Abstract
The transitory nature of critical practice does not grant literary approaches the licence to remain in stasis, and the corpus of postcolonialism in its broad spectrum takes no exception. Although counter-discursivity is the elixir that gave postcolonialism its golden cast, non-counter-discursive conceptual frameworks have been devised by critics to bear the burden of present-day postcolonial desiderata. Drawing upon postcolonial literary theory, Quayson's divergent conceptualisation of postcolonialism and Oyewumi Agunbiade's concept of inverted disillusionment, the paper adopts the qualitative content analysis methodology and purposive sampling method to interrogate postcolonialism within and beyond the primal threshold of counter-discourse using nine poems in Joe Ushie's Yawns and Belches. Cognizant of the postcolonial motifs which the aforementioned poetry collection is replete with, the paper argues that the heavy presence of non-counter-discourse does not deny its eligibility in the canon of postcolonial literature. Furthermore, it reinforces the notion of inverted disillusionment to argue for the collective complicity of the masses against the decade-long belief that the sheer source of socio-political decay in Africa is the African leader. This deceptive conviction absolves the egoistic citizens of their vicious partnership with egomaniacal leaders who plunge the people to disturbing depths. Having highlighted lucid illustrations culled from Ushie's Yawns and Belches, the paper concludes that the degenerated postcolonial status of Africa is not merely a product of the activities of the West or African political elite at the top stratum but also driven and sustained by the masses who offer themselves as expendable tools for the disruption of principles that should ensure political sanity.
Introduction
While postcolonialism may appear to be an easily and finely knitted academic study, the evolutionary status of critical practice has revealed frays that must be timely stitched. From among the many contemporary Nigerian poetry collections that have addressed post(-
)colonial issues, Joe Ushie's Yawns and Belches stands as one of the best exemplars in demonstrating the transition that has perforated postcolonialism from counter-discourse to non-counter-discourse even with the arrangement of poems in the collection. With fewer poems on counter-discourse and more poems on non-counter-discourse, Ushie emphasises the fact that postcolonialism can retain its postcoloniality even without wrapping its entire existence and essence around the interaction between the First World and the Third World. The principles that define a literary theory are rarely constant as critics modify existing tenets to accommodate the dynamics of changing critical relations. This submission is corroborated by Brannigan (1998) who contends that 'Literary theories and critical practices are always in transition, because they are always in history, always subject to change and constantly being revised and reused' (p.219).
The aggregation of postcolonialism is not exempted from these modifying possibilities although certain conclusions have apparently been made as to what defines postcolonial literature and postcolonial criticism. Some of the issues pioneering the problematic divide of this field of critical practice are captured by Biccum (2002) who avows that 'There is no consensus in the field of Postcolonial Studies either about its object of study or the terminology it uses to describe both itself and its various objects' since there have been several arguments regarding 'who is “postcolonial”, when is the “postcolonial”, and what it means to be “postcolonial” ' (p.34). These areas that are central to 'postcolonial' polemics have been addressed by critics through the years, and their submissions converge and diverge at certain nodes. However, the problems engulfing this theory are not limited to those identified by Biccum as there is also the problem of what morphologically constitutes the adjectival resultant of the word 'postcolonialism'. Quayson (2000) acknowledges its hyphenated and unhyphenated variants — 'post-colonial' and 'postcolonial' — noting that while the former is usually chronologically inclined, the latter is not.
)colonial issues, Joe Ushie's Yawns and Belches stands as one of the best exemplars in demonstrating the transition that has perforated postcolonialism from counter-discourse to non-counter-discourse even with the arrangement of poems in the collection. With fewer poems on counter-discourse and more poems on non-counter-discourse, Ushie emphasises the fact that postcolonialism can retain its postcoloniality even without wrapping its entire existence and essence around the interaction between the First World and the Third World. The principles that define a literary theory are rarely constant as critics modify existing tenets to accommodate the dynamics of changing critical relations. This submission is corroborated by Brannigan (1998) who contends that 'Literary theories and critical practices are always in transition, because they are always in history, always subject to change and constantly being revised and reused' (p.219).
The aggregation of postcolonialism is not exempted from these modifying possibilities although certain conclusions have apparently been made as to what defines postcolonial literature and postcolonial criticism. Some of the issues pioneering the problematic divide of this field of critical practice are captured by Biccum (2002) who avows that 'There is no consensus in the field of Postcolonial Studies either about its object of study or the terminology it uses to describe both itself and its various objects' since there have been several arguments regarding 'who is “postcolonial”, when is the “postcolonial”, and what it means to be “postcolonial” ' (p.34). These areas that are central to 'postcolonial' polemics have been addressed by critics through the years, and their submissions converge and diverge at certain nodes. However, the problems engulfing this theory are not limited to those identified by Biccum as there is also the problem of what morphologically constitutes the adjectival resultant of the word 'postcolonialism'. Quayson (2000) acknowledges its hyphenated and unhyphenated variants — 'post-colonial' and 'postcolonial' — noting that while the former is usually chronologically inclined, the latter is not.
Content
Within this context, 'post-colonial' is mostly used to indicate the period after imperialism while 'postcolonial' transcends chronological limitations as it could alternate the periods before, during, and after colonialism. It is in this regard that Gilbert and Tompkins (1996, p.4) write that postcolonialism 'is frequently misunderstood as a temporal concept, meaning the time after colonialism has ceased, or the time following the politically determined Independence Day on which a country breaks away from its governance by another state'. In this light, it is fallacious to only think of this concept from 1957 following Ghana's independence, or from 1960 within the context of Nigeria, or the period trailing 1961 in South Africa (or, by extension, 1994 when the African National Congress [ANC] won the first democratic election in the country). For Ashcroft et al. (2002), the term 'post-colonial' covers 'all the culture affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day' (p.2). Their concept of postcolonial literature is then hinged
on the node that connects colonialism and colonies/ex-colonies, concretised in their view that this literature engages the 'world as it exists during and after the period of European imperial domination and the effects of this on contemporary literatures' (p.2).
In one of Quayson's explications of postcolonialism, this critical approach involves 'a studied engagement with the experience of colonialism and its past and present effects, both at the local level of ex-colonial societies as well as at the level of more general global developments thought to be the after-effects of empire' (p.2). Nonetheless, Quayson tackles the constricted stand by Ashcroft et al. on who the postcolonial is. For the trio, the postcolonial covers, among other countries, African countries, Caribbean countries, India, Pakistan, South Pacific Island countries, and the United States of America (Ashcroft et al., p.2). This view, for Quayson, overlooks the imperial position of the USA today solely because it was colonised by the British. Correspondingly, Quayson's conception of postcolonialism is not restricted to literature of former colonies. For him, it is mostly the content, and not the society of emergence, that defines postcolonial literature. The content of postcolonial literature is the most problematic, for while many argue that it must be counter-discursive, some have countered the counter-discursivity usually associated with postcolonialism.
Ashcroft et al. assert that postcolonial literature is steeped in 'the tension with the imperial power, and by emphasizing their differences from the assumptions of the imperial centre. It is this which makes them distinctively post-colonial' (p.2), one that is tasked with the duty of 'revisiting, remembering and, crucially, interrogating the colonial past' (Gandhi, 2019, p.4). This stance parallels Kehinde's (2006, p.94) assertion that African postcolonial texts 'have become veritable weapons for dismantling the hegemonic boundaries and the determinants that create unequal relations of power, based on binary oppositions such as “Us” and “Them”; “First World” and “Third-World”; “White” and “Black”, “Colonizer” and “Colonized”'. According to him, the 'primary concern of most post-colonial African novelists is to salvage the history of their people that colonialism has manipulated' (p.94), the mark of counter-discourse. The effect of colonialism on the colonised is intergenerational, so intense it is that the 'post-imperial writers of the Third World therefore bear their past within them — as scars of humiliating wounds, as instigation for different practices, as potentially revised visions of the past tending toward a postcolonial future …' (Said, 1994, p.212).
on the node that connects colonialism and colonies/ex-colonies, concretised in their view that this literature engages the 'world as it exists during and after the period of European imperial domination and the effects of this on contemporary literatures' (p.2).
In one of Quayson's explications of postcolonialism, this critical approach involves 'a studied engagement with the experience of colonialism and its past and present effects, both at the local level of ex-colonial societies as well as at the level of more general global developments thought to be the after-effects of empire' (p.2). Nonetheless, Quayson tackles the constricted stand by Ashcroft et al. on who the postcolonial is. For the trio, the postcolonial covers, among other countries, African countries, Caribbean countries, India, Pakistan, South Pacific Island countries, and the United States of America (Ashcroft et al., p.2). This view, for Quayson, overlooks the imperial position of the USA today solely because it was colonised by the British. Correspondingly, Quayson's conception of postcolonialism is not restricted to literature of former colonies. For him, it is mostly the content, and not the society of emergence, that defines postcolonial literature. The content of postcolonial literature is the most problematic, for while many argue that it must be counter-discursive, some have countered the counter-discursivity usually associated with postcolonialism.
Ashcroft et al. assert that postcolonial literature is steeped in 'the tension with the imperial power, and by emphasizing their differences from the assumptions of the imperial centre. It is this which makes them distinctively post-colonial' (p.2), one that is tasked with the duty of 'revisiting, remembering and, crucially, interrogating the colonial past' (Gandhi, 2019, p.4). This stance parallels Kehinde's (2006, p.94) assertion that African postcolonial texts 'have become veritable weapons for dismantling the hegemonic boundaries and the determinants that create unequal relations of power, based on binary oppositions such as “Us” and “Them”; “First World” and “Third-World”; “White” and “Black”, “Colonizer” and “Colonized”'. According to him, the 'primary concern of most post-colonial African novelists is to salvage the history of their people that colonialism has manipulated' (p.94), the mark of counter-discourse. The effect of colonialism on the colonised is intergenerational, so intense it is that the 'post-imperial writers of the Third World therefore bear their past within them — as scars of humiliating wounds, as instigation for different practices, as potentially revised visions of the past tending toward a postcolonial future …' (Said, 1994, p.212).
Conclusion
The poet's personality as a revolutionary compels him to use his collection of poems to chastise the political elite who oppress the masses and the masses who offer themselves as soldiers of fortune, also demonstrating how the West has replaced colonialism with imperialism. The status of postcolonialism as it is today is a product of generational mutations modified to accommodate contemporary issues, one that began solely as a counter-discursive approach which was marked by writing back to the Centre. Over time, the concept of postcolonial disillusionment where African leaders are projected solely as the bane of the postcolonial degradation the continent reeks of was devised. This paper, however, has used inverted disillusionment, a more recent conceptual framework in postcolonial studies, to argue for the collective complicity of the masses. Electoral violence, for instance, cannot be effectively executed without the masses conceding to the whims and caprices of the political elite who are bent on amassing wealth for themselves. These issues have prickled the lives of Africans and have caused them to come to terms with the fact that the hope of a near-utopian life they envisaged at the departure of colonisers has so far become a mere wish and daydream. Nevertheless, with concrete illustrations drawn from Ushie's Yawns and Belches, the degenerated postcolonial status of Africa is not merely a product of the activities of the West or African political elite at the top stratum but also driven and sustained by the masses who offer themselves as expendable tools for the disruption of principles that should ensure political sanity.
References
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Etim, E. (2019). The Historicality of Individuals and the Five Hs in Selected Poems of Joe Ushie and Niyi Osundare. Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science. 7(5), 18-26.
Fonagy, I. (1971). Bases Pulsionelles de la Phonation. Revue Francaise de Psychanalyse 35(4), 543−591.
Gandhi, L. (2019). Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction. Second Edition.
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Gilbert, H. and Tompkins, J. (1996). Post-colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics.
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Kehinde, A. (2006). 'Post-colonial African Literature as Counter-discourse: J.M. Coetzee's Foe and the Reworking of the Canon.' Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies. 32(3), 92-122.
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MacMahon, B. (2007). The Effects of Sound Patterning in Poetry: A Cognitive Pragmatic Approach. Journal of Literary Semantics. 36, 103–120.
Mattingly, D. (2006). An imperial possession: Britain in the Roman empire. Penguin.
Mieder, W. (2005). 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People': the Making and Meaning of an American Proverb about Democracy.' Proverbs are the Best Policy: Folk Wisdom and American Politics. Utah State UP, 15-55.
Mishra, V. and Hodge, B. (2005). What was postcolonialism? New Literary History 36(3), 375-402.
Okolo, C. and Enukora, E. (2022). The Womb of the Earth: Eco-feminist Consciousness in Joe Ushie's Poetry. ANSU Journal of Language and Literary Studies. 2(2): 124-133.
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Osundare, N. (2002). Thread in the Loom: Essays on African Literature and Culture. Africa World Press, Inc.
Quayson, A. (2000). Postcolonialism: Theory, Practice or Process? Polity Press. Rukundwa, L. and van Aarde, A. (2007). The Formation of Postcolonial Theory. HTS
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Said, E. (1989). Representing the Colonized: Anthropology's Interlocutors. Critical Inquiry 15(2), 205-225.
Said, E. (1994). Culture and Imperialism. Vintage Books.
Ufot, B. (2021). Discourse Stylistics and Poetry: A Study of the Strategies in a Selection of Ushie's Poetry. Journal of the Nigerian Languages Project. 3, 19-51.
Ugah, S. and Ortserga, G. (2022). 'Insecurity in Northern Nigeria: A Case of Boko Haram Insurgency, the Nigerian Government Response and Its Impact on Nigeria's External Image. Sapientia Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Development Studies. 5(1), 147–157.
Ushie, J. (2018). Yawns and Belches. Kraft Books Limited.
Usoro, E. (2024). 'In the Word was the Beginning': Modern African Poetry and the Immortality of Orature. Ogbazuluobodo: University of Nigeria Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies 6(2): 194-207.
Usoro, E. (2025). Paradoxised African Philosophy and Political Corruption in Wale Okediran's Tenants of the House. D. Abdullahi and S. Kekeghe (Eds.). Medicine and Literature without Borders: Health and Social Issues in the Writings of Wale Okediran. Accessible Publishers Limited, 176-190.
wa Thiong'o, N. (1983). Barrel of a Pen: Resistance to Repression in Neo-colonial. Africa World Press.
Achebe, C. (1975). 'The African Writer and the Biafran Cause.' Morning yet on Creation Day Heinemann Educational Books, 7-10.
Agunbiade, O. (2013). Inverted Disillusionment in Postcolonial African Literature.
Imbizo. 14(1), 1-19.
Amirouche, N. (2021). Counter-discourse in Postcolonial African Novel. Algerian Scientific Journal Platform. 5(2): 520-532.
Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G. and Tiffin, H. (2002). The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-colonial Literatures. Routledge.
Babawale, T. (1989). Book Review: Britain and Nigeria: Exploitation or Development? by Toyin Falola. The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 22(1), 147-149.
Bassett, T. (1994). Cartography and Empire Building in Nineteenth-century West Africa.
Geographical Review. 84(3), 316-335.
Biccum, A. (2002). 'Interrupting the Discourse of Development: On a Collision Course with Postcolonial theory. Culture, Theory and Critique. 43(1), 33-50.
Brannigan, J. (1998). New Historicism and Cultural Materialism. St. Martin's Press, Inc. Burney, S. (2012). 'Resistance and Counter-discourse: Writing back to the Empire.'
Pedagogy of the Other: Edward Said, Postcolonial Theory, and Strategies for Critique. Peter Lang, 105-116.
Cornevin, M. (1980). Apartheid: Power and Historical Falsification. UNESCO. Ekpenyong, B. (2003). 'Lexical Innovations as Renaissance Ethos in Modern African
Poetry: A Study of Joe Ushie's Hill songs and Niyi Osundare's Songs of the Market Place. Journal of Nigerian English and Literature. 4, 64–72.
Enukora, E. and Okolo, C. (2021). 'Hydro-criticism, Symbolism and the Use of Water Imagery in Joe Ushie's Poetry.' COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies. 1(1), 74-96.
Enukora, E. and Okolo, C. (2022). Ecocriticism, Botanical Imagination and the Analysis of Plant Life in Joe Ushie's Poetry. KIU Journal of Humanities. 7(3), 53-62.
Etim, E. (2019). The Historicality of Individuals and the Five Hs in Selected Poems of Joe Ushie and Niyi Osundare. Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science. 7(5), 18-26.
Fonagy, I. (1971). Bases Pulsionelles de la Phonation. Revue Francaise de Psychanalyse 35(4), 543−591.
Gandhi, L. (2019). Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction. Second Edition.
Colombia UP.
Gilbert, H. and Tompkins, J. (1996). Post-colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics.
Routledge.
Höglund, K. (2009). 'Electoral Violence in Conflict-ridden Societies: Concepts, Causes and Consequences.' Terrorism and Political Violence. 21(3), 412-427.
Kehinde, A. (2006). 'Post-colonial African Literature as Counter-discourse: J.M. Coetzee's Foe and the Reworking of the Canon.' Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies. 32(3), 92-122.
Levine, P. (2016). Series Preface. M. Shipway. Ed. The Rise and Fall of Modern Empires.
Volume IV: Reactions to Colonialism. Routledge, ix-x.
MacMahon, B. (2007). The Effects of Sound Patterning in Poetry: A Cognitive Pragmatic Approach. Journal of Literary Semantics. 36, 103–120.
Mattingly, D. (2006). An imperial possession: Britain in the Roman empire. Penguin.
Mieder, W. (2005). 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People': the Making and Meaning of an American Proverb about Democracy.' Proverbs are the Best Policy: Folk Wisdom and American Politics. Utah State UP, 15-55.
Mishra, V. and Hodge, B. (2005). What was postcolonialism? New Literary History 36(3), 375-402.
Okolo, C. and Enukora, E. (2022). The Womb of the Earth: Eco-feminist Consciousness in Joe Ushie's Poetry. ANSU Journal of Language and Literary Studies. 2(2): 124-133.
Osofisan, F. (1999). Theatre and the Rites of 'Post-Negritude' Remembering. Research in African Literatures. 30, 1-11.
Osundare, N. (2002). Thread in the Loom: Essays on African Literature and Culture. Africa World Press, Inc.
Quayson, A. (2000). Postcolonialism: Theory, Practice or Process? Polity Press. Rukundwa, L. and van Aarde, A. (2007). The Formation of Postcolonial Theory. HTS
Theological Studies 63(3), 1171-1194.
Said, E. (1989). Representing the Colonized: Anthropology's Interlocutors. Critical Inquiry 15(2), 205-225.
Said, E. (1994). Culture and Imperialism. Vintage Books.
Ufot, B. (2021). Discourse Stylistics and Poetry: A Study of the Strategies in a Selection of Ushie's Poetry. Journal of the Nigerian Languages Project. 3, 19-51.
Ugah, S. and Ortserga, G. (2022). 'Insecurity in Northern Nigeria: A Case of Boko Haram Insurgency, the Nigerian Government Response and Its Impact on Nigeria's External Image. Sapientia Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Development Studies. 5(1), 147–157.
Ushie, J. (2018). Yawns and Belches. Kraft Books Limited.
Usoro, E. (2024). 'In the Word was the Beginning': Modern African Poetry and the Immortality of Orature. Ogbazuluobodo: University of Nigeria Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies 6(2): 194-207.
Usoro, E. (2025). Paradoxised African Philosophy and Political Corruption in Wale Okediran's Tenants of the House. D. Abdullahi and S. Kekeghe (Eds.). Medicine and Literature without Borders: Health and Social Issues in the Writings of Wale Okediran. Accessible Publishers Limited, 176-190.
wa Thiong'o, N. (1983). Barrel of a Pen: Resistance to Repression in Neo-colonial. Africa World Press.