OUR DEMOCRACY AND EMERGING ISSUES IN DIASPORA WRITING

Abstract

The use of possessive pronoun ‘our’ as modifier of the noun/headword ‘democracy’ is to properly situate the distinctive uniqueness of the brand of democracy in this discourse. Nigeria started with the British model, later moved to the American before she arrives at what is in existence today. It is adjudged about the most expensive democracy in the world. This study was conceived to explore to what extent the political system the country runs has strongly influenced emerging issues of diaspora writing. This is with particular reference to Nigerian authors who write from mostly United States of America and other places, outside the shores of the motherland. Situating the study within the construct of Black aesthetics, the research reveals that most of these writers suffer from issues of racial discrimination, loss of identity, nostalgia and many others. The paper conclude on the fact that through diaspora writing, critics, researchers, scholars and students of African literature have come to appreciate the microtecture of Nigerian culture. Nevertheless, the government should build the necessary social infrastructure as dividend of democracy. This would enable the best brains stay at home and help salvage the nation as opposed to serving as second class citizens in foreign lands.