Nation building in Africa is a central issue in the process of
African self-determination. This paper interrogates the representation and
the critique of radical Islamism as a religious identity to set up an African
nation. The investigation based on social identity theory, shows that
Islamic fanaticism, in Elnathan John’s Born on a Tuesday, objectifies the
individuals by holding them in a logic of political, economic and religious
predation. It is therefore argued that the Nigerian author defends an
ideology of consensus that promotes religious diversity in the project of
nation building.
Keywords: Africa, Nation Building, Identity, Islam, Radicalism