Representations of Nigeria in Francophone African Literature: An Intertextual Analysis

Nigeria appears as a recurrent intertextual presence in francophone African literary discourse, variously constructed as a regional giant, a postcolonial cautionary tale, a cultural powerhouse, and a migration destination, yet these representations have not been systematically analysed across the francophone African literary corpus. This study investigates representations of Nigeria in francophone African fiction published between 2015 and 2024, examining the textual construction of Nigerian identity, space, and culture through an intertextual and postcolonial lens. A qualitative literary analysis methodology was applied to eighteen novels by francophone African authors in which Nigerian characters, settings, or references appear in substantive narrative roles. Authors represented include writers from Senegal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, and Burkina Faso. Intertextual analysis traced how representations of Nigeria in each text relate to broader discursive formations about West African geopolitics, postcolonial nationalism, and Afropolitanism. Results reveal a dominant representation of Nigeria as a site of dynamic if chaotic modernity, characterised by energy, commercial ambition, religious diversity, and cultural creativity. Lagos appears as the most symbolically productive Nigerian space in the corpus, functioning as a West African metropolis of aspiration and risk. Nigerian characters are frequently positioned as mobile agents who navigate multiple linguistic and cultural registers, reflecting perceptions of Nigerian cosmopolitanism. The study argues that francophone literary representations of Nigeria constitute a significant counter-archive to Anglophone self-representations and recommends their inclusion in Nigerian university French literary curricula. Keywords: representations of Nigeria, francophone African literature, intertextual analysis, postcolonialism, Afropolitanism