A Paradigm of Woman Leadership in History and the Contemporary Nigerian Society in Wale Ogunyemi's Queen Amina of Zazzau

Abstract

Gender issue is not new in the literary discourse in contemporary Nigerian literature. It is an area that has attracted adequate attention over the years. And the main argument of it is to chart a new course towards the condition of woman in Nigerian society. Writers, in all genres of literature, have explored woman as a central subject in their works to address this salient issue. The purpose of this study is to further this discourse. Wale Ogunyemi is among the writers that have taken the giant step to go into history to make statements of immense contributions of women in Nigerian society, exploring the history of Queen Amina of Zazzau. It is on this note, therefore, that we intend to see woman leadership in the history of Nigerian heroines to deconstruct what the society has created for women when it comes to leadership in the country. The study submits that women can, of course, perform, if they are given an opportunity, taking a cue from some heroines of the past like Queen Amina of Zazzau. The study is examined through the lens of New Historicism, using history to underscore this burning issue in the Nigerian society.