JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE STUDIES AND ARTS

This research examines and critiques social issues in postcolonial Nigerian fiction (1960-present) as depicted in Ifeoma Okoye are The Fourth World. Social issues are problems that affect people in the society, such as poverty, inequality, environmental issues, crime, violence, corruption, lack of healthcare or basic needs, queer discrimination and prejudice, gender and sexuality, identity, mental health, trauma, migration amongst others. Through a close reading of the text, the researcher observed that some writers like Okoye are not just telling stories but challenging unfair systems, harmful environment and political corruption. The study critiques how socio economic, political and cultural forces intersect. Using primary and secondary sources of data collection and adopting postcolonial and trauma theoretical frameworks, the paper examines how social issues are exercised, experienced and legitimized in the society and how the novelist engage with, reflect and critique the social issues in Nigeria. This research discovered that postcolonial Nigeria as explicated by the novelist is a failed one, marred by various themes of social issues. Okoye is an exemplary writer who saw what ought to be done and did it. Her narrative in The Fourth World contributes to a deeper understanding and improvement of social issues existent in the postcolonial Nigeria. The research will also continue to inspire various discourses on a deeper nuance of postcolonial Nigeria, regarding socio-economic, political issues and independent disillusionment. Emerging scholars, as well as the literary world will benefit immensely with this research.

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