Kwasu Journal of Humanities

A Stylistic Analysis of Selected Episodes of the Nigerian Nollywood Movie, Jenifa’s Diary

Moshood Zakariyah, Ph.D — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Nigeria is rated as the country with the second highest number of home video production after India. This underscore the significant impact the movie industry is making on the socio-economic activities of the Nigerian people. The impact pervades all spectrum of social engagement, including but not limited to the way language is used. No wonder that some members of the society sometimes, fashion their linguistic habit in line with those of famous actors or actresses. Consequently, this paper examined the stylistic features that characterise the language use of selected major characters in the Nigerian Nollywood movie, Jenifa’s Diary. To achieve the aim, three episodes were chosen from the sixth season of the movie. The data were downloaded and transcribed into written form. A blend of scale and category grammar with aspects of stylistic features namely: syntactic and lexico-semantic features are deployed for analysis. The analysis of the data revealed that lexical features of repetition, acronymy, meronymy and collocate were employed by the characters in the movie to achieve emphasis, heighten the dramatic essence of the movie through humorous scenes, and create a mental picture of the movie in the mind of the audience. All these are in addition to using various sentence structures and types to reflect different social status and background of the selected characters. In conclusion, an examination of style and characterization of Janifer‘s diary has shown that the linguistic habit of movie characters is a conscious and deliberate effort towards the fulfilment of dramatic essence of their movies.

Contextual Beliefs in Online Political Cartoons on President Buhari

Oluwatomi Adeoti — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Cartoons, be it political or comic stripes, have been famed for addressing issues using multi-resources, given the spatial limitations. Cartoonists thus bear the crucial responsibility of effectively conveying their intended messages within the affordances of these constraints. Serving as a form of social commentary, cartoons skillfully tackle weighty societal issues in a subtle yet incisive manner, leaving no ambiguity regarding their targets and messages. This study delves into the pragmatic strategies employed by cartoonists to conceptualize and craft their cartoons, aiming to achieve their communicative objectives. For data, 20 cartoons focused on President Buhari and his handling of various political and economic matters were purposefully selected and analyzed. Drawing upon Odebunmi‘s Contextual Beliefs Theory and Kecskes's dynamic model of meaning, the analysis highlights the reliance of cartoonists on shared beliefs as a pragmatic resource in their creative process. The study also explores how the background knowledge of both cartoonists and readers, alongside societal conventions and shared assumptions, converge to ensure the communicative efficacy of this medium. The findings underscore the influence of socio-political and economic realities on the shared knowledge depicted in the cartoons. Moreover, the deliberate selection of certain lexical items is noted for its reliance on the communal common ground shared by both the subjects and viewers of the cartoons. In conclusion, contextual beliefs play a pivotal role in elucidating the communicative intentions of cartoonists and unpacking the nuanced meanings within cartoons, given their dynamic nature.

Minority Representation of the Nigeria Civil War: A New Historicist Reading of Elechi Amadi’s Sunset at Biafra and Saro-Wiwa’s Sozaboy

Saeedat Bolajoko Aliyu, Ph.D, Mrs. Roseline Oladipo — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Nigeria civil war has remained topical within literary scholarship as authors continue to centralize the historical phenomenon in their works in a bid to understand the socio-political dynamics in the country. A significant amount of critical scholarship on the war has also emerged, a natural response to the outpour of creative works. However, critical attention on the creative works on the civil war has been on the accounts of writers who dominated the discourse; writers who belonged to the seceding group, the Biafran section of the divide. The accounts of the war from the perspective of groups of people who were unwilling parts of the seceding Biafran divide has not enjoyed similar attention. The Niger-Delta minority ethnic groups within the larger Igbo ethnic grouping have not received commensurate attention. This has created a gap in the critical response to the depictions of the war experiences of the people from the Eastern region. This study, therefore, aims to investigate, from a New Historicist theoretical standpoint, the civil war experiences of the minority ethnic groups within the Eastern region during the Nigerian civil war. Using Elechi Amadi‘s Sunset in Biafra and Ken Saro-Wiwa‘s Sozaboy, the study revealed that while both the Igbo people and the other minority ethnic groups in the region suffered during the civil war, the sufferings of the minority ethnic group were intensified by lack of information, agency, and confusion regarding what their fate would be.

Mediating COVID-19 Discourse as Mechanism for Institutionalising Culture of Fear: A Review

Ahmed Tanimu Jibril, Yusuf Muhammad Jika — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The wave of fear and psychological anxiety triggered by the advent of the novel human coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Central China, in December 2019, is believed to have been intensified by the already existing ‗culture of fear and anxiety‘. This ‗culture of fear‘ is believed to have been deeply entrenched, most especially, within the Western societies, likewise in other communities around the world, long before the COVID-19 originated. This article reviews related literature on the negative effects of fear-mongering and proliferation of psychological anxiety resulted from the media‘s unfavourable coverage of the disease. It also highlights the way the seemingly overblown COVID-19‘s grand discourse provides a fertile soil for various media organisations, both the mainstream and the online platforms, to partake in spreading excessive anxiety as well as institutionalising the already deep-rooted culture of fear around the globe. The review is focused on select social contexts in Europe, Africa, and Asia. This critique revealed that the discursive construction of the pandemic by the media appears to have been unfavourable and somewhat scary to the public. In so doing, the discourse would be controlled, the masses would be inconceivably subdued by unnecessary fear and anxiety over the pandemic and, eventually, specific vested interests would be realised. With the entire attention of the global community paid to the emergence of the virus as well as the enormous resources invested in fighting its spread, despite its higher recovery rates and lower mortality rates, this review article recommends moderate, hope giving and more professional media coverage of possible emerging health crises in the future.

Historical Works of Al-Iluriy: An Evaluation

Olayimika Wasiu Kewulere — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

At the eve of Nigeria‘s independence, its historiography got branded with 3Rs; Reconstruction, Rebranding and Re-presentation. This auspicious development was orchestrated by emergence of indigenous historians as authorities at the history departments of Nigerian universities. The magnanimous efforts of K.O. Dike, Saburi Biobaku, J. C. Anene, and Yusuf Bala Usman to mention a few, presented later generations of historians with an indispensable historiography tagged ‗Nationalist historiography‘. Nationalist historiography is that which is embedded with presentation of historical facts in the perspectives of nationals. Nationalist historiography freed African past from the shackles of Eurocentric views on African history, and it holds its acknowledgements to the works of Muslim-Arab historians, the chief of who were Al-Mas‘udi, Al-Bakri, and Ibn Batuta among others. Some indigenous Arab writers of history were however in existence before the founders of the Ibadan School of history and its contemporaries. Some of them are Usman Dan Fodio, Abdullah bn Fodio, and Abubakar Ahmad Ikokoro, who in 1912 wrote Ta‘lif Akhbarul Qurun min Umarai Ilurin (History of the Emirs of llorin). It was in continuity of the efforts of these writers that Al-Iluriy published his historical works. Adopting analytical approach, this paper aims at reviewing the background to Al-Iluriy‘s history writing scholarship, his adopted approaches in the reconstruction of past, extent of accuracy and objectivity in those his works and quantification of their contributions to Arab and nationalist historiographies. This study concludes that the historical works of AlIluriy did not only contribute to nationalist historiography, but also redirected attention of their audiences to the raw sources of African history i.e., the records of Muslim-Arab historians.

Addressing Moral Decadence among Nigerian Youths through the Inspirational Biography of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

AbdulHameed Badmas Yusuf, Muhammad Aliu Gambari — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Youths are energetic members in any human society. They exude extraordinary potentials required for the growth and development of the society. However, there is a tendency for them to abuse these opportunities that come with their potentials. This is largely due to immoral acts they engage in such as alcoholism, drug abuse, cybercrime, etc. In the recent time, most Nigerian youths have been exposed to those immoral acts which have reduced them to an existential liability, as against being a potential asset, to the nation. The government has made several efforts at making the youth responsible members of the society in view of their potential qualities to be the leaders of tomorrow. However, all efforts seem to be in futility. Therefore, this paper seeks to explore the biography of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as a veritable tool to address moral decadence among the youths. The idea is to highlight some moral values which the Prophet (SAW) exhibited as a youth while growing up in Makkah where he was nick-named al-Amin (i.e., the trustworthy) even before his Prophethood. The paper is based on a biographical work written by Fethullah Gulen due to the moralistic approach employed by the author in documenting events in the life of the Prophet (SAW). To achieve this objective, historical and analytical methods are used. It concludes by recommending that biographers of the Prophet (SAW) should highlight moral qualities in his life to project him as a role model for the youths.

Yoruba Indigenous Religion and its Implications for the Restructuring of Nigeria

Isaac Kehinde Ojelabi, Fatai Sulaimon — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The attitude of the political class in Nigeria, often lacking basic religious, moral values and principles essential for democracy, have led to widespread calls for restructuring to ensure peace, unity, and integration. This paper identifies moral laxity as the primary challenge facing Nigeria and explores Yoruba indigenous religion as a foundation for restructuring in pursuit of national cohesion and growth. Utilizing descriptive and historical phenomenological methodology, the paper highlights how Nigerians have abandoned their cherished traditional norms and moral values in the quest for power and supremacy, leading to corruption. The paper concludes that restructuring, involving indigenous religion and culture, can address these persistent agitations. It is recommended that, despite ethnic and cultural differences, Nigerians should appreciate and uphold the moral values of indigenous religions, such as love, respect for human life and dignity, trust, transparency and accountability, equity, and social justice, to ensure peace, unity, and national solidarity.

VIEWS OF BN ‘ĀDIL ALDAMASHQĪ ON THE CREATION OF ADAM (AS) AND THE JINN

Husain Ahmad Ali Al-Sakit — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The stories of the creation of Prophet Adam and the prostration of the Angels and the Satan for him has generated a hot debate among the Muslim scholars, especially the exegists (almufassirūn). Ibn Ādil Aldamashqī is one of those scholars who actively participated in the debate through the examination of the Interrogative Terms that are related to the stories in the Holy Qur'an, to arrive at his own view. This paper aims at shedding light on issues related to the creation of Prophet Adam (AS), the prostration of the Angels for him and the allurement of the Satan for Adam and his wife. The author applied the Question and Answer method to address the divergent opinions of the Qur'an exegists, especially Alfakhr Al-rāzī and Alzamakhsharī. Ibn ‗Ādil Aldamashqī's book, Al-lubāb fī 'Ulūm Al-kitāb, was used as a case study

A LITERARY STUDY OF SOCIAL THEMES IN MAQĀMĀT AL-ILŌRĪ

Jamiu Muhammad Yunus — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Maqāmah is a prosimetric literary genre very popular in Arabic literature and well accepted among scholars of literature across the Islamic world. It is a genre alternating ryhmic prose (sajc ) and poetry as the narrative style in its presentation. The genre had been in deep and long hibernation until very recently, especially in Nigeria; the reason for its revival could be because maqāmah is a precursor to prosaic literary writing among Muslim scholars. The genre, among Arabs, used to be for demonstration of flowery ability to express literary contents; it is often short and ornamental but replete with moral themes. The genre is well embraced among Nigerian Muslim scholars of Yoruba extraction because it suites their folkloric heritage: the Yoruba culture of telling tales by moonlight to young children before dinner makes maqāmah very adaptive to their environment. The concern of this paper is to study the sociological themes in a collection of maqāmāt written by Muhammad Awwal bin Abdus-Salaam. Literature being a social document and prism through which society could be viewed in a very crystal manner; the study chose two maqāmahs for the purpose of discussing how the writer has succeeded in making his work a true reflection of his society. One of the maqāmahs discusses a national crisis that enveloped a state in the recent past where many lives were lost in Kaduna, with hoodlums hiding under religion to perpetuate the mayhem of catastrophic consequence. The other maqāmah has as its themes guidance and advice of Muslim scholars on how to get steady and sustainable means of income instead of hinging their survival on the society all in the name of being religion scholars. The paper concludes with a critique of literary styles of the writer to appraise its conformity with standard ways of writing maqāmahs.