







































AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         59 
 

HELON HABILA’S WAITING FOR AN ANGEL:  

THE POLITICAL BILDUNGSROMAN 

 

Martha Omotetobore Egbedi 

Department of English Language & Literature 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Akwa 

Email: egbedimartha87@gmail.com 

 

 

Abstract 

This article examines the Bildungsroman tradition in Helon Habila’s Waiting 

for an Angel.It argues that Habila hasmodified and indigenized the form, in 

order to confront thepolitical realities of his time. Most studies on third 

generation Nigerian novels asBildungsromanare female centered. This paper 

concentrates onthe male protagonist’s process of maturationacross 

geographical and social boarders in order to emphasize the flexibility of the 

Bildungsroman and to create gender balance. It also reveals the extent to 

which the selected text represents or reverses features of the Bildungsroman. 

The paper adopts Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social Theory which is built 

on the assumption that interpersonal relationship, apart from early childhood 

experiences play significant role in the development of personality, and argues 

for a close reading and analysis of the novel as a unique example of 

postcolonial Nigerian Bildungsroman. It equally shows a broad extension of 

the genre to include the experience of contemporary Nigerians in Diaspora. 

The findings above imply that third generation Nigerian novelists have 

reformulated and adjusted the form to suit their environment and time. 

 

Keywords: Bildungsroman, Psychoanalytic Social Theory, Diaspora 

 

Introduction 

Helon Habila was born in 1967. He grew up during the period of political 

dysfunction and military dictatorship in Nigeria.Waiting for an Angel, his first 

novel establishes him as one among the voices of a new generation of 

Nigerian Writers whom Pius Adesanmi and Chris Dunton describe as ‘third 

generation’ (7). The novel concentrates on the effects of military dictatorship 

on writers and journalists from the eyes of a youthful protagonist. Habila takes 

the reader through the plane of history, especially, the period of Abacha’s rule 

which is marked by gross human rights abuse, political killings, imprisonment 

of intellectuals and revolt on the part of the masses. Writers, the political class 

and organised civil society were all victims of the state police (Waiting 128). 

According to Ikechukwu Asika, “Habila expresses the situation of terror, 

anguish, victimization, molestation and slavery meted on the citizens of 

Nigeria during military era in politics” (283). Clement Nwankwo adds that: 

“the General Abacha – Babangida junta was marked by gross human rights 

mailto:egbedimartha87@gmail.com


AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         60 
 

abuse, outrageous executions, and imprisonment of human rights activists, 

including Ken Saro – Wiwa. Many intellectuals were either executed or driven 

into exile” (157).  

 

The harsh environment in Nigeria at the time results in mass exodus of 

Nigerians to different parts of the world, to the extent that the Nigerian 

government launched an advert of “Andrew” (Enebeli Elebuwa who died in 

2012) who had become fed-up with the Nigerian situation and wanted to 

“check – out”. It turned out to be a vain attempt at assuring Nigerians that 

their problems will soon be a thing of the past. Since then, many “Andrews” 

have left the shores of Nigeria, had children and grandchildren, without any 

hope of ever returning to their motherland. More so, since the Nigerian 

situation seems to be getting worse. 

 

A literary renaissance began with Nigerians who left the country and 

Nigerians who were born abroad and still living in diaspora. Failure of both 

military and democratic rules in Nigeria since independence created the room 

to shift their themes to the life of young or adolescent protagonists, trying to 

construct identity for themselves.Thus, most of their novels display features of 

the Bildungsroman tradition. 

 

The Bildungsroman Source 

Bildungsroman is a German term for novels that follow the physical, spiritual, 

mental, moral and psychological growth of the main character in which 

change is vital. The goal of maturity or integration is achieved gradually with 

difficulty, after painful experiences and encounters with the outside world. 

Karl Morgenstern who first used the term define it thus: “we may call a novel 

a Bildungsroman, first and foremost on account of its content, but also 

represents the development of the hero in its beginning and progresses to a 

certain state of completeness, but also, because the depiction promotes the 

development of the reader to a greater extent than any other novel” (644-45). 

One peculiarity of the Bildungsroman according to Mikhail Bakhtin is that it 

describes“a man in the process of becoming” (19). The focus on youth as a 

crucial stage in human development and change in the main character 

differentiates the form from other novels that deal with youthful protagonists. 

As the Bildungsroman spreadsto other cultures of the world, it adapts to 

changes with variations and slight modifications to suit its new environment. 

Jerome Hamilton Buckley stresses that the form occurs according to a specific 

pattern and mentions key elements of a typical Bildungsroman such as 

childhood, journey, alienation,ordeal by love, mentorship,the search for a 

vocationand a working philosophy” (18). He asserts that no single novel 

precisely follows this pattern, but none that ignores more than two or three of 

the principal elements answers the the requirement of a Bildungsroman. 

Scholars of African literature have notoutlined what should constitute 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         61 
 

distinctive features of the African Bildungsroman. They are concerned with 

just applying the European model into African Literature. This is why 

Buckley’s description of the structure of the form, which is popular among 

critics, will be useful to this study. 

 

Third generation Nigerian novelists seem to be narrating the tortuous events 

of their growing up years which is a unique experience. This is why the 

Bildungsroman in this context is not just a physical journey of integration or 

accommodation into the society, but, the dominant feature is change. The 

change is not just physical, but also psychological.Thenovelslack harmonious 

reconciliation of the protagonist with the society, but emphasises that 

economic and socio – political factors prevent the protagonist from achieving 

self – realisation. Hence, the protagonist needs a second journey.   The import 

of this study lies in the fact that the journey of the protagonist is a unique 

contribution, and example of variations in third generation 

NigerianBildungsroman.  To locate these distinctions, the socio-cultural 

context of the novel is considered. This determines the growth process of the 

protagonists from childlike features to a more mature understanding of his 

world and situation. This is so because according to Karen Horney, the 

environment plays a significant role in the maturation process of the 

individual.  Horney’s psychoanalytic social theory explains human 

behavioural problems in terms of its social and cultural context.People who 

grow up under favourable conditions turn out to be responsible human-beings. 

Those whose need for affection is denied develop basic anxiety which they 

combat by moving towards, moving against or moving away from people 

(NewWays, 18). 

 

Waiting for an Angel: The Political Bildungsroman 

The narrative maps out the growth of Lomba frompolitical ignorance to 

awareness. Waiting is exclusively realised through the character of Lomba. 

His early childhood experience is unknown. However, Lomba’s reaction to his 

environment enables us to analyse his character. According to Horney, people 

develop basic anxiety due to unfavourable conditions or hostile environment 

(Self…91). The narrative begins with Lomba in prison, weaving other 

characters and ends with series of events that leads do his arrest and 

detention.WaitingforanAngel is a Bildungsroman since itfollows the main 

character’spsychologicaland moral development, and consists of features such 

as (a) Childhood, (b) Education and Career, (c)Family and Friendship, (d) 

Experience of Love Affairs, (e) Mentorship (f)The portrait of Lomba as a 

Journalist.  

 

Childhood 

Habila does not provide the reader with details of Lomba’s childhood years, 

his family or the environment where he comes from in the northern part of the 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         62 
 

country. The narrative introduces Lomba as an undergraduate in an unnamed 

university in Lagos. Habila deviates from the traditional pattern that requires 

childhood experiences of the protagonist as a characteristic of the male 

Bildungsroman (Buckley 18). Lomba seems to be an orphan character in the 

text, since no mention is made of his family background. He is made to seek a 

substitute family in Lagos where he spends his vacations with Bola and other 

characters who facilitates his Bildung. In this respect, the narrative follows the 

female pattern whose growth begins from adolescence. 

 

Education and Career 

Lomba moves into a larger society where he encounters real life. He is an 

intelligent student who prefers to spend his leisure hours with his lecturer, Dr 

Kareem, in his office. He enjoys “discussing his poetry with the older lecturer 

…. To have his poems discussed and argued; it gave him a kind of vague 

hope, a sense of place in the larger scheme of things” (Waiting 80).  The 

university plays a significant role in Lomba’s career as an intellectual. He 

expresses his artistic talents for writing poems and short stories. Lomba’s 

desire to be published is so strong that he tells Alice, “I’ll become a writer. 

Novels and poems” (Waiting 91).  He is forced to drop out in the second year 

due to military intervention and incessant closure of the school. The trauma of 

the loss of his roommate’s family and the destruction of his literary works by 

the military facilitate his exit from the university. According to Lomba, “when 

school began to look like prison, I had to get out” (Waiting 107). The fact that 

Lomba’s university education is incomplete marks a deviation from the 

requirements of the standard of a typical Bildungsroman. Nevertheless, he 

undergoes and completes informal education under the tutelage of his mentor 

and role model, James Fiki. 

 

Family and Friendship 

Regarding family and friendship, Lomba’s only best friend is Bola, his 

roommate in the university. Lomba describes Bola as a person that is so 

trusting, so guileless and loyal (57). He is not alienated from Bola’s family. 

He states: “I started spending my vacations with his family after the first 

semester” (58). Bola is carried away in the wave of students’ protest against 

the military government. He joins the other students in the rally instigated by 

Sankara, the president of the students’ union. That night, he had a terrible 

dream about “dead bodies and fire” (Waiting, 47). Bola’s personal tragedy 

only one day after the students’ demonstration affects Lomba. His dream for 

the future is crushed as he abandons school and chooses a life of solitude in 

his one room apartment on Morgan Street. This is in line with Horneyan 

principle that the protagonist moves away from people to combat basic 

anxiety (Self…, 91). Though he retreats into his own world, the narrative 

entangles him and makes him part of the political struggle against oppressive 

domination of the military. Lomba remains in his room for two years, trying, 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         63 
 

without success, to write a novel. Lomba talks less to his neighbours. Apart 

from Bola, Lomba’s short interaction with Kela encourages him to cover the 

demonstration. Habila gives little attention to family and friendship in the 

novel. 

 

Experience of Love Affairs 

A typical Bildungsroman hero must undergo two obligatory love affairs. 

Buckley states that one must be debasing and the other exalting (18). Lomba 

had love affairs with two different women, Alice and Sariman, who abandon 

him for other men. Lomba first meets Alice in Dr Kareem’s office. Alice is 

described as the not too intelligent daughter of a General (Waiting, 83). 

Nevertheless, she manages to complete her university education. With Alice, 

Lomba experiences romantic love. Their love affair is short and brief, 

disrupted by military intervention. Lomba meets Alice many years after, while 

covering an article for The Dial at the Mercy Hospital. She still loves him, but 

she cannot marry him because she needs money to pay for her mother’s 

medical bills (Waiting,100). Lomba encounters Alice a third time while in 

prison from her wedding photographs, which he found in an old newspaper.  

As Lomba looks at the photographs, all he could see is Alice’s pleading eyes, 

begging and saying: “Lomba, I am sorry, so sorry. You must hate me now. Do 

you?” (Waiting, 101). Lomba dedicates most of his prison poems to Alice, just 

as he had promised.  

 

Sariman walks out of Lomba’s life, having lived together with him for one 

year. Like Alice, she abandons Lomba for economic reasons. Lomba also 

loves Sariman sincerely. He states that he “tries to ignore the pain in the 

bleeding hollow where his heart used to be” (Waiting,187). Sariman consoles 

the poor Lomba, “You’ll find somebody else, you’ll love again” 

(Waiting,196). Although Lomba engages in two love affairs, both 

relationships leave him shattered. His mentor tells him: “Don’t worry about 

her, you’ll find love again” (Waitin, 271). His relationship with Alice and, 

later, Sariman is shattered by lack of economic sustenance.  Lomba never 

experiences real love. The reader gets the impression that Lomba’s love for 

Alice kept him strong even though it is not reciprocated. Habila’s portrayal of 

two unsuccessful love affairs deviates from Buckley’s standards.   

 

Mentorship 

The first mentor Lomba encounters is Dr Kazeem. He discovers Lomba’s 

artistic talents and invites his friend, James Fiki, the editor of TheDial, to the 

listen to his reading. James publishes Lomba’s essay unaltered and tells him: 

“Come, write for us when you graduate” (Waiting,107). When Lomba drops 

out of school, James offers him a job in art and culture department.  Lomba 

desires to be a novelist. He had hoped that he could even win the 

commonwealth prize for Literature. James helps Lomba to see beyond the 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         64 
 

self, and takes him through series of awakenings. He tells Lomba: “We are 

talking theory now because in reality you won’t a publisher for it in this 

country...Nigeria was thrown of commonwealth of nations this morning” 

(Waiting, 192)Lomba accepts training from his mentor and undergoes 

complete change by the end of the narrative. 

 

The Portrait of Lomba as a Journalist 

 When Lomba drops out of school, he continues to write in the solitary of his 

one room apartment on Morgan Street. He later turns to James for a job. 

Lomba rejects his first political assignment for The 

DialNewspaperwhenhestates: “I am not very political” (Waiting, 108). James 

informs him that it is very difficult to escape politics because “In this country, 

the air we breathe is politics” (Waiting 108). Government’s unending 

transition programmes, coupled with fuel scarcity and political unrest, is what 

James calls “the general disillusionment” (Waiting, 108).  

 

James reminds Lomba again: “Everything is politics in this country, don’t 

forget that” (Waiting, 113). He leads Lomba to see the symbiotic relationship 

between arts and politics. Lomba experiences complete awakening and 

acceptance of his limitations. What emerges is shame and complete silence: 

“suddenly, he felt ashamed that he has shown himself to be insensitive, even 

morally wanting. He nods, “I understood … I am sorry: James is his mentor; 

the one person he’d choose if he were to choose a role model” (Waiting,193). 

He experiences complete change of attitude as he accompanies James to 

Bagadary slave port. James tells him “sorry I had to be brutal – but you need 

it. You can’t write with chains in your hands… we are in this together” 

(Waiting, 193). James urges Lomba to follow his steps closely. 

 

The lesson is direct and effective, like a blow to Lomba’s stomach.  He 

comprehends fully the challenges of journalism in a military state. James 

knows that “there will be a few bruises, even death” (Waiting, 195). But he 

persuades Lomba to cover the demonstration. He takes Lomba along with him 

as he attends a writers retreat. Lomba becomes aware that writers are not 

afraid of arrest, imprisonment or even death. He bonds with known and 

unknown journalists and writers as they continue to fight against injustice and 

oppression. Lomba accepts training from his mentor and experiences complete 

metamorphosis when he states flatly: “I have to cover the demonstration” 

(Waiting, 218). Although Lomba is arrested, he does not regret his decision. 

He continues to write in prison. 

 

Lomba’s Bildung is complete when he becomes accommodated into the 

society of writers. He allows James to mentor him to self – realisation as he 

follows James to a gathering of poets, where James refuses the offer to leave 

the country in order to escape arrest or possible death. Lomba observes that 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         65 
 

James “looks old …so grey, so wrinkled, so bowed, so tired” (Waiting,216), 

but his determination to use his pen as weapon of freedom against state 

oppression inspires Lomba.  His contact with poets, novelists and journalists 

in the residence of Emeka Davis further heightens his determination to cover 

the peaceful demonstration. These gentlemen of the pen are not afraid of 

arrest. A female painter advises Lomba, “you really must get arrested, that’s 

the quickest way to make it as a poet. You’ll have no problem with visas after 

that, you might even get an international award” (Waiting, 215).  Although 

Lomba does not want to be arrested, he realises that “it is important to agitate 

against injustice, no matter the consequences” (Waiting,127). He goes ahead 

to cover the demonstration despite the likelihood of an arrest, showing that he 

has come to a self- realisation that the popularity of a writer is tied to his arrest 

and imprisonment as earlier stated by the female painter.  Lomba also notes 

the defiant attitude of the writers when he informed them that TheDial office 

has been razed down. One of the young poets responds, “I’ll write that into 

my new poem,” while another said that, “I’ll use it as a prologue to my new 

book, it’s just the symbolism I’ve been searching for” (Waiting,213).  

 

Lomba has come to the cognition that as a writer, he has made himself an 

enemy of the state. He decides to answer the call of journalism. Like other 

journalists, he states, “I have to cover a demonstration” (Waiting,219). By 

accepting to cover the demonstration, Lomba recognises his new status which 

aptly locates the novel within the Bildungsroman tradition.  Lomba seeks to 

be arrested in order to gain self – advancement and popularity that might help 

him, “get out of this fucking country” (Waiting, 215). Lomba’s arrest and 

imprisonment remind the reader of the symbol of oppression in form of the 

slaves’ mouth – locks.  Lomba is not allowed a lawyer, visitors or any means 

of voicing. According to him, “I have been forgotten” (Waiting,15). Lomba 

refuses to be silenced by prison chains; he finds a way of personal expression 

by keeping a secret diary. In prison, Lomba continues as a journalist and poet, 

writing letters and poems to express freedom of his imagination. Lomba 

decides to dedicate his life to journalism and experiences complete 

metamorphosis at the end of the novel.  

 

Conclusion 

Waiting for an Angel reflects the socio-political concerns of neo-colonial 

Nigeria. The seemingly endless challenges faced by the protagonist inhibit his 

growth/development and make it impossible for him to come to an end point 

in his journey. It is hoped that upon Lomba’s release from prison, he would 

continue with the profession of journalism.Waiting for an Angel presents an 

older hero who matures from ignorance to awareness. He experiences self-

discovery and change, as determining factors of a successful 

Bildungsroman.The novel also educates the readers who follow closely and 

carefully the mistakes and successe of the protagonist and learn from them.  



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         66 
 

Works Cited 

Adééko, Adéléke. “Power Shift: America in the New Nigerian Imagination.” 

Global South, Vol. 2, no. 2, 2008, pp. 10 – 30. https://english. osu. 

edu. 

Adesanmi, Pius, and Chris Dunton, “Nigerian Third Generation Writing: 

Historiography and Preliminary Theatrical Considerations.” English in 

Africa, Vol. 32, no. 1, 2005, pp. 7 – 19. JSTOR, https://www. jstor  

Asika, Ikechukwu, “Military Dictatorship in Nigeria: AStudyof HelonHabila’s 

Waiting for an Angel and Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah.” 

AfricanResearchReview, Vol 5, no. 3, 2011, pp. 275 – 298. 

https://www. The book banque 

Bakhtin,Milhail M. “The Bildungsroman and its Significance in the History of 

Realism (Towards a Historical Typology of the Novel).” Speech 

Genres and Other Late Essays. Edited by Michael Holoquist. United 

of Texas Press, 1986. 

Boes, Tobias. “Modernist Studies and the Bildungsroman: A Historical 

Survey of Critical Trends.” LiteratureCompass, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2006. 

pp. 230 – 234.  

Buckley, Jerome Hamilton. Season of Youth: The Bildungsroman from 

Dickson to Golding.  Harvard UP, 1974. 

Collins, Walter, P. Tracing Personal Expansion: Reading Selected Novels as 

Modern African Bildungsroman.  U P of America, 2006.  

Coker, Oluwole. “Between Law and Literature: The Quest for Justice in Post 

– Independence Nigerian Fiction.” Marang: Journal of Language and 

Literature, Vol. 24, 2014, pp. 137 – 157. 

---. “Theorizing Third – Generation Nigerian Novels.” The Guardian Nigerian 

Newspaper Online, 23 April 2017. http://guardian. >theori... 

Garuba, Harry. “The Unbearable Lightness of Being: Re-figuring Trends in 

Recent Nigerian Poetry.” English in Africa, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2005, pp. 

51-72.  

Golban, Petru. A Modernist Insight into Character Formation: 

TheBildungsroman and its Thematic Perspective in Jacob Room.  

Iridous Varsity Press. 2015. 

---. AHistoryoftheBildungsromanfromAncientBeginningtoRomantism. 

Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2017.  

Habila, Helon. Waiting for an Angel. Penguin 2002. 

Horney, Karen. New Ways in Psychoanalysis.  W.W. Norton, 1940. 

--- Neurosis and Human Growth.  W. W. Norton, 1950. 

Mikelson, David. “The Bildungsroman in Africa: A Case of Mission 

Terminee.” TheFrench Review. Vol. 59, no. 3, 1986, pp. 418-427. 

Morgenstern, Karl. “On the Nature of the Bildungsroman.” Translated by 

Tobias Boes PLMA.Vol. 124, No, 2, 2009. pp. 641-659. 

Nwankwo, Clement. “Monitoring Nigeria’s Election.” Journal of Democracy. 

Vol. 10, no. 4, 1999. pp. 156 – 165. 

https://english/
https://www/
https://www/
http://guardian/


AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 Egbedi                         67 
 

Nnolim, Charles. “African Literature of the 21st Century: Challenges for 

Writers and Critics.” New Directions in African Literature. Vol. 25, 

2006, pp. 1-9.  

---. Issues in African Literature.Malt house Limited, 2010.  

Okuyade, Ogaga. “Weaving Memories of Childhood: The New African Novel 

and the Genre of the Bildungsroman.” Ariel: A Review of International 

English Literature. Vol. 4, no. 13, 2011, pp. 137-16 

Terhemba, Sija. “The Nigerian Fiction of the 21st Century and its 

Postmodernist Imperative.” JournalofLiterature, Language and 

Linguistics. Vol. 14, 2015, pp. 1-7.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


