Furthermore, the Nigerian civil war of 1966-1970 also brought with it a wave of awareness to women and their representation in Nigerian literature took a new turn. Nwapa's Women at War for example, catalogues the events of the war from the point of view of women. She presents women as the unsung heroes of the war. If men fought militarized battles with canons and guns, women similarly fought against the forces of air-raids, hunger and diseases in addition to physical and moral rape. Henceforth, women's roles could no longer be over looked and they realized their own abilities and contributions to their societies.

This new dimension given to the role of women in Nigerian literature gave second generation Nigerian writers a better view of women. Coupled with the Marxist, Leninist and feminist tendencies of the time, Nigerian writers of the late 1970s and 1980s were more plausible in their representation of women. Indeed, writers such as Femi Osofisan would go all the way back into history to recreate the dynamism and resourcefulness of women like Moremi to which the playwright refers to as a discovery of a sweet-thing, hence the title, Morountodun.

Moremi, a woman of "tremendous courage" (pp35-36), stakes her life to bring peace to her people because "our men tremble by their household shrines, their prayers stuck in their teeth. Our warriors are beginning to babble like Obatala's misfits… your priests are again going to pieces in helpless rage, their vaunted charms, now impotent like Osanyin left in the rain" (p 37). Finally, to convince her husband, Oronmiyon, of the urgent need for something to be done she says, "when muscles slacken suddenly in the midst of dispute, they say it is time to use other tactics. I Must Go" (p 38). Such literary depiction of the courage of the female especially, by the male writers, was non-existent amongst first generation writers.

Similarly Fred Agbeyegbe in the play The King Must Dance Naked, demystifies the kingship institution where only men must rule by tactically making a woman king. Also, in Bode Sowande's Farewell to Babylon the Marxian revolution that seeks to bring change in the society is masterminded by women. In fact, a woman plays the role of a commander in the struggle.

Among their counterparts from the northern states of the country, women were also positively represented during this period. In the Hausa novels of Abubakar Imam, Magana Jari Ce for instance, the story of Queen Amina of Zaria is retold with a flavour that gladdens the heart just as other women are seen as agents of social change, political control, moral guides and communal counsellors. Also, Aliyu Nasidi's poetry of colonial struggle in northern Nigeria glorifies the strength or powers of women as farmers of 'wild'chiefs and other cadres of traditional leadership.
 
Also, Zainab Alkali's The Descendants (2005) is worth a mention. In this work, Seytu is portrayed as rising from a very humble background to become a medical doctor. One of the closest to this kind of elevation of the female has been in Chukwuemeka Ike's Sunset at Dawn, where a female is presented as a radiographer. Consequent upon these writings by men and also due to the fact that more women began in earnest, to write about their unending problems, their awakening have spurred the conscience of the male writers to represent the female gender in a more realistic manner.

Finally, as women and men with sympathetic feelings to the woman's cause continue to recreate the image of women as they see them, our national literature will eventually wear its proper garment and stand out to compete for instance, with Francophone literature especially, the works of Sembene Ousmane who is able to strike a balance between his male and female characters. It is sad to point out here, that two of Africa's best read authors, indeed, Nigeria 's very own Achebe and Soyinka have failed in their works to create an outstanding female character in the semblance of Osofisan's recreation of Moremi. A character who is rounded enough as to exhibit leadership qualities or one that can emancipate herself and others like her from oppressive circumstances within their works.

To conclude, it is pertinent to commend efforts made by second generation and contemporary writers for the positive shift in women's roles in our literatures from the traditional portrayal of the status of women as persons relating always to others and depending on others especially the men, for every decision, to the 'new woman' image who possesses a well-controlled determination to get what she wants through her own articulations.

It is heart-warming therefore, that this generation of writers have seen the significant contribution of women to society as to want to break historical, cultural and mythical barriers as to represent them in their proper perspectives. Women are no longer accepting representations in our literature as mere biological species but as a social class to be reckoned with.

Dr. Muhammed, a lecturer at the University of Maidguru, presented this paper at ANA Lagos and WRITA Lagos special Lovers' Day reading on February 10