Journal of Language, Theatre and Literary Studies, Volume 1 (1)

ISBN: 2734-2921

The Poetics of Abuse in Wole Soyinka’s The Trial of

Brother Jero

Oluwafemi Sunday ALABI

Department of English,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
oluwafeminitemi@[Link]

Abstract
One satiric device that Wole Soyinka employed in the Jero plays but
which has not been given sufficient scholarly attention is abuse. A close
reading of The Trial of Brother Jero reveals that Wole Soyinka employs
abuse either overtly or covertly to portray his characters and to project
a realistic human society, achieve humour and satirise deficiencies in
individuals, institutions and societies. Although extant works on the
drama of Wole Soyinka have focused on his use of language such as
irony, exaggeration, sarcasm; his engagement with tragedy, and political
ideology, sufficient scholarly attention has not been given to the art of
abuse in his drama. This study explored the artistic significance of abuse
and its forms in the playwright’s dramaturgy. It contended that abuse, as
an integer of social and human interactions, has a meaningful place in the
drama of Wole Soyinka, especially in its form, characterisation, thematic
preoccupation, and conflict creation and resolution. This paper identified
and analysed the art of abuse in the play and discussed how the art of
abuse projects the comic form, characters, conflicts, and themes in the
play. The study leveraged on the principles of superiority and release
theory of humour as espoused by Thomas Hobbes and Henri Bergson.
The study found and concluded, among others, that abuse is an effective
tool in Soyinka’s social satires.
Keywords: abuse, drama of Wole Soyinka, humour, satire.

Introduction
One major component of drama is dialogue which is the
conversational element of most dramatic compositions. Hence,
Frye (2000, p.269) observes that “drama is a mimesis of dialogue
or conversation.” In dramatic dialogues and interactions, abuse
often manifests. Adejumo (2014, p.226) posits that abuse is a

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variant of language use whose province covers diverse situations of

human interactions, ranging from insulting quarrels, correction and
reproach for misdeeds. Abuse is a contemptuous expression that is
usually aimed at condemning or vilifying the personality and
conduct of an individual mostly intemperately and angrily, or that is
meant to ridicule him by exploring his personality traits, conducts
or physical features verbally or symbolically. It is a verbal face-off
between two parties for the purpose of deriding each other for
their offensive acts or for their moral or physical weaknesses
(Alabi, 2019, p.36). Abuse — Èébú in Yoruba — as Adejumo
(2013, p.45) observes functions especially in quarrel situations, “as
a form of verbal combat where the parties involved exchange hot
aggressive and insulting words.”
Abuse is synonymous to insult and invective. Roller (2012,
p.299) describes invective as a “vituperative mockery or other
verbal abuse, couched in explicitly or implicitly moral terms,
directed by the satirist against a target.” Roller’s definition
does not only depict the similarity between abuse and invective,
but also defines it in relation to satire. Abrams (1999, p.134)
describes invective with an instance as:
…the denunciation of a person by the use of
derogatory epithets. Thus Prince Hal, in
Shakespeare's Henry IV, calls the corpulent Falstaff
“this sanguine coward, this bedpresser, this
horseback-breaker, this huge hill of flesh.”
In many African communities, one way of satirising is
abuse. Adejumo (2014, p.266) observes that various annual
festivals of cleansing such as Gèlèdé/Èfè, Èdi, Òpélú, Opéé Péé and
many other related festivals among the Yoruba provide occasions
for the society to express anger against and berate individuals who
have infringed on the community’s code of conducts. In the same
vein, Faleti (2014, p.22) notes that:
The various hunters’ chant in Yoruba land, the
Gèlèdé in Ijio and Egbado, Ajàgbò in Ekiti, the Ęrù
Òro or Pàkókó in Oyo, Ogbomoso and Iseyin, the
Egúngún Pidánpidán or Alárìnjó in Oyo Yoruba

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areas, and the Asà in parts of Kwara State are all

agents of invective satires…. The various non-
professional groups of house-wife singers (awon
obinrin-ile), the men’s group or club singers (Àwon
egbé olórin – called Wáágá in Ogbomoso;
Àgbáùnréré in Oyo and Bàrúwá in Ibadan), and the
satiric Etíyerí singers which flourished soon after
the Second World War provided the needed
conducive environment which favoured the prolific
use of gibes. This made invectives the ready-made
weapons for lashing out at the opponents and
rivals.
In African theatre tradition, abuse is used as satiric vehicle
when one considers many African oral poetry and theatrical
performances. There is the use of abuse, either implicitly or
explicitly, in the performances of Yoruba Alarinjo theatre, Tiv
Kwagh-hir puppetry theatre, Yankamanci Hausa comedy show, and
many other indigenous traditional African theatrical performances
like halo in Ghana—Halo is a sociomusical drama that involves
songs of insult, dance, drumming, mime, poetry, spoken forms,
costume, and a variety of visual icons (Avorgbedor, 1994, p.84).
The purpose is to hold the target accountable for their wrong-
done and to correct societal ills. And as observed by Adejumo
(2014, p.266), satirical abuse has been institutionalised as a means
of exorcising the evil of vices in many African communities; hence,
it has become an instrument of social reform and personal
reprimand in many African societies.
Given the sociological and cultural attachment of abuse,
dramatists have explored it in their works, as it forms a bulk of the
interactional expressions of people in their day-to-day life. And
since works of art—particularly drama—is set to represent the
society and project social interaction in a realistic manner, Nigerian
dramatists such as Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi, J. P. Clark-
Bekederemo, Femi Osofisan and Ahmed Yerima, among others,
have explored this art in their plays. It is also commonplace in
home videos. Hence, in this study we shall explore the relationship

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between abuse and satire as exemplified in Wole Soyinka’s The

Trials of Brother Jero.

Literature Review
Satire and the Art of Abuse
Satire as a literary genre has its root in the Latin word satura which
means primarily “full", and then comes to mean “a mixture full of
different things” (Schlegel, 2005, p.4). According to Highet (1962,
p.233), saturae (plural) grew out of an improvised “jollification”
which was devoid of plot but was dramatic, since it mimicked and
made fun of people in their ways, and contained dialogues sung or
spoken. These elements, according to Highet (p.233), have
remained constant in satire, including “variety, down-to-earth
unsophistication, coarseness, an improvisatory tone, humor,
mimicry, echoes of the speaking voice, abusive gibing, and a
general feeling, real or assumed, of devil-may-care nonchalance.”
The main purpose of satire is to correct personal, moral, political
and social ills. The satirists achieve this purpose either by
humorous attacks on the target(s) or by serious scorn and hatred.
Satire can be classified according to the themes they deal with.
From the earliest times — at least since the plays of Aristophanes
— the primary concerns of satire have been politics and social
issues including religion, and sexual misdemeanours. Political satire
aims at behaviour, manners of politicians, and vices of political
systems. Wole Soyinka’s A Play of Giants, Kongi’s Harvest and The
Beatification of Area Boy, Femi Osofisan’s Yungba-Yungba and the
Dance Contest and Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again
are relevant examples. Religious satire targets religious beliefs,
scandals, and bigotries. Examples include Soyinka’s The Trials of
Brother Jero and Brother Jero’s Metamorphosis. Satire of manners,
sometimes also called comedy of manners, criticises mode of life
of common people. Ola Rotimi’s Man Talk, Woman Talk, and
When Criminals Turn Judges, Efua T. Sutherland’s The Marriage of
Anansewa, Femi Osofisan’s The Engagement and J. C. de Graft’s
Sons and Daughters fall into this category.

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ISBN: 2734-2921

The techniques of satire include irony, sarcasm, invective,

innuendo, burlesque, parody, ridiculous, exaggeration, wit, and
humour among others. Invective, being the focus of this study, is a
denunciatory, abusive or vituperative expression, either in spoken
or written form. Invective in literature is closely associated with
satire, lampoon and caricature. Many writers have employed
invective for a variety of purposes; the commonest is to express
dislike, disgust, contempt and hatred for certain unwholesome
phenomenon in the society. Dramatists use invective as an
effective weapon to vilify a specific failing or moral weakness in a
particular person, and occasionally a group of people.

Humour Theory and the Art of Abuse

Abuse serves as a weapon of societal resistance to the violators of
its established customs and norms. This is the thesis of Bergson’s
theory of humour (2003, p.53) which regards laughter as a social
corrective. According to Bergson,
Laughter is, above all, a corrective. Being
intended to humiliate, it must make a painful
impression on the person against whom it is
directed. By laughter society avenges itself for
liberties taken with it. It would fail in its object if
it bore the stamp of sympathy or kindness.
In correcting a societal menace, abuse may be directed at
the target as the direct butt or the members of the audience that
‘witness’ the abuse. The tendency is in the audience laughing at the
“target”, assuming a sense of superiority. This is the concept of
Hobbes’s theory of humour which posits that “the passion of
laughter is nothing else but some sudden glory arising from some
sudden conception of some eminence in ourselves, by comparison
with the infirmity of others” (Morreall, 1982, p.6). Thus,
superiority theory of humour emphasises the aggressive aspect of
humour. However, the idea of superiority dates back to antiquity
when Aristotle and Plato regarded laughing processes as arising
from the response to weakness or ugliness observed in others.

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Exchange of abuse also performs cathartic function where

the negative impulses of the audience get released and their
misdemeanours get rebuked. In interpersonal or group discussion,
abuse is often used to create desired humorous and satiric effects.
The speaker may deploy some ridiculous banter to make his or
her audience laugh by making use of some sarcastic remarks and
expressions that appeal to the risible psyche of the audience. The
ultimate purpose may be to condemn a deficiency in the audience,
the user, at the same time, wants them to release their tension.
This, according to Morreall (1982, p.27), is the basis of Freud’s
psychoanalytic approach to theory of humour. According to him,
the aim of laughter is to discharge certain quantity of psyche
energy which is not needed. The purpose is to deplete this
nervous energy and thus liberate the audience from the initial
apprehension.

The Art of Abuse in Wole Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother

Jero
The Trials of Brother Jero is a social satire that addresses religious
hypocrisy and charlatanism that pervaded Nigerian social space
during the colonial period and shortly before Nigeria’s
independence. Although the play was first published in 1963, it was
first produced in April 1960 at Mellanby Hall, University College,
Ibadan, Nigeria.
Set in Lagos, Nigeria, the play x-rays a charlatan and fraud,
Brother Jeroboam, who preaches to his followers on Bar Beach.
Jero is a master of manipulation and keeps his followers in a
subservient position because he understands what they long for —
money, position, social status, and power, which are the yearning
of many in the contemporary world — and convinces them that
they will soon be able to fulfill these materialistic desires. In the
play, Jero exploits the ignorance of his assistant, Chume, in a
ridiculous manner. He advises Chume to beat his own wife,
Amope, because she has moved to strategically pitch her tent at
Jero’s premises in order to ensure she collects the money that he
owes her. The so-call prophet has bought goods — velvet cape —

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ISBN: 2734-2921

from Amope and has refused to pay her. Chume is never aware of
this until Jero’s identity is revealed as that same debtor of Amope.
When Chume attempts to attack the prophet, he informs the
police to get the angry Brother Chume incarcerated in a lunatic
asylum for a year. This he does in connivance with a powerful
man, a Member of Parliament, who also consults the prophet
because he is after a ministerial post.
Evident from the play, Soyinka creates and develops
characters that substantially deploy invectives to effectively convey
the playwright’s message — hypocrisy, religious charlatanism,
materialism, exploitation among others — as depicted in his
characters. The character of Amope in The Trials of Brother Jero is a
clear demonstration of the artistic relevance of abuse in projecting
characters’ traits in Soyinka’s plays. For instance, Soyinka creates
the character of Amope who uses abuse to accentuate the
character of Prophet Jeroboam. Thus, through the art of abuse,
the character of Jero as a rogue and charlatan is depicted. Amope
engages name-calling to reveal Jero as a “bearded debtor” (p.150).
Through this expression, there is the inkling that Jero has beard
and as a matter of fact he is debtor. That explains why Amope
moves to his abode to lay siege on him because he refuses to pay
her for the so-called prophetic paraphernalia — the velvet cape
that he bought from her.
When Jero tries to escape from her, she calls him more
insulting names: “Thief! Thief! You bearded rogue. Call yourself a
prophet?” (p.151). The device of rhetorical question is employed
to query Jero’s self-acclaimed religious calling. This further depicts
Jero as a fake prophet — a hypocrite — who preaches the
opposite of what he practices. It is only a ‘thief’ that escapes
through window as Jero has done. He betrays Amope’s trust in
him as a genuine prophet. Apparently, he is a betrayer; he betrays
Old Prophet, who acts as his spiritual mentor. Jero cunningly
works hard for Old Prophet to secure a space on the beach where
he could preach, but then he forces Old Prophet off the space and
takes over the ministry himself, a move he has been planning from
the beginning. Hence, he is described as “Ungrateful wretch!”

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ISBN: 2734-2921

(p.146) — an abusive expression that portrays him as a traitor.

Embittered, Old Prophet curses Brother Jero: “May you be
rewarded in the same manner. May the Wheel come right round
and find you just as helpless as you make me now” (p.146). This
demonstrates how abuse at times can degenerate into curses.
Curses are extreme form of abuse; they are imprecatory,
damnatory and vituperative utterances that are mostly provoked
by anger. As observed by Applauso (2010, p.25), curses are
deployed to denounce a particular wrong by stirring the more
tragic sentiments of pity and terror, rather than humour.
Apart from portraying the character of Jero, abuse also
reveals Chume’s character. Again, through abusive nature of
Amope, we first know Chume as a Chief Messenger in the Local
Government Office. She insults his low status: “do you call that
work? Your old school friends are now Ministers, riding in long
cars…” (p.149) while Chume still gets around on a bicycle. Later,
she ridiculously compares his job to that of a Sanitary Inspector,
who at least has a motorcycle. His piety of not drinking, smoking,
and collecting bribe is revealed through abuse: “…see where
you’ve got even though you don’t drink or smoke or take bribe”
(p.164). However, Amope abuses him that the only reason he
does not drink is because he cannot afford it.
Irony is a variable device in abuse. Amope engages this
device in insulting Chume’s failure to bring her water: “A fine man
you are then, when you can’t remember a simple thing like a
bottle of clean water” (p.163). By implication, she is saying Chume
is a useless person who fails to carry out his own part in their
domestic affairs. Chume’s angry nature is projected through the
technique of name-calling. When Chume attempts to beat Amope
after he has finally received permission from Jero, she abuses him
as being mad: “Ho! You’re mad, You’re mad…Kill me! Kill me!”
(p.165). His emotional outburst makes Jero to shrewdly consider
him a lunatic and this fetches him a year in the lunatic asylum.
Chume’s foolery is projected through the art of abuse.
Apart from portraying him as a gullible victim of the wily preacher,
Soyinka allows him to come to the realisation of his buffoonery.

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He abuses himself as being a fool: “Chume, fool! [...] Chume,

foolish man, your life done spoil. Your life done spoil. Yeah, ye…
ah ah, ye-e-ah, they done ruin Chume for life… ye-e-ah, ye-e-ah”
(p.170). Evidently, this is Soyinka’s authorial intrusion — a direct
invective on fools in the society like Chume whose lives have been
damaged by roguish preachers like Jero; it is for them to examine
themselves and come to their right senses like Chume eventually
does. He acknowledges and abuses his weakness and
senselessness for not being able to discern a fake prophet: “O
God a no get eyes for my head” (p.170). But he has to pay for his
asininity by sojourning in the lunatic asylum for a year.
In the same manner, Soyinka characterises Amope through
her abusive disposition. Amope is presented as a shrewish wife of
Chume. We get to know this right from the beginning of Scene
Two of the play when her husband, Chume, rides with her on
bicycle to Jero’s residence to lay siege on him in order to collect
her money. She gives her husband tough times and makes every
effort to abuse him, even though the latter tries to approach all
her abusive advances with calmness. She complains about her ill-
treatment at Chume's hands and taunts him for his laziness and
lack of ambition. Amope’s combativeness and confrontational
nature explain why Jero calls her “the daughter of Discord”; “God
curse that woman!” (p. 153).
Her troublemaking personality is emphasised in her
encounter with Trader. During her altercation with Jero, she
beckons on Trader selling smoked fish. She intentionally finds
trouble with the woman when she holds one of the fish to her
nose and remarks: “Well, it does smell a bit, doesn’t it?” The
ensuing act is exchange of abuse:
TRADER […]: Maybe it is you who haven’t had a
bath for a week.
AMOPE: Yeh! All right, go on. Abuse me. Go on and
abuse me when all I wanted was a few of your
miserable fish. I deserve it for trying to be
neighbourly with cross-eyed wretch, pauper
that you are….

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TRADER: It is early in the morning. I am not going to let

you infect my luck with your foul tongue …
just keep your cursed fingers from my goods
because that is where you’ll meet the father
of all devils if you don’t […].
AMOPE: Yes, go on. Carry the burden of your crimes
and take your beggar’s rags out of my sight….
TRADER: I leave you in the hands of your flatulent belly,
you barren sinner. May you never do good in
all your life. (p. 151)
Again, we see how exchange of abuse can snowball into curses as
earlier observed. Essentially, Trader is used in the play to project
the troublesome, quarrelsome and scurrilous character of Amope.
She is also used to create a typical woman-to-woman quarrel,
involving verbal war. Soyinka understands the nature of many
African women like Amope, who intentionally would not let the
sleeping dog lie; who often create a scenario for verbal duel.
Trader is a bird of a feather with Amope, who can be described as
a termagant.
As a bad-tempered scolding woman — an archetype of
many women — Amope abuses almost everyone she comes in
contact with. She also abuses Boy Drummer whose ‘gangan’ drum
sounds towards the end of Amope’s abuse of Trader. She calls him
“dirty beggar” because she thinks he has come begging for money:
“Do you think my money is for the likes of you?”; and more
insultingly she calls him “that thing with lice on his head…” (p.
152). Hence, her disdain for the young boy is evinced.
Thematically, Soyinka engages the satiric device of abuse to
reveal the extent of bastardisation of the prophetic calling in the
character of Jero. Abuse is engaged to attack religious
quacksalvers and frauds like Brother Jero, who make a mockery of
genuine religion. A hypocrite is a person who preaches one thing
but does another, and this is a perfect description of Jero through
Amope’s abusive expressions. Materialistic quests — money,
position, social status, and power — of Jero’s victims are also
satirised through the device of abuse. Jero calls Chume who wants

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a rise in ranks in government job “sinner…Hardener of heart,

habourer of Ashtoreth, Protector of Baal” (p. 156) because of his
quest for social status by all means. He equally calls Member of
Parliament a “nincompoop” (p. 171) — a person who lacks good
sense of judgment — because he is ready to do anything to attain
the position of “Minister for War.” All his victims lack spiritual
values at the expense material desires. More so, through the use
of abuse, the corrupt acts of Sanitary Inspectors are revealed.
Amope indirectly ridicules them for taking bribes in the discharge
of their duties. She ironically says “A Sanitary Inspector is a better
job anyway. You can make something of yourself one way or
another. They all do. A little here and a little there, call it bribery if
you like…” (p. 164). This explains the role of abuse in exposing
vices.

Conclusion
This study has shown that abuse, as one of the linguistic codes of
human interactions, has some aesthetic values in drama, where it
has been frequently employed. The study has demonstrated the
place of abuse in the aesthetics of Nigerian drama, revealing how
Wole Soyinka has employed the art in his drama for artistic effects,
significantly as a device to convey his thematic concerns, portray
his characters, project conflicts, reveal settings and establish
appropriate socio-cultural atmospheres for his plays. It is evident
from the study that Soyinka also engages abuse in the dialogue of
his plays to create and sustain the muse of comedy as well as to
satirise human foibles and societal inadequacies. For instance, in
The Trials of Brother Jero, Soyinka engages the art not only to
portray his characters but also to ridicule their misdemeanours,
follies, and weaknesses which are symptomatic of contemporary
society. Again, the conflict in the play is established through the
use of abuse: the first point of conflict is Jeroboam’s betrayal of the
Old Prophet and his subsequent engagement in debt which
sustains the plot of the play.

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References
Abrams, M. (1999). A Glossary of Literary Terms (7th ed.). Boston, USA:
Heinle & Heinle.
Adejumo, A. (2013). Satire as Protest in an Indigenous Festival: The case
of Efe. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
Invention, 2(7), 43–50. Retrieved from [Link]
______ . (2014). An Exploration into the Satiric and Poetic Imagination
of Yoruba Abuse. International Journal of English Literature and
Culture, 2(11) (December: 266-270. Accessed September 12,
2017. doi: 10.14662/IJELC2014.072.
Alabi, O. (2019). A Study of the Art of Abuse in Ola Rotimi’s Drama
(Master’s thesis). Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Applauso, N. (2010). Curses and Laughter: The Ethics of Political Invective
in the Comic Poetry of High and Late Medieval Italy (Doctoral
dissertation, University of Oregon, Eugene). Retrieved from
[Link]
Avorgbedor, D. (1994). Freedom to Sing, License to Insult: The
Influence of Haló Performance on Social Violence among the
Anlo Ewe. Oral Tradition 9(1), 83–112. Retrieved from
[Link]
Bergson, H. (2003). Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic.
Retrieved from [Link]
Faleti, A. (2014). Uses and Abuses of Yoruba Invectives. In G. Adeoti
(Ed.), IFE: Journal of the Institute of Cultural Studies 10 (7–33). Ile-
Ife: Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University,
Frye, N. (2000). Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. New Jersey, United
Kingdom: Princeton University Press.
Highet, G. (1962). The Anatomy of Satire. New Jersey, United Kingdom:
Princeton University Press.
Morreall, J. (1982). Taking Laughter Seriously. New York: State University
of New York Press.
Roller, M. (2012). Politics and Invective in Persius and Juvenal. In S.
Braund & J. Osgood (Eds.), A companion to Persius and Juvenal
(283–311). New York: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Schlegel, C. (2005). Satire and the Threat of Speech: Horace’s Satires, Book
1. Wisconsin, USA: The University of Wisconsin Press.
Soyinka, W. (1974). The Trials of Brother Jero. In Collected Plays 2, (143–
172). New York: Oxford University Press.

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ISBN: 2734-2921

Word Processors and Undergraduates’ Spelling

Errors: A Bestgen and Granger Approach

Anjola A. ROBBIN (PhD)

Department of English & Literary Studies
Lead City University, Ibadan
[Link]@[Link]

Abstract
A more recent dialogue in spelling competence is the positive and
negative impact of computer on Students’ spelling competence. Although
spelling errors in English language is not limited to second language users,
for Nigerian undergraduates the problem is further bedeviled by
language interference. The objective of this present study therefore is to
evaluate the frequency of use and dependence of the word processor’s
spell check application as well as the categories of spelling errors
exhibited by selected undergraduates hand written text using the
Bestgen and Granger (2011) categories of spelling errors as framework.
The study adopts a quantitative and descriptive research design using a
self-designed questionnaire administered to 100 undergraduates from
two universities (private and public) as well as a self-construct
composition dictated to 20 randomly selected undergraduates using both
longhand and the computer. The data collected from the questionnaire
was analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts while the
handwritten composition was analyzed using Bestgen & Granger’s
categories of spelling errors to assess error types in the compositions.
Results shows that all the respondents are familiar with the spell check as
99% of them use it frequently when they write both academic and non-
academic materials. While 95% are dependent on using the spell check,
89% never write without using the spell check and only 16% opined
that the spell check has improved their spelling competences. Although
there were merely punctuation and capitalization errors in the computer
typed text, all nine categories of spelling errors identified by Bestgen and
Granger (2011) that is, letter addition, letter omission, letter
substitution, single letter for double, double letter for single, letter swap,
apostrophe and word segment errors occurred in the handwritten text.
Two other categories of spelling errors identified in this study as multiple
error types and low competence errors also occurred. The study concludes
that the frequency of use and dependence on the spell check has

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reduced mastery of correct spelling resulting in the students’ poor

composition. It recommends the balanced use of both traditional
cognitive word recognition technique as well as organized spelling tests
rather than only computer assisted learning should be adopted in the
teaching and learning of spellings.

Keywords: Spelling Error, Spelling Competence, Bestgen &

Granger’s categories of Spelling Errors, Word Processor, Spell
check, Nigerian Undergraduate

Introduction
Being second language users of the English language, Nigerian
undergraduates are from time to time faced with the rigour of
learning English and mastering the basic skills of the language such
as reading, speaking, listening and of course, writing. Writing skill
has over the years been regarded as the most difficult of the
language skills and poses the most challenge for language teachers
because students have less experience with written expression
(Ariana: 2017). A simple reason for this is that writing in English is
usually limited to schools unlike the other skills where students are
exposed to more opportunities to practice English using it for
communication in and out of the language classroom (Ahmadi:
2018). Also, being an acquired skill, writing requires a long
process of practice before mastery (Hossein et al: 2013).
Consequently, several teaching methodologies and research has
been carried out on mastering writing not just to Second Language
users of English Language but also by first Language users in an
attempt to help students particularly undergraduates become
independent and competent writers.
Defined as the act of recognizing or mimicking oral or
spoken words by the equivalent correct sequence of letters taking
into consideration phonological and alphabetical skills/knowledge
(Johnson: 2008), spelling words correctly is a major aspect of
mastering writing skills.
Spelling is the ability to write a word correctly. Writing
accurate spelling which adds to the quality of overall writing texts
may however be hampered in Second Language users as a result of

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L2 interference (Othman: 2018). As described by Perveen and

Akram (2014), errors simply refer to when students cannot self-
correct a mistake when writing. An extensive body of research on
the classification, methods of improving spelling competence as
well as the causes and theories of spelling errors has been done.
Harmers: 2017, classified spelling errors or mistakes as both
occurring as a results of slip, error, and learning attempts. While
slips are mistakes which students can correct themselves, errors
would need an intervention requiring several attempts.
Spelling problem has also been classified into phonological
and orthographic problems: phonological problems refer to errors
in which the misspelt word results from discrepancies between
the sound and the target word because the whole word,
consonant, vowel, syllable, prefix, suffix, grapheme cluster is not
heard at all or misheard, or added with another, while
orthographic problem refer to those instances of discrepancies
between the written form or grapheme with the target word or
target grapheme (Al-jarf :2010). Although some scholars attribute
causes of spelling errors to include students laziness to proofread
or lack of teaching aids (Dada: 2015), a study finds syllabus
deficiency in teaching spelling rules and techniques, as well as MT
interference as a major cause of spelling incompetence. (Altamimi
and Rashid: 2019).
A more recent dialogue in spelling competence however is
computer’s major impact on spelling competence for instance,
Rosen’s Theory of Transfer of Learning and Situated Learning (Rosen
et al., 2013) explains the negative effects of computers on spelling
by proposing that exposure to textisms-language used in text
messages characterized by the use of abbreviations and single
letters might cause unconscious transfer of these features to
similar writing leading to the inappropriate transfer of non-
standard spelling on to formal writing as well. Research has shown
internet influenced language is frequently used amongst
undergraduates and transferred to both formal and informal
domains of communication having a negative impact such as
spelling errors on written English (Robbin: 2020). Consequently,

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during formal writing, there is an excessive reliance on word

processor in an attempt to make up for spelling incompetence.
The objective of this study hence is to assess the use, dependence
and effect of spell check on undergraduate spelling competence.

Spelling Errors: Spell Checker to the Rescue

Although spelling errors in English language is not limited to
second language users, for ESL learners the problem is further
bedeviled by language interference. This is the case as sound
patterns and pronunciation form a reasonably aspect of sound-to-
text effectiveness. For instance, Othman (2018) finds that among
Saudi Arabian students in the University of Tabuk, the major cause
of spelling errors is wrong use of vowels and pronunciation as a
result of MT interference resulting from the absence of the /p/ and
/v/ letters and sounds missing in the Arabic graphology.
Aside the fact that spelling is a complex cognitive activity,
the English Language is more complex in practice than it is in
speech making spelling even more difficult. This is because spelling
rules in English do not always directly reflect the sounds people
produce when they say a word. Kuiper and Allen (2005) stress that
the problems associated with the spelling of English language is
based on interpretation of words as sequences of sound segment
rather than as continuous streams of sound, numbers of written
letters and the number of spoken sound segments discrepancy as
well as different pronunciation of same word depending on
difference in the sequences of sound segment.
Consequently, spelling competence can only be achieved
by reading and practice. This involves word study and practice like
spelling, phonies, and vocabulary instruction which is meant to
help students apply their knowledge to new words they come
across in reading. The difficulties in writing error free in English
language poses a major challenge to student's education, self-
esteem and academic performance. According to Ariana (2010),
Failure to develop basic writing skills, makes students unable to
write with the speed and fluency required to excel as these
demands increase in the learning process of writing tests and

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examinations that are to prove their proficiency in English. This

leaves learners unequipped with the necessary knowledge to pass
these examinations and make expected academic progress.
A widely used method of evading spelling incompetence by
students over the years however has been the use computer word
processor. A computer word processor is a computer software
application that performs the task of composing, editing,
formatting, and printing of documents. Beck & Fetherston (2003)
describe the word processor as the most enabling and beneficial of
all the computer software capable of writing, formatting, cutting
and pasting as well as insertion and deletion. One of the most well-
known and widely used word processing applications on the
market is Microsoft Word with more than 450 million users. Other
types are WordPerfect, Microsoft Works, OpenOffice and Lotus
Word Pro. The most attractive feature of word processing
applications is the spell check feature to help find spelling errors in
a document. Typical spelling tools enable the user to choose
whether a word, page or an entire document’s spellings is to be
checked. The spelling tool then scans the document, checking
every word to identify misspelt words then spelling tool may
prompt the user to replace, ignore, or edit the word.
Research on spelling competencies has identified that the
usefulness of computer or word processor or computer assisted
learning on the mastery of spelling competence. A case in point is
Ahmad M. Bataineh (2014) whose study of Saudi Arabian students
finds that students who studied writing while utilizing word
processors performed higher in the post-test than those who
learned in the traditional way. They opine that integrating word
processors in learning produced a significant effect on students'
writing skills and ability to produce authentic text. Aside this,
scholars like AbuSeileek (check spelling) (2006) who investigated
the effect of using word processor on the development of EFL
learners’ performance in writing came to a conclusion that the use
of the word processor or computer-based writing was a
functional method for teaching the writing skills. A more technical
approach is one taken by Li & Cumming (2009) who adopted a

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long term research on the effect of word processor on L2

learner’s proficiency level in compositions writing over an eight
month period using both pen and the computer. Result showed
that the use of word processor produced better performance at
the discourse, semantics, and syntactic levels.
Invariably, the use of computers have found their way into
the classrooms, due to the use of digital technologies like blogging,
wikis, and other social networking platforms (Tanti:2012), the
habits displayed on these platform have, to a large extent
infiltrated into academic writing. Since the social media platforms
accommodate informal use of language and textism which
becomes unacceptable in formal writing (Robbin: 2013).
Although the use of word processors seem to solve this
writing anomaly, over time it weakens students’ knowledge in
writing increasing the likelihood of certain spelling errors
(Noel:2013). More so, unwanted modifications while spellchecking
some errors further fossilize such errors leading to some misspelt
words or confused spellings of words. Aside this, the impression
that spellings from a spell checker is always right is often times
erroneous. For instance, program for programme, neighbor for
nieghbour or liter for litre maybe incorrect depending on whether
it is an American or British spellings being adopted respectively.
This leads to more students having a lot of spelling errors not only
in their typed or written work but when they write.

Bestgen and Granger categories of Spelling Errors

Bestgen and Granger (2011) identify [research findings are better
reported in the present continuous tense] nine categories of
spelling errors that are likely to occur when students write.
These categories which were detected using a corpus of 223
argumentative essays written by English as a Foreign Language
learners. These categories are shown below:

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ISBN: 2734-2921

Bestgen & Granger (2011) Categories of Spelling Errors

Letter Addition
Letter Ommision Letter Substitution
*Parrallel-Parallel
*Begining-Beginning *Lifes-Lives

Adjacent Letter Swap

Single Letter For Double Double Letter For Single
*Concieved-Conceived
*Ocurred-Occurred *Proffessors-Professors

word segmentation error

Apostrophe Error Multiple Letter Error
*Every day-Everyday
Childrens’-Children’s *Hitted-Hit

Bestgen and Grangers’s study predicts that spelling errors

amongst L2 learners whether writing by hand or using a spell
check are predictors of text quality which in turn is an indication to
the difficulties encountered by Second Language users of English
Language. Interestingly, the study also finds a positive impact of the
use of spell check on learner’s mastery of English spellings. This is
reinforced by the finding of Mitton and Takeshi (2007) that
adapting a spell check to some distinctively Japanese error patterns
and report improved spellings and word use.
The objective of this present study however is to assess the
frequency of use and dependence of the word processor’s spell
check feature as well as the categories of spelling errors exhibited
by selected undergraduates using the Bestgen and Granger
categories of spelling errors; an attempt is made to evaluate the
level of spelling competence of undergraduate students. To this
end, the following research questions will guide this study:
1. How often do undergraduates use the spell check in word
processors?
2. How dependent are undergraduates to the spell check in
word processors?
3. What are the categories of spelling errors manifested in
undergraduates’ handwritten text?

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Methodology
The study adopted a quantitative and descriptive research using
two research instruments:
The first is a self-designed online questionnaire titled:
“Survey on Frequency of Use and Dependence on Word
Processor’s Spell Check by Undergraduates”. The questionnaire
sought information on the frequency of use and dependence of the
spell check by undergraduates. The respondents consisted of 100
undergraduates. 50 each from one private (Lead City University)
and one federal institution (University of Ibadan). The data was
thereafter subjected to statistical and descriptive analysis.
The second research instrument is self-construct
composition dictated to 20 randomly selected respondents across
100 to 400 levels from both institutions using both longhand and
the computer. The errors in the handwritten composition were
thereafter analysed using Bestgen & Granger’s (2011) categories
of spelling errors to evaluate error types and if the use of the spell
checker had any effect on the reduction of the errors.

Results and Discussion

Treating of Research Question One: Frequency of Use of
the Spell Check by Undergraduates
The focus of the first research question is to access how often
undergraduates use the spell check feature of word processing
packages? To answer this research question, the respondent’s
familiarity with word processing application was first assessed after
which they responded to the often, rarely and never Likert scale
to evaluate the frequency of use of the spell check.

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Table 1a: Response to Familiarity with the Spell Check in Word

Processors
S/N Yes No
1 Are you familiar with the spell 98 0
check feature in word (100%) (0%)
processors?
2 Do you use the spell check when 97 1
you write? (98.9%) (1.0%)
3 Do you use the spell check for 2 96
both academic and non- (2.04%) (97.9%)
academic writing?

Table 1b: Response to Frequency of use of Spell check in Word

Processors
S/N Often Rarely Never
1 How often do you use the spell 95 3 0
check feature in word (96.9%) (3.06%) (20.0%)
processing packages when you
write
2 Are there instances when you 3 2 93
do not need to spell check? (3.0%) (2.0%) (94.8%)
3 Do you frequently use the spell 96 1 1
check for academic and non- (97.9%) (1.02%) (1.02%)
academic writing?

As shown in table 1a, all the respondents affirmed that they

are familiar with the spell check application while 99% affirmed to
use the spell check when they write both academic and non-
academic materials. Most of the respondents (95%) agree that to
a large extent, they are dependent on using the spell check as
there is never a time they do not use it while 98% of the
respondents affirmed that they use it often when they write.

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Treating of Research Question Two: Undergraduate

Dependence on the Use of the Spell Check

Table 2: Response to Undergraduate Dependence on the

Use of the Spell Check
S/N SA A D SD
1 I cannot write without 88 5 5 0
using the spell check. (89.7%) (5.10%) (20.0%) (0%)
2 I will fail a spelling test 75 17 4 2
without the spell check. (76.5%) (17.3%) (4.08%) (2.4%)
3 All undergraduates 87 5 4 2
depend on the spell (75.0%) (20.0%) (20.0%) (2.4%)
check for spelling error
free composition.
4 Using the spell check 79 9 8 2
has affected my spelling (80.6%) (9.9) (8.2%) (2.4%)
competence negatively.
5 Using the spell check 16 18 40 24
has improved my (16.3%) (18.4%) (4.0%) (24.5%)
spelling competence.

Table 1b presents respondents dependence on the spell check

application using a Likert scale of agreement. Here, we find that
most of the respondents 89% of the respondents strongly agreed
that there is never an instance when they write without using the
spell check. While 5 % say they rarely do so. 89% and 5%
strongly agreed and agreed respectively to the fact that not only
are they dependent on the spell check, all other undergraduates
are.
When asked if the spell check has improved their spelling
competences, 16% and 18% strongly agreed and agreed while
40% and 24% disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively. This
result aligns with the respondent’s agreement (87%) to the
statement that they will fail a spelling test without the use of the
spell check.

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Treating of Research Question Three: Categories of

Spelling Errors in Handwritten Text Using Bestgen &
Granger Categories of Spelling Error
The following tables (3-12) outlines the spelling errors that
occurred in the handwritten text dictated to the respondents using
Bestgen & Granger categories of spelling errors. Noteworthy is
the fact that none of these error occurred in the typed text.

Table 3: Letter Addition Error in Handwritten Text

S/N Letter Addition Correct
Error Spelling
1 Indescent Indecent
2 Campuse Campus
3 Proferssor Professor
4 Procrastinaite Procrastinate
5 Enginearing Engineering
6 Pounder Ponder

Table 4: Letter Omission Error in Handwritten Text

SN Letter Correct
Omission Spelling
Error
1 Completly Completely
2 Procastinate Procrastinate
3 Leopad Leopard
4 Teenages Teenagers
5 Concience Conscience
6 Mecanism Mechanism
7 Apatment Apartment
8 Occured Occurred

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Table 5: Letter Substitution Error in Handwritten Text

SN Letter Correct Spelling

Substitution
Error
1 Gurdiance Guidance
2 Conserned Concerned
3 Canpus Campus
4 Expecially Especially
5 Recedence Residence
6 Mechanizm Mechanism
7 Continuilly Continually
8 Incidense Incidence
9 Residense Residence
10 Rediculous Ridiculous
11 Expecially Especially
12 Espicially Especially

Table 6: Single Letter for Double Error in Handwritten Text

SN Single Letter Correct Spelling
for Double
Error
1 Adicted Addicted
2 Embarased Embarrassed
3 Embarassed Embarrassed
4 Expecially Especially
5 Occured Occurred
6 Continualy Continually
7 Tinager Teenager

Table 7: Double Letter for Single Error in Handwritten Text

S/N Double Letter Correct Spelling
for Single
Error
1 Compossition Composition
2 Proffessor Professor

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Table 8: Letter Swap Error in Handwritten Text

S/N Letter Swap Correct
Error Spelling
1 Beigns Beings
2 Procarstinate Procrastinate
3 Consceince Conscience

Table 9: Apostrophe Error in Handwritten Text

S/N Letter Correct
Substitution Spelling
Error
1 Professions’s Professions’

Table 10: Word Segment Error in Handwritten Text

S/N Word Segment Correct
Error Spelling
1 Althanks All Thanks
2 New Comers Newcomers

Table 11: Multiple Letter for Double Error in Handwritten Text

S/N Multiple Letter Correct
for Double Spelling
Error
1 Engineeering Engineering

From the tables above, we see that all the spelling errors under
the Bestgen and Grander categories occurred. These categories of
spelling errors are: letter addition, letter omission, letter
substitution, single letter for double, double letter for single, letter
swap, apostrophe, word segment errors in tables 3-11
respectively.

Other Error Types in Handwritten Text

This section shows the other types of spelling errors found in the analysis of
the handwritten text. These errors did not fall under the categories
identified by Bestgen and Granger. There are two types of spelling errors
identified which I classify as multiple errors and low competence errors as
shown in tables 13 and 14.

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Table 13: Multiple Error Types in Handwritten Text

S/N Error Types of Errors Correct
Spelling
1 Althanks Word Segment + Letter Omission All Thanks
2 Proffesion’s Double letter for single Apostrophe Professions’
3 Couseling Letter Omission+ Single letter for Double Counselling
4 Bresing Letter Substitution + Single for Double Dressing
5 Incindense Letter Addition +Letter Substitution Incidence
6 Reduculos Letter Substitution +Letter Omission Ridiculous

Table 14: Low Competence Errors in Handwritten Text

S/N Error Correct Spelling
1 Conscanince Conscience
2 Gurdian Guidance
3 Domen Domain
Dominon
Domane
Domaine
4 Essue Issue
5 Procastine Procrastinate
6 Expesely Especially
7 Continely Continually
8 Embarise Embarrassed
Embaranced
9 Lecturans Lecturers

As shown in table 13, there were occurrences of

combinations of the errors identified by Bestgen and Granger. For
instance, item 3 showed an instance of letter omission+ single letter
for double where “counselling" is misspelt as ”coulesing” another
instance is a combination of letter addition +letter substitution
where “incidence” is misspelt as “incindence” in item 5 of the
same table.
Table 14 shows low competence errors found in the
analysis. Again, this didn’t fall under the Bestgen and Granger
classification. They are outright deviations from these errors.
Although some of the errors are as a result of Yoruba first
language interference on English (*Embarise,Essue), others

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 Journal of Language, Theatre and Literary Studies, Volume 1 (1)
ISBN: 2734-2921

(domen,exesely,guardian) showed poor spelling competence on

the part of the respondents.
The use of the spell check comes under Computer Assister
Learning which varies from very sophisticated applications to
accessible ones like the spell check application. The findings of this
study reinforce the acceptance, popularity as well as the
dependence on this application by learners. Jones (2011) in his
study establishes that this method of learning is not only important
but enhances teaching effectiveness. Furthermore, scholars like
Shaw (1987) and Polin (1991) opine that the word processor to a
very large extent help learners concentrate more on content and
creativity (what to write) rather than on spellings (how to write).
Although for these scholars, this method enhances better writing
with more ideas and facts the finding in this study shows that
dependence on word processors hampers spelling competence.
The down side of using the word processor for mastering spelling
as noted by Moats (2020) is that it fails to accommodate effective
mastery of both phonological awareness and decoding (spellings)
and sight recognition. A major argument which has been
reinforced by the finding in this study is that frequent use of the
use of spell check could leave room for total dependence leaving
room for failure to see the need for spelling competence. This is
evident as the same set of respondents who generated error-free
computer typed text produced the errors in the analysis in treating
research question three. The study has shown that the use of spell
check is not a leeway to avoiding spelling incompetence rather it
merely ignores a core part of language skills as Grow (2015)
suggest, the computer as an aid to learning language skills should
not be used in isolation but with regular test of naturally cognitive
learning, assimilation and memory.

Conclusion
The main thrust of this study is to examine the frequency of use
and dependence on the spell check application by undergraduates
as well as the effects it has on undergraduate’s spelling
competence by analysing the types of spelling errors occurring in

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ISBN: 2734-2921

handwritten text using the Bestgen and Granger categories of

spelling errors. The study shows that most undergraduates
frequently use the spell check application on word processors.
While using this application, spelling errors are reduced to the
minimum with only few punctuation and capitalization errors as
seen in the computer generated text used in this study. This is
however a far cry from the errors that occurred during writing by
longhand as a result of the undergraduates’ dependence on the
spell check resulted in various types of spelling errors. All nine
categories of spelling errors identified by Bestgen and Granger
were found occurring as well as two other categories which this
study terms as multiple error types and low competence errors.
Furthermore, spell check dependence has to a large extent
reduced mastery of correct spelling resulting in the students’ poor
composition.
It is premised on this findings that the study recommends
the balanced use of the conventional spelling cognitive skill of
longhand dictation rather than only computer based word
identification and recognition. Self-development and use of
dictionary as well as practice of difficult suffixes and
unconventional words should be encouraged. Non-native speakers
of the English language should make deliberate effort to identify
pronunciation problems which often affect spelling competence.
Spelling bee competition should also be organized from time to
time to reinforce cognitive mastery and development of spelling
competence.

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Al-Jarf, R. (2010). Spelling error corpora in EFL. Sino-US English Teaching

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Johnson, K. (2008). An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and

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ISBN: 2734-2921

A Critical Interrogation of Niji Akkani Iconoclastic

Approach to Film Directing

Babafemi Babatope (PhD)

Department of Theatre Arts and Music
Lagos State University
Ojo, Lagos State
femibabatope@[Link]
and
Hungbo Kotin
Department of Theatre Arts and Music
Faculty of Arts
Lagos State University
Ojo, Lagos State
kotinhungbo@[Link]

Abstract
Niji Akanni is one of Nigeria’s iconoclastic film directors. With twenty-
eight years of experience and several films to his credit as a director, he
has become a household name in the Nigerian Film Industry. He has
evolved a novel directorial pattern which continues to gain popularity in
the industry and earned more “converts” but appears to have suffered
academic apathy. There is a need to explore this iconoclastic directorial
style for documentation and filmmaking pedagogy. This paper critically
investigates Niji Akanni’s directorial approaches to filmmaking. The
paper adopts auteur theory to drive the discourse. The paper argues
that Niji Akanni is an iconoclast; he advertently breaks directorial rules to
evolve novel directorial style which ingenuously employs camera
language as cinematic narrative technique. It also submits that formal
training is significantly instrumental to Akanni’s creative directorial style.
The paper recommends that some creative film directors are ripped for
academic attention and should feature in filmmaking education.
Keywords: Interrogation, Iconoclast, Auteurism, Film, Directorial
Approach

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Introduction
Niji Akanni is without controversy one of Nigeria’s nonconformists
film directors. With twenty-eight years of experience and several
films to his credit as a director, he has become a household name
in the Nigerian Film Industry. He has evolved a novel directorial
pattern which continues to gain popularity in the industry. This
paper is a critical examination of Niji Akanni’s directorial
approaches to filmmaking. The paper adopts auteur theory to
drive the discourse. In pursuant of the thesis of this discourse, Niji
Akanni’s approaches to film directing are discussed under three
subheadings such as “Preproduction”, “Production” and
“Postproduction”. Thereafter, the strengths and weaknesses of
Niji Akkani iconoclastic approach to film directing will be
identified.
The data for this study is gathered from the writer’s
personal observations of Niji Akanni at work, interview,
interaction with some members of his cast and crew and review of
scholars’ works about. The paper argues that Niji Akanni is an
iconoclast; he advertently breaks directorial rules to evolve novel
directorial style which ingenuously employs camera language as
cinematic narrative technique. It also submits that formal training is
significantly instrumental to Akanni’s creative directorial style. The
paper recommends that some creative film directors are ripped
for academic attention and should feature in filmmaking education.

Theoretical Framework
The Auteur theory holds that “a director's film reflects the
director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary
"auteur" (the French word for "author"). In spite of - and
sometimes even because of - the production of the film as part of
an industrial process, the auteur's creative voice is distinct enough
to shine through all kinds of studio interference and through the
collective process” (Saris, yr? p.26). Auteur theory stipulates that
films should reflect a director's personal vision. Reputable
filmmakers such as Akira Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray, Alfred Hitchcock,

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Howard Hawks, and Jean Renoir are known as absolute 'auteurs' of

their films.
Also, Auteur theory draws from Alexandre Astruc's notion
of the caméra-stylo or "camera-pen," which encourages directors
to use cameras as writers use pens and to guard against the
hindrances of traditional storytelling. The whole idea of this theory
is that the director should use the commercial apparatus of
filmmaking as a writer uses a pen, and, through the mise-en-scène,
imprint his or her vision on the work (minimizing the role of the
screenwriter). The auteur theory suggests that the screenwriter
hands the script to the director and the director simply adds the
performers and pictures. The pivot of the theory being that there
are no good and bad movies, only good and bad directors. The
director’s influence is enormous and visible on all other elements of
the film production. This is expedient and desirable as the finished
product must have a unified vision which of course may not be
shared.
This theory is relevant to this discourse as the paper is on
the directorial approach of Niji Akanni. It revolves round film
directing, with emphasis on the director turning the script round,
and in this particular case, making the film bear Nigerian imprint.
No matter what the script and in some cases, the marketers say,
the director has the power to apply his directorial vision. Hence it
is employed to drive the discourse of this paper.

What is Film Directing?

After the conception of an idea, it is scripted and given strength by
actors, captured by camera and given life editing room where the
dismembered pieces are assembled into their finished form
(Benson in Bordwell and Thompson, 2003, p. 20). Film directing,
simply put, is story telling through shots. It is a multifaceted and
complex process. In most cases, it involves three main phases.
According to Ekwuazi (1993), “Irrespective of the mode of
production and the specific medium (whether for a small screen or
the television or a large screen of the cinema), the production
chain is made up of three phases: the preparation, the shooting and

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the assembly” (p. 5). Mamer (2003) identifies three phases of film
production; preproduction, production, and postproduction:
,

Preproduction constitutes the planning and

preparation: the process of identifying and securing
all elements-aesthetic, human and material-that will
be needed for the film. This includes fine-tuning the
script, casting, location scouting, set design, and
whatever it takes to get into a position to shoot.
Production includes all the actual shooting.
Producer often play a critical role here, but the
director is usually the key decision-making force in
both of these stages of a film. Some directors are
also involved in postproduction, the editing and all
the detailed finishing processes. (p. 42).

The execution of these stages is guided by various rules and

various experts in related areas handle each. “These three phases
include many particular jobs. Most films that we see in the theatre
culminate from dozens of specialised tasks carried out by hundreds
of experts. This fine-grained division of labour has proved to be a
reliable way to prepare, shoot and assemble large budget movies”
(Thompson and Bordwell, 2003, p. 24).
The preparation stage is the phase where the concept/idea
of the film, (the story to be told) is put on paper in a particular
form. It is the scriptwriting stage. It is at the stage that some
producers decide to source for funds, and put some logistics in
place for the proper commitment of the idea of the film to paper.
The shooting stage is the time when the filmmaker/director
creates images via series of frames produced by camera in a
continuous process, otherwise referred to as shots. In other
words the film is shot or recorded. During the assembly stage, the
editing is done and the images and sound are synchronised in their
finishing appearance. This is the stage where special sound or light
effects are added and titles and subtitles are included. According to
Thompson and Bordwell:

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Every stage changes what went before. The idea for

the film may be radically modified when the script is
hammered out; the script’s presentation of the action
may be drastically changed in shooting; and the
material that is shot takes on new significance in the
process of assemblage. (2003: 24)
The process of film making, which is fundamentally a three-
stage procedure, captures all that transpire from script to screen.
The script is the skeleton that takes on flesh as the production
progresses and it is clothed in the editing studio, after which it is
ready to go. Expectedly, each of the three stages of film
production assumes fundamental importance in the chain of
production, the fact is that one cannot do without the other and
no attempt should be made to overemphasise one to the
detriment of the other. One fact that cannot be jettisoned is the
“one who fails to plan, plans to fail”. As a result, a film production
that is not accurately arranged in preparation is a catastrophe in
the making. Even in the case of Nigerian films wherein a substantial
number of the films made are improvisational, success depends on
the effort of key creative, resourceful and ingenious personnel.

Niji Akanni’s Biography

Niji Akanni was born on 12th August, 1962 in Abeokuta, Nigeria.
He studied Dramatic Arts at the then University of Ife (now
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He graduated in 1986
specialising in play directing. He proceeded to India on a Federal
Government scholarship for a Master of Fine Arts degree in
screen-playwriting and film directing. He completed the
programme in 1998 and went further for an academic Master’s
degree at the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan,
where he majored in “Film Aesthetics and Narrating”. He is
currently working on his PhD at the University of Ibadan, where
he is researching on Yoruba Cinema. He is a screenwriter and a
director in the Television, Theatre and Film Industry in Nigeria
(Akanni, 2015/2020).

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After his graduation in 1986, he served for two years in the

Department of Theatre Arts, Nsukka, the first year as a Youth
Copper and the second as an instructor in acting and stage
crafting. Thereafter he went to Lagos; he worked at the
Performance Studio Workshop as a trainer, worked with the Oba
Gbenga Ogunuga’s International Centre for the Arts, as at the time
Oba Gbenga Ogunnuga’s had not become a king. He worked
briefly at Sola Fosudo’s Center Stage, FESTAC, Lagos, and several
other private theatres all of which did not earn him much. As a
result, he worked as a journalist at the African Guardian for a while
and later left for a private news magazine where he worked up till
1995 (Akanni, 2015/2020).
During the period of his transiting from one job to the
other, sometimes between 1992 and 1993, what was to become
the Nollywood industry started, with experiments in video film-
making and he was one of the first people to be drafted in as
artistic directors. The first major directors of Nollywood, of the
home video were people coming from the television drama
background. Some of them include Tade Ogidan and the brothers
Zeb and Chiko Ejiro (Akanni, 2015/2020). As a result of the
poverty of creative performance and aesthetic emptiness in
television drama and being desirous of improvement of the then
largely stilted performance, the television management authorities
drafted in people who had theatre backgrounds and Niji Akanni
was one of the people brought in to revitalise the just springing up
video filmmaking industry. Niji Akanni, Frank Vaughn, Ejike
Asiegbu, Fred Amata and a couple of others formed the pioneers
of the artistic directors (Akanni, 2015/2020). Their job was to elicit
better, credible and more realistic performances out of actors and
help with the general aesthetic outlook of the films. In his words:
While all that was happening, I was artistic director
and we were making those films, Opa Williams
largely producing the films. I was working with
Chico Ejiro as substantive director. We made, I
think, 4 to 5 films between ’93 and ’95 and I was
involved in many ways. I discovered by myself that

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this wasn’t film. We were making those films as it

were, you know just scanning television drama and
putting them into cassette and that’s not film, I didn’t
think it was film because at the same time we were
watching American films, we were watching Chinese
films, we were watching Indian films, Italian films,
German films but what we were doing was quite
different from theirs. (Akanni, 2015/2020).
Niji Akanni discovered that what they were producing was
not film in the real sense of it. He found out what was being
referred to as film lacked the aesthetics of filmmaking. They were
more of inexperienced recording of activities rather than
employing the instrumentality of the camera to tell dramatic
stories. . According to him “maybe it was instinct, maybe it was
grace, I do not know, I had thought that what was happening then,
this home video thing was likely to have a very large, a very big
future” (Akanni, 2015/2020). Since the celluloid film had ceased as
a result of the economic downturn, he realized the process would
be resuscitated in the video film format. As such, “I began to look
for ways to retrain myself to be ready for the future of this new
phenomenon as it were” (Akanni, 2015/2020).
His search fetched him a Federal Government scholarship
to study film in India. Subsequently, he went to India in 1995 to
study for three years for MFA at the Film and Television Institute
of India and specialised in Screenwriting and Film Directing. The
school was a postgraduate institution and does not offer
undergraduate courses. All the seats in the available courses were
strictly for international students given scholarship by their
countries. When he came back to Nigeria in 1998, he tried to fit
back into Nollywood, he made contacts and informed those on
ground that he had returned, but according to him “the kind of
Nollywood I met, I didn’t like it. My training in India had exposed
my mind to another perception of film as an art form not just for
commercial exploitation, not just for making money. It is much
deeper than that” (Akanni, 2015/2020).

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He explains further:
It is pure, it is a credible artistic form on its own,
comparable to painting, to writing, everything. I
didn’t have that before I left. When I came back
and met the same thing, maybe it was
arrogance, maybe it was intellectual arrogance
or whatever it is, but I just could not fit back
into that Nollywood, so I stayed away. Of
course, I mean because my contacts were still
there I had several offers, they thought I had
come with some magic razzmatazz and all that
but the kind of scripts I was offered, I couldn’t
deal with and they would not allow me to do
anything to it. (Akanni, 2015/2020)
The industry as he met it did not allow restructuring and he
could not adjust to it anymore. Despite offers he got, he stayed
away and concentrated on doing documentaries and some
television series with Wale Adenuga productions. He went back
into theatre, did some theatre work until he met like-minded
people who were interested in the kind of film he wanted to
make. He subsequently started making the kind of film that could
compete favorably internationally.
His first film after returning from India was Ewe Oju Omi
produced by Demola Aremu. Beyond being a director, he is an
accomplished scriptwriter. Apart from reality shows and television
programmes he had directed, he has the following feature films in
digital video form to his credit:
1. Heroes & Zeros (2012) (129 Mins, HDV, English: produced by
KOGA STUDIOS, Lagos)
2. Aramotu (2011) (118 Mins, HDV, Yoruba: produced by TCEL,
Lagos)
3. Bojuboju (2004) (104 Mins, DV-Cam, Yoruba: produced by May 8
Productions, Ibadan)
4. Jogun O Mi 1 & 2 (2003)(200 Mins, DV-Cam, Yoruba: produced by
Yem Kem International Centre for Alternative Therapy)

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5. Ewe Oju Omi (2002) (104 Mins, DV-Cam, Yoruba Video-Film based
on Femi Osofisan’s play The Restless Run of Locusts, produced by
Black Arts Films, London)

His Television Soap Operas include:

1. Family Ties, Season (now in Season 10) (2011 - Present) (Produced by
AK MEDIA Ltd, Lagos)
2. Nowhere to be Found (in Season 14) (2009 - Present) (Produced by AK
MEDIA Ltd, Lagos)
3. Papa Ajasco & Company (Seasons 10-16) (1999-2001) (WALE
ADENUGA PRODUCTIONS, Lagos) This Life (Season 5) (2001) (WALE
ADENUGA PRODUCTIONS, Lagos).

His Feature Films:

1. Ab’obaku (2008)16mm Color, 26 Mins; Just Do It (1998) 35mm
Color, 21 Mins; Hollywood
2. Goodbyes (1997) 35mm B/W, 4 Mins Vini Vidi (1997) 35mm B/W, 5
Mins Eclipse (1997) 35mm B/W, 8 Mins Portrait of a Sinner
(1996)16mm B/W, 5 Mins.
He is into filming educational documentary and consultancy
services.

Niji Akanni’s Approach to Preproduction Phase

As a policy, he is involved in all the films he directs from the
scripting to the editing desk. Responding to a question to that
effect, he said “Yes, yes, yes, in all. Its either I write it myself or I
contribute largely and very significantly” (Akanni, 2015/2020). He
casts the lead roles in his films via the table casting method. This is
a method whereby directors, recruits cast from known actors
rather than by conducting audition. It got its name from the fact
that the director remain in their offices and on their table decide
who to cast for a role. He justifies this in the following words:
One, because of the need to limit the risk of
production resources by which, I mean, the risk
with which you put production resources to, I tend
to cast my major characters, my major players, my
lead actors, table casting method. Again because,
like I said earlier, its either I’m involved in the
scripting of the films I do or I write the entire thing

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myself. In the process of writing, I have a very good

idea who is to play which role because I know them,
I know their strength, I know their weaknesses, and
I know who can fit. In fact, two of my most
successful films, I wrote them specifically for certain
actors. I wrote Aramotu for the lead, my model was
Tina Mba because Aramotu was supposed to be
produced in English anyway, I wrote it in English. I
wrote Heroes and Zeroes, the model actor was
Richard Mofe Damijo so that’s for the lead. (Akanni,
2015/2020)
He casts the supporting actors through auditions as,
according to him, he likes to discover new talents whom he learns
from. He keeps on discovering new actors giving them the
platform to showcase their talents. He likes to perfect what he
does and as a result of the usually limited time available for
production he has no time to “break” the new actors to deliver,
hence he is left with no better alternative but to table cast his lead
roles. He laments; “Nigerian factor, the times are never enough
for me to be able to get the kind of performance I want from my
lead actor.” He recruits his crew based on experience, people he
had heard about and worked with.
It takes him an average of between six and ten months
form choice of script to the completion of the production process.
As pre-shooting preparations, he reads the script over and over
again even if it was written by him. “In reading it, I’ll begin to refine
my mind about the meaning of the text, interpretation of the text
itself, which is the intellectual interpretation” (Akanni, 2015/2020).
He regards the director’s pre-shooting analysis as very important
and highly significant to the success of film directing. In his words:
The analysis, what is the script saying? What
exactly is it? Before I accept it anyway, I must
have agreed, I must have known that it has
something to say, okay. But now that there is
production possibility or that we start talking
about production, I’m preparing to produce it or

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to direct it, I’ll begin to verbalize those meanings,

put them down, rank them, the subtexts, the
under plots and all that. How do they tie into
each other? What is the larger picture,
intellectual analysis? After I’m satisfied that I have
all that, then I go into visualization. I go back
again to read the script with that meaning in my
mind to visualise and say okay, how best I can use
my primary tools; the camera and sound to say
what this script is trying to say at this point in
time. In this scene, what is it saying, what’s the
meaning of this scene, how can I say it visually?
And in visualisation, I find that, from experience I
tend to tinker with the script again in terms of
reducing the dialogues. You’ll find when I begin, I
find that some dialogue are not necessary, I see it
in the picture. So the script reduces in terms of
the verbiage, it reduces. (Akanni, 2015/2020)
Niji Akanni brings his training in scriptwriting to bear on his
films. He writes professionally and with production viability in
mind. As he writes, he visualises as a director and this greatly
makes the actual production smooth.
Before he commences shooting he meets with the
cameraman, makeup artist and the art director to discuss, after he
might have given them the script well ahead of time. They then
discuss the script. Everyone discusses his or her aspect of the
production. It is at this point that he shares his vision with the
crew and they all jointly evaluate the limitations and devise how to
overcome them. To Niji Akanni, the responsibility of scouting for
locations is strictly the producer’s. He insists that the producer
attends the production meetings, where he gets first hand
information of location requirements. Whatever the producer
finds, he the director, checks out and agrees with, if it is
satisfactory. In his words:

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The location manager is in the same

department with the producer. The producer
appoints the location manager, it’s not my job.
Get the locations that we’ve discussed ready,
how you do it, I do not care whether you do it
on your own or you go find somebody, a
location man that could do it, just secure it, let’s
go check it out. (Akanni, 2015/2020)
He hardly builds sets or makes use of studios but found
locations because of the lack of the financial muscle to build or hire
studio facilities.

Niji Akanni’s approach to Production phase

Niji Akanni wishes he has the luxury of having all his cast together
to read the scripts before shooting, he thinks it is the ideal thing to
do but he does not do it because, according to him, “I have never
had that kind of luxury” (Akanni, 2015/2020). He laments further;
“The Nigerian factor would not allow that, I’ve never had that kind
of opportunity” (Akanni, 2015/2020). He feels that apart from
giving the sense of oneness and slightly helping in the
interpretation of the script, reading together or not reading
together does not significantly affect his getting the best from the
actors.
Yeah, that’s what it creates, you know, but
significantly, the actors do not need to, for me
they do not really need to read together for
me to get what I want out of them within the
limited time that I have with them on the set.
So when we get on set, I tell my cameraman;
this is what we’re shooting, this and this and
these are the shots I’m looking at, because
we’ve discussed it before anyway so it’s not
coming as new to him so he or she will be the
one to translate this through lighting, through
the other elements, through grips, to
coordinate all that. So while he’s doing all that!

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Go to the actors. By that time the actors

would have gotten into their costumes
anyway. I go to the actors and we rehearse.
(Akanni, 2015/2020)
He however reads with the major cast, discusses with
them, brings them together but does not extend that luxury to the
minors or extras. “If I have the budget, if I have the resources, I’ll
have my principal actors and my support actors read together for
like two, three days. Just read for interpretation. It’s fine. But like I
said, we never have that kind of luxury” (Akanni, 2015). He has
absolute confidence in the experienced hands he casts. He trusts
them to have read the script on their own and done a thorough
interpretation. That is significantly why he does not use new hands
for his lead roles. According to him:
Yeah, I know these people. They’re trusted
hands. I’m not gonna give my script to Patafun
for instance and say that he has not read the
script. Before he gets to your set, he has
digested the script, his ideas are even far ahead
of yours, ‘iwo lo ma control e, e wa baba, e
cool down’ (You will have to control him and tell him
to go at others’ pace ) u know. So I’m saying that if
I have that kind of resources, I’ll like to have my
lead characters and support characters read
together for about 3, 4 days and other
characters. (Akanni, 2015/2020)

He is solely responsible for the placement of the camera

and shots to be taken. In case a Director of Photography has a
contrary idea that he thinks would work better, he would have to
inform him. He would agree, as that is the essence of
collaboration. He opines:
The first thing a director should be able to do
is to respect his crew. All the members of the
crew will be bringing something to the table.
They are not fools, you didn’t pick them off

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the street, they are there because they are

trained, because that’s their special skill. So
they must know something that you do not
know. Im a director, not a cameraman you
know, am not an editor but I know little things
about each department. (Akanni, 2015/2020)
He depends majorly on the script, for inspiration for the
blockings he gives the actors. The other factors that influence his
direction are the nature of the scene and the beat. Unlike some
directors who claim divine inspiration, he claims that his inspiration
comes from a detailed reading and analysis of the script. He would
have visualised the script, scene by scene and have a clear idea of
what he wants. As a personal principle, Akanni shoots with
minimum of two cameras. This he does by employing different
planes and levels and in the process covers more scenes quickly. In
most cases, except where it’s not necessary, or practicable, he
monitors the shots through the director’s monitor. Due to the fact
that the image on the high definition camera screen is different
from what is eventually transmitted to the television or big screen,
he ensures that he shoots with a professional monitor in place. For
Niji Akanni, it is the moment of the scene, the beats, the scene and
the sequence that dictate the type of equipment he uses. “What
am I trying to say in that point? If a crane would serve me better
and I have access to it, I’ll use it. Primarily, I’m saying that it’s for
narrative purposes. My choice of equipment, my deploying of
them is for narrating, not for sheer aesthetics” (Akanni,
2015/2020).
He does not accept or allow producers to impose any
actor on him and this is one of the factors that prevent him from
belonging to “the mainstream, the core Nollywood” (Akanni,
2015/2020) as he calls it, as such influence and imposition are
common practice in the core Nollywood. Where an agreement
cannot be reached between him and a producer on the choice of a
cast, where the producer insists on an actor he (Akanni) believes
does not fit into his vision of the role, he would simply drop the
script and wish them luck.

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If it’s my script, this situation we talked about,

and we cannot agree on it, I’ll withdraw my script
and go. If you’ve paid me for it, I’ll return your
money. But in most cases that never happens
because I do not make unreasonable demands. I
will not say I want to use my wife who’s also an
actress because I wrote the script and at the
same time I will not accept if you say you want to
use one girl because she is your girlfriend or she’s
your cousin or you want to help her. (Akanni,
2015/2020)

He does not compromise at all, particularly if it has to do with

what can discredit his artistry. He may give a producer who is
enthusiastic about acting and who obviously is not cut out for it, a
non-speaking role. But if he insists on anything more, their
contract is off, because according to him “ultimately, the buck lies
at the director’s table” (Akanni, 2015/2020).
Akanni’s directorial concept depends on the individual
project he is handling. However his production philosophy is
Realism:
It depends on the script. It depends on the
narrative. What style I’m going to use, it
depends and again like I said, usually I have a
hand in most of the scripts so I have an idea of
what I’m trying to achieve formally, in terms of
the form of the film, it’s been written into the
script already but generally here, in Nigeria,
we tend to use realism, its realism all the way.
You can doctor it slightly by tinkering with the
structure of the plot, of the screenplay; we
can do some little razzmatazz in editing, in
post production in terms of editing. (Akanni,
2015/2020).

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He would normally take as many takes of a shot until he is

satisfied. No matter the constraints, be it logistics, time or
financial, Niji Akanni does not compromise his artistry. After
wrapping for the day, he would have a bottle of beer and sleep,
then wake up later in the night to review what was done and
would be done the next day. If while reviewing he discovers
mistakes, he would inform his crew the next day and they will
rectify them and move on. As a principle, he is religiously faithful to
the scriptwriter’s preoccupation and does not interfere with it.
When asked if he endeavors to make directorial statement in his
film, he categorically says he runs away from it and only restricts
his artistry strictly within the confinements of interpreting the
script. “I’ll run away from it because my school of thought
regarding the philosophy of my own directing is that I’m first and
foremost an interpreter of the text and my skill is to interpret, to
visualize, to make a translation of the film that’s written on paper
unto the screen as faithfully as possible” (Akanni, 2015/2020). He
further asserts:
Influence, is more in the presentation. If I see
that for instance there are some sex scenes
written there, that are just gratuitous, that are
not necessary to make any point, I will not
show them. I’ll tone it down. If I think that
you’re being prudish, if I think nakedness is
necessary for that scene and you, either
because you’re a Christian or a Muslim or a
whatever that you do not want nudity and I
think that is very necessary to make that point
I’ll show it. I could stretch a moment to, in my
own mind, make the statement more vivid, I
could shrink it but I’m still making the same
statement. It is the tone that I’m tampering
with. (Akanni, 2015/2020)
He considers it imperative to identify the target audience
of a script, as that enhances the interpretation of the story.

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Art, for Niji Akanni, is strictly to criticise, to examine and

by the artist’s disposition or attitudinal posture, his take on the
issue being criticised will be revealed. As a director, he would not
deal with any story that he does not agree with. He nevertheless
believes that the director has the power to modify, in accordance
to his own perspective. He takes serious interest in the continuity
aspect of the production, consequently, he relates closely with the
cameraman and the continuity man during the shooting of the film.
He ensures that his continuity manager is not only well-known to
him but well-trusted. So he can concentrate on the interpretative
and the creative. He believes and ensures that the continuity
manager must be strong.
He strongly adheres to directorial rules such as the 360
rule, 180, 30 degree rules, line crossing, right to left, entrance and
exit rules. He believes they are fundamental to film directing but if
well understood, they could be broken for effects. He opines; “and
you’re breaking the rule for effect, not because you’re just
breaking it because you’re ignorant. If I break the continuity
system rule, it will be very obvious why I’m breaking it” (Akanni,
2015/2020). He says of all his films, he considers Heroes and Zeroes
as the best, because it says a lot, it has more latitude; it’s more
socially relevant than Aramotu. Aramotu is sold in terms of the
passion. Aramotu is very passionate, Aramotu is saying something
that is timeless as it were but Heroes and Zeroes has more latitude,
it speaks about several things, you know; it has philosophy in it,
(Akanni, 2015/2020), on the other hand, he sees either Bojuboju or
Ewe Oju Omi, as his worst film because he could not follow the film
to the editing desk and so was not impressed with the final
outcome.

Niji Akanni’s approach to Postproduction phase

Niji Akanni is totally involved with every aspect of the
postproduction of his work. He submits; “Everything, to the point
of submitting the master copy” (Akanni, 2015/2020). In order to
be involved with the postproduction of his films, he factors the
financial implication in, right from the negotiation stage. He says he

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cannot shoot a film and give it to an editor he cannot or is not

allowed to work with, no matter how good the editor may be. As
a rule, his editor’s work with him right from the last day of
shooting until the film is fully ready. He handles the subtitling of his
movies himself. On two occasions he was not able to handle the
subtitling of his films, the first time he was ill and the second time
he fell out with the producer. Both times, the final outcome was
embarrassing. After the unfortunate incidences, he makes sure it
never happens again.
He sees himself as a director who leads. According to him:
I think my strength as a director, I could be
wrong but that’s what I would like to operate
for me. I think I’m a leader and leaders listen,
leaders take the people, their followers along,
leaders come for the talent and personalities of
their followers, leaders respect the skills and
the emotions of their followers, leaders set
examples. I think that sums up my type of
director. (Akanni, 2015).
He is disciplined and ensures discipline among his cast and crew.

The Strengths and Weaknesses of Niji Akkani’s Iconoclastic

Approach to Film Directing
Akanni vehemently detests the unconventional practice in
Nollywood whereby some producers influence some directorial
decision under the guise of “he who pays the piper dictates the
tune”. He disallows producers from imposing any actor on him and
this is one of the factors that prevent him from belonging to “the
mainstream, the core Nollywood” (Akanni, 2015/2020). In an
event of irrevocable agreement between him and a producer on
the choice of a cast, particularly when he (Akanni) does not see
the artiste delivering, he would simply drop the script and wish
them luck. The merit of such firmness is that it facilitates artistic
excellence while its demerit is that such firmness is not
economically sound as the directors would lose lots of job

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opportunities. Nevertheless, an artist who knows his onions would

not sacrifice artistic excellence on the altar economic gratification.
As iconoclast, he freely and creatively breaks directing
rules. Take for instance in Bojuboju (2004), Akanni disregards the
traditional shot sequence such as, long shot, medium and close-up
as basic camera language. Rather that establishing the scenes in
Bojuboju (2004)with long shots, he simply opens into the scenes
and shoots more in the interior. Though he uses establishments
shots in the film, but in an unconventional way. In it and other
ones, his establishment shots are not “stand alone shots” that
mearly indicate the physical setting of the scene or sequence and
are therefore expendable. He integrates his establishment shots
deep into the narratives that should one miss the shot; one would
have missed a part of the meaning-making processes of the plot no
matter how slight it is.
If for instance, if a scene happened inside a DPO’s office,
the conventional Nollywood filmic narration will start with an
isolated establishment shot of a police station exterior, then cut
into the interior of the DPO’s office. Of course this establishment
shot could have been recorded in just any police station in Nigeria
or even borrowed from stock footage of such exterior shots of
police station that has been already used in film. On the contrary
he prefers to impress it on his viewers that the particular police
station exterior is exclusively tied to the scene / sequence to be
seen in the interior of the office. In other to do that, he would
either insert an identifiable character or prop in that exterior shot
that will later be seen in the interior scene. Or he would stage a
story event; no matter how slight in that exterior establishment
shot which would have a direct impact on the scene about to
happen in the interior. This is rather novel and it turns out to be a
creative ingenuity. This style has the 3D effect on viewers as it
takes them straight into the actions of the film and they are made
to feel like they are part of the action being dramatized. It
heightens the sense of audience’s involvement and participation in
the drama. Viewers are therefore spellbound and enthralled
throughout the film. This is novel and innovative.

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Though he strongly respects directorial rules such as the

360 rule, 180, 30 degree rules, line crossing, right to left, entrance
and exit rules, he nevertheless, believes that they are fundamental
to film directing if well understood, they could be broken for
effects. He opines; “and you’re breaking the rule for effect, not
because you’re just breaking it because you’re ignorant. If I break
the continuity system rule, it will be very obvious why I’m breaking
it” (Akanni, 2015/2020).

Conclusion
Having, in the forgoing, discussed Niji Akanni’s approaches to film
directing, the paper concludes that Niji Akanni is an iconoclast; he
advertently breaks directorial rules to evolve novel directorial style
which ingenuously employs camera language as cinematic narrative
technique. It also submits that formal training is significantly
instrumental to Kilanni’s creative directorial style. The paper
recommends that some creative film directors are ripped for
academic attention and should feature in filmmaking education. It
also submits that formal training is significantly instrumental to
Akanni’s creative directorial style. The paper recommends that
some creative film directors are ripped for academic attention and
should feature in filmmaking education.
The paper concludes that “Formal training is needed for
optimal performance for anything in life and directing is just one of
them” (Akanni, 2015/2020). Anyone who desires to be a film
director must learn the rule of the game. Film directing is not for
every Tom, Dick and Harry. It is a venture for those who are
ready and willing to learn the process. Apart from formal training,
personal training is of equal importance. That someone had been
an actor or camera man for years is not sufficient enough for
crossing over to become a director. Niji Akanni opines, “Yeah,
without undergoing the conversion, the formal process of
conversion in terms of training, he’s not likely to succeed. It’s a
different skill entirely” (Akanni, 2015/2020). Upcoming directors
should begin by finding a passion for film as an art, a form of artistic
expression that gives them a platform or a channel to contribute

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their quota to making their society better. Incoming directors

should seek excellence first. When one gets excellence, economic
success will follow.

References
Akanni, N. (2016) Interview, by Babatope, B., at House 58, Francis
Okediji Avenue, Old Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria on the
28th day of November, at 12:00 noon
Bordwell, D and Thompson, K. (2003) Film Art: An Introduction. New
York: McGraw Hill.
Lapsley, R., & Westlike, M. (2006) Film Theory: An Introduction.
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Mamer, B. (2003) The Film Production Technique: Creating the
Accomplished Image (3rd Edition).United States: Thomson
Wordsworth.
Nicholas, E. (2008) Picture Yourself Directing a Movie: Step-by-step
Instruction for Creating Short Films and More. Boston, USA: Course
Technology.
Rabiger, M. (1997) Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics (Second
Edition). USA: Focal Press.
Sarris, Andrew. (yr?) “The Auteur Theory and the Perils of Pauline”.
Film Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 4. 26-33.

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Process Types in Governor Seyi Makinde's

Broadcast on COVID-19

Olusegun Oladele JEGEDE

Department of English and Literary Studies,
Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria
jegedeolusegun@[Link]

Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine the types of process used in
Governor Seyi Makinde's first speech on the COVID-19 pandemic in
Oyo State. Specifically, the study identified and categorised the
processes, while determining the frequency of their use in the speech.
Additionally, the processes used were interpreted and discussed in line
with the messages relayed in the speech. The study adopted a
descriptive approach for the analysis of data. The data comprised the
broadcast of the Governor of Oyo State, Nigeria made on 24 March,
2020 on the COVID-19 pandemic in the State. The data were critically
read and broken down into clauses. Process types were identified in
each of the clauses and categorised. The frequency of their occurrence
was determined and their use in the broadcast was interpreted and
discussed. The results of the study clearly showed that material process
was mostly used by the Governor in his speech. This was due to the fact
that the coronavirus pandemic had become a world problem and has
been detected in the State that he governs. Other processes such as
mental, relational and verbal were also used in the speech to reveal the
thoughts and understanding of the governor on the COVID-19
pandemic, the relationship existing between participants in the discourse
and the verbal necessities of the stakeholders in containing the virus. The
study concluded that processes play an important role in speeches as
they help the speaker to achieve coherence, cohesion, unity, thematic
focus and syntax in the speech.

Keywords: Process Types, COVID-19, Systemic Functional

Grammar, Transitivity, Political Discourse

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1. Introduction
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a pandemic, caused
by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-
2), that ravaged the world, starting in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in
December 2019, and spread across many countries in the world
within a spate of three months (Huang, Wang, Li, Ren, Zhao, Hu,
2020; Rothan and Byrareddy, 2020). Thousands of lives were lost.
This created a lot of apprehension in the minds of people, and
governments of each affected nation took proactive measures to
contain the spread of the virus in their countries. Nigeria was one
of the countries affected, and each state governor took measures
to contain the spread of the virus in their States. In relations to
this, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State made a broadcast three
days after the virus was discovered in his state. This study
examines Governor Seyi Makinde's first broadcast on COVID-19
made on 24 March, 2020, paying particular attention to the types
of processes adopted by him to relay his intentions to the people
of Oyo State in his broadcast.
Political discourse is not a new area of study. Several
studies have been carried out on different speeches or debates
given in different areas of politicking (Ayoola, 2005; Nedashkivska,
2006; Olaniyi, 2010; Abuya, 2012; Odebunmi & Oni, 2012; Taiwo,
2014; Adegoju, 2014; Jegede, 2015; Al-Majali, 2015; Soleimani &
Yeganeh, 2016; Mukuthuria and Muriungi, 2016; Amanda, 2017;
Osisanwo, 2017; Gusthini, Amalia & Sobarna, 2018; Sharndama &
Ajayi, 2019; Laila, 2020). The great significance of politics in
everyday life has given political discourse an attractive stature and
value among linguists and they have continued to subject it to
critical examination. In the same vein, this paper discusses the
functional use of language in the first speech delivered by
Governor Seyi Makinde on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Oyo
State, with a focus on the process options adopted by the speaker
in the speech.

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2. Literature Review
2.1 Political Discourse
According to Sharndama and Ajayi (2019), speech is a formal talk
delivered to a target audience in a particular context. Its making is
prompted by certain objectives or goals that the speaker wants to
achieve. The speaker’s purpose of delivering a speech could be to
inform, educate or persuade the audience. Political speech borders
on some issues of interest to the members of the public, which the
politicians take advantage of to communicate their political
ideologies (Joseph, 2006; Jegede, 2018).
Through making speeches, politicians influence the
people’s political thoughts, opinions or beliefs. Political speeches
are prepared and delivered in a designated political forum, context
or domain. According to Chilton (2004), politics is a struggle for
power, between those who seek to assert and maintain their
power and those who resist it. Osisanwo (2017) observes that the
thirst to be in control of power probably explains why there seems
to be a lot of contest or struggle between individuals for the one
who takes over the mantle of leadership in a particular
environment. Politics, which is a public phenomenon, is enabled by
language. It is clear that, the concepts of language and politics are
interwoven. Hence, it will not be out of place to say that politics
has become linguistic – a linguistic issue while language has
become political – a political issue (Osisanwo, 2017).
Politics as the art of governance is dependent on language,
because it plays vitals roles in communicating political ideologies
and performing other political activities (Sarah & Oladayo, 2018).
Thus, language has an important role to play in politics because it
influences all political activities in a country. The success or failure
of politicians sometimes depends on their choice of language.
Savoyl (2010) opines that in order to achieve their political goals,
politicians use persuasive language to affect the political beliefs of
the electorates. Similarly, Safwat (2015) posits that politicians often
pay attention to various rhetorical techniques to enhance their
ideas.

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Beard (2000) observes that political discourse, language use in

politics, looks at how political office holders use language.
Politicians, especially presidents and governors, use language
skilfully in their speeches to persuade the people. According to
Sarah & Oladayo (2018), language and power are inter-related.
Thus, everyone in power utilises language as a valuable tool in
carrying out their official duties. In most cases, politicians
manipulate their words in order to achieve their intentions. We
can therefore say that language is the channel of politics.
Opeibi (2009) observes that language is the means by
which politicians express their thoughts and ideologies. Therefore,
the status of language in mobilising, convincing, enlightening and
persuading the people cannot be over-emphasized. Jegede (2019)
notes that the masses usually give their support to politicians
because of the way they use language to make their messages
logical and accurate. Thus, the success of a politician greatly
depends on how well they can use language to manipulate the
psyche of the people. Chen (2018) observes that political
discourse or speech is a social norm, which plays an important role
in actualising the goals of the speaker. He further opines that
political speeches reveal the attitude of the politician to the
internal and international issues surrounding the country. In such
speeches, Presidents reveal new policies and acts relating to all the
sectors in the country. Such speeches show politicians’
determination, confidence and focus to take effective measures to
achieve the set developmental goals of the country. Thus,
politicians use language skilfully to interact with the people, arouse
their passions and seek their support. This is the interest of studies
in political discourse. Conscious of the needs of the masses,
political leaders become aware of the language to use in
implementing their political agenda; they make frantic efforts to
address the needs of their audience and win their support through
persuasion, an essential communicative fuse in political discourse.
Van Dijk (2002, 2006) distinguishes political discourse as a class of
genres defined by a social domain. Fairclough and Fairclough
(2012) state that political discourse is primarily argumentative

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discourse. This definition is depending on the method of politics

which is conventional in a contradiction and feeling of ambiguity
while making decisions. Van Dijk (2002) expresses that political
discourse is ideological since it is utilized to introduce individual
opinions and positions which are generally impacted by ideology.

2.2 Analytical Framework

2.2.1 Systemic Functional Linguistics
Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is an approach to linguistics
that considers language as a system. It was developed by Michael
Halliday. Halliday incorporates two central dimensions of language
- system and function. The term 'systemic' foregrounds Saussure’s
paradigmatic axis' in understanding how language works. In other
words, for Halliday, a central theoretical principle is that any act of
communication involves choices on many scales. The choices can
be mapped using the representation tool of the 'system network'.
In addition, his linguistics is termed 'functional', because it has
evolved in the service of 'certain functions' that have left their mark
on the structure and organisation of language.
Halliday (1994) notes that the term systemic refers to the
view of language as a network of systems, or interrelated set of
options for making meaning. The term functional refers to
Halliday's view that language is as it is because of what it has
evolved to do. In other words, SFL is the study of the relationship
between language and its functions in social settings. Systemic
Functional Linguistics treats grammar as a meaning-making
resource and insists on the interrelation of form and meaning.
Eggins (2004) observes that Systemic Functional Linguistics
is a study of functions and semantics which is claimed to be the
basis of human language and communicative activity. As opposed
to structural approaches that focus primarily on syntax, SFL-
oriented linguists begin with an exploration into social contexts
and move on from there to look at how language acts upon, and is
constrained and influenced by this social context. Halliday (2003)
also describes grammar as systems and not as rules on the basis
that every grammatical structure involves a choice from a

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describable set of options. Language is thus a meaning potential.

Grammarians in SF tradition use system networks to map the
available options in a language.
Halliday (1994) refers to his functions of language as
metafunctions. He proposes three general functions: the ideational,
the interpersonal and the textual. Each of the three metafunctions
is about a different aspect of the world, and is concerned with a
different mode of meaning of clauses. For the purpose of this
study, we will only focus on the ideational metafunction. In
particular, the study adopts the Grammar of Experiential meaning,
focusing on process option, as its analytical tool.

Ideational Metafunction (The Grammar of Experiential

Meaning)
According to Halliday (1994) and Eggins (2004), the Grammar of
Experiential meaning is derived from the ideational metafunction
which is about the natural world in the broadest sense, including
our own consciousness, and is concerned with clauses as
representations. The ideational metafunction is the function for
construing human experience. It is the means by which we make
sense of "reality". Halliday (1994) divides the ideational function
into two: the logical and the experiential metafunctions. The logical
metafunction refers to the grammatical resources for building up
grammatical units into complexes, for instance, for combining two
or more clauses into a clause complex. The experiential function
refers to the grammatical resources involved in construing the flux
of experience through the unit of the clause. This present study is
focusing on the experiential function alone as presented by Eggins
(2004).
According to Eggins (2004), the experiential metafunction,
also called ‘Clause as Representation’, is the clause that represents
the ‘content’ of our experiences. This metafunction uses the
grammatical system of transitivity. Although sharing the traditional
view of transitivity that the focus is on the verb group (the
Process), the system describes the whole clause (Thompson,
1994) and does not use the labels ‘subject’, ‘verb’ and ‘object’,

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seeing that ‘verb’ is a word class, while ‘Subject’ is a functional

term. Instead, different functional labels are given to Participants
(realised by nominal groups), Processes (realised by verbal groups)
and Circumstances (realised by prepositional phrases or adverbials
signifying time, place or manner) of each process type. To
summarise, there are three basic elements to all process
structures - the process itself, the participants in the process, and
the circumstances associated with the process. However, this
study focuses on the processes alone.
Halliday (1994) distinguishes six process types:
1) Material (processes of doing, usually concrete, tangible
actions).
2) Verbal (processes which encode meanings of thinking or
feeling). Halliday (1994) divides mental process verbs into
three classes: cognition (verbs of thinking, knowing,
understanding); affection (verbs of liking, fearing); and
perception (verbs of seeing, hearing).
3) Behavioural (processes of physiological and psychological
behaviour such as breathe, cough, dream, frown, gawk,
grimace, grin, laugh, look over, scowl, smile, sniff, stare, taste,
think on, watch, etc.
4) Verbal (processes of verbal actions such as say, ask, tell, call,
speak, etc).
5) Existential (processes representing experience by positing that
'there was/is something. Existential processes typically employ
the verb 'be' or synonyms such as exist, arise, occur, etc.
6) Relational (processes that involve establishing a relationship
between two terms, where the relationship is expressed by
the verb 'be' or a synonym. They are of four types: Attributive,
Identifying, Possessive, and Circumstantial.
The process type, according to Eggins (2004), is what underlies the
differences in a paradigm, such as:
1. Diana gave some blood. [Material]
2. Diana thought she should give blood. [Mental]
3. Diana said that giving blood is easy. [Verbal]

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4. Diana dreamt of giving blood. [Behavioural]

5. There is a reward for giving blood. [Existential]
6. Diana is a blood donor. [Relational]

3. Methodology
The study adopted a descriptive approach for the analysis of data.
The data comprised the broadcast of the Governor of Oyo State,
Nigeria made on 24 March, 2020 on the COVID-19 pandemic in
the State. The data were critically read and broken down into
clauses. Process types were identified in each of the clauses and
categorised. The frequency of their occurrence was determined
and their use in the broadcast was interpreted and discussed.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1 Identification and Categorisation of Process Types
The types of process used in the speech and their frequency of use
are shown in the table below.

Table 1: Categorisation of Processes

S/N Process Types Frequency Percentage (100%)
1 Material 52 83.0
2 Mental 02 2.5
3 Verbal 01 1.5
4 Behavioural 00 00
5 Existential 00 00
6 Relational Identifying 05 8.0
7 Relational Attributive 03 5.0
8 Relational Possessive 00 00
9 Relational Circumstantial 00 00
Total 63 100

From table 1, the types of process used by the Governor in his

speech are Material, Relational Identifying, Relational Attributive,
Mental and Verbal. Material process was used 52 times (83.0%),
which makes it the most frequently used process type in the
speech. Relational Identifying Process was used 5 times (8.0%) in
the speech. Relational Attributive Process was used 3 times

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(5.0%); Mental Process was used 2 times (2.5%); while Verbal

Process was used 1 time (1.5%). However, Behavioural,
Existential, Relational Possessive and Relational Circumstantial
were not used at all in the speech.

4.2 Interpretation and Discussion of Process Types Used

4.2.1 Material Process
Material processes are processes of doing tangible things. In other
words, they are processes showing actions. In the speech, 52
material processes are used. The following are excerpts from the
speech.
1) ... gatherings should be limited to 30 persons or less.
2) ... we have ... reduced the previous five isolation centres to
three.
3) ... I am obligated to place a ban on gatherings such as
religious services, weddings, parties, burial ceremonies and
so on, ...
4) ... a five-member committee of experts has been approved
to act as sub-committee for the EOC.
5) ... but these are the sacrifices we need to make to
preserve and protect our loved ones.
6) ... I understand how this pandemic will affect us socially,
economically and spiritually ...
7) … the advice on how to contain this virus is that we should
do the exact opposite.
8) ... the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) has been set
up and is now operational with an Incidence Manager, Dr.
Taiwo Ladipo of the Ministry of Health.
9) ... this virus is disrupting our lives in ways that we never
imagined ...
10) ... we can conquer it.
11) ... we have to copy all they did, as far as our local
circumstances can permit, to keep the numbers here in
manageable proportions.
12) ...the Oyo State Government has ramped up its
preparedness for any possible outbreak of the pandemic.

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13) All returning expatriate staffers in the state ... are being
monitored.
14) I have ... directed that all public and private schools in Oyo
State should be closed until after Easter.
15) On Saturday, 21st March 2020, the first case of the novel
Coronavirus Disease was confirmed in Oyo State.
16) The Free Health Mission has ... been suspended.
17) The ongoing workers’ verification exercise has been
suspended.
18) These measures will be reviewed in two weeks.
19) This is the time to come together as a people to fight a
common enemy, COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus.
20) This new development calls for stepping up even further,
the measures that our administration is taking to prevent,
contain and control the spread of this illness.
21) We are also awaiting reagents for testing which have been
ordered.
22) We are collaborating with the College of Medicine to set
up two Diagnostic Centres at the University College
Hospital, Ibadan which will begin operations by the end of
the week.
23) We have ... postponed the Agribusiness Summit,
indefinitely.
24) We have ... set up an additional isolation centre by re-
designating the Maternal and Health Centre at Olodo as
the Oyo State Infectious Disease Centre with a capacity for
over 100 cases.
25) We have activated the Disease Surveillance and
Notification System Officers in the 33 Local Government
Areas and the 35 Local Council Development Areas.
26) We have postponed the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences
Summit, indefinitely.
27) We have provided numbers to call in case of emergencies.
28) We have purchased and are ... refitting two dedicated
ambulances for conveying critical cases to the isolation
centres, while emergency personal protective gears have

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been provided for health workers with more already

ordered.
29) We set up a COVID-19 Task Force which I am heading.
30) With commitment and the grace of God, we shall conquer
this.
From the excerpts above, it can be deduced that a lot of actions
are needed to contain the spread of the virus in the state. The
governor, thus, uses material processes to reveal the steps he had
taken, the steps he is taking, and the steps he is yet to take in
containing the further spread of the virus in his state and to take
care of those that have already been infected in the state.

4.2.2 Mental Process

A few mental processes are used in the speech. Mental process
relating to cognition such as 'understand' and 'imagine' are used in
the speech as they are seen in the excerpts below.
1) ... I understand how this pandemic will affect us socially,
economically and spiritually ...
2) ... this virus is disrupting our lives in ways that we never
imagined ...
The mental processes used indicate that great understanding about
how the pandemic will affect us socially, economically and
spiritually is needed. In addition, the people's imagination is
surpassed by the way the virus is disrupting their lives. Thus, the
use of mental process helps the audience to have an idea of the
inner state of the speaker.

4.2.3 Relational Attributive Process

Relational attributive processes show relationships between
participants. Thus, the speaker tries to show the relationship
between the virus and the people. The following are excerpts
from the speech.
1) … some people among us can be asymptomatic.
2) ... proper hygienic practices, social distancing and staying at
home are very important.

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3) ... the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) ... is now

operational ...
The relationships in the excerpts above are attributive. In
other words, the process shows that a participant has a particular
attribute or quality. Thus, relational attributive processes used in
the speech help the speaker to show relationship of quality
between 'some people' and 'asymptomatic', 'proper hygienic
practices, social distancing and staying at home' and 'very
important', and 'the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC)' and
'now operational'. Thus, 'asymptomatic', 'very important', and
'operational' are attributes ascribed to their carriers through the
process.

4.2.4 Relational Identifying Process

Relational identifying processes also show relationships between
participants, but unlike attributive processes, they identify or
define participants. The following excerpts are examples of clauses
where identifying processes are used in the speech.
1) ... it cannot remain business as usual.
2) ... but these are the sacrifices we need to make ...
3) They are: Ten-bed isolation centre at Jericho Chest Hospital,
Ibadan, Four-bed isolation centre at University College
Hospital, Ibadan, Four-bed isolation centre at LAUTECH
Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.
4) They can be carriers of the virus without showing any physical
symptoms.
5) This is the time to come together as a people ...
From the excerpts above, the identifying processes help to
establish relationships between participants by defining or
identifying one participant through another. Thus, in the speech,
we have participants such as 'it' being identified as 'business', 'these'
being identified as 'the sacrifices', 'They' being identified as 'Ten-
bed isolation centre at Jericho Chest Hospital, Ibadan, Four-bed
isolation centre at University College Hospital, Ibadan, Four-bed
isolation centre at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso',
'They' being identified as 'carriers of the virus', and 'This' being

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identified as 'the time'. All these relationships are made possible

through the use of relational identifying process.

4.2.5 Verbal Process

Verbal processes are processes of saying. As processes of doing
are very important, processes of saying are equally important.
Although they are scarcely used in the speech, they relate
information about actions to be taken. Thus, a number of material
processes in the speech may have happened as a result of the
verbal processes. In other words, verbal actions may be necessary
to guide doing actions. Consider the following excerpt.
1) This new development calls for stepping up even further, the
measures.
The verbal process in the excerpt above explains the need to take
productive and logical actions on the pandemic.

5. Conclusion
Generally, the types of process used in the speech helped to
achieve coherence, cohesion, unity, thematic focus and syntax in
the speech. In particular, the results of the study clearly showed
that material process was mostly used by the Governor in his
speech. This was due to the fact that the coronavirus pandemic
had become a world problem and it was ravaging some Nigerian
States, especially Oyo State that he governs. Thus, urgent,
concrete, tangible actions were needed to be taken to contain the
spread of the virus. His choice of material process showed his
commitment to the people of Oyo State by making it known to
them that he had taken some actions before making the broadcast,
and he had some ongoing actions as well as future actions to
contain the further spread of the virus in the State. Other
processes such as mental, relational and verbal were also used in
the speech to reveal the thoughts and understanding of the
governor on the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship existing
between participants in the discourse and the verbal necessities of
the stakeholders in containing the virus.

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A Critical Analysis of NAFDAC Communication

Interventions’ Effectiveness in Selected
Communities in Abuja, Nigeria

Alexander Jacob ATTAH (Ph.D)

Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies, Jos
attahalex@[Link]

Abstract
The consequences of use of fake drugs on human health and wellbeing
are numerous and quite devastating. This therefore calls for the need for
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control
(NAFDAC) and other stakeholders to create enlightenment campaigns
and mass mobilization of the people in other to address this challenge.
This paper therefore investigates factors militating against NAFDAC
communication intervention against fake drug in selected communities
in, Abuja with a view to enhancing the campaign. Descriptive survey was
adopted, using survey instruments such as questionnaire, focus group
guide, key informant interviews and observation for data collation. The
questionnaire items were designed in four (4) Likert Scale of Strongly
Agreed, Agreed, Disagreed and Strongly Disagreed. The mean score of
2.5 was used to state the level of significance. It was found that
NAFDAC campaign relied extensively on conventional media without
recourse to interpersonal channels, which limited the awareness created
and by extension the campaigns effectiveness. The study therefore
recommends that there is the necessity to adopt the use of
communication mix in NAFDAC enlightenment campaign so that the
message can be more effective.
Keywords: Communication Strategy, Fake Drugs, Intervention,
Mobilization

Introduction
NAFDAC’s effort in creating public awareness appears popular
amongst urban dwellers, the literate and the educated. The
communication media like television, radio, newspapers,
magazines, journals, posters, flyers, billboards and books which
NAFDAC relies upon to communicate issues of drug to the

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consumers are very formal in nature, thereby making accessibility

to them limited to only the consumers who are literate and urban
based. There is therefore the probability of exclusion from the
campaigns, especially the illiterate population largely found in the
rural areas. These groups of persons, for a long time now, “have
little or no access to information” (Chinwendu 2008). It is
generally acknowledged, that effective communication is central to
proper health care, especially on the issue of safe drug.
Communication should be pervasive in creating, gathering and
sharing health information and in the case of this study, drug
information. According to Kreps (2015:5):
Communication is a central human process that
enables individual and collective adaptation to health
risks at any different levels. In other words, when
people are communicated to sufficiently it makes
them knowledgeable and they in turn become
powerful over situations and emerging conditions.

Similarly, Adeyanju (2008:25) posits that:

The enormity of the problems in the health sector
and the realization that nothing much could be
achieved without convincing the people involved on
some aspects of health have forced stakeholders in
the health sector to give premium to communication.
Thus, it is assumed that the NAFDAC communication
systems for the enlightenment of the Nigerian drug consumers are
a top down approach and that such communication model is
unidirectional. This is because the use of the print and electronic
media is impersonal and does not offer the recipients of the
information high feedback opportunity. The attendant implication
is that of making receivers of such communication passive. When
recipients of development (drug users) messages are passive, it
may lead to failure of campaign objectives. It thus derives from the
common saying that knowledge is power. It takes a well-informed
person to make the right choices. Therefore, the need for
effective communication cannot be overemphasized. The desire to

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overcome the incidence of fake drugs is the hope of everybody in

Nigeria; therefore, the people of Abuja are not an exception. The
study therefore is aimed at assessing the agency’s communication
intervention with a view to determining its effectiveness.

Statement of the Problem

Empirically, studies have been undertaken on fake drugs
phenomenon and results have shown high prevalence. Most of this
studies, however, dwelt on definitions, nature, causes, effects and
efforts directed towards its eradication.
The studies of Erhun et al (2001), Hilary (2004),
Chinwendu (2008) and Bouwari (2012) were focused on factors
responsible for the preponderance of fake drugs, its consequences
on human lives, NAFDAC efforts at eradicating it using integrated
marketing communication model; there seems to be no significant
contribution made in terms of awareness creation among the rural
populace. This is the gap in knowledge which this study seeks to
fill.
This study which is an assessment of NAFDAC
Communication intervention seek to determine the effectiveness
of its campaign in the communities of Yangoji, Gaba and Chibiri in
the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
Aim of the study
The study is aimed at analysing the effectiveness of NAFDAC
communication interventions against fake drugs in some
communities in, Abuja.
Objective of the study
The specific objective of the study is to identify NAFDAC
communication approaches and their effectiveness in the control
of fake drugs within the selected communities.
Scope of the study
The study’s scope covers some selected villages (Yangoji, Gaba
and Chibiri) cutting across three council areas in FCT, Abuja. The
choice of these communities is anchored in the fact that they

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display characteristics of “ruralness” thereby providing the

homogeneity required for generation of relevant data.

Methodology
The study adopted a cross sectional design using both quantitative
and qualitative methods on a ppopulation of 5, 107 derived from
the Yangoji, 2,32; Chibiri 2,321 and Gaba 465. The study made use
of the probability sampling for the quantitative aspect of the study
and purposive non-probability sampling technique for the
qualitative study. Using bourley’s formula the sample populations
were reduced to the following: Yangoji 232, Chibiri 232, Gaba
46. Thus bringing the total of sampled population to 500. The
research made use of Questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion, Key
Informant Interview and Documentary Observation to obtain data.
Qualitative Analysis was done through the use; Simple narration of
recorded information from the focus group guide and key
informant interview (KII). Quantitative Analysis was carried out
using the statistical Package for social science (SPSS) version 20.0
and result presented using simple descriptive statistics with tables
indicating frequencies, percentages and means. The study was
anchored on Kincaib Convergence Communication Model.

Review of Related Literature

Communication: Views and Perspectives
The relevance of communication in society has never been in
doubt. In fact, communication scholars have come to terms with
the fact that communication remains the viable medium through
which relationships are established, extended and maintained.
Dewey (1916:5), cited by Izuu (2008:345) states unequivocally that
“society exists not only by transmission, by communication, but it
may be fairly said to exist in transmission, in communication”.
Perhaps, this is why its study has continued to engage the attention
of scholars, researchers and practitioners over the years towards a
better understanding of how best it could serve society.
Aristotle in 1865 developed his theories of rhetoric and
proof, taking advantage of speech or language as his starting point.

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His work was seen as prescriptive and its basis was on instruction
on how to be an effective persuasive speaker. Other
communication models of Lasswell (1948:12), Shannon and
Weaver (1949:10), Defleur (1958:13), Schram (1954:11) and Berlo
(1960:18) are descriptive in nature. The purpose of these models
is to describe, explain, predict, and/or control communication
phenomena. According to Rogers (2009:14), the views expressed
in these theories were highly mechanistic, treating communication
as a machine, wherein information or massages are depicted as
travelling through channels. The model therefore shows or
concentrates only on the tangible. In other words, they do not deal
with the meaning of the message itself. In his contribution to this
mechanistic view, Bill (1996:45) believes that these models viewed
communication as a “process of cause and effect- it is essentially
linear and sequential, with each part viewed simply as something in
its own right that can be studied without reference to other parts.
The communication process is depicted as an information source
through a transmitter (encoder), which transforms the message to
a signal, sending it through a channel that is affected by noise. The
signal then passes through a receiver (decoder), which transforms
the signal back to a message that finally reaches the destination.
The most basic tenet of the linear form of communication models
is that of communication as action, depicting a sender (or source
or speaker), transmitting a message through some channel to a
receiver (Ayuba, 2014:65-66). These models according to scholars
and researchers only emphasized transmission, so they are
transmissive in nature. Asemah (2010:8) concurs to the above
assertion and defines mechanistic view of communication as a
“perfect transaction of a message from the sender to the
receiver”. Izuu (2008:345) goes further to provide Carey’s
(1989:9) understanding of the transmission view of
communication. According to Carey, the transmission view of
communication elicits words like “imparting”, “sending”,
“transmitting”, and/or “informing”, and has been said to mean “a
process whereby messages are transmitted and distributed in
space for the control of distance and people.

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In more specific terms, according to Izuu, the transmission

view of communication more often than not downplays the
feelings, biases, social realities, and circumstance of the receiver of
the message. It is epitomized in theories of communication that do
not create avenues for reliable feedback from the receivers of the
message sent. Izuu believes that the mass media has been
implicated so much in this, owing to the fact that more often than
not, the processes of getting audiences’ feedback is not in real
time. The point here is that the transmission view of
communication deals with outcome or end-effect, as its aim. This
is exactly the position of Mody (1991:41):
When we talk about approximating or achieving
communication, we are using the word to refer
to an outcome or end-effect. Another use of the
term refers to the process. The aim of
“communication” as an outcome is to “make
common”, to share. Communication is achieved,
when the sender and the receiver hold meaning
in common; that is, when the meaning the sender
wanted to share is identical, (Isomorphic with) to
the meaning the audience receive.
From a transmission/ persuasion perspective, Srampickal
(2007:11) states: “communication was understood as a linear,
unidirectional process in which senders send information through
media channels to receivers. Pursuing this understanding further,
Rajiv and Maria (2009;13) cautions disseminators of information to
be mindful of the fact that in adopting the transmission views of
communication, it is reasonable to think carefully about the
channels through which intervention messages are disseminated,
to whom the message is attributed, how audience members
respond and the features of messages that have the greatest
impact. These considerations certainly reflect the essential
components of the communication process, channels, source,
receiver and message respectively. The communication process is
therefore seen as the exchange of message or mere transmission
of meaning.

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However, as human thinking advanced and became sophisticated,

the focus of communication scholars shifted from messages to
meaning creation rather than transmission of meaning.
Communication is now seen as a process involving series of
activities, exchange or set of behaviours. Arguing from the point of
view of philosophy, Ani (2011:77) posits a more dialectical
emphasis on the process view of communication. He maintains
that if we accept the concept of process, we view events and
relationship as dynamic, ongoing, ever changing and continuous.

Communication Campaigns
One important way to change the health behaviours of a large
number of people is to conduct communication campaigns.
Communication campaigns according to Snyder (2001: 457-478)
are “an organized communication activity, directed at a particular
population for a particular period of time, to achieve a particular
goal”. In line with the above definition, Atkin and Rice (2013:10)
see communication campaign as “a process that encompasses
strategies for producing effects on knowledge, attitudes and
behaviour across a variety of domains, including political, social,
environmental, and health outcomes”. Atkin and Rice (2013:10)
state that “communication campaigns typically specify the
purposive attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate behaviour
changes in a relatively well defined and large audience, within a
given time period, by means of organized communication activities
involving mass and online/interactive media and often
complemented by interpersonal support”.
The term campaign includes organized, communication-
based interventions aimed at large groups of people and social
marketing efforts that include communication activities. Snyder
(2001:9) also noted that “Campaigns have promoted a wide
variety of health behaviours, including seat belt use, dietary
change, medication use, exercise, dental care, social support,
substance use prevention and cessation, family planning, use of
health services, and testing and screening for diseases. Health
communication campaigns have been used to address many of the

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most common causes of death in the United States-poor diet,

physical inactivity, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, microbial
agents, and toxic agents (National Center for Chronic Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion, 2000).

Presentation of Results
Table 1
Identification of the Channels of NAFDAC Communication
Channels SA A DA SDA Mean
Radio Yangoji 102 (44.0) 39 (16.8) 48 (20.7) 43(18.5) 2.8
Gaba 20 (43.5) 11(23.9) 0(00.0) 15(32.6) 2.7
Chibiri 40(17.2) 109(47.0) 0(00.0) 83(35.8) 2.6

TV Yangoji 89(38.4) 64(27.6) 0(00.0) 79(34.1) 2.7

Gaba 18(39.1) 10(21.9) 0(00.0) 18(39.1) 2.6
Chibiri 112(48.3) 45(19.4) 0(00.0) 75(32.3) 2.8

Newspapers Yangoji 75(32.3) 19(8.2) 47(20.3) 91(39.2) 2.3

Gaba 18(39.1) 3(6.5) 3(6.5) 22 (47.8) 2.3
Chibiri 70(30.3) 48(20.4) 5(2.2) 109(47.0) 2.3

Posters/flyers Yangoji 31(13.4) 32(13.8) 78(33.6) 91(39.2) 2.0

Gaba 6(13.0) 10(21.4) 16(34.8) 14(30.4) 2.1
Chibiri 5(2.2) 42(18.1) 40(17.2) 145(62.5) 2.1

Advocacy visit Yangoji 6 (2.6) 18 (7.8) 41 (17.7) 167 (70.0) 1.4

Gaba 4 (8.7) 6 (13.0) 6 (13.0) 30 (65.2) 1.6
Chibiri 11(4.7) 33(14.2) 23(9.9) 165(71.1) 1.5

Billboards Yangoji 0(00.0) 0(00.0) 67 (28.9) 165(71.1) 1.6

Gaba 0(00.0) 0(00.0) 16 (34.8) 30(65.2) 1.7
Chibiri 0(00.0) 0(00.0) 65(28.0) 167(71.8) 1.8

Workshop/ Yangoji 0(00.0) 2 (0.9) 139(59.9) 91(39.9) 1.5

seminar
Gaba 0(00.0) 1 (2.2) 15(32.6) 30(65.2) 1.6
Chibiri 0(00.0) 3 (1.3) 100(43.1) 129(55.6) 1.7

Source: Researcher’s Field work, 2017

As regards the popularity of radio as a medium of

communication in the table above, 44.0 percent and 16.8 percent
of respondents from Yangoji strongly agreed and agreed

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respectively that the medium was accepted in the community

where NAFDAC Communication campaigns could be accessed.
On the other hand, 18.5 percent and 20.7 percent strongly
disagreed and disagreed respectively. Also, amongst the
respondents in Gaba, 43.5 percent and 23.9 percent strongly
agreed and agreed that members of the community did access
information through the medium. However, 32.6 percent strongly
disagreed with the statement. In Chibiri, 17.2 percent and 47.0
percent strongly agreed and agreed that radio was accessible to
the people for information dissemination while 35.8 percent
disagreed that people of the community did access information
through the radio. The mean scores attested to the fact that the
medium of radio was popular for information dissemination in the
community. This is in consonance with the existing intervention in
the area.
In respect of television, 38.4 percent and 27.6 percent
respondents from Yangoji strongly agreed and agreed that they
identified with the medium as a means of information
dissemination in the community. However, 34.1 percent did not
identify with the medium. Furthermore, 39.1 percent and 21.7
percent in Gaba strongly agreed and agreed that the people had
accessed information on NAFDAC campaigns through television.
Also, 39.1 percent indicated that the medium was not popular in
the community. For Chibiri, 48.3 percent and 19.4 percent
strongly agreed and agreed in that order that the television
medium was viable as a means of reaching the people with
information on NAFDAC campaigns. Nevertheless, 32.3 percent
strongly disagreed that it was popular amongst the people. The
mean scores of 2.7, 2.6 and 2.8 indicated that it was accepted by
the majority of the respondents.
Pertaining to Newspaper, 32.3 percent and 8.2 percent in
Yangoji strongly agreed and agreed that the people accessed
information through the channels, while 39.2 percent and 20.3
percent strongly disagreed and disagreed respectively that the
medium was not relevant to NAFDAC Communication campaign
against fake drugs. It further indicated that in Gaba, 39.1 percent

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and 6.5 percent strongly agreed and agreed that it was accessible
to the people. Meanwhile, 47.8 percent and 6.5 percent strongly
agreed and agreed to dismiss the claim. Similarly, 30.2 percent and
20.7 percent in Chibiri strongly agreed and agreed that the
medium was popular among the people of the community.
However, 47.0 percent and 2.2 percent strongly disagreed and
disagreed with the view that information through the medium was
not accessible to the people. Generally, the mean scores showed
that majority of the respondents did not identify with the medium.

Table 2
Assessment of the Effectiveness of NAFDAC
Communication Intervention in the Control of Fake Drugs

Degree of effectiveness of strategies

Statement Communities Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly Mean
agree Disagree
The use of radio Yangoji 108(46.6) 45(19.4) 0.0(00.0) 79(34.1) 2.7
and TV in Gaba 23(50.0) 8(17.4) 0.0(00.0) 15(32.6) 2.8
NAFDAC Chibiri 112(48.3) 45(19.4) 0.0(00.0) 75(32.3) 2.8
campaign and
intervention
programmes helps
me to know about
the existence of
fake drugs.

NAFDAC use of Yangoji 6(2.6) 33(14.2) 18(7.8) 175(75.4) 1.4

Newspapers, Gaba 4(8.7) 6(13.0) 6(13.0) 30(65.2) 1.6
posters and Chibiri 11(4.7) 33(14.2) 23(9.9) 165(71.1) 1.5
magazines have
helped to improve
my understanding
of the dangers of
fake drugs.

NAFDAC Yangoji 133(57.3) 27(11.6) 6(2.6) 66(28.4) 2.9

Communication Gaba 25(54.3) 5(10.9) 0.0(00.0) 16(34.8) 2.8
Campaigns have Chibiri 131(56.5) 28(12.1) 8(3.4) 65(28.0) 2.9
educated me on
how to check the
NAFDAC number
before purchasing
drugs.

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NAFDAC Yangoji 94(40.5) 53(22.8) 0.0(00.0) 85(36.6) 2.6

Communication Gaba 18(39.1) 10(21.7) 0.0(00.0) 18(39.1) 2.6
campaigns have Chibiri 92(39.7) 55(23.7) 0.0(00.0) 85(36.6) 2.6
strengthened my
ability to always
check for the
expiry date on
drugs before
purchasing them.

The
Communication
Campaigns of Yangoji 133(57.3) 27(11.6) 0.0(00.0) 72(31.0) 2.9
NAFDAC have Gaba 25(54.3) 5(10.9) 0.0(00.0) 16(34.8) 2.8
built my capacity to Chibiri 134(39.7) 55(23.7) 0.0(00.0) 70(30.2) 2.9
always check for
the manufacturer’s
address on drugs
labels before
purchasing them.

NA NAFDAC Yangoji 114(49.1) 21(9.1) 6(2.6) 91(39.2) 2.6

Communication Gaba 22(45.7) 4(0.7) 2(4.3) 19(41.3) 2.6
Campaigns have Chibiri 15(49.6) 20(8.6) 7(3.0) 90(38.8) 2.6
assisted me to always
buy get drugs from the
right sources.

NAFDAC Yangoji 6(2.6) 39(16.8) 38(16.4) 149(64.2) 1.5

Communication Gaba 1(2.2) 9(19.4) 8(17.4) 28(60.9) 1.6
Campaigns are Chibiri 9(3.9) 40(17.2) 40(17.2) 143(62.5) 2.1
regularly available
to members of my
community.

The Yangoji 37(15.9) 66(28.4) 12(5.2) 117(50.4) 2.1

Communication Gaba 8(17.4) 11(23.9) 2(4.3) 25(54.3) 2.0
Campaigns of Chibiri 39(16.8) 63(27.2) 10(4.3) 120(51.7) 2.1
NAFDAC have
made it possible
for me to report
incidences of fake
drugs to the
appropriate
authority.

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I can identify fake Yangoji 69(29.7) 34(14.7) 26(11.2) 103(44.4) 2.2

drugs when I see Gaba 20(43.5) 6(13.0) 7(15.2) 13(28.3) 2.7
them. Chibiri 84(36.2) 34(14.7) 30(12.9) 84(36.2) 2.5

I use the mobile Yangoji 6(2.6) 33(14.2) 18(7.8) 175(75.4) 1.4

authentication Gaba 4(8.7) 6(13.0) 6(13.0) 30(65.2) 1.6
service to identify Chibiri 11(4.7) 33(14.2) 23(9.9) 165(71.1) 1.5
fake drugs.
Source: Researcher’s Field work, 2017

The table above showed analysis of the data for assessing

the effectiveness of NAFDAC’s communication campaigns in the
control of fake drugs. On the table, 108 respondents representing
46.6 percent from Yangoji strongly agreed that the use of radio
and television for NAFDAC campaigns against fake drugs helped
them to learn about the existence of fake drugs. 45 respondents
representing 19.4 percent agreed with the statement, while 79
respondents representing 34.1 percent strongly disagreed that it
helped them to know about the existence of fake drugs.
Similarly, in Gaba, 23 respondents, constituting 50.0
percent and 8 respondents representing 17.4 percent strongly
agreed and agreed respectively that the use of radio and television
helped them to know about the existence of fake drugs while 15
respondents representing 32.6 percent strongly disagreed with the
statement. In the same vein, 112 respondents representing 48.3
percent from Chibiri, strongly agreed that the use of these media
channels helped them to know about the existence of fake drugs.
45 respondents constituting 19.4 percent agreed with the
statement while 75 respondents representing 32.3 percent
strongly disagreed that the use of those media channels helped
them in that direction of data that suggests that majority of the
respondents across the study locations agreed that the use of radio
and television for the campaign were effective.
According to the table, the use of print media like
newspaper, posters, flyers, magazines and journals for the
NAFDAC communication campaigns were considered not
effective by majority of the respondents. In Yangoji, 71.1 percent
of the respondents strongly disagreed and 9.9 percent disagreed
that the use of newspapers, posters, flyers etc. has helped them to

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improve their understanding of the dangers of fake drugs while 4.7

percent and 14.2 percent strongly agreed and agreed with the
statement respectively. In the same vein, 65.2 percent of the
respondents from Gaba strongly disagreed and 13.0 percent
disagreed respectively that the print media helped them to
improve their understanding of the dangers of fake drugs.
Meanwhile, 8.7 percent strongly agreed while 13.0 percent agreed
that the use of print media helped in improving their understanding
of fake drugs. Similarly, in Chibiri community, 71.1 percent trongly
disagreed and 9.9 percent disagreed with the statement that these
media helped to improve their understanding of the dangers of
fake drugs. Also, 4.7 percent of the respondents strongly agreed
while 14.2 percent agreed with the statement.
The analysed data in table 2 also provides insight on how
NAFDAC campaigns has educated the people to check for
NAFDAC number on drugs before purchasing them. Data on the
table indicates that majority of the respondents were unanimous in
their rating that the campaigns have educated them in this
direction.
In Yangoji, 133 respondents representing 57.3 percent
strongly agreed that NAFDAC campaigns have benefited them as
regards checking for NAFDAC number on drugs before
purchasing them. 27 respondents constituting 11.6 percent agreed
with the statement, while 66 respondents representing 28.4
percent and 6 respondents representing 2.6 percent strongly
disagreed and disagreed with the statement respectively. In the
same vein, 25 respondents representing 54.3 percent and 5
respondents representing 10.9 percent from Gaba strongly agreed
and agreed that the campaigns have impacted on them. Also, 16
respondents representing 34.8 percent strongly disagreed with the
statement.
Similarly in Chibiri, 131 respondents representing 56.5
percent and 28 respondents constituting 12.1 percent strongly
agreed and agreed respectively that the campaigns have educated
them as regards checking for NAFDAC number before purchasing
drugs. Meanwhile, 8 respondents representing 3.4 percent drugs

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and 65 respondents constituting 28.0 percent strongly disagreed

and disagreed with the statement respectively.
Table 2 measured the effectiveness of the campaigns in
strengthening the peoples’ ability to always check for expiry date
on drugs before purchasing them. The analysis shows that majority
of the respondents agreed that the campaigns have succeeded in
this direction. In Yangoji, 40.5 percent of the sampled population
and 22.8 percent strongly agreed and agreed that through the
campaigns, their consciousness to check for expiry date on drugs
before purchasing has been strengthened. However, 36.6 percent
of the respondents strongly disagreed with the statement.
In the same vein, 39.1 percent and 21.7 Percent of the
respondents from Gaba strongly agreed and agreed that the
campaign have strengthened their consciousness to always check
the expiry date on drugs before purchasing them. Meanwhile, 39.1
percent of the respondents strongly disagreed with the statement.
Similarly, in Chibiri, 39.7 percent of the respondents strongly
agreed while 23.7 percent agreed that the campaigns have helped
them towards checking the expiry date on drugs before purchase.
Furthermore, 36.6 percent of the respondents strongly disagreed
with the statement.
The table above equally spotlights the effectiveness of the
campaigns in building people’s capacity as regards checking for the
manufacturers address on drugs before purchasing them. The
analysis indicates that the majority of the sampled population rated
the campaigns high in building their capacity to always check for
the manufacturers address on drugs before purchasing them. In
Yangoji, those who strongly agreed that the campaigns were
effective in this direction are 133 respondents representing 57.3
percent, while those who agreed are 27 (11.6). Meanwhile, those
that strongly disagreed are 72 representing 31.0 percent.
In the same vein, in Gaba, those that strongly agreed are 25
respondents representing 54.3 percent: 5 respondents
representing 10.9 percent agreed while 16 respondents
representing 34.8 percent strongly disagreed that the campaigns

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have built their capacity toward checking for manufacturers

address on the drugs before purchasing them.
Similarly, in Chibiri, those who strongly agreed are 134
respondents representing 39.7 percent while 55 respondents
representing 23.7 percent agreed that the campaign have built
their capacity to always check for the manufacturers address on
drugs before purchasing them. Meanwhile, 43 respondents
representing 18.5 percent strongly disagreed with the statement.
Table above sheds light on the campaign’s impact as regards the
need to buy drugs from the right sources. The above analysis
reveals that the majority of the respondents have agreed that the
NAFDAC campaign has assisted them to always buy drugs from
the right sources. 114 respondents representing 49.1 percent, in
Yangoji, strongly agreed while 21 respondents representing 9.1
percent agreed that the campaigns have assisted them to always
buy drugs from the right sources. However, 91 respondents
representing 39.2 percent and 6 respondents constituting 2.6
percent strongly disagreed and disagreed respectively with the
statement.
In the same vein, from Gaba, 21 respondents representing
45.7 percent and 4 respondents constituting 8.7 percent strongly
agreed and agreed with the statement, while 19 respondents
representing 41.3 percent and 2 respondents representing 4.3
percent strongly disagreed and disagreed with the statement
respectively.
In Chibiri, 115 respondents representing 49.6 percent
strongly agreed, 20 respondents constituting 8.6 percent agreed
while 90 respondents representing 38.8 percent and 7
respondents representing 3 percent strongly disagreed and
disagreed that the campaigns failed to assist them towards buying
drugs from approved sources.
Table indicates that majority of the respondents in the
study areas disagreed that NAFDAC campaigns are regularly
available to member of their communities. 64.2 percent of
respondents in the Yangoji strongly disagreed that the
communication campaigns were regularly available to members of

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the community. Also, 2.6 percent and 16.8 percent strongly

agreed and agreed with the statement respectively.
Similarly, in Gaba, 28 respondents representing 60.9
percent strongly disagreed while 8 respondents representing 17.4
percent disagreed that the campaign were regularly available to
members of the community. Also, 1 respondent representing 2.2
percent strongly agreed while 9 respondents constituting 19.6
percent agreed that the campaigns were regularly available to
members of the community.
Similarly, in Chibiri, 143 respondents representing 61.6
percent strongly disagreed while 40 respondents constituting 17.2
percent disagreed that the campaigns were regularly available to
members of the community. Furthermore, 9 respondents
representing 3.9 percent strongly agreed while 40 respondents
representing 17.2 agreed with the statement.
The table above which measures the willingness of the
population to report incidence of fake drugs to appropriate
authorities, indicates that 117 respondents representing 50.4
percent strongly disagreed while 12 respondents representing 5.2
percent disagreed that the campaign have made it possible for
them to report incidences of fake drugs to the appropriate
authorities. Meanwhile, 37 respondents constituting 15.9 percent
and 66 respondents representing 28.4 percent strongly agreed and
agreed that the campaign have helped them to report cases of fake
drugs to the relevant authorities. In the same vein, for Gaba
respondents, those who strongly disagreed are 25 representing
54.3 percent while those who disagreed are 2 constituting 4.3
percent. Also, 8 respondents representing 17.4 percent and 11
respondents constituting 23.9 percent strongly agreed and agreed
with the statement respectively.
Similarly, in Chibiri, 120 respondents representing 51.7
percent disagreed while 10 respondents constituting 4.3 percent
disagreed that the campaign made it possible for them to report
incidences of fake drugs. It further indicated that 63 respondents
representing 27.2 percent and 39 respondents constituting 16.8
percent agreed and strongly agreed with the statement. The data

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therefore shows that majority of the respondents in the study

locations believed that the campaigns have not made it possible for
them to report incidence of fake drugs to the appropriate
authorities.
Table reveals that respondents from Gaba are most
capable of identifying fake drugs followed by respondents from
Chibiri while those from Yangoji are the least. In Gaba, 20
respondents representing 43.5 percent strongly agreed while 6
respondents constituting 13.0 percent agreed that they can identify
fake drugs when they came across them. Moreover, 13
respondents representing 28.3 percent and 7 respondents
representing 15.2 percent strongly disagreed and disagreed that
they can identify fake drugs when they see them. Similarly, in
Chibiri, 84 respondents constituting 36.2 percent strongly agreed
while 34 respondents representing 14.7 agreed that they can
identify fake drugs when they come across them. Meanwhile, 84
respondents representing 36.2 and 30 respondents representing
12.9 percent strongly disagreed and disagreed with the statement.
In Yangoji, 103 respondents’ constituting 44.4 percent however
strongly disagreed that they can identify fake drugs while 26
respondents representing 11.2 percent disagreed with the
statement. Furthermore, 69 respondents’ constituting 23.3
percent strongly agreed while 34 respondents representing 14.7
percent agreed that they can identify fake drugs when they see
them. It can therefore be inferred that the campaigns were
acceptable in Gaba and Chibiri and less impactful in Yangoji.
The distribution on table indicates that majority of
respondents for the study disagreed and therefore has not
embraced the use of Mobile Authentication Service (MAS)
Technology in identifying fake drugs. For Yangoji, 75.4 percent of
the study population strongly disagreed while 7.8 percent of them
disagreed that they are using the mobile authentication service to
identify fake drugs. Meanwhile, 2.6 percent and 14.2 percent
strongly agreed and agreed with the statement respectively. In the
same vein, in Gaba, 65.2 percent of the respondents strongly

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disagreed while 13.0 percent disagreed that they are not using the
technology to identify fake drugs.
Meanwhile, 8.7 percent and 13.0 percent of the study
population strongly agreed and agreed that they were using the
technology to identify fake drugs. Similarly, 71.1 percent of the
respondents in Chibiri strongly disagreed while 9.9 percent of
them disagreed with the statement. However, 4.7 percent of the
respondents and 14.2 percent strongly agreed and agreed
respectively that they are using the technology to identify fake
drugs.

Discussion of Findings
The study sought to assess the effectiveness of NAFDAC
communication in the campaign against fake drugs. In doing this,
and to establish a solid ground for the study, the channels for
NAFDAC communication were first identified. Findings revealed
that the electronic media (radio and TV) were identified by
respondents as viable channels through which they access
NAFDAC messages. Data obtained from the locations for the
study showed that over 65 percent of the respondents access
NAFDAC information through radio and television while those
who did through the print media peaked at 18 percent. Therefore,
the use of radio and television in NAFDAC campaign and
intervention programmes was adjudged effective. This goes to
confirm the position of Yusuf and Firima (2015:98) that:
In developing countries around the world, radio and
television are considered the most effective tools of
communication and they cut across literacy
boundaries. It has been established that radio is a
medium of communication which is most appreciated
for rural and urban emancipation management.
Furthermore, responses on checking for NAFDAC number before
purchasing drugs; checking expiry date on drugs; checking for
manufacturers’ address on drugs labels and buying drugs from the
right sources were measured to determine the campaigns’
effectiveness.

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Findings, particularly from the quantitative data, indicated that the

campaigns were largely effective as it has helped majority of them
to change their behaviour. However, it is imperative to note that
the figures for those who do not check for NAFDAC number;
expiry date; manufacturers’ address; buy drugs from the right
sources and cannot identify fake drugs when they come across
them is worrisome (see Table 5.1.4).
Expressing NAFDAC concerns over this, the KII
respondent said ‘‘NAFDAC is intensifying the campaigns, because
it has not percolated the entire population yet. People still enter
pharmacy shops or medicine vendor shops and without confirming
the genuineness of drugs, buy and move on ‘‘(KII respondent, Dr
Abubakar Jimoh, April 7th, 2017 at NAFDAC Headquarters,
Abuja).
Similarly, the issues of regular access of respondents to
campaign messages ability to identify fake drugs, reporting
incidences of fake drugs and the use of mobile authentication
service technology (MAS) were considered in determining
NAFDAC campaigns’ effectiveness. Findings indicated wide
disparity between respondents who strongly agreed and those
who disagreed that they regularly access campaign programmes.
For instance, while 64.3 percent of the respondents in Yangoji;
60.9 percent in Gaba and 61.2 percent in Chibiri strongly
disagreed that the campaign messages were accessed regularly in
the communities, only a handful of 2.6 percent, 2.2 percent and
3.9 percent of the respondents in these study locations
respectively strongly agreed.
This therefore shows that there is no sufficient
communication to the studied population; unless people are
communicated to sufficiently, knowledge will be hampered. This is
anchored in Kreps (2015) testament that: Communication is a
central human process that enables individual and collective
adaptation to health risk at any different world. In other words,
when people are communicated to sufficiently, it makes them
knowledgeable and they in turn become powerful over situations
and emerging conditions. In the same vein, 75.4 percent of the

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respondents in Yangoji do not practice the use of mobile

authentication service to authenticate genuineness of drugs, so also
65.2 percent in Gaba and 71.1 percent in Chibiri respectively.
On the other hand, even though, majority of the
respondents in Gaba could identify fake drugs, the 15.2 percent
and 28.3 percent of the respondents that could not identify fake
drugs is quite huge. Indeed the data showed that only 23 percent
of respondents in Yangoji could identify fake drugs. The implication
of the findings is that NAFDAC campaigns’ effectiveness for the
control of fake drugs in study population could be said to be on the
average.

Conclusion
As revealed in the study, the NAFDAC Communication
Intervention in the communities under study relied much on the
conventional media (radio and television). Although this approach
created some level of awareness, it could not fully mobilize these
communities. Significantly, the communication approach could not
guarantee regular and frequent dissemination of intervention
messages in the study locations, resulting in insufficient
communication.

References
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Anaeto, S.G & Anaeto, S.A. (2010) Development Communication:
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Ayuba, L. M. (2014) A critical Analysis of communication Strategies on
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Nigeria, Abuja, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria.
Bouwari, O. Y (2012). Fake and Counterfeit Drug:A Review, AFRIMEDIC
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Chiwedu, O. (2008) The Fight against Fake Drugs by NAFDAC in Nigeria.
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Day, B A. & Monroe, Martha.C. (2000) (Eds.). Environmental Education

and Communication Strategies for a Sustainable World. Washington
D.C: Academy for Education Development,
Erhun, W.O, Babalola, O.O., & Erhun, M.O (2001). Drug Regulation and
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Learner, D. (1958) The Passing of Traditional Society. New York: Free
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Melkote, S. R. (1991). Communication for Development in the Third World:
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Melkote, S. R & Steeves, L H. (2001).Communication for development in
third world: theory and Practice for Empowerment (2nd Edition). New
Delhi: Sage Publications, 2001.
Narayan, D.F. (2002) Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Source Book.
Washington D.C: World Bank.
Nair, Sadanandan K & White, Shirley A .Perspective on Development
Communication. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1993.
Ndolo, I. S. (2011) Communication and the Achievement of Development
for Children: A Conceptual and Empirical in Ndolo, I.S. (Ed.)
Contemporary Issues in Communication and Society. Enugu: Reyce
Kerex Publishers.
Nwaneli, O.E. (1989) Information Dissemination in Depressed Economy,
Paper presented at the Federal Ministry of Information and culture
seminar on role of the Information in the Transition period,
Durban Hotel, Lagos.
Odi, C O.(2008). Theatre in Development Communication Discovery,
Anyigba Journal of Arts and Humanity, 5(2):158-168.
Olise, F P. (2008) Communication for Development and Modern ICTs:
Nigeria of A Cross Roadsin Mojaye, E.M, Olusola, O.O, Richard, M,
&Sobowale, I.A. (Eds.) Health Communication, Gender Violence and
ICTs in Nigeria. Ibadan: University Press.
Rogers, E. M. (1973) Communication Strategies for Family Planning. New
York: Free Press.
Snyder, L. B.(2001) Development Communication Campaigns in Kunst, G.,
Mody, W.B.B (Eds.) Handbook of International and Intercultural
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Development Communication: A 21st Century Perspectives. Thousand
oaks CA: Sage Publication, 2003.

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Integration of ICT into the Training of Teachers of

English in Southwest, Nigeria

Michael Olayinka GBADEGESIN (PhD)

English and Literary Studies Department
Lead City University, Ibadan
gbadegesinmike@[Link]
Abstract
Many digital resources are available to enhance the teaching and learning
of English Language among English as second language (ESL) learners.
However, many teachers and students of English cannot deploy these
resources in classrooms in Nigerian secondary schools. The result of this
is poor performance and lack of proficiency among the students. The
inability of teachers of English to use Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) resources to enhance teaching delivery is traced to the
training they received while in school. The study investigated the
awareness and ICT skills among pre service teachers in colleges of
education in Southwest, Nigeria with a view to examining the level of
inclusion of ICT in the teacher training programme. Data was collected
using a questionnaire administered on 80 final year students from 4
Colleges of Education. The results showed that, though there was
awareness that the deployment of ICT resources can enhance the
teaching and learning of English language, the appropriate skills to deploy
ICT tools for the teaching of English Language in classroom situations are
lacking. Lack of prerequisite skills, epileptic power supply and poor
internet facilities are the main challenges militating against successful
implementation of ICT in English Language classrooms. The study
concluded that, for better academic performance, communicative
competence and proficiency, ICT courses should be included in the
training of teachers of English. Teacher trainers should be equipped with
the prerequisite ICT skills to train the would-be teachers to deploy ICT
facilities to enhance teaching and learning of English language in Nigeria.
Key Words: ICT, Teacher training, English Language, Integration,
competencies

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Introduction
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is not novel in
human endeavours; its positive contributions to many sectors like
medicine, agriculture and security cannot be overemphasised.
There are many digital applications specifically designed for
educational purposes, especially to enhance the teaching and
learning of English language among English as second language
(ESL) learners. However, teachers and students who are the end
users cannot deploy them for the teaching and learning of English
language in many secondary schools in Nigeria. The reason for this
is that their training programme involves only an introduction to
the computer, which in many schools are taught in abstract.
(Koehler & Mishra, 2009). Therefore, the teachers are ill-equipped
for the deployment of ICT resources in the classroom.
The English language is a second language in Nigeria
because, before its advent in Nigeria, there were over 450
indigenous languages used in various degrees for various functions
and by different people (Ekpe 2010). Hence, the English language
became a language of contact in Nigeria. Many factors led to the
incursion of the English language in Nigeria at different times; some
of them are trading, slavery, colonisation and missionary activities.
Nigeria is one of the largest countries in Africa; it is politically
divided into six geo-political zones with Southwest being one of
them. Southwest is the traditional home of the Yoruba and it is
also the zone with the highest educational awareness and pursuit
in Nigeria. In Nigeria’s educational system, professional teachers
are either trained in the colleges of Education or faculties of
Education in Nigerian universities. The minimum qualification to
teach in Nigerian secondary schools is Nigerian Certificate in
Education (NCE) obtained from a college of education. Although,
there are state and federal government colleges of education, the
same board – National Commission for Colleges of Education
(NCCE) – regulates their activities.
The nature of education received and the methods of
delivery in the colleges of education or faculties of education in
universities determine the quality of education that will be passed

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on to the pupils and students in primary and secondary schools.

The teachers cannot give what they do not have; hence, the need
to examine the level of integration of ICT resources deployment in
the training of professional teachers in Colleges of Education in
Southwest, Nigeria.
The poor performance of Nigerian secondary school
students in external examinations such as those organised by
WAEC (West Africa Examination Council), NABTEB (National
Business and Technical Examination Board) and NECO (National
Examination Council) has always been a source of worry to
education stakeholders, especially parents, guardians and
government (Gbadegesin, 2019; Adepoju, 2002). Several efforts
have been geared towards improving teaching and learning of
English Language in Nigerian secondary schools; yet there have
been no commensurate improvements.
It could be observed that almost all areas of human
endeavour have taken the advantage of digital/ICT resources to
achieve their organisational goals, to enhance effectiveness and
efficiency and to ensure optimal job performance. The education
sector is not left out with Computer Based Test (CBT) becoming
more popular in the recent times. However, the multifaceted
potentials of digital technology have not been fully explored in the
education sector in the area of content planning, development,
delivery and evaluation in Nigerian secondary schools. Many
reasons have been adduced to students’ poor performance in
English Language in both internal and external examinations
ranging from intralingua and interlingua errors, loss of reading
culture, lack of qualified teachers, lack of learning materials,
population congestion to parental educational and economic status
(Gbadegesin, 2019). Hence, this study on the use of ICT in the
training of teachers of English in Southwest, Nigeria wishes to
investigate the level of inclusion of ICT in teacher training
programmes for the teaching of English Language in Nigerian
secondary schools.

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Objectives
The present study aims at investigating the level of inclusion of ICT
in the training programmes of teachers of English in the Colleges
of Educations. The specific objectives of this study are to:
1. investigate the level of awareness of ICT among teachers of
English in training;
2. assess the level of use of ICT tools in Colleges of Education;
3. identify the level of availability of ICT materials in the teacher
training institutions;
4. examine the level of ICT skills acquired by the teachers of
English during training; and
5. identify the challenges facing the use of ICT in Nigeria’s
education system.

Literature Review
According to UNESCO (2002), ICT is a scientific, technological
and engineering discipline and management technique used in
handling information, its application and association with social,
economic and cultural matters. ICT resources can be used to
facilitate and support teaching and learning process. Bilyalova
(2016) describes ICT as a class of innovative technologies for the
rapid accumulation of intellectual and economic potential of
strategic resources, ensuring sustainable development of the
society. Since many young adults in Nigeria (and in many other
parts of the world) spend most of their times interacting with
technology, a good foundation has been laid for integrating it into
teaching and learning process.
The challenge of teaching the English language in the 21ist
century is more complex than what the traditional teaching
methodologies can cope with. Hence, a professionally competent
modern day teacher must be skilful and versatile in the application
of ICT resources during classroom interactions. Twenty-first
century learners are described as being technologically inclined and
being native to the digital world (Prensky, 2001; Adsit, 2004;
Adada, 2007); therefore, for effective and efficient teaching and
learning activities, teachers must not live in the pre-digital world

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while their learners live in the digital world. Teachers must also be
able to deploy technology effectively, live up to the changes of the
hi-tech world, and be facilitators of knowledge in the technology-
driven age.
ICT has entrenched itself into every area of human
endeavour. When computer was introduced not only as a subject
but also as a tool in the early 1980s, scholars predicted that ICT
will be an important part of teaching and learning process
(Zhang & Aikman, 2007). The potential of ICT to transform and
achieve effective teaching and learning process cannot be
overemphasised. However, the impact of ICT cannot be felt in the
classroom interaction if teachers are ill-equipped.
Dawes (2001) notes that, when teachers are not well equipped
and not given an enabling environment to implement the use of
ICT resources in classroom interactions, problems will arise. The
ICT resources integrated into the teaching and learning of English
as identified by scholars include eBook, Mobile Apps, Webinar,
Interactive White Board, Computer Assisted Language Learning,
Audio visual, Tape recorder and language laboratory (Dawes 2001;
Zhang & Aikman, 2007).
Studies have shown that, while teachers are aware of the
importance of ICT in modern classroom interactions, they
encounter obstacles during its adoption and implementation
(Balanskat, Blamire, and Kefala 2006). In some countries where
government does not pay lip service to the use of ICT resources in
classroom interactions and virtual learning platform are provided,
reports have it that only few teachers take advantage of the
available resources, (MoCT, 2003). The reason for this, according
to Bingimas (2009), might be the numerous attendant challenges
bedevilling the adoption and implementation of ICT in the schools.
Yunus et al (2010) observe that the integration of technology into
language education should become an everyday occurrence. This is
because of its positive effects on teaching and learning process. In
order to keep tabs on technological advancement, it is expedient
for teaching and learning to take full advantage of digital resources.
The description of the focus of ICT by various scholars includes

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but not limited to ensuring the accumulation, storage,

classification, output and distribution of information (Russell, 1997;
McKenzie, 2000; Sorin 2005; Kayser, 2002; Lyubova, Bilyalova and
Evgrafova, 2014). ICT resources are of key importance at all levels
of educational system as Nadolskaya (2014) opines that the use of
ICT can significantly increase the effectiveness of active language
teaching and learning.
Using ICT resources for language teaching and learning will
arouse and sustain learners' interest and enhance communicative
competence and proficiency. Integrating ICT into the main stream
of teaching and learning helps students understand the teaching of
English Language better, facilitates students’ language learning,
enables students to use real or authentic language situations with
people and meets the individual language learning needs of
students (Melor, 2007).
Cope and Ward (2002) submit that introducing digital
resources as part of teaching and learning methods will encourage
independence in learning and will enhance deep learning
approaches. An effective integration of digital resources into the
teaching and learning process of English language among ESL will
lead to desirable learning outcomes. Tinio (2002) also states that,
when ICT resources are effectively deployed for the teaching and
learning of English language, learners are equipped with digital age
literacy, inventive thinking, creative thinking, higher-order thinking,
effective communication, and high productivity. The use of ICT
resources, according to Wheeler (2001), is a means of increasing
motivation, commitment to the systematic study of a language that
leads to obtaining quick results especially among second or foreign
language users. Other contributions of ICT resources to the
teaching of English language in ESL/EFL situation as identified by
Bilyalova (2016) include intensifying and personalising learning,
promoting interest in the subject, and making it possible to avoid
subjective assessment. In addition, the ICT contributes to
overcoming the psychological barrier students face in the use of a
second/foreign language as a means of communication.

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Some of the challenges associated with the deployment of

ICT resources for teaching and learning purpose according to
Yunus et al (2010) are non-availability of essential resources and
high running and maintenance costs. They also note that the
challenge of high cost of ICT materials greatly restricted the use of
technology for teaching and learning in the past. They, however,
submit that, regardless the cost, ICT materials are becoming
important tools for learning in educational institutions. Another
challenge is technical-know-how (Teo, 2009); utilising ICT in
classroom learning requires some kind of expertise unlike
traditional methods of teaching. When teachers may not have
prerequisite ICT skills, the process cannot produce desired results.
Ammanni and Aparanjani (2016) in their study on the role of ICT in
English Language teaching and learning submit that traditional
methods of teaching English language are not showing great impact
on the learners any longer because technology has become a tool
for making the learners innovative and have also become a source
for motivating the learners towards learning. An effective
deployment of ICT resources in the teaching and learning of
English Language in Nigerian secondary schools will equip them
with communicative competence like the native speakers of
English. They further submit that the interactive and dynamic
nature of ICT gives it potential to meet the needs of the individual
student by providing opportunities to direct their learning and to
pursue information. Though they identify both the advantages and
disadvantages of ICT, the advantages overwhelm the
disadvantages. The advantages of ICT are it is innovative; it is time
saving; it promotes world class knowledge; it is motivational; it
enhances independent learning and it employs pictorial description
among others.
The study of McDougald (2009) on 24 Colombian pre-
service teachers (i.e. teachers in training) at El Bosque University,
Colombia investigates students’ technology ownership, usage
patterns, and levels of ICT skills among them, the students’
perception of the Internet facilities and English language learning.
The results reveal that ICT plays a complementary role to

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conventional teaching methods especially when developing

reading, writing and listening skills in English. However, the study
shows that the students perceived that speaking skill cannot be
enhanced by ICT. This is contrary to the findings of Gbadegesin
(2016) in his study on Nollywood English films and spoken
proficiency among senior secondary school students. He submits
that films and other digitally distributed contents or ICT resources
can enhance the learners spoken English.

Methodology
As a descriptive survey, the study drew its participants from four
Colleges of Education from Southwest, Nigeria. A total of 80 final
year students from the departments of English were randomly
selected; 10 participants, comprising 5 males and 5 females were
selected from each of the 4 selected institutions of learning. The
research instrument was a self-designed questionnaire comprising
two sections; Section A is bio data while section B contains five-
point Likert assertions. The researcher administered the
questionnaire through the lecturers in the Departments of English
in the chosen institutions. The analysis was done using simple
percentages and the results were presented in tables and charts.
The theoretical insight was drawn from Technological Acceptance
Model (TAM). The fulcrum of the theory is to predict the attitude
to the use of ICT and its acceptance of people.
Surendran (2012) submits that TAM has been widely
studied and verified by different studies that examine the individual
technology acceptance behaviour in different information system
construct. The theory dwells on two main factors: perceived
usefulness of ICT, and perceived ease of use by the end user.
According to Davis (1989), perceived usefulness is the prospective
user’s subjective probability that using a specific application system
will enhance their job or life performance while perceived ease of
use by the end user is the degree to which the prospective user
expects the target system to be free of effort. Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM) is one of the most popular theories that
are widely used to explain ICT usage; although there are many

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modifications. For instance, Shafeek (2011) in a study uses TAM to

evaluate the acceptance of e-learning.

Analysis and Discussion

Table 1: Teachers in Training Awareness ICT for Teaching
English
Item Agreed Disagreed
N0 % N0 % Total
1 Teaching the English vocabulary with 80 100 - - 80
the use of technology will facilitate
effective learning.
2 Teaching the English grammar with the 67 83.7 13 16.25 80
use of technology will facilitate effective 5
learning.
3 Teaching the English pronunciation 80 100 - - 80
with the use of technology will facilitate
effective learning.
4 Teaching listening and speaking skills 80 100 - - 80
with the use of technology will facilitate
effective learning.
5 Teaching reading and writing skills with 53 66.5 27 33.75 80
the use of technology will facilitate
effective learning.
6 The use of ICT makes teaching English 64 80 16 20 80
Language more effective.
Field survey February, 2020

Table 1 shows that all the respondents are aware that ICT can
enhance the teaching and learning of vocabulary, pronunciation,
oracy (listening and speaking) skills. In respect of using ICT to
enhance learning of grammar, 83.75% agreed that ICT can
enhance the teaching and learning of grammar while 16.25% of
the respondents disagreed. Also, 80% of the respondents agreed
that ICT makes teaching and learning of English more effective
while 66.5% disagreed that ICT enhances the teaching and
learning of literacy (reading and writing) skills.

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Figure 1

Table 2: Information and Communication Technology

Usage in the Training of Teachers

Item Agreed Disagreed

N0 % N0 % Total
1 Lecturers introduce us to good 15 18.75 65 81.25 80
websites where we can get
resources for teaching.
2 Lecturers come to class with their 40 50 40 50 80
laptop.
3 Lecturers employ the use of ICT 10 12.5 70 87.5 80
facilities (such as interactive board,
projector, power point
presentation, gadgets in language
laboratory) for content delivery
during lectures.
4 My lecturers give us activities (like 48 60 32 40 80
assignment, term paper, group
project) that require ICT to carry
out.
5 We use language laboratory for 20 25 60 75 80
practical sessions every week.
6 There is a specific course designed 22 27.5 58 72.5 80
to teach us the use of ICT to teach
English Language.
Field survey February, 2020

Data presented in Table 2 show the responses to enquiries

on the level of use of ICT in the training of teachers. Findings
reveal that 15 out of 80 participants affirm that lecturers give them

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websites for teaching resources while 65 participants disagreed.

While half of the respondents agreed that their lecturers teach
from their laptops, the remaining half disagreed. Also, 70% of the
study participants disagreed with the statement that lecturers
make use of ICT facilities such as interactive board, projector,
television, gadgets in language laboratory and video clips during
classroom interactions while only 30% agreed. Seventy-five
percent disagreed with the assertion that they make use of a
language laboratory once a week; however, 60% affirmed that
lecturers engage them in activities like assignment, term paper and
group projects that require the use of the Internet facility,

Table 3: Information and Communication Technology Skills

Acquired by the Teachers in Training

Item Agreed Disagreed

N0 % N0 % Total
1 I can use YouTube for academic 48 60 32 40 80
purposes.
2 I can create and use online 23 28.75 57 71.25 80
tutorials.
3 I can make and use power point. 40 50 40 50 80

4 I can surf the net for academic 71 88.75 09 11.25 80

purposes.
5 I use Skype. 24 30 56 70 80

6 I can use photo speak to teach 40 50 40 50 80

vocabulary.
7 I can use television news to teach 29 36.25 51 63.75 80
pronunciation and comprehension,
grammar and composition.

8 I can create and use video clips to 27 33.75 53 66.25 80

teach pronunciation.

Field survey February, 2020

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Table 3 presents the results of level of skills acquired by

teachers of English in training. The results reveal that 88.75% of
the respondents can surf the net, 60% can use YouTube for
academic purpose while 50% of them claimed that they can make
and use power point and use photo speak to teach vocabulary.
71.25% of them claimed cannot create online tutorials; 70%
cannot use Skype; 66.25% cannot create and use video clips to
teach pronunciation and 63.75% cannot use television news and
documentary to teach aspects of English such as pronunciation,
comprehension, grammar and composition.

Figure 2

Table 4: The Availability of Information and Communication

Technology Facilities in Teachers’ Training Institutions

Item Agreed Disagreed

N0 % N0 % Total
1 We have projector in our 8 10 72 90 80
classrooms.
2 I have access to ICT gadgets in 25 31.25 55 68.75 80
my school.
3 There is an e-library in my 72 90 08 10 80
school.
4 There is a language laboratory in 52 65 28 35 80
my school.

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5 There is a specific course 22 27.5 58 72.5 80

designed to teach us the use of
ICT to teach English Language.
6 There is a steady Internet facility 48 60 32 40 80
in my school.
7 I have an android or Internet- 72 90 08 10 80
enabled phone.

Field survey February, 2020

Table 4 presents the results of the availability of ICT facilities in

teachers’ training institutions. The results show that only 10% of
the respondents stated that there are projectors for content
delivery and seminar presentations in their schools. Also, 72.5% of
the respondents confirmed that there is no specific course
designed to teach them the use of ICT to teach any aspects of
English Language. Only 31.25% of the respondents agreed that
they have access to ICT gadgets in their schools while 68.75% of
them disagreed with the claim. In another continuum, 90%
confirmed that there is an availability of e-library; 60% of the
respondents attested to the fact that their schools can boast of
steady Internet facilities while 90% of the respondents affirmed
that they have the Internet-ready phones.

Table 5: Challenges associated with Information and

Communication Technology in the Teachers’ Training
programme

Item Agreed Disagreed

N0 % N0 % Total

1 There are limited experiences 63 78.75 17 21.25 80

in using ICTs in English.
2 There are instances of 20 25 60 75 80
cyberbullying/abuse.
3 There is a lack of computers 23 28.75 57 71.25 80
and laptops.

4 There are no internet facilities 24 30 56 70 80

with sufficient bandwidth.

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5 Epileptic electric power 51 63.75 29 36.25 80

supply/no alternative readily
available for use militate against
the use of ICT.
Field survey February, 2020

Table 5 presents the results of the perceived challenges facing ICT

in teachers’ training institutions. About 79% of the respondents
affirmed that they have a limited experience in using ICT to teach
English Language while about 21% claimed that they could use
ICT to teach English Language. While 25% agreed that cyber
abuse and bullying constitute major challenges in the use of ICT for
an academic purpose especially the teaching and learning of the
English language in Nigeria, 75% of the respondents disagreed
with the assertion. In another vein, about 29% of the respondents
were of the opinion that the lack of computers and laptops is a
challenge to the use ICT to teach English Language while about
71% did not agree. For 30% of the respondents, poor Internet
facility is a challenge to using ICT to teach English Language;
however, 70% of the students sampled did not share this view.
Epileptic electric power supply and lack of an alternative that is
readily available for use is agreed to be a challenge to the use ICT
for the teaching and learning of the English language by about 64%
of the respondents while only 36% disagreed.

Discussion
One of the objectives of this study is to investigate the level of
awareness of ICT among teachers of English in training in Colleges
of Education in Southwest Nigeria. The level of awareness of the
teachers in training about the potentials inherent in the use of ICT
resources for the teaching and learning of the English language in
the selected teacher training institutions in Southwest Nigeria is
very high. The results show that many of the respondents are
aware that ICT can be used to enhance the teaching and learning
of the English language in their region. This is in support of the
findings of Gbadegesin (2016) in his study on Nollywood English
films and spoken proficiency among senior secondary school
students. He submits that films and other digitally distributed

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contents or ICT resources can enhance the learners’ spoken

English.
The study also assessed the level of usage of ICT tools in
the training of teachers in the selected teacher training institutions
and found that, apart from giving the learners activities like
assignment, term paper, seminar presentation and group projects,
there are no other deliberate activities that aim at familiarising the
learners with the use of ICT tools for classroom interactions. The
reasons may be that many of the trainers were trained in a
traditional way and methods when there was not much of the
Internet availability. Unfortunately, many of them have not
developed themselves in the new art of content development and
delivery with ICT facilities and curriculum developers have not
taken the advantage of ICT in the aspect of serving as a viable
vehicle for sharing knowledge. There should be a deliberate
integration of ICT driven contents into the programme of teachers
of English in training in this time and age and the trainers should
endeavour to conscientiously teach it.
Although teachers of English in training are aware that ICT
could enhance the teaching of all aspects of the English language,
they lack the prerequisite skills to deploy it. Awareness without
prerequisite skills cannot translate into knowledge impartation; it
remains unattainable until necessary skills complement the
awareness. The results showed that e-library, language laboratory,
the Internet facility which are a bedrock to the use of ICT for
teaching are available in these colleges. What is missing is the skills
to deploy the available facilities to enhance teaching and learning
process on the part of the trainers and the trainees. Many of the
learners have android phones that could be used to do a range of
ICT enhanced teaching and learning activities.
Among the challenges associated with the use of ICT in the
training of teachers of English in Southwest Nigeria, the study
found that cyber abuse and bullying are not prevalent. The reason
for this might be the age of the learners that ranges between 17
and 26 years. The level of maturity of the learners does not allow
cyber abuse and bullying to pose a challenge. However, there is a

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limited experience of prerequisite skills which poses a great threat

to the integration of ICT resources into the teaching and learning
of the English language in Nigerian schools; this is in line with the
view of Yunus et al (2010) which states that utilising ICT in
classroom learning requires some kind of expertise unlike
traditional methods of teaching and, when teachers do not have
the prerequisite skills, the process cannot produce desired results.
Another main challenge to the deployment of digital resources for
English language classroom interactions is epileptic power supply
without immediate alternative power source. The study
corroborates the submission of Ofodu (2007) that irregular power
supply in Nigeria is a big obstacle to the use of ICT in all spheres of
the economy.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Findings from the study show that many of the respondents
(teachers of English in training) are aware of the roles of ICT
resources in the teaching and learning of English Language but they
are not exposed to how to use them. Hence, when they are
turned out to the field, they do not possess the prerequisite ICT
skills to enhance their teaching activities. There are challenges such
as lack of steady internet facilities and irregular power supply
militating against the inclusion of ICT in the training of would-be
teachers. Although there are language laboratories in teacher
training institutions, the rarely use them.
The study therefore concludes that, for effective teaching
and learning of English in Nigeria, there is a need to take advantage
of ICT. It must be mainstreamed into teachers’ training
programmes. The study recommends that the curriculum of
teachers in training should be all inclusive; they should not only be
taught how to use ICT but also be trained with ICT. Since one
cannot give what he does not have, in-service trainings should be
organised for the trainers as well.

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Tackling Environmental Degradation by

Playwrights in Bode Sowande’s Mammy Water’s
Wedding

Imoh Sunday OBOT (PhD)

Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo
imohobot2000@[Link]
&
E. T. OLABAYO
Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo
olabayoemmanuel@[Link]

Abstract
Environmental degradation is one of the major challenges facing the
world today. The ripple effect can be acknowledged in other sectors
such as health, agriculture, science and technology communication,
politics and many others. In view of the importance of addressing
environmental degradation and other related factors, several approaches
have been initiated by government, non-governmental agencies,
corporate bodies and individuals who are within the precinct of
environment protection. However, the academia has not been silent on
the issue of environmental degradation but, seems perhaps much is not
known about its contributions and contributors. It is against this
backdrop that this paper examined the contributions of Nigerian
playwrights in addressing environmental degradation in Nigeria with
particular reference to Bode Sowande’s Mammy Water’s Wedding. The
essence was to examine environmental issues raised in the dramatic text.
The methodology for the paper was documentary observation and
findings revealed that the play raised environmental issues that are
crucial to human existence such as hygiene, preservation, profiteering
and erroneous belief about environmental degradation. It was found out
that the play was an attempt to charge government, development
agencies and private business owners to be proactive in their
responsibilities to safekeeping the environment.
Key Words: Environmental degradation, playwrights, Mammy
Waters Wedding

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Introduction
Tackling environmental degradation is a major global issue in the
21st century (O’Brien, 2012). Essentially, this is because, the
adverse effects of environmental degradation has taken a toll on
economy, health and the general wellbeing of humanity (Peeples,
2011). Environmental degradation has spread its tentacles to
several disciplines; politics, economics, history, agriculture, science
and technology, environmental management, ecofeminism and
what have you. The ubiquitous proliferation of environmental
issues speaks volumes of the dire need to address it with every
aorta of urgency and transparency (Moser & Dilling, 2007).
The gravity of environmental degradation differs in
different climes. In the developed countries, with perceived high
concentration of development possibilities, addressing
environmental challenges is with rigour compared to developing
countries (O’Brien, 2012). While developed world battles with
policies and implementation of concrete measures to address
environmental degradation, developing countries are still lagging
behind perhaps without strategic planning. Continents with several
natural disasters such as earthquake, tremor, hurricane, tsunami,
typhoon, pay more attention to environmental issues. However,
in the African continent, with a good number of its countries,
underdeveloped, natural disasters are low and environmental
challenges such as soil degradation, deforestation, pollution, and so
on do not assume centre stage in daily discussions on television,
radio, newspapers, etc. Perhaps, the preponderance of other
socio-political issues such as terrorism, politics, corruption,
pandemic, banditry, etc., have instantly swallowed up of other
social misfortunes and have made African countries turn deaf ears
to the threat of environmental challenges (Nasiru, 2010).
One of the key issues affecting collective efforts towards
addressing environmental degradation especially in Nigeria and
other African countries is information (Moser, & Dilling, 2007).
Addressing environmental challenges in developing countries
cannot be over-emphasised. Despite the fact that environmental
issues are not loud in daily national conversations, they are serious

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and come with severe consequences. As a matter of fact, many do

not really know those issues emanating from environment. This
shows that creation of awareness on environmental hazards is low
especially among rural dwellers. If for anything else, our
environment is directly linked to health. According to Jaiswal
(2018):
Environment related issues that affect our health have been
one of the most important triggers in the increasing
awareness of the need for better environmental
management. The changes in our environment inducted by
human activities in nearly every sphere of life have has an
influence on our health patterns.

That is why in recent times, efforts have been made to

educate the people about their environment. The issue of creating
awareness is a collective task for all; whether as a politician,
environmentalist, academic, social crusaders, economist, artist,
agriculturist, forestry workers or technologist. The area that is
most sensitive to this paper is the arts. There are a group of artists
who specialise in the green arts – referred to as “Greening artists”.
It is pertinent to note that green artist use various art forms to stir
issues of environmental degradation and create awareness about
its dangers of neglect. They deploy dance, nature writing, film,
dramatic text, music, paintings, etc. to illustrate the present state
of environmental degradation. Before now, playwrights have been
silent on the issue of environmental degradation. However, the
arguments have been that there is absolutely no artist that
produces a work of art that does not have relevance to the society
(Brown, Eernstman, Huke, & Reding, 2017). In the area of
environment, a host of artists have worked diligently to
communicate the dangers of environmental degradation.
According to Brown et al. (2017:8) “There are a growing number
of artists who make work that responds to social and
environmental issues and address questions similar to the ones
with which scientists grapple”.

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In view of the foregoing, this paper examined the

contributions of Nigerian playwrights in addressing environmental
degradation in Nigeria with particular reference to Bode
Sowande’s Mammy Water’s Wedding. The essence is to examine
environmental issues raised in the dramatic text.

Environmental Degradation
Conceptually this paper reviewed a few of them. Environment is
very important to every society because no society, community or
nation can exist without an environment. As such the environment
is crucial to human development. At the same time, human
development contributes to defiling the environment (Peeples,
2011). The need for human development has also affected our
environment in many ways. Economic growth is one of the
numerous development indicators used to measure progress.
Urbanization and industrialization are key areas that bring in
prosperity, leading to development, but the disadvantage is that
the environment is often hurt and tampered with through such
activities. Therefore, environmental degradation can only be
understood within the context of the society that the environment
supports. Johnson et al. (1997:581) define environmental
degradation as:
Environmental degradation is the deterioration
of the environment through depletion of
resources such as air, water, and soil: the
destruction of the ecosystem, habitat
destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and
pollution. It is defined as any change or
disturbance to the environment perceived to be
deleterious or undesirable.

Environmental degradation talks about depletion of renewable and

non-renewable resources and pollution of air, water and soil, can
be a significant source of stress upon societies.
The environmental degradation in most Nigerian
communities are caused by many complex and interrelated factors
i.e., scarcity of resources, accelerated soil erosion, landslides,

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droughts, floods, declines of forest cover, decline in agricultural

yields, problem siltation, shrinking of bio-diversity etc. The natural
springs are rapidly drying up, domestic animals are less productive
and/or reproductive.

Environmental Challenges in Nigeria

Nigeria has a total land area of 983,213 km2 occupied by about
200 million people. It is important to note that the interaction of
these millions of people with their environment on a daily basis is
capable of leaving indelible mark on the land (Age, Igbashal &
Shaakaa, 2009). Furthermore, urbanization, deforestation,
desertification, over population and all types of pollution are some
of the resultant effects of man’s interaction with his environment.
These changes occur as the people attempt to acquire their
seemingly endless desire for food, shelter, recreation and
infrastructural facilities. Though these wants and desires contribute
to the development of the country, the unwise use of the land and
its resources produce negative impacts on the environment.
Environmental challenges in Nigeria are numerous and they
include among others: desertification, solid wastes disposal
strategy, oil spillage, deforestation, wind erosion, and climate
change. Desertification is caused by massive loss of arable lands to
the desert (Nasiru, 2010). This is mainly experienced in the
northern parts of Nigeria, where the country loses kilometres of
land. Industrial waste, Social changes are the result of human
migration within the country. The problem is that in searching for
a better life, people create difficulties with accommodation. Due
to this, many residents have to settle close to the industrial areas.
As a result, they have to consume water, which contains
chemicals, breathe polluted air and eat food with increased
nitratesigeria is one of those countries with poor management of
sanitary infrastructure. This is one of the main reasons why people
live rather close to wasted areas.
People, who inhabit the area in the delta of Niger, suffer
from oil spills every year. This community is so much polluted that
the oil is found in the soil, even within five meters from the surface
(Nigerian Environmental Study Team, 2004). Deforestation is one

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severe environmental issue plaguing the northern part of Nigeria.

It is also pertinent to note that the high rate of urbanization, the
industrial development, and agricultural processes led to
deforestation and extinction of animals living in the woods. In
addition, there is the aspect of wind erosion which means that
lands in the northern part of Nigeria are constantly being “blown
away”. In the same vein, climate change cannot be left out in this
discussion. The emission of green gases has in no small measure
affected the climate leading dangerous changes (Moser, & Dilling,
2007). Soil degradation, pesticides and chemicals often used by
people for different purposes also have adverse effects on the
environment. These are some of the visible environmental
challenges cited in this paper. However, there exist others that are
equally complex as the ones mentioned above.

The Playwright and Contributions to the Campaign against

Environmental Degradation
The crucial status of playwrights cannot be overemphasised in the
theatre firmament. They are seen as “eyes” of the society;
mirroring and critiquing events in the society as they unfold.
According to Dandaura (2015), “The contemporary Nigerian
playwright is a fiercely individualistic writer guided by personal
ideologies than class creeds; a complex persona eager to champion
communal goals as long as, somewhat contradictorily, freedom of
choice is maintained”.
Furthermore, a playwright is a person responsible for
writing dramatic material for the purpose of performance within
the theatre. The script is the blue print for creating a dramatic
production. A script for a play is the road map to creating a
successful and complete theatrical production. In other words, a
playwright will take an original concept or idea and use dramatic
devices such as storytelling and the creation of dialogue to turn the
concept into a complete story. It is noteworthy to state that
playwrights focus on pressing issues of concern to the society.
They are the watch dogs of the society. In as much as theatre
reflects or mirrors the society they become the arrow heads of
the social change and sensitization.

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Dandaura (2015), explained that one of the things a

playwright does is to champion communal goals, and he achieves
this by creatively putting together a story that mirrors a particular
pressing issue in the society. The use of stories to address crucial
social matters has been African lifestyle before civilisation (Abah,
2007). Storytelling being a cultural product, points to the fact that
community dwellers can easily relate to it (Van Erven, 2001). The
playwright does not just tell a story in prose as it is in novels but
takes it a step further by providing visual directions (stage
directions) and dialogue. The dialogue and stage directions make it
possible for the play to be dramatized on stage before an
audience. The essence of bringing a play on stage before an
audience is to serve as entertainment, education and to instigate
social consciousness and awareness creation (Abah, 2002, Carey,
& Sutton, 2004).
Furthermore, plays open up issues for discussion and
debate. The playwright also achieves communal goal through what
is referred to as Theatre for Development (TFD) (Abah, 2002).
TFD practices over the years have been in relation to community
development and a useful participatory tool for engendering social
change (Heras and Tàbara, 2014). They define applied theatre as
“those dramaturgic activities, primarily carried out outside
ordinary theatre institutions specifically intended to benefit
individuals, communities and societies who perform them” (Heras
and Tàbara 2014:380). These performances are often devised in
close collaboration with the communities to address pressing
development issues. For example, “Theatre for Development” has
the imperative to empower marginalized people (Boon & Plastow,
2004), by focusing on their stories and realities of “largely silent (or
silenced) groups of people” (Van Erven, 2001:3).

Environmental issues in “Mammy Waters Wedding”

The play Mammy Water’s Wedding is a love story between the
earth and the sea using a young Lagosian (earth) and a beautiful
Mermaid (sea) as metaphors for the environment. This
entertainment drama is rich in song and dance. The serious issues
of environmental pollution provide the conflict threatening the

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harmonic union. The play focuses on the riverine settlement and

brings to the fore what happens in such areas. It specially
emphasises water (river) pollution. River pollution is a major
environmental challenge that has marred the economic activities in
the riverine areas, being that the livelihood or occupation of the
riverine is fishing. Symbolically, the river is considered to habour
many economic potentials and pollution is a serious threat.

The viability of the Sea (water body)

The play gracefully shows the importance of clean and unpolluted
river in page (63):
AKINLA: We celebrate you in our lungs
You are the element of Air
We perish in your absence.
Nobody must hate me or he dies,
You can touch me.
You do need me.
Clarity is my garment, but I labour so much
With your waste and I wonder where my purity has gone.
What am I?
Oh what am I in this dance of elements?
AKINLA: The one we must all love.
You are water.
Please call my heart to purity,
You spirit of water.
Please call my body to newness
You element of water.
Call my mind to peace with your stillness. (p. 63)
In the above dialogue, Akinla, who was drown in the river
and mysteriously carried and resuscitated by the mermaids
admitted to the goddess that without water, humans can only but
experience ruin. It goes further to emphasise the essence of water.
The kind words of Akinla were met with the bitter complaint of
Terella, as she expressed her dismay at the manner at which
humans desecrate the river which breeds life to them:

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TARELLA: … Rivers, springs, streams, lakes and lagoons under the

deserts; our gifts to the earth that came from us.
Before you came, we have always been. From us you
came. Even now our outer fringes you spoil with
things that destroy. What is in that world, that you
are afraid of this one? What is in that wilderness, that
you hold this garden in scorn? (p. 23)
She further states thus:
TARELLA: Next time in your world, when you visit the sea, you
must hear the waves lament to the earth:
Your Folly,
-my sorrow
-Your folly.
- My sorrow… the endless lamentation of the
oceans… (p. 28)
To further buttress the all importance of the sea, Akinla’s mother
moaning the loss of her son states thus:
MAMA ELEJA: … Let your homecoming be with gift of prayers.
You know, don’t you, how much we take from
the sea?
But does she stop giving? (p. 49)
From the lines above, it becomes imperative that we get
more from the river than we give to it; and the more reason why
we should keep it in good state. The statement further shows that
the only way we can give back to the sea is to hold back waste
because if we pollute it, we pollute our very essence.

Lucrative Business of Pollution

The next issue that we have seen in the play is that in riverine
areas, many see the opportunity of making a living from dumping
toxic waste into the river. The play shows that dumping toxic
waste in the river is a lucrative business that many venture into it.
The dialogue between Akinla and Adagun-odo illustrates this
position.
AKINLA: And your business? Do you still do it?

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ADAGUN-ODO: If people do it, I still do it.

You see my people I am a waste disposer.
Solid waste and the sea is my dump.
ADAGUN-ODO: You see? If people do it, some of us must
carry it, and the sea must swallow it.
And I earn clean money… (Page 52)
AKINLA: Your baby’s name-call will wrestle that
conscience of yours without end if you
continue to disrespect the sea.
Adagun-odo sees himself as a proud waste disposer; a business
tycoon and the business of solid waste that brings him good
fortune. He does not consider what he does as negative or
affecting humanity, as far as he gains. All he sees is a business that
many others, like him are engaged in. His argument with Akinla,
also shows a sense of ignorance and pride, which, perhaps is a
characteristic of rich men in Africa. He believes that the river is
capable of swallowing whatever is plunged into it. The size of the
sea is deceptive.

Cautions to the Activities Inimical to Earth’s Balance

The song below cautions the reader about what not to do to the
earth and river. It addresses people of the world not to wreck the
world. Wrecking the world from the instance of the statement is
equivalent to polluting the sea. Line three of the song below calls
for reflection. Reflection is necessary because it shows us who we
are. It feeds the society with image that it is. Reflection in itself
seems to be the melting pot of theatre for development. Making
people to pause, ponder about their actions and inactions. This,
invariably leads to behaviour change. The communication medium
here is the play text.

SEA QUEEN: It is certain that water loves the earth, but you
creatures of the world hate water so much. But it
is from water that the world has emerged. The
earth must nurse not hate for water. Ever living

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day of yours, you fight water with pollution. Is that

not so? (P. 118)

Song
Omo enia e ma b’aiye je [People of the world, don’t wreck the
world]
Omo enia e ma da le s’okun [People of the world don’t pollute the
sea]
Omo enia e je ka ronu [People of the world let us reflect]
Omo enia e ma ba’le yi je [People of the world don’t spoil the
earth]
Omo enia e ma p’aiye yi re [People of the world don’t wipe out
the world]

(p. 58)
Bribery and Corruption
Another interesting but serious issue of concern is ‘buying’
people’s consciences by business men who pollute the sea with
solid and toxic waste. The practice usually is to silence dissenting
voices who might want to expose illegal waste dumping in the sea.
It is either through monetary aggrandisement or physical harm.
AKINLA: This will be reported to the police.
ADAGUN-ODO: But you must remember my present to the
police-chief’s daughter. It was the Mercedes
that led the wedding float.
ADAGUN-ODO: … Those boxes are nothing but waste. And
when did you develop the taste of the pig
that must show interest in every waste
dump. Brings out a wad of currency notes.
Take this. It is my good morning gift. (pp.
71-73)
AKINLA: Why do you have to pay me if those boxes
are filled only with the kind of waste that
must interest the pig? Why do you offer me a
good morning gift? (pp. 69-70)

Erroneous Belief in the Strength of the Sea

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The lines below are indicative of the erroneous believe that waste
disposers have about the sea and other water bodies.
ADAGUN-ODO:… What do I do wrong if I use the ocean as the
burial ground for industrial waste! Look at the
sea, as big and as it is unafraid. The sea is
unafraid to swallow the waste. What is your own
headache in this matter? You harass me so much
that I must load my boat during quiet hours. It is
my village and I have a natural share of its jetty. If
you want the waste, I can sell them to you.
Today’s cargo is worth a mansion on Victoria
Island. (p. 70)

AKINLA: Adagun-Odo, it is not for my sake, and it is not for your

sake that I plead.
ADAGUN-ODO: Oh, so you do plead. And what is your
plead?
AKINLA: Don’t kill the sea with this waste dump.
ADAGUN-ODO: Kill the sea? Who can ever kill the sea?
Akinla, are you alright?... Has anybody ever
heard of such foolish words? Kill the sea
with a small waste dump?
ADAGUN-ODO: I shall always remember that you gave her
the name and we all know that the sea
washes herself clean with her salt…
Song:
Majele O sunwon ninu omi (Toxic waste in water is horrible)
Idoti O dara ninu omi (Water pollution is bad)
Idoti O sunwon ninu igbo (Pollution in the forest is horrible)
Idoti O sunwon ninu ile (Waste at home is bad)
Idoti O sunwon lofurufu (Air pollution is horrible)
Idoti O dara l’oju orun (Polluting the sky is bad) (page 75)
AKINLA: …We are the cross-relations of the earth and the sea,
the harmony of a full orchestration. (p. 113)

Advocacy for Hygiene and Clean Environment

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TARELLA: Akinla has a clean spirit. He is a man who loves hygiene.

He has the love for clean environment. If I marry him
in his city, my environment will be clean. He will
make me his precious wife. I will make him my one
and only husband… (p. 122)
SEA QUEEN: Tarella, you are about to go to Lagos. Lagos the city
of wisdom. At this very moment, as we discuss, a
gentleman name Adagun-Odo dwells in that city. The
man Adagun-Odo, because of the love for money,
degrades the environment. He is a man of commerce.
He is given industrial waste, paid good money to go
and dump. This man Adagun-Odo dumps this in the
lagoon and the sea. His real name should have been
Omugodiran (offspring of a foolish race, Owosilewo
(Money miss road) should have been his praise song.
(pp. 123-124)

Conclusion
Playwrights are the watch dogs of the society, revealing several
inimical issues that require attention. Findings revealed that the
play text under review concerns itself about the deploring state of
the water bodies which are obvious sources of great wealth. The
play further raised other environmental issues that are crucial to
human existence such as hygiene, preservation, profiteering,
erroneous believe. The play also cautions and draws attention of
the government, development agencies and private business
owners who are responsible for the safe keep of the environment
to be more proactive in their responsibilities. This is in line with
global advocacy programmes to rid the riverine area of solid waste
which further threatens economic livelihood of the riverine
dwellers. The paper concluded that…

References
Abah, O. S., (2002). ‘Creativity, participation and change in theatre for
development practice’, in Francis Harding, ed., The Performance
Arts in Africa: A Reader. New York and London: Routledge, Pp.
158–73.

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Abah, S.O. (2007). Performing life: case studies in the practice of theatre
for development, Zaria, Tamaza publishers
Age AI, Igbashal AA, Shaakaa C (2009). Sustainable Agricultural and
Natural Resources Development in contemporary Nigeria. In:
Modo, I.V.O (Ed.). Sustainable Development in Africa. A book of
Readings. Cultural Research Publishers, Uyo, Nigeria. P. 550.
Carey, P., & Sutton, S. (2004). Community development through
participatory arts: lessons learned for a community arts and
regeneration project in South Liverpool, Community Development
Journal, 39 (2), 123–134.
Heras, M., and J. D. Tàbara. 2014. Let’s play transformations!
Performative methods for sustainability. Sustainability Science 9 (3):
pp. 379-398.
Jaiswal, A. (2018). Health and Environment. A Socio economic,
Nutritional and Health Evaluation among Worker of Different
Sector of Textile Industries (MRP-MAJOR-ANTH-2013-29585
View project. Retrieved 20th may, 2020 from
[Link]
Johnson, L., Ambrose, S., Basset, J., Bowen, M., Crummey, E., Issaacson,
S., Johnson, N., Lamb, P., Saul, M. & Winter-Nelson, A. (1997).
Meanings of environmental terms. Journal of Environmental
Quality 26 pp. 581-598
Katrina Brown, K. Eernstman, N. Alexander R. Huke & Nick Reding
(2017). The Drama of Resilience: Learning, doing, and sharing for
Sustainability. Ecology and Society 22(2): p. 8.
Moser, S.C., and Dilling, L., (2007). Creating a climate for change:
Communication climate change and facilitating social change.
Cambridge University Press, New York.
Nasiru, I. M., (2010). Desertification in the Dry Lands of Nigeria and its
Consequences. Reteived from:
[Link]
Nigerian Environmental Study Team, (2004). Regional Climate Modelling
and Climate Scenarios Development in Support of Vulnerability and
Adaptation Studies: Outcome of Regional Climate Modeling Efforts
over Nigeria, NEST, Ibadan: Nigeria.
O’Brien, K. (2012). Global environmental change II: from adaptation to
deliberate transformation. Progress in Human Geography 36(5):pp.
667-676.

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Peeples, J., (2011). "Toxic sublime: Imaging contaminated landscapes",

Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, vol.
5, no. 4, pp. 373-392.
Sowande, B. (2014). Mammy Water’s wedding. BookBuilders: Ibadan
Van Erven, E. (2001). Community Theatre: Global Perspectives. Routledge,
London, UK.

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Rhythm and Grammaticality in Nigerian Hip-hop

Lyrics: Their Pedagogical Implications

Oluwadunsin Oke AKANDE

Department of English and Literary Studies
Lead City University, Ibadan
dunsinoa@[Link]

Abstract
This paper examines the pedagogical effect of preferring rhythm to
grammaticality in the use of English in selected lyrics of Nigerian hip-hop
songs. The researcher is of the opinion that the preference for rhythm at
the expense of grammaticality influences the way youths, who are the
major consumers of hip-hop music and many of whom are students, use
the language. Five Nigerian hip-hop songs were randomly selected and
their lyrics were analysed syntactically with the discussion of the analysis
based on the theory of intertextuality. It was discovered that there are
some syntactic constructions such as must to which seem to be new to
Nigerian English but which are being promoted by hip-hop artistes
through their songs and these constructions also make some reflections
in the speeches of many youths. The study then concludes that, although
this might make the job of teachers become more cumbersome as they
are seen as custodians of standard English, they do not need to quickly
tag some strange constructions as being incorrect; however, they should
try to explain to their students the boundary between language and
music as some syntactic choices that seem acceptable in music might not
be grammatical.
Key words: Rhythm, Grammaticality, Hip-hop music,
Intertextuality and Nigerian English

1.0 Introduction
Hip-hop is an aspect of popular culture which thrives on language
use. The choice and use of language in hip-hop music is very
essential to the acceptability that this genre of music receives from
its consumers. As argued by scholars that hip-hop music is a genre
of music that thrives on a dexterous use of African-American
Vernacular English (AAVE) which has also been claimed by many

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scholars to be a language of protest as it deviates in its usage in

some areas from American or British English (see Omoniyi, 2009),
the genre still appeals to creativity from its producers (that is, hip-
hop artistes) as a way of being real to themselves and to the genre
itself. In a bid to be creative, hip-hop artistes in Nigeria, as in some
other multilingual societies, use different languages in their
renditions as they also flout some of the rules associated with the
usage of some words or languages that are involved. These artistes
can be said to break some of these rules while they suspend some
of them with a view to sounding creative and rhythmic.
Since the English language is the official language of Nigeria
and it is also used in Nigerian hip-hop music by these artistes, it is
imperative to look at the language from the perspective of its
pattern within the context of its usage in Nigeria. As a result of the
spread of the English language to the other parts of the world, the
language has gained the local colouration of the individual places
which it has reached. Basing this submission on the assertion of
scholars such as Banjo (1996) that English has transcended its
original shore to new places and has taken some peculiar features
in these areas, the new features taken in these new areas of
domicile necessitate the recognition of ‘new Englishes’. According
to Banjo, these new Englishes are found in second language
environments, which Nigeria is not an exception.
Nigerian English (henceforth, NE) is a variety of English
which has been successfully domesticated and localised for the
purpose of communication by Nigerians and it is mainly used by
Nigerians and in Nigeria. Platt, Weber and Ho (1984) see NE as a
variety of English which has been localised or nativised because it
has developed some features that mark it different from Standard
British Engish with a view to enabling the language to carry the
social realities of Nigerians. These features are what Akindele and
Adegbite (2005) describe as Nigerianism in NE. Along this line, it
seems appropriate to submit that NE is a variety which has
developed its own set of rules for using the language in
communication. In the opinion of Bamgbose (1995), which is not
different from the opinions of the scholars mentioned earlier, NE

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is a pidginised, nativised, acculturated and twisted variety of

English that is used to express unaccustomed concepts and modes
of interaction.
In describing the variety of English that should/could be
tagged NE, Jowitt (1991) asserts that such a variety should be
internationally intelligible and acceptable as well as satisfy
intelligibility and acceptability criteria among Nigerians (that is,
locally – at home). It seems that the observation of the fact that
this variety of English has satisfied the criteria despite the fact that
it has been domesticated, nativised, localised, acculturated as well
as twisted to meet the demands of its Nigerian users makes Jibril
(1991) argue that NE is a stable variety of English with its own
distinctive linguistic features.
NE has been studied by different scholars from different
perspectives ranging from its features, use, to acceptability.
Looking at its features, Jibril (1991), Jowitt (1991), Alo and
Mesthrie (2004), Udofot (2004), Akande and Okanlawon (2011),
Taiwo (2012) and so on have examined the features of NE from
different levels of language analysis. On the syntactic features of
NE which form the focus of this paper, Jowitt (1991), Alo and
Mesthrie (2004), Akande and Okanlawon (2011), Taiwo (2012),
Akande (2013), Lawal (2013), Okunrinmeta (2014) and
Ohakamike (2016) enumerate the following among others as
syntactic/grammatical features of NE.
i. The use of transitive verbs intransitively
e.g She disappoints a lot. (She disappoints people a lot)
ii. The use of stative verbs as dynamic
e.g I am hearing/seeing/loving/hating you. (I
hear/see/love/hate you)
iii. The use of adjectives as verbs
e.g Off the light please. (Switch off the light please)
iv. The use of reflexive pronouns in the place of personal
pronouns
e.g The man gave him and myself some money. (The man
gave him and me some money)

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v. The use of reflexive pronouns in the place of reciprocal

pronouns
e.g The man and his wife love themselves. (The man and his
wife love each other)
vi. The use of headless nominal groups
e.g We are expecting the honourable. (We are expecting
the honourable member)
Despite the mentioned and other grammatical features that have
been found in, and been accepted as distinctive grammatical
features of NE, there are some other features that can be found in
the lyrics of many Nigerian hip-hop songs. These features can be
said to be strategically used by the artistes to show their creativity
and to achieve rhythmicity. However, by flouting grammatical
rules; as Morgan (2001) points out, the language ideology of hip-
hop is constructed defiantly and consciously against dominant and
established linguistic norms. Furthermore, despite the fact that
Nigerian English is a recognised variety of English, it is not still
recognised as an acceptable variety of English for pedagogy in
Nigerian schools and for public examinations because prescriptive
grammar used in our schools is not for the nation alone but based
on international intelligibility and acceptance.

2.0 Theoretical Thrust of the Paper

The discussion in this paper is anchored to the concept of
intertextuality which was promoted by Julia Kristeva. According to
Fiske (1987:108), intertextuality is a theory which proposes that
one text is necessarily read in relationship to others. In this same
vein, Namadi and Zarrinjooee (2014) describe intertextuality as a
practice which allows one to create a connection between and
among texts with a view to enhancing a better understanding of
these texts’ function. What this means is that the message of a
literary text does not stand alone in disconnection from one other
text as it is believed that reading a text can help in creating another
text.
From the foregoing, we can see that intertextuality as a
theory is mainly used in discussing a connection between and

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among some literary works; however, it has been shown by some

scholars as a viable theory that can be used to discuss or analyse
not only written literary works but also non-written texts such as
performances and speeches. Therefore, I intend to adapt this
theory to show a form of connection between the English language
usage found in hip-hop songs and the new usages that are
observable among Nigerian users of English, as the features of
these new usages have not been claimed or recognised by scholars
as syntactic features of Nigerian English. This reason for adapting
this theory to show the link between syntactic choices in the
speech of Nigerian users of English and the syntactic choices in
some Nigerian hip-hop songs is not far-fetched: everything is a text
(van Zoonen, 2017).
Based on direction, there are two types of intertextuality:
horizontal and vertical intertextuality. According to Fiske (1987),
Namadi et al. (2014) and van Zoonen (2017), horizontal
intertextuality occurs when there is a connection between a
primary text and another primary, between a secondary text and
another secondary text or between a tertiary text and another
tertiary text. Horizontal intertextuality is evident when the
interpretation of a text depends on the message of another text.
Vertical intertextuality, on the other hand, occurs when the
interpretation of a text depends on another text from another
genre – for instance, the interpretation of a movie which is hinged
on the interpretation of a song.
With proximity to the source of a text, texts can be divided
into three: primary text, secondary text and tertiary text.
According to scholars, primary texts are those texts that do not
rely on any other text for the reader to understand their message;
however, such texts rarely exist (van Zoonen, 2017). Secondary
texts depend on primary texts or other secondary texts for the
reader to fully understand them while tertiary texts incorporate
audiences or readers who show their interest in the secondary
text through their individual appreciations or appropriation of the
text. It is the aspect of appropriating the syntactic choices of some
of these hip-hop artistes in their songs by their audiences in their

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own speeches that this study intends to examine and show its
implication on language learning and teaching. The argument of
this paper is that we can understand the origin of some of the
syntactic choices that users of English in Nigeria, especially youth
and students, make while we study the syntactic dimension of the
use of the English language in hip-hop generally and Nigerian hip-
hop specifically.

3.0 Syntactic Features of English in Nigerian Hip-hop

Lyrics
This section presents some of the syntactic features of English that
are observable in Nigerian hip-hop lyrics. While some of these
features have been classified as features of NE, some of them are
new features that have their origin in hip-hop. All the syntactic
features that are examined in this paper as well as in the excerpts
are verb-related.

3.1 Existing Syntactic Features

These are some of the syntactic features of English that are really
Nigerian and are also evident in the lyrics of some Nigerian hip-
hop songs. One of such grammatical features that are evident in
the lyrics of Nigerian hip-hop songs is non-observance of rules of
concord. It is evident that many Nigerian hip-hop songs do not
obey rules of concord. Non-observing many rules of concord is so
preponderant in many of these songs to the extent that Nigerian
speakers or learners of English in Nigeria who are also lovers of
these songs also follow these patterns whether consciously or
unconsciously. Some instances of flouting concord rules are in
Excerpts A and B below.

Excerpt A Stupid Love – Olamide featuring Samklef

She carry front, she carry back
She too package, I can’t leave her
She is one of the reason why I get
liver

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Nothing in this world that I can’t give

her
I’m loving you eh; I’m loving you eh
/x2
Excerpt B Something Light – Falz featuring
Ycee
She want something light
Something nice
But you still wearing bra
When I’m offing light

In Excerpt A, the artiste who takes the verse, Olamide,

uses the verb carry instead of carries despite the fact that the
subject – she – is a singular first person pronoun. By default, this
pronoun requires a singular verb – carries – for the sentences in
the first line of the excerpt to be grammatically correct.
Therefore, the sentences in the first line of Excerpt A should have
read She carries front, she carries back. The same thing is applicable
to Excerpt B where the artiste who takes the lines, Ycee, uses
want instead of wants since the subject of the sentence in the first
line is singular – She.
Furthermore, there is an instance of not following some
rules of concord in Excerpt C below; the artiste – MI – flouts the
rule of concord in the seventh line of the excerpt. The sentence
should have read And you feeling me when nobody hypes me;
however, the artiste uses hype which is a plural verb despite the
fact that the subject of the clause is an indefinite pronoun nobody.
In a standard variety of English, indefinite pronouns: somebody,
someone, nobody, no one, everything, everyone, anyone, anybody and
something require singular verbs.

Excerpt C One Naira – MI featuring Waje

If you stay now follow chop kwakwa
When I’m living by the bay, takwa
Friends with Oprah and Obama

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Guess who’s going be my baby

mama
And my wifey, (you) precisely
Cause you loving me when nobody
likes me
And you feeling me when nobody
hype me

However, it is also evident in the excerpts that artistes do

not flout rules of concord always. These artistes move between
grammatically acceptable constructions and those constructions
that are not grammatical but which seem to have been accepted
by the artistes and their lovers. For example, in Excerpt A,
Olamide says in the third line, She is one of the reason why I get
liver; the verb is – a singular verb – agrees with the subject – She –
which is also singular while in Excerpt C, MI obeys the rule of
concord in his selection of verb in Cause you loving me when nobody
likes me in which likes follows the subject nobody. Therefore, it can
be argued that these artistes alternate between grammatically
acceptable constructions and those constructions that are not
welcomed in standard varieties of English with a view to adding
some creativity to their language use.
Apart from non-observing some rules of concord, there
are instances of omission of auxiliary verbs where they are needed.
In Excerpts B and C, the artistes omit auxiliary verbs where they
should have been used; the statement in the third line of Excerpt
B, But you still wearing bra, is devoid of an auxiliary verb which
should either be are or were because of the subject you. The same
instance is seen in the sixth and seventh lines of Excerpt C. The
sentences in the two lines are Cause you loving me when nobody
likes me and And you feeling me when nobody hype me and we can
see that the needed auxiliary verbs for the sentences are missing.
To know the appropriate choice to make in terms of tense, one
needs to consider the preceding sentence or the succeeding line
when there is a case of ellipsis in a clause; in the case of these
excerpts which run through in present tense, the appropriate

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auxiliary verb omitted in all the cases is are. Therefore, that

sentence in Excerpt B should grammatically read But you are still
wearing bra while the sentences in C should read Cause you are
loving me when nobody likes me and And you are feeling me when
nobody hypes me.
The sentence in the sixth line of Excerpt C, Cause you loving
me when nobody likes me presents another syntactic feature that
can be accounted for in Nigerian English and consequently in
Nigerian hip-hop songs; there are instances of using stative verbs
as dynamic verbs. In Excerpt A, the artiste uses love, a stative verb,
as a dynamic verb as in I’m loving you in the fifth line instead of I
love you while MI in Excerpt C also uses love in the same way in the
sixth line. It is evident that using love instead of loving that the
artistes use will not generate the kind of rhythmicity and flow that
loving generates.
In Excerpt B, there is an instance of using a grammatical
item in a syntactic position where it is not primarily expected to
function. Ycee uses an adjective as a verb in When I’m offing light;
off is an adjective but it is used in the song as a verb in its
progressive form. Although it has been accounted for in NE that
Nigerian users of English sometimes use adjectives as verbs. The
presence of this feature in songs shows how far this feature has
been entrenched in this variety of English. However, this feature
seems not to be limited to NE but it is encouraged by hip-hop
generally. In a Hollywood movie titled Blindspotting which was
produced by Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, Keith Calder and Jess
Calder and released in 2018, a character named Collin (Daveed
Diggs) displays some linguistic creativity. In the scene where he
confronts the police officer who shoots intentionally and kills a
black man but who is honoured as the narrative concerning the
black man is changed – it is reported that he is carrying a gun when
he does not have any on him, Collin uses rap to talk to the police
officer because he witnesses what happens between the police
officer and the black man. In his conversation with the officer
through rap, Collin says,

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“… Did you count his rings when you bled him?

Huh?
When you dead him?
… Why wouldn’t I dead him? (Italics mine)
(Blindspotting, 2018)

In the excerpt above from the movie, Collin in his attempts

to achieve rhythmicity chooses bled and dead, which are primarily
adjectives, to function as verbs. His choice of the words can be
seen to be strategic as the two words have internal rhyme of the
third pure vowel sound /e/. In the case of offing light in Excerpt B,
the artiste uses offing instead of switching or putting off. This is a
form of linguistic creativity that hip-hop harbours and thrives on.

3.2 New Syntactic Features

There are some syntactic features that can be found in some songs
but which have not been accounted for in any mainstream varieties
of English. In Excerpts D and E below, there is a feature which
seems to be strange but which is gaining credence among some
users of English in Nigeria.

Excerpt D All over – Tiwa Savage

Make we scatter this place tonight
Dance and sweating like say na fight
We must to settle this thing tonight,
yeah
Come let us catch some feelings for
night, yeah

Excerpt E Run Mad – Terry G featuring

Tuface
You can only run run (wola)
Run run run pass Terry G when you
run mad
Awon ota mi wa wa wa
Won le le le, won fe da bi Terry G

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They must to run mad

E bele, eh eh eh eh /x4
Won ti ya were oh oh eh /x2

In the third line of Excerpt D and the fifth line of Excerpt E,

the sentences read We must to settle this thing tonight, yeah and
They must to run mad respectively. What is common to the two
sentences is that a modal auxiliary must is followed by a
preposition to before the main verbs in each of the cases follow. In
standard varieties of English, the only thing that is expected to
come in between an auxiliary verb and a lexical verb is either a
negator, an adverbial or a combination of a negator and an
adverbial.
The preponderance of must to constructions in Nigerian
hip-hop songs is very alarming. For instance, apart from the songs
from which Excerpts D and E above are drawn, there are
instances of must to in Erima, a song by Kcee featuring Timaya, as
in You must to cure my craze; in Monalisa by Lyta as in ‘Cause you
must to gimme love oh and in Duro by Teckno as in Say you must to
marry me. The only time that must which is primarily an auxiliary
verb can be allowed to be followed by to is when it stops being an
auxiliary verb and is made to function as an adjective through
conversion. In this case, its meaning is that of necessity for the
nominal item it precedes as in A must to have gadget; this means
that it is important to own such a gadget. Furthermore, it can also
be followed by a to-headed construction if must functions as a
noun as in Contentment is a must to be happy. In the cases of must
to identified in Excerpts D and E as well as other songs listed
above, must is not used as an adjective; therefore, its use with to is
a new syntactic feature that is being promoted by hip-hop and
which is gaining currency among many youths and some other
adults who are consumers of hip-hop music.

4.0 The Influence of Music on People’s Language Use

The role of technology in the learning of a language cannot be
overemphasised and one of the ways through which its importance

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can be seen is in the area of recording and transmission of songs. It

is without a doubt that some people learn a language by listening
to some songs rendered in a particular language or a movie in
which a language one wants to learn is spoken. I have met
personally some people who now understand Korean, Chinese
and Hindi to some extent by seeing movies whose language of
communication is any of the listed languages. As a result of seeing
many of the movies in those languages, some of these people have
learnt the language to the extent of writing in those languages.
However, there is a point we need to consider: how these people
speak the languages depends on how the languages are used in the
movies. Therefore, how they speak the languages and the syntactic
choices they make will reflect what they hear from such songs or
movies even if what they are exposed to is not the standard
variety of any of the languages.
It is my argument that syntactic choices that people are
exposed to through music and movies have a way of influencing
syntactic choices that these people make. Christopher (2013)
claims that artistes influence the behaviour of their consumers; in
this case, their linguistic behaviour. According to this paper which
uses hip-hop songs, hip-hop songs form a text genre on the one
hand while what people say or write constitutes another text
genre on the other hand and the relationship between these two
genres of texts can be understood from the angle of vertical
intertextuality. This means that, for example, a sentence from a
student who once wrote We must to know what we are doing and
the sentence used by a young man who once commented on a
post on Facebook in 2019 as follows: Even if want to avoid guys is
not by broken ur heart,, you must to have a solid/genue reason (sic)
are a reflection of must to syntactic constructions that hip-hop
music in Nigeria popularises.
As Alim (2004) posits that rappers, by extension hip-hop
artistes, are street linguists and lexicographers in the way they use
language and create new usages for existing words and new words
for their creative intents, the manner in which these street linguists
and lexicographers use language tend to appeal to the interest of

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the consumers of their music who are mainly youths. For instance,
there is a friend of mine who has adopted a writing style that is
typical of rappers such as using –z as a bound morpheme which
signals plurality instead of –s as in girlz instead of girls or comez
instead of comes while he spells words that should normally end
with –er as in brother /br˄ðə/ or sister /sistə/ as brotha and sista
respectively; this form of spelling has been claimed by Morgan
(2001) as an instance of spelling ideology of hip-hop artistes.

5.0 The Pedagogical Implications of Rhythmicity over

Grammaticality in Nigerian Hip-hop Songs
One of the features of language, creativity or productivity, seems
to postulate that human language is not a monolithic entity;
therefore, innovations are welcome in the use of language and
students or users of language are not limited as to how they can
use language to achieve a particular intent or the other. However,
the freedom that creativity or productivity seems to offer language
does not come with a price which, in my own view, will have to be
paid by teachers who can be regarded as custodians of the
standard way of using language.
In the case of English, since what the teachers seem to
expect from their students, who are mostly youths, in relation to
their language use is in contrast to what these students are
exposed to outside their classrooms, it makes the work of the
teachers become more cumbersome if we are to recognise the
view of Curzan (2009) that teachers should not be too quick to
judge a particular usage as incorrect or unacceptable. To Curzan,
teachers need to allow their students use their language the way
they feel it seems nice to them and the teachers should try as
much as possible to ask questions concerning such a usage so as to
know its origin. Therefore, teachers teach their students at a point
while they also become learners at another. By doing this, the
teachers can know how to help the students set a boundary
between what is linguistically permissible in music and what is
permissible in language in another terrain such as school, formal
gatherings and during examinations. In line with this submission,

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Trudgill (2000:10) has warned that, if teachers who are de facto

custodians of standard varieties of a particular language are hostile
to the speech of their students who speak nonstandard varieties,
the effects can be undesirable socio-psychologically and
pedagogically.
In the view of Simon (1980), nonstandard varieties of
English have their right to exist but they do not have any right to
dislodge standard varieties. Borrowing from this submission, I can
say that these grammatical and syntactic features that hip-hop
music seems to harbour have their right to exist but the teachers
need to educate their students on the difference between what is
expected of them in school and what hip-hop music offers them in
terms of language use. When the instances of creativity which
hinges on rhythm at the expense of grammaticality that are found
in the songs are not confronted with a correct delineation
between music and academics or other formal social phenomena
where language is needed, the youths who are mostly students can
be confronted with the problem of not knowing when this
creativity is welcome or not. When they are not properly guided
on the limit of acceptability of some grammatical constructions in
music, we are bound to see constructions like these in the writings
and speeches of our students because the source or promoter of
many of these constructions or usages – hip-hop – is like a drug in
which youths have found their addiction and has become their way
of life (see Alim and Pennycook, 2007). Therefore, one needs to
understand, as a teacher, that some aberrant constructions such as
the use of stative verbs as dynamic verbs and the use of
preposition to after a modal auxiliary verb, especially must, are
constructions being promoted by hip-hop artistes through their
songs have their place in music but not in schools where teachers
tend to be custodians of prescriptive rules of language.

6.0 Conclusion
This paper has argued that many of strange language usages that
are observable in the speeches and writings of many students are
as a result of their strong predilection for hip-hop music. This type

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of music and its artistes have been claimed to be street linguists

and lexicographers as they use their creative prowess to use
language in a way that seems to be contradictory to the
established rules of using it either by breaking grammatical rules or
suspending them with a view to be rhythmic. This has been a
source of worry and indignation for many teachers who are daily
and continually bombarded by many unusual constructions which
do not reflect the prescriptive rules of grammar that they expect
their students to follow.
Therefore, this paper has shown that these unusual
constructions are reflections of the kind of music that these
students consume and the teachers need to understand that these
constructions are allowed in music and should not be too quick to
tag them as being incorrect or unacceptable. As a result, teachers
need to just show what is expected in schools and other formal
settings as a way of delimiting their place of using these
constructions. The reason teachers should not completely
condemn them but encourage their students to restrict them is
because the structure of music is flexible and innovative, and not
bound to a definite syntax (Klein and Jacobsen, 2014) and because
music is not a language that should obey the rules of a language.

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Morgan, M. (2001). Nuthin’ but a G thang: Grammar and language
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The Significance of Dance as Expression of Culture

in African Society

Oluwaseun Abiodun FABUSUYI

Department of Theatre Arts
Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Ogun State
shanfab@[Link]
and
Peter Adeiza BELLO (Ph.D)
Department of Theatre Arts
Redeemers’ University, Ede, Osun State.
Petrabell2000@[Link]

Abstract
The term culture is dance and dance is culture, cannot be over
emphasized. The statement is a clear indication of the fact that dance
performance especially among Africans is enshrouded in the ways of life
of the people. Dance is no doubt an expression of culture in totality
cutting across age long beliefs, folklores and traditional festivals and
ceremonies of diverse kind. As a cultural element and an art form, the
place of dance in the sociocultural development of the African society
cannot be undermined. This is because; dance performance transcends
all aspect and stages of the people’s development, making great impact
in all facets of their lives. The potentiality of dance as a veritable tool for
development in Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized. Therefore, this
paper examines the significance of dance in culture and societal
development with the application of descriptive research method. It
highlights the great potentials of dance as a viable form of entertainment,
expressive communication and source of tourism. Hence, the paper
recommends strategies towards enhancing the potential viability of
dance for meaningful sociocultural development in a bid to tackling the
challenges of social and moral decadence in the Nigerian Society.
Keywords: Significance, Dance, Culture, Development.

Introduction
The place of dance in humane societies, especially African
societies, cannot be over-emphasized; it permeates all aspect of

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life of the people. This is largely due to the role it plays in their
religious, social, political and economic life. Its centrality can never
be undermined within in Nigerian societies. Dance events such as
marriage and burials are about the major events that provide
recreation for people encumbered with work. It has a unifying
force that provides a platform for social interaction in relaxed
atmosphere. For clarification, dance is used in a generic term in
this paper. This approach is informed by what we conceived as a
dance in Nigeria where music is also implied when we talk about
dance. Dance in Nigeria is a composite art. Dance is also examined
as a sub-cultural sector.
There seems to be an aesthetical principle in operation in
African cultures; namely the close intermingling, intertwining,
interlocking, and inter-relationship of music, dance and drama in
African tradition art. The African usually integrates music, dance
and drama into everything they do. A typical African performance
is usually an ensemble of many parts with the maximization of both
the tangible and intangible aesthetics of the performance.
Supporting the above notion, Omofolabo-Soyinka (1996) states
that dance is multi-communication channel transmitting
information not only through time and space but also kinetically,
visually and through other human sensorial perception. She further
illustrate dance through its movement patterns, kinetically conveys
verbal information; music gets visually interpreted and in
particular, many African plastic arts forms attain their full
significance specifically through dance motion. Gory (187), Nketia
(1974), Okwesa (1987), Ugolo (2005) all agreed that African
concept of music, dance and drama are one and the same thing.

The Significance of Dance in Nigeria

The role of dance in human societies generally and in African
cultures cannot be over-emphasized, scholars, like Radcliff Brown,
Evans Pritchard, France Rust, Magarretta, Goines, Judith Hanna,
Peggy Harper, Kariamou Welsh Asante and others who have
seriously looked at dance agreed that it plays certain general roles
in all societies. Scholars, in order to give perspective to the study

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of dance have tried to formulate some functional typology for

dance, some on a general level and others on a specific level.
Among such scholars are Gerthrude Kurath (1949), Anthony Shay
(1971), Edith Enen (1976) and Felix Begho (1996). The attempt by
Kurath is liumited in its cross-cultural application, while that of
Begho and Enen are Nigeria specific.
On the other, Anthony Shays’ categorization of the roles
and functions of dance in societies is at a more general level. Shay
divide the roles and function of dance into six categories as
follows;
Dance as a reflection and validation of social organization
Dance as a vehicle of secular and religious ritual expression
Dance as a social diversion of recreational activity
Dance as a Psychological outlet and release
Dance as a reflection of artistic values or as an aesthetic
activity in itself, and
Dance as a reflection of economic subsistence pattern, or
an economic activity.

The above categorization reveals that dance covers

virtually all the different facet of society. It permeates the social,
political, religious, psychological, economical and aesthetic aspect
of the society. From the foregoing the functionality of dance in
societies measures its centrality to these societies, especially
Nigeria. Dance in Nigeria is the art closest to the people. It forms
an integral part of the life of the people. Harper (1966:1), writing
about Nigeria in particular, attest to this by saying that:
In the traditional societies of Nigeria, dance is an
integral part of life. Dance movements are
grounded in the physical circumstances, work
habits and everyday movement of a people. The
design of the dance, which involves a specific
relationship between performers reflect social
organizations and attitudes in a community.

Doris Green (1996:26)says “dance in Africa is seen as a way of life,

a source of people and is associated with everyday activities such

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as birth, death, puberty, war, recreation, initiation and ritual.

Dance is so vital in the everyday life of the people”. Keita Fodeba
(1959: 20) says “unlike other forms of dance, Africa dance is
detached from the lives of the people, but is a spontaneous
emanation of the people”. In a nutshell, dance keeps the Nigeria
society going in its appeal to all strata of society as well as social
classes. Dance no doubt, is very dynamic part of Nigerian
performing arts culture and also an important part of indigenous
Nigerian cultural traditions. At the level of definition dance as an
art is culture dependent and what constitutes dance are
dependent on social, cultural aesthetics, artistic and moral
constraints. Among the first category is the definition by
Cambridge International Dictionary (1996:345) simply define
dance “as to move the body and feet to music”. Enekwe
(1991:96) defines it as “essentially the response of the soul and the
mind through the body to the ineludible power of music”. From
the above definition and the numerous others in this category, it
shows that there are underlined commonalities that conceive
dance as a human behavior, for expression, as means to an end
and for communication.
On the other hand, a more profound definition of dance
that captures cultures which is our major concern is by Hanna
(1978:88) she says:
Dance is human behavior composed of purposefully,
intentionally, rhythmical and culturally patterned
movements and gestures, which are not motor
activities (as define by specific societies). The motion
having inherent value (88).

Given the above definition one can only join Akazue

(2004:65) to say that dance “as an artistic expression,…is explored
to entertain, educate and to pass information that are relevant to
the growth and development of a particular society”. Again a look
at different views on dance will help us bring out the functions and
the centrality of dance.
The Philosophers view that ecstatic, mystical and a form of
worship that is intended to invite supernatural powers.

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Philosophers, the like of Ruth St. Dennis, see dance as a spiritual

exercise in which the soul of man is elevated and his spirit is
purged. They believe that dance is a potent instrument of worship
and communication with the divine. They believe that the power
of dance in religious practice lies in its multi-sensory, emotional
and symbolic capacity to communicate. To them dance has magical
and mystical values. The above give credence to the centrality of
dance in the religious lives of the Nigerian people. If this point is
properly harnessed in religious worship it will go a long way in
enhancing spirituality among the [Link] benefits thereof
cannot be undermined in a society where the rate of crime is high.
Dance to the Psychologists is a different ball game. It is viewed
against the background of the therapeutic qualities. They argued
that the essential psychological functions of dance are preventing
depression and discharging other psychic stresses (Lambo
1965).From this view, the therapeutic potency of dance is the
healing of certain ailment psychic or physical cannot be quantified.
In most European countries, the therapeutic potency of dance has
been explored with tremendous results. In Nigeria, this aspect has
been left in the hands of the traditional people with no
encouragement from the government. Examples are the the Igbe
and the Iyayi societies of Nigeria. Bame (1991:41) attest to the
therapeutic potency of dance in Africa. He says,
…the broad activity of dance in Africa is at once a
psychological dose for replenishing happiness and
joy as well as lessening grief and worry. There is
no doubt this cathartic effect of dance, in the past
as now, in some respects enabled Africans to cope
with the demanding experiences of their
existence, disease, hunger, death and many others
stemming partly from the consequences intended
and unintended, of colonial rule and racial
suppression.
Another very role of dance in Nigeria societies is its cohesive
nature/potency. Dance as we know does not occur on its ownin
African societies, it is always a part of an event such as burial,

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marriage and rites of passage etc. it is particularly in these events

that you can see the cohesive role of dance. There is no activity in
Nigeria that has a more cohesive role as dance. People of all status
submit to it. For example, all the five Ebos (Quarters) in Asaba
Delta State summit to the dance called Egwu-Ota. All the Quarters
in Asaba observe dos and don’ts of Egwu-Ota. Its laws apply to all
Asaba indigenes the same way, there are no exceptions for any
Quarters in Asaba. The above example is a lens into other
societies in Nigeria and in Africa.
Radcliffe Brown, Evans Pritchard and others all agreed that
dancing being a social or collective activity, exerts some effects on
the social groups as well as individual members of the group which
engage in it. For example, in dancing, the individual participant are
constrained by custom to conceal their idiosyncrasies and confirm
to social requirements of the dance; in so doing, they acquire some
degree of social conformity necessary for harmonious social life.
The cohesive potential of dance is needed to move a
people in the same direction to ensure peace, which is a
prerequisite for development. In a country of great diversity in
culture like Nigeria, dance is the language that knows no ethnic
barrier. Moreover, it draws vitality on living Nigerian cultural
traditions and expresses so well the identity and unity of African
Culture. In the language of H’Doubler (1957) “the universal is
realized in the individual” and Ben Tomoloju (1998:32) caps it all
with this remark “it is only the dancers who do not have their
medium barricaded by codes”.
The recreational role of dance can never be over-
emphasized in a society like Nigeria. Even though the recreational
function of most our dances was not deliberately designed from
the beginning, overtime time it has been established. One could
however categorise this as the latent roles. Latent roles or
functions, according to Bame (1991:4), are the ‘concealed not so
obvious and unintended consequences which also help in the
maintenance of the system’. He further explains that consequences
which are deliberately sought are then manifest (functions). The
occasion for dance no doubt calls for people to gather: this

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therefore brings people together in reunion to interact and

sometimes fresh acquaintances are made. It affords people the
opportunity to discuss political, social and topical matters over
bottles of drinks. People ease off tension and relax forgetting their
sorrows, at least for that moment.
This potential of dance is an aspect to be explored in a
country where tension is heightened by the deplorable condition
of living; a country where stress, hardship, lack and insecurity are
the order of the day. There is need for dance culture to be
promoted among the people to ease off tension and aggression.
Enekwe (1981:11) declares “dancing serves as vital function in
human society to achieve social cohesion or togetherness, causing
them to feel a deep sense of communion with each other. As a
result, people are liberated from the bounds of individuality”. We
strongly recommend that dance culture should be revived and
promoted in Nigeria to produce healthy people.
Lastly, the communication, educational and socialization
potentials of dance are very interrelated and interdependent. The
communicational values of dance are numerous. Many societies
have documented their histories, conquests and defeats, beliefs
and aspirations through dance. People have registered their
collective identities through dance at local, national and
international levels. It will not be too verbose to say that dance is a
microcosm of culture. It reveals what is buried in the subconscious
of a people, the not too obvious. As compact as traditional dances
maybe, they are loaded for instructions, teaching, explanation and
education on vital aspects of culture.
To support the above, Buckland (2001:1) says “dance has
the prosperity to fore ground cultural memory as embodied
practice by virtual of its predominantly semiotic modes of
transmission”. In other words, the analysis of various
communication elements embedded in traditional dances, in terms
of movements, costumes, insignia, props, performance structure,
musical instruments etc will reveal that it communicates a lot
about a people. It reveals who they are, their beliefs, what they
like, their aspirations and their personality etc. Abbe (2007) similar

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views that dance due to its non-verbal nature have the ability to
document and bring to bear the history of a people and their
culture”. Emanating from the above views, dance has serve as
alternative history, because a chunk of what is known today about
a people is gotten from their dances. Even though the dances are
no more the way they used to be, there are still traces of peoples
past embedded in the dances that serves as a pointer to where the
people are coming from, because dance takes on personality of the
culture it belongs to. Okojie (1994) elucidates that ‘the key to a
people’s character or personality can be found in their dance,
music and folklore’.
Kealiinohomoku (1965:1) states that the dance of a culture
of a society reveals many things about a people. According to her
All dances are ethnic…dance within a culture
reveals a value system, the ideas as well as the
norms. Dance reveals the aesthetics, it shows
modal personality, and it express psychological
range. Dance is an indicator of world view.
She further re-iterates in (1974) that;
Our dances is an expression of our institution. It
shows the nature of interpersonal relationship and it
reveals much about aesthetics and morals, some of
these expressions are typical representatives of our
universe and some are ideal expressions.
Through different dances, Africans educate their children.
They learn the ways of the land, the values, the arts and the
language etc. According to Green (1996:13) ‘traditional African
dance is integrated art of movement that is controlled by her
music which is governed by her languages, its relationship to music
and language distinguishes it from any other art form’. These
qualities make African tradition dance unique.
On the other hand, the sociologists whose major concern
is the study of the relationship between people living in groups,
view dance as a profound social experience. They say that dance is
the only activity of all ages that both sexes participate in and
therefore offers a unique opportunity for an analysis of education..

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Ewhuadjapor (1996:4) defines socialization as the shaping of

individual behavior through the training that the environment
provides (via dance most especially). Socialization therefore,
becomes an important function of the dance. Henna (1980:90)
defines it as a ‘process of cultural transmission by which an
individual learns’. She further re-iterates that ‘when socialization is
consciously intended, dance may be used to intensify the oral
instruction concerning the tribal standards of conduct’.
Therefore, dance offers greater opportunity for
socialization, whether consciously or unconsciously intended.
Infact, many African dance form socialize participants to a variety
of social behavior e.g. family obligations; inter personal friendship
and solidarity religious, political status and occupational norms.
The potential of dance in sustainable development cannot be over-
emphasized as Thoraya (2010) rightly observes
In traditional African society’s cultural sub-sectors
such as dance, music, etc. has been used to develop
the individual which invariably develop the whole. It
has been used in the area of socialization and
benefits of socialization are so numerous. It
promotes healthy thinking, it stimulates creativity.
Again, dance communicate cultural values. Nettleford
(1996: XI) says ‘dance in Africa is a traditional source of
communication’. Music and Dance do not employ what you may
call non values or extraneous values, thus it is what Africans value
that they incorporate into their art, especially music and dance.
Africans use dance to portray values such as honesty, hard work,
chastity, cooperation, hospitality and so on. Anikulapo (2007) note
that ‘African dance is a source of communication through which it
is possible to demonstrate emotion sentiment and other reactions
through movements’. Dance no doubt expresses the manifold
hues of life through movement.
Indianetzone (2007) commenting on the Indian folk dance
describes ‘it as a means of getting valuable information which can
be more useful in understanding local cultures, legends, myths that
are deeply rooted in culture, convictions and belief systems, which

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native people follow’. It concludes by saying that ‘folk dances

provide an important framework to understanding of social
context of particular region in detail’.
Layiwola (1989), while discussing dance and society in
mutual interpretation, observes that dance is not only a show of
physical dexterity and alertness but equally attending ideas, welfare
or discomfort of the society that generates it. He goes further to
say that the varieties in the movement goes beyond mere physical
expression and find dialectical counterparts in societies store of
knowledge and experience. He concludes that dance, as recent
focus of research has more in store, for the understanding, as well
as the interpretation of a society. As it is often said, a work of art
such as dance cannot be separated from general consciousness of
the society. Akazue (2004:69) supports the above views by saying
‘there is a dialectical relationship between art and the society; one
cannot do without the other’. Art generally is a reflection of the
society.
Dance as a source of income and tourist attraction. This
paper will not be complete if the wonderful aspect of dance is not
included. African dance has always and still commands attention
not only from strangers but also from culture bearers. The beauty
and the spectacle in these dances cannot be described. Is it the
masquerade dances such as the Igunnu and the Ebu wonders of the
Nupes and the Delta-Ibo tribes of Nigeria or the Ikpekpegbe
female acrobatic dance of Edo State or the Atilogwu of the Igbos or
the Kalangu dances of the Hausa tribes? Nigeria is blessed with a
vast reservoir of traditional dances, which if properly harnessed
will reflect the taste of a new Nigeria and will be a great source of
income at local, national and international levels. Once the
economic aspects of these dances are explored, many youths who
have abandoned them for the hip-pop because of its economic
values will return to them without delay. And when they return to
it, they will eject their own zest and time into it and leave a mark
that will be registered in the annals of Nigeria’s creative traditions.
It will represent their time which in a way is development.

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From the foregoing, the ability of dance to reveal so much

about a people cannot be over-emphasized. Dance as a gateway to
people’s culture; it has help in documenting the things that are
buried in the subconscious of the people with evidences in studies
like Ikaki Tortoise dance of the Kalabari people of Nigeria, the
Obitun dance of the Ondo people in Nigeria: the Gelede mask
dances of the Yoruba people of Ogun and Oyo States, Nigeria and
Karete and Ishioko dances of the Edo people Nigeria. From the
above observation of what dance and music has been used to do
especially in the human development. Dance a veritable formula
for salvaging African cultures is instructive to understanding the
philosophies behind our cultural practices. Since dances serves as a
gateway to traditional cultures, there is need for stronger
emphasis on African dance research and documentation. This is
especially imperative in this era of globalization where people
without a claim to a definite identity join the global move and get
swallowed up by culture of the west.

Interrelationship of Culture and Development

The significance of culture in development cannot be exhausted in
any debate. Culture and development exist in mutual reciprocity.
There is no doubt that there is a connection between both owing
to the fact that both deal with people-they are human oriented.
Development has it is often said connotes modernization, growth,
progress and the concept of transformation from one stage to
another. Development in all its facets economics, religious, human,
social and political has dominated major debate in forums such as
United Nations Population funds (UNFPA: 2010), new partnership
for Africa’s development (NEPAD) and United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO:2009).
Even though, the (MDGS) of 2000 did not categorically highlight
culture as a veritable tool in their development goals the (MDGS)
of 2009-2012 have reorganized the role of culture in development
and as such included in the MDGS strategies. They have come to
term in this debate that culture cannot be tossed aside as
irrelevant or as obstacle to development but rather as a basis for

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sustainable development. The most encouraging thing is as

(Drani:2009) puts it, ‘is the perception of culture as an essential
dimension of the development process and not just as a tool to
help achieve development result’.
Iyeh (2008) observe that one of the greatest problem of
third world nations, including Nigeria, is the loss of knowledgeof
their traditions and cultural heritage. This is not unconnected with
African experience of colonialism. It is a well-known fact that
without good background, a people cannot attain a well
meaningful development yet all nations of the world (including the
so called “first world” nations) keep striving for increased
development. The problem of not knowing the reason behind
most of our traditions has led to our throwing them away and
replacing them with meaningless foreign cultures, which have
trapped us in a web of confusion.
There are great consequences posed by this: first, a man
who does not know the reason by he is doing a thing has nothing
to offer posterity. Such a man is not educated and as such cannot
impact positively his environment. For a sustainable development
the role of education is of paramount importance. As clearly
articulated by a UNESCO report in Thessaloniki in Greece (1997),
The goal of education is to make people wiser,
more knowledge, better informed, ethical,
responsible, critical and capable continuing to learn.
Education also served society by providing a critical
reflection on the world, its failings and injustices,
and by promoting greater consciousness and
awareness exploring new vision and concepts and
inventing new techniques and tools…
Against this background, this paper will attempt to highlight
the challenges facing cultures in developmet. Dance, a sub-cultural
sector is used as a lens to other aspects of culture.

Challenges and Recommendation

1. The Challenge of Misrepresentation and Interpretation
of Our Culture e.g. Dance.

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Many African dances were misrepresented and misinterpreted by

early missionary traders and writers who applied the word ‘pagan’
to our traditional dances because they did not understand the
meaning of what they saw. In the colonial era and the coming of
Christianity most of our classical dance forms suffered a major
setback. For example, in Igboland, as reported by Onura Nzekwu
(1960), Igbo dances lost the physical and moral support of some
Igbo men and women who because of their education and
position, regarded themselves as to civilized, too detribalized, and
too modern to participate inn primitive dances. This people with
their European counterpart looked down on their heritage which
they regarded as pagan, noisy and lacking in sophistication, if
compared with, for example, imported waltz. They condemned
the dances are requiring excessive energy to perform.
Some of the misinterpretation and misrepresentation of
our cultural heritage has had and still has its toll on our
development. We all prefer anything western to our own. We run
after anything imported which help the development of those
societies. For example, we run after drugs by Forever Living,
GNLD, Tianshi, etc. whereas there are drugs from some locally
available plants which our local herb Doctors are trying to project.
But since they are by local Herbal Doctors, they are regarded as
inferior. Somebody may say our processing technology is
inadequate; we are also quick to say that those ancient doctors
have not been given adequate and needed encouragement to
improve their technology.
Therefore, it is our convictions that African scholars and
researchers have a moral duty to systemize the knowledge of this
cultural form, not only for the cultural bearer in particular, but also
for other Africans and the world as a whole.

2. Illiteracy in the Knowledge of Our Cultural Heritage

Following closely is the challenge of illiteracy in knowledge of our
cultural heritage. It is not a fallacy to say that a people without a

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good knowledge of their background cannot attain a meaningful

development. Meaningful development as a matter of urgency and
immediacy is a must, if as a nation, we wish to attain our full
potentials and find our place in the global move. Nigeria and
indeed Africa have suffered great setbacks for despising the
potentials of their cultural heritage that would have helped in
meaningful development.
There is therefore need for the (re)-education of the
people at all levels as recommended in the DESD of 2005 = 2004
by UNESCO. As Dacosta Adeyemo observed that ‘culture is a
construct’ therefore culture reflects a value system. Thus, as it is
often said a people’s cultural identity is the spring board of their
development effort. No doubt, heritage reflect values shared by
society and through its heritage, society recognizes its identity and
promote the above.
Cultural identity must be promote through Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD), the re-education of the people is
very necessary especially, in the area of appreciating our cultural
values. Thoraya (2010) comment that “people are the product of
their culture and its creator; as such they are not simple passive
receivers but active agents who can reshape cultural values, norms
and expression”. Ovenson Shumba (2005) adds that ‘indigenous
communities’ knowledge and values of their culture are particular
relevant to education for suitable development’. The individual’s
attitude must change positively to promote sustainable
development. The change and conviction must come from inside.

3. Non-Implementation of the Nigerian Cultural Policy

Another challenge facing culture in development is non-
implementation of Cultural Policies on Arts. The non-adherence of
government to the recommendationof Cultural Policy is bane on
development in this sub-cultural sector. What one may call partial
implementation of this policy is an obstacle and which to an extent
can be regarded as non-implementation. Arnold Udoka once said
“the aim of any Cultural Policyis defeated once it is not been
implemented”. The cyclic call for Policy review on Cultural Policy

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is abysmal, because the Policy in question has not been tested.

What meaningful result will one expect from a country that has
less than three percent (3%) of its budget on culture? It is
therefore recommended as a matter of urgency and immediacy
that government should give proper attention to the Cultural
Policy by adhering to the recommendations.

4. Lack of Adequate Funding

This sub-cultural-sectorsuffers greatly for lack of funding. Investors
do not see any need to invest in the sector. The government who
is supposed to take the lead in the funding of the creative sector as
it is in most European societies is failing in this regard. Funding by
government and NGOs can increase the number of small dance
groups and the range of dance performance. There should be
travel grants provided for dancers, which we strongly believe will
provide the chance for this dance guilds to entertain, challenge and
delight new audiences. Most artistes waste away their talents due
to financial constraints. There is a lot that one can achieve if there
is money to use. The artistes mobilization is very meager and do
not encourage growth in the sector.
We therefore recommend that sponsorship rights should
be enshrined in the professionalization of the creative industries
through effect strategies and funding structures. There should be
support for cultural artistic interaction with all sectors of the
societies.

Conclusion
Dance is very significant aspect of the cultural activity of man in
Africa. Dance was discussed during the Festival of Black and
African Arts and Culture, FESTAC ’77. At the colloquium, it is
unanimously agreed that dance in Black Africa is a manifestation
albeit in condensed artistic form, of the social, political, religious,
philosophical and aesthetic life of the people. Dance therefore
deserve or patronage and study.
However, our advocacy is that this dynamic and composite
art need better attention from all stakeholders in its survival as a
dynamic tool for development. Dance cannot be undermined in

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any meaningful national progress, strategies and plans. That dance

is a veritable tool or medium in Nigeria’s restructuring process is
not an exaggeration but only that the capacity and potentials of
dance for development has not been explored adequately.

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Approach Using Context (Dance Event) not content (Movements
and Gestures) for Treating Dance Anthropological Data. In The
Anthropology of Dance (ed.) Royce A. Bloomington. Indiana
University Press.
Soyinka-Ajayi, O. (1996). In Context: The Dynamics of African Religious
Dance In African Dance: An Artistic, Historical and Philosophical
Inquiry. Ed. Welsh. K. Trenton: African World Press.
Thoraya, A. O. (2010). Promoting International Development through
Cultural Lens. UNPFA. [Link]/~o-
unesco/english/[Link].
Tomoloju, Ben (1998). 'Dance Our Heritage' The Guardian, Wednesday,
April 29th.

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Oil Exploration and Environmental

Degradation Issues in Jeta Amata’s Black November

Dr. Yetunde O.O. AKOREDE

Dept of English, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo

Mercy O. OLALEYE
Dept. of Geography, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo

Deborah A. AKINRINLOLA
Dept of Theatre and Creative Arts, Adeyemi College of
Education, Ondo

Abstract
Environmental degradation as a major problem facing the Niger-Delta
community in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised especially in its relation
to the pollution of the environment which has resulted into several forms
of health hazards and poverty. This paper, using ecocritical theory as a
framework, discusses the portrayal of degradation of nature and its
effects on the environment and inhabitants. It also discusses women’s
contributions to the problems of environmental degradation as
exemplified in Jeta Amata’s Black November – A Nigerian Video film.
Keywords: Environmental degradation, Niger Delta, pollution,
ecocriticism, video film.

Introduction
Environmental degradation can principally be described as the
undesirable outcomes of destructive human activities on the
environment which could result in the forceful ejection of
inhabitants; persons and animals; from their natural habitats.
Prominent among these harmful practices are accumulation of filth
or indiscriminate waste disposal, human neglect of the protection
of the natural resources, indiscriminate excavation of natural
resources, war, violence, deforestation, desertification and
poverty. These harmful practices, more often than not result in
preventable infections and ailments and sometimes untimely death.

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The fragmentation of the earth or the deterioration of the

environment through unhealthy practices that affect the air, water
and soil negatively, have been proven to be acts of environmental
degradation. Concurrently, the destruction of the environment
and the eradication of wildlife are also acts of environmental
degradation.
Deitering’s “The Postnatural Novel: Toxic Consciousness
in Fiction of the 1980s” discusses the relegation of planet earth to
a form of toilet. In her words, “…the toiletisation of the planet…a
shift from a culture defined by its production to a culture defined
by its waste…” On the contrary, the toiletisation of the earth in
African societies can be associated with the effect of
modernization that brought about the generation and dumping of
filth resulting from technological or industrial wastes into the
environment. Before modernization, Africans had means of
pocketing the environment and controlling nature which could be
in the form of shifting cultivation, mulching, irrigation farming or
forest conservation for some period of time, which enables them
to constantly enjoy the benefits of the earth.
Osibanjo (2009) asserts that “the intense exploitation of
natural resources” in the name of development has not given
adequate consideration to the environment, thereby resulting in
the depletion of “natural resources, ecological imbalance,
environmental degradation, and pollution”. The implication on
human beings and the environment is the widespread abject
poverty found in many developing countries, along with resultant
conflicts between development proponents (industries) and host
communities. There is thus a big question mark placed on man’s
purported development of the earth with less regard for the
sustainability of society.
The 2016 United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) Report on Niger-Delta Human Development calls
attention to environmental degradation and states that “… the
Niger-Delta [which comprises Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ondo,
Abia, Edo, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo and Rivers states] is a region
suffering from administrative neglect, crumbling social

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infrastructure and services …social deprivation, abject poverty,

filth and squalor and endemic conflict.” The pollution in the Niger-
Delta is toxic and it is caused by oil extraction activities in oil-rich
areas. The results include contamination of drinking water,
destruction of top soil and the impairment of the growth of
livestock. In the Niger-Delta, pipelines and flow stations interlace
people’s homes and communities, leading to the destruction of
arable lands, acidity of farm land and consequently, low yield in
farm productivity. Severely affected are the sources of people’s
livelihood in an area known for farming and fishing.
A major cause of environmental degradation in Nigeria,
according to Osibanjo, is "the release of industrial bye-product of
harmful substances and hazardous waste.” Industrial pollution,
due to its nature, has the potential to pollute the environment as it
causes irreversible reactions in the environment. Industrialisation
has a vital place in a nation’s economic development, but necessary
checks and balances must be put in place for optimal benefit. The
negative effect of industrialisation, apart from economic ruin, is the
exposure of human beings to high health risks caused by
environmental pollutions where industries are sited close to
residential areas and other high density social areas like markets
and offices.
Idemudia and Ite (2006:391) on another hand, assert that
“political and economic factors” are important causes of major
conflicts in the Niger-Delta. Environmental and social factors also
play significant roles in propelling the conflicts. The Niger-Delta
area of Nigeria has faced various environmental challenges caused
by irresponsible oil exploration, which fails to make adequate
provision for the implications of its processes. The enormous
effects of oil exploration on the Niger-Delta environment
motivated the violence by militants, geared towards liberating the
community from the grip of oil explorers. Though Nenbee
(2016:21) argues that “natural gas production is a lesser pollutant
of the environment,” the reality in the Niger-Delta negates this
assertion because it overlooks the fact that the constant release of

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pollutants into the environment reduces Nigeria’s stock of energy

to enhance economic growth and development.
The foundation of environmental degradation in the Niger-
Delta can be traced to the “1956 discovery and exploration of oil
by Shell” in Oloibiri. The discovery of oil in the Niger-Delta
community exposed the area to mining activities. This contributed
to the destruction of vegetation and land in the community.
Contradicting Nenbee’s position, Aliyu and Ayodele (2016:47)
identify the act of gas flaring, oil drilling activities and oil spillages
from poorly laid and badly maintained pipelines as the causes of
environmental degradation. Both positions may be divergent, but
they are not far from the truth of the Niger-Delta perspectives in
focus.

Ecocritical Consciousness in Jeta Amata’s Black November

Jeta Amata’s Black November is set in the Ibibio communities of
Akwa Ibom and Warri in Delta States. The communities are
agrarian where fishing complements crop production. Hence the
major means of livelihood are farming and trading. The day-to-day
life of the inhabitants of Warri is disrupted by the arrival of oil
exploration firms and the attendant loss of peace and exposure to
hazards caused by the oil companies. Naturally, this experience
sets the dwellers against the oil companies. Fred Amata, one of the
major actors in the movie, describes it as an allegory. He sees it as
one of many stories from the creeks of oil-rich Niger-Delta which
exposes and dramatises the struggle of the Niger-Delta people.
The plot of Black November revolves around the central
character, Ebiere, whose return to the community coincides with
an explosion that claims the lives of all the members of her family.
In her grief, she decides to break the cultural silence imposed on
women as she dares to speak up against the source of her sorrow.
She calls the attention of members of the community to the fact
that the Oil Company is responsible for their loss, an act that
brings her to the fore-front of the struggle as her courage attracts
members of the community to support her movement. The
community identifies with her plight because many of them have

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also experienced similar situations. Despite the fact that she

believes in dialogue, neither the government nor the members of
the management of the oil company was ready to listen to them.
Instead the people who are peacefully protesting are arrested and
maltreated.
Interestingly, militancy and kidnapping open the door for
negotiation between the government and the people. Ransom is
paid, and there is jubilation in the camp. Eventually, Dede, the
leader, and his men are killed. The plot unfolds, and the elders of
the community are revealed as greedy and guilty of diverting
community funds for their personal use. This leads to the cause of
another form of crisis in the community. Ebiere is accused of
leading the mob attack that claims the lives of the community
leaders, and eventually sentenced to death. The quest to stop her
execution reveals some Niger-Delta indigenes in California holding
the Director of Western Oil hostage with the belief that it could
facilitate Ebiere’s release and stop her execution. Unfortunately,
their plans did not work and Ebiere is eventually executed.
Ebiere calls for the resistance of the people of oil producing
communities against the Nigerian Government’s silence on the
activities of the multinational oil company. The argument is that
the discovery of oil and gas has no tangible benefit for the local
community. Ebiere reminds us of Ken Saro-Wiwa, who led the
Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP).The movie was
influenced by the historical struggle of the Movement for the
Survival of Ogoni People. The group resisted the devastation of
the environment by oil producing companies. In Black November,
Jeta Amata calls the group fighting for Ebiere’s release “United
People’s Front for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta People of
Nigeria.”
Black November expresses the anxieties of the film maker
who re-imagines the politics around oil exploration, its exploitation
of the masses and the negative consequences on Nigeria and its
people. Fred Amata, in an interview, explains that the aspiration
of the film maker was to express a pressing issue through his film
making art in a “big picture”, and this he found ready in the

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reflection of the plight of the people of the Niger-Delta. Aside

from this, the concern is not limited to the effects of oil
exploration on society. The issue of internal and external
oppression or marginalisation which imposes a condition of
voicelessness on the Niger-Delta people is also discussed. The film
identifies corruption, greed, poor implementation of laws and lack
of accountability on the part of the government, the industry, and
some influential people as the factors sustaining environmental
pollutions and health risk in the region. The film equally provides
an avenue for re-thinking militancy. Above all, Fred Amata
confirms that Black November is an amalgamation of true life
incidents, some of which the film maker directly experienced. One
of the outcomes of the environmental hazard of oil pollution is the
low life expectancy rate of the people in the region which, as
stated in the film, stands at forty-seven years.
The extent of the pollution of the environment as well as
community women’s contribution to this is depicted in the film
through the multi-purpose but polluted river in the community
where different characters are portrayed as they simultaneously
come to the river without visible interaction. An unnamed child is
seen defecating into the river. At the same time, a short distance
away, an old woman stands beside the same river taking her bath
with sponge and soap, while her clothes are still on because she is
aware of the presence of other users. A nursing mother also
comes to the same river with her baby and scoops out some
water for the baby to drink, oblivious of the possibility of
contamination through faeces and the use of bathing soap.

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Fig.1.1:A scene showing the standard of living in the Niger-Delta environment as

depicted in Black November

The first few scenes of the film compare the oil-producing

areas of Los Angeles in California with the Niger-Delta
environment. The significant development and tranquillity of Los
Angeles are compared to the neglected and underdeveloped
squalor of the Niger-Delta environment. Juxtaposing both
environments calls the attention of the audience to the difference
in both communities. Unlike the Niger-Delta where the roads are
un-tarred and water-logged, Los Angeles is beautifully planned,
and the people move about leisurely. The reason for the
comparison of both communities is later given when one of the
militant agitators explains that fifty per cent (50%) of the Nigerian
oil goes to the United States, thus implying that the development
of the United States depends in part on the importation of crude
oil from Nigeria, which ironically, is later exported as refined oil to
Nigeria. The movie also exposes the underlying effect of economic
suicide that the relationship between Western Oil Company and
the Nigerian Government has on the Nigerian refineries, which are
put out of work. The characters’ actions are referred to as
‘terrorist attack’. An action motivated by the realisation of the
adverse socio-economic consequences of crude oil exploration on
the Niger-Delta people and their land. The plight of the people is
evident in the dialogue between three of the so-called ‘terrorists’
when they show the reason for their grievances: “my people are
dying”, “our lands are devastated!”, “Our farmlands, livestock, wild
life.”

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Though there are some inhabitants of the Niger-Delta

Niger Delta that
are affluent, a large part is depicted as poor, economically
disadvantaged, and dehumanized. Despite the increase in the
profit of the oil companies, the residents are continually helpless as
a result of a decline in their agricultural activities due to pollution.
The river is filled with floating dead fish, and the surface of the
river is filled with crude oil, making it unfit for fish and humans. As
an angler, Dede goes to the river to fish, but he is unable to do so
due to the effect of the pipeline leakage. He sorrowfully handpicks
the dead fish from the river, looks at them, and angrily throws
them back into the river, showing his disdain for the continuous
continuous
pollution resulting from the crude oil spillage that affects the
anglers’ business and the lives of the people of Niger-Delta.
Niger
The effect of pollution of the farmland is depicted through
the dull and almost lifeless trees. The yellow shrubs and the t
brownish colours of the bushes give a sickly picture of the
vegetation.
The water is also polluted. One can see this through the
colour of the river, which is blackish rather than the natural sky
blue or emerald green associated with healthy brooks and rivers.

Fig. 1.3: A scene showing the pollution of the Niger-

Niger Delta water as depicted in Black
November

The exploitative power of the leaders of the multinational

oil companies despite their economic resources is depicted in their
refusal to make a positive impact on their host communities.
Instead, several forms of injustice are meted out to the

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community. The people’s houses and their poor standard of living

are also depicted in the film. The houses are built with raffia and
palm fronds with long poles
poles sticking out of the river. The main
structures are suspended by logs of woods. The roofs of the huts
are either made from palm fronds or rusted roofing sheets. There
are no good roads, so the people have to move around the
environment in their canoes.

Fig. 1.4: A scene showing the habitation of the people in the film

The endowment of the Niger-DeltaNiger Delta region with

economically viable natural resources appears to be a curse when
the poverty level of the people is considered, resulting, however,
from thee greed and insensitivity of the oil companies and the elite
in the region. Desperation and ignorance or illiteracy on the part
of the people, especially the women, makes them scoop oil from
burst pipeline to make a living. This, unknown to them, also
contributes
ributes to the degradation of the environment and also causes
more harm than good for the inhabitants of the community. For
instance, in Black November,
November, a woman runs to instruct her children
to bring containers to scoop crude oil when one of the burst
pipelines,
lines, oozing oil. Her children, along with others, appear with
big kegs and they quickly move to the leaking pipeline to fetch
their portion of oil.
Dede, the fish angler, tries to stop Happiness, one of the
women presumed to be his wife. She ignores him and claims that
she needs the fuel to cook. The women and children continue to
scoop the oil into kegs. The film does not show that people are
responsible for the burst pipes. Rather, it is assumed to be as a
result of negligence on the part of the oil companies
companies which is

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however hijacked by the woman-led group to scoop the oil. The

issue of leaking pipeline is not a new occurrence in the community.
The people appear to be used to it as they struggle to fetch the oil
with great expertise. They are seen pushing and shoving one
another, as they struggle to quickly get as much as they can get. A
close observation shows that the pipeline is not only leaking but
forcefully gushing. In the process, Government Official appears,
and a gunshot is fired to scare the people. Interestingly, this does
not scare them. It only briefly distracts them. Rather than running,
they all turn round to stare at the intruder. The residents are
desperate because they have been conditioned by the situation to
become vandals and rebels against constituted authorities.
Another significant issue in the film is the level of
consciousness of the people towards government neglect despite
their illiteracy. They accuse the government of neglect and
contend that they deserve more attention, hence their action at
the venue of the burst pipeline. The unnamed Government Official
informs them of their arrest. But to further buttress the residents’
awareness of their rights, they ask him to present the warrant for
the arrest. He accuses them of stealing crude oil, which belongs to
the government. He reprimands them for failing to report any
leakage to the appropriate authorities. Mama Efe’s reply is full of
sarcasm, and it depicts the rebellious nature of the residents. She
says “what would we rather do? Standby and watch the property of
the Federal Government of Nigeria spill and spoil our land?
Mama Efe’s response to the Government Official’s
accusation of not reporting to the appropriate authority during the
spillage confirms the neglect of the community and inaccessibility
to fuel in the area, as well as the negative impact of the natural
resources derived from the area on the lives of the people. “... but
we did! Last week! And no one came here to do anything about it…
shoot me? Which is worse? Watch fuel flow past your house and yet,
in three days, you cannot get one gallon of what your Federal
Government cannot make available… Ironically, crude oil is
exported, and later imported into the country because of the
unserviceable state of local refineries.

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Out of anger and oblivious of the implication of his action,

the Government Official lights a stick of cigarette, that results in a
huge explosion that claims the lives of many residents of the
community as well as that of the Government Official himself. A
television reporter is soon shown in another scene reporting the
incident on a TV station simply called ANN. This may be an
inversion of the global news medium, ‘CNN’. The explosion is
referred to as the fourth of its kind within a decade. The reporter
attributes the cause of the explosion to the exploitation of the area
without adequate provision for its maintenance. There are two
definite reactions to the television broadcast. First, some of the
residents accuse the government and Western Oil Company of
being responsible for the explosion. Secondly, those who
sympathise with the companies blame the residents and accuse
them of stealing. The television broadcast is creatively employed
to reveal the buck-passing in the society. In the situation, nobody
takes responsibility for the issue and this will not attract a lasting
solution to identified problems.
The ANN audience’s feedback on the news about the
explosion makes the director of the television channel to ask the
reporter to get more news from the Niger-Delta. A documentary
by the television station describes Nigeria as the fifth largest
producer of oil in the world. It confirms Nigeria as a poor country
where an average citizen lives on less than $4 daily.
The report shakes the oil company and forces them to
decide to compensate the victims. A meeting is arranged between
the Niger-Delta oil interest and the local community. Ironically, the
question of who receives compensation for those involved in the
explosion is raised. The group intends to know if the
compensation should go to individuals or the community as a
whole. This results in a huge commotion among the residents
because many of them feel that the money should be given to
them individually. The suggestion that the money should is given to
the community for infrastructural development is vehemently
opposed because of the corrupt nature of their leaders. If the
money is allocated to the community, they may not have access to

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it or benefit from it, and it may not be utilised for the expected
project. To uphold the culture of women’s silence, an elder
challenges Ebiere who stands up to speak against the prevailing
injustice and oppression “Is there no man to speak for your family?...
this is not a matter for women!”
Ebiere boldly exposes the deceit of the oil companies. She
eloquently discusses the extent of the effect of the oil spillage on
the community, and the need to fight back.
“…you come here enriching yourselves from the spoils of our land. In
the process, wiping out families and generations, yet you keep the fuel
burning. Give the people rest and they will rely on you. What they do
is give us sickness and then treat us. They make us hungry and then
feed us. They killed our loved ones, and then offer us money for
burials. Can you not see their plans! It is high time you started to think
more about the people other than your selfish fat pocket as well as
that of your goons and cohorts. If you do not change your ways, the
people would rise.
The elder’s attempt to silence Ebiere further shows the
need for people, irrespective of gender, to confront the oil
companies and find a lasting solution to their problems. It becomes
obvious from this scene that the leaders of the community are
partly responsible for the problems faced by the community.
Ebiere calls attention to the fact that their inaction has caused
many hazards in the community. She calls them “self-centred
individuals” who are only interested in enriching themselves at the
expense of the people. Apart from the undependable and
unaccountable elders, the Western Oil Company is depicted as an
oppressive organisation whose main objective is to exploit the
helplessness of the people for their own economic interest. The
exploitative strategy adopted by the Western Oil Company to
silence Ebiere attests to the conscious violation of the people’s
rights.
From the foregoing, it is established that the people of
Niger-Delta are contending with three strong forces: the foreign,
national and the local. The first is the ruthless and exploitative
foreign investors; the second is the government while the third is

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the corrupt selfish community leaders who enrich themselves

through the betrayal of their kins. This is demonstrated during the
elders’ visit to Abuja to meet with the directors of Western Oil.
The intermediary between the local community and the Western
Oil Company pre-informs the directors that the elders can be used
as a tool to stop the rebellion of the residents. The elders are told
that the company is willing to give the community the sum of five
hundred thousand dollars. Their reactions immediately confirm
their greed. The thought of so much money makes some of them
to feel hot to the point that they use their caps to fan themselves.
They intermittently repeat the amount with open display of
covetousness. The community leaders negotiating to bribe the
white man and the intermediary with one hundred thousand
dollars and fifty thousand dollars respectively, confirm the betrayal
of the community. Ebiere exposes the elders as betrayers and
traitors “…our elders have failed us again, they collected a bribe from
Western Oil and murdered Chief Kadebia because he opted out…”
On the whole, Jeta Amata’s Black November reveals the
conscious exploitation and dehumanisation of the people of the
Niger-Delta region as a result of oil exploration activities. It further
reveals how the women of the Niger Delta community have
unconsciously contributed to the problems of environmental
degradation which is affecting their community. The analysis shows
that the film presents a picture of a bleak future for both human
and non-human elements in the natural environment, if the current
destruction of the land is not addressed. The reactions of the
characters, especially the women, to the ruin of the Niger-Delta
environment can be described as rebellion, triggered by poverty
and neglect experienced by the people. Thus, Jeta Amata uses the
film to expose and educate people on the reality of the Niger-
Delta society. The film also calls the world’s attention to the fact
that the environment is devastated and the government is
insensitive to the people’s plight, hence the rebellious act and the
quest for revenge on the part of the Niger-Delta community led
by Ebiere.

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References
Aliyu, Kolawole and Ayodele, Bello. “Oil Exploration in the Niger-Delta
Region and Environmental Degradation: Implication for Social
Peace, Security and Public Policy” in Ife Social Sciences Review.
Environment and Sustainable Development in the 21st Century.
Journal of the Faculty of Social Sciences. 2016:47-50.
Amata, Fred. An Oral Interview. 3rd November, 2018.
Deitering, Cynthia. “The Post-natural Novel: Toxic Consciousness in
Fiction of the 1980s.” The Ecocriticism Reader. Georgia: University
of Georgia Press. 1996:196-203.
Idemudia, Uwafiokun and Ite, Uwem. “Demystifying the Niger-Delta
Conflict: Towards an Integrated Explanation.” Review of African
Political Economy, Vol. 33. 2006:391-406.
Nenbee, S. G. “Associated Gas and Economic Growth Interaction:
Rethinking Nigeria’s Path to Sustainable Development” in Ife Social
Sciences Review. Environment and Sustainable Development in the
21st Century. Journal of the Faculty of Social Sciences. 2016: 21-32.
Osibanjo, Oladele. Giving the Earth a Future: Chemical, Wastes and
Pollution Risk Factors. An Inaugural Lecture. University of Ibadan,
2009.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Niger-Delta Human
Development Report. 2016, [Link]. Accessed 23rd
October, 2017.

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Linguistic Implications of Social Class in Femi

Osofisan’s Morountodun

Oluwafemi Bolanle JOLAOSO (PhD)

Department of English and Literary Studies
Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
jolafemitwins@[Link]

Abstract
Social class which ranks people on the social ladder of society has a great
influence on people’s use of language to the extent that its knowledge
forms part of the context that informs the meaning-making out of
people’s use of language. This paper therefore examines the various
social variables that define people’s class in society as reflected in Femi
Osofisan’s Morountodun, with the aim of tracking the implications of the
identified social classes on people’s use of language. Findings reveal that
five social variables were used to stratify human society in Femi
Osofisan’s Morountodun and they include: Age, Education, Wealth,
Gender and Religion. It is also discovered that symbiotic influence exists
between people’s social class and their use of language, since their social
class forms larger part of their experience and they communicate their
experience through the use of language. The paper concludes that for a
comprehensive meaning-making from people’s language use, there is a
need to understand the user’s social class.
Keywords: Social class, Social variables, Linguistic implications, Meaning-
making

1. Introduction
Social class is defined by the variables that rank people on the social ladder
of society. Abdullahi-Idiagbon (2007) claims that the social variables include:
age, gender, status, participants, setting, ethnicity and religion. One of the
naturally endowed social variables is gender. Every human society is
classified by gender and gender of a language user, to a certain extent,
determines their language use.
The gender of the participants can be a decisive
determinant in the usage of language. Probably, that is
why in Africa, some talks are classified as “women’s talks”
while sometimes, a speaker is admonished to “talk like a

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man”. For example, women’s language is mostly

persuasive, subtle and polite while that of a man is
authoritative and assertive. Men are likely to speak in
lower pitch but women tend to use higher status variants
more frequently than men. Abdullahi-Idiagbon
(2007:128).
Stockwell (2002) also establishes that there are correlations between
patterns of social stratification and gender. The link between patterns of
social stratification and gender greatly influences the use of language in
society. Another social variable in the determination of social class is age.
Age, as a social variable, is an index of mental maturity and it influences the
language usage and use. Certain expressions, in the context of Africa such as
witty sayings, proverbs, idioms and the likes, are classified as words of elders
while uncoordinated thoughts or expressions are referred to as a child’s
talk. The speech of adults features illustrations, examples, warnings,
persuasions and a lot of references to precedents. On the other hand,
children’s speech is mostly cosmetic, egocentric and self-centered
(Abdullahi-Idiagbon, 2007).
While tracing the relationship between the social variable of age and
language use, Preston (1989) opines that age could have influence on the use
of language in two ways. He claims that in the first instance, age could mark
a generational speech, therefore serving as an index to language change
whose survival in the next generation is only likely. In the second instance,
he posits that slang serves as an important measurement of age-grading
since slangs flourish more within teenagers and youths.
Ethnicity, as another social variable, affects both the use and usage
of language. Its manifestation is much more glaring in a second language
setting in forms of lexico-syntactic transfer, semantic shift,
overgeneralization, difficulty in some sounds’ production and so on. In some
instances, ethnicity leads to emergence of language varieties. Ethnicity may
also result in multilingualism and/or its variants. Ethnicity is also a strong
determinant of language class and clash (Abdullahi-Idiagbon, 2007). Other
social variables that have great influence on language use include: education,
status (economic) and so on that stratify members of a society.
Liu (2020) establishes through an empirical research titled “Social
class, language attitides and language use” that students from upper middle
class have significantly lower attitudes toward local dialects and they have
the lowest percentage of current use of language at home. Liu further exerts
that there is tendency that social class privilege plays a more significant role
in English learning and education. Vandrick (2014) states that there are
intersections of social class with other identities and recommends increased
attention to social class in English language education research, teacher

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education and language classrooms. In his own contribution, Bernstein

(1960) suggests that the typical, dominant speech mode of the middle class
is one where speech becomes an object of special perceptual activity and a
theoretical attitude is developed towards the structural possibilities of
sentence organization.
A number of these variables are deployed in Femi Osofisan’s
Morountodun with significant linguistic implications. The understanding of the
disparity among members of the society represented in the text will help
readers to adequately have a grasp of language use in the text and see the
need for all forms of conflicts used by the playwright in the development of
the play’s plot.

2. Related Literature
Sesan (2018), in his article titled “Representation of Women’s War
Experiences in Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun and Women of Owu”, attempts
the analysis of the fate and status of women in Yoruba historical wars as
represented in the two literary texts. His argument is that the two plays
present the collective and individual experiences of women. His study
concludes that Osofisan’s plays encompass a range of diverse, oftentimes
contradictory positions, experiences and roles embraced by women in war
situations. The reviewed work is related this study in that they both do the
textual analysis of Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun. However, the present
study differs from the reviewed work because while Sesan considers the
representation of women’s war experiences in Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun
and Women of Owo, the present study attempts the analysis of language and
social classification in Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun.
In another related literature, Ajidaun (2014), in the article titled
“Myth, History and Marxists Polemics in Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun”,
attempts a critical appraisal of Femi Osofisan’s artistic fusion of the Yoruba
myth of Moremi, a legendary figure in the history of Ile-Ife, Nigeria and the
history of Agbekoya uprising to depict his Marxist ideology. The study notes
and discusses the playwright’s reliance on and employment of archetypal
heroism of Moremi and archetypal revolution, valour and courage
demonstrated by the leader of the Agbekoya uprising to protest against
oppression and economic exploitation of the poor and the downtrodden in
the society. The reviewed study situates the play as a socio-economic satire
on the alienation of the masses, class stratification and the gross oppression
and dehumanization of the poor in the society. Ajidaun’s study and the
present one are related because they both attempt the linguistic analysis of
Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun. They are divergent in terms of the indices
analysed from the text. While the reviewed study considers Myth, History
and Marxists Polemics in Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun, the present study

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attempts the analysis of Language and Social Classifications in Femi

Osofisan’s Morountodun.
Adebua, B. O. (2011) works on textual analysis of another literary
text of Femi Osofisan. He titles his work as: “The Nexus of Ideology and
Reality: a New Construction of Meaning of Femi Osofisan’s Once Opon Four
Robbers”. Adebua applies the features of deconstruction such as hierarchies,
privileged members, binary oppositions and contradictions to the reading of
Femi Osofisan’s Once Opon Four Robbers. His findings expose new meanings
derivable from the texts which are not static or absolute. The work also
exposes the depth of despondency in the African human condition. The link
between the reviewed work and the present study is the authorship of the
literary texts used in the two studies. However, while the reviewed work
makes use of Femi Osofisan’s Once Opon Four Robbers, the present study
makes use of Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun.
Considering the different social classes that exist in human society,
Kraus and Park (2014), in their research titled “The Undervalued Self: Social
Class and Self-Evaluation,” examine how perceptions of economic standing
shape the way that individuals evaluate the self. Believing that reminders of
one’s own subordinate status in society are an indicator of how society
values the self in comparison to others, the researchers predict that chronic
lower perceptions of economic standing vis-à-vis others would explain
associations between objective social class and negative self-evaluation. The
two studies are related because of their focus on issues of social status. The
area of divergence is that while the reviewed work considers the
psychological implications of social class as perceived by self, the present
study examines the linguistic implications of social class in Femi Osofisan’s
Morountodun.

3. Synopsis of Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun

In Morountodun, ‘Femi Osofisan seeks to reshape the traditional Yoruba
mythology and ritual in the light of contemporary realities. The
juxtapositions he makes are multidimensional; he takes his inspiration from
the Yoruba myth of the legendary heroism of Moremi of Ile-Ife, and
interweaves it with contemporary peasant farmers’ uprising in the Old Oyo
state in 1969. At that same time, the nation was boiling and burning with
civil war. The main thematic thrust in ‘Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun is class
conflict in which Titubi, the heroine and modern Moremi, is allowed to
commit class suicide. She has deduced:
“I had to kill the ghost of Moremi in my belly,
I am not Moremi! Moremi served the State, was
the State, was the spirit of the ruling class. But it is not
true that the state is always right…” pp. 70.

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Osofisan represents the legendary myth of Moremi through Titubi,

the spoilt daughter of Alhaja Kabirat who is also the head of all market
women. The heroic deed of Moremi inspired Titubi to shun her class and
fight alongside the peasant farmers like her legendary figure who fought and
ensured victory in Ile-Ife. The play opens with characters getting ready for
presentation; Titubi comes in and stops the presentation. The dismayed
director orders her arrest but the director is arrested instead. The play
takes a new turn as Titubi decides to fight alongside the peasants and joins in
the play. Because of her contributions and zeal in the fight to remove
taxation on the peasant farmers, Titubi is re-christened Morountodun.

4. Theoretical framework
The theoretical framework adopted for this study is William Labov’s theory
of Language Variation. The branch of linguistic studies referred to as
language variation and change was propounded by Labov in 1972. The major
sociolinguistic investigation of Labov is on accent variations. This version of
language variation by Labov claims that members of speech communities,
especially urban centres, witness a lot of variation, changes and features in
the language they speak. In an attempt to support Labov’s claim, Romaine
(2000) asserts that differences in language are tied to social class. The
International Encyclopedia of Linguistics posits that many of the concepts and
methods in linguistic studies of change and variation originated with the
works of William Labov. In 1965, Labov launched the concept of
sociolinguistic variables such as age, gender, religion, economic status, race
and so on which indicate that sociolinguistic variants are ‘a set of (alter)
native ways of saying the same thing in which the alternatives have social
variants.’ Labov therefore found class differentiation within sociolinguistic
variables. In the same vein, the use of language by the characters in Femi
Osofisan’s Morountodun reflects the characters’ class differentiation based on
sociolinguistic variables used to categorise them (the characters).

5. Analysis
The analysis is done to reflect the linguistic implications of the social
variables deployed by Femi Osofisan in Morountodun to stratify members of
the community symbolized in the text. Five social variables that inform the
use of language for the assignment of social class in the text include: Age,
Education, Wealth, Gender and Religion.

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Characters’ Age and Linguistic Implications in Femi Osofisan’s

Morountodun
The farther the social distance, the more formal is the discourse. The
participant relationship (tenor) determines the tone of the discourse. The
variable of age, especially in the context of Yoruba social setting, is highly
regarded and revered, to the extent that certain expressions and acts are
exclusively reserved for the elderly. For instance, initiation of handshakes,
riddles, proverbs etc. are believed to be reserved for the elderly, obviously
as a result of their experience in life and it is only different in very special
situations like conflict and the likes. This use of language that reflects the
user’s age is evident in Morountodun.
In the text, the peasant women at the seaside listen eagerly to the
riddles of Mama Kayode, the eldest in the gathering as follows:
Excerpt 1
Mama Kayode: A riddle! Shall I tell it?
Women: Yes! Tell it!
Mama Kayode: Listen:
Oruku tindi tindi
Oruku tindi tindi
Women: Oruku gba gbo!
Mama Kayode: I say
Oruku is in my hands:
Catch it!
I launch a riddle-o!
Mosun: Oruku bi gba omo:
A thousand kernels
Nestle in a thousand nuts:
We await your riddle-o!
Mama Kayode: Listen:
The he-goat wears a beard
The she-goat also wears a beard:
Oba Lailo!
Mosun: I know that one!
Molade: Me too, but I won’t say! Not yet.
Wura: All right, I’ll solve the riddle.
Love! Someone’s
in love! Tinrin tintin!
Another riddles:
Mama Kayode: Listen:
Ruku Ruku Yekete
The carrier of the corpse is bow-legged,

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The corpse itself is bow-legged,

Oba Lailo!
Wura: Now we’re getting nearer to target. Who
knows that one?
Mosun: There is a horse, and there is a rider,
both keeping the same secret. That’s all
I’m going to say.
Mama Kayode: Listen:
Oruku is going home to roost:
Firewood is gathered
In a hundred places,
But the bundle is tied up
In a single spot,
Oba Lailo!
Mosun: I know the man!
Molade: I too can guess. Titu, can you tell us?
Titubi: I am not in love with any man!
(pages 67, 68 and 69).

All the participants are able to decode Mama Kayode’s riddles and
proverbs because they share the same cultural background knowledge of
the discourse. The social variable of age comes to play here as it is obvious
that love discourse is predominantly a reservation of adults, and that riddles,
proverbs, and witty sayings are used mostly by elders. That fact accounts for
why Mama Kayode, the eldest in the gathering of Wura, Mosun and Titubi,
poses the riddles. The implication of this is that the younger ones learn from
the words of the elderly so that when they become elderly themselves, they
would have been equipped psycholinguistically and sociolinguistically to
groom the younger ones to them. In African society, the elderly act as tutors
or instructors during the process of socialization to transmit culture from
one generation to another. Mama Kayode, as an elderly has acted in that
capacity by familiarizing the younger ones around her with African riddles to
broaden their thinking faculty, strengthen social ties among the participants
and keep them entertained.

Characters’ Education and Linguistic Implications in Femi Osofisan’s

Morountodun
Excerpt 2
Marshal: How much?
Bogunde: All clear over there now, Marshal. One shilling.
Marshal: Pardon? You know me too I be seller like you.
(page 17)

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Excerpt 3
Warder: Alhaja… Alhaja! Oga dey come! Quick, quick!
Alhaja: (unmoved) Yes?
Warder: Please, I beg, come. Come…he go ruin me, I beg…
Alhaja: Who?
Warder: Oga… Oga patapata. We head for this place… (page 21)

In Excerpt 2 above, the use of pidgin by Marshall and Bogunde who

are both from the peasant class and the village shows their level of education
as village peasants. Marshal says May I pay one pence, I beg which is pidgin
instead of saying Please, let me pay one pence. In a similar vein, the warder,
though in the city, is one of the poverty-ridden working class, who is not
only poor but also uneducated. He therefore picks both Yoruba, his native
language and pidgin as languages of expression because he cannot use the
standard English and he has to express himself before the English language
users. In Excerpt 3, the Warder says Oga…oga patapata. We head for this
place… instead of saying He is the head of this place while referring to his
boss where he works. The implication of this is that other users of the
English language who wish to communicate with people like them will need
to understand their educational status to be able to understand their
utterances.

Characters’ Wealth and Linguistic Implications Femi Osofisan’s in

Morountodun
Economic status of the characters in the play is reflected in the characters’
use of language as evident in the excerpt below:
Excerpt 4
Titubi: … Is it a sin to be rich?... I, Titubi, daughter of
Alhaja Kabirat, I am stopping this play tonight! And
if you’re wise,
you’ll go and return your tickets now and collect
your money back. (Hisses.)
Director: (struggling vainly) Madam… please… excuse m…
Titubi: Shut your mouth! Who are you?
Director: (shouting) Gone for the police! The police!
Titubi: Very good. We’ll soon have all of you in prison.
Superintendent: Take him away and lock him up.
We’ll take his statement tomorrow. And the name
of his comrades.
Madam, sorry for all this palaver. I was
on a routine visit to the station when your actors
came.

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My name is Deputy Superintendent Salami.

Titubi: (taking his hand) Pleased to meet you.
Director: But, officer… Superintendent… I am the director
of the play!
Superintendent: I beg your pardom?
Titubi: Don’t listen to him.
Director: I sent for you. This woman led the rioters here.
Corporal: Shut up your mouth. You think we can’t recognize
a rioter when we see one, eh? Slandering a decent
woman. Look, come quietly with me now or-
(pages 7-10).
Titubi uses the economic power she has over the Director of a play to
humiliate him. It is the Director that invites the police to prevent Titubi from
disrupting his play, but when the police get to the scene, it is the Director
that is arrested instead. This action of the police, acting in contrary to the
expectation, is due to economic difference between Titubi and the Director.
Titubi is rich and the police feel they can benefit from her wealth, thus the
need to work in her favour. Titubi expresses her economic status as being
the reason why she is “qualified” to disrupt the play. This is evident in the
first line of Excerpt 4 when she (Titubi) says: … is it a sin to be rich?... I,
Titubi, daughter of Alhaja Kabirat, I am stopping this play tonight! To accept
that he is of less economic status, the Director of the play does not claim
any right at first. Instead of claiming a right to stage his play, he begins to
plead with Titubi by saying: Madam… please… excuse me… Instead of
playing offensive role in his use of language, he decides to play defensive role
and Titubi assumes an offensive role by saying: Shut your mouth! Who are
you? and Very good. We’ll soon have all of you in prison.
When the Director cannot withstand Titubi’s embarrassment again,
he calls for the police by saying: Gone for the police! The police! to probably
arrest Titubi or settle the case by making Titubi allow the play to be staged.
Interestingly when the police get to the scene, it is the opposite the
expectation that they do as expressed by one of them when he says: Take
him away and lock him up. Madam, sorry for all this palaver. Normally instead
of saying sorry to Titubi, it is the Director that the police should say it to and
instead of commanding the lock up of the Director, it should be that of
Titubi because it is Titubi that commits a crime by unlawfully disrupting the
Director’s play. The police decide to do this probably based on two reasons.
The first is that if the police do not act in favour of Titubi, she may use her
economic power to connect with the police boss so that that police will be
punished from “the top”. The police would not want that; so, the need for
his action. Another reason is that the police is likely to benefit from Titubi’s
economic power as against from the Director who is not likely to offer

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much since he is not rich. Even when the Director is trying to let the police
know that he is the director and that he is the one that calls for the police to
arrest Titubi for leading rioters to disrupt his play by saying: But, officer…
Superintendent… I am the director of the play! and I sent for you. This woman
led rioters here. The police do not agree. The police claim that Titubi does
not look like a rioter by saying: Shut up your mouth. You think we can’t
recognize a rioter when we see one , eh? Slandering a decent woman. Look,
come quietly with me now or-. The implication of wealth or economic status
on language use is that audience, having being conscious of the economic
status the speaker, can easily make appropriate meaning from people’s
language, using their economic status as part of the context of the language
use.

Characters’ Gender and Linguistic Implications in Femi Osofian’s

Morountodun
This is the psychological, social, and cultural belief on which the plot of the
play centers. The male gender is seen as being superior to the female
gender. Akindele and Adegbite (2002), quoting Hartman (1976), Krammer
(1977), among other scholars, assert that men’s speech is forceful, efficient,
unsparing and masterful, while that of the female is weak, trivial, ineffectual,
hesitant, hyper-polite, euphemistic and often characterized by gossip and
gibberish.
In the play, Moremi, though authoritative and determined in her
conversation with all other characters in the play, falters when she speaks
with her husband, Oronmiyan.

Excerpt 5
Moremi: I thought you no longer wanted me. When you
took your last wife-
Oranmiyan: Asake, yes?
Moremi: I became so jealous that… that …
Oronmiyan: Ehn-hen.
Moremi: Forgive me! It … I … it was Arogundade.
Oranmiyan: Arogundade? Ah, I see, the trader from Ijesaland.
What about him?
Moremi: He… he… please forgive me. I have been
unfaithful to you. I … I slept with him.
Oranmiyan: Abomination! … It would be instant death….
(page 39).

In the first line of Excerpt 5 above, Moremi confesses her sin before
Oranmiyan, her husband. Even though Moremi is a very strong character

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who has been acting fearlessly in the play, the characteristic of her gender’s
use of language reflects when she is having a conversation with her husband
to confess her act of infidelity. Women are believed to be jealous in their
talk and that is projected in the second turn of Moremi in the Excerpt
above. Moremi is jealous that her husband takes another wife, which is
typical of people of her gender and she expresses it by saying: I became so
jealous that… that … Because female gender is believed to be more
emotional, women are most times prone to be jealous. So, one can easily
guess the gender of the person who utters the statement. The weakness of
women’s talk is also seen in Moremi’s use of language when she says: Forgive
me! It … I … it was Arogundade. and He… he… please forgive me. I have been
unfaithful to you. I … I slept with him.
If it were to be a man, despite being guilty, they are likely not to
quickly ask for forgiveness from the person they offend especially when the
person offended is of opposite gender. To Moremi, that Oranmiyan marries
another wife is an offence but Oranmiyan does not express any sign of
remorse that he marries another wife after Moremi. Instead of accepting his
own guilt, what he does is to quickly judge his wife, Moremi by telling her
that death is the punishment of her offence. Oranmiyan discloses his verdict
by saying: Abomination! … It would be instant death… Oranmiyan does not
see his own act of marring another wife as an abomination that should also
attract a form of punishment. All these reflect in Oranmiyan’s use of
language because he is a man and man’s talk is assertive, forceful and
masterful. The implication of language user’s gender is that since the
audience already has an idea of language use typical of each gender,
meaning-making from the utterance of any of the genders will not be
challenging.

Characters’ Religion and Linguistic Implications in Femi Osofisan’s in

Morountodun
Alhaja, one of the major characters in the play believes in the Supremacy of
the power of Allah. As a Muslim, she believes that whoever is begged with
the name of Allah should accept the appeal. That is why she makes an
appeal to the superintendent to stop the Corporal from locking her
daughter up in the police station. The evidence is in the following Excerpt.

Excerpt 6
Alhaja: Stop!
Superintendent: It could be tomorrow… it could be tonight…
Alhaja: Stop him, I say! In the name of Allah!

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Superintendent: Allah, madam, is always on the side of those who

do more than just fold their arms and watch. We
needed a brave woman. Your daughter
volunteered.
She is to be commended. (page 25).

Religion is about faith and belief which the practitioners hold on to.
The faith and belief of Alhaja as an Islamic faithful is reflected in her
utterance when she is trying to stop the police from locking up her
daughter, Titubi in police custody. In the first instance, Alhaja only said Stop!
without adding any issue of religion. The reply she gets from the
Superintendent is not desirable and that is why she decides to introduce
religious issue to establish her faith and to anchor her request/plea to the
belief that anyone who does not accept any plea made in the name of Allah
will incur the wrath of Allah (God.) Owing to this belief, she remakes her
request by saying: Stop him, I say! In the name of Allah! She believes that by
making the request in name of Allah, the request will be granted and that is
why she adds In the name of Allah in the second attempt of her request. The
implication of this variable of religion on language use is that the knowledge
of the language user’s religion will help the audience to make relatively
appropriate meaning from the speaker’s language use.

6. Summary of Findings and Conclusion

The leading establishment of this study is that the social class that one
occupies in a society determines factually every experience or thought of
that person and it is language that is used to express that thought. In a
similar vein, the findings reveal that the social status of people in the society
serves as a demarcation between the rich and the poor’s use of language.
The case of Alhaja Kabirat and Titubi, her daughter, who represent the rich
in the text, is evidence. Their dressing, standard of living and the way they
use language as if they can control the world, makes a wide difference
between them and the poor. The poor like Bogunde, Baba, Marshal, Mama
Kayode, Wura and other peasants live a life with low standard of living and
use language with little or no authority at all. This is because of their low
economic status.
Another finding in Morountodun is that of gender difference. The
way the male gender like Bogunde, Baba, Marshal, Superintendent and the
likes use language with determination and self-worth makes a distinct
difference from that of the female gender. The female gender such as Mama
Kayode, Wura, Titubi, Alhaja Kabirat and the likes talk with submission,
discuss love and play the chorus role through gossips.

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Summarily, it was found that social status describes the way people are
placed in the society. It is associated with the ability of individuals to live up
to some set of ideas or principles regarded as important by the society or
some social groups within it. It was discovered that the members of a social
group interact mainly within their own group and to a lesser degree with
those of higher or lower status. The study concludes that as long as
differences still exist in the structure of any given society, there is bound to
be variations in language use. The understanding of social status of a
language user is required for better meaning-making from the language use.
This is due to the fact that the social status of an individual informs their
experience and it is their experience that is expressed in their use of
language.

References
Abdullahi-Idiagbon, M. S. (2007) Trends in Sociolinguistic Discourse. In
O. Obafemi et al. (Eds.) Critical Perspectives on English Language
and Literature. Ilorin: TIM-SAL. 123-134
Adebua, B. O. (2011) The Nexus of Ideology and Reality: A New
Construction of Meaning of Femi Osofisan’s Once Upon Four
Robbers. Ibadan Journal of English Studies. 7:225-233.
Ajidaun, C. O. (2014) Myth, History and the Marxist Polemics in Femi
Osofisan’s Morountodun. International Journal of Languages and
Literatures. 2(2): 137-149.
Akindele, F. & Adegbite, W. (2002) Sociology and Politics of English in
Nigeria. Ile-Ife: Debiyi-Iwa Publishers.
Bernstein, B. (1960) Language and Social Class. The British Journal of
Sociology, 11(3): 271- 276
Kraus, M. W. & Park, J. W. (2014) The Undervalued Self: Social Class and
Self-Evaluation. Front. Psychol. 5:1404. DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.
2014.01404
Labov, W. 1972. Sociolinguistic patterns. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Liu, Binmei (2020) Social Class, Language Attitude and Language Use: A
Case Study of Chinese University Students. Chinese Language and
Discourse, 11(1): 5-30.
Osofisan, Femi (1982) Morountodun and other plays. Lagos: Longman.
Preston, D. R. (1989) Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition.
Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Romaine, S. (20000. Language in society. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

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Sesan, A. A. (2018) Representation of Women’s War Experiences in

Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun and Women of Owu. Anafora 5(1):
183-202. DOI:10.29162/ANAFORA.v5i1.7
Stockwell, P. (2000) Sociolinguistics. London: Routledge.
Vandrick, S. (2014) The Role of Social Class in English Language
Education. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 13(2):
85-91.

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Communicative Language Skills and Specificity In

English Language Learning: The Role of Esp

Angela Folahan EGELE (PhD)

Department of Languages
Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi.
angelafola17@[Link]
and
Michael Ehihebolo OMOFUMA
Department of Languages, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi
Email: ehihebolopraise07@[Link]
Abstract
ESP (English for Specific Purposes) is very important to the teaching and
learning of English in Polytechnic contexts and there can be little doubt
of its success as an approach to understanding language teaching and
learning. This study aimed at investigating the English language needs of
Mechanical Engineering students in Higher National Diploma I (HND I)
in a Nigerian Polytechnic. The study used a mixed method research
design, namely, qualitative and quantitative. The participants in the study
consisted of sixty students from the Mechanical Engineering
Department. In order to get a representative sample for this study,
random sampling was employed for this study. Data collection
instruments included a questionnaire and a structured interview which
elicited responses on the scope and nature of teaching and learning of
English that took place in their classrooms. Descriptive statistics were
calculated for the analysis of the data that came from the questionnaires.
Participants’ responses to each question were calculated in terms of
percentages and frequencies. The findings revealed that the English
Language needs as perceived by the students were not met. They felt
their teachers tended to neglect important communicative language skills
needed for their future jobs, which perhaps explains why most graduates
of Engineering may not communicate effectively in the workplace. In
light of the results, this study recommends that English Language
teachers should adopt a strong research orientation which highlights the
importance of ESP research in Language teaching and learning.
Key Words: Communicative Competence, Specificity, ESP,
Language Learning

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Introduction
Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country, it is made up of different regions,
languages, religions, customs, and cultures. Each ethnic group has
its own language; however, in all the institutions of higher learning
in Nigeria, English is the medium of instruction since the language
is lingua franca and the official language of the country. Right from
the primary up to the tertiary level, English is always taught and
learnt. Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize the teaching of
appropriate English Language communication skills in schools to
students. English Language teachers should be conscious of the
fact that their students need to function in numerous social
environments and that their courses should equip the beneficiaries
with the necessary skills to do so. The experience of planning and
designing an appropriate course that suits target ESP groups can
be very challenging especially for English teachers (Bachman &
Palmer, 1996; Wang, 2010; Fangyuan, 2018). ESP teachers of such
target groups are often faced with various complexities and
problems when they lack the know-how of designing effective
courses that will cover the specific communicative language needs
of their students. Having realized the status of English as an
international language and its importance as a major
communication tool, English Language teachers should take steps
to investigate ways to help and develop communication skills
among engineering students. Since English is a tool for admissions
to good tertiary institution and for getting better placement
opportunities, it is essential to provide English language learning
opportunities to technical students. However, the use of outdated
methods of teaching, untrained English language teachers, dearth
of language aids, fear of learning English and overcrowded
classrooms also affects the success rates of most Polytechnic
students (Bialystok, 1978; Mahalingam, & Yunus, 2017).
The professional environment in which engineers have to
function is highly competitive and demanding and these
prospective employees are required to be excellent at
communication skills. Although engineering graduates are good
academically, it is often observed that employees are hesitant to

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hire these graduates due to their poor proficiency in English.

Engineering students need to give more attention to technical
subjects. They, however, cannot ignore the language with which
they will perform on their jobs in the future. It is therefore very
important that English Language teachers engage in research based
teaching (Ellis, 1985; Evans & Green, 2007). The English language
teacher should be able to identify students’ language needs and
train them to use such communicative skills to become successful
learners and managers. Therefore, this research attempts to
investigate the English language needs of Mechanical Engineering
students in Higher National Diploma I (HND I) in a Nigerian
Polytechnic.

Literature Review
ESP (English for Specific Purposes) involves teaching and learning
the specific skills and language needed by particular learners for a
particular purpose. The P in ESP is always a professional purpose –
a set of skills that learners currently need in their work or will
need in their professional careers (Benson & Voller, 1997;
Björkman, 2013; Basok, 2017). ESP contrasts with General English,
which is aimed at a very wide range of learners. It also contrasts
with Business English, although there is considerable overlap
between the two branches. A lawyer and a marketing executive
might both benefit from attending the same Business English
course, focusing on the generic skills they both need at work (such
as writing an email or participating in a meeting), but they might
get more from attending an ESP course in legal or marketing
English respectively as this will focus more precisely on their needs
(Ellis, 1985; Alkhuli, 2006; Mudraya, 2006; Ward, 2009).
In theory, all learners need ESP and would benefit from a
course tailored to their needs (Ellis, 1995; Bachman & Palmer,
2010). In practice, however, there has to be a compromise where
learners with sufficiently similar needs can be grouped together.
This is fairly easy in the context of pre-experience courses, where
a large number of students have similar needs, decided in advance
by experienced specialists (ESP Practitioners). This branch of ESP

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is sometimes called ESAP, (English for Specific Academic

Purposes). In principle, there is a clear distinction between ESAP,
which trains students for their future work, and EGAP (English for
General Academic Purposes), which trains them for their current
studies, but in practice the distinction is often blurred. ESP courses
can also be created for working professionals (e.g. a teacher
providing in-company lessons at a law firm). In such cases, the
course will not only be for the needs of a specific profession (e.g.
lawyers, human resources personnel) but also for the specific
organisation. Here, the ESP teacher has the opportunity to base
activities on the situations and texts the professional learners
actually need English for in the workplace.

Characteristics of ESP
The term ESP stands for English for Specific Purposes. It is a
linguistic field of study that addresses the immediate and very
specific needs of learners for a target language which is required
for academic or professional purposes. It is a subdivision of
Language for Specific Purposes (LSP), which is defined by Ellis &
Johnson (1994) as “…the area of inquiry and practice in the
development of language programmes for people who need a
language to meet a predictable range of communicative needs”
(12). Therefore, communicative competence is a very significant
issue in ESP. ESP has a number of characteristics which
differentiate it from General English. Dudley-Evans & St. John
offered a modified definition of absolute and variable
characteristics of ESP:
1. Absolute Characteristics
● ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learner;
● ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and
activities of the discipline it serves;
● ESP is centred on the language (grammar, lexis, and
register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to
these activities.

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2. Variable Characteristics
● ESP may be related to or designed for specific
disciplines;
● ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different
methodology from that of general English;
● ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at
a tertiary level institution or in a professional work
situation. It could, however, be for learners at
secondary school level;
● ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced
students;
● Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the
language system, but it can be used with beginners.

How is ESP different from General English?

For teachers of General English, a key question is finding materials
and methodologies which are effective for a particular class (e.g.
“Is the approach or method I am using appropriate for learners of
this age, culture, level, first language(s) etc?”). This question is also
relevant to ESP but one other factor should also be considered:
subject-specific knowledge (of legal procedures, of engineering
methods, of software programming etc.). By definition, the
learners on an ESP course will usually know more about the
subject than the teacher (Brown & Palinscar, 1982; Harmer,
2007). This additional factor is often what makes ESP a daunting,
but also an exciting challenge. However, there are three key
strategies open to ESP teachers whose knowledge of the specific
subject is limited: honesty, openness, and preparation (Brown,
Bransford, Ferrara, & Campione, 1983; McKay, 2005).

Needs Analysis
Needs Analysis is and remains a fundamental part of ESP
instruction and learning (Canale, & Swain, 1980). It serves as a
prominent constituent for what relevant language learning will
thrive and transpire within the framework of a language-learning
environment. It involves the cooperation of both students and

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teacher and a complete re-evaluation or “reinvention” of what is

considered ‘core’ and essential for meaningful learning (Chamot,
2005). Essentially, a Needs Analysis for use with adult learners of
English is a tool that examines, from the perspective of the learner,
what kinds of English, native language, and language skills the
learner already believes he or she has; the literacy contexts in
which the learner lives and works; what the learner wants and
needs to know to function in those contexts; what the learner
expects to gain from the instructional programme (Ellis, 1995).
Furthermore, it focuses and builds on learners’ accomplishments
and abilities rather than on deficiencies, allowing learners to
articulate and display what they already know and can do (Hsiao &
Oxford, 2002). Doing a Needs Analysis should be a continual
process and takes place throughout the duration of a course,
consequently influencing student placement, materials selection,
curriculum design, and teaching approaches and methodology
(Ellis, 1978).

Why do a Needs Analysis?

A number of individuals have contributed their thoughts to
answering this question, with the foresight to perceive some of the
underlying principles that provide a most reasonable rationale.
Chamot (2005) suggests that doing a ‘Needs Analysis’ helps “get
the right balance between teacher/learner input” (12). Several
studies (Danserean, 1978; Tavassoli & Farhady, 2018) suggest that
it also serves as important in exemplifying and validating the
learners’ “heritage, culture, language, life experiences, knowledge
and not to mention their sometimes traumatic experiences as they
embark upon life” (34). Canale and Swain (1980) state that that it
is essential to do a ‘Needs Analysis’ for one important reason: “To
determine what students need to learn” (26). Moreover, they
claim that it aids administrators and teachers with learner
placement/directives and in developing materials, curricula, skills
assessments, teaching approaches, and teacher training. It is also
seen as assuring a more flexible, responsive curriculum rather than
a fixed, linear one that was determined ahead of time by regulating

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bodies. Ellis (1985) is of the opinion that “overlooking learners’

needs results in inappropriate placement and instructional
materials and approaches that are not relevant to learners' needs
and lives” (15). He iterates, “if needs…are not met, then there is
little chance for developing a desire for recognition or to reach
one's full potential” (17-18). However, it is when adult learners
know that educators understand and want to address their needs
and interests that they are motivated to continue and learn. It is
therefore necessary that before language teachers begin to teach
learners, they should be able to understand the language needs of
the learners.

Materials and Methods

Participants
The present study was carried out in one of the fore-most
Polytechnics in Southern Nigeria. Mechanical Engineering
department was chosen by the researchers. The researchers
selected 60 students from Higher National Diploma 1 (HND1)
randomly. The selected students were a heterogeneous group (55
boys and 5 girls). The Mechanical Engineering option selected for
this study had only five (5) girls in the class. This may not be
unconnected with the fact that in Nigeria we have fewer girls in
the hard sciences. The participants were between the ages of 18-
25years old. The participants were from both rural and urban
backgrounds.

Data Collection Procedure and Administration

A simple needs analysis form (questionnaire) was designed and
given to the students to fill out. The students were made to fill out
the forms at the beginning of their second semester English
Language class. The following questions were asked the students:

I am learning English because:

1. I like English language
2. I need to use English at work
3. I want to be taught more of listening

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4. I want to be taught more of speaking

5. I want to be taught more of writing
6. I want to be taught more of reading
7. When did you start studying English?
8. Who do you need it to communicate with?
9. What do you need to write about in English?

Results and Discussion

A likeness for English language scored the highest, all 60 (100%)
agreed that they liked English language. This may not be unrelated
to the fact that English language enjoys great prestige globally. 58
(96.6%) of the students agreed that they needed to use English at
work. In addition, the most important language skill they felt they
needed was listening, 56 (93.3%) explained that they needed to
listen well before carrying out instructions. The next skill was
speaking, 52 (86.6%) of the students agreed that they would be
able to function as well as keep their jobs, maintain contacts, and
share experience with colleagues by speaking English language
fluently. As expected, the students agreed that they needed to be
taught more of speaking skills because their target jobs entailed
giving orders and carrying out instructions. The importance of
reading also received positive responses, 50 (83.3%) of the
students revealed that they wanted to be taught more of reading
skills than writing. Surprisingly, writing received the lowest
priority, 45 (75%) of the students felt that they really needed to
be taught writing skills. This may not be unconnected with the fact
that most of their courses are ‘hands on’. Nevertheless, 56
(93.3%) of the students agreed that they started learning English
between the ages of 6-10 years. In addition, the entire population
of the students, (60) who participated in this study agreed that
they would use English to communicate in the workplace and with
customers.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The results from this study revealed that the students wanted to
be taught more of listening skills, than any other language skills,

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they perceived that their target jobs entailed careful listening in

order to carry out their jobs accurately. Since the end of World
War II, ESP has received much attention amongst educational and
Applied Linguists (Dudley-Evans, 1998). This attention is justified
due to the dominance of English in the fields of economics, politics,
media, technology and medicine. Each of these fields, as well as
others, requires its unique way of teaching based on the needs of
their learners. Teaching language in general, and English, in
particular, is no longer just a matter of application that serves all
needs through any kind of syllabus and methodology. Rather, it is
a regulated application that deals with each situation or given
discipline independent of the other, and unless language teachers
are trained enough to handle such situations and realize the
idiosyncrasies of ESP, fruitful outcomes would never be reached.
Therefore, it is highly recommended that language teachers
carry out ‘Needs Analysis’ before teaching language learners. In
this 21st century, engineers are not only required to effectively
convey technical information but they also need to have acceptable
social, communication and interpersonal skills in order to perform
best in the workplace. Therefore, if they are taught the right
language skills, they would be able to perform better on their
various jobs.

References
Alkhuli, M. A. (2006). Methods of teaching English. Amman, Jordan: Dar
Alfalah.
Bachman, L. F. & Palmer, A. S. (2010). Language testing in practice. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Basok, E. (2017). Language teaching policies and practices in the Turkish
EFL context and the effects on English teachers’ motivation.
(Unpublished M.A. Thesis). The University of Texas, San
Antonio.
Benson, P. & Voller, P. (1997). Autonomy and independence in language
learning. London, England: Longman.
Bialystok, E. (1978). A theoretical model of second language learning.
Language Learning, 28(1), 69-83.

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Björkman, B. (2013). English as an academic lingua franca: An investigation

of form and communicative effectiveness. Berlin, Germany: Walter
de Gruyter.
Brown, A. L. & Palinscar, A. (1982). Inducing strategic learning from
texts by means of informed self-control training. Topics in
Learning and Learning Disabilities, 2, 1-17.
Brown, A. L., Bransford, J. D., Ferrara, R. A. & Campione, J. C. (1983).
Learning, remembering and understanding. In P. Mussen & J. H.
Flavell (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Cognitive development
3 (pp. 77-166). New York: Wiley.
Canale, M. & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative
approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied
Linguistics, 1, 1–47.
Chamot, A. U. (2005). Language learning strategy instruction: Current
issues and research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 25, 112-
130.
Dansereau, D. F. 1978. The development of a learning strategies
curriculum. In H. F. O’Neill, Jr. (Ed.), Learning strategies (pp. 1-
29). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Dreyer, C., & Oxford, R. (1996). Learning strategies and other
predictors of ESL proficiency among Afrikaans-speakers in South
Africa. In R. L. Oxford (Ed.), Language learning strategies around
the world: Cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 61-74). Honolulu, HI:
University of Hawai’i Press.
Dudley-Evans, A., & St. John, M. J. (1998). Developments in ESP: A
multidisciplinary approach. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford, England:
Oxford University Press.
Ellis, M. & Johnson, C. (1994). Teaching business English, Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
Evans S. & Green, C. (2007). Why EAP is necessary: A survey of Hong
Kong tertiary students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6,
3-17.
Fangyuan, D. (2018). Question type, language proficiency and listening
strategy use: An exploratory study. Asian EFL Journal, 20 (9.1),
194-213.

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Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching. Essex,

England: Pearson Education.
McKay, P. (2006). Assessing young language learners. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
Mahalingam, K., & Yunus, M. M. (2017). Good language learners and
their strategies: An insight. Proceedings of the ICECRS 1(1), 50-
64.
Mudraya, O. (2006). Engineering English: A lexical frequency
instructional model. English for Specific Purposes, 25, 235-256.
Wang, F. (2010). The necessity of grammar teaching. English Language
Teaching, 3(2), 78- 81.
Ward, J. (2009). A basic engineering English word list for less proficient
foundation engineering undergraduates. English for Specific
Purposes, 28(3), 170-182.

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Theatrical Elements in Alàbí Ògúndépò’s Ìjálá

Performance at the University of Ilorin

Michael O. FERNANDEZ
Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria
fernandanse@[Link]

Abstract
Ìjálá performance is undoubtedly averitable tool for cultural
identity and propagation. The scope of this paper shall be limited
to AlabiOgundepo’s dance and Ìjálá music performance at the
University of Ilorin. Through descriptive and analytical method,
this work focuses on Ìjálá, a genre of poetry that straddles written,
gestural and oral custom as it envelops socio-cultural impartation
for national progression in democratic Nigeria. This study
discovers the potent ability of average democratic Nigerian in
acquiring other people’s culture regardless of their ethnicity. A
cursory appraisal would also be given to various theatrical
elements inherent in the Ìjálá performance, thereby paying good
heed to the dance, music and problems of dance notation being
part of the greatest challenges of choreographers in connection
with dance documentation,particularly in Africa. In conclusion, Ìjálá
dance and music performance are inseparable twin art that are
asymmetrical in nature for socio-cultural identity in Africa. Among
other things, AlabiOgundepo’sÌjálá performance has played a key
role in cultural sensitization, impartation and socialcamaraderie
among others. Therefore, this paper advocates that rich traditional
arts of this nature be documented, supported and promoted for
cultural exchange and national integration.

AlabiOgundepo’s ÌjáláPerformance
Chief ÀlàbíÒgúndépò is a prolific Ìjálá exponent whose hard work
and commitment to Ìjálá oral poetry performance has taken him
around the [Link] gave credence to this when he further
expatiated in an interview that Ìjálá has offered him a lot of honor
and opportunities that education/white collar job could not have

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offered. In this interview with Remi Oladoye (editor, Alarinka

Agbaye) at Ibadan, Chief Àlàbí Ògúndépò gave an assurance that
Yorùbá cultural value and tradition will not go into extinct but
rather would be more vibrant as it were in the olden days due to
his on-going effort targeted towards revamping and promoting it.
The sense of immersion and indigenous cultural promotion
is a value that the onìjálá, ònkôrinand the akéwìshares in Yoruba
community. The poets shares awareness of, and pay keen
sensitivity to important events of their times. They creatively
absorb into the arts different aspects of human life — political,
social, economic and moral. In the aspect of moral for instance, it
is possible to measure the impact of the exposure of the poets to
the medium by the phenomenal widening of the audience of oral
poetries. Ewì and Ìjálá could be used for didactic purposes. A case
in point is Isé Eni (A Person’s Vocation),a poem composed by
Alagba Adebayo Fálétí,which features regularly on the Ibadan-based
Broadcasting Corporation of OyoState in those days, underscores
the dignity of labor:
Iséeniniiséeni
Mátijúiséè re
Ikánkìítijú à ń molé
Èèràkìítijú à ń lànà
Alapandedekì í tijú à ń f ó kirinigbangba
Mátijúiséè re
Bígi lo bá n késowó
Bíwóngbà o pékí o gbálèojà
Bíìránsé lo sì je labeìjoba
Mátijúiséè re
Oòbáàsàgbè, oòbáàsakòwé
Bóojéonísòwò, bóojo’níwóróbo
Iséeniniiséeni
Sisé, isékìí pa ni
À ìse re gan-anlabuku.

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Translation
Your vocation is your calling
Never be ashamed of your vocation
The termite is never ashamed of building
The ant is not ashamed of making tunnels
The Ethiopian swallow is not ashamed of flying about
Never be ashamed of your calling
If you are a wood seller
Or are a cleaner in the marketplace
Or are messengers in the public service
Don’t be ashamed of your vocation
Be you a farmer, or a clerk
Be you a trader or an itinerant trader
Work;
It does not kill
But idleness does.
(EwìFálétí:ApaKeji 42) as recorded by OyèníyìOkùnoyè (2010, p.
54-55).

The performance of ewìon radio has made it possible for

poets operating through the medium to propagate a sense of
authorship as each poet normally signs off by identifying
himself/herself at the end of each performance.
As a result of this, we could refer to some of our traditional
oral poets as custodians and true descendants of the culture and
tradition who have always commented favourably or critically on
events, and celebrated occasions. In Ògúndépò’s observed
performance, the male performers were more actively positioned
and projected than females in almost all [Link], the
ability of these male Ìjáláperformers to charge the atmosphere and
holding the audience to the last gave a widening dynamism to the
entire performance as a whole. Corroboratively, Osita (2012, p.
204) elaborated more on Ògúndépò’s placement of male
performers that:
Male roles become associated with higher
values and importance, and are hence much

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more respected to the detriment of those of

women thereby placing men in a dominant
position that crushes the other (women) to
a subservient one.
ÌjáláMusic and Dance as Tools for National Integration
Oral poetry performance is indeed a vast and spectacular
art form within the Yorùbáculture and tradition which is more
common among men than women. Corroboratively, Yorùbáoral
literature consists of very many types, ranging from the fables,
myths, legends, etcetera, of prose literature to the religious, social,
and other contributions of the poetic genre (Awe, 1974, p. 331).
Yoruba oral poetries include ewì, ekún-ìyàwó, rárà, oríkì and Ìjálá
among others; and they are all regarded as part of Àşàin Yoruba
land.
Àşàis the Yorùbá concept that most aptly
translates as “tradition”. The noun is derived
from the verb sa, which means to select, to
discern, to discriminate. When it refers to a
human society, àşàis the set of behaviours,
deeds and human habits that characterize it
after it has been subjected to a historical
process of deliberate choice. It can thus aptly
be described as a tradition that is permanently
open to innovation informed by preceding
phases in the process (YaiOlabiyi, 1999, p. 34).

Interestingly, Yorùbá is quite vast in Àsá (culture), and this includes

traditional oral poetry (chant), music, dance etcetera.
Undoubtedly, the aforementioned oral art (ewì, ekún-ìyàwó, rárà,
oríkì and Ìjálá) cannot be separated from music and dance. Ìjálá
performance which contains oral poetry, music and dance is most
peculiar with hunters in Yoruba lands At the Performing Arts
Department of the University of Ilorin, Chief ÀlàbíÒgúndépò, one
of the most prominentÌjálá exponents in Africa, employed the use
Ìjálá music and dance performance as a cultural amplifier and a tool
for socio-cultural impartation. This was achieved in a three-day

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workshop organized by the department of Performing Arts and

the University at large. The objective behind the performance
includes cultural knowledge impartation and unity fostering among
students of different backgrounds, irrespective of their ethnic
representation. During the epoch of this workshop, Unilorin
students from different geo-political zones of the nation
amalgamated and were divided into three parts for effectiveness in
learning. These three segments comprised Ìjálá chants and songs,
Ìjáládance and Ìjáláensemble. Ìjálá performance is most peculiar
with hunters in Yoruba lands, and it fusions Oral poetry, music and
dance as mentioned earlier. These arts are powerful impulse, but
in the art of dancing, impulse is channeled by skillful performers
into something that becomes intensively expressive and that may
delight spectators who feel no wish to dance themselves. This was
the same with ÀlàbíÒgúndépò’s performance at the University of
Ilorin. In spite of the seeming exotic life of the Unilorin students on
account of modernity influences, they were quite enthusiastic
about the incredible traditional Ìjáláperformance. Consequently, all
participants (students) greatly benefited from the workshop and
had a collaborative performance on the day three with
ÀlàbíÒgúndépò and his crew members. The performance
showcased music, dance, oral poetry and other embellishing art
forms. This captivatingly thrilled the audience, leaving them with
an impression that music and dance are indeed one of the great
tools for socio-cultural impartation and national integration.
Music Appraisal
Besides using the voice, which has been developed to use
various techniques such as complex hard, subtle and so on, a wide
array of musical instruments was brought into play in
ÀlàbíÒgúndépò’sperformance. African musical instruments come
in a wide assortment, ranging from Membranophone, Idiophone,
Xylophone, Cordophone and Aerophone. However, from the
Ìjáláperformance at the Unilorin, ÀlàbíÒgúndépò majorly played
on the utilization of idiophones and membranophones to be
specific.

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Membranophone:this is a set of musical instruments that is made

of wood or metals whose surfaces are usually covered with
leather. In other way, it can equally be regarded as any class of
musical instruments in which a stretched membrane vibrates to
produce sound. According to shape, drums are classified as barrel,
conical, cylindrical, footed, frame and to mention but few.
Conventionally, the name membranophone replaces the term
percussion instruments when an acoustically based classification is
required.
Idiophone: this includes a class of musical instrument in
which a resonant solid material- such as wood, metal, or stone-
vibrates to produce the initial sound. These types of instruments
includeconcussion, friction, and percussion etcetera. In many
cases, as in the gong, cleft, clappers and ekwe, the vibrating
material itself forms the instrument body.
Drums employed in African traditional music include talking
drums, djembe, and bàtá to mention but few. Other percussion
instruments include many rattles and shakers, such as the kosika,
sèkèrè, bells and wood sticks. Also, Africa has lots of other types
of drums, and lots of flutes and wind instruments (odja, kakaki) and
stringed. Interestingly, of these varieties of the aforementioned
musical instruments, Ògúndépò in his performance consciously
employed melodic drums/instruments - such as iyaalu (lead talking
drums), omele-méta (triplet drum), gúdúgúdú as well as agogo
(metal gong).
With the use of all these traditional instruments, music
played an important role in the oral poetry performance of
ÀlàbíÒgúndépò. It was essential in representing the strong African
cultural heritage and its importance was seen in many aspects of
his performance. Unlike many cultures today, ancient African
cultures encompassed music into their everyday lives. Dance,
story-telling and religious practices are all grounded on the music
of the culture. ÀlàbíÒgúndépò’s oral poetry performance
combined a number of theatrical elements in the light of ensuring
that the fast eroding cultural heritage of his forefathers is salvaged.
Dance Appraisal

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As an art form, dance does not leave behind clearly

identifiable physical artifacts. As a result of this, it is not possible to
say when dance became part of human culture. However, we
would say with all sense of emphasis that dance has been an
imperative part of human life and culture, ranging fromceremony,
rituals, celebrations and entertainment since before the birth of
the earliest human civilizations.
Dance is especially vital in African performances, so much
so that in many African cultures, there are no two words in the
language used to distinguish among dance, music, drama, oral
poetry etcetera for dance remains almost inseparable from these
other art forms. Essentially, in ÀlàbíÒgúndépò’s performance
among other dances,ijo-ode (hunters dance) was loudly
exemplified on the metronome of Africanism. It included the idea
of music accompanied with Ìjáláchats. The dance contained quite a
number of downward movements which added a lot of colour and
aesthetics to the performance. With regards to this downward
movement as mentioned above, Suru (2005, pp. 53) quickly
buttressed that, the aesthetics in the downward movements of the
Africans is a reflection of their belief in the gods, spirit and
ancestors. Usually the African dance has to do with all parts of the
body with emphasis on leg, waist, torso and the hands and head.
Ògúndépò’s male and female dancers utilized all parts of their
body- hand, leg, torso, and waist (females) to perform
enthusiastically showing their innermost expression that mere
words could not have expressed. Cowan (1992, p. 365) also
buttressed that the conception of dance as luminous and fervent
expression that cannot be "captured" in words ultimately relies on
the notion of a coherent, interiorized self that uses the body as an
instrument for self-representation. Unlike many other performers,
music and dance meant so much more than something just done
to have a good time for ÀlàbíÒgúndépò and his performers. In
fact, it has a much greater cultural purpose. Ògúndépò’s dance
was commonly done among a group of male and female
performers. In the performance, dance, music and Ìjáláwere
creatively intertwined and utilized to satisfy the audience wants

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and expectation. The idea of Utilitarianism suggests that the value

of a thing depends on its use, and not its beauty. This could be
deduced from the performance of ÀlàbíÒgúndépò just as reflected
earlier in the utilitarian use of his vital aspects of dance, music and
oral poetry rendition.

Problems of Notation
Notation is a series or system of written symbols used to
represent numbers, amounts or elements in something such as
music or mathematics. Notation helps in the area of preservation
and gives a flow of continuum to subsequent related preserved
work. Since dance, traditional oral poetry and music all form part
of performing art, the survival of any art of those forms depends
either on its being preserved through tradition or on its being
written down in some form. Where tradition is continuous and
uninterrupted, changes in style and interpretation (inevitable when
different performers perform the same material) may be
corrected and the performance preserved in its original form. But
when a tradition is broken (if, for instance, the cultural tradition of
one ethnic group encroaches on those of another), then music,
oral poetry dramatization and dance especially may not only
change drastically but collapse completely. ÀlàbíÒgúndépòas well
as most African performers is faced with this problem of notating
their performing art works, especially dance. Meanwhile, methods
of recording dance in particular are in the preservation of its
history. Ògúndépò has quite a number of artistes/performers
whom he has delivered, planted and notated his works (music,
chants, especially dances) in their bodies. But the fact remains that
this is not the best method of notating such art work of that
cultural magnitude for its span of reliability is on the low side.
Conclusion
The projection of the Yoruba oral poetry (Ìjálá)
performance in this paper has involved reconciling different forms
of art- dance, music and chants into aholistic structure that
underlies its generation as performance with ÀlàbíÒgúndépò as

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one of those that informed its development. Ìrèlé (1982) as quoted

by Okùnoyè, (2010, P. 44) also affirmed that,
‘‘Yorùbá culture has played an integrative role in
the process of acculturation to which all African
societies have been submitted in such a way that
this process can be seen today largely as one of
adaptation, the adjustment of the native culture
with the foreign, the harmonization of two ways
of life into a new entity’’

Undoubtedly, ÀlàbíÒgúndépò’sÌjálá performance made a

serious impact in the propagation of cultural memory among the
Yorùbá and other non-Yoruba populace at the University of Ilorin.
It also acknowledges that its invention demonstrates what the
contact between received practice and modernity can produce.
This becomes more meaningful when located within the broader
domain of Yorùbá expressive culture. Apart from underscoring the
sense in which the capacity of Ìjálá extends its frontiers by
absorbing diverse methods is an index of its fluidity for national
integration. Thus, this study suggests that the creative imagination
of Ìjálá dance and music performance constantly comes under the
pressure of the public space, while Ìjáláin turn empowers the same
domain. The status of ÀlàbíÒgúndépòas an Ìjáláexponent is
inevitably apparent and cannot be over-emphasized. We suggest
that our oral tradition performers should not take the place of
notation as being jejune, rather, should imbibe the culture of
notating their art works for memories and futuristic purpose. Oral
tradition such as ewì, Ìjáláand so on can serve as tools for societal
change. Consequently, they should often be disseminated via
series of media outreach to broaden and sensitize the minds of our
young growing generation so as to avert or remedy the fast
eroding cultural value of our mother land in this democratic
dispensation.

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References
Awe, B. (1974). Praise Poems as Historical Data: The Example of
the Yoruba Oríkì. In: Journal of the International African
Institute, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp.331-349: Cambridge University
Press on behalf of the International African Institute.
Cowan, J.K. (1992). Dancing Culture: Dance and the Body Politic
in Northern [Link]. 19, No. [Link] on behalf of the
American Anthropological Association.
Irele, A. (1982). “Tradition and the Yorùbá Writers: D. O.
Fágúnwà, Amos Tutuola and WoleSóyínká.” Yorùbá
Language and [Link]. AdebisiAfolayan. Ibadan/Ilé-Ifè:
University P/ U of Ibadan P. 95–117. Print.
Olatunji, O. (1979). Features of Yoruba Oral [Link]:
University Press, 1984. Print.
Olatunji, O. (1982).A Study of His Poems. (Ed.) AdébáyõFálétí:
Ibadan: Heinemann educational.
Osita, E.C. (2012). Culture, gender sensitivity and language use in
Tess Onwueme’s two plays. In: Adeoye,
AbdulrasheedAbiodun (Ed.) The dramaturgy of a theatre
sociologist: festschrift in honour of Ayo Akinwale. (pp. 202-
218). Ilorin: University of Ilorin press.
Okùnoyè, O. (2010).Ewì, Yorùbá Modernity, and the Public
[Link] in African Literatures, Vol. 41, No. 4
(Winter 2010). Indiana University Press.
Suru, C.D. (2005). African Dance Aesthetics: An Appraisal of
African Dance Movement. In: Ilorin Researcher Vol 6. Journal
of Post Graduate Student Association, Ilorin: University Of
Ilorin Press.
Yáì, O.B. (1999). “Tradition and the Yorùbá Artist”.African Arts:
32–35. Print.

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Parental Attitude towards the Introduction of

Indigenous Languages in Secondary Schools in
Lagos State

Olufemi A. ADESANYA
Department of English & General Studies
Federal College of Education (Technical),
Akoka, Yaba, Lagos.
femiadesanya69@[Link]

Abstract
This study investigated the disposition of parents towards the
introduction and adoption of indigenous languages as medium of
instruction in senior secondary schools by the Lagos State
Government (Somolu L.G.A). Using a random sampling
techniques, 100 parents from PDE students and parents with
F.C.E (T), Akoka, Lagos and its environ were selected with the aid
of self-structured and administered questionnaires, analyzed, using
a four likert scale techniques. The majority of parents (60%) were
in support of the introduction and adoption of indigenous
languages as medium of instruction in secondary school curriculum
in Lagos State. They believed that the use of indigenous language
as a medium of instruction at secondary school level will help
reduce the rate of failure and dropouts in schools. Based on the
findings of this study, it was recommended among others that the
Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Education, should
provide necessary and adequate information about the language
policy in Lagos State Secondary School Curriculum through the
mass media for wide readership.
Keywords: Parents, Attitude, Indigenous languages,
Introduction, Mother tongue, Medium of
instruction.

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Introduction / Background
Language is generally taken to be the compendium of the
traditions and culture of a people. It is that indispensable
instrument of orientation, integration and socialization. Language
as a tool can be acquired as a mother tongue or borrowed.
Language is universally recognized as a powerful index of culture
and identity (Ndamba, 2008). This further suggests that the
language spoken by an individual is an emblem of his culture and a
package of his identity. This explains the usually violent resistance
that follows attempts at coercing a people into adopting a foreign
language at the expense of theirs.
According to Olukiran (2001:35) if you take away a
people’s language, you further enslave them. For example, in
Nigeria, not only is English the official language, it is also spreading
widely as a domestic language. Most Nigerian children now display
amazing competence in English than in any indigenous language.
But Ikiddles (1983) reasons that whatever the level of our
competence in its (English language) use and the vigour of our
energies in its promotion, it unfortunately remains true that it was
a language of conquest and therefore, of imposition. The scholar
further states that while an artificial language may be a politically
wise choice for intercultural communication because it is offensive
to no one, it is, on the other hand, a poor choice for a more basic
reason: No one can FEEL or therefore THINK deeply in an
artificial language (Oladokun, 2001).
Boas (1986:7) equally reasons that the conciseness and
clearness of thought of a people depend to a great extent upon
their language. The position being advanced is that thought and
expression, are both enhanced when done in a native tongue than
in a borrowed or foreign language. This is more so when language
has been described as an environment. This, as viewed in this
paper, is because environmental factors determine to a large
extent how far we can go with the language we speak. For
instance, a Nigerian child brought up in a Nigerian environment
and is made to speak English only may not attain the same level of
competence and proficiency in the language as an English child

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brought up in England. Besides, such a child will be speaking a

foreign tongue in his native environment where the English
language may not provide expressions and meanings for some
environmental and cultural questions. This view also suggests that
the English language, for example, as it is spoken today is a product
and vehicle of the English traditions and culture.
As proficient and eloquent we may claim to be in this
language, certain expressions and words are rarely used or not
used at all by Nigerian speakers of English as these words and
expressions may suit only traditional and cultural phenomena of
the English society.

Language and Children

Language remains the basic tool of acculturation of the child.
Through language, the child comes to terms with the values,
norms and traditions of his environment. The language a child is
brought up with therefore determines the child’s world-view and
an estimation and expression of his total experience. Children,
because of their impressionable attitude, learn languages faster
than adults. English language as a colonial legacy has been Nigeria’s
official language and is fast becoming a domestic language. It is
observable that in cosmopolitan Nigeria and other parts of the
country, the ability of a child to speak in English in all situations
appears to be the yardstick used to measure the child’s cognitive
and linguistic development. This is pursued to the detriment of
indigenous languages (Adegbija, 2004). From the situation
presented above, one thing should be made clear though, the
intention here is not to canvass for a displacement of English as the
most widely spoken language in cosmopolitan, Nigeria, rather, an
attempt is made to draw attention to what is observed to be an
accelerated devaluation of our indigenous languages.
In Nigeria, English, as the nation’s official language, is the
language of school, religion, social interaction and the home. This
situation however, possess a problem. Since English is a product of
the English traditions and culture, a wholesome adoption of it as an
official and now domestic language possess far-reaching socio-

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cultural danger. It is a fact that every language has a moral content.

By this, it means that while there may be universal moral
standards, there are some moral undercurrents peculiar to each
culture which the language of that culture as a vehicle helps to
carry. For example, most Nigerian indigenous languages and
dialects already carry expressions that give respect to (i). elders
and (ii). one another in situations of linguistic interaction.
In this instance, the moral content of the Yoruba pronoun
‘eyin’ or its Igbo equivalent “Biko” and ‘Nnanyin’ meaning ‘You’
cannot be said to perform the same social function as the English
pronoun ‘You’. While the equivalents of ‘You’ in these indigenous
languages already signify the social status of the addressee, ‘You’ as
used in English is for all categories of addressees. It should
however be stated here that ‘eyin’ meaning ‘You’ can also be used
as a collective pronoun.
Another inherent danger in the use of English as official and
domestic language is monolingualism. Some may argue that this
could be overcome by making the child learn one or more foreign
languages in addition, the child remains monolingual in his
immediate environment. The observable situation in Nigeria is that
children are made to do everything in English.
Mawere (2015) also opined that it may be difficult for a
child to understand another person’s traditions and culture
without first understanding his own. She posited that a proper
understanding of the child’s tongue might help in the
understanding and use of a second or foreign language. According
to her, countries where emphasis is placed on maintenance of
bilingual education are Canada and Wales where English speakers
are taught French or Welsh to enable them to be fully bilingual.
Tanzania and Kenya are cited as examples of African countries
where Swahili and English are used as bilingual education tools.
If countries earlier mentioned above and others such as
China, Japan and India have been able to integrate their various
indigenous languages for cultural and technological gains and
national transformation, why is it still a difficult task for Nigeria to
achieve same? An attempt by the Lagos State Government to

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provide a satisfactory answer to the question and at the same

time, adopt a workable bilingual education in the state public
schools has led to the introduction of indigenous languages as
medium of instruction in addition to the use of English language by
the administration of His Excellency Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode in 2019 and subsequently passed into law by the Lagos
State House of Assembly.

Indigenous Language
Ball and Pence, (2006) describe indigenous language as a language
that originated in a specified place and was not brought to that
place from elsewhere. It is a language that is native to a region and
spoken by indigenous people but has been reduced to the status of
a minority language synonyms are “small languages”, “endangered
languages” and “autochithonous languages”.

Is Learning an Indigenous Language a Human Right?

Yes, international society has reached a global consensus on the
Human Rights of indigenous peoples. This consensus is the United
Nations Acclaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which
states in article 14 that “indigenous peoples have the right to
establish and control their educational systems and institutions
providing education in their own languages, in a manner
appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning”.
Today, the international community has established the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development. The fourth objective is “to
ensure an inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote
lifelong learning opportunities for all”. For indigenous youth, the
fourth objective means ensuring an education that guarantees the
learning of their own language and culture.
In addition, the year 2019 has also been declared the
international year of indigenous language which aims to generate
global cooperation. To protect, promote and revitalize languages
to improve the lives of its speakers.

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Kantuka (2019) has also opined that indigenous languages

represent the legacy of our grandmothers and grandparents. Our
obligation is to take care of them because when an indigenous
language disappears, the indigenous traditional knowledge (stories,
legends, songs, values, myths, prayers) also disappears. Moreover,
indigenous languages consist of accessing a world of culture and a
different conception of the world. The treasure of indigenous
languages is a heritage that should not be lost.
Among others, Kantuka (2019) suggested that introduction of
indigenous languages education into school will have the following
advantages.
• Introduction of indigenous languages in schools enriches the
spirit because it shows the diversity between cultures and their
importance.
• Indigenous languages in schools help Nigerian students from
different regions collaborate.
• Indigenous languages ensure that students can grow up to
produce and enjoy great works in a native language.
• Using indigenous languages in Nigerian schools creates room
for teaching opportunities for native Nigerians which in turn,
helps our spur increased economic development.
The foregoing reveals that indigenous languages being
introduced in schools as medium of instruction in Lagos State has a
lot to offer its recipients during and after the instruction. However,
despite the myriad of precautionary and life-long benefits
obtainable from introduction of indigenous languages in schools in
Lagos State, one of the major possible constraints to its
introduction and implementation is the perception of parents
about it. This necessitated the need for this study.

Statement of the Problem

The question whether or not to use indigenous languages as a
medium of instruction in secondary schools in Lagos State seems
to be a bone of contention among the parents. This development
appears to go against not only the Nigerian culture but the dictates
of the Lagos State Government of 2019 which introduced and

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adopted the mother tongue, the language of instruction at the

secondary school level and the primary schools of formal
education (Lagos Education Amendment Act 2019).
Corroborating this fact, Mawere (2015) observed that
there is still good deal of prejudice against the introduction of
indigenous languages as means of instruction in secondary school in
Lagos State. This is because the parents often believe that such
attempt will help their children become knowledgeable about their
culture but will be disadvantaged against their peers at that level
and above because English language is the medium of instruction
up to the university level. This study was therefore carried out to
establish the parental attitude towards the introduction of
indigenous languages as medium of instruction in secondary school
system in selected areas of Lagos State.

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this study is to establish the attitude of
parents towards the introduction of indigenous languages as
medium of instruction in secondary schools.
Specifically, the study sought to determine:
a. The attitude of fathers towards the introduction of indigenous
languages into secondary schools;
b. The attitude of mothers on the introduction of indigenous
languages into secondary schools;
c. The attitude of male and female parents towards the
introduction of indigenous languages in secondary schools;

Research Questions
Based on the purposes of study, this study provided answers to
the following research questions:
a. What is the common attitude of fathers to the introduction of
indigenous languages into secondary schools?
b. What is the attitude of mothers towards the introduction of
indigenous language into secondary schools?
c. What is the attitude of male and female parents on the
introduction of indigenous languages in secondary schools?

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Hypothesis Tested
Ho: There will be no significant difference in the attitude of
fathers and mothers about the introduction of indigenous
languages into secondary schools.
Hi: There is significant difference in the attitude of fathers and
mothers about the introduction of indigenous languages
into secondary schools.

Methodology
The research design used for this study is the survey design.
Survey design was used because it was considered appropriate for
studying a given population with the intention to determine
opinion, attitude and perception of the students considering the
variables under study. It was adopted because a representation
sample, based on the sample studies was generalized to describe
the characteristics of the population.

Population of Study
The population for this study consist of (100) parents from
Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) and Federal College of
Education (Technical), Akoka’s environs.

Sample and Sample Technique

The sample used for the study consists of 50 respondents
randomly selected.
The instrument used is a well structured questionnaire designed by
the researcher to elicit responses from the respondents
concerning parental attitude towards the introduction of
indigenous languages as medium of instruction in secondary
schools.

Techniques for Data Analysis

The data collected was analyzed using weighted mean. Table was
used to summarize the information in the questionnaire according

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to the research questions. The analysis was based on four point

likert scale of:
Strongly Agree (SA) 4 points
Agree (A) 3 points
Strongly Disagree (SD) 2 points
Disagree (D) 1 point
The mean response for each item was computed by multiplying
the frequency of each response made by nominal values as
indicated above. The sum of the value obtained by each item was
divided by the total number of respondents to get the mean. The
formula used is:-
x = Σfn
n
Where:
x = mean of the score
x = score
f = frequency of the response
Σ = summation sign
N = total number

In each case, the mean score for each item was calculated thus:
x = x(4 × SA) + (3 × A) + (2 × SD) + (1 × D)
N
In order to arrive at a decision as to the interpretation of results,
the nominal values of the response were added together and
divided by the numbers of the values (4) thus,
4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 2.5
4
Interpretation was based on the mean taking due to consideration
of the class limits of the mean obtained. A response within a mean
rating of 2.5 and above will be regarded as positive and accepted
(Agree) while the mean rating below 2.5 is however considered
negative and therefore rejected (Disagree).

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S/N Statement SA A SD D
1 Indigenous languages should be 3 2 2 3
introduced to secondary school as
medium of instruction.
2 Introduction of indigenous languages 5 5 - -
will reduce the rate of failure in
secondary school.
3 Students will understand better in - 3 2 5
school if they are taught using
indigenous languages.
4 Introduction of indigenous languages 6 2 2 -
as medium of instruction will reduce
the rate of dropouts in secondary
schools.
5 There are risks involved in culture 3 2 3 2
with non-introduction of indigenous
languages.
6 Introduction of indigenous language 4 1 2 3
into secondary school is a means of
improving educational quality by
building on the knowledge and
experience of the learners and
teachers.
7 Introduction of indigenous languages 1 3 4 2
should be done at the primary school
level.
8 Introduction of indigenous languages 2 4 2 2
should be done at the senior
secondary level.
9 Male and female students should be
taught indigenous languages in
secondary schools.
10 Specially trained teachers should be 4 4 1 1
made to teach and use indigenous
languages.

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Table 1
Indigenous languages should be introduced to secondary school
curriculum
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean
Agreed 2×3=6 Disagreed 3×1=3 x
3 × 4 = 12 2×2=4 2.5

Results as presented in table 1, show that majority of the

respondents (the parents), representing about (63%) with (Mx
2.5) statistically considered positive and accepted, supported the
introduction of indigenous language to secondary school. This is
also evident in the weighted mean of (12) strongly agree and (6)
agreed. The table further shows that difference existed between
respondents (the parents) with positive and negative self-concepts.
This is because the weighted mean of (12+6=18) was greater
than the weighted mean of (4+3 =7). From the results above, it
is revealed that there is general acceptability for the introduction
of indigenous language in secondary school curriculum as already
done in Lagos State.

Table 2
Introduction of indigenous languages as medium of instruction will
reduce the rate of failure in secondary schools.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 5 × 3 = Disagreed 0×1=0 3.5
5 × 4 = 20 15 0×2=0

Results as presented in table 2, show that a significant

number of respondents exhibited positive response (Mx 3.5) of
about (75%) to the use of indigenous languages as medium of
instruction in secondary schools with weighted mean of (20)
strongly agreed and (15) agreed. Both strongly disagreed and
disagreed recorded weighted mean of (0). These results justify the
claim that introduction of indigenous languages as medium of

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instruction in secondary schools will reduce the rate of failure

generally.

Table 3
Students will understand better in schools if they are taught using
the indigenous languages.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 3×3=9 Disagreed 5×1=5 1.8
0×4=0 2×2=4

Results as presented in table 3, show that there was a

challenge on the issue of using the indigenous languages as means
of instruction in schools. Parental attitude and misconception that
the local languages will not help students to understand better if
they are taught using same are evident. This is because the total
weighted mean of the respondents was (Mx 1.8), a major decline
in mean rating below (Mx 2.5) and statistically considered negative
and therefore rejected (disagreed). From the results above, we
can deduce that introduction of indigenous languages as means of
instruction in secondary schools will not help students to
understand better if they are taught using indigenous languages.

Table 4
Introduction of indigenous languages a medium of instruction in
secondary schools will reduce the rate of dropouts.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 2×3=6 Disagreed 0×1=0 2.4
6 × 4 = 24 2×2=4
Results as presented in table 4, show that majority of the
parents (Mx 2.4) representing (68%) upheld the statement. The
table reveals that difference existed between respondents with
positive and negative self concepts. This is because the total
weighted mean of (24) strongly agreed and (6) agreed, (24 + 6
=30), was greater than (4) strongly disagreed and (0) disagreed.
This simply implies that introduction of indigenous languages as a

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medium of instruction in secondary schools will reduce the rate of

dropouts in schools.

Table 5
There are risks in culture with non-introduction of indigenous
languages in secondary schools.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 2×3=6 Disagreed 2×1=2 2.7
3 × 4 = 12 3×2=6
The findings as presented in table 5, reveal that the
respondents agreed to the statement with positive (Mx 2.7)
representing about (74%). This is also evident in the weighted
mean of (12) strongly agreed and (6) agreed while strongly
disagreed and disagreed recorded (6) and (2) respectively. These
therefore, justify the claim above that there are risks in culture
with non-introduction of indigenous languages in secondary
schools.

Table 6
Introduction of indigenous languages as medium of instruction in
secondary schools is a means of improving educational quality by
building on the knowledge and experience of the learners and
teachers.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 1×3=3 Disagreed 3×1=3 2.6
4 × 4 = 16 2×2=4
From the results obtainable in table 6, it is obvious that the
respondents representing (62%) agreed to the statement. This is
because of the (Mx 2.6) statistically regarded and accepted as
positive (agreed). The mean response for strongly agreed was
(16), (3) for agreed while strongly disagreed and disagreed
recorded (4) and (3). These results imply that introduction of
indigenous language as a medium of instruction in secondary

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schools is a means of improving quality by building on the

knowledge and experience of the learners and teachers.

Table 7
Introduction of indigenous languages should be done at the
primary school level.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 2×1=2 Disagreed 3× 4 = 12 2.3
2×2=4 2×4=8

The results in table 7, show that there was a challenge to

the statement. The results with mean response of (4) strongly
agreed, (2) agreed, (8) strongly disagreed and (12) disagreed with
weighted (Mx 2.3) is considered negative and therefore rejected
(disagreed). These results show that introduction of indigenous
languages as a medium of instructions should not be done only at
the primary school level. This obviously calls for its extension to
Senior Secondary Schools as already done in Lagos State.

Table 8
Introduction of indigenous languages should be done at the Senior
Secondary School level.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 4 × 3 = Disagreed 2×1=2 2.6
2×4=8 12 2×2=4

Results as presented in table 8, show a positive response of

weighted mean of (2.6) statistically considered positive and
accepted (agreed). The findings recorded a mean response of (8)
strongly agreed, (12) agreed while strongly disagreed and
disagreed recorded (4) and (2). The results above show that
introduction of indigenous languages as medium of instruction
should be done at the Senior Secondary School level. This position
therefore justifies the language policy of the Lagos State of 2019.

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Table 9
Only Yoruba Students should be taught indigenous languages in
secondary schools.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 4×1=4 Disagreed 2×3=6 2.2
2×2=4 2×4=8

As presented in table 9, the results show a major decline in

the (Mx 2.2) statistically considered negative mean response and
therefore rejected (disagreed). This further implies that
indigenous languages should not be taught to only Yoruba
students in Lagos State.

Table 10
Specially trained teachers in indigenous languages should be made
to teach and use indigenous languages in secondary schools.
Strongly Agreed Strongly Disagreed Mean x
Agreed 4 × 3 = Disagreed 1×1=1 3.1
4 × 4 = 16 12 1×2=2

Results as presented in table 10, show that majority of the

respondents with (Mx 3.1) representing about (73%) agreed to
the statement. The results further show that difference existed
between respondents with positive and negative self-concepts.
This is because the total weighted mean of (16 + 12 = 28)
strongly agreed and agreed is greater than ( 2+1= 3) strongly
disagreed and disagreed. This simply implies that only specially
trained indigenous language teachers should teach and use
indigenous languages in secondary schools.

Discussion of Findings and Summary

From the presentation made so far, it is obvious that introduction
of indigenous languages as medium of instruction in Senior
Secondary School level will be accepted by the parents in Lagos
State as this will help in reducing the rate of failure and dropouts in
secondary schools.

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The study also revealed that the introduction of indigenous

languages as medium of instruction in secondary schools is a means
of improving educational quality by building on the knowledge and
experience of the learners and teachers.
The study also revealed that about 40% of the parents in
Lagos State still prefer the use of English language as medium of
instruction to indigenous languages aside from the benefits
inherent. Some parents agree that while indigenous languages’ use
as a medium of instruction in secondary schools has some benefits,
it should be limited to primary school level.
The findings equally revealed that the indigenous languages
are fit for all rung and levels of education in Lagos State as effective
means of instruction that is capable of eliminating pedagogical
difficulties in learning and thereby enhancing better understanding.
The findings also revealed that the disregard for the promotion
and use of the indigenous language in schools in Lagos State will
lead to monumental risks in cultures.

Conclusion
The findings highlighted that parents support the introduction of
indigenous languages as medium of instruction in secondary
schools in Lagos State. It is also evident from the analysis earlier
presented that parents feel that disregarding the place and use of
indigenous languages in secondary schools in Lagos State is an
avenue to perpetuate mental colonization and slavery, loss of
cultural identity and over dependency on English language.
However, the parents have their misgivings about the
introduction of indigenous languages.

Recommendations
The outcome of this study will enable the readers not only to
appreciate and identify the need for introduction and adoption of
indigenous languages as medium of instruction in senior secondary
schools in Lagos State, but will assist in the advocacy of indigenous
languages in secondary school curriculum in other states of the

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federation as done in Lagos State. Therefore, the following

recommendations are made:
1. It is hoped that through the findings of the study, the various
misconceptions on the issue of indigenous languages as
medium of instruction in secondary school level will be
corrected.
2. The government should provide necessary and adequate
information about the language policy in Lagos State
secondary school curriculum through the media for wider
readership. This will go a long way to change the parental
attitude towards the new language policy in the state.
3. Charity always begins at home, for this reason, parents must
be actively involved in the informal use of indigenous
languages at home for informal education and cultural
transmission.
4. Through teacher education, indigenous language teachers
should be well trained so that they will be in the best position
to convince the parents and other stakeholders in education
on effectiveness and benefits of indigenous languages as a
medium of instruction at secondary school level.

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