THE RELATION AMONG THE RELIGION ADHERENTS IN “LUXURIOUS HEARSES” BY UWEM AKPAN

INDAH PONIKA ERATRI

106026000958

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH

JAKARTA

2010

ii

APPROVEMENT

THE RELATION AMONG THE RELIGIOUS ADHERENTS IN “LUXURIOUS HEARSES” BY UWEM AKPAN VIEWED BY GENETIC

STRUCTURALISM

A Thesis

Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

The Strata 1 Degree (S1)

Indah Ponika Eratri

106026000958

Approved by: Advisor,

Elve Oktafiyani M. Hum NIP 19781003 200112 2 002

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF ADAB AND HUMANITIES

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH” JAKARTA

2010

i

ABSTRACT

Indah Ponika Eratri, with the paper entitled The Relation among the Religious Adherents in “Luxurious Hearses" by Uwem Akpan Viewed from Genetic Structuralism, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Ciputat, Tangerang, 2010.

The study emphasizes the relation between short story of “Luxurious Hearses” and the social and political condition where the author lived. The writer focuses the analysis on the historical background of “Luxurious Hearses” and uses qualitative method with descriptive-analytic. The writer analyzed the short story through the intrinsic elements which is the main characters conflict with others characters and extrinsic elements which is historical background of the story. Then the writer describes the relation of the story and its history. The object of the study is to find out how bad damage that affected relationship between the main character with the other character and understand the worldview of the author about religion conflict in Nigeria.

After analyzing the intrinsic elements of “Luxurious Hearses”, the writer continues to analyze the extrinsic elements and its correlation with the three point of genetic structuralism theory such as human facts, collective subject and world view. The writer found that the religious conflict among religious adherents in Nigeria is not about different faith but because of political activity. Politicians used the sensitive issue to reach their goal to fall the elected president.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First of all, the writer would like to express the most gratitude and praise to

Allah SWT, the Lord of the universe for His help, affection and generosity in

completing her study in the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta.

Then, peace and blessing are upon to our beloved prophet Muhammad SAW and all

of his family, his disciplines, and his followers.

The thesis is submitted in partial accomplishment of the requirement for the

Strata 1 Degree to the Faculty of Adab and Humanities, English Letters Department,

State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

The writer’s big family deserves her deepest esteem more than anyone else does; her

best parents, Mr. Abdul Rahman and Ms. Ernidawati who always give supports,

motivations, and moral encouragement to finish her study. I love you both more than

both of you may know.

In the terms of completing her study, the writer would like to express her deepest

gratitude to the Dean of Faculty of Adab and Humanities, Dr. Abd. Wahid Hasyim, M.Ag;

Drs. Asep Saefuddin, M. Pd, as the Head of English Letters Department and, Elve

Oktafiyani, M. Hum as the secretary of English Letters Department; and to all lectures

who have taught her a lot of things during my study.

In addition, the writer is deeply thankful to the individuals too numerous to

mention who have sent her suggestions, corrections, and criticisms, especially Elve

Oktafiyani, M. Hum as her thesis advisor, whose every guidance, patience, support

v

and encouragement from the first to the final level that enable her to develop an

understanding of the subject.

In addition, the writer would like to thank to the following fellows and

acquaintances; the student of class A 2006 and literature class for being her

classmates – for the joy of the friendship with Jay, Ayunk, Anggi, Aryo, Deny, Galih,

Indah, Jabbar, Jule, Kiky, Lazu, Mira, Nopita, Nuni, Ratna, Tirta, Yesika, Zhoya,

Melinda Adriani, Nisa Purnama, Herty, Putri, Maulida, Mufti and Isti; for being the

immortal fellows Dea Zikria, Nurul Aini and Yuli Herlina and whom cannot be

voiced, for their memories, their laughs, their activities, their supports, their spirit,

their souls, their love conveyed her into life-mature. Finally, the writer’s great thanks

to the entire place that gave her pleasures within her study process.

Jakarta, January 18, 2011

Indah Ponika Eratri

vi

TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………. i

APPROVEMENT …………………………………………………………… ii

DECLARATION ……………………………………………………………. iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ……………………………………………………. iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………........ vi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………... 1

A. Background of the Study ……………………………………….. 1 B. Scope and Limitation of The Study ……………………………. 5 C. Research Question ………………………………………………. 6 D. Significance of the Study ………………………………………... 6 E. Research Methodology ………………………………………….. 6

CHAPTER II. THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Sociology of Literature ………………………………………….. 8 B. Genetic Structuralism ………………………………………….... 10

1. Human Facts ………………………………………………… 11 2. Collective Subject …………………………………………… 12 3. World view ………………………………………………….. 12

C. Nigeria …………………………………………………………… 13

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH FINDINGS

A. Characters in Conflict …………………………………………… 19 B. Biography of Uwem Akpan ……………………………………... 32 C. World view ……………………………………………………… 34

1. Human Facts ………………………………………………… 34 2. Collective Subject …………………………………………… 35 3. World view ………………………………………………….. 36

CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION …………………………………………… 38

BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………….. 40

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of The Study

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous

continent. 1 As any others places in the world, Africa has literature. African

literature refers to literature of and from Africa.2 Meanwhile based on George

Joseph in his book Understanding Contemporary Africa, he defines that

African literature is not only stressed with written letters but also oral

literature.

“Literature can also imply an artistic use of words for the sake of art alone. Without denying the important role of aesthetics in Africa, we should keep in mind that, traditionally, Africans do not radically separate art from teaching. Rather than write or sing for beauty in itself, African writers, taking their cue from oral literature, use beauty to help communicate important truths and information to society. Indeed, an object is considered beautiful because of the truths it reveals and the communities it helps to build.”3

Another definition of African literature from Lucianne Englert,

professor of comparative literature and of French at Indiana University

Bloomington, she defined African literature almost the same as George

Joseph’s definition.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_literature 3 George, Joseph, "African Literature" ch. 12 of Understanding Contemporary Africa p.304

2

She said that African literature includes oral traditions (which are still

very much alive), national language literatures (such as material written in

Swahili in Kenya or Tanzania or Yoruba in Nigeria), Euro language

literatures, and especially because of literacy problems in Africa, many film

and theater presentations.4

The history African literature is divided into three eras, pre-colonial

African literature, colonial African literature and post-colonial African

literature. Pre-colonial African literature contains oral and written literature.

Pre-colonial African literature mostly used Arabic or their native language.

The themes of the pre-colonial literature is various, Astronomy, Poetry, Law,

History, Faith, Politics, and Philosophy among others.5 Colonial African

literature is the era when African started to write their literature in English,

because they were colonized by most of European and they were being

exposed to that language. Theme which generally used is liberation. Post-

colonial African literature is the era when most of African countries gained

their independence. African writers in this period wrote both in Western

languages (especially English, French, and Portuguese) and in traditional

African languages. As the result, African literatures got recognition in the

west.

4 http://www.indiana.edu/~rcapub/v21n3/p16.html 5 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mali/

3

Africa consists of many countries. One of them is Nigeria which is

located in West Africa. Nigeria has many productive writers. Many of them

got award for their works. Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian writer who won Nobel

Prize in literature in 1986. He is the first honored African who won a Nobel

Prize.

Another out-standing African author is Uwem Akpan.6 Akpan released

his first book entitled “Say You’re One of Them” published by Little, Brown

& Company in 2008. This book consists of five short stories which each

stories use children’s point of view who grew up in adversity from all of

country in Africa. His debut started in 2005 when one of his collections –An

Ex-Mas Feast published in The New Yorker. “Say You’re One of Them”

attracted praise from critics.

"Although they often deal with horrific material, these stories retain an astringent clarity... This time the ballyhoo is real: Akpan is an important writer." — David Grylls, Sunday Times "Awe is the only appropriate response to Uwem Akpan’s stunning debut, a collection of five stories so ravishing and sad that I regret ever wasting superlatives on fiction that was merely very good... Akpan’s characters are ordinary, flawed, sometimes funny kids who happen to be caught in a nightmare... The book should be depressing, but the blazing humanity of the characters and the brilliance of Akpan’s artistry make this one of the year’s most exhilarating reads." — Jennifer Reese, Entertainment Weekly

6 Uwem akpan is a Nigerian Jesuit and writer. He was born in Ikot Akpan Eda in Ikot Ekpene

Diocese in Nigeria. He joined Jesuit order at the age of 19, in 1990 and became a priest on July 19, 2003; he later earned an M.F.A. degree in creative writing at the University of Michigan. He also studied theology at Creighton University.

4

In 2009, Oprah Winfrey recommended a short story collection of U.S.-

educated Nigerian Jesuit Fr. Uwem Akpan as her 63rd influential book club

selection. She said that the stories left her stunned and profoundly moved.7

The writer interested to analyze one of short stories taken from

Akpan’s book entitled Luxury Hearses. The short story tells about two

different religion adherents which were described as having conflicts.

One of intrinsic element, main character, from the short stories gets

the impact from the religion conflict. Luxurious Hearses tells about a journey

taken by the main character –Jubril, who is teenager. Jubril is going to escape

from the religious conflict in his hometown –Khamfi. Khamfi is a

multireligious region. The conflict occurred in Khamfi is between two

different religions: Christian and Islam. Muslims are seeking Christians and

assassinating them. This conflict forced the Christians to leave Khamfi and

flee to the south region.

Jubril is accused as a fake Muslim because his biological father is a

Christian. Muslim tries to catch Jubril after being provoked by Musa and

Lukman. Muslim had already prepared to burn him when he is caught.

Because of that threat, Jubril try to escape to the south region. His journey of

escaping made him join with all the angry Christian in the bus which was

going to bring them to the south. This journey would not be easy for Jubril

because he knew that all the Christian refugees were angry and think that

7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uwem_Akpan

5

Muslim is their enemy after what had happened in Khamfi. Jubril tries his best

to cover his identity as a Moslem. At the end of the story, Jubril’s identity as a

Moslem reveals.

The short story shows religion conflict which happened in West

Africa. The religion conflict made the writer interested to make this as her

object of research and find out is there correlation between social conditions

in that short story with what had happened in the real life.

To analyze how Uwem Akpan reflect his society, the writer using

genetic structuralism theory from Lucien Goldmann because that two short

stories are made when the religion conflict happened in Africa.

B. Scope and Limitation of The Study

This research is focus on:

1. Intrinsic element of the short story “Luxurious Hearses” which is the

conflict of the main character.

2. Extrinsic element of the short story “Luxurious Hearses”

C. Research Question

In this study the writer attempts to find the answer of the following questions:

1. How is religious conflict between the main character and other characters

depicted in the short story?

6

2. How does the author describe his world view about religious conflict

occurred in Nigeria through genetic structuralism theory?

D. Significance of The Study

The researcher wishes that this research can be guidance for other

researcher who also has the same interest to reveal relationship between a

literary work and social conditions when the work is made.

E. Research Methodology

1. Objective of Study

The aims of this research are:

Finding out how bad damage that affected relationship between the

main character with the other character.

Understanding the worldview of the author about religion conflict in

Nigeria.

2. Method of Study

The method that is used in this research is sociological approach to

analyze the internal and external structure of literary work.

3. Technique of Data Analysis

In this research, the writer used dialectic analytic technique based on

critical study and deep analysis to the qualitative data that is collected from

7

variety of source based on the study of historical literature that is used

external and internal structure of the literary work.

4. Instrument of Analysis

In the research the writer uses herself as the main instrument in

collecting the qualitative data about religious conflicts and Nigeria’s history in

“Luxurious Hearses” short story in some ways, such as; reading the short

story many times very carefully so that the writer can understand the conflict

of the short story, underlining the sentence which can support the writer in

analyzing the data, and browsing Nigeria’s history from the internet to know

the fact what had happened in Nigeria.

5. Unit of Analysis

The unit of analysis of this research is two short stories text entitled

“Luxurious Hearses, Uwem Akpan short story collection book printed by

Little Brown and Company, 2008.

6. Time and Place Study

This research conducted at VII semester, in majoring English Letters

Department, Faculty of Adab and Humanities, State Islamic University,

Jakarta.

8

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Sociology of Literature

Sociology of literature is a sub-discipline which the most ignored by

the sociologist or even literati.1 There are many possibilities causes, one of

them is the focus of the research which reputed unique which is only

particular person understand it. Recently sociology of literature gets a lot of

attention and starts to show its importance for understanding of human social

life.

There are several experts tried to define what sociology is. Firstly

Swingewood in his book The Sociology of Literature (1972) defined

sociology as a scientific and objective study about human in society,

institutions, and social process.2 Furthermore, Swingewood explained that

sociology is trying to answer question how society exist, how the working

process, and why the society hold out in life. From that definition,

Swingewood hoped that he can give description about sociology.

Swingewood’s definition about sociology did some reduction of sociology

problem which more complicated that he defined.

1 Dr. Faruk. Pengantar Sosiologi Sastra dari Strukturalisme Genetik sampai Post-

Modernisme, ed. Hafni Indriastuti (Yogyakarta: Penerbit Pustaka Pelajar,2003), p. v 2 Ibid p. 1

9

Secondly Ritzer (1975) defined sociology as a multi-paradigm study.

It means that sociology has several paradigms which are competing each other

in effort of getting hegemony. Ritzer found at least three basic paradigms in

sociology, social fat paradigm, social definition paradigm, and social behavior

paradigm. In the first paradigm determined that the basic problems of

sociology are social fact, social institutions and social structure. Second

paradigm determined that problem of sociology is not about objective social

fact but the way individual subject understands social fact. The last paradigm

determined human behavior as a real subject, individual. The three paradigms

actually do not show all the complexity of sociology. Competition in

sociology also happened among theories.

Complexity minimizes possibility of forming general sociology of

literature like what Swingewood want. Wolff (1975) said that sociology of

literature is an abstract discipline, undefined perfectly, contain of number of

empiric study. 3

There is several approach in sociology of literature, Sapardi Djoko

Damono (1978) said at least 3 differences approach based on Wellek and

Warren, sociology of author which analyze social status, social ideology, and

everything about the author as the creator of the literary work; sociology of

literature which analyze the literary itself; and sociology of literature which

analyze the reader and the social impact of literary work.

3 Ibid p. 3

10

There are several topics that might be discussed or analyzed in

sociology of literature such as what Goldmann did. He tried to analyze

historical background of society of the literary works.

B. Genetic structuralism

Lucein Goldmann is the founder of genetic structuralism theory. This

theory is a refusal of structuralism theory which regarded the extrinsic

element such as historical and sociological background. Goldmann is

concerned to examine the structure of a literary text for the degree to which it

embodies the structure of thought (or ‘world vision’) of the social class or

group to which the writer belongs.4

Some important points to support his theory needed to construct what

he called as genetic structuralism. The points are human fact, collective

subject and world vision.

1. Human fact and Collective Subject

Human fact is results of every activity and behavior both verbally and

physically done by a human. These facts could be particular social activity,

political activity or even a cultural creation such as art, music, and literature.

Human facts differentiated into two: individual fact and social fact.

4Terry Eagleton. Marxism and Literary Criticism. (USA: University of California

Press,1976), p. 29

11

In genetic structuralism, there exist three fundamental characteristics

of human behavior which underlie the study of culture and society:

The first characteristics of human action and thought is that it

has a tendency to adapt to environment either reinforcing the

present order or challenging to change it

The second is a tendency, either in individual or in groups, to

conform to a general order at creating new structural forms

The third tendency is to modify the order and thereby

transcends it. (Goldmann, 1973: 115-119)5

Goldmann regarded that all human facts are an important structure

because they have a structure and meaning. He said it is important because

facts are a respond of collective and individual subject who tried to modify

the situation in order to have the same thought. In the other words, human fact

is result of human activity which tries to reach a better libration in relation

with surroundings.

As we discuss before, human fact is result of human activity as its

subject. Human fact subject differentiated into two: individual subject and

collective subject. Individual subject is an individual fact subject meanwhile

collective subject is a social fact subject.

5 Dele LAYIWOLA. The subject-object Imperative Women and The Colonial Struggle in

Three West African Novels. http.gigapedia.com. p. 157

12

Social political, economic and greatest cultural work revolutions are

social (historical) facts. Collective subject is not as individuals union which

are independent, but as unity, one collectivity.

2. Worldview

According to Goldmann, worldview is a term that suitable for a

comprehensive complex of ideas, aspirations, and feelings connecting

together members of a particular social group which opposition with other

social groups.6 As a collective consciousness, the worldview develops as a

result of certain social and economic situation faced by the collective subjects

who possess them. The formation process of the worldview requires a long

time. It is due to the fact that the worldview is a consciousness that maybe not

every people can understand it. In this case, Goldmann distinguishes the

consciousness into two; a real consciousness and possible consciousness.

A real consciousness is the consciousness owned by individuals in a

society. Due to the complexity of the society’s reality, the individuals rarely

have the ability to realize completely and entirely about the overall meaning

and purpose of the aspirations, the behaviors, and the collective emotions.

On the contrary, consciousness is the consciousness that may indicate

a tendency of groups towards an overall coherence. A coherent and integrated

perspective over human relationship with fellows and nature. Such

6 Dr. Faruk (2003), op. cit. 16

13

consciousness is rarely realized with the owners except in crisis moments and

as an expression of great cultural works.

C. Nigeria

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal

constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital

Territory. The country is located in West Africa.

Nigeria gets its full independence from United Kingdom in 1960 under

a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and a substantial

measure of self-government. In colonial era Nigeria area was formally united

as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively, Nigeria

remained divided into the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony.7

The social class of Nigeria was determined by the division of

administrative which was given by the United Kingdom but nowdays only

remained Northern and Southern. Each of the social class represent ethnic and

religious. Northern is predominantly Muslim and Hausa-Fulani. Southern is

predominantly Christian and Yoruba. Nigeria has the interconnectedness

between ethnic, religion and regional identities8 or even political view of its

7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria 8 Osaghae, Eghosa E and Rotimi T. Suberu, A History of Identities, Violence, and Stability in

Nigeria, (Univeristy of Oxford 2005), p. 7

14

citizens. Besides two main religions identities, people of Nigeria also have

many more minorities ethnic and practiced some traditional beliefs.9

The characteristic of Northern and Southern of Nigeria are different.

Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded

more rapidly in the south than in the north.10 Moreover south blesses with oil

source which have a great value in economy of Nigeria.

Nigeria which has diversity ethnic and religion tend to make this

country fragile and unstable. In the other words, the diversity has a tension

and made conflicts inevitable.11 The tensions were magnified by the

disparities in economic and educational development between the south and

the north. People in the south and they blessed with oil-source.12

1. Nigeria’s First Republic

In October 1963 Nigeria proclaimed itself the Federal Republic of

Nigeria, and former Governor General Nnamdi Azikiwe became the country's

first President. From the outset Nigeria's ethnic and religious tensions were

magnified by the disparities in economic and educational development

between the south and the north. The AG was maneuvered out of control of

the Western Region by the Federal Government and a new pro-government

9 Ibid p. 11 10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nigeria 11 Ibid p. 4 12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nigeria

15

Yoruba party, the NNDP, took over. Shortly afterward the AG opposition

leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was imprisoned on treason charges that

were later admitted to be without foundation. The 1965 National Election

produced a major realignment of politics and a disputed result that set the

country on the path to civil war. The dominant northern NPC went into a

conservative alliance with the new Yoruba NNDP, leaving the Igbo NCNC to

coalesce with the remnants of the AG (Action Group) in a progressive

alliance. In the vote, widespread electoral fraud was alleged and riots erupted

in the Yoruba West where heartlands of the AG discovered they had

apparently elected pro-government NNDP representatives.

First Period of Military Rule

On 15 January 1966 a group of army officers, mostly southeastern

Igbos, overthrew the NPC-NNDP government and assassinated the prime

minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions. The federal

military government that assumed power under General Aguiyi-Ironsi was

unable to quiet ethnic tensions or produce a constitution acceptable to all

sections of the country. Its efforts to abolish the federal structure and the

renaming the country the Republic of Nigeria on 24 May 1966 raised

tensions and led to another coup by largely northern officers in July 1966,

which established the leadership of Major General Yakubu Gowon. The

16

name Federal Republic of Nigeria was restored on 31 August 1966.

However, the subsequent massacre of thousands of Igbo in the north

prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the southeast where

increasingly strong Igbo secessionist sentiment emerged.

In a move towards greater autonomy to minority ethnic groups the

military divided the four regions into 12 states. However the Igbo rejected

attempts at constitutional revisions and insisted on full autonomy for the

east. On May 29, 1967 Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu, the military governor of

the eastern region who emerged as the leader of increasing Igbo

secessionist sentiment, declared the independence of the eastern region as

the Republic of Biafra. The ensuing Nigerian Civil War13 resulted in an

estimated one million deaths before ending in the defeat of Biafra in 1970.

Following the civil war the country turned to the task of economic

development. Foreign exchange earnings and government revenues

increased spectacularly with the oil price rises of 1973-74. On July 29,

1975 Gen. Murtala Mohammed and a group of officers staged a bloodless

coup, accusing Gen. Yakubu Gowon of corruption and delaying the

promised return to civilian rule. General Mohammed replaced thousands

13 The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January

1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra. The conflict was the result of economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of Nigeria.

17

of civil servants and announced a timetable for the resumption of civilian

rule by October 1, 1979. He was assassinated on February 13, 1976 in an

abortive coup and his chief of staff Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became

head of state.

Second Republic

A constituent assembly was elected in 1977 to draft a new

constitution, which was published on September 21, 1978, when the ban

on political activity was lifted. In 1979, five political parties competed in a

series of elections in which Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of

Nigeria (NPN) was elected president. All five parties won representation

in the National Assembly. In August 1983 Shagari and the NPN were

returned to power in a landslide victory, with a majority of seats in the

National Assembly and control of 12 state governments. But the elections

were marred by violence and allegations of widespread vote rigging and

electoral malfeasance led to legal battles over the results.

Third Republic

On December 31, 1983 the military overthrew the Second Republic.

Major General Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the leader of the Supreme

Military Council (SMC), the country's new ruling body. The Buhari

government was peacefully overthrown by the SMC's third-ranking

18

member General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985. Babangida (I.B.B)

cited the misuse of power, violations of human rights by key officers of

the SMC, and the government's failure to deal with the country's

deepening economic crisis as justifications for the takeover. During his

first days in office President Babangida moved to restore freedom of the

press and to release political detainees being held without charge. As part

of a 15-month economic emergency plan he announced pay cuts for the

military, police, civil servants and the private sector. President Babangida

demonstrated his intent to encourage public participation in decision

making by opening a national debate on proposed economic reform and

recovery measures. The public response convinced Babangida of intense

opposition to an economic recovery package dependent on an

International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.

Head of State, Babangida, promised to return the country to civilian

rule by 1990 which was later extended until January 1993. In early 1989 a

constituent assembly completed a constitution and in the spring of 1989

political activity was again permitted. In October 1989 the government

established two parties, the National Republican Convention (NRC) and

the Social Democratic party (SDP) - other parties were not allowed to

register.

19

In December 1991 state legislative elections were held and Babangida

decreed that previously banned politicians could contest in primaries

scheduled for August. These were canceled due to fraud and subsequent

primaries scheduled for September also were canceled. All announced

candidates were disqualified from standing for president once a new

election format was selected. The presidential election was finally held on

June 12, 1993 with the inauguration of the new president scheduled to

take place August 27, 1993, the eighth anniversary of President

Babangida's coming to power.

In the historic June 12, 1993 presidential elections, which most

observers deemed to be Nigeria's fairest, early returns indicated that

wealthy Yoruba businessman M.K.O. Abiola won a decisive victory.

However, on June 23, Babangida, using several pending lawsuits as a

pretense, annulled the election, throwing Nigeria into turmoil. More than

100 were killed in riots before Babangida agreed to hand power to an

interim government on August 27, 1993. He later attempted to renege this

decision, but without popular and military support, he was forced to hand

over to Ernest Shonekan, a prominent nonpartisan businessman. Shonekan

was to rule until elections scheduled for February 1994. Although he had

led Babangida's Transitional Council since 1993, Shonekan was unable to

reverse Nigeria's economic problems or to defuse lingering political

20

tension. With the country sliding into chaos Defense Minister Sani

Abacha assumed power and forced Shonekan's resignation on November

17, 1993. Abacha dissolved all democratic institutions and replaced

elected governors with military officers. Although promising restoration

of civilian rule he refused to announce a transitional timetable until 1995.

On October 1, 1995 Abacha announced the timetable for a 3-year

transition to civilian rule. Only five political parties were approved by the

regime and voter turnout for local elections in December 1997 was under

10%. On December 21, 1997 the government arrested General Oladipo

Diya, ten officers, and eight civilians on charges of coup plotting. The

accused were tried before a military tribunal in which Diya and eight

others were sentenced to death. Abacha enforced authority through the

federal security system which is accused of numerous human rights

abuses, including infringements on freedom of speech, assembly,

association, travel, and violence against women.

Abacha died of heart failure on June 8, 1998 and was replaced by

General Abdulsalami Abubakar. The military Provisional Ruling Council

(PRC) under Abubakar commuted the sentences of those accused in the

alleged coup during the Abacha regime and released almost all known

civilian political detainees. Pending the promulgation of the constitution

written in 1995, the government observed some provisions of the 1979

21

and 1989 constitutions. Neither Abacha nor Abubakar lifted the decree

suspending the 1979 constitution, and the 1989 constitution was not

implemented. The judiciary system continued to be hampered by

corruption and lack of resources after Abacha's death. In an attempt to

alleviate such problems Abubakar's government implemented a civil

service pay raise and other reforms.

In August 1998 Abubakar appointed the Independent National Electoral

Commission (INEC) to conduct elections for local government councils,

state legislatures and governors, the national assembly, and president. The

NEC successfully held elections on December 5, 1998, January 9, 1999,

February 20, and February 27, 1999, respectively.

Fourth Republic

The transition to the civilian rule finally succeeds after Olegun

Obasanjo elected to be a President on May 1999. He was admired for his

stand against the Abacha dictatorship, his record of returning the federal

government to civilian rule in 1979, and his claim to represent all

Nigerians regardless of religion.

The new President took over a country that faced many problems,

including a dysfunctional bureaucracy, collapsed infrastructure, and a

military that wanted a reward for returning quietly to the barracks. The

22

President moved quickly and retired hundreds of military officers holding

political positions established a blue-ribbon panel to investigate human

rights violations, released scores of persons held without charge, and

rescinded numerous questionable licenses and contracts left by the

previous regimes. The government also moved to recover millions of

dollars in funds secreted to overseas accounts.

Communal violence has plagued the Obasanjo government since its

inception. In May 1999 violence erupted in Kaduna State over the

succession of an Emir resulting in more than 100 deaths. In November

1999, the army destroyed the town of Odi, Bayelsa State and killed scores

of civilians in retaliation for the murder of 12 policemen by a local gang.

In Kaduna in February–May 2000 over 1,000 people died in rioting over

the introduction of criminal Shar'ia in the State. Hundreds of ethnic Hausa

were killed in reprisal attacks in southeastern Nigeria. In September 2001,

over 2,000 people were killed in inter-religious rioting in Jos. In October

2001, hundreds were killed and thousands displaced in communal

violence that spread across the states of Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa. On

October 1, 2001 Obasanjo announced the formation of a National Security

Commission to address the issue of communal violence. Obasanjo was

reelected in 2003.

23

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH FINDINGS

A. Data Description

1. Characters in Conflict

In this chapter, the writer will discuss the conflict between characters in

the short story entitled Luxurious Hearses to show there is religious conflict

among them. As the writer explains in the first chapter, Luxurious Hearses is

stories which captured a relationship between two different religions

adherents’. The characters conflict focused on the main character’s conflict

against the other character in the Luxurious Hearses and short story.

No Data Character Conflict

1. “OK, we no go fay you the money we owe you,” Musa said “Which money? If you dey talk about de thousand naira you come borrow prom me, na lie o. you go fay me. Ha-ha, dat one no be talk at all.” “Cancel de debt now or else…” “You must go fay my money. Oderwise I go for refort you to de alkali. Dis one we go hear por Sharia court.” With that, Jubril spun suddenly and freed himself from their grip. “Also we go hear por court say you be pake Muslim! Lukman said. “You be Christian…” “Me? Christian” “Traitor, traitor!” They charged. (Akpan 2008, 222)

Jubril vs fellow Muslims in Khamfi

24

2. “Abeg, sa, dis na ma seat,” Jubril whispered again, bowing curtly and smiling, standing right by the chief. “What seat. . .me?” the chief said. Jubril looked up ans said to Chief Ukongo a second time, “Ma seat,abeg.” “Meee?” the chief shouted, startling the boy who stepped back who ramming into a man. (Akpan 2008, 198)

Jubril vs Chief Ukongo

in Luxurious bus

3. “Colonel Usenetok halted in front of Jubril. “Get up!” he said, poking the sleeping Jubril with his dirty boot. “I say get up!”” (Akpan 2008, 279)

Jubril vs Colonel

Usenetok Silas in

Luxurious bus

4. His hand had been slice off just above the wrist. It had not healed yet and could not be fully straightened. It was covered by a loose ball of dirty bandage, which and all along bulged in his pocket like a gloved fist. The police removed the bandage and threw it out the window. The wounded skin of the stump was white and taunt. Passengers were asking the driver to stop the bus and make Jubril get off. He refused, saying the road was unsafe. Looking at the others, Jubril knew that they were going to lynch him. Trembling more with fever than with fear, he did not shout or struggle against those who started to push him. (Akpan 2008, 319)

Jubril vs Christian

passengers in Luxurious

bus

5. Now Emeka began to tremble toward Jubril. “You’ve betrayed Christ!” he accused Jubril, reaching for his neck. “Who sent you to condemn God’s children to a bad journey?” The refugees were surprised and disappointed he was taking on Jubril not the soldier. “No vex, abeg o,” Jubril pleaded. “No say anything,” Tega advised him. Just dey quiet . . . na mistake. Na de soldier we

Jubril vs Emeka in

Luxurious bus

25

want hold. Monica said in a loud whisper, “Gabriel, no fight him o . . . de Spirit go correct himself . . . . . we go fray for de correction.”(Akpan 2008, 294)

The main character in Luxurious Hearses is Jubril. “No no no,you can

never talking to me.” The chief shrugged. “I mean, look at me, look at you.

How old are you?” “Sixteen.” (Akpan 2008, 198) Jubril explicitly told his age

when the chief ask him. The way the chief talk to him –from the phrase (look

at you), it can be assumed that Jubril is teenager. He a little bit different with

other African so he is eye-catching.

As a teenager, Jubril is categorized as a handsome boy. “The brilliance

of his big eyes and sharp nose” (Akpan 2008, 190), “He was a fair-skinned

…” (Akpan 2008, 189), “… he bit his thin dry lips” (Akpan 2008, 193).

Jubril is the second child in the family whose parents are coming from

two different faiths. Jubril’s father is a Catholic meanwhile his mother is a

Muslim. Due to marry his father, her mother converted to Catholicism. Jubril

was born in his father’s village, Ukhemehi, which located in the south of

Nigeria. “Jubril’s mother, Aisha, A sad willowy figure like Jubril, had told

him a long time ago that he was born in his father’s village, Ukhemehi, in the

delta” (Akpan 2008, 211). He and his elder brother, Yusuf, got baptism there

when they were an infant. “… ─at Jubril’s baptism he picked Gabriel”

(Akpan 2008, 213).

26

When Jubril was two years and three month, his mother escaped back to

Khamfi –his maternal grandfather’s original home. After he moved to Khamfi

where most of the citizen practiced Islam, Jubril really hated his past identity

as a Christian. “He had always been ashamed of what his mother told him

about his pre-Muslim, Christian roots” (Akpan 2008, 243). His hatred grew

higher when he knew that south blessing with oil sources. “When people

talked about the oil wealth of the south, he would feel anger in him and

wonder why Allah would have given the oil to the land of infidels” (Akpan

2008, 244). Jubril questioned why Allah let the south get the oil sources

which made them more prosperous than north. In case is most of people in the

south are apostate to His religion.

Since then Jubril lived in Khamfi, he started his fanaticism to Islam.

People in Khamfi use Sharia as their daily basic law to rule the society. His

mother return to be Muslim and so did Jubril and his elder brother. Jubril not

only takes Islam as the religion like her mother but he is proud of his identity

as a Muslim. “You know that as long as I can remember. I have always felt

every inch a Muslim, and prove my steadfastness…” (Akpan 2008, 245)

Jubril is a devout and loyal believer. He did not take Islam for granted. There

are no hesitations in Jubril’s mind about his faith as a Muslim.

Moreover Jubril proudness as a Muslim was seen when Jubril sincerely

committed a cut wrist punishment when he was accused of stealing someone

27

else’s goat. He began to adapt even before being cut off. Moreover he even

refused when some people offer to bring his case to the Supreme Court.

“As far as he was concerned, the hand was dead. He absolutely believed that once the hand was cut off, he and others would be discouraged from stealing again. He ignored the hand and tried to not look at it and looked forward to being relieved of this source of self-hate. Jubril started using left hand only. And just to make sure he did not mistakenly use the fingers of palm of the condemned hand, as if to delineate a clear line between good and evil, love and hate. With this sort of clarity, he felt comfortable using his right elbow, for it was a part of the body he had not forfeited to theft. Two nights before the amputation, he had slept peacefully and even happily dreamed of the hand being cut” (Akpan 2008, 283) “… when he had readily submitted his hand to be chopped off as punishment for stealing someone else’s goat. When a few hard-nosed journalists interviewed him later, he had exuded unparalleled faith, although he did not allow them to take his picture. He even pleaded when them to tell the human rights group that had taken his case to the supreme not to be bother.” (Akpan 2008, 217)

As a devout believer, Jubril’s process of acceptance of cut punishment

not really easy either hard. He learned to use one hand to make himself get

used to it before it gone. Then Jubril get through the process by convincing

himself that the punishment is important to remind him that stealing is

something forbidden which did not allow to do anymore. After the

procession of cutting hand, people considered it breaks human right but

Jubril disagrees and told them not to bother his faith decision.

28

Jubril also sincerely lets his brother got a death punishment because of

his apostasy. His brother became a firebrand of Deeper Life evangelism1

after four months left Khamfi to stay in Ukhemehi. “It was not long after this

that Yusuf was mobbed by some relatives and neighbors and stoned to death,

like Saint Stephen, for apostasy. Though Jubril did not join in the killing of

his brother, he was close enough to heard him pray in tongues as the stoned

rained down on him” (Akpan 2008, 216). When Jubril’s elder brother came

back to Khamfi, people knew him practiced Islam. Later on when Jubril’s

elder brother practiced the Deeper life it became the society concerned. Jubril

did not do anything to plead his elder brother. He sacrificed his brotherhood

without hesitation because he knew in Sharia law that it was something

definite when a person apostate he or she will killed. He chose to establish

the Sharia and keep the purity of Islamic faith in his family.

Though Jubril tried to live his life as a good Muslim by obeying any

rules which Sharia established, at the end, his identity as a Muslim

questioned by his fellows Muslim. This is where the first conflict in

Luxurious Hearses story started. The conflict happened between Jubril and

his fellows Muslim in Khamfi.

It started when Khamfi was exploded in religious conflict. Religious

conflict happened between Muslim and Christian, Muslim fight against

1 Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity, where the scriptures often describe "evangelism" as "spreading the Gospel"

29

Christians and even tried to kill them. That day, Jubril was on his way back

after grazing his cows. He met two of his fellow Muslim –Musa and Lukman

who will go to mob Christians. Jubril offered them to join but they refused

him. They did not want Jubril to join because for them Jubril was a fake

Muslim. “You no be good Muslim…,” Lukman said (Akpan 2008, 221). Musa

and Lukman provoked other fellow Muslim to kill him. They mentioned

Jubril’s baptism story. “Jubril them no baftize you as small baby?” Musa

asked, a mischievous smile dangling on his lips. “We know you, we know your

baftism story.” Musa and Lukman knew Jubril’s baptism story which Jubril

tried so hard to deny. People believed that a person who got baptism will

remain Christian for rest of their life. That was why people fight against

Jubril. “She explained to him that, according to Catholic theology, baptism

leaves an indelible mark on a person’s soul ─ and whatever religion a person

may choose later cannot affect that that Catholic mark. She told him that, in

that sense, his Islamic faith and recent Deeper Life faith nullified” (Akpan

2008, 215).

Jubril tried to convince the crowd that the problem actually is Musa

and Lukman owed him money and they did not want to pay for it.

“OK, we no go fay you the money we owe you,” Musa said “Which money? If you dey talk about de thousand naira you come borrow prom me, na lie o. you go fay me. Ha-ha, dat one no be talk at all.” “Cancel de debt now or else…”

30

“You must go fay my money. Oderwise I go for refort you to de alkali. Dis one we go hear por Sharia court.” With that, Jubril spun suddenly and freed himself from their grip. “Also we go hear por court say you be pake Muslim! Lukman said. “You be Christian…” “Me? Christian” “Traitor, traitor!” They charged. (Akpan 2008, 222) Musa and Lukman use Jubril’s sensitive past identity as a Christian to

threaten him to free them from their debt. Jubril did not scare, he instead

threaten them back that he will bring this issue to the Sharia court if they

won’t pay their debt. They kept threatening Jubril that they would tell the

Sharia court for Jubril’s apostasy.

With the tension in Khamfi, Jubril had no chance to convince them the

truth by giving further explanation about his identity. So that Jubril became

the victim of the rudeness crowd who were provoked by Musa and Lukman.

They try to burn Jubril but fortunately Jubril escape. This was not the end of

the conflict but the new beginning of another conflict.

Had been succeeding escape from the barbaric fellows Muslim, Jubril

is safed by Malam Abdullahi who helped him arranged his escape to his father

hometown –Ukhemehi in the south of Nigeria. Jubril thought that he would

safe there. Malam Abdullahi bought him a Luxurious Bus ticket to the South.

Luxurious bus is a bus which in peace time, traveled across the country.

Another conflict started when Jubril try to flee South with most of the

passengers who are Christians. This journey must be hard for Jubril because

31

he need to overcome many obstacles in order to survive and arrive safely in

South. Jubril had to conceal his identity as a Muslim because most of the

passengers are angry Christian after what had happened in Khamfi. They did

not allow Jubril to take the journey with them or even kill him if they knew

Jubril is a Muslim. Malam Abdullahi had been anticipated this condition by

giving Jubril some stuffs which will support his outlook appearance as a

Christian.“Now, Jubril looked at himself, at his clothes and shoes and the

Marian medal Mallam Abdullahi had given him to help him in with the

southern crowd” (Akpan 2008, 276). The way Christian get dressed totally

different with Muslim so Mallam Abdullahi gave everything - Marian medal

especially, which make Jubril fit in with them. Moreover, Mallam Abdullahi

suggested Jubril to hide his cut wrist during the journey.“He had advised

Jubril to hide his cut wrist in his pocket until he reached his father’s village”

(Akpan 2008, 276). Jubril’s cut wrist is the most crucial thing to conceal

during the journey because the crowd will notice the religion-prescribe

amputation which associated with Islam.

Though Mallam had given him support to convince others that he was

a Christian, Jubril realized that his accent would betray him when he talked so

he had to speak as little as possible in this journey. He had a paper on which

written his father’s village name.

32

When the journey had not been started yet, Jubril already had his first

problem. Jubril found that someone cheated his seat. The man who cheated

Jubril’s seat called Chief Ukongo. When Jubril asked politely to the man who

sits on his seat, he refused to give Jubril his seat. They arguing each other, this

condition made Jubril became the center of attention from other passengers

who pity on him. Other passengers’ sympathy rose, they insisted the chief

gave back Jubril’s seat. He was threaten the chief told Jubril his military

experience; how merit he is when military still rule the country; how military,

especially ECOMOG2 would sacrifice themselves in the battlefield. This

made Jubril felt guilty about arguing the Chief and gave away his ticket to the

Chief. “Very sorry Chief,” Jubril felt so bad that he unearthed his ticket from

his bag and offered it to the old man. “Keep. I no want again. . . . Sorry

Chief” (Akpan 2008, 272). From this situation, the writer may describe Jubril

as an innocent one. As a teenager with lack of experienced and immature, he

gets easily charmed by what other people said especially the older one.

““Then he flashed his ID and announced, “Colonel Silas Usenetok . . . ECOMOG Specila forces!”. Jubril looked at the chief, then returned his gaze to the soldier. Admiration for the soldier spread on his face immediately, on the strength of what chief Ukongo had told him about

2 ECOMOG is The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, was a

West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work together. Its backbone was Nigerian armed forces and financial resources, with sub-battalion strength units contributed by other ECOWAS members — Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and others. Anglophone ECOWAS members established ECOMOG in 1990 to intervene in the civil war in Liberia (1989–96). ECOWAS deployed ECOMOG forces later on to control conflict in other cases for example in Sierra Leone, to stop the RUF rebellion in 1997.

33

ECOMOG soldiers’ self-sacrifice. Jubril stood and offered up his place, though many in the bus said he should not” (Akpan 2008, 280) His fanaticism made the journey even harder. Jubril realized since the

first time he entered the bus, there are lots of woman he will travel with. As a

fanatic, women are something he needs to protect himself from.

“Jubril press against the person in front of him to make room between his back and Monica” (Akpan 2008, 236) “He would have preferred to trek thousand miles on foot rather than sit in the same vehicle as a woman” (Akpan 2008, 194) During the journey which he surrounded by women, he needs to

brilliantly find ways to stay away from them. As a fanatic, being too close to

woman is forbidden because it will make him committed to sin. The statement

which Jubril mentioned that he will choose takes his long journey by foot

rather than used vehicle if it would make him close to woman reflect how he

tried to still keep his faith as a Muslim no matter the condition are. Besides

woman, television is another thing which make Jubril’s journey is harder.

“Everyone in the toilet line looked back to catch the action ─except Jubril,

who had reopened his eyes and was thinking about how to overcome the last

hurdle. He wanted some much to be part of the crowd in every way. It was no

longer about whether Allah would punish him for watching TV” (Akpan 2008,

229). Sharia law in Khamfi did not allow people to watch television, so watch

television for Jubril is something forbidden. The existence of television in the

bus worried Jubril so much. All of the passengers enjoyed it, Jubril really

34

want to be like them –watching television in order to get along with all of

them and not rise any attention of being different, but inside his mind he

scared Jubril of committed to sin when he watched the television.

This new comer passenger is a soldier with his dog. He introduced

himself as a Colonel Usenetok. Unfortunately space which Jubril sit on is

belonged to him. He insisted Jubril to give him his seat. “Colonel Usenetok

halted in front of Jubril. “Get up!” he said, poking the sleeping Jubril with

his dirty boot. “I say get up!”” (Akpan 2008, 279) Again, the sympathy rose

to Jubril, other passenger did not want to have a journey with a soldier who

looked like a madman. In the other hand, Jubril gave away his space after he

heard that the colonel is an ECOMOG. He did that just because the chief

explanation before about how merit the ECOMOG are.

““Then he flashed his ID and announced, “Colonel Silas Usenetok . . . ECOMOG Specila forces!”. Jubril looked at the chief, then returned his gaze to the soldier. Admiration for the soldier spread on his face immediately, on the strength of what chief Ukongo had told him about ECOMOG soldiers’ self-sacrifice. Jubril stood and offered up his place, though many in the bus said he should not” (Akpan 2008, 280)

When Jubril knew that the colonel is ECOMOG Special Forces, he

gave away his space to the colonel. He remembered what the chief told him

about how brave the ECOMOG in the battlefield –they would sacrifice

themselves for helping other people. Jubril felt that he needed to honor the

soldier after what he had done by giving him a place in the bus.

35

Though Jubril consciously let the soldier to take his space, but others

suggested and helped Jubril to keep his space. The soldier offended, why all

fought him in case the problem is just about him and Jubril. Their fuss ended

after Madam Aniema gave the soldier a seat. He slept well with his dog

afterward. “… he curled up comfortably on the seat of the expelled Emeka,

next to Madam Aniem, storking his dog and looking into the darkness

outside” (Akpan 2008, 304)

At the last pages of Luxurius Hearses short story, finally Jubril

unconsciously reveal his identity as a Muslim by letting his cut wrist out from

his pocket. When he saw breaking news in television which broadcast the

situation in the South, it is pretty much the same like what happened in North

especially in Khamfi, Christian did revenge in the South. Christians searched

and killed Muslim.

“The southern youths were uncontrollable and spilled out with their machetes, guns, and clubs in every direction, like the lava of an erupted volcano. They killed and killed, as if in this singular madness they would avenge all the massacres of their people who lived in the north, in the past and in the future” (Akpan 2008, 317)

Southern people avenge for what had done to their people in the

north. All the barbaric action likes in the north they done as a form of

solidarity for their people who die in the north.

Watching what happened in the south depressed Jubril. He finally

revealed his crucial thing to hide during the journey which means reveal his

36

identity as a Muslim. “The sight of a mosque going up in flames had given

him an instant fever, even though he himself had set churches on fire. It was

too much for him, and he wept … he twisted his seat to shield his face from

TV, and in this valley of tears he forgot himself ─and lifted his right wrist to

his face” (Akpan 2008, 318). The picture of burning mosque overwhelmed

Jubril. That picture on television showed the vengeance of south people after

what had happened in north. His thought of south as a secure place vanished.

He forgot his disguising and raised his cut wrist.

Jubril tried to hide it, but it was too late because there were several

passengers saw it. Christian passengers asked him whether he was a Muslim

or not. Actually Jubril want to explain his identity clearly, but the murderous

stares from them made Jubril cancel his intention to give a further

explanation. He admitted himself as a Muslim. The mad Christian passenger

voted Jubril to be kicked out from the bus. Colonel Usenetok woke up

disturbing by the commotion, he saw Jubril’s stump. Stunningly the soldier

help Jubril with the angry crowd ““CUT HIM LOOSE . . . jou wicked

RUF3rebels!” growled colonel Usenetok, finally awakened by the

3 The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year

war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. The Revolutionary United Front initially coalesced as a group of Sierra Leoneans which led National Patriotic Front of Liberia elements across the border in an attempt to replicate Charles Taylor's earlier success in toppling the Liberian government. The RUF was notorious for severing the genital areas of those victims it did not murder, particularly children. In response to the immediate execution of rebels by government forces, the RUF instead instituted a policy of cutting off the hands of captured soldiers with the intent of sending the message, "You don't hold your weapon against your brother." Brandishing machetes, RUF rebels amputated the hands, arms, and legs of tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans.

37

commotion” (Akpan 2008, 321) The soldier misunderstood the cause of

Jubril’s stump. He failed to notice the distinction between religion-prescribed

amputation and amputation of RUF rebellions.

Though the chief already told the soldiers to not bother the crowd

decision for Jubril, the soldiers kept insisting to plead Jubril. Finally the

Christian passengers killed both of them. “The soldiers fought on, unafraid,

because long before the refugees dragged him and Jubril out and slit their

throats…” (Akpan 2008, 322) They thought both of them dead and threw

them outside the bus. “Nduese stood over the two corpses and barked

repeatedly into the heavens. The dog mistook the still twitching, protesting

stump as the sign of life” (Akpan 2008, 322). Jubril did not die actually, he

still raised his stump as the sign that he still alive.

B. World view

Before we conclude the world view of Uwem Akpan in “Luxurious

Hearses” short story, we need to have analysis of two others important point

of Genetic Structuralism which are human fact and collective subject.

a) Human facts

As the writer stated before in the second chapter, human fact is

results of every activity and behavior both verbally and physically

done by a human. These facts could be particular social activity,

38

political activity or even a cultural creation such as art, music, and

literature.

As explained about Nigeria in the second chapter, Nigeria was

ruled by military about 16 years. Political situation in military era

described unstable and full of corruption. The management of oil-

drilling source became the corruption field by the politicians of

military era. Because of corruption, citizen asked them to hand over

the power to the civilians. Military government promised the citizen

the agenda of returning power to the civilian but they just keep

planning without any realization of it. Akpan expressed how he feels

about this political condition.

“Na lie o. . . . I understand dis one,” she insisted. “dat general like power too much o. if he no change handover date may times, if he no cancel our 1993 elections, Abacha no for become our leader. . . .Na de same people. Locust years. De man dey use you. …” (Akpan 2008, 273-274)

As explained in the second chapter, Nigeria’s third president –

Babangida, promised to return the country to civilian rule by 1990

which was later extended until January 1993. In the historic June 12,

1993 presidential elections, which most observers predicted to be

Nigeria's fairest, early returns indicated that wealthy Yoruba

businessman M.K.O. Abiola won a decisive victory. But later on,

Babangida annulled the election which later leaded Nigeria into

39

turmoil. Since Nigeria in a bad condition, Sani Abacha –Defense

Minister assumed power. Abacha dissolved all democratic institutions

and replaced elected governors with military officers. Abacha

extended the agenda of returning power to the civilian until 1997.

Fortunately Abacha died because of heart failure on June 8, 1998 and

was replaced by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. In August 1998

Abubakar appointed the Independent National Electoral Commission

(INEC) to conduct elections for local government councils, state

legislatures and governors, the national assembly, and president. The

transition to the civilian rule finally succeeds after Olegun Obasanjo

elected to be a President on May 1999.

b) Collective Subject

The social class of Nigeria was determined by the division of

administrative which was given by the United Kingdom but as the

time goes by only remained Northern and Southern. Each of the social

class represent ethnic and religious. Northern is predominantly

Muslim and Hausa-Fulani. Southern is predominantly Christian and

Yoruba.

Akpan as the author of the short story represents south because

he was born and spent most of his time in south.

40

c) World view

After analyzing the human facts and collective subject from

Luxurious Hearses, the writer will conclude the world view of Akpan

as an author.

Akpan as an author of Luxurious Hearses considers the

conflict between Muslim and Christian as a result of political activity.

Akpan cited his world view about religious conflict which happened in

Nigeria in his short story when Oprah interviewed him on Oprah’s

collection book club about his short stories collection book –Say

You’re One of Them. He told Oprah and the audience of the show that

religious conflict happened was not because of different faith reason.

“As you can see, people are being manipulated, and religion is very important, and politicians really know how to do this. People in Nigeria are always, you know, they have a political agenda. They tap on religion and they use that as a vehicle to destroy. So these things, you know, many times it begins in northern Nigeria and the southerners who live there are killed and people in the south become very angry, you know, and start killing northerners there out of revenge. And the government has refused, you know, to tackle who sponsors these riots”4 “If we must go back to my country where this story is set, a lot of past leaders and politicians have stolen a lot of money from the country. Billions. And they use this money, you know, to stir up religious violence, you know, to get reelection in that country, you know, to force their candidate who should be the

4http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Oprahs-Book-Club-Say-Youre-One-of-Them-

Webcast-Transcript/12

41

Attorney General of the Federation. Who should hold the petroleum ministry”5 Akpan as the author explicitly explained his world view about

religious conflict which happened in Nigeria was caused by political

activity. He also mentioned the bad of military government when they

ruled the country. The military’s corruption money used to set

religious conflict in order to have a reason to overthrow the elected

president.

Meanwhile in his short story, Akpan also express how his

worldview about who was behind religious conflict.

“Who dey give dis Muslim kids dis fuel?” Monica said.” “Politicians!” Emeka said. “They’re using southern fuel to burn our people and business!” “Nobody go touch our oil again,” Monica said. “dem dey use our oil money to establish Sharia, yet dem done pursue us out of de nord!” (Akpan 2008, 236-237) This quotation was taken from conversation between two

Christian passengers when they watched news about recent situation

of religious conflict from television. The news described that Muslim

kids have fuel to set Christians afire.

Akpan not only explained the bad image but also the good

image of military people. The bad image refers to military people who

rule the country meanwhile the good image represent through one of

5http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Oprahs-Book-Club-Say-Youre-One-of-Them-

Webcast-Transcript/13

42

soldier character in Luxurious Hearses –Colonel Silas Usenetok. He is

loyal to his job –serves the country; in any circumstances.

“Hey, lady,” the soldier said, “I fought in Sierra Leone without pay. Government still hasn’t paid me for a jear now. . . . I didn’t steal jour money!” (Akpan 2008, 284) At the last page of the short story, Colonel Silas Usenetok

killed because he pleaded Jubril after the Christian passengers knew

that Jubril was a Muslim and began to kill Jubril. Akpan cited his

opinion about this soldier’s action.

“He was a soldier fighting with honor, to save citizen. He fought as if he alone could redeem the military’s image from the untold shame and misery it had brought on the country.”(Akpan 2008, 322)

Colonel Silas Usenetok still tried his best to give a good image

after all bad image done by the military people that ruled the country.

This image indicates the worldview of Akpan about the religious

conflict. Although the conflict triggered by the military government

Akpan believes that the military is not to be blamed. The one who is

responsible is the government, not the military, because there are still

many soldiers (presented by Colonel Silas Usenetok in the story) who

are good and loyal to the people of Nigeria.

Akpan uses a Muslim character as the main character and

narrator of the short story while he is a Christian. He tries to show us

43

that he is neutral; he did not take sides either on Muslim or Christian.

Moreover, Akpan’s neutral also can be seen when he also represent

Christian in his short story through Luxurious Hearses bus’

passengers.

The story did not end with the death of any religious character.

Jubril was still alive as well as the Christians passengers of the

Luxurious bus. Once again that Akpan is in neutral position regarding

the religious conflict. It also supports his worldview that religious

conflict in Nigeria was not because of different faith reason.

42

CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION

A. CONCLUSION

Luxurious Hearses is one of the short stories written by Uwem

Akpan in his book “Say You’re One of Them”. It tells about the conflict

between two religions adherents, Muslim and Christian in Nigeria. The

short story focuses on the main character’s life, Jubril, who is a Muslim

and how the conflict among religion adherents ruined his life.

This study using genetic structuralism theory to prove that

Luxurious Hearses short story reflects the reality of what had happened in

Nigeria. The theory emphasizes on the intrinsic elements and extrinsic

elements. Intrinsic elements analyzed the conflict between the main

character and other characters. Meanwhile the extrinsic element analyzed

the historical background of Nigeria.

After analyzing both of elements in the previous chapter, the writer

found some evidences to prove that this short story reflects the reality of

what had happened in Nigeria. Akpan tries to show the reader that

religious conflict caused bad effect to all the people of Nigeria whether

they are Muslim or Christian. He also try to deliver his world view about

what affect religious conflict in Nigeria. Based on his opinion, religious

conflict which occurred in Nigeria is a result of political activity done by

corrupt politician.

43

The reader may also get some information about history of Nigeria

from the short story because Akpan also write some history about Nigeria

in his short story to support his story.

B. SUGGESTION

There are any other problems which can be analyzed from

Luxurious Hearses especially which not taken by the writer. The writer

suggests to the reader to explore more about other problems because the

literary works may shows different meaning in different era.

This research using a genetic structuralism theory to find the

correlation between Jubril’s life in the short story with the reality of what

happened in Nigeria. Because the limitation of time and in order to make

the research specific, the writer focused on Jubril’s characters and

Nigeria’s history. If the readers want to use Luxurious Hearses as the

object of study, they can analyze the ideology behind the writing of

conflict between Muslim and Christian.

45

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Damono, Sapardi Djoko. Sosiologi Sastra Pengantar Ringkas, Ciputat: Editum, 2009

Eagleton, Terry, Marxism and Literary Criticism, USA: University of California Press, 1976

Endaswara, Suwardi, Metodologi Penelitian Sastra, Yogyakarta: Pustaka Widyatama, 2003

Farkhan, Muhammad, Proposal Penelitian Bahasa dan Sastra, Jakarta: Cella, 2007

Faruk, Pengantar Sosiologi Sastra dari Strukturalisme Genetik sampai Post-Modernisme, Yogyakarta: Penerbit Pustaka Pelajar, 2003

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa accesed on July 2nd 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_literature accesed on July 7th 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nigeria accesed on February 9th 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria accesed on February 9th 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uwem_Akpan accesed on November 4th 2009

http://www.indiana.edu/~rcapub/v21n3/p16.html accesed on

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mali/ accesed on April 7th 2010

http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Oprahs-Book-Club-Say-Youre-One-of-Them-Webcast-Transcript

LAYIWOLA, Dele, The subject-object Imperative Women and The Colonial Struggle in Three West African Novels. http.gigapedia.com

Osaghae, Eghosa E and Rotimi T. Suberu, A History of Identities, Violence, and Stability in Nigeria, Univeristy of Oxford, 2005

John de St. Jorre. The Nigerian Civil War. London:Hodder and Stoughton, 1972

Falola, Toyin, and Julius Omozuanvbo Ihonvbere. The Rise and Fall of Nigeria's Second Republic, 1979-1983. London: Zed Books, 1985