African And Global Crises In Wale Okediran’s Strange Encounters And Emmanuel Ojukwu’s Sunset For Mr Goodman

African literature has consistently served as a medium for interrogating social, political, economic and moral challenges confronting society. It is not merely a means for entertainment, but an instrument for exposing societal contradictions, injustices and crises that undermine human existence. This analysis examines how Wale Okediran’s Strange Encounters and Emmanuel Ojukwu’s Sunset for Mr. Goodman represent African and global crises. Through textual analysis, the paper explores themes such as corruption, moral decadence, abuse of human rights, injustice, ethnic discrimination, political oppression, war and institutional failure as reflected in the selected texts. The study adopts Marxist Literary Theory as its theoretical framework, given its focus on class relations, power structures, exploitation, and social inequality. Although both novels represent institutional failure, abuse of power and the vulnerability of ordinary people, they differ in the dominant forms through which crisis is experienced. Strange Encounters foregrounds corruption and moral decadence within post-independence Nigerian institutions, while Sunset for Mr. Goodman foregrounds war, ethnic discrimination, political oppression and broader human-rights violations. It is in this light, that the paper argues that literature functions as a social force capable of provoking critical consciousness and inspiring societal transformation. It concludes that African literature remains relevant in addressing contemporary global crises, by serving as a voice of resistance, advocacy for justice, accountability and social criticism.