Ikenna Kamalu

This study investigates the rhetorical description of analogous metaphorical frames involving the mapping of the ontology of the spirit-child onto that of the nation in Ben Okri’s fiction. It is primarily concerned with how the metaphor of “abiku”(spirit-child) is used to provide a criticism/appraisal of ideology, power, politics, identity, and inter-group relationship in Okri’s society. In short, it explores Okri’s use of the rhetoric of metaphorization to signify the “abiku”-nation relationship.