Identity Conflicts in Post-Colonial Northern Nigeria: An Example of E. E. Sule’s Sterile Sky

Abstract

Ethnicity and religion have continued to play significant roles in preventing the attainment of national identity in post-colonial Nigeria. Within the ambit of the post-colonial theory, this study examines the concepts of identity and hybridity in the inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations that result in the recurring Northern Nigeria’s violent crises as expounded in E.E. Sule’s novel, Sterile Sky. This study shows that the north of Nigeria has, to a great extent, been unable to achieve a hybridized identity with the rest of the nation. Ethnic and, especially, religious identity remain the preferred identity as well as the primary cause of conflicts in Northern Nigeria. In Sterile Sky, ethnic, and especially religious identity are identified as the preferred identity in the cosmopolitan city of Kano, and the primary cause of conflict in Northern Nigeria. This work is a contribution in providing an understanding of the post-colonial conflicts in Nigeria through literary evaluation.