MIGRANTS’ EXPERIENCES AND HYBRIDIZED IDENTITIES: A LITERARY DISCOURSE ON SELECTED NIGERIAN-AMERICANS RETURNEES

Abstract

This research examines the intersections of border crossing, hybridity, and identity formation in Nigerian literature, with a specific focus on the narratives on Nigerian-Americans returnees. In engaging theories of border studies by Gloria Anzaldúa and Homi Bhabha’s hybridity theory, this research interrogates the ways in which Nigerian literary works negotiate the complexities of cultural identity, belonging, and citizenship in the context of transnational migration. Through a critical-texual analysis of selected literary texts, this study reveals the ways in which returnees' narratives embody the liminal spaces of border crossings, facilitating the emergence of hybridized identities that transcend binary cartographies of nation, culture, and identity. This research contributes to the burgeoning field of border studies, offering nuanced insights into the politics of belonging, cultural citizenship, and the complexities of transnational identity formation.