Abstract
This paper examines the poetic representation of themes of security challenges in Zamfara as a result of the activities of bandits, kidnappers and cattle rustlers in Echoes of Carnage (a collection of poems on Zamfara) edited by Ibrahim &Gatawa (2021); as an instance of deep analytical exegesis of the state of insecurity in the Northwest region and the country at large.The paper builds on the age-old premise that there is an organic affinity between literature and social happenings, especially those grave issues that always threaten the cooperate existence of a given social order. In this regard, social calamities such as famine, drought, war, violence etc that threaten security of existence hardly escape the probing eyes of committed literary artists. Going by the array of compendium of poetic renditions from across the diverse poets in the collections; the paper establishes that the people of Zamfara wallow in deep existential trauma, threat and uncertainty as a result of the ungodly criminalities of the armed non-state actors. While it is obvious that the Zamfara carnage has been apprehended from varied discourses, this paper contends that literature, perhaps more than other discourses, penetrates deeply into the human psyche and lived experience to interpret and liberate man’s seeming frailties and nuances, predicament and fears as exemplified in the sampled poems examined in the collection.
Keywords: Carnage, security, insecurity, bandit, kidnappers
DOI: 10.36349/zamijoh.2023.v02i01.003
author/Dr. Ibrahim, I. & Dr. Mohammed, M.R.
journal/Zamfara IJOH Vol. 2, Issue 1
