MIGRATION AND MIGRANT AFRICAN FICTION

By: Adelokun Adetunji Oluwapelumi

Migration refers to the spatial movement of individuals or a group of people from one place or
region to another. It describes the ‘onward’ or ‘backward’ mobility of persons or a group of
people in a place. Migration can be said to be voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary migration
accounts for the volitive emigration of people or individuals from an initial circumference of
existence to a desired point of adventure (Akanji, 2012). This category of migration is legal
because of the right to self-determination of the individuals involved.

Involuntary migration, on the other hand, details the forceful or imposed evacuation of
individuals to undesired territories or domains. Such evacuations abound in acts of slavery, war,
epidemic outbreak, natural disaster and other occurrences that rule out the freedom of man.
Whilst arguing for the adventurous nature of man and the persistent occurrence and relevance of
migration among Africans, Akanji (2012) opines that:

The history of the human race is that of migration... Man, by

nature, is designed to be mobile. He moves, as the need arises,
from one location to another in search of a variety of things.
In Africa, like other continents of the world, migration…[has]
contributed to the making and shaping of the histories of the
people. This is because at different points in the political and
social histories of the African people, records revealed a large
scale of in and out-migration… (1-2)

Moudouma (2013) appraises migration in Africa by identifying two broad categories of migration
in the African context. The first category refers to internal migration while the other represents
external migration. Internal migration is the intra-continental movements of individuals within
the borders and boundaries of the African continent. This form of migration involves the crossing
of individuals from one country to another. Hence, the specific country of emigration within the
African continent becomes the motherland while the host community immigrated into assumes a
diasporic role.
The major factors that contribute to this movement include conflicts and social unrests. These
have been attributed to as major stimulants of intra-continental migration in Africa. The civil
wars that erupted in African countries such as Nigeria, Sudan, Liberia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone
(Akanji, 2012). Other factors include, the scarcity of space and the increasing quest for land
(Kehinde and Mbipom (2011).

External migration, on the other hand, is the movement of men and women across continental
boundaries. Here, individuals or groups of persons gravitate beyond the shores of their countries
to other continents in other to improve their livelihood. In search of greener pastures, individuals
migrate from their continents of origin to those which appear to offer better living and conditions
and economic rewards. It is germane to note that this form of migration also enshrines trafficking,
in which men and women are emigrated forcefully for the sole purpose of offering cheap or
exploited labour against their wish.

With this foregoing, it is essential to note that the exploration of migration in Migrant African
literature through indigenous and migrant writers is vital to the growth of the African literary
tradition. Gehrmann (2009), reflects on the relevance of migrant prose fiction when he states that:

the long-lasting effects of migration prove to be a fertile

ground for critical reflection on cultural, sexual or ethnic
differences as problematic constructions. Fictions enable the
dense narration of the constitution and negotiation of
differences through personal stories which may outline the
tragedy of the process of ‘othering’ or may challenge and
even overcome such a process. (p. 142)
The birth of migrant African prose fiction can be attributed to the desire of Africans in the
Diaspora to comment on and respond to various issues resulting from the socio-political and
economic realities of their homelands. Narrating the motherland from the Diaspora emerges from
an exilic consciousness to rewrite the homeland. Migrant African prose writers weave their
creative pieces to articulate the frustrations, displeasures, and disappointment of the African
emigrant at the languid veracity of his or her homeland. As a result, they reinvent the motherland,
depicting its woes and pains. These writers become socialist realists who paint the socio-political
cum economic realities of their countries in bold strokes. Some contemporary migrant African
prose writers include: Biyi Bandele, Segun Afolabi, Binyavanga Wainana, Chika Unigwe, Sefi
Atta, Helen Oyeyemi, NoViolet Bulowayo, Dinaw Mengestu and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
References

Akanji, O.O. 2012. Migration, conflicts and statehood problem in Nigeria: the self-determination
issue. Journal of Nigeria Studies. 1(2) 1-27

Gehrmann, S . 2009. Black Masculinity, Migration and Psychological Crisis a reading of Simon
Njami’s African Ogigok. Transcultural modernities . Narrating Africa in Europe. Eds.
Bekers, E., Helff, S and Nerdlla,D. New York: Editions Rodoji
Kehinde, A and Mbipom, J.E. 2011. Discovery, assertion and self-realisation in recent Nigerian
Migrant Feminist Fiction: the example of Sefi Atta’s Everything Good Will Come. African
Nebula. 3(1) 62-77.
Moudouma, S.M. 2013. Intra and Inter-Continental migrations and diaspora in contemporary
African Fiction. Stellembombosch University; Thesis.