Global Journal of Human Social Science, G: Linguistics and Education, Volume 21 Issue 4

© 2021. Umar Saje & Mal. Inuwa Mahmud. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) , permitting all non- commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Literature, Modernity and Cultural Atavism in Aliyu Kamal’s Somewhere Somehow By Umar Saje & Mal. Inuwa Mahmud Sule Lamido University Abstract- In Africa, especially in Nigeria, the issue of cultural clash and the dilemma involved in the process is one of the predominant themes largely treated by renowned writers such as Chinua Achebe (1958), Cyprian Ekwensi (1963), Elechi Amadi (1966), Wole Soyinka (1975) and Labo Yari (1978), to mention a few. Using postcolonial theory as a potent analytical tool, attempt is made in this paper to critically examine Aliyu Kamal’s latest novel – Somewhere Somehow (2019) and portray how he employs it to interrogate the tragic social and psychological effect of modernization/colonialism. The story elaborately discusses the issue of skin bleaching – a corollary of colonialism which has become very pervasive among the uneducated ladies with dark skin in northern Nigeria. Habi and Jiniya, the heroines, who blindly believe that boys, particularly in Kano – where the novel is set, pine after light-skinned girls even if they were to appear as witches, engage in bleaching that ultimately makes their skins like “wankan tarwada” a Hausa terminology that suggests an undefined colour. The paper also depicts how marital peace eludes the bleachers’ homes in addition to the tragedy that befalls on them all as a result of aping western culture. Jiniya dies due to skin cancer (leukaemia) and Habi suffers double tragedy: divorce and miscarriage. Keywords: literature, culture, africa, womanhood, modernity. GJHSS-G Classification: FOR Code: 200399 LiteratureModernityandCulturalAtavisminAliyuKamalsSomewhereSomehow Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of: Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: G Linguistics & Education Volume 21 Issue 4 Version 1.0 Year 2021 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X