Project – Narrative Fragmentation, Collective Memory and the Representation of Forced Displacement in Selected Contemporary Nigerian Novels Published Between 2015 and 2025.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Research Topic: Narrative Fragmentation, Collective Memory and the Representation of Forced Displacement in Selected Contemporary Nigerian Novels Published Between 2015 and 2025

1.1 Background to the Study

Literature has remained an important medium through which writers interpret historical experiences, preserve cultural identities and examine the social conditions that shape human existence. In societies affected by political instability, communal violence, insurgency, environmental destruction and armed conflict, literary works often provide representations of experiences that are difficult to capture adequately through official reports and historical records. The novel, in particular, allows writers to explore the personal and collective consequences of social crises through characters, settings, dialogue, memory and narrative structure. African literature has consistently addressed the relationship between individual experiences and broader historical realities, including colonialism, civil conflict, migration, displacement and the struggle for identity. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (1986) argues that literature is closely connected to the historical and social experiences of the communities from which it emerges, while Achebe (1988) emphasises the responsibility of African writers to interpret and communicate the experiences of their societies. In this context, contemporary Nigerian fiction provides a significant space for examining how forced displacement affects individuals, families and communities. It also enables writers to explore how the memories of violence and separation are preserved, reconstructed and transmitted through different narrative forms. Consequently, the study of narrative fragmentation, collective memory and forced displacement is important to understanding the ways contemporary Nigerian novelists represent the human consequences of social and political crises.

Narrative fragmentation is a literary technique through which a writer presents a story in discontinuous, interrupted, non-linear or multiple sequences rather than following a strictly chronological order. It may involve flashbacks, shifting perspectives, multiple narrators, broken timelines, memory sequences, interrupted episodes and the juxtaposition of past and present experiences. Such techniques allow writers to represent events that are complex, traumatic or difficult for characters to understand in a continuous manner. Fragmentation may also reflect the psychological condition of individuals whose experiences have been disrupted by violence, separation, loss and uncertainty. Genette (1980) explains that narrative order, duration and frequency are important elements through which writers organise and communicate fictional events. Similarly, McHale (1987) discusses the use of disrupted narrative structures and multiple realities in postmodern fiction, demonstrating how literary form can challenge conventional ways of presenting events. In narratives dealing with forced displacement, fragmentation can be particularly significant because displaced individuals often experience broken family histories, interrupted relationships, uncertain identities and discontinuities between their former homes and present circumstances. A fragmented narrative can therefore represent not only the disruption of physical space but also the fractured nature of personal experience and historical understanding. This study considers how selected Nigerian novelists employ such narrative techniques to communicate the experiences of people whose lives have been disrupted by forced movement.

Collective memory is another important concept in understanding literary representations of displacement. It refers to the shared recollections, interpretations and representations of past experiences through which members of a community develop a sense of common history and identity. Collective memory is not simply the addition of individual memories; it is shaped by social relationships, cultural practices, family histories, institutions, language and public representations of the past. Halbwachs (1992) argues that individual recollections are largely reconstructed within social frameworks, meaning that people remember past events through the groups and communities to which they belong. Assmann (1995) further explains that cultural memory preserves shared knowledge and identity through symbolic forms, traditions, texts and cultural practices. In literary works, collective memory may be expressed through storytelling, family recollections, inherited trauma, cultural symbols, oral histories and the remembrance of destroyed communities. For displaced people, memory can become a means of maintaining a connection with places, relationships and traditions that have been lost or abandoned. However, collective memory may also be contested when different groups remember the same historical event from opposing perspectives. Through fiction, Nigerian writers can preserve the experiences of displaced communities and challenge the disappearance of their histories from dominant political and social narratives.

Forced displacement has become a major humanitarian and social concern in Nigeria due to insurgency, communal violence, farmer-herder conflicts, environmental degradation, political insecurity and other forms of violence. It occurs when individuals or groups are compelled to leave their homes or habitual places of residence because their lives, safety, livelihoods or fundamental freedoms are threatened. Forced displacement may take the form of internal displacement, cross-border refugee movement, community evacuation or the loss of traditional livelihoods and living spaces. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC, 2024) identifies conflict, violence and disasters as major drivers of internal displacement across the world, while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2024) documents the growing global scale of forced displacement arising from persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations. In Nigeria, the activities of Boko Haram and other armed groups have contributed to the displacement of populations, particularly in the North-East, while communal violence and environmental pressures have also forced communities to abandon their homes in other regions. Forced displacement is not merely a geographical movement from one location to another; it often involves the loss of homes, property, livelihoods, social networks, cultural practices and a sense of belonging. These experiences provide contemporary Nigerian novelists with important subjects through which to examine the relationship between violence, memory, identity and the disruption of everyday life.

Contemporary Nigerian fiction has increasingly engaged with the experiences of people affected by insecurity, religious extremism, communal conflict and forced movement. One relevant example is Elnathan John’s Born on a Tuesday (2015), which explores the experiences of Dantala within a society affected by political violence, religious divisions and extremist activities in Northern Nigeria. Through the protagonist’s changing circumstances, the novel examines how insecurity and ideological conflict influence personal relationships, identity, belonging and the everyday experiences of vulnerable individuals. Although the novel is not exclusively a displacement narrative, the movement, insecurity and social disruption experienced by its characters provide a useful context for examining how conflict destabilises individuals and communities. The publisher’s description identifies the novel’s concerns with life, friendship, loss and the effects of extremist politics and religion on everyday life (John, 2015). Ajibola’s (2023) study of Elnathan John’s fiction and Tricia Nwaubani’s Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree similarly examines how contemporary Nigerian narratives represent deprivation, dissent and trauma associated with the Boko Haram insurgency. These literary engagements demonstrate how fiction can move beyond the description of violence to examine its effects on memory, identity, social relationships and the ability of individuals to maintain a sense of belonging.

Another important text is Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree (2018), which portrays the experiences of a young Nigerian girl whose life is transformed by a Boko Haram attack on her community and subsequent abduction. The novel explores the consequences of violence, captivity, separation and the disruption of family and community life. It is particularly relevant to the study of forced displacement because the protagonist is removed from her familiar environment and compelled to negotiate an unfamiliar and threatening existence. The narrative draws attention to the experiences of women and girls whose displacement involves not only the loss of their homes but also threats to their education, personal freedom, cultural identity and psychological well-being. Nwaubani’s account is based on interviews with women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, making the novel an important fictional engagement with experiences of violence and forced movement in Nigeria (Nwaubani, 2018). The representation of these experiences also raises questions about how individual suffering becomes part of a community’s collective memory. In addition, Chigozie Obioma’s The Road to the Country (2024) revisits the Nigerian Civil War through the experiences of people whose lives are disrupted by conflict, separation and the destruction of familiar social environments. The novel employs a layered narrative structure involving a framing voice and a movement between different temporal perspectives, thereby creating opportunities for examining the relationship between narrative form, historical memory and displacement (Obioma, 2024). Together, these novels demonstrate the relevance of contemporary Nigerian fiction to the study of forced displacement arising from different forms of political and social violence.

The representation of forced displacement in Nigerian fiction is also connected to environmental destruction and the loss of traditional ways of life. Displacement does not always occur through direct military attacks or the activities of armed groups; it may also result from environmental degradation, the destruction of livelihoods and conditions that make continued residence in a community increasingly difficult. In the Niger Delta, oil exploration, pollution and ecological deterioration have affected fishing, farming and other traditional economic activities, creating pressures that may lead to physical relocation and cultural dislocation. Nixon (2011) describes slow violence as a form of gradual and often less visible destruction whose consequences accumulate over time, particularly among vulnerable populations. This perspective is useful for understanding literary representations of environmental displacement because the loss of land, livelihood and cultural identity may occur gradually rather than through a single dramatic event. May Ifeoma Nwoye’s Oil Cemetery (2015) provides a relevant Nigerian literary example for examining environmental degradation, the disruption of community life and the relationship between ecological damage and identity. A recent scholarly discussion of Niger Delta narratives identifies Oil Cemetery as a text through which environmental degradation and identity displacement can be examined (Aboho, 2026). The novel therefore broadens the scope of displacement beyond armed conflict and demonstrates the importance of examining the social and cultural consequences of environmental destruction alongside political violence.

Furthermore, the relationship between narrative fragmentation, collective memory and forced displacement remains important because the experience of leaving one’s home often involves the fragmentation of personal and communal histories. Displaced individuals may remember their former homes through incomplete recollections, repeated stories, dreams, photographs, inherited accounts and narratives of loss. Such memories can preserve the identity of communities even when their members are physically separated. Ricoeur (2004) explains that memory, history and forgetting are closely connected in the ways societies interpret the past, while Hirsch (2012) explores how memories of traumatic historical experiences may be transmitted across generations through cultural and familial representations. In contemporary Nigerian novels, narrative fragmentation can therefore be examined as a literary means of representing interrupted lives, contested histories and the difficulty of reconstructing a coherent sense of belonging after displacement. Although existing scholarship has examined Nigerian literary representations of insurgency, war, trauma and historical remembrance, the relationship among narrative fragmentation, collective memory and forced displacement across selected novels published between 2015 and 2025 deserves further systematic attention. This study consequently investigates how selected contemporary Nigerian novelists use fragmented narrative structures to represent the experiences of displaced individuals and communities, preserve collective memories of violence and loss, and explore the continuing effects of displacement on identity, belonging and social relationships.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Forced displacement has become a recurring feature of Nigeria’s contemporary social experience, arising from insurgency, communal violence, environmental degradation and other forms of insecurity. Its consequences extend beyond the physical movement of individuals from their homes to include the destruction of family structures, separation from cultural environments, loss of livelihoods, psychological trauma and the weakening of community relationships. However, public discussions of displacement frequently emphasise statistics, security operations, humanitarian assistance and the immediate material needs of affected populations. Although these perspectives are important, they may not fully communicate the emotional, cultural and historical experiences of displaced individuals. Literature provides an alternative means of examining these dimensions because it represents the personal stories, memories and identities that may be overlooked in institutional accounts. Halbwachs (1992) establishes that memory is socially constructed, while Assmann (1995) explains how cultural memory contributes to the preservation of collective identity. The problem, therefore, is the need to understand how contemporary Nigerian fiction represents the experiences of forced displacement and preserves the memories of individuals and communities affected by violence, insecurity and environmental destruction.

Another problem concerns the literary techniques used to represent the fragmented experiences of displaced individuals. Forced displacement frequently interrupts the normal sequence of human life, separating people from their homes, families, cultural environments and previous identities. These experiences may produce uncertainty, psychological distress and incomplete recollections of the past. However, conventional chronological storytelling may not always adequately represent the complexity of traumatic experiences, interrupted histories and conflicting memories. Narrative fragmentation offers writers a means of presenting these experiences through flashbacks, shifting perspectives, multiple voices, interrupted timelines and the movement between past and present. Genette (1980) explains that the organisation of narrative time influences how readers understand fictional events, while McHale (1987) demonstrates how non-linear narrative structures challenge conventional representations of reality. Although these techniques are recognised in literary studies, there is a need to examine how selected Nigerian novelists published between 2015 and 2025 employ narrative fragmentation specifically to represent forced displacement and the disruption of individual and collective experiences.

Furthermore, there is a problem concerning the preservation and representation of collective memory in narratives of forced displacement. When people are compelled to leave their communities, they may lose access to the physical spaces, cultural institutions and social relationships through which their histories and identities are maintained. The memories of displaced communities may also become marginalised when official narratives focus mainly on political explanations, security responses or humanitarian statistics. Fiction can help preserve these experiences by giving narrative attention to the memories of ordinary people, including women, children, families and vulnerable communities. For instance, Nwaubani’s Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree (2018) represents the experiences of girls and women affected by Boko Haram violence, while Obioma’s The Road to the Country (2024) revisits the human consequences and historical memory of the Nigerian Civil War. Nevertheless, the ways in which these narratives preserve, reconstruct or challenge collective memories through fragmented narrative forms require further examination. The problem is therefore not only how displacement is represented but also how literary narratives determine whose memories are preserved, whose experiences are emphasised and how historical suffering becomes part of a society’s shared understanding.

Finally, although Nigerian literary scholarship has examined conflict, insurgency, trauma, environmental destruction and historical remembrance, there remains a need for a focused comparative study that brings narrative fragmentation, collective memory and forced displacement together within selected contemporary Nigerian novels published between 2015 and 2025. Existing studies have often concentrated on particular conflicts, individual novels or specific aspects of trauma and identity. For example, Ajibola (2023) examines the representation of trauma in the fiction of Elnathan John and Tricia Nwaubani, while Hartwiger (2022) explores the treatment of historical trauma and transitional justice in Nigerian child-soldier narratives. These studies provide useful foundations, but the combined relationship between narrative structure, collective remembrance and different forms of forced displacement requires further investigation. There is therefore a need to examine how selected novels represent displacement arising from insurgency, civil conflict and environmental destruction; how fragmented narrative techniques communicate disrupted experiences; and how individual memories contribute to the reconstruction of collective identity. This study addresses this gap through a comparative literary analysis of selected contemporary Nigerian novels published between 2015 and 2025.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main aim of this study is to examine narrative fragmentation, collective memory and the representation of forced displacement in selected contemporary Nigerian novels published between 2015 and 2025.

The specific objectives are to:

1. Examine the forms and experiences of forced displacement represented in selected contemporary Nigerian novels published between 2015 and 2025.

2. Analyse the narrative fragmentation techniques employed by the selected novelists in representing displacement, violence and disrupted human experiences.

3. Investigate how collective memory is constructed and preserved through the representation of displacement, trauma, loss and cultural identity in the selected novels.

4. Examine the relationship between narrative fragmentation and collective memory in portraying the social, psychological and cultural consequences of forced displacement.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions will guide the study:

1. What forms and experiences of forced displacement are represented in the selected contemporary Nigerian novels?

2. What narrative fragmentation techniques are employed by the selected novelists in representing displacement, violence and disrupted human experiences?

3. How is collective memory constructed and preserved through the representation of displacement, trauma, loss and cultural identity in the selected novels?

4. How do narrative fragmentation and collective memory contribute to the representation of the social, psychological and cultural consequences of forced displacement?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

The following hypothesis will guide the study:

H₁: Narrative fragmentation functions as a significant literary strategy through which collective memory and the experiences of forced displacement are represented in selected contemporary Nigerian novels published between 2015 and 2025.

Note: This is a guiding literary proposition for qualitative textual analysis, not a statistical hypothesis.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study will be significant to students and scholars of English and Literary Studies because it will contribute to the understanding of contemporary Nigerian fiction, particularly the relationship between narrative techniques, historical memory and social experiences. By examining narrative fragmentation, the study will demonstrate how literary structure can communicate complex experiences of violence, displacement, trauma and loss. It will also provide an opportunity to understand how writers use non-linear storytelling, multiple perspectives, flashbacks and memory sequences to represent disrupted human experiences.

The study will be useful to scholars of memory studies and trauma literature because it will examine how fiction preserves and reconstructs the experiences of individuals and communities affected by forced displacement. It will demonstrate how collective memory operates through personal recollections, family histories, cultural practices and shared experiences of violence. The findings may contribute to discussions on the relationship between individual memory, historical remembrance and collective identity in African literature.

Furthermore, the study will be significant to researchers interested in Nigerian history and contemporary social issues. Through the selected novels, it will provide literary perspectives on the experiences of people affected by insurgency, civil conflict and environmental destruction. It will encourage readers to understand forced displacement beyond physical relocation by drawing attention to the loss of homes, livelihoods, cultural environments, family relationships and social belonging.

The study will also be beneficial to writers and literary critics because it will demonstrate how narrative techniques can be employed to communicate the experiences of vulnerable individuals and marginalised communities. It may encourage further critical attention to the relationship between literary form and social realities, particularly in narratives that address violence, migration, displacement and historical trauma.

Finally, the study will serve as reference material for future researchers interested in narrative fragmentation, collective memory, forced displacement, trauma and contemporary Nigerian fiction. It will provide a foundation for comparative studies involving other African literary works that explore the relationship between historical crises and human experiences.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This study will focus on narrative fragmentation, collective memory and the representation of forced displacement in selected contemporary Nigerian novels published between 2015 and 2025. The study will be limited to three novels:

1. Oil Cemetery (2015) by May Ifeoma Nwoye.

2. Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree (2018) by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani.

3. The Road to the Country (2024) by Chigozie Obioma.

These novels will be examined because they provide different literary representations of displacement and social disruption. Oil Cemetery will be considered in relation to environmental degradation, the loss of traditional livelihoods and community dislocation. Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree will be examined in relation to insurgency, abduction, forced movement, trauma and the experiences of displaced women and girls. The Road to the Country will be considered in relation to civil conflict, separation, historical remembrance and the consequences of war.

In terms of content, the study will examine narrative fragmentation, including flashbacks, non-linear narration, shifts in perspective, multiple voices and the movement between past and present. It will also investigate collective memory, cultural identity, displacement, trauma, loss, belonging and the reconstruction of community experiences.

The study will not examine every Nigerian novel published within the period. It will concentrate on the selected texts and their literary representation of forced displacement and collective memory. The study will also not undertake a detailed political, military or sociological investigation of the conflicts represented in the novels. Its primary concern will be their literary construction and interpretation.

1.8 Research Methodology

The study will adopt a qualitative research approach using a descriptive and comparative textual analysis method. This approach will be appropriate because the research will examine literary techniques, themes, characters, narrative structures and representations of social experiences in selected Nigerian novels.

The primary sources of data will be the three selected novels: May Ifeoma Nwoye’s Oil Cemetery (2015), Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree (2018) and Chigozie Obioma’s The Road to the Country (2024). Relevant passages, narrative episodes, character experiences, dialogues and descriptive sections will be selected and examined in relation to the research objectives.

Secondary sources will include academic books, peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly chapters, literary criticism and relevant publications on narrative theory, collective memory, trauma studies, forced displacement and contemporary Nigerian literature.

The analysis will be conducted through close reading of the selected novels. Particular attention will be paid to:

• Narrative fragmentation: The examination of non-linear chronology, flashbacks, multiple perspectives, interrupted narration and shifts between past and present.

• Collective memory: The examination of shared recollections, family histories, cultural traditions, inherited experiences and representations of historical events.

• Forced displacement: The examination of violence, environmental destruction, abduction, loss of homes, separation, relocation and the disruption of livelihoods.

• Identity and belonging: The examination of how displacement affects cultural identity, social relationships, personal history and the relationship between individuals and their communities.

The study will employ comparative textual analysis to identify similarities and differences in the ways the selected novelists represent displacement and collective memory. The findings will be presented through critical discussion, supported by relevant passages from the novels and established scholarly literature.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Narrative Fragmentation: A literary technique in which a story is presented through discontinuous, interrupted or non-chronological sequences rather than a straightforward chronological structure. It may involve flashbacks, multiple narrators, shifting perspectives and fragmented recollections.

Collective Memory: The shared recollections and interpretations of past experiences through which members of a family, community or society preserve their common history, identity and cultural heritage.

Forced Displacement: The compulsory movement of individuals or communities from their homes or habitual places of residence because of violence, conflict, persecution, environmental destruction or other threatening circumstances.

Contemporary Nigerian Novels: Fictional prose works written by Nigerian authors and published within the period covered by this study, specifically 2015–2025.

Historical Memory: The recollection, interpretation and preservation of significant past events by individuals and communities, particularly events that influence their present identities and social experiences.

Cultural Identity: The sense of belonging and shared identification developed through language, traditions, beliefs, customs, history and other cultural practices.

Trauma: Psychological and emotional distress resulting from painful or disturbing experiences such as violence, war, abduction, displacement, separation and loss.

Dislocation: The disruption of an individual’s or community’s physical, social, cultural or emotional connection to a familiar environment.

Non-linear Narration: A storytelling method in which events are presented outside their chronological order, often through flashbacks, recollections, shifts in time or multiple narrative perspectives.

Memory Reconstruction: The process through which individuals or communities reinterpret and reorganise past experiences in order to understand their identities and present circumstances.

Project – Narrative Fragmentation, Collective Memory and the Representation of Forced Displacement in Selected Contemporary Nigerian Novels Published Between 2015 and 2025.