HISTORY AND FICTION IN HELON HABILA'S WAITING FOR AN ANGEL

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between history and fiction in
Helon Habila's debut novel, Waiting for an Angel (2002). Drawing on
Anyoku's (2008) assertion that Habila's works illuminate "the
incessant traffic" between historical and fictional discourse, the
research employs conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson,
2003) and mind style analysis (Fowler, 1977; Semino, 2002), together
with narratological frameworks of the implied author (Genette, 1988)
, to analyse how Habila interweaves fictional characters with historical
figures—including MKO Abiola, General Shehu Yar’adua, Dele Giwa
and Kudirat Abiola. The analysis identifies three key strategies: the
documentary anchoring of narrative through named historical
figures, the symbolic transformation of individuals into icons of
democratic struggle, and the moral framing of military rule through
conceptual metaphor. The study reveals that the novel functions as a
site of collective memory construction, combining fiction and nonfiction to bear witness to Nigeria's military era. The findings show that
Habila's work belongs to the tradition of the socially conscious
Nigerian novel, while demonstrating how his particular blend of
history and fiction creates a mode of writing that does not merely
represent the past but actively shapes how it will be remembered.