Troubled West African Childhood and Child Soldiering in Ahmadou Kourouma’s Allah is not Obliged

Abstract

Ahmadou Kourouma’s Francophone West African novel Allah n’est pas oblige (2000) may be reckoned as the earliest denouncement of child soldiering practice. The text came on French literary scene in 2000. Its English translation by Frank Wynne appeared in 2006 and the novel became known to the English world. Since its publication, the novel has garnered much attention from the literary scholars. Kourouma’s text describes the disastrous coming-of-age of Birahima who receives uneven development due to unhealthy African conditions. The present analysis of Kourouma’s text seeks to understand the stunted psychological, moral and social growth of Birahima in war conditions. His process of formation (actually deformation) can render the course of the development of the child soldiers in Africa. It can be said that Birahima’s character is affected by unfavourable familial, social and political conditions of West Africa. This leads him towards his moral aberration, and he has to become a child soldier. Being drug addicted, he kills many innocent people.