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POST-MIGRATION DISPLACEMENT AND TRAUMA AMONG AFRICAN MIGRANTS IN HELON HABILA’S TRAVELLERS AND CHIKA UNIGWE’S BETTER NEVER THAN LATE

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Forced migration in Nigeria is a development issue - Development Matters

Abstract

This study explores the struggles and hardships experienced by African migrants as depicted in Habila’s Traveller and Chika Unigwe’s better never than late. The rate at which Africans are leaving the continent to find work in Europe, America, and Asian nations has prompted literary writers both at home and abroad to respond. With the release of Travellers, Helon Habila and Chika Unigwe’s aer among these literary authors who replied to Africans leaving their continent.  As the migrants try to make sense of their broken lives and psyches, they become traumatized and disoriented as a result of their surroundings. The study revealed that dehumanization of migrants has left them confused and in a state of dementia, revealing that migration has brought them more trauma than the better life they imagined. Each of the characters tells their stories of vicissitudes they have experienced. Habila and Chika uses similar technique to present a detailed view of the migrants’ trials and tribulations. The study also revealed that Habila and Chika’s novelistic experiences in their novels is centered on despondency, forlornness, despair, and trauma. The study concludes that, in order to stem the exodus, African countries must combat poverty through economic development, as none of the characters in the two novels under investigation have either economic or mental respite; they all live a desultory life.

Read Also: THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL EFFECTS OF RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

    Migration has long been a feature of humanity. The story of humanity is fundamentally a migration story. Adam was evicted from Eden, Moses led his people out of Egypt, and Muhammad performed the hegira to Mecca (Lalami, 2020, p. 66). In light of this fundamental human trait, African creative writers have recently turned their creative energies to the exploration of themes of migration, and its attendant effect on the psyche of migrants, particularly those of African origin. Interrogation of these themes has revealed that many African youths have been drawn to Europe, America, and Asian countries by the promise of a better life abroad. While some emigrate to escape harsh economic conditions at home, others, such as academics and professionals, emigrate to market their intellectual and professional labor. Students, on the other hand, emigrate for educational reasons.

Read Also: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION ON THE RURAL AREAS

According to history, the African man has been in constant search of better living conditions and possible means of self-actualization, which is the highest need of man as stipulated in Abraham Marlow’s hierarchy of needs. According to Ugwanyi Maxwell, “human nature is dynamic and receptive to change.” (250). As a result, the modern African man, with his dynamic nature, has always changed his location in order to achieve his basic goals. The socio-political and economic realities of post-colonial and post-independence African states, as well as emerging trends in human movement around the world, have all had an impact on literary production on the continents, resulting in various critical areas that have received a lot of attention in the field of Arts and Humanities. Migration and its attendant effects on migrants’ cultural identity, psychological makeup, cultural and religious affinities, among other things, have piqued the interest of writers, researchers, and critics.

Read Also: MIGRATION, OCCUPATION AND SETTLEMENT OF THE ALAGO PEOPLE OF NASARAWA STATE FROM 1960-2001

Many opinions and arguments have been advanced in the migration debate. While host countries have argued that migration is having a negative impact on their nations and economies, African countries have always decried the effect of brain drain on the continent. African migration has occurred both legally and illegally. The New African of November, 2014, decried the tragedies of illegal migration of African youths, revealing that, according to the International Office for Migration (IOM), between 2000 and 2014, approximately 40,000 African migrants died at sea and over 30,000 died in the Sahara Desert. According to reports from the Missing Migrants Project (MMP), with these tragedies in the sea and desert, there is an urgency to persuade African youths who may wish to embark on such dangerous and treacherous journeys to reconsider, due to the dangers of an uncertain future that awaits them.

Read Also: EFFECT OF RURAL URBAN MIGRATION ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

The movement of people or animals from one location to another is known as migration. It entails crossing some cultural, ethnic, and national boundaries in order to establish oneself in a new religious, political, and economic environment. This corresponds to Maxwell’s claim that “migration in Latin migrare means to change residence” (250). According to Fatemeh Pourijafari and Abdolali Vahidpur, “in its modern usage, it refers to the trend of displacement and movement made by individuals in the hope of finding more personal convenience or bettering their material or social conditions” (680-681). This definition is adequate for describing the type of mass movement made by some Africans, particularly Nigerians, to the West. It is also worth noting that such movement is accompanied by displacement—being uprooted from one’s home, family, culture, and, of course, one’s personal identity. Salman Rushdie expresses the nature of the modern era succinctly: “the distinguishing feature of our time is mass migration, mass displacement, globalized finances and industries” (425).

As the story of Habila’s Travellers reveals, the terrorist group Boko Haram’s insurgency in Nigeria, for example, has displaced millions and left many people orphaned and homeless. Kidnapping for ransom, banditry, and the country’s dire economic situation are all factors. Poverty has reached an all-time high in Nigeria, as it has in most African countries. Democratic expansion has not resulted in anticipated and corresponding gains. There is no equality of opportunity in job placement or wealth distribution. The youths have become despondent because they don’t know what else to do or what lies ahead of them in their bleak and unknown future. As a result of this despondency and hope for a better life, migration to Europe, America, and Asia becomes an option or alternative.

 

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