African Journals Online
INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES RESEARCH REVIEW

Volume 18, Number 2, 2002
ABSTRACTS

Akanization of the Hill Guan Arts

Kwame A. Labi

Abstract

The original inhabitants of the Akuapem Hills were predominantly Guan. From the mid-eighteenth century, they experienced fundamental political changes which marked a transition from the rule of priest-chiefs to secular chiefs.  This new political order introduced new art forms and regalia.  The cultural contact which took place in Akuapem did not result in an even diffusion of elements of Akan art and culture, but has been one of uneven and unbalanced adoption, modification and even rejection of some new art and religious forms.

This article discusses the process of introducing an Akan type political system and its accompanying art in a group of Guan communities on the Akuapem Hills.  Art and regalia in Akuapem portray the acceptance of new art forms, yet preserving some Guan traditional art forms amidst major artistic adoptions from the Akan.  It therefore analyses whether the Akanization process was partial or complete.

Nigeria’s Population Policy and Future Fertility Decline

Chuks J. Mba

Abstract

The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, promulgated its first explicit population policy in 1988, in response to the soaring population growth rate that impedes developmental efforts.  The policy document has stipulated a number of quantitative demographic targets.  Paramount among these is the intention to reduce total fertility rate (TFR) to 4, raise the use of family planning methods to 80 per cent, and  raise mean age at first marriage to 18 years, by the year 2000.  However, a macrosimulation analysis of changes in the proximate determinants of fertility as enshrined in the policy document reveals that Nigeria's TFR will fall from about 6 to 2 instead of 4, which is far beyond the government's expectations.  It is, therefore, needful to revisit the demographic targets of the population policy of Nigeria.

Key Words: Nigeria, Population policy, macrosimulation, fertility, proximate determinants.

Incidence of Physical Spouse Abuse in Nigeria: a Pilot Study

Godpower O. Okereke

Abstract

This exploratory study of the incidence of physical spouse abuse in Nigeria reveals that women are the primary victims. The study further reveals that early marriages, length of marriage, number and ages of children, size of household, amount of household income and the reluctance of the police to intervene in familial affairs affect the incidence of spouse abuse in Nigeria. Based on these findings, the author suggests that laws making all forms of domestic violence a crime be passed, victims be encouraged to take legal actions against perpetrators, and that the criminal justice system arrests, prosecutes, and punishes violators.

Preserving Culture Through New Artistic Forms: the Case of Duro Ladipo’s Folkloric Theatre

Foluke Ogunleye

Abstract

This study has asserted that art does not only exist for the mere titillation of the senses, but rather, it performs a functional role, its main objective being to affect man. The popular tradition of drama in West Africa by the traveling theatre troupes, and which they are still dominating through the television and film media, is one of the new permanent forms through which the mythical repertory is transfused with new life and vigour and stored for posterity.  These forms also serve as propaganda machineries through which traditional cultural practices are disseminated to the world at large. This study examines some of Duro Ladipo’s folkloric plays and how they disseminate a message of moral re-armament and cultural renaissance in 21st century Nigeria. The African mythical repertories, which are important manifestations of the African culture, have been used as source materials for these plays. Newer artistic forms such as writing and television production have been used to bring the myths alive and make them available to a wider audience. Relevant themes presented in the plays include patriotism, the womanist ideal as extant in the traditional African society, the African moralistic ideal revealed through the presentation of religion as an indispensable part of the Yoruba existence, etc. Duro Ladipo’s plays have sought to catch up with the dynamics of Nigerian life and have attempted to establish the relevance of the mythical repertory to the Nigerian condition.