Onomastics, Medicine and Politics in Femi Osofisan’s The Engagement

Abstract

Onomastics, medicine and politics in this study are a pragmatic way of depicting the psychosocial condition of Nigeria as an underdeveloped nation. The study explores Femi Osofisan’s The Engagement from a literary onomastic standpoint with the aim of exposing socio-political anomalies in Nigeria. Nigerian leaders commit flaws of egoistical and individualistic interests which often go against the consciences of the led. On this premise, the study explores the characters’ names in The Engagement with a view to gaining insight into Nigeria’s sociocultural and political contexts. Furthermore, Postcolonial Theory and Halliday’s Contextual Theory of Meaning serve as the study’s theoretical constructs. The study is predicated on the underdevelopment of Nigeria which is epitomised as a psychological behaviour of characters in a nation that is under the siege of political anarchy and different social vices.