Lagos Notes and Records

Editorials

2024-06-22T21:33:38+00:00

I am delighted to announce the publication of Volume 29 (2023) of our esteemed journal, Lagos Notes and Records. The volume contains nine (9) well-researched articles representing contemporary thoughts in various disciplines of the humanities with particular focus on African Studies, Literature, Creative Arts, Language, and Linguistics.

The first article by Akinmayowa Akin-Otiko, “Making a Case for Integrative Medicine in Yoruba and Western Health Care Paradigms” focuses on disease causation, diagnosis, and treatment found in Yoruba Traditional Medicine (YTM) as a framework for integrative healthcare in Africa. The paper argues for a complementary blend of African Traditional Medicine (ATM) and the Western model as integrative healthcare is aimed at providing a holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment of the mind, body, and spirit. It deploys the Yoruba principle of ‘Àgbájọwọ́ la fí n sọ àyà, àjèjé ọwọ́ kan kò gbé ẹrù dé orí’ (one hand is not good enough to lift a heavy load unto one’s head) to make a strong case for the integration of ATM and Western healthcare.

In the second article, “From Historical Fiction to Historiographic Metafiction: Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes as Deviant Literature,” Charles Tolulope Akinsete deploys Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction and Linda Hutcheon’s conception of historiographic metafiction in examining the controversy between history and literature. The paper treats The Book of Negroes as a subversive text predisposed to some postmodern stylistic techniques with its portrayal of obtrusive matters affecting the Black race in contemporary American society. It notes that Hill employs historiographic metafiction to reconceptualise the narrative of African American slave history thereby deconstructing a fixed categorisation of historical hermeneutics of African American slave narratives as limited to the issues of slavery, captivity, racism, oppression, and the like. The paper concludes that historiographic metafiction is substantiated as a counter-discourse against the lopsided criticism that deprecates black history and literary artistry as immaterial.

The third article by Razaq Kalilu and Timothy Ogunfuwa “Spatio-Environmental Conflicts and Artistic Resolution: Case of Three Nigerian Diaspora Artists,” discusses conflict theory by examining spatio-environmental conflicts and their impacts on artistic practices using three Nigerian diaspora painters - Dayo Laoye, Olu Oguibe, and Victor Ekpuk -, as examples. The paper presents morphological analyses of the pre-diaspora and diaspora works, and the spatio-environment of the selected artists with results indicating that intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts from the artists’ spatio-environment - work-space, communities and their socio-political-cultural tendencies, audience and critics, art materials and the artist’s resolution of these conflicts - always influence aspects of their art practices. It concludes that studying art from spatio-environmental dynamics broadens discourse on conflict resolution and aids the understanding of artists’ practice shifts, as they show -practice dynamics that can be linked to spatio-environmental conflicts.

Douglas Kaze in the fourth article, “Twinhood, Allegory and the Ambivalence of the Postcolonial Nation: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun”, interrogates Nigeria’s state of postcolonial nationhood through the depiction of key characters’ experience during the Nigerian Civil War. The paper discusses the interweaving of personal lives and national narrative in Adichie’s novel, arguing that the author’s use of twins and other forms of pairing allegorizes the complex temporalities of the modern postcolonial nation. Depending on Frederic Jameson’s conception of national allegory that “Third World” narrative fiction is inherently representative of the national, and Homi Bhabha’s idea of the ambivalence of the nation which proposes a narrative doubleness combining historicist and everyday temporalities of the nation as a means to understanding modern nationhood, Kaze positions Half of a Yellow Sun as a text that, in spite of its narration of a conflict between two opposing national forces, constructs a postcolonial African nation as a complexity that does not succumb to simple binary interpretation.

In the fifth article, “Yoruba Indigenous Advertising: A Preliminary Report”, Ọladiipọ Ajiboye and Bisoye Eleshin interrogate the Yoruba open market systems which do not use stalls, shops, or malls to carry out trading activities but operate at specific intervals of days at designated market squares where people converge for various forms of trading activities. They focus on the indigenous nature of advertising across Yorubaland in which diverse formats and strategies such as hawking, use of descriptive and deceptive expressions, beckoning, etc., are employed to entice potential buyers to purchase advertised goods. They present various types of goods/products and services that are advertised vis-à-vis the sociological and linguistic features of such products and demonstrates that there is a high degree of interdependence between sellers and buyers in Yoruba Indigenous Advertising where advertisers rely on their communicative competence and the dexterity of their language-use to attract buyers. The paper concludes that trade/goods advertising using the speech forms of the people is key to successful business transactions in Yorubaland.

The sixth article by Bosede Afolayan and Owoicho Odihi, “The Hero as Villain in Armed Resistance: A Comparative Study of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s The Trial of Dedan Kimathi and Ahmed Yerimah’s Hard Ground”, treats heroism as a Marxist concept in the evaluation of armed struggles by liberation movements. The paper examines the character of the heroes in the two plays against the backdrop of the Mau Mau war in Kenya and the Niger Delta insurgencies in Nigeria. Deploying a Marxist literary theory, the authors investigate the actions of the heroes and the motives that propel their revolts. Given that Dedan and Baba, the protagonists in the selected plays, are innately gentle, committed and caring leaders driven by the quest to liberate their people, they conclude that, rather than uncritically accepting ‘establishment’ or ‘official’ categorisation of leaders of insurgency/armed struggles as devilish, brutal and bloody ogres, a nuanced understanding of their social and political conditions which necessitated their actions must be thoroughly considered.

Azeez and Rafiu’s “Understanding the Effects of L1 Oracy Skill on Phonological Awareness among Yoruba Beginner Readers” is the seventh article. It pushes a deduction that understanding how oracy as a skill interacts with phonological awareness (described as the highest predictor of success in reading) gives useful pedagogical insight on reading in a bilingual context. Using the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis, the paper examines the effects of Yoruba oracy skills on Yoruba phonological awareness among beginner readers with the aim of having an empirical understanding of how oracy skills affect literacy development. The paper discovers that oracy in Yoruba enhances word awareness just as syllable, onset-rime, and phonemic awareness are dormant in Yoruba beginner readers prior to literacy instructions in the language. It recommends investigations of the influences of oracy on other metalinguistic abilities, e.g., morphological and syntactic awareness, in the language.

Kofoworola and Nwodo, in the eighth article “The Lucifer Effect in Kaine Agary's Yellow-Yellow”, explore a critical concept that utilises a novel’s genre as a means of illuminating issues of evil and situations in their examination of Agary's Yellow-Yellow. The paper dissects Agary’s portrayal of the relationship between evil, situations that engender it, and the systems that promote it within the selected context of human experiences. Using the Luciferian approach, the paper substantiates the claim that no one is above mistakes nor intentional in wrongdoing. It concludes by showing how invaluable situations and systemic powers can impact human experiences.

The ninth article by Carol Ohen and Florence Oghiator, “Language as a Tool for National Cohesion and Development in Nigeria”, argues that language is one of the main components in the formation of national identity and that Nigeria, being a multiethnic and multilingual nation, needs an effective policy on usage of language to help her remain united as a nation for the sake of her overall development. The paper examines the role that language plays in the socio-cultural, economic, educational, cultural and political life of a nation and submits that language is a necessary agent for peace, harmony, unity and progress. It recommends the teaching of English as a lingua franca to every Nigerian for better integration of Nigerian communities. The paper concludes that language is a major tool of cohesion and national development for Nigeria.

I sincerely thank and congratulate the Editorial Team and the Advisory Board for their effort and hard work in ensuring the delivery of this volume. I also congratulate the authors for the success of getting their papers published in our journal. I am hopeful that the academic community will find the articles therein interesting and impactful as we continue in the quest to expand the frontiers of knowledge in the humanities and allied disciplines.

Professor Akanbi Mudasiru Ilupeju

Dean, Faculty of Arts

Editor-in-Chief

Making a Case for Integrative Medicine in Yoruba and Western Health Care Paradigms

2024-06-02T17:01:45+00:00

The world is evolving and conservative positions are giving way to practical and existential ones. The Western healthcare paradigm has conservatively been the formally acceptable healthcare paradigm in Nigeria although WHO knows and supports African Traditional Medicine (ATM). Current healthcare needs to show the limitation in both methods, when isolated, in such a way that either cannot give holistic care every time a patient requires it. This paper focuses on disease causation, diagnosis and treatment found in Yoruba Traditional Medicine (YTM) as a framework for integrative healthcare in Africa. There is a need for a complementary blend between the ATM and the Western model. The blend is necessitated because of the limitation experienced when one excludes the other. The Western paradigm focuses on the empirical analysis of disease causation and treatment whereas YTM focuses on both the empirical and spiritual dimension of disease causation and treatment as recognized by WHO. This study calls for an integrative healthcare aimed at providing a holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment of the mind, body, and spirit. To achieve the purpose of this paper, the Yoruba principle of ‘Àgbájọ ọwọ́ la fí ń sọ àyà, àjèjé ọwọ́ kan kò gbé ẹrù dé orí’ (one hand is not good enough to lift a heavy load unto one’s head) will be used, with the objective of making a strong case for the integration of ATM and Western healthcare.

From Historical Fiction to Historiographic Metafiction: Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes as Deviant Literature

2024-06-02T17:01:46+00:00

Scholars have debated the classification of the African American literature as a plain historic text, which further stimulates the controversy between history and literature. It is on this presumption that this paper critically explored Lawrence Hills’ The Book of Negroes, more as a subversive text, which is constructively predisposed to certain postmodern stylistic techniques. While amplifying obtrusive matters that still affect the black race in contemporary American society, it is observed that Hill employs Historiographic Metafiction to creatively reconceptualise the narrative of African American slave history. By implication, the fictional mode in The Book of Negroes deconstructs a fixed categorisation of historical hermeneutics of African American slave narratives, as limited to the issues of slavery, captivity, racism, oppression, and so on. While using qualitative approach as methodology, Jacques Derrida’s Deconstruction served as theoretical framework, complemented by Linda Hutcheon’s conception of historiographic metafiction. As a stylistic import, this paper submits that historiographic metafiction is substantiated as a counter-discourse against the lopsided criticism that deprecates black history and literary artistry as immaterial. With reference to its literary originality, The Book of Negroes is therefore categorised as a deviant form of black writing in contemporary times.

Spatio-Environmental Conflicts and Artistic Resolution: Case of Three Nigerian Diaspora Artists

2024-06-22T21:36:09+00:00

Scholars such as Gombrich, Lim, Marshall and D'Adamo, Puppe et al., and Sullivan agree that art movements developed from contradicting theories and beliefs. But conflict and resolution in art have not been given directional and scholastic attention aside from our inroads into such possibilities. This study, hinged on conflict theory, examined spatio-environmental conflicts and their impacts on artistic practices using three Nigerian diaspora painters - Dayo Laoye, Olu Oguibe, and Victor Ekpuk - as examples. The painters were purposively selected from 29 artists presumably that no matter who is studied, all artists would show practice dynamics invariably linked to spatio-environmental conflicts. Morphological analyses of the pre-Diaspora and Diaspora works and the spatio-environment of the artists were conducted. Qualitative method was used for the exploratory and observational dimension to data analysis. Primary data were sourced from the three painters and their web domains while secondary data were further sourced on spatio-environment characteristics, conflict resolution, art and its practice. Results indicated that intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts from the artist’s spatio-environment: work-space; communities and their socio-political-cultural tendencies; audience and critics; and art materials and the artist’s resolution of these conflicts invariably influence and result in changes in and of certain aspects of their art practices. The paper concludes that, generally, studying art from spatio-environmental dynamics will broaden discourse on conflict resolution, and will, particularly, aid the understanding of artists’ practice shifts in the arts.

Twinhood, Allegory and the Ambivalence of the Postcolonial Nation: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun

2024-06-22T21:39:05+00:00

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ has been widely read as a historical novel interested in retelling a national story. In the novel, Adichie returns to the story of the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970. She interrogates Nigeria’s state of postcolonial nationhood through the experiences of twin sisters Olanna and Kainene and their family and friends, whose lives have been drastically transformed by the war. This article discusses the interweaving of these personal lives and the national narrative in the novel, arguing that the author’s use of twins and other forms of pairing allegorizes the complex temporalities of the modern postcolonial nation. To conduct this discussion, the article draws theoretically on Frederic Jameson’s conception of national allegory, a view that places “Third World” narrative fiction as inherently representative of the national, and Homi Bhabha’s idea of the ambivalence of the nation, which proposes a narrative doubleness that combines historicist and everyday temporalities of the nation as a means to understanding modern nationhood. Engaging ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ from this perspective, the article positions the text as a novel that, despite narrating a conflict between two opposing national forces, constructs the postcolonial African nation as a complexity that defies binaristic reading.

Yoruba Indigenous Advertising: A Preliminary Report

2024-06-02T17:01:47+00:00

Traditionally, the Yoruba do not use stalls, shops, or malls for carrying out buying and selling activities. Instead, they operate open market systems that come up at specific intervals of days when people converge at a designated place, usually a market square, where all forms of trading activities take place. There is also street hawking where individual traders go about with their wares and advertise them for patronage. However, this Yoruba indigenous advertising and marketing has not been thoroughly studied. Very few research works on indigenous advertising are found only in a few literary texts. Over the years, indigenous dynamics of market transactions between sellers and buyers have been eroded by new advertising strategies, and this has continued to throw the traditional method into oblivion, which has created a gap in the indigenous knowledge production. On the foreign scene, many scholars have largely explained the relationship that exists between language and advertising, especially in the Western world. This paper, therefore, focuses on the indigenous nature of advertising across Yorubaland[1] where diverse traditional formats and strategies are utilized to entice potential buyers to purchase advertised goods. These advertising dynamics are carefully presented in ways that easily appeal to buyers. The study presents different types of goods/products and services that are advertised vis-à-vis the sociological and linguistic features of such advertised products. The classification of the advertising mechanisms is based on the various (descriptive, beckoning, deceptive, etc.) ways through which goods and services are advertised. Data collection points were divided into seven Yoruba zones based on their proximity and dialect delineation using Mixed Research Methodology. Interviews and observations were also carried out to obtain data for the analysis. The paper demonstrates that there is a high degree of interdependence between sellers and buyers in Yoruba indigenous advertising as advertisers rely on their language-use dexterity and communicative competence to attract buyers. Findings also show that trade advertising using the speech form of a language of the people is key to successful business transactions.

The Hero as Villain in Armed Resistance: A Comparative Study of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s "The Trial of Dedan Kimathi" and Ahmed Yerimah’s "Hard Ground"

2024-06-02T17:01:48+00:00

An armed situation like a liberation movement is a trying time for the people. It is a time when events are unsettled and lives are at risk. In such situations, there emerges central figures who become the rallying points for oppressed people searching for change. Such a central figure is seen as hero by one side and as villain on the other. Such are the situations graphically dramatized in Ngugi’s “The Trial of Dedan Kimathi” and Yerima’s “Hard Ground”. Against this background, this paper examines the character of the heroes of the two plays against the backdrop of the Mau Mau and the Niger Delta insurgencies in Kenya and in Nigeria, respectively. It seeks to investigate the heroes’ actions and motives in carrying out their revolts. In what dramatic tropes have the playwrights represented them in the plays? In what ways do they achieve heroic stature? Working within the Marxist literary theory, we apply such concepts as oppression, ideological underpinning and exploitation to the actions and events of the plays. A close reading of the texts and a rigorous critical interpretation of the character of the heroes reveal that “one man’s freedom fighter is, indeed another’s terrorist.” The paper concludes that, rather than uncritically accepting ‘establishment’ or ‘official’ categorisation of leaders of insurgency/ armed struggles as devilish, brutal and bloody ogres, a nuanced understanding of their social and political conditions that necessitated their actions must be considered. Thus, Dedan and Baba (protagonists in these plays) are innately gentle, committed and caring leaders that are driven by the quest to liberate their people.

Understanding the Effects of L1 Oracy Skill on Phonological Awareness among Yoruba Beginner Readers

2024-06-02T17:01:48+00:00

One of the major baggage that beginner readers in second language take into literacy lessons is oracy in the first language. Using the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis, this paper aims at examining the effects of Yoruba oracy skills on Yoruba phonological awareness among beginner readers in order to have an empirical understanding of how oracy skills affect literacy development. The study conducted Yoruba phonological awareness test for 147 Basic One pupils using the adapted form of Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board’s phonological assessment tool. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings show that oracy in Yoruba enhances word awareness in the language while syllable, onset-rime and phonemic awareness are dormant in Yoruba beginner readers prior to literacy instructions in the language. The study recommends investigating influences of oracy on other metalinguistic abilities like morphological and syntactic awareness.

The Lucifer Effect in Kaine Agary's "Yellow-Yellow"

2024-06-02T17:01:48+00:00

This paper explores Kaine Agary's “Yellow-Yellow” through the prism of a Luciferian analysis that utilises the novel genre as a means of illuminating the issues of evil, situations and the system. It excavates the author's portrayal of the relationship that exists between evil, situations that engender it and the systems that promote it to explore human experiences in its selected contexts. The work validates the appropriateness of a Luciferian analysis as a tool for unearthing certain stereotypes in the selected novel. In the process, it expands the understanding of a common humanity and enables a transcendence over gender, religious, ethnic and socioeconomic prejudices. It analyses Agary's portrayal of evil and establishes her recognition of the influences of situations and the system on the execution of vicious actions. In addition, it substantiates the claim that no one is above mistakes nor intentional wrongdoing as long as there is sufficient motivation through its excavation of examples from the selected text. Finally, this study argues that, in reverse, given favourable situations and a supportive system, everyone is also capable of doing good. This insight provided by this research about how invaluable situations and systemic powers are to human experiences is meant to sprout interest in further criticism aimed at a better understanding of how good people turn evil.

Language as a Tool for National Cohesion and Development in Nigeria

2024-06-02T17:01:48+00:00

Language is an important part of nationality given that it is one of the main components of national identity. Being multi-ethnic and multilingual, Nigeria needs to be effective in her use of language to help her remain united and develop as a nation. This paper looks at the role that language plays in socio-cultural life, education, and politics of Nigeria. It employs library information with focus on the use of language as a tool for national cohesion and development in Nigeria. The article posits that language can be more instrumental to Nigeria’s development economically, politically, socially and culturally, with the people remaining united in diversity. It shows that governance, socio-cultural interactions, and education cannot be successfully achieved in a given nation outside language. It is thus a necessary agent for peace, harmony, unity and progress in every nation. The paper recommends English as a lingua franca that should be taught to every Nigerian for better integration within the system. It concludes that language is a major tool if cohesion and national development are to be achieved in the nation.