African Journals OnLine
Humanities Review Journal

Volume 1 Number 1, June 2001
Abstracts

FICTIONALITY AND THE LITERATURE OF TRAVEL: THE NARRATIVE IMAGINATION IN HEINRICH BARTH'S TRAVELS AND DISCOVERIES

Ibrahim Bello-Kano, Ph.D.

As the title of the text implies, there is a story of travel and observation organized around a central subject, and the text as a whole is this subject's story of the story of (his travels in) the Sudan. It is thus the union of event and action that “gives” Travels and Discoveries a plot-structure. From the literary perspective, this paper has found that the study of Barth as a storyteller, a narrativist and an embellisher need not be any less instructive, profound or liberating than the study of Barth as a historian. We posit in this paper that Literary Criticism should begin to engage with the whole range of cultural practices and textual organizations, not just narrowly fictional works such as novels and poems. Only then can the literary critic demonstrate, and make sense of the historical, political, and literary effectiveness that textuality has had, and will continue to have, on the broad cultural, epistemological, and pedagogic fields.

THE DIALECTIC OF `THEM AND US': POWER PLAY IN SAM UKALA'S THE PLACENTA OF DEATH

Jude Agho, Ph.D.

Sam Ukala, a versatile playwright and dramatist, has done much to develop the aesthetic principle of folkism into an enduring dramatic form. In this study, we examine how he encourages the oppressed and exploited peoples of the earth to strive to unsettle their oppressors as a first step towards achieving for themselves freedom and respect. Specifically, in his play The Placenta of Death, Ukala transmutes a folktale on the theme of misrule, high-handedness, rivalry and other such related human weaknesses into a powerful parable for characterizing the ill health of the Nigerian polity.

SPREADING THE WORD AND THE CULTURE: THE STAGE AND SCREEN AS ROSTRA FOR NIGERIA'S DEMOCRACY

Foluke Ogunleye, Ph.D.

Democracy in more ways than one, is a novel experience in Nigeria. To make it work, it is necessary to utilize all the tools at our disposal to inculcate democratic values into the minds of citizens. There is a necessity for re-socializing, re-engineering and repositioning to neutralize some attitudinal poisons swimming through our political and ideological bloodstream. This study examines how this re-socialization can be accomplished through drama, both on stage and the screen. We also make recommendations as to what the form and content of such plays should be. This study concludes that effective citizenship education through the mass media and theatre, which teaches the act of participation and effecting positive change within communities, is inevitable for the development of a lasting commitment to civic participation.

Sustainable development in unstable societies: The Dilemma of Communication Research in Africa

Noma owens-ibie, Ph. D.

The major thesis of this paper has been that communication research in Africa has had a slow growth rate, which bespeaks situations in the society itself. The gains of the late seventies and early eighties have not been shored-up. It goes on to warn that this cycle of retardation may continue unless researchers address themselves to basic structural and functional defects in African societies, specifically that of unstable governments and policies, unstable economies and directionless objectives, as well as the appalling social life and largely prostrate social services and infrastructure. While these are in themselves of research interest to several foreign scholars, African researchers must contribute to the realization of a new order where sustainable development would be a clearly visible goal.

TRADITIONAL AND MODERN ART IN NIGERIA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Oghale O. Okpu

This study attempts a definition of traditional and modern art. Traditional art is the art handed down from generation to generation, which is not tampered with by the outside world. The traditional art is rooted in belief and commitment, part of the cultural pattern, which was understood as an integral part of an inherited pattern of life. Modern art on the other hand is referred to as a marriage of the old tradition with the new artistic expression in terms of materials, techniques and tools by the college-trained artists”. The current state of the arts in Nigeria is examined and suggestions are made for the reconstruction and revitalization of the art profession, and making it a respectable and viable one in the Nigerian society.

THE USE OF PIDGIN ENGLISH IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN MUSIC: A NEW APPROACH TOWARDS NATIONAL IDENTITY

Michael O. Olatunji

Pidgin English is the label for the jargon, consisting chiefly of English words, often corrupted in pronunciation, which is used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups in Nigeria. Pidgin has been with us since the colonial era. Pidgin has always been regarded as the unofficial language of the `uneducated'. The pluralistic nature of Nigeria, consisting as it does of hundreds of ethnic groups with different languages has aided the development of Pidgin English as a popular language in Nigeria. Many popular musicians have used it in their composition and performances to be able to reach a wide audience. Examples of such musicians whose works are examined in this study include Onyeka Onwenu, Sunny Ade and Nico Mbaga. This paper states that in the search for a common identity, musical compositions in Pidgin English might be the answer to giving Nigerians a sense of shared heritage.

VALUE-JUDGEMENT AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN AN AFRICAN NATION: RETHINKING NATIONAL SECURITY AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Philip Ujomu, Ph.D.

This essay examines the important problem of the proper conception of political philosophy that can ensure the security, survival and well-being of both the individual and the society. It clarifies the role of values in socio-political discourse and we use the problem of national security as a basis for the analysis of the right disposition of intellectuals to the matters affecting human life. Most especially, we seek a conception of political philosophy which can ensure the well-being and survival of the society.

THE UNACCLAIMED HEROINES AND CONTEMPORARY ANNANG WOMEN: TRENDS, OPTIONS AND PROSPECTS

Iniobong I. Uko, Ph.D.

This study recognises and acknowledges the Annang women of the 1920's, the unacclaimed heroines, who, unfortunately, though martyred, are not immortalized in any part of Annang land. It is difficult to overlook the contributions of these women to the evolution of a strong, virile and courageous female image in Annang land. This study is structured on a juxtaposition of the Annang woman as the active member of the nationalist movement in the late 1920s, and the contemporary Annang woman. It explores the trends, prospects and options available to the Annang woman in contemporary society. Recognizing the activism that characterized the early twentieth century Annang women, it is pertinent to appraise the trends of events as well as available options to contemporary women.

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE MIDDLE BENUE BASIN BEFORE THE JIHAD, C.1500-1812

Mahmoud Hamman, Ph.D.

This paper examines the evolution and nature of the political economy of the middle Benue basin before the Jihad. The processes of production in the middle Benue basin developed to a level that made it possible to generate surpluses. The level of surplus appropriation in the tributary mode of production was such that it gave the centralised states a much stronger resource base which enabled them not only to expand production but also to organise wider distributive networks both within and outside the Middle Benue basin, thereby further consolidating their economic, military and political domination of the region before the jihad.

GLOBALIZATION AND THE AFRICAN DILEMMA

Bimbo Ogunbanjo

This paper states that while globalization had a hopeful ring for the developing countries in general and African countries in particular, it also promised new challenges and new risks. There was the hope that close integration with the world economy, through rapid liberalization of trade investment and finance, would be the recipe for rapid growth and prosperity for the common people, it was also considered that national economies of African countries and developing countries at large would be strengthened which will find their rightful place alongside those of the more advanced countries. However, given the dynamics of globalization, Africa will continue to miss the ample opportunities that the new international economic power and order have presented. The crushing external debt burden on African countries compounded the problem. It is quintessential to stress that the post-colonial state in Africa is too central to the development process to be ignored in the discourse on how Africa can gain from the emerging world capitalist system. The Nigerian state in particular and the African states generally, have to be restructured. That way, Nigeria (and other African countries) may be put in good stead to reposition itself in the emerging world economic order.

BRIDGES ACROSS AFRICA'S INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES: SOCIO-CULTURAL, POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS ALONG AND ASTRIDE THE NIGERIA – CAMEROON BOUNDARY

M. O. Bonchuk, Ph. D.

The empirical data for this paper is drawn from the “ethnic minorities” divided along and astride the Cross River borderlands with southern Cameroon. Scholars who have studied the Nigeria – Cameroon Boundary tend to lay more emphasis on the state – centric perspective that continues to operate largely within the framework of the nineteenth century European notions of sovereignty of states and the sanctity of national boundaries. By comparison to the state-centric perspective, the trans-national stance is unconventional and understandably less known to existing scholarly literature and policy-making tradition. Nevertheless, the transnational model has been more responsive to the realities of border regions and has won increasing number of adherents in Europe and America where the tempo of trans-boundary co-operation, planning and development is being felt. It is indicated that even more potently, the cultural bonds, which have emerged to cement peoples in these areas together over the centuries, are too strong to be destroyed by the reality of the relatively new colonial boundary. The sovereignty percolating realities along and astride the borderlands have eventuated into various micro-integration at the grassroots level waiting to be formalised at the state centric level.