Asserting the dominance of Igbo cultural motifs in Nollywood costumes: An analysis of select Nollywood films

It is taken for granted that Igbo cultural motifs are pivotal to the formation of Nollywood costumes. The researcher thus finds the examination of the evolution of Nollywood costumes an important subject that requires urgent attention. The aim of this examination is to assert the dominance of Igbo cultural motifs in Nollywood costumes. Qualitative research method was adopted for the research. Using ethnographic research approach, the researcher had sought the opinions of experts in traditional Igbo aesthetics and symbols. The study finds semiotic theory appropriate model for the costume analysis. Findings from this research reveal that Igbo dress culture was pivotal to the development of Nollywood costumes and has continued to play significant roles in costuming Nollywood characters. This research recommends that Nollywood costume designers should focus more on the communicative essence of costumes and their effectiveness in preserving culture. Costume designers should also be given ample time and budget to carry out an ethnographic research in order to employ motifs appropriately. The case studies used for the research were Ijele, My Rising Sun, Living in bondage and The Priestess. Keywords: Igbo cultural motifs, Costumes, Nollywood, Dominance, Dress culture, Prototype

Nigerian youths in a global world: Active music learning as a paradigm

The young people belong to the largest peer group in history. They live in a rapidly changing world faced with many pressures and challenges and are ill-equipped to tackle their problems. Education is the bedrock of development but in a global world, it is bisected with myriads of problems ranging from poor teaching approaches to paucity of quality teachers and polluted learning environment. The teachers’ approaches should be able to prepare learners for challenges of the 21st century. This qualitative study is an attempt to explore the interactive approaches to music education in this era of information technology. This study which is anchored on constructivism theory argues that learning is a process of making meaning and that young people in this global world can develop their existing knowledge and understanding in music education through active interactive approaches to achieve deeper levels of understanding. It concludes by recommending that music teachers at all levels should brace themselves with the life challenges of Nigerian youths to develop in the students, life skills, entrepreneurial thinking and workforce. Keywords: Globalization, Youths, Music education, Entrepreneurship and Active teaching and learning approaches.

Igala proverbs as correctional tools in the hands of traditional elders

Igala proverbs play a very important role in everyday language of the Igala people. The language has beautiful proverbs which cover all aspects of the people’s life and culture. These proverbs are drawn from careful observation of social events, the lives of people and animals. Also, some proverbs have traces of experiences of the people’s occupations such as farming, fishing, hunting, weaving, wrestling and dancing. The language has proverbs that talk above family and human relations, good and evil, poverty and riches, joy and sorrow. It is on this basis that this study examines how the elders/traditional leaders who are custodians of Igala cultural values use proverbs as a generalized code for establishing standards in ethical and moral values, enthroning respect for elders and constituted authorities and discouraging the youths from embracing social vices prevalent in our society. This study adopts Dan Sperber’s and Wilson’s (1986) relevance theory. Participant observation and interview were the means of data collection. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and analytical tools. The work uses the traditional contexts of Ogugu and Ankpa proverbs to present their epistemological significance in Igala kingdom. Keywords: Igala Proverbs, Correctional Tools, Traditional Elders, Relevance Theory, Traditional Institutions

John Locke’s concept of state: A panacea for the challenges of Nigeria democracy

Nigerian form and practice of democracy is very faulty, ranging from the foundation to the very level of the actual practice of democracy. Most political office holders in Nigeria arrive at the corridors of power through avenues devoid of generally accepted standard of democratic principle, it is in Nigeria that one gets to hear and see that power is actually taken and not given as is provided by the principles of democracy. John Locke in his political theory presented consent as the bedrock of democracy and went further to outline the aims of civil government. Consequently, any civil government that deviates from the provisions of the social contract theory, stands the risk of dissolution. From the foregoing, the reverse is the case in the Nigerian socio-political space. This work makes use of analytical method in philosophy to investigate the shortcomings in the characteristics of democracy being practiced in Nigeria, it would analyze John Locke’s concept of the state placing it in line with current trends in the Nigerian political scene. The researcher discovered that what is practiced in Nigeria falls short, far below standard of what is generally known and practiced worldwide as democracy which by implication is the “government of the people, by the people and for the people, viewing it through the lens and window of Lockean provision. Finally, this paper concludes that Nigeria politicians and office holders should eschew selfishness and pursue that which would contribute positively to the commonwealth. Democracy is people/masses oriented. Once a nation misses this target, the glory of that nation automatically starts corroding and subsequently fades away, and the result is seen in the gross suffering of the citizens. Keywords: Democracy, Politics, Nigeria, Power, Government.

Ozo title institution in Igbo land in relation to politics in Nigeria: A comparative analysis

Politics, they said is a dirty game. One tends to disagree with this assertion because man is a political being and everything man does is all about politics. It depends on the intention, and how each plays his or her own. Ozo title is one of the political institutions in Igbo land. It will be worthy to mention that the Ozo title meant in this paper is the primordial or original Ozo title in Igbo land and not the adulterated Ozo title today. It is one of the institutions that helps in governance, controls different sectors of the Igbo man’s life and equally checkmates the excesses in the land. This work tries to look at the politics in the Nigerian setting and that of the Igbo land as being championed by Ozo title men. It x-rays their day-to-day activities and compares them. The work equally will be able to evaluate the two. During the evaluation, it was discovered that politics is not dirty, it was also discovered that since the Ozo title men play this politics and play it very well, it now boils down on the makeup of the individual and the intentions of the people in it. It however suggests that the Nigerian leaders or politicians should look at the Ozo title institution and what it is for the Igbo man and borrow a leaf from them. The paper uses socio-cultural approach in the work. The paper finally warns that the Ozo title as used in this study is the primodial one and not the adulterated one. Thus, if the politicians in Nigerian today borrow from the Ozo title men in Igbo land, politics in Nigeria will be a better and an interesting one. Key words: Ozo title, Igbo land, Leadership, Politics, Nigeria

Women in leadership: Interrogating associated covert and overt Paranoia

The issue of gender and leadership, especially of women in leadership, has undoubtedly remained a crucial subject matter of discussion in contemporary politics and leadership not only in Africa, but globally too. Scholars have made several attempts to express their different shades of opinions regarding the issue based on their individual consciousness and understanding of the issue as the case may be. This has thus given rise to the prevailing scale of mixed feelings that always surround discussions about the issue; thus entrenching a strong feeling of paranoia about it. Through qualitative research approach, explored through observation and analytical literature review, and further anchored on the Functional Leadership Theory, the paper interrogates the covert and overt manifestations of the feeling of paranoia that often attend the issue of women in leadership generally. It makes a case for not only integrating women in leadership positions in every sphere of life in the society, but also in giving them a chance at the top where it really matters. Keywords: Gender, Leadership, Male Chauvinism, Paranoia, Patriarchy, Politics, Women

Leadership crisis in Nigeria: Theological study of John 10:11-15

The circumstance of every nation is determined by the quality and vision of her leaders. Since after independent, Nigeria has been so unfortunate not to have gotten competent, effective and purposeful leaders capable of turning her highly great natural potentials into real economic and political powers. Both leaders and the lead fail to identify the essential values that sustain various societies constituting the nation and infuse such values into the nation’s social system. This incompetence has led to leadership crisis and has now clogged on its wheel of striving for development. It is this bad leadership and perhaps the poor handling of many ethnic groups in the country that have triggered the conflict and anxiety that have trailed quest for national integration since after independence. This paper therefore, using the periscope John 10:11-15 which deals with the parable of the Good Shepherd, examines the leadership qualities of Jesus Christ and recommends it to Nigerian leaders. It further examines the text to ascertain its theological implications. The study traces two kinds of leadership operated in Nigeria (military and civilian) since after independence. While emphasizing the need for moral education and constant value re-orientation as the means to surmount the Nigeria’s leadership challenges, the study recommends among others, the urgent need for paradigm shift in our social system in order to restore value based Nigerian society that would directly translate to value based leadership. Keywords: Leadership, Crisis, Education, Value

Assessing Nigerian political leadership with a democratic paradigm

A sober reflection or speculation on African leadership portrays the practice of authentic democracy as a perennial problem in Nigeria and in African continent. Democratic/electoral process is where citizens choose representatives in government by means of free, fair, contested and regularly scheduled elections and where adults have the right to vote and their votes count. But Nigerian democracy lacks basic trust. It is really a universal problem but Africans and Nigerians in particular got larger portion as our democratic practice is very poor. The citizens should be the starting point and focus of democracy, but this is not the case in Nigeria as many political and elected elites represent their business interest. This democratic deficit or deficiency is seen in local, state and federal levels of Nigerian government and this leads gradually to a serious decline in citizen’s active participation or active citizenship. Using expository and analytic method of inquiry, we found out that Nigerians and Africans may have been drifting from this form of government due to some of its demerit. Again, Africa has been long known for its communitarian living/communalism which we found to have enormous similarities with democracy though the difference is clear. Corruption, bad leadership, lack of originality and the likes are the causes of lack of authentic democratic practice and leadership in Africa and in Nigeria. Finally, this study concludes that the dividends of authentic democracy will be fully evident and rooted in Nigeria and Africa only when we embrace democracy in full. Keywords: Political leadership, Democracy, Communalism

Monoculturalism in Nigeria: A study of a giant economy that lacks leadership, 1957-2019

Sustainable industrialisation has practically evaded Nigeria, the efforts towards that direction notwithstanding. There are obvious policies and programmes designed to encourage industrial-based economy in the country. Of course, if achieved, industrialisation would ensure diversification and the country could save itself from the stranglehold of economic monoculturism. Nonetheless, “oil money” appears to be a cog in the wheel of progress in that direction (in essence, the direction of economic diversification). Basically, a country would not be able to achieve industrialisation and economic diversification when the state craft is repeatedly piloted by leaders with monocultural mentality. A lot of literature may exist on the failures and inadequacies of Nigerian leaders as the cause of the country’s economic backwardness. Nonetheless, it appears that the searchlight has not been adequately beamed on the monocultural attitude and mentality of those who constitute the leaders over the years. As would be shown in this paper, the monocultural attitude of the leaders has a ripple effect on the economic milieu of the country. Considering this gap, this paper employs the eclectic method of analysis to examine the leadership factors which have been militating against economic policy implementation in a rather promising economy. The paper explicates the nature of Nigerian economy, showing its potentials and investigating on the factors impeding the identified potentials

Leadership flaws in 2 Samuel 11: lessons for African leaders

Flaws in leadership are as old as man but in contrast to Divine purpose for humanity. The good intention of the Creator was for human Beings to lead and enjoy all creatures on earth, but human deviation from Divine instruction flawed that leadership mandate and ushered suffering to human race. Similarly, the high rate of moral decadence, insecurity, insurgency, poverty, and political instability in Africa have recently gained global attention and shock, considering the wealth of human and natural resources endowed. Scholars had blamed African leaders for underdevelopment due to corruption whereas inadequate effort had been exacted on theological lessons from the Old Testament to salvage Africa from the menace. This paper employed a historical-critical method to examine the leadership flaws in 2 Samuel 11, and apply same to African context, with the aim of elucidating the causes and effects of leadership failures in governance. The paper discovered that leadership flaws are not spontaneous but evolve from untamed sporadic dispositions of inward indiscipline that manifest in form of lust, hypocrisy, conspiracy, assassination, promiscuity, hubris, cupidity and other social vices. The attitude of African leaders, in recent times, have hampered the democratic process in governance thereby giving room to ethnic divisions, imposition pattern of leadership selection process, inequitable resource control, economic backwardness and mediocrity in education amongst others. This paper therefore recommended self-discipline, fear of God, dialogue, equitable resource control, religious reproof, empathy, checks and balances for the minimization of leadership fallibilities and maximization of good governance in African Society. Keywords: Leadership, Flaws, Africa, Lessons