Emergent Trend in the Nigerian Novel: Re-reading of Helon Habila’s Waiting for an Angel and Measuring Time

The paper explores some contemporary concerns in Nigerian novels. Nigeria is constantly inundated with a myriad of issues, chief among them ethnic and religious militias. These issues have undoubtedly hampered development, as the government expends significant resources in trying to address them. From the North to the South, religious extremists and tribal irredentists have exploited ethnic and religious patriotism to attack the Nigerian state, creating conflicts of unimaginable proportions. These developments have been captured by Nigerian novels, which over the years have served as the country’s seismograph, reflecting and adapting to the shifting realities of Nigeria’s socio-political landscape. This paper examines the reasons behind the emergence of ethnic and religious militias in Helon Habila’s novels Measuring Time and Chibok Girls, through the lens of New Historicism, a multi-disciplinary approach that draws from history, legends, politics, anthropology, archaeology, and other fields to enrich its discourse. The paper asserts that unless conscious efforts are made to address religious and ethnic bigotry, these problems will continue to persist in the Nigerian state. This approach differs significantly from previous analyses of Habila’s novels, which focused on eco-criticism and Marxist perspectives.