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Author(s):
Adetunbi Richard Ogunleye.
Page No : 1-14
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God-gods: Engaging African Cultural Realities in Tackling Security Challenge in Nigeria
Abstract
Various existing studies have shown that the security of life and property is the sine qua non for rapid and sustainable development. However, with reference to Nigeria, insecurity of life and property has been a major challenge. This, therefore, made development seems to be a mirage in the country. Although various attempts to tackle the menace have been made, yet they do not produce the expected result. While the government could no longer guarantee the safety of its citizens citizens’ safetyvulnerable to security risk. This paper aims at harnessing and engaging the African (Yoruba) cultural realities to address the unabating security challenges in contemporary Nigerian society. The paper employs primary and secondary data collection methods and adopts historical and phenomenological approaches to achieve the aim. Findings reveal that development cannot emerge in a vacuum; it can only emerge within a secure, peaceful and harmonious environment. The paper is of the opinion that those realities, such as Gog-gods approach and allied realities grounded in African traditions used in pre-modern Nigeria to achieve peaceful co-existence, can still be relevant if applied to the security challenge of this country. Therefore, the paper recommends that indigenous African heritage should not be put aside as a result of modernity; rather, they should be appreciated and be utilized as the solutions that Nigerians are seeking to address the issue of insecurity can be found in them.
| 2 |
Author(s):
Isaac Boaheng.
Page No : 15-28
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The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Akan Dying, Death and Mourning Rites
Abstract
This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Akan traditional rites related to dying, death and mourning. The study used a qualitative research approach based on both primary and secondary sources of data to examine Akan dying, death and mourning rites and selected critical issues arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary data were obtained from semi-structured interviews and participant observa¬tion whiles secondary data were obtained from books, journal articles and others. The study found that though the health protocols associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have changed many Akan traditional rites related to dying, death and mourning, the Akan people still maintain their traditional beliefs about dying, death and mourning. Therefore, there is a high probability that changes that have taken place will be discarded as soon as the pandemic is over.
| 3 |
Author(s):
Emmanuel Obed Acquah, Justice Owusu-Ansah, Justice Owusu-Ansah.
Page No : 29-40
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Abele Indigenous Musical Genre in the Context of Yeji Kajoji Festival
Abstract
The role of indigenous musical performances in traditional festivals has been very significant in the lives of Africans. In Ghana, some of such festivals are pivoted on particular distinctive natures of the indigenous music. One of such musical genres is the Abele music performed by the people of Yeji in the Bono-East region of Ghana. This music is formalized in the context of the Kajoji festival celebrated annually by the community. Through ethnographic research design, the study documents the role of Abele music in the context of the Yeji Kajoji annual festival. The reason is to add to the literature of traditional music scholarship in Ghana while the source materials from the music can be used in the music classroom for music learning. In dealing with the study, participant’s observation and interview were used to collect the needed data. Participants for the study included some purposely selected members of the Abele musical ensemble as well as the paramount chief of the area. It was found out that the Kajoji festival is a very vital mainspring of the traditional education and the remit of the people’s culture while the Abele music serves as the side attraction of this festival.
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Author(s):
Sabar Nababan.
Page No : 41-44
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New Dogma of Christians
Abstract
The author has been able to talk to God since 2012. This paper contains the results of conversations between the author, God Jahowa, and God Jesus. Many of the new dogmas in this paper are not yet in the Bible.
| 5 |
Author(s):
Ihechu Innocent Paschal (Ph.D), Ekweonu Chinedu Lawrence, Umeh Kobimdi.
Page No : 45-55
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Awka Residents’ Perception of Social Media Representation of Family Values in the Era of Insecurity in Nigeria
Abstract
Apart from the civil war that was pronounced, Nigeria has never had it so bad in terms of insecurity and violence. In searching for a solution to this wedge to our national development, all factors, including family life of Nigerians became subject of examination. In pursuit of this, the researchers studied Awka resident’s perception of social media representation of family values in the era of insecurity in Nigeria. The study was anchored on social learning and agenda setting theory. Employing a survey research method, a sample size of 399 was arrived at. Questionnaire was also used as an instrument for data collection. From the data analysed, the researchers found that a greater percentage of Awka residents use social media. That they perceive social media representation of family values as negative. Concluding, the researchers observed that despite the positive roles of social media, that it also serves as an “evangelization ground” for new converts into violence and criminality which culminates in insecurity. The researchers recommended that efforts should be made to promote virtuous contents on social media. Also, that the family institution should intensify the inculcation of family values on their children who will grow to become responsible members of the larger society.
| 6 |
Author(s):
Samuel O. Olupinyo.
Page No : 56-68
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Biblical Concept of “Amen” Translated as “Ase” in Okun Language
Abstract
The concept of “Amen” translated as “Ase” in Okun language is a term that cuts across nations, cultures and religions, even though it may be translated or transliterated differently in terms of linguistic and discourse structures. Amen could probably be assumed to be the commonest word of human speech. Its use among the three great religions—Christianity, Islam and Traditional religion—cannot be overemphasized. For instance, the Old Testament usage of it is always at the end of a speech, while in the New Testament, Jesus used it mostly at the beginning of his message to his audience. Paul the Apostle oftentimes used it at the end of his letters to close his doxological statements and greetings to the churches. And also, the term is being used as a seal of an oath for legal backing or pronouncement of a curse as it is in the book of Deuteronomy 27 and Nehemiah 5:13. Jeremiah at another instance used Amen as an affirmation of God’s statements of the blessings and the curses of the covenant in Jeremiah 11:5. In our contemporary time, the Christians use it intermittently in the middle of a message delivery to show complete agreement with the minister. Similarly, in the socio-cultural and religious settings of the Okun speakers, Ase is an African philosophical concept through which the Okun people affirm the power to make things happen and produce change. It is used most often at the end of the pronouncement of a blessing, prayers offered, declaration of curse on certain norms or laws if broken, or to prove the innocence of a person in a controversial issue. In any case, the meanings are similar or the same in accordance to the context in which they are being used culturally and religiously. As the saying goes, “As it was in the beginning, it is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen”; in Okun language it is Ase, ase. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen” (Psalm 41:13).
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Author(s):
Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, Akeje Kizito.
Page No : 69-80
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Developmental Historiography of the Ancient Silk Road
Abstract
This study seeks to explain the history of the ancient Silk Road and also explain its strategic importance as a network of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the Middle East and Europe. Using the library's documented instrument and historical descriptive methodology, findings show that the Silk Road is historically connected with the Eastern and Western civilizations and culture. Merchants on the Silk Road transported goods and traded at bazaars along the way. They traded goods such as silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton, wool, precious metals, and ideas. The Silk Road also enabled cultural transfers, for instance when Genghis Khan and the Mongols invaded China, they came along with their own culture, e.g., buttons on clothes were introduced in China as a cultural import from Central Asia especially under the rule of Kublai Khan during the Yuan Dynasty. The paper concludes that the Silk Road rose to prominence during the Han and Tang dynasties. The long-distance trade at this time did not just transport goods and luxuries, it was also a lifeline of ideas and innovations from Persia, India and countries of the Middle East and Central Asia.
