NATIONAL HARMONY IN NIGERIA THROUGH CHILDREN’S AND YOUTHS’ LITERATURE: AN APPRAISAL OF IHE ONYE KWERE BY EZEJESI

Abstract

Over the years, writers have explored many issues that affect the Nigerian society. Recently, the wide spread of war among the ethnic groups, hate speech, immoral behavior, violence and kidnapping, have awaken interest of African writers, especially Nigeria writers. Good values and moral qualities are fast eroding our contemporary society.They derive joy in hate speech, kidnapping and corrupt practices. This is the outcome of neglect to literature, which will later affect national harmony in Nigeria. In literature, good characters are praised and honored, while bad characters are made to suffer, to show the citizenry that no evildoer will go unpunished, including the people that will cause disintegration in Nigeria. The moral lessons after reading literature will serve as a guide to children’s and youths’ behaviours. This paper investigates the role of children’s and youths’ literature in sustaining national harmony in Nigeria. This is a survey research. The theory adopted is realism. This study educates the masses on the meaning of literature, realism, national harmony, the role of literature in molding of children’s and youths’ behaviours, the role of literature to national harmony in Nigeria and the analysis of Ihe Onye Kwere by Ezejesi through the critical lens of realism.It was realised that ills in children’s and youths’ behaviours can be corrected through literature.The studysuggests that literature as an elective subject in secondary schoolsshould be reviewed, and madecompulsory for all students from secondary to undergraduate levels irrespective of ones career choices because, literature does not only entertains, it educates and informs about the past, which help to build present and the future.