Lagos Notes and Records

Editorials

Folorunso ILỌRI — 2025-02-18

Editorial

I am delighted to announce the publication of Volume 30 (2024) of our esteemed journal, Lagos Notes and Records. The volume is a collection of eight (8) thought-provoking, insightful, and well-researched scholarly articles representing contemporary thoughts in various disciplines of the humanities with particular focus on History and Culture, Literature, Creative Arts, Language and Linguistics, and Religion. Each of the selected articles provides a unique perspective on pressing socio-cultural, historical, and economic issues, offering a wealth of knowledge to all and sundry.

Kokutai, Hataraku and Atarashi: Reflections on Culture, Innovation and Development in Japan

Ayọdeji Olukoju — 2025-02-16

Japan’s spectacular rise to pre-eminence in East Asia by the turn of the twentieth century has been analysed in the popular and scholarly literature. This essay, based on secondary sources and the author’s lived experience, highlights three critical elements ingrained in Japanese culture and society that underpinned Japan’s technological, economic and socio-political development in the aftermath of the Meiji Restoration of 1868. It provides a robust analysis of the many-layered fundamental concept of kokutai in different contexts, and demonstrates how a combination of patriotic devotion to the nation, a culture of hard work (hataraku), and a love for innovation (atarashi) drove the process leading to the country’s political, economic and social development. The paper also highlights the social cost of Japanese development, and lessons for Nigeria and other countries of the Global South.

The Mediterranean Sea as a Utopian and Dystopian Space in Tahar Ben Jelloun’s 'Partir'

Richard Ajah — 2025-02-16

The Mediterranean cultural productions have enormously increased in recent years, mediated through fiction and non-fiction, cinematography and documentaries, and many other artistic forms. Consequently, the Mediterranean Sea has been subjected to multifaceted critical views and multidisciplinary discourses. Though different studies have demonstrated the discursive potentials and possibilities of the Sea, the relationship of the Mediterranean with Utopia, Utopianism and migration has not been given much critical attention it deserves in literary studies. This study problematizes the ambivalent character of the Sea as a utopia and dystopian space because it presents illusions of reality as it projects the dreamed Spanish landscape to be far and near. It employs Ashcroft’s Postcolonial Utopianism to demonstrate how the Mediterranean generates a discourse of im/possibility premised on the transformative conceptions of future utopia through the agency of postcolonial memory in Tahar Ben Jelloun’s Partir. The novel illustrates the anxieties of journeys that are provoked through the proximity of Morocco to Spain. This study discovers that the daily multiple gazes of potential Moroccan travelers at the Sea demonstrate the relationship between memory and conceived future in the text. The gazes constitute the catalyzing processes of the perception, perfection, and production of the postcolonial hope that inspires the adventure into terra incognito. The amalgamation of individual hopes results in the collective congestion of boats that transforms the Mediterranean Sea from a “cape of good hope” to a “cemetery of drowned bodies”. The study concludes that Ben Jelloun’s text reflects the author’s artistic ideology and his portrayal of the Mediterranean Sea as a key figure in the scramble for Europe through the waterways since the presence of the Sea reinforces the dichotomy between Africa and Europe.

Immigrant Communities in Yorubaland: A Case Study of the Ebira Community in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria

John Daniel — 2025-02-16

The relations between host communities and migrants in Nigeria have received significant attention. Over decades, the nature of the relationship between host communities and migrants has been characterised by conflict and cooperation. However, as population movement remains one of the most intricate features of every human settlement, the need to examine migrants’ communities in their host environment cannot be underestimated. In Yorubaland, Ibadan is one of the major towns that received a large influx of migrants beginning in the aftermath of the Yoruba Civil War and during the colonial period. As a major colonial administrative centre, Ibadan was a major point of destination for migrants in colonial Nigeria. Hence, the article examines the Ebira community in Ibadan. It employs a historical research methodology that relies on primary sources gathered through oral interviews and secondary data gathered through existing written works on host-migrant relations in Nigeria. Findings show that the relations between the Ebira migrant community and the host community have been characterised by peaceful co-existence and inclusiveness, which allow the migrants to thrive and contribute their quota to the socio-economic and political development of Ibadan.

Representations of Female Agency, Oral Aesthetics and Afrocentric Consciousness in Selected Novels of Veronique Tadjo and Yvonne Vera

Abayomi Awelewa — 2025-02-16

This paper studies the intersection of African feminist ethics, cultural preservation, and transmission through the lens of oral literature, focusing on the literary works of Veronique Tadjo and Yvonne Vera. Drawing on a theoretical framework rooted in African feminist thought, the study seeks to explain the subtle ways these authors engage with and contribute to conserving cultural values and gender perspectives. The paper engages a combination of intersectionality and womanist theories to analyse Tadjo and Vera's fictions. These theories provide a holistic understanding of the complex interplay between gender, culture, and other social categories. By utilising these frameworks, the study seeks to unravel the layers of meaning embedded in the narratives, unveiling the authors' deliberate choices in portraying African women's experiences within their cultural contexts. Furthermore, the role of oral literature as a dynamic medium for cultural preservation and transmission is examined. The paper highlights Tadjo and Vera’s use of oral storytelling traditions to convey feminist messages and challenge prevailing norms. This exploration aims to underscore the importance of oral literature as a living archive, ensuring the continuity of cultural heritage while promoting feminist ideals. The paper's objectives include critically analysing selected works, identifying recurring themes related to African feminist ethics, and evaluating the effectiveness of oral literature in conveying these messages. By deploying a theoretical framework firmly rooted in African feminist thought, this study aspires to contribute to a deeper understanding of how literature, specifically oral traditions, can be a powerful tool for cultural preservation and feminist discourse in the African context.

Beyond Gendered Art Practice: Ten Contemporary Women Cloth-Weavers in the Sustainability of Aso-Oke in Oke-Ogun, Nigeria

Otonye Bille Ayodele — 2025-02-16

Several art and craft productions in Africa have been gendered culturally and vocationally. Woodcarving, Metal-Smithing, Bronze-Casting, Pottery, Stone-Carving and Cloth-Weaving are some examples where women are excluded, forbidden or restricted. Such gender roles in the production of arts and crafts have been distributed based on variables such as socio-cultural placement of the sexes, domestic roles, physical strength, industrial proximity, economic advantages and sacredness of the products. This paper focused on a popular cloth originating from the Yoruba ethnic group and presently used globally. Oke-Ogun in northern Yorubaland, in Oyo state, Nigeria, has been reputed as a major producer of woven cloth known as Òfì and also called Aso-Oke (meaning "cloth from Oke"). The importance and functions of the Aso-Oke to the Yoruba culture and as a utilitarian item has transcended centuries of developments, aesthetically, technologically and entrepreneurially; so also, the gendered roles in the production of the cloth. This paper investigated the ventures of contemporary women cloth weavers of Aso-Oke in Oke-Ogun and how their new roles have impacted and contributed to the sustenance and development of the art, restructuring of gender responsibilities, and women economic empowerment. The women were observed, interviewed, and documented across Oke-Ogun in Kisi, Eruwa, Saki, Iseyin, Igboho, Igbope, and Okeho. Ten of the outstanding women weavers purposively selected from Kisi and Igboho were featured with their various cloths visually examined and aesthetically analysed. Also, their enterprises were evaluated to assess the growth and development of the cloth globally. Conclusively, the paper established that due to the courageous incursions of women weavers, Aso-Oke cloth-weaving has been sustained and expanded in Oke-Ogun, both in its art form and functions, as a dignified entrepreneurship and a base for a new cloth-weaving culture.

A Multimodal Analysis of Pro-life and Pro-choice Campaigns on Selected Social Media Platforms

Kofoworola Ajibola Adedeji — 2025-02-16

The debate on abortion remains highly contentious, with pro-life and pro-choice campaigns utilizing diverse communication strategies to shape public opinion. However, existing studies often focus on verbal arguments, overlooking the interplay between linguistic and visual elements in these campaigns. This study examines the multimodal strategies employed in pro-life and pro-choice campaigns on selected social media platforms, analyzing how verbal and non-verbal resources interact to construct meaning and influence audiences. Using multimodal discourse analysis, the study explores the integration of text, images, and other semiotic resources in campaign materials. The analysis reveals that while both sides employ persuasive language and emotive visuals, pro-life campaigns frequently use religious and moral appeals, whereas pro-choice campaigns emphasize autonomy and rights-based discourse. Additionally, findings indicate that the strategic combination of linguistic and visual elements enhances audience engagement and ideological reinforcement. The study recommends that future research should further investigate the role of digital affordances in shaping multimodal persuasion.

The Agency of Women in Methodist Church Nigeria, 1962-2012

Opeyemi Wemimo Adedoyin — 2025-02-18

The participation of women in church polity has faced major contentions over the years resulting in the need for women to establish a niche within the church to fully express themselves. This study examines the agency of women in Methodist Church Nigeria, Ibadan district, from 1962-2012 with the aim of collectively turning around long years of limitations and establishing a consistent contributory role for women in the district, national, and global levels of the church. It employs phenomenological approach and utilizes interview and participant observation methods to elicit relevant information on the contributions of women in the Methodist church over the years. The paper establishes that women in Methodist Church Nigeria have been able to mobilise and utilise their collective strength through the Women’s Work Department for developmental and sustainable action. It recommends that women in Methodist Church Nigeria should leverage on their previous contributions to make better evaluation for future achievements.

Ritual Language: Soyinka’s Contributions to the Debate on Language Use in "Death and the King’s Horseman"

Bosede Funke Afolayan — 2025-02-16

There is an agelong debate on the issue of language in African literature. Many African countries were colonised by the West and they enforced their languages on the colonised. African writers are, however, divided over which language that best conveys their thoughts, culture and tradition. While Ngugi wa Thiong’o advocates the use of indigenous languages, in this case, Gikuyu and Swahili, Chinua Achebe promotes the use of the language of the colonialists in so far as it is used creatively to express the African worldview. This paper examines Wole Soyinka’s use of ritual language in Death and the King’s Horseman as a unique contribution to the controversy about the ideal language for African literary expression especially in drama. The paper is a theoretical analysis of the language debate in which Soyinka’s text is considered as an exemplification of Achebe’s position. Nonetheless, references will be made to instances of ritual language such as the use of chants, rites, incantations, drumming and dancing. Analysis of the play reveals that Soyinka’s usage is ritualistic yet dramatic but also couched in African imagery and anecdotes even as it is accessible to the world. The paper concludes that although Soyinka has been accused of difficulty, complexity and inaccessibility in his use of words (Jeyifo xviii) in many of his creative works, his use of language in Death and the King’s Horseman encapsulates creativity, an index of ritual language of African identity and culture.