Boko Haram Insurgence and the Rape of Nigeria’s Post Colony in Patrick Oguejiofor’s Maiduguri Requiems and Other Poems

This paper titled: “Boko Haram Insurgence and the Rape of Nigeria’s Post-colony in Patrick Oguejiofor’s “Maiduguri Requiems and Other Poems” adroitly interrogates the gruesome activities of the Boko Haram sects and its financiers; the alleged steerers of our wheels of progress. The paper was informed by the barbaric and senseless massacre of innocent citizens, the rape of their livelihood and the unending bloodbath in a city that was once known to be the hub of revelry and peaceful coexistence. In unraveling these dehumanizing practices and social realities in the North Eastern part of the country, Oguejiofor’s collection of poems are viewed as protest avenues. From the perspective of Oguejiofor, an average Nigerian have two enemies to contend with: the prejudiced leaders who appropriate retrogressive traditions and the insurgency that has permeated the sensibilities of vulnerable Nigerians. The poet is uncompromising in his stands because he realizes that for a lasting solution to insurgency and visionless leadership to be achieved, Nigerians must strive to spice their social existence with some revolutionary drive. This paper adopts Marxism as the basic theoretical framework because it strengthens the vision of the poet and exposes the unpardonable massacre meted the masses in the cosmic reality of our environment. The poet deploys stylistic techniques like foregrounding and symbolism to convey the poet’s heightening frustration and desperation in our deteriorating political space. The research finds out that there is this glistening and vivid image of the battle for survival by the people, the barbaric killing of the indigents and plundering of our country’s natural resources by the leaders.

Keywords: Insurgence, Marxism, Post-colony, Boko Haram, Visionless Leaders