Call for Book Chapters: “Japa-ing” to Freedom or/and Slavery
Back in 2001, Simon Gikandi in “Globalization and the Claims of Postcoloniality” discussed the unfortunate case of two dead Guinean boys whose bodies were found in the cargo hold of a plane, stowed away in the bowels of slave ships. The unnamed boys were desperate to go to Europe. The on-going mass exodus of young people from Nigeria (called “japa”) can be read as a contemporary re-enactment of the ideas that drove those Guinea boys to “choose” a deadly migration journey.
“Japa” is a Yoruba, Nigerian concept that means to run away or make a quick exit to freedom/”better life.” For the “japa generation,” the “japa syndrome” is rooted in the notion that freedom (political, spiritual, economic, etc.) will certainly be available to them in “developed” countries, Canada specifically. While slavery denotes being moved by an external force, contemporary narratives suggest that one may choose to enslave oneself as a road to freedom.
This multidisciplinary book project aims to draw attention to the “japa” phenomenon. It invites contributions from scholars of all disciplines that examine the varying notions of slavery and freedom as they intersect with older and contemporary migrations (free and forced) from the African continent to Europe and America – the conditions that make people leave, and the experiences that await them at their destinations.
We are interested in scholarly writings, feature articles, and creative writing that respond to questions related to the following:
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What causes people to “japa” and what are the aftermaths of “japa-ing”?
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What does it mean to be enslaved through migration?
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And for vulnerable and “at risk” peoples, is the road to freedom akin to the journey to enslavement?
We have currently secured the interest of McGill-Queen’s University Press in this book idea. To participate in the project, we request that you submit a 250-word abstract and a 50-word bio to Chinelo Ezenwa, Memorial University, cezenwa@mun.ca and Titi Aiyegbusi, University of Toronto, titi.aiyegbusi@mail.utoronto.ca. Send any questions/comments to cezenwa@mun.ca. Deadline to submit: October 31, 2025
Image from Microsoft Word