ANONYMOUS IDENTITY AND BONDING IN ELNATHAN JOHN'S BORN ON A TUESDAY

Abstract

The activities of the almajirai in Northern Nigeria, especially their infamous association with violent acts, have become a critical subject in contemporary Nigerian literature. Extant studies have focused on terrorism and violence with reference to Niger Delta insurgency, Boko Haram terrorist acts, among others. This research, however, explores the interconnection between terrorism in the North and the activities of the almajirai, using El-Nathan John's Born on a Tuesday. The aim is to critically examine how the almajirai's structurally imposed anonymity triggers a crisis of identity disintegration, which leaves them vulnerable to mislabelling and social alienation. This research adopts a psychoanalytical and fundamentalist framework to investigate the internal and external mechanisms driving the alamajirai youth toward political violence. With respect to methodology, this study critically explores the selected texts Born on a Tuesday, due to the import of psychological factors that strengthens the bond among the almajirai. Finally, the study highlights the fundamentalist and psychosocial factors that propel the almajirai into terrorism. The findings of the study reveal that the anonymous identity usually given to the almajirai makes them prone to mislabelling. It is also discovered that emotional and other psychological vulnerabilities make them easy recruits for religious extremists, terrorists and corrupt government officials. The almajirai ought to be seen, first, as normal human beings; so this study shifts focus away from the presentation of the boys as dangerous and destructive and, instead, reviews their place in the society, exploring their private lives that have hitherto not been adequately accounted for.