VEJOH - VERITAS JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES

Right from the First Republic, Nigeria has been faced with the dearth of responsible governance, and the quest for strategies that will ensure the delivering of good managers who will utilise the huge human and natural resources for the development of the citizens and the country. This has led to complaints and calls for restructuring. Various geographical zones talk about restructuring, resource control, autonomy, referendum and the likes. Good as these calls for change are, none or perhaps very few seem to have pondered on the fact that the six geopolitical zones which constitute Nigeria have at one time or the other produced people who held positions of leadership in governance. This paper, therefore, examines Yerima’s Atika’s Well and Sani’s When Clerics Kill to demonstrate the need for sound character development of all political office holders who daily manage the affairs of the nation. Through the lens of sociological criticism, this paper explores the relationship between literature and society in the analysis of Yerima’s Atika’s Well and Sani’s When Clerics Kill. The findings of this study show that Yerima and Sani fictionalize the socio-political, religious and economic issues of Nigeria among other things and lay bare the fact that political office holders in Nigeria since independence have been very corrupt and selfish. Hence, the paper advocates mental restructuring should precede any other form of restructuring the people may carry out if meaningful development is to take place.

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