Northernism in Abdul-Azeez Al-Yāqūtī’s ‘cAbarātul-Amal’ (Tears of Hope)
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Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kwara State University Press
Abstract
Northern Nigeria as a geopolitical entity is made up of people of diverse ethnic affiliations with socio-cultural and linguistic backgrounds; yet they have identified themselves with particular values and norms. The concept, ‘Northernism’ therefore depicts identities, positive values, norms and culture of Northern Nigeria. It has been observed that novelists and literary critics from this part of the country have shown little interest or concern about expressing Northernism (Arewa) values and norms in their works. This paper therefore attempts to survey this concept in ‘cAbarātul-‘Amal (Tears of Hope)’: a story about ‘Nacīm’ who lived in Ilorin, one of the minority Northern environments, written by Abdul-Azeez Muhammad Salmān Al-Yāqūtī. The paper will further prove how literature could be used to express the socio-cultural ideology of a people with particular reference to Northern Nigeria. To achieve these, the paper will examine the concepts of ideology, Northernism and literary expressions. It also gives an insight of the story and studies Northern values and norms as expressed by the writer, then the conclusion.