led to the emergence of the present phase of postcolonial African literature: neo-colonial phase.
Postcolonial African literature starts engaging in description and interrogation of post-independence problems in
Africa. Some of the works in this phase include A Man of the People (1996) by Achebe, The Beautiful Ones are
Not Yet Born (1969) by Armah, Petals of Blood (1986) by Ngugi; plays like Once Upon Four Robbers (1980) and
Morountodun (1982) by Osofisan, Madmen and Specialists (1971) by Soyinka, The State Visit (2002) by Osundare,
Today is not Forever (2008) by Agboola Olatunji and poetic works like Village Voices (1984) by Niyi Osundare.
For example, Petals of Blood (1986) by Ngugi is preoccupied with the contemporary socio-political reality in
Africa. The novel throws light on the close relationship between political functionaries in neo-colonial Africa and
the imperialists. Nderi wa Riera, who personified this phenomenon, used the people’s mandate given to him as a
“license to amass wealth and barter his nation’s interest for profit in joint business with the imperialists” (as cited
in Amuta, 1982, p. 145). In the novel, there is the dispossession of peasantry of their land as expressed in the
appropriation of Nyankinyua’s land. Also, there is the emergence of parasitic a bourgeoisie class represented by
Kimeira, Chui and Mzigo. Former peasants, like Abdullah are replaced by urban elite of property owners.
Ironically, those who fought for independence and lost many things, relatives or friends and even parts of their
bodies like Abdullah, are neglected to suffer, while those who were betraying the struggle for independence like
Kimeira become members of the ruling class.
The neo-colonial African experience is becoming more and more enervating as the African political space is
becoming more turbulent and unbearable for the people. The people are at the mercy of the tyrants who are

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forcing themselves on the people in the name of democracy, African style. The rulers become more corrupt and it
seems nothing is working. With this, African literature is becoming more robust and more sensitive in its reactions
to the complex neo-colonial problems in Africa. The questions are: Are the rulers listening? Can they change?
Would literature be able to wrest Africans free from the painful and devilish grips of the modern neo-colonial
masters in Africa? Would the people be able to rise and react? Is it time for revolution? Time will tell.

4. Conclusion

This paper has traced the literary history of postcolonial African literature. For the purpose of the paper,
postcolonialism has been defined as a theory which encapsulates the totality of practices which characterize
postcolonial African societies from the emergence of colonialism to the present day.
The relationship between postcolonialism and modern western theories like postmodernism is considered.
Though postcolonialism, like some of these theories, has subversive and interrogative tendencies, it is different
from them in its use of politics and consideration of history.
Major issues in postcolonialism which are foundational to African postcolonial literature like history,
universalism, difference and language have been considered. Postcolonial African literature has been used to
subvert the European ethnocentric concept of history so as to re-inscribe the African distorted and bastardised
history. Postcolonial African literature, moreover, interrogates Eurocentric universalism by maintaining a
difference that encourages decentredness and cultural plurality.
The use of language in African literature is also considered. The main paradigm now is to appropriate
European languages and domesticate them to express African experience and culture.
The different phases which indicate changes in thematic considerations in postcolonial African literature are
analyzed. The colonialist literature, written by the whites on Africans, focuses on privileging of western
hegemonic superiority over Africans and the degrading of African culture and history. This literature gives birth to
the early colonial literature which aims at recounting the great deeds of Africans before the advent of the white
people. The later more serious colonial literature becomes anti-colonial and demands for African independence.
After independence, the African people and writers become disillusioned as the African rulers become worse
than the colonial masters. This leads to the present phase in which neo-colonial problems are analyzed and
interrogated. The questions are: Where do Africans go from here? What changes would come to postcolonial
African literature? How effective is literature in its objectives of entertainment, education and fight for human
dignity? How responsible and responsive is postcolonial African literature? What is the way forward?
For postcolonial literature to be more effective and responsive to the African people, writers should endeavor
to use African indigenous languages in their writings. This would enable more Africans to read their works as
many Africans do not speak or understand very well the European languages in which most postcolonial African
writings are produced. The experiment of Ngugi with his play I Will Marry When I Want is commendable. Part of
the success of the play is that it was written and produced in an African indigenous language and the peasants
could easily associate with it. The play was later translated into other languages, including English.
Akin to the above is that African postcolonial writers should use simple language to reach more Africans.
The primary objective of a writer is to communicate. Communication is a two-way process and to make it
effective, there should be no noise. If the writers are writing like above for their readers, their complex language
use would constitute noise and make literature less effective.

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African politics is being left to gangsters and illiterates or ill-educated Africans. Unfortunately, today in
Africa whoever holds the political power holds all other powers. Writers and creative individuals in Africa should
be politically active and present themselves for political offices. If they can hold political power, they would be
able to transform their visions of good society into reality for the sake of Africans.
Also, African writers should strive to act out their visions. Soyinka and Ngugi are good examples along this
line. They do not just write, moreover, they get themselves physically involved in civil rights campaign and
demonstration against bad governance.
Works of socially and politically committed foreign writers like Brecht, Steinbeck, Boal, and so on, could be
translated into African indigenous languages as part of the enlightenment programme for Africans to prepare them
to get ready to their destiny in their own hands.
African writers should create more avenues like seminars, conferences, meetings, and so on, for exchange of
ideas for the way forward. This becomes necessary as literature in Africa should be functional and not just art for
art’s sake.
If the suggestions above are used hopefully, African postcolonial literature would become more effective and
most of the present neo-colonial problems would become a thing of the past.

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