Interrogating the absence of emerging African writers in schools’ curricula
By Ahmed Wada Ikaka
THE National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) has in its mandate leadership development of the youths. Intellectual and moral skills are key areas of focus in NYSC as the leading light of youth organizations in Africa. This takes us to the role literature plays in the intellectual and moral development of the younger generation. Literature acts as a fundamental catalyst for intellectual development by enhancing cognitive abilities, critical thinking, developing analytical skills, emotional intelligence, problem-solving skills, and widening the general perspective of the young mind. It keeps the young abreast of events and happenings within our environments.
On the moral sphere of the lives of young Africans, literature exposes the young ones to the dynamics of the society, serving as the evolving mirror of the societal values and provides moral compass for the youths to navigate the complexities of life which are on the increase daily. Literature shapes moral development by promoting empathy, love, ethical reasoning, moral judgment, making right choices and decisions that determine success or otherwise of life through exposure to characters to guide the younger ones.
The canonical literary creations focused on precolonial, colonial and early post-colonial times on issues of resistance, arms struggles and disruptions of independent African governments by military coups, etc. The continuous use of these texts therefore creates a dysfunction in the society. The society is dynamic and the younger generation of Africans must move with the new order. This does not mean that history and culture/traditions are relegated to the background.
Literary creations today dwell on new areas of societal concern such as the get-rich-quick syndrome, primitive accumulation, abuse of political power, bribery and corruption, love and social life, insecurity, continuous dependence on the western world, poverty, undeveloped economies, religiosity without God, cyber crime, poor education and general systemic failure etc.
Only the new generation of writers address these modern challenges. This justifies the inclusion of emerging African writers in the curricula. The knowledge and wisdom of modern characters are found among the new generation of writers.
The following administrative or institutional strategies can be deployed towards making the works of younger writers become part of schools’ curricula. The curricula should be reviewed every three years to make room for new texts from younger writers to be selected and added to replace the older texts, state ministries of education should be given free hand to select new texts from younger authors, especially within their states for inclusion in the curriculum, government agencies like NERDC/WAEC/NECO/JAMB should have a percentage (30%) of new authors every three years among literary texts for use in our schools and financial support in the form of textbooks publishing grants should be made available to younger writers. Other incentives will be online fora championed by ANA to publicise the work of younger African writers should be put in place, increase in annual awards for best writers is necessary and the works of winners should be adopted in the school curricula, annual writers’ events that will bring together writers, WAEC/NECO/NERDC/ANA and federal and state ministries of education officials should be put in place, the need to dismantle the cult-like structure by canonical writers, publishing companies and regulatory bodies that block the inclusion of works of emerging African writers in the school curricula and ANA and other progressive bodies must penetrate the educational sector by developing interest and engaging in politics where they can influence decisions in favour of inclusion of emerging African writers in the curricula.
* Dr. Ikaka teaches English and Communication at the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa
