“Please let me shape my fate”: Interrogating the contemporary in contemporary imaginative writing

Writers in Africa have a social responsibility to the peoples of their countries. Often they are very enlightened and empowered and in a position to speak up on matters that concern the destiny of the suffering people. This self-chosen role became particularly necessary in the years of military dictatorships. Writers such as Wole Soyinka, Mongo Beti, Chinua Achebe, Athol Fugard, Christopher Okigbo, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Tanure Ojaide and Ayi Kwei Armah have confronted these issues in different degrees. These concerns are often socio-political, with a tinge of the economic. The cultural aspects of the concerns have been subsumed within new struggles. These writers are concerned with the fate of their countries, and so we can argue that the purpose of writing is the desire to shape the fate of the society. This is what we have termed “let me know my fate”. Another concern in this paper is how effectively and successfully can a contemporary writer interrogate a contemporary experience? In other words, can the imagination thrive only when it contends the historical? What are the problems associated with interrogating the contemporary, while the action as it were is still on? Can the African writer afford to wait for history in order to write?. Lwati: A Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 4 () 2007: pp.173-18

The ritual person as a hero in J. P. Clark’s Ozidi

Within the microcosmos of J.P. Clark’s epic-drama Ozidi, a man can become a hero by fulfilling the demands of ritual. Ozidi is a posthumous avenger, bom to set right the wrong committed by conspirators who had murdered his father in cold blood. By avenging his father's death, he gives the man honour and prestige among the living-dead. He also restores the lost harmony between the world ofthe living and the world of the dead. This singular act makes him a hero in Ijo world-view

A Bulletin Becomes A Journal: A Short history of Lagos Notes and Records

Lagos Notes and Records started as a News Bulletin devoted to reporting contemporary research efforts of academia. Gradually, it evolved into a journal which documents research efforts of academics both at home and in the Diaspora. This short paper chronicles the birth, circumstances and rise of the journal from 1967 through 2005. It examines the changing needs and focus of the journal and includes the titles and names of all past editors