MIGRATION AND BORDER-CROSSING IN NIGERIAN NOVELS

 MIGRATION AND BORDER-CROSSING IN NIGERIAN NOVELS

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Zenas Olanipekun 

The notion of border-crossing stretches back to humanity’s earliest migrations, but “migration” and “border-crossing” are not exact synonyms. Migration refers to any movement from one place to another, encompassing a wide spectrum of crossings which can be geographic, cultural, social and beyond. In contrast, border-crossing is more specific: it signifies the act of traversing a boundary that demarcates difference, whether literal or symbolic. Collyer and de Haas (2012) define contemporary migration as “dynamic,” with individuals continually crossing not only geographic borders, but also shifting legal, social and cultural categories throughout their journeys. Thus, a “border crossing” encapsulates these varied transformations. People do more than physically relocate; they negotiate legal statuses, adjust to new cultural norms, and reshape their identities. In this sense, border-crossing is nested within the broader phenomenon of migration, representing those critical moments when individuals pass thresholds: external or internal that redefine who they are and how they belong. 

In studying Nigerian literary history, three generations of writers stand out for their engagement with border-crossing. The early generation, spanning precolonial and colonial encounters, includes Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) and Chukwuemeka Ike’s Sunset at Dawn (1976). These works depict the collision of indigenous cultures with colonial forces, dramatising how characters navigate spiritual, communal, and ideological borders (Okolie & Nwakaego 2019). Achebe’s portrayal of internal conflict and social rupture reflects what Newman and Paasi (1998) term “borders as institutions of territorial structuring,” where boundaries regulate inclusion and exclusion (cited in Okolie & Nwakaego 2019).

Migration comes with its trauma as the migrants are faced with peculiar issues such as racism, identity crisis and even discrimination outside the shores of Africa. Most of them only have access to the most degrading and dangerous jobs where they are grossly underpaid for being immigrants. Trauma exports itself to Europe and takes on a new form for immigrants. The African has to face situations that threaten his identity where anything and everything African is considered out of place. However, the reality of the situation is that migration strips the African of a major part of his identity. The immigrant faces a situation where he cannot be fully assimilated into the European structure.

The post-colonial Nigerian state has been confronted with internal socio-economic and political quagmires. Over the years, the globally accepted standards for sustainable human capital development seem to have eluded the Nigerian citizens, thereby creating situations of reoccurring social complexities. Irregular migrations across Nigerian borders have implicated transnational illegalities especially within the West African region and African continent in general. Today, there is a consensus among scholars that human migration across the borders of Nigeria has remained an issue of national concern with far-reaching consequences. The motif of border-crossing is being orchestrated by internal contradictions, hence leading to unprecedented increase in organised transborder illegal and criminal activities in Nigeria and beyond. Many migrants who chose irregular migration routes seemed not to be aware of the challenges they would encounter, nor were they sure of job opportunities in their destination countries, but due to years of governance failure in Nigeria, Nigerian migrants consider leaving the country as a better alternative. In literary scholarships, the idea of borders has become an agency and a site where writers allow characters to narrate their own stories. In this way, writers have considered the movement through the physical and symbolic divide (Okolie 2019). 

Push and pull migration theory (Lee 1966) contends that human desire for better opportunities and improvement of one’s life usually motivates people to migrate. The ‘pull’ factors are the conditions in the destination countries which tend to pull the intended migrants from their countries of origin. In most cases, the conditions in the destination countries are better than what obtains in the migrant’s country of origin. Such conditions include better and more rewarding job opportunities, better general living conditions, better education and health systems, better security systems, etc. On the other hand, the ‘push’ factors are the conditions in the migrants’ countries of origin which push them away from their birthplaces to other countries overseas. Such conditions include unemployment or underemployment, abject poverty, general low conditions of living, rapid population growth, insecurity, internal conflicts and violence, political instability and oppressive regimes, human rights violations etc. While ‘pull’ factors are referred to as positive factors, ‘push’ factors are referred to as negative factors.

Furthermore, African literature has increasingly explored migration through diverse lenses such as: race (Adichie’s Americanah), psychological alienation (Chikwava’s Harare North), and colonial legacies (Gurnah’s By the Sea). Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street tells the story of four women in the diaspora, their struggles and the various factors that led to their migration. Duruaku’s A Mirage for a Dream mirrors the menace of migration in the Nigerian space because it interrogates the issue of migration such as it is prevalent in the Nigerian space in the 21st century. It highlights the causes and dangers of migration in the Nigerian space which ranges from globalisation, economic crises, political instability, conflicts, wars, ethnic cleanings, social inequality, market economy, discrimination, and the wider processes of transformation which defines the thrust of the study

Migrants make dangerous journeys across the Saharan desert. The dangerous trip they make by boat to Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Saharan desert to Europe in search of what they think would be a better and easier living conditions is a journey that begins with full hope but often ends in a disastrous way. Many migrants die on their way to Europe. The migrants have full hopes and aspirations of a better life in Europe, a place they know nothing about. Migration to Europe is seen as a movement of (desperate) young Africans fleeing from unemployment, political uncertainty, economic recession, conflicts and widespread poverty.

Migration and border-crossing are recurring themes in Nigerian novels, reflecting the nation’s complex history and its people’s resilience amid socio-political and economic challenges. From Chinua Achebe’s exploration of colonial disruptions to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s portrayal of diasporic identities in Americanah, these narratives capture the struggles and aspirations of Nigerians navigating borders; both physical and cultural. Contemporary works like Helon Habila’s Travelers and Chika Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street delve into the harsh realities of migration, including human trafficking and the search for belonging in foreign lands. These stories highlight the tension between home and exile, the impact of globalisation and the enduring hope for a better future. By weaving personal journeys with broader societal issues, Nigerian novelists illuminate the human cost of migration while celebrating the strength and adaptability of those who cross borders in pursuit of survival and self-discovery.