Beyond Storytelling: Conceptualizing Economic Principles in Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Economic principles about Africa have ignored the contributions of African literature. For scholars in the social sciences, African literature has no business in economic theorizing. The role of African writers, many think, is simply to tell African stories, discuss African cultures, and address social issues within the continent. African literature goes beyond these; it contains fascinating economic projections that can support the development of a better economic model for Africa. This paper argues that African literature is a philosophical text that transcends beyond stories on African cultural heritage. Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah will serve as my primary text for analysis. In order to understand how African writers function as economic thinkers, I situate Ifemelu’s blogging and Obinze’s enterprising formation within the economic theory of entrepreneurship. In Mariama’s hair braiding salon, I foreground Adichie’s projection for vocation, and with the narrative on Edusco, I conceptualize the idea of the Igbo apprenticeship model, Igba-Odibo.