HOMECOMING TO LAY WREATH: THE EXAMPLE OF NGOZI ANYANWU’S THE HOMECOMING QUEEN

Abstract

The worsening state of peace, and unity since the dawn of democracy in Nigeria, compounded with failed political elites, socio – economic issues, and environmental factors such as ethnic crisis, political discontent, quest for economic empowerment, lingering poverty in the land, religious crisis, decay social infrastructures, food insecurity, the desire for material gains, poor educational infrastructure, kidnapping etc, have forced many Nigerians to diaspora where most live and experiences a dynamic tension. In achieving this objective, this paper posits that playwrights in Nigerian society have the creative weapons for the espousal of the mirage of social ills clipping the nation’s wings from growth, sustainable development, and prosperity, most importantly of its teaming population. Therefore, the paper adopts the content analysis as a methodology for analyzing the issues of migration, and the psychological tension of living away from home as evident in Ngozi Anyanwu’s The Homecoming Queen. Premised on the theoretical position of “Diasporic and Transnational Theory”, for anchoring “homecoming to lay wreath”. The paper justifies that the exigency and precarious situation of the 21st century has bestowed huge responsibility on African literature, particularly Drama, to craft our world and makes us view society through its own narratives, symbols, images, and imagination for social reconstruction. The paper, in conclusion, argues that migration can be curbed by good governance and economic boost in Nigeria; then unnecessary migration will cease, and people will no longer be exposed to ill treatment in foreign lands.