Paper short abstract:

Using the case of mass visa denial and deportation of Africans by UAE, this study will explore how the future desired by emigrating Nigerian youths is truncated by fluctuating immigration policies, a reality deflected by the collocation of migrational futurity with futurism in Africanfuturism.

Paper long abstract:

Up till 2022, Dubai was the haven, the promised land of most young Nigerians and Africans. Not only was it a thing of prestige to go to Dubai regardless of the purpose of one’s visit, but it was also relatively easy to get the needed visa. This changed when, following a series of criminal activities by Nigerians in UAE, the Middle Eastern country placed a visa ban on all citizens of Nigeria, Ghana, and 18 other African countries. Using this incident as a case study, the intention of this proposed paper presentation is to make a statement about how the hope of futurity nursed by Nigerian youths, from students and tech bros to celebrities, slay queens, and young hustling online vendors, who emigrate to Dubai and other countries of greener-grass, are truncated by harsh immigration policies birthed through the influence of subtle and overt racism, colorism, and ‘bad’ nationalism. The reality of truncated futurity experienced by Nigerian youths who are societally indoctrinated to embrace a positive outlook on outward mobility is complicated by the troubling collocation of youthful emigrational futurity with the eutopian ideal of futurism in literary sub-genres like Afro- and Africanfuturism. Nnedi Okorafor’s "Who Fears Death" is an example of a speculative fictional text that tilts toward the ideology of associating bright futures with henceforward. In the paper, the intent is to draw from the literary worldbuilding and characterization in Who Fears Death while exploring the intricacies of politically motivated botched futurities experienced by Nigerian youths.