The Abuja Journal of Humanities (AJH), a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal published by the Faculty of Arts, University of Abuja, invites scholars, researchers, and academics to submit original and well-researched papers for publication in its forthcoming volume. The journal serves as a forum for the presentation and discussion of issues of broad humanistic relevance, with particular interest in studies that contextualise research within culture, society, and the African experience. Scope of Submission We welcome submissions from diverse fields within the humanities, and articles should engage with contemporary debates, theoretical advancements, and practical implications within these fields. Comparative and interdisciplinary works that offer fresh insights into global or African humanistic discourses are particularly encouraged. Submission Guidelines Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere. Submissions should not exceed 8,000 words, including references. A structured abstract of 300 words should precede the main text. Manuscripts should be typed in Book Antiqua, 11-point font, double-spaced, and formatted in A4 size. References should adhere to the APA or MLA style. A separate page should include the author’s full name (surname underlined), institutional affiliation, contact details (email and phone number), and a brief bio-data.
Creation or Content Pollution? Algorithm, Virality and Value in Nigerian Skit Production
The rapid expansion of social media platforms has transformed cultural production across the globe, with Nigeria emerging as a vibrant hub of digital creativity. Among the most visible forms of this cultural output are comedic skits, which circulate widely on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. This essay investigates the ways in which platform algorithms shape the visibility, value, and perceived quality of Nigerian skit production. Drawing on media ecology and attention economy as theoretical frameworks, the essay interrogates how algorithmic systems privilege certain forms of content and incentivise creators toward an “anything-for-views” culture. While skits provide accessible avenues for expression and economic participation, their algorithmic circulation often rewards sensationalism, repetition, and superficiality over creative depth. The essay employs a platform algorithm study—an interpretive examination of engagement metrics, recommendation logics, and content patterns—to critically analyse the tension between virality and value. Findings suggest that Nigerian skit culture is simultaneously a site of creative experimentation and of content pollution, where quantity often overshadows quality. By situating Nigerian skits within global debates on platform capitalism, digital labour, and cultural value, the essay contributes to understanding how African media ecologies are entangled with global digital infrastructures. It argues that while algorithms offer visibility, they also reshape cultural horizons, raising urgent questions about sustainability, authenticity, and the future of digital creativity in Nigeria.
Algorithmic Culture, Attention Economy, Nigerian Skit Production, Content Pollution
Copyright (c) 2025 Isaiah U. Ilo, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Prayer, Thanksgiving, and Peace: A Theological and Psychological Exploration of Philippians 4:6–7 in Contemporary Mental Health Contexts
This study undertakes a theological and psychological analysis of Philippians 4:6–7, exploring its applications for addressing mental health challenges such as anxiety, stress, and depression. Situated within the historical and literary context of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, the research highlights the passage's enduring relevance across culturally diverse societies, with particular focus on Nigeria’s socio-religious environment. The study argues that prayer, thanksgiving, and divine peace provide not only spiritual counsel but also a holistic framework that aligns with contemporary psychological insights. These principles correspond with evidence-based interventions such as mindfulness, gratitude-centred therapy, and resilience-building practices, while also offering a transcendent dimension grounded in faith. In addition, the study emphasizes the role of cultural and social factors in shaping mental health outcomes, drawing on global and African research that underscores the need for contextualized interventions (Patel et al., 2018; World Health Organization [WHO], 2022). By proposing integrative strategies that combine biblical wisdom with modern clinical practices, this paper contributes to interdisciplinary dialogue between theology, psychology, and public health. Ultimately, the findings affirm that Philippians 4:6–7 retains both spiritual depth and therapeutic relevance, providing a valuable resource for individuals, religious leaders, mental health practitioners, and policymakers seeking holistic and culturally sensitive approaches to mental health care.
Copyright (c) 2025 Blessing Uenosen Okoh, Ph.D (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Description of Syntactic Transformations in Yàgbà
This paper examines the syntactic transformations of Yàgbà, a north-eastern Yoruba dialect spoken in Kogi State, Nigeria, with the aim of uncovering how derivational processes sustain grammatical relations and contribute to discourse organisation. Drawing on a corpus of naturally occurring speech, complemented by targeted elicitation, the analysis identifies five transformation types—verb movement, pronominalisation, WH-fronting, topicalization, and clefting—as central to the dialect’s grammar. Three significant insights emerge from the findings. First, Yàgbà consistently employs verb movement in object-demoting constructions, especially within focus structures where the particle rí/rín marks discourse prominence. Second, left-dislocation in Yàgbà strongly requires resumptive pronouns, in contrast to Standard Yoruba where optionality is more common. Third, WH-fronting in Yàgbà often co-occurs with resumptives, underscoring a discourse-sensitive strategy not uniformly observed across Yoruboid varieties. These findings demonstrate that Yàgbà structures foreground a delicate interplay between syntax and discourse, while simultaneously highlighting typological micro-variation within the Yoruba continuum. Beyond its descriptive value, this work adds to the comparative study of Niger-Congo languages, providing evidence for how transformation processes adapt to local discourse ecologies. Ultimately, the paper contributes both to the documentation of an under-described dialect and to theoretical debates within transformational grammar, information structure, and cross-dialectal typology.
Yàgbà Syntax, Syntactic Transformations, Resumptive Pronouns, Focus Constructions
Copyright (c) 2025 Jacob Yakubu Umaru, Oluseye Olusegun Adegboye (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Biblical Females as Role Models for the Emancipation of Women from Cultural Barriers for Resourceful Participation in Political Governance in Nigeria
Globally, women have long been at the forefront of political movements and leadership initiatives due to both their numerical strength and their unique dispositions toward community welfare. Despite this enduring involvement, they continue to face multifaceted marginalization arising from entrenched religious, cultural, biological, and cognitive stereotypes. Nigerian society, in particular, is significantly shaped by cultural practices and patriarchal structures that have historically resisted women’s liberation and empowerment. Women, who constitute nearly half of the population, contribute indispensably as caregivers, economic producers, community leaders, and political activists, yet they remain constrained by systemic barriers that exclude them from governance. This study contends that a feminist re-reading of the Bible—drawing from feminist hermeneutics, African womanism, postcolonial feminism, and womanist theology—uncovers vital accounts of women who exercised leadership, often against the grain of patriarchal restrictions. Female biblical figures such as Deborah, Esther, Priscilla, and the daughters of Zelophehad serve as compelling exemplars who transcended cultural boundaries to influence governance and society. However, their significance has often been diminished or obscured due to androcentric interpretations of scripture. Adopting a historical-descriptive methodology, supported by textual and contextual analysis, this paper investigates cultural impediments to Nigerian women’s political engagement—such as early girl-child marriage, denial of inheritance, lack of education, and limited economic resources—while highlighting biblical precedents of female leadership. The study ultimately proposes practical recommendations, including curriculum reform to integrate feminist theology, policy frameworks that promote gender equity, and empowerment initiatives that equip women for governance. By drawing parallels between biblical heroines and contemporary Nigerian women, the paper advances the argument that overcoming cultural barriers is both possible and essential for inclusive national development.
Biblical Women, Feminist Theology, Political Governance, Gender Equality
Copyright (c) 2025 Mary Ifechukwude Egwuanikwu, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Writing Solo Plays in Nigerian Theatre: Using Sotimirin’s Molue, Mbajiorgu’s The Prime Minister’s Son, and Binebai’s Karina’s Cross as Paradigms
In Nigerian libraries and bookshops, one can readily encounter contemporary plays by celebrated playwrights, yet the scarcity of solo plays—especially those written by notable solo dramatists—underscores a profound neglect of this subgenre. This paper therefore examines the craft of writing solo plays through the paradigmatic works of Tunji Sotimirin’s Molue, Greg Mbajiorgu’s The Prime Minister’s Son, and Benedict Binebai’s Karina’s Cross. Its objective is to explore the aesthetic and dramaturgical elements of solo playwriting and to encourage more Nigerian playwrights to embrace the form. Adopting a qualitative content analysis framework, the paper also employs avant-gardism and the “Less is More” principle as interpretive lenses for understanding the structure and performance of monodrama. Findings reveal that solo playwriting shares foundational principles with conventional dramaturgy, even though it requires heightened creativity in characterization, dialogue, and performance. Moreover, the research highlights that greater visibility and publication of solo plays would expand scholarly access and promote their teaching and practice in Nigerian universities. Consequently, this study argues that the institutionalization of solo performance as a compulsory course—integrating both writing and performance—will not only enrich Nigerian theatre pedagogy but also preserve an important, though overlooked, dimension of African performance heritage.
Solo Playwriting, Nigerian Theatre, Monodrama, Avant-Gardism
Copyright (c) 2025 Awaritoma Agoma, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ethics of Translation and Interpretation: Thoughts on a Nigerian Case
In an increasingly globalised and multilingual world, translation and interpretation are essential mediatory tools for fostering communication across cultural and legal systems. Yet, these practices cannot thrive without being underpinned by ethical standards that guide conduct, quality, and responsibility. This paper explores the necessity of ethical principles in the professional practice of translation and interpretation, particularly within the context of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria. We contend that ethical behaviour is not merely a theoretical requirement but a functional necessity in international legal settings, where linguistic misrepresentation or breaches of confidentiality can carry severe institutional consequences. Drawing on a Nigerian case from the ECOWAS Court between 2004 and 2024, this study assesses the ethical codes implicitly and explicitly upheld by the Language Services Division of the Court. Methodologically, we adopt a combination of textual analysis and Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN), foregrounding both institutional documentation and professional reflections, while strictly observing boundaries around confidentiality and internal ethics. Our findings suggest that while translation ethics shares core principles globally, the Nigerian legal-linguistic context demands heightened sensitivity to cultural integration, institutional loyalty, and collaborative norms. Additionally, we argue that the evolution of ethical standards in translation is both historical and context-driven, shaped by colonial legacies, linguistic diversity, and the increasing relevance of technology in multilingual courts. In conclusion, we affirm that the sustainability of translation and interpretation in international institutions such as the ECOWAS Court rests on an evolving ethical culture. As such, we advocate for continual professional development, recognition of ethical excellence, and stronger alignment with international translation standards.
Translation ethics, interpretation, ECOWAS, Nigeria, confidentiality, international law, multilingualism.
Copyright (c) 2025 Gold Iwala , Khadijah Ashiru-Abdulrahman (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Pragmatic Functions in the 58th Independence Anniversary Broadcast of President Muhammadu Buhari
Political discourse has long been recognized as a powerful tool for shaping public opinion, consolidating authority, and articulating national identity. While numerous studies have examined political speeches from rhetorical and stylistic perspectives, relatively few have focused on the pragmatic functions of Nigerian presidential independence broadcasts. This study addresses that gap by investigating the pragmatic functions embedded in President Muhammadu Buhari’s 58th Independence Anniversary broadcast of October 1, 2018, with a particular focus on the enactment of commitment acts. Data for the study were obtained from a publicly available transcript of the speech, which was downloaded and carefully cross-verified for accuracy. The analysis was guided by Pragmatic Act Theory, a framework that emphasizes the situated and interactional nature of communicative action. A qualitative approach was employed, in which pragmatic acts were identified, coded, and interpreted alongside their corresponding allopracts and linguistic markers. Findings revealed four major categories of commitment acts. These include unity, realized through reflecting and appreciating; peace and security, instantiated by informing, eulogizing, and assuring; prosperity, marked by informing and assuring; and general matters, such as election integrity and foreign affairs, indexed through assuring and informing. Each act was reinforced by specific linguistic forms—such as pronouns, verb groups, and evaluative lexical items—that functioned as pragmatic resources for projecting authority, building trust, and legitimizing governance. The study concludes that Buhari’s 58th Independence broadcast illustrates how presidential discourse in Nigeria operates as situated pragmatic action. By highlighting the functions of commitment acts, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of political communication in Africa and demonstrates the analytical utility of Pragmatic Act Theory.
Pragmatic Function, Commitment Acts, Muhammadu Buhari, Allopracts, Political Discourse
Copyright (c) 2025 Toyin Ogundele, PhD , Abiola Jamiu Tiamiyu, PhD , Fatai Dare, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
One-Clause Sentence as a Style Marker in the Poetry of Ebi Yeibo
This paper investigates the stylistic use of one-clause sentences in the poetry of Ebi Yeibo, with a particular focus on how such seemingly simple structures convey complex socio-political realities of the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole. The study is motivated by the recognition that African poets often turn to pared-down linguistic forms not only for aesthetic effect but also to capture the immediacy of lived experience in societies troubled by poverty, corruption, and unstable governance. Yeibo’s one-clause sentences, though grammatically elementary, often resonate with layered meanings that point to a fractured national identity and the burdens borne by marginalized communities. The research adopts a descriptive and interpretive approach. Twenty poems were purposively selected from two of Yeibo’s collections—Shadows of the Setting Sun and A Song for Tomorrow. Within these texts, twenty one-clause sentences were identified and subjected to analysis using insights from Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar. The framework allows for the exploration of sentence constituents—Subject, Predicator, Complement, and Adjunct—and how their deployment builds not only syntactic clarity but also semantic weight. By examining patterns such as //S/P/C//, //S/P/A//, and //S/P/C/A//, the study highlights the poet’s deliberate recourse to brevity as a stylistic marker that mirrors political fragmentation and human suffering. Findings reveal that Yeibo’s one-clause sentences are more than linguistic minimalism; they operate as rhetorical tools that dramatize neglect, betrayal, and resistance. Their economy of expression underscores clarity, urgency, and accessibility, while simultaneously foregrounding the tragic contradictions of Nigeria’s democracy. The paper concludes that Yeibo’s poetic strategy offers a subtle but powerful critique of governance and national development, demonstrating how stylistic choices can become instruments of social commentary.
Stylistics, one-clause sentence, Nigerian poetry, Ebi Yeibo, Niger Delta.
Copyright (c) 2025 Confidence Aihebholoria (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Environmental Despoliation and Women’s Strategies of Resistance in May Ifeoma Nwoye’s Oil Cemetery: An Ecofeminist Perspective
The natural environment sustains life, yet its continual despoliation through oil exploitation has generated devastating consequences for communities in the Niger Delta. The destruction of farmlands, rivers, and forests has not only disrupted the ecological balance but also pushed the people into cycles of poverty, unemployment, sickness, and insecurity. While much scholarly attention has been given to the ecological disaster and its political-economic underpinnings, less focus has been directed at how women, who bear a disproportionate share of the burden, have actively resisted the violation of their land and heritage. This study interrogates May Ifeoma Nwoye’s Oil Cemetery from an ecofeminist perspective, highlighting the centrality of women’s resistance strategies in the struggle for environmental justice. The novel provides a vivid fictional reconstruction of the lived realities of the Niger Delta, where the feminine body and the ecological body are simultaneously exploited yet equally become sites of protest and renewal. Through close textual analysis, the study explores how female characters, particularly Rita and her allies, mobilise both traditional and modern strategies of protest, including litigation and nude demonstrations, to challenge the excesses of multinational oil corporations and the complacency of patriarchal leadership structures. It also demonstrates that while male-led resistance often collapses under the weight of corruption, greed, and violence, women’s collective strategies foster solidarity and generate meaningful concessions from oppressive systems. By drawing attention to the symbolic and practical power of women’s agency, the paper argues that environmental protest in the Niger Delta would yield more sustainable outcomes when women’s voices and actions are foregrounded. The study concludes that ecofeminism offers a compelling lens for appreciating both the literary representation of women in Nwoye’s work and the broader struggles of Niger Delta women whose resistance embodies the demand for justice, dignity, and ecological renewal.
Ecocriticism; Ecofeminism; Niger Delta Literature; Women and the Environment; Environmental Justice; May Ifeoma Nwoye
Copyright (c) 2025 Nkechinyere Chukwu, PhD , Felixstowe E. Gbenoba, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Discourse of Deception: Narratives on Ponzi Schemes from Literature and Participants
Ponzi schemes have proliferated in Nigeria in recent decades, blending promises of quick financial gain with elaborate social recruitment strategies. This study examines the BOK Ponzi scheme, which operated in 2024 under the guise of an online reading and reward platform, using Labov’s Narrative Analysis to examine how participants construct and interpret their experiences. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with two individuals directly involved in the scheme—one as, an intermediary and one as an investor—supplemented by secondary literature on Ponzi operations and discourse. The analysis condenses participants’ accounts into Labov’s six narrative components—Abstract, Orientation, Complication, Evaluation, Resolution, and Coda—revealing how stories were structured to convey legitimacy, rationalise participation, and explain the eventual collapse. Findings show that economic hardship, trust in personal networks, and persuasive branding (including claims of global corporate partnerships) were central to recruitment and sustained engagement. The scheme’s integration of daily reading tasks and “K-level” reward systems blurred the line between fraudulent investment and legitimate gig work, increasing its appeal. When withdrawals were delayed due to purported “system upgrades,” participants reassured others, reinforcing a collective sense of security until a final top-up request preceded the sudden collapse in December 2024. The crash left participants with significant financial losses, emotional distress, and, in some cases, debt burdens. This research contributes to African discourse studies by illustrating how narrative structures shape the public understanding of financial fraud, and to fraud prevention by highlighting the role of social trust and digital technology in sustaining Ponzi operations. It recommends that financial literacy and anti-fraud interventions address not only economic, risk factors but also the cultural and narrative frames that normalise high-risk schemes.
Ponzi Scheme, Labov, Investment Fraud, Narrative Analysis
Copyright (c) 2025 Rachel Zainab Afegbua, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Voices and Verbal Jousting: An Exploration of Communication Strategies in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel
This paper undertakes a pragmatic analysis of Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel, foregrounding how speech functions as a tool of power, resistance, and identity construction in a postcolonial African context. Drawing on J. R. Searle’s Speech Act Theory and H. P. Grice’s Cooperative Principles, the study explores how the play’s central characters—Baroka, Lakunle, Sidi, and Sadiku—employ language not only to communicate but to perform actions, manipulate others, and assert or contest cultural norms. The analysis categorizes representative, directive, commissive, declarative, and expressive speech acts in the text and examines how strategic violations of conversational maxims produce implicature, irony, and miscommunication. Through close reading and theoretical application, the paper demonstrates that characters use speech to navigate the ideological tensions between tradition and modernity, orality and Western literacy, patriarchy and emerging female agency. 0 The study argues that the power of Soyinka’s drama lies not merely in its themes but in its linguistic form, where utterances carry illocutionary force and performative effect. By contextualizing speech within Yoruba communicative norms and sociocultural structures, the research moves beyond thematic critique to reveal how language mediates authority, seduction, resistance, and transformation. Ultimately, this paper contributes to African literary criticism by positioning pragmatics as a vital lens for understanding dramatic discourse, and highlights how in Soyinka’s work, language is not passive reflection but active engagement with cultural and ideological change.
Pragmatics in African Drama, Speech Act Theory, Gricean Maxims, Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel
Copyright (c) 2025 Godday Eronmonsele Ehimen , Esther Korakpe (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ethno-Religious Conflict in Zangon-Kataf, Kaduna State: Rethinking Government Response for Sustainable Peace
Nigeria’s political history has been shaped by the persistent interplay of ethnic and religious identities, which often overlap and fuel recurrent crises. Zangon-Kataf in Kaduna State offers a striking case, where disputes over land, markets, and political recognition have repeatedly escalated into violent clashes between Atyap (Christian) and Hausa (Muslim) communities. This paper examines government responses to these conflicts—particularly the 1992 crisis and subsequent outbreaks in 2000 and 2011—through the twin lenses of Conflict Transformation Theory and State Legitimacy Theory. Adopting a historical-analytical case study approach, the study draws on commissions of inquiry reports, newspaper archives, government documents, and peer-reviewed scholarship to assess both the logic and outcomes of state interventions. Findings reveal that government strategies, ranging from tribunals to curfews, relied heavily on regulatory containment rather than structural transformation. While these measures temporarily restored order, they failed to resolve deeper grievances of exclusion, marginalization, and recognition. The opacity of commission reports and perceived bias of tribunals further eroded state legitimacy, reinforcing cycles of mistrust and recurrence of violence. The paper argues that sustainable peace in Southern Kaduna requires a paradigm shift from reactive regulation toward proactive transformation. This includes institutionalizing inclusive governance, ensuring transparent and participatory justice mechanisms, empowering multi-level actors in peacebuilding, and addressing socioeconomic inequalities. By doing so, the Nigerian state can move beyond coercive management to a legitimacy-based peace that affirms diversity while promoting national unity.
Ethno-religious conflict; Zangon-Kataf; conflict transformation; state legitimacy
Copyright (c) 2025 Ibrahim Jimba Shuaibu, Shehu Hammad Tijani (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
West African Nationalism and Regional Integration:The Role of Pre-Colonial Cooperation in the Formation of ECOWAS
This article reinterprets the historical and ideological roots of West African regional integration, arguing that the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) cannot be reduced to colonial institutions or European mimicry. Instead, it demonstrates that deep traditions of communalism, trade, and political cooperation in precolonial West Africa, later preserved and rearticulated by Pan-Africanism, Negritude, and nationalist movements, provided the conceptual and cultural foundations for ECOWAS. By weaving together archival sources, memoirs, colonial records, and postcolonial African writings, the study highlights both the disruptions wrought by the slave trade and colonialism and the resilience of indigenous frameworks of cooperation. While existing scholarship often traces West African integration to colonial infrastructure—railways, currency boards, administrative councils—this article shows that these were instruments of exploitation rather than genuine projects of community building. What endured, despite centuries of rupture, was a collective memory of integration, which surfaced in the nationalist ferment of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and ultimately shaped the acceptance of ECOWAS in 1975. Beyond historical reconstruction, the article also situates its argument within current debates in African humanities and integration theory. It engages recent scholarship on regionalism and globalization, postcolonial critiques of Eurocentric models, and African Union studies that emphasize African agency in shaping continental futures. The analysis suggests that West African integration is best understood as a layered process: precolonial traditions of interdependence, ideological movements that preserved and transmitted them, and postcolonial institutions that gave them political form. In making this case, the article challenges functionalist readings of ECOWAS as a derivative project, proposing instead that it represents a reassertion of West African intellectual and historical continuity.
ECOWAS; Pan-Africanism; West African Nationalism; Negritude; Precolonial Integration; Postcolonial Theory.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ahmad Dahiru Aminu, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exploring Effective Solutions to Address Cultural Misrepresentation in Nigerian Movies: Lessons from the Criticism of Gangs of Lagos
This study investigates effective solutions to cultural misrepresentation in Nigerian cinema, focusing on the controversies surrounding Jade Osiberu’s Gangs of Lagos (2023). While Nollywood has emerged as a powerful global platform for projecting Nigerian identities, its portrayals have frequently been criticised for oversimplifying or distorting cultural traditions, thereby reinforcing stereotypes and undermining national image. Anchored in Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory, the research adopts a qualitative approach, combining content analysis of the film with reviews, press commentary, and social media responses. Findings reveal that misrepresentation often arises from inadequate research, weak cultural policy frameworks, and insufficient consultation with communities. The case of Gangs of Lagos, especially its depiction of the Eyo masquerade, exemplifies how cultural symbols can be stripped of meaning when reframed solely for narrative spectacle, prompting backlash from both local communities and state authorities. The study argues that Nollywood must embrace a paradigm shift in which filmmakers balance artistic freedom with social responsibility. Solutions proposed include collaborative engagement with cultural custodians, embedding authenticity in production processes, and fostering audience dialogue to ensure respectful and nuanced portrayals. Ultimately, the research positions Nollywood not merely as an entertainment industry but as a cultural custodian with the potential to preserve heritage, strengthen national identity, and contribute to global discourse on African culture.
Nollywood; Cultural Misrepresentation; Gangs of Lagos; Stuart Hall; Representation Theory; Nigerian Cinema; Audience Reception; Authenticity
Copyright (c) 2025 Solomon Idyo (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Fragmented Selves: Psychoanalysis, Stigma, and the Politics of Memory in Ikpi and Verissimo
This article examines the intersections of trauma, memory, and the stigma of mental illness in Bassey Ikpi’s I’m Telling the Truth but I’m Lying (2019) and Jumoke Verissimo’s A Small Silence (2019), situating them within African literary and philosophical contexts. Drawing on Freudian psychoanalysis, trauma theory, and indigenous African epistemologies, the study argues that these texts disrupt conventional binaries of sanity and madness, normalcy and deviance, by reframing psychological fragmentation as adaptive survival rather than pathology. Ikpi’s fragmented essays mirror the oscillations of bipolar disorder, foregrounding the performance of normalcy as both protective mask and internal violence. Verissimo’s Professor Eniolorunda, traumatized by political imprisonment, embodies the psychic toll of authoritarian brutality, his retreat into darkness dramatizing repression and the fluidity of memory. Both texts expose the inadequacies of rigid diagnostic categories, showing how psychiatric models risk erasing cultural and historical dimensions of distress. By juxtaposing psychoanalytic concepts of repression and belated memory with Yoruba, Igbo, and Ubuntu philosophies of personhood, the article highlights how African literature resists the universalization of Western psychiatry. Instead, it reveals mental health as a dynamic negotiation between personal survival, communal belonging, and historical trauma. Ultimately, these works contribute to destigmatizing mental illness by centring lived experience, destabilizing the illusion of normalcy, and reclaiming fragmented narratives as forms of resilience. The study demonstrates how African literature becomes a crucial space for reimagining mental health discourse, integrating cultural philosophies with global frameworks of trauma and healing.
Trauma, Memory, African Literature, Mental Health
Copyright (c) 2025 Olubunmi Tayo Agboola, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Colonial Power and Relational Being: An Ontological Study of Igbo Women as Presented in Colonial Archives
This paper interrogates the ontological construction of Igbo women in British colonial archives, exploring how colonial power not only inscribed but also distorted gendered subjectivities through ethnographic description and photographic representation. Engaging key colonial texts — notably Sylvia Leith-Ross’s African Women (1938) and G.I. Jones’s The Art of Eastern Nigeria (1984) — this study critiques the mechanisms through which Igbo womanhood was rendered legible to colonial authority: not as lived subjectivities but as static figures defined within hierarchical, gendered, and racialised paradigms. Positioned within the broader scope of postcolonial historiography, African feminist critique, and ontological studies, this paper contends that these representations, while attempting to map 'truths' about Igbo culture, in fact reveal profound gaps between colonial knowledge-making and indigenous epistemologies. The project identifies and confronts the reductive and homogenising tendencies embedded within colonial ethnographic discourses, in which Igbo women were often framed as informants, cultural exemplars, or aesthetic artefacts to be catalogued. However, counter-archives such as Mbari houses — richly symbolic, spiritually potent sites of creative expression — present an alternative archive through which Igbo women’s relational being, metaphysical agency, and cultural sovereignty are foregrounded. Through a comparative and interpretive methodology, the paper reveals how such indigenous forms of knowledge resist the ontological violence of colonial representation and instead embody a nonlinear historiography rooted in relational presence, spiritual aesthetics, and communal renewal. Ultimately, this research offers a critical model for decolonising both archival practices and gendered historiographies by centring African epistemologies and indigenous aesthetics.
Igbo Women, Colonial Archives, Relational Being, Mbari Houses, Ontological Violence, African Feminism, Colonial Ethnography
Copyright (c) 2025 Peace Chisom Aniakor (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Otito Ntogbu Na Egbu Nwa Nkita: Igbo Naming, Identity, and the Decolonization Philosophy of Names
This article examines the cultural and philosophical significance of Igbo naming traditions within the framework of decolonization theory and African identity studies. Building on Oyeronke Oyewumi’s thesis that gender was not the central organizing principle in African societies, the study argues that Igbo names encode moral, spiritual, and communal philosophies that challenge Western assumptions about hierarchy and personhood. Names such as Nneka (“mother is supreme”), Nwakaego (“a child is more valuable than money”), and Chinualumogu (“may God fight for me”) illustrate how language serves as both ethical guide and spiritual invocation, foregrounding life, community, and divine providence over wealth and patriarchy. The analysis engages historical contexts, including the erasure and distortion of Igbo names during slavery, colonial impositions of Christian and European names, and the nationalist reclamation of indigenous identities by figures such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chinua Achebe, and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. It also considers the persistence of philosophical depth in names recorded on slave ship manifests and the adaptation of Igbo names in diasporic and postwar contexts. By situating Igbo onomastics within debates about memory, identity, and reparative justice, the article demonstrates how naming functions as an archive of resilience and cultural continuity. Far from being arbitrary, Igbo names are deliberate philosophical texts, embodying prayers, blessings, and injunctions for ethical living. The proverb ezi aha ka ego (“a good name is better than money”) encapsulates this worldview, reminding us that names remain crucial to decolonization identity and to struggles for dignity and justice in Africa and its diasporas.
Igbo Naming Philosophy, Decolonization Theory, African Identity, Reparative Justice
Copyright (c) 2025 Onwubiko Agozino, Ph.D (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Investigating the Unspoken Ethics of Political Defections through Contextual Integrity
Political defections in Nigeria are often hastily dismissed as betrayals of party loyalty or as opportunistic bids for personal gain. Such interpretations, though widespread, risk oversimplifying what is in fact a more layered and context-driven phenomenon. This paper argues that defections should be approached as covert communicative acts, deeply embedded in sociopolitical expectations that extend beyond the surface of electoral manoeuvring. Using Delta State as a case study, particularly the wave of high-profile defections in 2025, the study applies Helen Nissenbaum’s Theory of Contextual Integrity (TCI) to interrogate the implicit meanings encoded in these political shifts. The approach treats defections not simply as strategic calculations, but as symbolic performances that negotiate legitimacy, survival, and identity within Nigeria’s fragile democratic framework. The methodology is qualitative, drawing on purposive sampling of six prominent defections, media narratives, and public statements. These are examined through a blend of thematic coding and pragmatic-discursive analysis to reveal how defections function as opaque speech acts—sometimes explicit, at other times silent—that reconfigure party norms and political alignments. The findings suggest that defections in Delta State reflect broader shifts in political culture, where allegiance is less anchored in ideology and more responsive to changing contextual realities. Importantly, defections emerge as adaptive strategies that balance personal survival with appeals to collective identity, while also testing the elasticity of democratic norms. By reframing defections through the lens of contextual integrity, this study contributes to scholarship on implicit political communication in transitional democracies. It moves the debate away from crude moralistic judgements of “loyalty” or “betrayal” and towards an appreciation of defections as complex, layered performances of meaning. The paper concludes that political defections in Delta State offer a valuable window into how actors navigate the unspoken ethical terrain of Nigerian democracy.
Political Defections, Delta State Politics, Contextual Integrity, Pragmatic Communication, Democratic Norms, Political Philosophy
Copyright (c) 2025 Wisdom Ezenwoali, PhD , Ikechukwu Monday Osebor, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Negotiating the Female Gaze: Feminist Film Theory and the Cultural Politics of Gender in Nollywood
This essay explores the intersection of feminist film theory and the politics of gender representation in Nigerian cinema, with a particular focus on Nollywood as a dynamic site of visual negotiation. The analysis interrogates how the foundational concepts of the male and female gaze—originally theorised in Western cinematic contexts—are both reproduced and contested within Nollywood’s evolving narrative and aesthetic landscape. Through close readings of selected films such as Silent Scandal, Half of a Yellow Sun, and King of Boys, the essay identifies visual and narrative strategies that reflect the persistence of patriarchal norms, as well as emergent practices that centre female subjectivity and agency. It further engages African feminist theoretical frameworks—specifically Nego-Feminism, Snail-Sense Feminism, and STIWA—to contextualise these cinematic developments within indigenous epistemologies that prioritise negotiation, community, and relational autonomy. The study contends that while the male gaze remains entrenched in Nollywood’s representational codes, a culturally grounded female gaze is beginning to materialise—particularly through the work of female directors and gender-conscious narratives. Rather than seeking a wholesale adoption of Western feminist aesthetics, this emergent gaze is characterised by moral complexity, narrative depth, and an attentiveness to the socio-cultural realities that shape women’s lives in Nigeria. The essay thus positions Nollywood as a contested but fertile ground for reimagining feminist visual politics in Africa, where global feminist discourses intersect with local cultural imaginaries to produce hybrid forms of gendered representation. In doing so, it contributes to the broader project of decolonising film theory and expanding the lexicon through which feminist visuality is understood in postcolonial cinematic contexts.
Nollywood Cinema, African Feminist Theory, Male and Female Gaze, Gender Representation in Film
Copyright (c) 2025 Abuja Journal of Humanities
The Disabled Gender: Gendering Disability in J.M. Coetzee’s In the Heart of the Country and Zaynab Alkali’s The Still Born
JM Coetzee and Zaynab Alkali effectively employ the trope of the disabled woman in their novels. However, most of the existing studies on their texts have not adequately examined how these novelists utilised disability tenets to represent the plights and exploits of the postcolonial African woman. Consequently, this paper examines the two-fold issues of gender together with disability as tagged by culture and at the same time incorporated as symbolic portrayal of post colonialism. The paper adopts Postcolonial Feminist Theory and Feminist Disability Studies. The method of investigation is critical, descriptive, comparative and analytical. The study involves a qualitative reading of J. M. Coetzee's In the Heart of the Country and Zaynab Alkali's The Stillborn which are purposively selected because they are found to be deeply engaged with the postcolonial Africa and they also address a common issue, the disabled African woman, which is central to this study. Magda, the heroine of Coetzee's In the Heart of the Country is depicted as a spinster who becomes disabled through patriarchal suppression. In order to cope with the rejection that life throws at her, Magda escapes into a world of fantasy which later blossoms into psychosis and insanity. Magda's father as a farmer like every other African father expects his first child to be a son. Magda is, therefore, a wrong gender in a society that celebrates maleness. Magda is neglected by her father and the society at large. Consequently, she becomes insane. In Alkali's The Stillborn, Li, the heroine is not disabled physically but is read as disabled by her father and the society because of her psychic power. Li is seen as an extraordinary body which is another form of disability. Her psychic gift coupled with her gender which is frowned at in Hausa culture is linked to her disability. In both novels, the male gender is portrayed as the oppressor, the colonial master and catalysts of disability. Magda's father and every other male in Coetzee's In the Heart of the Country pushed Magda into insanity. This is also applicable to Li who is born with a supernatural gift of seeing into the future. Her father in particular and the society at large rather than seeing this gift as a blessing see it as a disability. Looking at it critically, both writers explore the concept of family members as disabling agents. In the selected texts of Coetzee and Alkali, it is argued that the situation of Magda, Li and other disabled women can be seen as a microcosm of the problems of marginalisation of postcolonial African society from decision making, social life and economic development. The texts, therefore, reveal how women strive to resist sexists practices as a means of empowerment to consciously protest against all forms of oppression and disablement.
Postcolonial Feminist Theory, Feminist Disability Studies, African Women in Literature, Gendered Disability Narratives
Consequences of Boko Haram Insurgency on Language Learning and Intergenerational Transmission
This study investigates the consequences of the Boko Haram insurgency on language learning and intergenerational language transmission in north-eastern Nigeria. While much scholarly attention has been given to the group’s ideological motivations and its impact on security and education, limited research exists on the linguistic and cultural dimensions of this protracted conflict. Drawing on Fishman’s Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS) and UNESCO’s framework for language vitality, the study explores how school closures, displacement, and family fragmentation have disrupted both formal and informal language acquisition among affected populations. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 120 questionnaire respondents, 15 in-depth interviews, and six focus group discussions across Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States. The findings reveal that the insurgency has not only dismantled educational infrastructure but also significantly weakened the family-based transmission of indigenous languages. In internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, dominant regional languages such as Hausa and English are replacing minority mother tongues, particularly among children. The linguistic environment in these camps and host communities fosters passive bilingualism or outright language shift, putting many indigenous languages at risk of endangerment. The study concludes that Boko Haram’s campaign—although ideologically opposed to Western education—has ironically accelerated the decline of indigenous linguistic and cultural heritage. Language loss in this context is both a consequence of violence and a form of cultural disenfranchisement. The paper recommends targeted post-conflict education policies that prioritize mother-tongue instruction, support linguistic resilience in displacement settings, and address the broader structural causes of insurgency. Preserving language transmission is positioned not merely as a cultural concern, but as an essential element of post-conflict recovery and national identity.
Boko Haram, Intergenerational Language Transmission, Language Shift, Conflict and Education
Vulnerability as Meaning: Reflections on the Loss of Human Fragility in Transhumanist Futures
This paper critically examines the philosophical significance of human vulnerability and the existential risks posed by its erasure in the context of transhumanist futures. Drawing on phenomenological thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Emmanuel Levinas, alongside African philosophical frameworks rooted in Ubuntu ethics, the study argues that fragility is not merely a limitation to be overcome but a fundamental condition of human meaning, creativity, and ethical life. Phenomenological insights emphasise embodiment, finitude, and ethical responsibility as intrinsic to lived experience, while Ubuntu underscores the relational and communal dimensions of vulnerability. Together, these traditions affirm that human flourishing emerges through, rather than in spite of, fragility. The paper interrogates the core assumptions of transhumanism, particularly the pursuit of technological mastery over disease, ageing, and death. It critiques the reduction of human value to optimisation and the potential consequences of disembodied enhancement, including existential detachment, relational alienation, and moral erosion. Furthermore, it raises concerns about the socio-ethical implications of enhancement technologies in postcolonial contexts, where structural inequalities may lead to new forms of exclusion and ontological injustice. By integrating African and Western philosophical perspectives, the paper contends that any future-oriented technological vision must be ethically accountable to the conditions that sustain empathy, solidarity, and shared humanity. Rather than aiming to eliminate vulnerability, a more humane trajectory would seek to honour and support it, ensuring that technological advancement deepens—rather than diminishes—the meaning of human life. In this way, the paper contributes
Vulnerability, Transhumanism, Ubuntu Philosophy, Phenomenology
The Emancipation of the Maghrebian Woman in Le Gone du Chaâba by Azouz Begag
This paper critically examines the evolving status and emancipation of Maghrebian women in Azouz Begag’s semi-autobiographical novel Le Gone du Chaâba, using feminist literary criticism within a postcolonial framework. While existing scholarship often centres on the male immigrant experience and bicultural identity in Begag’s work, this study shifts the focus to female characters who, though positioned peripherally in the narrative, articulate significant forms of resistance and agency. Set in the socio-historical context of 1960s France—a period of intensified North African immigration and cultural negotiation—the novel offers insight into how women navigate traditional constraints within a diasporic environment shaped by French secularism and evolving gender norms. The analysis identifies three primary pathways to emancipation: education, economic participation, and cultural reorientation through the French socio-legal framework. Female characters such as Zohra and Zidouma engage in subversive acts, from controlling access to language and knowledge to confronting male authority in public and adopting symbolic elements of Western modernity. These acts, although subtle and often mediated through male narration, represent a departure from the expected roles of submissive wives and mothers, suggesting a redefinition of gender identity in diaspora. The paper also incorporates intertextual comparisons with the works of Assia Djebar and Leïla Sebbar, thereby situating Begag’s narrative within a broader literary discourse on Maghrebian womanhood, resistance, and postcolonial transformation. By doing so, it demonstrates that Le Gone du Chaâba not only reflects the socio-cultural tensions of its time but also contributes meaningfully to the feminist critique of patriarchal systems in both homeland and hostland. Ultimately, this study argues that Begag’s novel, though centred on a male protagonist, participates in a wider literary project of articulating female emancipation in North African diaspora literature.
Postcolonial Feminism, Maghrebian Diaspora, Gender Emancipation, Francophone Literature
Africa’s Struggle for Sovereignty: Neo-Colonialism and External Control in the 21st Century
In the aftermath of formal decolonisation, Africa’s pursuit of genuine sovereignty has been persistently undermined by evolving structures of external domination. This paper interrogates the resurgence of neo-colonialism in the 21st century, exploring its contemporary manifestations in economic dependency, political manipulation, cultural imperialism, and the emerging realms of digital and data colonialism. Far from obsolete, colonial patterns of exploitation have been reconstituted through the operations of global financial institutions, multinational corporations, geopolitical alliances, and Big Tech hegemony. These structures continue to shape African realities, subordinating the continent’s political agency and epistemic autonomy. Drawing on theoretical frameworks including Nkrumah’s theory of neo-colonialism, Couldry and Mejias’ conception of data colonialism, and African relational ethics rooted in Ubuntu philosophy, this article critically examines how new technologies such as artificial intelligence and algorithmic governance perpetuate global asymmetries of power. The analysis adopts an interdisciplinary methodology, incorporating critical literature review, discursive analysis, and philosophical reflection. The study foregrounds the multifaceted ways in which African societies are dispossessed—economically through extractive trade and debt mechanisms, politically through foreign security entanglements, and digitally through the commodification of African data and identities. Yet, the article also emphasises African resistance, highlighting emergent movements advocating for digital sovereignty, decolonial AI ethics, and intra-continental economic cooperation, such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). By situating the humanities at the centre of this discourse, the paper argues for the intellectual imperative of interrogating neo-colonial power structures and advancing alternative paradigms of African autonomy. The conclusion proposes actionable recommendations aimed at reasserting African sovereignty across economic, digital, cultural, and ethical domains. This study ultimately contributes to the broader scholarly discourse on postcolonial studies, African political thought, and the global ethics of technology, calling for a renewed commitment to decolonial futures in Africa.
Neo-colonialism, Data Colonialism, African Sovereignty, Ubuntu Ethics
Language Problem in African Dramatic Literature: An Examination of Ola Rotimi's Dramatic Experiment
This paper explores the enduring problem of language in African literature, with a particular focus on African dramatic texts and Ola Rotimi’s innovative response through multilingual dramaturgy. Situated within the frameworks of decolonisation theory and postcolonial literary criticism, the study interrogates the ideological and practical challenges African writers face in selecting a language of literary expression. The central question — What should be the language of African literature? — continues to provoke spirited debate, shaped by colonial histories, linguistic diversity, cultural identity, and audience accessibility. The paper identifies and critically engages with four major schools of thought on the issue: the linguistic purists who advocate for indigenous African languages; the foreign language realists who prioritize global intelligibility through colonial languages; the proponents of Pidgin English as a bridge between oral and literary traditions; and, finally, the multilingualists exemplified by Ola Rotimi, who seeks a reconciliatory path. Using close readings of If…: A Tragedy of the Ruled and Hopes of the Living Dead, the paper examines how Rotimi strategically assigns different language registers — indigenous languages, Pidgin English, and Standard British English — to characters based on their social status, ethnicity, and communicative roles. Rotimi’s method does not merely reflect Nigeria’s linguistic plurality; it actively constructs a theatre of inclusivity and realism, one that foregrounds language as both a performative and political tool. Moreover, his technique of multilingual layering, supported by in-text interpreters and strategic translation, illustrates how African literature can maintain cultural authenticity while achieving global intelligibility. In conclusion, the study advocates for multilingualism not merely as an artistic device but as a sustainable linguistic philosophy for African literature. It underscores the importance of writer intentionality, audience scope, and translation in resolving the language dilemma in African literary expression.
African Literature; Decolonisation; Drama; Identity; Language; Post-colonialism; Theatrical Communication
(Dis)Ableness and Inclusive Cities: Negotiating Practice-led Action Research in Music and Art with Disabled People in Lagos, Nigeria
This paper presents a practice-led action research project examining the impact of music and art therapy on the emotional and social well-being of children with disabilities in Lagos, Nigeria. The study was conducted at the Modupe Cole Memorial Children’s Home School and involved sixty children aged 5 to 18 with a range of physical, intellectual, and sensory disabilities. Through a series of structured weekly sessions in music and visual arts, the study sought to explore how creative interventions could foster emotional expression, social inclusion, and personal confidence among children traditionally marginalised in educational and therapeutic systems. Drawing on Michael Bakan’s theoretical framework on neurodiversity and inclusive musical communities, the research integrated culturally relevant musical activities—such as drumming, singing, and rhythm exercises—with adaptive visual art practices including painting, tie-dye, and “colour your feelings” exercises. Data were collected through facilitator journals, direct observation, and interviews with educators and caregivers. Findings reveal that many participants demonstrated increased emotional expression, reduced anxiety, improved peer interaction, and engagement in ways not previously observed within conventional academic routines. Several children also revealed previously undiscovered artistic talents, highlighting the value of alternative modalities in uncovering latent abilities. Despite these successes, the study identified systemic challenges, including inadequate resources, lack of trained arts therapists, and institutional constraints on time and scheduling. Nevertheless, staff and caregivers reported positive behavioural shifts and expressed strong support for integrating such activities into the routine curriculum. The study concludes that low-cost, culturally grounded arts interventions offer significant psychosocial benefits and can serve as effective tools for advancing inclusive education in low-resource settings. It calls for targeted policy implementation, enhanced teacher training, provision of adaptive materials, and broader research investment in arts-based approaches to disability support within African educational contexts.
Inclusive Education, Disability and the Arts, Music and Art Therapy, Practice-Led Action Research
Stylo-Contrastive Analysis of Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun
This study presents a comparative stylistic analysis of Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, focusing on how generational, linguistic, and socio-cultural factors inform their respective literary styles. Anchored on Robert Lado’s contrastive analysis theory and situated within the framework of stylistic criticism, the research examines how both authors utilise language not only as a medium of communication but also as a cultural instrument. Through a close textual analysis, the study identifies six key stylistic devices—code-mixing, transliteration, use of Nigerian Pidgin, proverbs, humour, and vulgar expressions—and investigates their deployment across the two novels. Findings reveal that while both authors share a commitment to integrating indigenous language features into English narratives, they diverge significantly in frequency, function, and tone. Achebe, writing in the late twentieth century, demonstrates a strong attachment to oral tradition and communal voice through his extensive use of proverbs, Pidgin, and satire. Adichie, by contrast, writing in a postmodern, globalised context, adopts a more intimate and contemporary style, marked by transliteration, emotional immediacy, and candid engagement with taboo subjects. Notably, Achebe maintains linguistic decorum, while Adichie’s unflinching depictions of war and interpersonal conflict justify the inclusion of vulgar or explicit language. The study concludes that the stylistic differences between Achebe and Adichie are primarily occasioned by a generational shift and evolving literary norms, yet there exists a continuum in their use of language to construct cultural authenticity. The findings contribute to the scholarship on African literature by highlighting the stylistic evolution from postcolonial narrative strategies to contemporary realist aesthetics. Ultimately, this paper affirms that both Achebe and Adichie, despite their differing approaches, succeed in asserting a distinctly Nigerian literary voice within the scope of Anglophone literature.
Contrastive Stylistics; African Literature; Code-mixing; Chinua Achebe; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ecotherapeutic Discourse in Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter and Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus
The natural environment plays a vital role in psychological well-being, an idea increasingly explored in contemporary interdisciplinary research under the umbrella of ecotherapy. Ecotherapy, or nature-based therapy, posits that interaction with nature enhances emotional and mental health. This study investigates how ecotherapeutic discourse is articulated in two seminal African novels: Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter and Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. These works are selected for their literary depth and their rich portrayal of characters grappling with psychological stress within oppressive socio-cultural environments. The research employs psychoanalytic literary criticism in conjunction with qualitative close reading to identify narrative instances where characters engage with natural environments as a form of emotional reprieve. The study examines the ecological settings and their symbolic resonance in the lives of the protagonists. In So Long a Letter, Ramatoulaye, contending with widowhood and marital betrayal, finds solace in nostalgic recollections of nature shared with her friend Aissatou. These scenes—beaches, gardens, and communal outings—emerge as psychic safe spaces that counterbalance emotional fragmentation. In Purple Hibiscus, Aunty Ifeoma’s garden and flowering plants serve as both literal and figurative refuges for Kambili and Jaja, offering hope, healing, and a model for autonomy beyond patriarchal control. Both Ba and Adichie position nature as a therapeutic force that enables psychological resilience, particularly for female characters navigating socio-religious constraints. The analysis affirms that ecological imagery in African literature is not merely decorative but functions as a profound symbolic and psychological resource. This study thereby enriches ecocritical and psychoanalytic discourses by illuminating the unique convergence of nature, memory, and healing in African women’s writing.
Ecotherapy; Nature Therapy; African Literature; Mariama Ba; Chimamanda Adichie
Copyright (c) 2025 Abuja Journal of Humanities https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This paper critically interrogates the concept of world government through an African philosophical lens, contending that while the idea of a unified global political authority has been historically valorised as a solution to international conflict, inequality, and fragmentation, it remains ethically untenable without prior global justice. Drawing on postcolonial African humanism and the principles of restorative justice, the study contends that unresolved historical injustices—particularly slavery, colonialism, institutional racism, and genocide—compromise the moral viability and practical legitimacy of any proposed world government. These historical atrocities have fractured the ideal of a common humanity, thereby rendering global unity a premature ambition without prior ethical reconciliation. The paper critiques classical and contemporary arguments for world government and counters with a proposal for a World Tribunal of Truth and Reconciliation. This tribunal, conceived as a non-punitive, restorative mechanism, would facilitate global acknowledgement of past injustices, promote truth-telling, and recommend reparative actions. By grounding its arguments in African philosophical traditions such as Ubuntu, the paper challenges Eurocentric frameworks that have historically underpinned notions of global governance. It further argues that meaningful political integration must be preceded by moral integration—a shared commitment to historical truth, human equality, and collective responsibility. Without such foundational justice, a world government risks reproducing the very hierarchies and exclusions it purports to overcome. The work thus contributes a critical voice to global political theory, proposing that the path toward legitimate world governance lies not through coercive unification, but through deliberate, historically conscious efforts at ethical reconstitution. In doing so, the paper calls for a reorientation of global political imagination—one that sees truth, memory, and reconciliation not as distractions from progress, but as its indispensable preconditions.
World Government; African Philosophy; Historical Injustice; Global Governance; Truth and Reconciliation
Experimenting with Budgetary Minimalism in the Film Production of Beyond the Badge (2024)
This paper introduces and theorizes budgetary minimalism as a filmmaking methodology distinct from classical cinematic minimalism. While traditional minimalism emphasizes aesthetic reduction—limited sets, sparse dialogue, and minimal narrative scope—budgetary minimalism emerges from the constraints of resource-scarce film industries such as Nollywood. It describes a strategic, relational approach to production that leverages collaboration, reciprocity, and adaptive resource management to create high-quality films with minimal financial outlay. Using Beyond the Badge (2024) as a case study, the research adopts a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework to document the film’s production from concept development through post-production. The filmmaker-researcher outlines how institutional partnerships, deferred labour agreements, and hybrid crew structuring enabled the realization of a large-scale film project that would otherwise have been financially unfeasible. High-end equipment was acquired through service exchange; post-production was completed through goodwill editing agreements; and logistical costs were minimized through site-specific design and digital workflows. The paper aligns its analysis with the Ubuntu Collaborative Model, situating budgetary minimalism within broader African values of communal ownership, goodwill, and collective problem-solving. The findings challenge dominant assumptions that quality filmmaking is necessarily capital-intensive and show how Nollywood’s production culture redefines professionalism through trust-based economies and creative agility. Ultimately, budgetary minimalism is presented not as an austerity-driven fall-back but as a visionary, replicable framework for sustainable filmmaking—particularly in developing contexts where formal funding infrastructures are limited.
Budgetary Minimalism, Nollywood, Participatory Action Research, Collaborative Filmmaking, Low-budget Cinema.