My work examines the notion of human contradictions, trauma, loss, oppression, religion, and gender roles. I apply my fantasy and alternate history fiction work, with a preference for mythical realism and horror, as a platform that depicts death, oppression, fears, and hauntings. I draw inspiration from my Nigerian roots to engage with some themes that concern the world and myself, ranging from imperialism to migration, ethnicity, and global poverty. Both my research and creative work contribute to African and Ethnicity studies, Trauma, Women's Gender Studies, and the genres of fantasy and speculative fiction. This research statement discusses my past work in the area of migration and gender. It also discusses my current work in the area of mythical realism, alternate history, and trauma, as well as my methodological approaches.

Over the past years, I have written short stories and academic articles that grapple with the non-western perspective of race and gender, migration, and the provision of an alternate historical event that happened in Nigeria. An example is the article that got accepted and published by the University of New Orleans’ journal titled Beyond the Margins. My article “Identity in the 21st Century Nigerian Fiction: A Case Study of Blackass by Igoni A. Barrett” interacts with the Nigerian literary text, Blackass about a Black man transforming into a white man overnight. It is a satire of race and it is perceived in an African environment, inspired by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. This paper required the application of gender and race theories to navigate the theme of ethnicity that is further pronounced in the novel through bibliographical research. Meanwhile, a flash fiction story titled “Lost at Sea” fictionalizes my migration experience from Nigeria to the United States through the genre of myth and haunting. It answers the question of transitioning from one culture to another and learning to adapt to a different landscape beyond postcolonial boundaries. This flash fiction is featured online in the Flash Fiction magazine.

On the other hand, my current work studies the art of mythmaking, myth as an aspect of magical realism, and the use of this particular genre by postcolonial writers. It also imagines the events that transpired during a bomb blast in Ikeja, Nigeria through the lives of a grieving family. It touches on global poverty with a focus on a specific place located in Lagos, Nigeria. One of my current works is an article titled “The Use of Mythical Realism as a Lens for Postcolonial Experiences in Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater” and it recently got accepted for a presentation at the 2023 Southern Humanities Conference. Another is the story about an alternate history that has been accepted for a reading at the 26th ASU Writers Conference in honor of Elmer Kelton which takes place next year. It is titled “Once We Were” and follows a family as they deal with the loss of their loved ones who are victims of a bomb blast that occurs in Ikeja city, Nigeria. Some of my other recent works are various pieces of short fiction that consider haunting, loss, grief, trauma, and global poverty with an extension to African and Women's Gender studies.