The Writer and the Quest for Democratic Governance in Nigeria: Transcending Post-Independence Disillusionment

African writers have a deepening susceptibility for social and political commitment as their texts depict socio-political events in their societies. Markedly, modern African literature arose to become part of the larger universal literary space; a weapon for re-establishing the cruelly denigrated African personality, and an effective slingshot against colonialism. Now, it is being employed as virus-resistant software; reflecting and refracting postcolonial disillusionment. Thus, African literature becomes an encyclopedic containment of the experiences of the people of the continent. It is within this space that we fixated on Nigerian literature. Tellingly, this paper tries to locate and establish the possibilities of unerring democratic ideals and good governance as the locus of postcolonial texts. Through pseudo-textual analysis practice, this essay seeks to contextualize post-independence pains and frustration. Finally, the paper offers a beacon of hope by calling on the people to transcend the post-independence of disillusionment, cynicism, fatalism, ethnicity etcetera, and to erect democratic governance based on positivist – oriented leaders. Nigeria’s ride into democratic government at the twilight of 21st century, like the dawn of independence into neo-colonialism, no doubt needs to be reflected on. Thus, the motivating direction for this discourse comes with the view that “in the intricate dialectics of human living, looking back is looking forward ” (Osundare 1986: XII). And by examining what was/were will afford us the stratagems for the future; and by retracing ones footpaths will make us know where and when “rain began to beat us”, and it is with this conviction that this paper wishes to examine the writers crave for democratic governance at the very heart of disillusionment