Revue Internationale de la Conférence Interuniversitaire d’Etudes Doctorales – Université Charles-Louis de…Montesquieu (UCLM)

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EDITORIAL BOARD OF THE JOURNAL OF THE INTER-UNIVERSITY CONFERENCE FOR DOCTORAL STUDIES/CONSEIL EDITORIAL DE LA REVUE DES RESULTATS DE RECHERCHE DE LA CONFERENCE INTER- UNIVERSITAIRE D’ETUDES DOCTORAL

(JoReFi/ ReReRe)

Editor-in-Chief

Rédacteur-en-chef de publication : Pr Urbain AMOA

Executive Secretary

Sécréteur Exécutif : Pr Dominic AMUZU

Director of Scientific Unit

Directeur Scientifique : Pr Akanbi ILUPEJU

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UNIVERSITE CHARLES LOUIS DE…MONTESQUIEU (UCLM), ABIDJAN, COTE, D’IVOIRE.
UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA (UEW) GHANA.
UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, (UNILAG), LAGOS, NIGERIA.
UNIVERSITE DE LOME, LOME, TOGO.
CENTRE INTERNATIONAL DE RECHERCHE ET D’ETUDE DE LANGUES (CIREL), VILLAGE DU BENIN, LOME-TOGO.
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON (UG), ACCRA, GHANA
KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNO-LOGY (KNUST), KUMASI, GHANA.
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST (UCC), CAPE COAST, GHANA.
UNIVERSITE DE STRASBOURG, STRASBOURG, FRANCE.
KANO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, WUDIL, KANO, NIGERIA.

REVIEWER AND SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE COMITE DE LECTURE ET SCIENTIFIQUE

Pr Urbain AMOA (Université Charles-Louis de… Montesquieu, Côte d’Ivoire), Pr Dominic AMUZU (University of Education, Winneba, Ghana), Pr Akanbi ILUPEJU ( University of Lagos, Nigeria), Pr Akanni Mamoud IGUE, (Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Bénin), Pr Solomon AKINBOYE (University of Lagos, Nigeria), Pr Tunde AJIBOYE (University of Ilorin, Nigeria), Pr Koffi ATTA (Université Félix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY, Côte d’Ivoire), Pr Adedibu TELLA (University of Ilorin), Pr Rauf ADEBISI (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-

Nigeria), Pr Yaw SEKYI-BAIDOO (University of Education, Winneba, Ghana), Pr Fatai BADRU (University of Lagos, Nigeria), Pr. K. M. NUBUKPO (Université de Lomé, Togo), Pr Lawrence OWUSU-ANSAH (University of Cape Coast, Ghana) Pr. GBENOUGAN (C.I.R.E.L Village du Bernin, Lome, Togo),

Pr. Mufutau TIJANI (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria) Dr. Mawuena ADJRANKOU-GLOKPO (Village du Bénin, Togo), Dr. Théophile SONOU (I.U.P., Bénin), Dr. Sylvester GUNDONA (University of Education, Winneba, Ghana), Pr Andy OFORI-BIRIKORANG ( Unievrsity of Education, Winneba, Ghana), Dr. Kofi ADU-MEYA N (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana), Dr. Sylvester KRAKUE ( University of Cape Coast) Dr. Enyuiamedi AGBESSIME (C.I.R.E.L Village du Bernin, Lome, Togo),

Dr. Robert YENNAH (University of Ghana, Legon), Dr. M. SISSOKO

(Université Charles- Louis de… Montesquieu, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire), Dr. D. K. AYI- ADZIMAH (University of Education, Winneba, Ghana), Dr. Franck Dovonou (University of Education, Winneba, Ghana), Dr. Anthony De-Souza (University of Cape Coast).

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ISSN 2665-0800

MEDIUM, THEME AND TECHNIQUE: TRANSITIONS IN AFRICAN LITERATURE

ADENIJI Abiodun, Department of English, University of Lagos

Abstract

The polarisation of literature inaugurated by critics of the Art-for-Art school, who assert that the primary goal of literature is to foster the beauty in art or “the love of art for its own sake” (Abrams 3), and those of the Art- for-life school, who espouse the belief that the primary function of literature is to advance the didactic, political, philosophical, etc. edification of man, has been complicated by other theorists who introduced the reader (consumers of literary works) and the environment (setting, historical, geographical and teleological) into the already contentious mix. This paper argues that both the content and the shape of the story, its formal parts like characterisation, narrative technique, language, plot, etc. have also been influenced by the medium of publication (newspapers, magazines, traditional publishing houses, vanity press, online publishing companies, ebooks, kindle, etc.), given the philosophies and editorial policies of the owners of these media of publication. This paper, therefore, undertakes a historical survey of different publication media of African literature (using Nigerian literature as a model) from the colonial to the present with the aim of assessing the implications of the medium of publication of the literature on its content and form. The paper also essays a prediction of the future of African literature, “the body of traditional oral and written literatures in Afro-Asiatic and African languages together with works written by Africans in European languages” (Scheub, Harold and Gunner, Elizabeth Ann Wynne. 2020) in this multi-faceted era where “literacy” and “reading” are increasingly transiting from the paper medium to the online site.

Keywords: Medium, Theme, Technique, Transitions, African literatures

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Résumé

La polarisation de la littérature inaugurée par les critiques de l‘école Art- pour-Art, qui affirment que l‘objectif premier de la littérature est de promouvoir la beauté de l‘art ou « l‘amour de l‘art pour elle-même » (Abrams 3), et ceux de l‘école de l‘Art pour la Vie, qui adhèrent à la croyance que la fonction première de la littérature est de faire progresser l‘édification didactique, politique, philosophique, etc. , a été compliqué par d‘autres théoriciens qui ont introduit le lecteur (consommateurs d‘œuvres littéraires) et l‘environnement (cadre, historique, géographique et téléo- logique) dans le mélange déjà litigieux. Cette communication fait valoir que le contenu et la forme de l‘histoire, ses parties formelles comme la caractérisation, la technique narrative, le langage, l‘intrigue, etc., ont également été influencés par le moyen de publication (journaux, magazines, maisons d‘édition traditionnelles, presse vanité, maisons d‘édition en ligne, livres électroniques, kindle, etc.), compte tenu des philosophies et des politiques éditoriales des propriétaires de ces médias de publication. Cet article entreprend donc une étude historique des différents médias de publi- cation de la littérature africaine (en utilisant la littérature nigériane comme modèle) du colonial au présent dans le but d‘évaluer les implications du moyen de publication de la littérature sur son contenu et sa forme. L‘article s‘appuie également sur une prédiction de l‘avenir de la littérature africaine, « l‘ensemble des littératures orales et écrites traditionnelles en langues afro- asiatiques et africaines ainsi que des œuvres écrites par des Africains dans les langues européennes » (Scheub, Harold et Gunner, Elizabeth Ann Wynne. 2020) en cette ère aux multiples facettes où « l‘alphabétisation » et la « lecture » transitent de plus en plus du support papier vers le site en ligne.

Mots clefs : Canal, Thème, Technique, Transitions, Littératures Africaines

Introduction

The notion of ―transitions‖ evokes constant motions and trans- formations, an ever bubbling dynamism that spits in the face of unalloyed stagnation. This is an apt description of art of which African literature is a part; the themes are panoramic, the techniques are a kaleidoscope of styles or mutations of extant forms. The criticisms of this multidimensional and self-trans-

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forming literature also reflect the essential dynamics. This paper, however, argues that the medium of publication, a much overlooked factor in the criticism of much of modern African literature contributes in no mean measure to its vivacity and contemporaneity, and so deserves critical attention like the traditional loci of literary praxis: themes, tone, mood, language, characterisation, plot, narrative technique, the author, the reader etc. By scrutinising the themes and techniques in selected Nigerian literary texts through the parallax lenses of the avowed and perceived editorial policies or statement of intentions of the media of publication the paper argues that the transitions in African literatures have been powered, ab initio, by the objectives of the publishers. It could, therefore, be argued that the artist has never really been free to express himself as he feels but has always been in bondage to the owners of the media of publication. This assertion will be buttressed by the analysis in the body of the essay. The paper concludes that recent technological developments have democra-tised the publishing industry making the process accessible to all and sundry, giving the African writer the artistic freedom he has always craved. And because these new media of publication are different from the norm, the term ―site(s)‖ of publication is considered appropriate in this paper as it embraces both the old and the new ways of publishing literary works. Thus ―site of publica-tion‖ is used interchangeably with ―medium of publication‖ in this paper.

The analysis in the following pages will be done through new historicism which advocates parity between literary texts and non-literary texts, historical, political, religious, journalistic reports, etc. which were produced in the same historical period. The logic of new historicism is that a text becomes more

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meaningful when read in the context of other contemporaneous non-literary texts. According to Lois Tyson:

…new historicism deconstructs the traditional oppose-tion between history (traditionally thought of as factual) and literature (traditionally thought of as fictional). For new historicism considers history a text that can be interpreted the same way literary critics interpret literary texts, and conversely, it considers literary texts cultural artifacts that can tell us something about the interplay of discourses, the web of social meanings, operating in the time and place in which those texts were written…By and large, we know history only in its textual form, that is, in the form of documents, written statistics, legal codes, diaries, letters, speeches, tracts, news articles and the like in which are recorded attitudes, policies, procedures that occurred in a given time and place…As such they require the same kind of analysis literary critics perform on literary texts (283).

It is evident that one of the major assumptions of new historicism is the inseparability of literary and non-literary texts produced contemporaneously, be they historical or other cultural artefacts. This assumption will be advantageous in unravelling the interplay of medium, theme and technique in the transitioning of much of modern African literature from the traditional medium of publication and to the new media created by recent technological innovations.

The understanding of ―medium‖ in literature is often limited to the context of action traditionally referred to as ―setting‖ in literary practice. This term refers, largely, to the historical, spatial and temporal contexts of action within the text, and critics employ setting to analyse the influence of the environment on the formation and perception of meaning in a text. There are many excellent critical works on the setting in

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African literature. They include: Chinyere Nwaunanya‘s ―The Socio-Cultural Foundations in Igbo Tragedy in Chinua Achebe‘s Rural Novels‖ (2006); Clement Okafor‘s ―Igbo Cosmology and the Parameters of Individual Accomplishments In Achebe‘s Things Fall Apart (2004); Emmanuel Obiechina‘s

―Culture, Tradition and Society in the West African Novel‖ (1975); Chidi Amuta‘s ―Criticism, Ideology and Society: the Instance of Nigerian Literature‖ which, according to the author,

―is primarily concerned with the indubitable relationship between society, literary culture and the interrogation and perception of both in contemporary Nigerian setting,‖ (117); Oladele Taiwo‘s Culture and the Nigerian Novel (1976); and Abiodun Adeniji‘s ―Chronotope and Identity Crisis in the Nigerian Novel: An Other Reading of Chimamanda Adichie‘s Purple Hibiscus‖ (2019). These are but few examples of critical works that analyse medium as setting in African critical exegesis.

But in this paper, ―medium‖ refers to the medium of publication or the publishing site, and there have been excellent critical works done in that area too. These include: Mathias Iroro Orhero‘s ―Little Magazines and the Development of Modern African Poetry‖ (African Literature Today 35) which examines the role played by tabloids in the development of modern poetry and Bernth Lindfors ―African Little Magazines‖. It is obvious that critics have written about the influence of the environment (setting) on African literature, the role of the publishing sites in the development and transition of modern African literature, but little attention has been paid on how the medium of publication implicates (sometimes dictates) the theme and technique in

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these literary works. This is the gap in research that this paper aspires to fill.

Medium, Theme and Technique in African Oral Literature Oral literature is no longer a contentious concept; it has entered the academe after a period of vitriolic contestations. It is accepted as referring to the pre-scribal literatures of traditional societies all over the world. In this paper, we adopt G. G. Darah‘s definition of oral literature as ―all literature that is delivered by mouth to please the ear and the mind,‖ (217). It is also important to note Niyi Osundare‘s distinction between oral and written literatures. He emphasises that oral literature is largely performative and can ―only attain their true fulfilment when actually delivered‖ (Ruth Finnegan 3), while written literature is visual. Osundare explains further: ―Both written and oral literatures are concerned with performance. But while the former can exist independently of performance, oral literature derives its life-blood from it‖ (4). The implication of this assertion is that oral literature is tied to its performative environment which includes an active audience which expresses its approval and criticisms of the artiste‘s delivery immediately (10). Osundare adds that ―In other situations the audience may even decide what it wants to hear…. But in written culture the

decision on tellability is made for the audience by editors and their appointees, the script-readers, and there is no guarantee that the interest of these ‗experts‘ and that of the general audience will always coincide‖ (11). In consonance with Osundare‘s observation, some rejected manuscripts were later published by other publishing houses and became successful books that win awards.

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In oral literature, however, the performance situation with its active audience is the ―medium of publication‖ in the context of this paper. To reiterate, the thesis of this paper is that the medium of publication under the firm control of publishers usually influences both theme and technique in African literature. In oral literature the performance space controlled by the audience likewise influences the themes and techniques which the performer/artiste selects. Being a communal experience, the audience expects that any tale told by the performer/artiste must be didactic in nature. In Yoruba culture, for instance, tales relating the escapades of Ijapa (tortoise) are numerous and they all teach one moral lesson or the other. Such tales are used by the community to teach its young about the dangers of pride, the inevitable disgrace of the greedy, the eventual fall of the lazy, the unquantifiable value of wisdom, etc. Any performer can weave his story around any of these well-known themes and can therefore select any tale from the communal repertoire to buttress his/her moral lessons. This is why the audience can decide which tale it wants to hear, and in the performance situation a member of the audience can

―widen‖ the story-telling experience by interrupting the performer and relating his own story with the same thematic focus. Osundare observes: ―In addition to relieving the monotony of a long and monumental narrative, this ejaculation enlists audience participation, keeps hearers awake, alive and listening‖ (11). The significant point of note here is the fact that the performance environment, equivalent to the publishing site, influences/determines the choice of tales to be told and the technique of delivery too.

In some specialised performance situations, the performer is usually circumscribed in his thematic choice and technique not

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only by the audience, but by his patrons. For example, the audience at a wedding does not expect the artiste to say something derogatory about the family. In chanting the oriki (praise chants) of the family he cannot allude to any negative attribute of his patrons. In elegies, dirges and other personal celebrations as well, the audience expects the chanter to say positive things about his subject. According to Olatunde O. Olatunji:

Oriki is used to define its subject, usually by maximising those attributes which the Yoruba society considers to be good qualities and playing down, as much as possible, his not very flattering ones. The physical description of the subject may be given and to human subjects are attributed in boastful, almost extravagant praise, many qualities which include military might, courage, diplomacy, royalty, magical power and skill in one‘s profession (73).

It should be noted that the real subject may actually be a coward who never fought in a battle in his life and has no magical powers. He may not even be handsome, but the oral artiste is not expected to say something negative in his praise chants to the subject. He, therefore, embellishes his subject‘s qualities in his performance in line with societal expectations of his artistry in the performance situation. For instance, Olaosun of Ikire is described in an oriki (praise poem) as:

He whom a woman meets on the way And bursts into tears

And says if he cannot be one‘s husband

He could as well be one‘s lover, father of Ayanlowo (74)

There is no evidence that in reality Olaosun is as handsome as described above, if at all.

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In contrast, the audience in another performance situation expects the performer to be effusively abusive of his subject. The Udje song festival among the Urhobo of Nigeria is a performance situation in which the performer is expected to be eloquent in the deployment of pejorative adjectives. In ― Poetry, Performance, and Art: Udje Dance Songs of Urhobo People‖ Tanure Ojaide observes:

Udje is a unique type of Urhobo dance in which rival quarters or towns perform songs composed from often exaggerated materials about the other side on an appointed day. Udje songs are thus dance songs sung when udje is being performed. Since there were no prisons in traditional Urhobo, major crimes were punished either by selling the offender into servitude or by execution. Minor crimes were, however, punished by satire. Udje dance songs fall into the corpus of satire. The songs strongly attack what the traditional society regards as vices. Occasionally, there are blatant lampoons as when barrenness, ugliness, and other deformities of a person are sung. The singers want what they consider to be positive norms of the society to be upheld. Thus, central to the concept of udje dance songs are the principles of correction and determent through punishment with ―wounding‖ words (Para. 2).

A logical conclusion from the above quote is that societal reformation is the satiric intent of the songs. For example, the following song satirises a town for lacking a town hall.

Edjophe is worthless wood, a town of lunatics and filth Let me insult the idiot to make them behave sensibly Edjophe has no community hall

Even a shrine where we worship ancestors they lack this The things Edjophe lacks are legion

Is there any place in the world with[out] a public hall? Even work champ in remote forests

Have a place of worship; how much more a community?

Edjophe‘s is a life without purpose (Cited in Bodeyan Oghenevwogaga, 65).

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Besides themes and the choice of subject matter, the performance environment also influences the use of language, an important aspect of technique. Osundare observes that in oral literature ―simplicity of diction keeps the communication line open thus enabling the audience to feel the performer‘s feeling

…. Thus, while oral literature for the most part thrives on easy communication, written strives for mystification‖ (10). He is, however, quick to note that in some performance environment, the medium demands the use of obscure and recondite language. For example, divination chants and incantations contain certain words and expressions that are restricted to the cult or secret societies and are designed to mystify and exclude the non- initiates (10). Such esoteric language is like a password whose meanings are known only to the devotees.

For example, the ofo, (Yoruba incantation) contains certain words and expressions that are designed to mystify the novice even though it is chanted in the same Yoruba language spoken by all members of the community. Familiar divinities, personages and objects are called by their primordial names which the average Yoruba man or woman does not know in the belief that by calling these powerful entities by their primordial names, they will ensure the immediate performance of whatever they say in the incantations. According to Olatunji:

These primordial names are not those by which those who bear them are familiarly known and this fact seems to account for the unusual names which familiar divinities and objects bear in the incantations. Thus Aje (divinity of wealth and luck), Esu (the Trickster divinity often translated as Satan in the Yoruba Bible) and aje (withes) are given unfamiliar names in:

Olasunlola loruko a a pAje Olasunloro loruko a a pEsu Odara

Ojinikutukutu-bomi-oro-boju loruko a a peyin iya mi

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Honor-sleeps-in-honour is the name we call Aje Honour-sleeps-in-wealth is the name we call Esu Odara

One-who-wakes-up-early-to-wash-his-face-with-the-water-of- wealth

is the name we call our mothers (Olatunji 143).

In sum, this section of the paper has demonstrated that more often than not, the audience and the performance environment have a great influence on the themes and techniques adopted by the oral artiste at every given performance.

Medium, theme and technique in Nigerian written litera-ture

Historically, the colonialists brought literacy and western education to Nigeria. Publishing is also one of the positive legacies of colonialism in Nigeria and the transition from oral to written literature was engendered by the spread of literacy across the country, most especially in English. In terms of publishing, the tabloids were the first to encourage local talents to write for public consumption. The development of written poetry in Nigeria, unlike other genres, can be traced mainly to the influence of the tabloids and these newspapers determined the content and form of the poems published in them. African tabloids that published poetry in the colonial era included The Sierra Leone Weekly (established in 1860) and The West African Pilot (established in 1937). From 1840, community newspapers were established by the Christian missions to propagate Christianity. These include Iwe Irohin (1859), Anglo-African (1863), The Lagos Times and Gold Coast

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Colony Advertiser (1880). The West African Pilot (1937) with the motto: ―Show the light and the people will find the way‖ was established by Sir Nnamdi Azikiwe. In 1964, the New (Northern) Nigerian Newspapers was established. It is noteworthy that The West African Pilot owned by Nnamdi Azikiwe pioneered protest against colonialism. More recent newspapers include: The Punch, The Guardian, The Nation, Vanguard, Premium Times, etc.

At this juncture, it is pertinent to account for the nexus of the tabloids and literature. First, both are products of the society which depend on the written word to thrive. Second, both reflect the socio-cultural-political firmament of their times, with the tabloids reflecting current issues of their day. Third many writers used and are still using the tabloid as medium of publication especially in the Art pages of some newspapers. In this regard it should be recalled that some writers first serialised their works in such tabloids before publishing them in book form. Daniel Defoe‘s Robinson Crusoe is a good example here. Fourth, many journalists were also writers, for example, Charles Dickens, Jonathan Swift, etc. In essence the tabloids, newspapers, magazines, etc., have exerted considerable influence on the subject and shape of literature.

A good example is Dennis Osadebay‘s poem, ―Who Buys My Thought‖. Osadebay (29 June 1911 – 26 December 1994) was a politician, lawyer, poet, journalist, and was former premier of Midwestern Region in the First Republic in Nigeria. This poem was published in The West African Pilot, a paper published by the political activist, lawyer and one of the founding fathers of Nigerian Independence and the First President. Azikiwe used

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his newspaper (which published in Nigeria and Ghana, then known as the Gold Coast) as a medium to attack colonialism and canvass for the independence of Nigeria. Generally, Azikiwe used the paper to raise racial consciousness among peoples of different ethnic backgrounds towards the concept of

―One Nigeria‖ and the independence of one indivisible nation. Given the anti-colonial and pro-independence proclivities of the founder, Azikiwe, himself an educated and much travelled man, it is not surprising that the poems published in his tabloids had to be politically relevant and stylishly sophisticated.

In consonance with the anti-colonialism and pro-independence editorial policies of the medium, ―Who Buys My Thought‖ is a condemnation of colonialism. It achieves this feat by creating images of suffering and oppression of Africans by the British colonialists: ―the steaming millions/ Hungry, naked, sick‖ . Without mentioning the British, the poet persona leaves the reader in no doubt that the colonialists are responsible for the sorry state of the body and soul of Young Africa. And in line with the reckless optimism of the period, the poet concludes that the suffering youths of Africa that are ―yearning, pleading, waiting,…. sorting, questioning, watching‖ with the fire of liberation burning in their hearts would one day burst out all over the earth, ―destroying, chastening, cleansing‖, ridding their countries of the colonial presence and institutions and liberating themselves. In terms of form, the poem exhibits the features of the modern English lyrical poem, a blank verse without rhyme or regular rhythm. The use of such a form is in consonance with the editorial direction of the newspaper which required that the colonial masters must be fought in their own language using the tool of education provided Blacks by the Whiteman. The vocabulary is simple but sophisticated to satisfy

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the taste of an educated mass readership which the newspaper catered to. Noteworthy in this respect is the absence of arcane, highfaluting and obscure expressions as well as unusual word order and private symbols which may only confuse the average educated Nigerian or British reader. The images also are drawn from the local environment which makes the poem highly relatable to a mass readership yearning for liberation. In sum, the theme and technique adopted by the author have obviously been influenced by the ultimate project of a newspaper whose aim is to mobilise the citizenry to fight for independence from the colonial subjugation.

In post-independence Nigeria, newspapers such as the Guardian and the Tribune had art pages where not only criticisms of literary works are published but also poems. In line with the populist and mass orientations of these tabloids, the themes of these works have changed from engagement with the political liberation of the Nigerian peoples from British colonialism to a plethora of post-independence woes: political gangsterism, tribalism, poverty and economic woes, religious bigotry and hypocrisy, military dictatorship, terrorism and corruption, which are also the subjects of newspapers at these times. The Guardian, whose motto is ―Conscience nurtured by truth‖ catered to the upper class in the Nigerian society and therefore demands a high level of sophisti-cation in its reportage and feature articles. As a matter of fact, the newspaper has an editorial board dominated by academics from the ivory tower. Consequently, there is a transition in theme and technique in the Guardian: themes are largely post-independence woes, and the language, images, symbols, etc. employed by the writers wishing to be published in the newspaper must be above the mean, addressed primarily to the elite in the society, the

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tabloid‘s patrons from the 1980‘s onwards. It is noteworthy that many Nigerian poets published poems in these newspapers.

A good example is the poet Niyi Osundare, a commonwealth prize winner whose collection of poems Songs of the Season was first serialised in The Tribune, a national newspaper established by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, lawyer, politician, sage and philosopher who was himself first premier of Western Nigerian. Unlike the Guardian, the Tribune is a more populist and masses oriented newspaper. Its patrons are the middle-class and lower portions of the Nigerian society that can read and understand English. Thus, the poems published in the tabloid have to be socially relevant, written in a language that is not recondite but accessible to the average Nigerian. In the preface, Osundare declares: ―From the very outset, Songs of the Season has been empowered by a definite style and purpose: to capture the significant happenings of our time in a tune that is simple, accessible, topical and artistically pleasing ‖ (v). All these are

evident in the poems included in the collection. For example,

―not for the poor‖ satirised the chasm between the rich and the poor in post-independence Nigeria and bemoans the deliberate pauperisation of the masses by a treacherous elite during a military regime that shot its way to power on the bandwagon of fighting corruption and democratising the economic benefits of the nation‘s oil wealth. The poet laments that such necessities as cars, constant electricity, potable water, even the air we breathe are no longer meant for the poor. The poet persona, obviously a member of the elite concludes: ―The poor may die if they so desire/Who says we suffer a shortage of graves?‖ (10). As mentioned above, the poems in the collection are very topical. They include, ―song of the jobless graduate‖ which addresses the problem of graduate unemployment; ―song of the street-

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sweeper‖ which addresses the neglect of another section of the nation‘s poor, the street-sweeper ―who labours to keep the streets clean but is condemned to live in in squalor himself, ―He cleans the streets but lives in dirt‖ (15). The poem ―and cometh the bulldozer‖ is a condemnation of the inhuman face of the keep-the-nation-clean campaign of the then military regime which between 1984 and 1985 demolished the homes of the poor without providing any alternative. Other poems in the collection satirise different ways by which the masses are suffering in a country that is allegedly one of the most blessed in oil wealth.

A scrutiny of the tabloids published during the military regimes that were in power between 1984 and 1999 shows that these are the issues that dominated the headlines in those days: decay of social infrastructure, inconstant electricity supply, lack of potable water, unemployment, massive retrenchment, tyranny, displacement and dislocation of the dwellings of the poor, notably Maroko in Lagos, police/military brutality and denial of human rights etc. In an article entitled ―Reason in the Era of Unreason‖ published in Tell magazine, Abiodun Adeniji says:

―A government that manifestly seems to be only for the rich and not the teeming poor does not deserve anybody‘s loyalty. To be loyal to such a government is to be unpatriotic to the nation‖ (3). In ―Despair, Misery and the Refugees‖ Peter Ishaka highlights how ―thousands of those kicked out of Maroko are finding life in their new settlements very tough and rough…‖ (23). In ―Go, IBB, Go‖ Gani Fawehinmi says of the General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida regime (1986-1993): ―…Never in the history of this country has one regime caused so much pain, so much disaster, so much destruction, so much annihilation of our past, our present and our future, than the present regime‖

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(13). Writing in the same vein as those above, Dare Babarinsa observes in ―No Work, No School. Brilliant‖ that ―For the dictator to truly succeed, there must be no school. An educated citizenry is a problem for any dictator…‖ (3). On corruption, Onome Osifo-Whiskey declares in ―Knights Without Armour‖:

―What is tragic about the Nigerian social situation and setting is not the fact that great corruption and jumbo frauds sprout all over the land but the granite truth that we, as a people, have accepted it as a natural way of life‖ (4). And on police brutality, Dele Omotunde notes in ―The Police: Foe or Foe?‖ that: ―At the rate police are slaughtering innocent Nigerians like Christmas fowls and giving unintelligent explanations for their homicidal tendencies, very soon people will be running after armed robbers for safety and help‖ (3). These quotes from the tabloid manifest thematic parity with many of the poems in Osundare‘s Songs of the Season. The poems are also written in sophisti- cated but accessible language like the tabloid articles, the kind of language devoid of obscurantism, word jugglery, private symbols and convoluted sentences which the average educated Nigerian finds inaccessible. In essence, the medium of publication, the tabloids, exerts a palpable influence on the themes and technique in the works of art published in them.

Little magazines and Nigerian literature

Most of the literary magazines that publish critical and literary works are domiciled in educational institutions, colleges and universities. They include, The Horn, inspired by Martin Banham, then a lecturer at University College, Ibadan who wanted to continue the tradition of students‘ literary magazines that obtained in the University of Leeds. J.P. Clark- Bekederemo, then a student at the university alongside Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Christopher Okigbo, Mabel Segun

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etc., was its founding editor. There was also Black Orpheus established in 1957 with Ulli Beier serving as pioneer editor. This magazine is regarded as the most important tabloid that contributed much to the development of African literature as most of the first generation poets in Africa used it as a spring board to leap into the limelight. Other magazines that contributed to the growth of Nigerian/African poetry include: The Pioneer (1961), the Muse (1963) and Okike (1971) published in University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Ijala and Sokoti, published at University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University); Oyiya and Akpata published at the University of Benin, Iju Omi (1984) published at the University of Lagos. According to J.P. Clark-Bekederemo, these magazines were a way of ―join(ing) those already fighting to preserve our heritage and to ‗arrest subtle colonialism‘‖.

Thematically, therefore, the first generation of Nigerian poets decried the colonial institution, especially its subtle denigration of indigenous cultures. In terms of form, they adopted the Hopskean modernist technique in their works, as it is evident in the poetry of Okigho, Soyinka and J.P. Clark-Bekederemo. The argument here is that the pioneers of this medium of publication being undergraduates at the time and studying English, Classics, Arts in general, already determined the general direction of the publications in terms of theme and technique. This is evident in such poems as ―Idoto‖. ―Labyrinth‖ and ―Limits‖ by Chris- topher Okigbo, and ―Death in the Dawn‖ by Soyinka. Successive generations of Nigerian poets were, however, weaned away from the modernist trend through the influence of critics such as Chineizu et al in their controversial book Towards the Decolonisation of Nigerian Literature. In sum, the affiliation Nigerian literature with the tabloid medium,

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especially newspapers and little magazines contributed a lot to the transition apparent in the literature with the medium exerting enormous influence on the themes and techniques in the works.

Printing presses

Apart from the tabloids, the printing presses and publishing houses also midwifed the birth and sustenance of Nigerian literature. In this regard, it is important to mention the role played by the popular Onitsha market literature in the evolution of modern Nigerian written literature. Historically, Onitsha market literature flourished between the 1940s and the 1960s; it was the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 to 1970 that brought an end to the popular market literature. After the Second World War, the colonial government in Nigeria upgraded its facilities and sold off some of its equipment, notably the printing presses. These machines were bought by the enterprising Ibo businessmen and they set up their publishing business in Onitsha. In this business, they served as both editors and publishers, determining who got published and what got published. Their products were largely pamphlets which sold in millions across Nigeria and English-speaking West Africa. According to Emmanuel Obiechinna these pamphlets dwelt on love, advice to the young and moral suasions. He also points out that these pamphlets were not high on grammatical finesse because the purpose of the businessmen was not the promotion of high art, but to make quick profit. Hence, they only printed whatever they perceived as pandering to the taste of the reading public. A survey of some of the titles published in the market confirms the assertion that the printers pandered to the taste of the reading public. According to Uzor Maxim Uzoatu:

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Some of the more prominent Onitsha authors and their titles include: J. Abiakam – How to Speak to Girls and Win their Love; Cyril Aririguzo – Miss Appolo‘s Pride Leads her to be Unmarried; S. Eze – How to know when a Girl Loves You or Hates You; Thomas Iguh – $9000,000,000 Man still says No Money; Highbred Maxwell – Public Opinion on Lovers; Nathan Njoku – Beware of Women and My Seven Daughters are after Young Boys; Marius Nkwoh – Cocktail Ladies and Talking about Love (with Mr Really Fact at St Bottles‘ Church); Joseph Nnadozie – Beware of Harlots and Many Friends; Raphael Obioha – Beauty is a Trouble; Ogali A. Ogali

– Veronica My Daughter and No Heaven for the Priest; H.O. Ogu – Rose Only Loved My Money and How a Passenger Collector Posed and got a Lady Teacher in Love; Rufus Okonkwo – Why Boys Never Trust Money Monger Girls; Anthony Okwesa – The Strange Death of Israel Njemanze; Okenwa Olisah – Money Hard to get but Easy to Spend and Drunkards Believe Bar as Heaven; Speedy Eric – Mabel the Sweet Honey that Poured Away; Felix Stephen – Lack of Money is not Lack of Sense etc. (Para. 12).

The crucial point here is that the printers decided what they wanted and how they wanted it. The writers had to kowtow to the printers because most of them were impecunious school leavers with secondary school education who were just looking for ways to augment their meagre pay. Apart from Cyprian Ekwensi who was a pharmacist, most of the writers of Onitsha Market literature were not well educated at the time, although some later went to the university. So they wrote in the kind of English that is filled with infelicities. But neither the printers nor their patrons really minded. To drive home the point that the printers of Onitsha market literature determined the theme and technique in the street art, Uzoatu compared them to the businessmen who bankroll Nollywood films today. In ―From Onitsha Market Literture to Nollywood‖ he narrated his

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encounter with a businessman who came from Onitsha to Lagos to produce a film.

A wannabe Onitsha movie producer once breezed into Lagos with a briefcase filled to brim with money, insisting that he wanted to produce an urgent movie in which Richard Mofe- Damijo (RMD), arguably the then most sought-after leading man in Nollywood, would star. I was in the company of my about-to-be-wedded bride when I ran into RMD, who incidentally is an old friend of mine, late in the morning in front of the Surulere, Lagos office of the movie producer Zeb Ejiro. We exchanged cursory pleasantries but I became curious when I still saw him hanging around the one-storey house late in the evening as my intended and I were walking back home. It was then RMD told me the story of how the Onitsha man came with cash to make an instant movie named Scores to Settle, starring RMD and Regina Askia with the prolific Chico Ejiro as director. The man had chosen the cast and director all by himself before setting foot out of Onitsha. He knew who and what he wanted! No beating about the bush…The director, actors, actresses, technical crew etc. had to drop other jobs they had at hand to do the movie of the Onitsha man who paid upfront! When I travelled to Onitsha barely a week after to distribute my wedding invitation cards I saw the now deceased ace Nollywood marketer Azubuike Udensi at 51 Iweka Road holding a movie sleeve bearing the title Scores to Settle. ―But that‘s the movie RMD told me they were shooting just the other day in Lagos?‖ I wondered aloud. ―The film has sold out already,‖ Azubuike said. ―There‘s not a single copy left in Onitsha. This one I have here had to be borrowed from somebody…‖ (Para. 37-42).

Publishing houses

Like the printing presses, the publishing houses in Nigeria are primarily in business to make a profit. They publish books for sale to educational institutions and their foray into literature is driven by the prospect of making money by publishing works that are on the syllabus of primary, secondary and tertiary

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institutions of learning. Since literature is on the syllabus, and there was a quest to replace the Europeans texts with locally authored books in the spirit of independence Nigerian writers were encouraged to submit manuscripts for the assessment and publication of these largely foreign publishing houses. They employ graduates of the universities as editors and, as Osundare observed above, set up a standard for the kind of books they would publish in terms of theme and technique. They, therefore, establish series that published the kind of literary works they wanted. The most popular literary series in Nigeria, perhaps Africa, is Heinemann‘s African Writers Series with Chinua Achebe as the editor up until 1972. The series published internationally African authors such as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong‘o, Ama Ata Aidoo, Steve Biko, Nardine Gordimer, Okot p‘Bitek, etc. By the time the series was rested in 1984, it has published about 250 titles. Besides Heinemann, Longman also had its Drumbeat series and Macmillan its Pace-setters series. Interestingly, each series has its thematic focus and technique. The AWS is addressed mostly to university students and graduates. It regards itself as the high literature of the Nigerian society. Hence the themes often have to do with the debilitating effect of the colonial experience on Africans and the post-independence failure of leadership in many African states. The language is as sophisticated as could be found in the average English novel but enriched with images, symbols, myths and proverbs from the African milieu. In terms of narrative technique, the authors in the series adopt a myriad of realist, surrealist, magical realist, epistolary, and stream-of- consciousness methods. Chinua Achebe‘s Things Fall Apart, Ngugi wa Thiong‘o‘s Petals of Blood as well as Bessie Head‘s A Question of Power are excellent examples. Longman‘s Drumbeat series is similar to Heinemann‘s AWS but it is more

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urban and contemporary in its themes. Festus Iyayi‘s Violence, Samuel Selvon‘s Lonely Londoners, George Lamming‘s In the Castle of My Skin, Bode Sowande‘s A Farewell to Babylon (and other plays) and Victims by Isidore Okpewho are good examples of works published in the Drumbeat series. Macmillan‘s Pace-setter‘s series provided an avenue for young writers to publish their works, and targeted the average school leaver as its mass readers. So it aspires to be the thriller series of the Nigerian society and, therefore, focuses on such general interest themes as love, crime, mystery, etc. Its language is largely journalistic and referential, its characterisation and narrative technique, like all thrillers, also keep faith with the realist tradition. Titles published in this series include: Helen Obviagele‘s Evbu My Love, Dickson Ighrini‘s Death is a Woman and Bloodbath at Lobster Close, and Kalu Okpi‘s Coup!

A logical corollary of the contribution of the publishing houses to the transition observable in African literature is that each house determines what and who it publishes. The contention of this paper is that the notion of the freedom of the artist./artiste to say and write what he likes is in essence a mirage as the controllers of the medium of publication (publishers, editors, editorial consultants) often influence the theme and technique in the work of art overtly or subtly. That may account for the reluctance of notable African writers like Wole Soyinka and Ayi Kwei Armah to publish their works in Heinemann‘s African Writers Series. From the 1980s onwards, the Nigerian economy has been on a tailspin and the ensuing free-fall in the value of the naira has negatively impacted on the book industry to the extent that many of the traditional publishers stopped publishing new literary works. The famous literary series,

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Heinemann‘s African Writer‘s Series, Longman‘s Drumbeat Series, Macmillan‘s Pace-setter‘s series, etc. were discontinued. The book trade went into near oblivion in Nigeria for a long time and was revived in the last ten years by the institution of the prestigious literary prizes, the most prestigious and lucrative being the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas of Nigeria (NLNG) prize for literature which pays a hundred thousand dollars to the winner. At the current exchange rate of N450 to $1, the winner is obviously translated from the empire into the metropolitan centre financially! Other literary prizes Nigerian authors now write for include, the Etisalat Literary Prize, the Caine Prize, the Commonwealth prize, etc. Thus, the quest for financial em- powerment has revived book writing activities in Nigeria. In other words, few of our writers now write primarily for the average Nigerian; some even relocated abroad to best ply their trade. Like the traditional publishers, however, those who publish with the hope of winning prizes are still subject to the dictates of those who instituted these awards. The fact that many of the judges of these awards are from the academia meant that the authors submitting their works for these awards must write the kind of books that meet the rarefied critical standards of the egg-heads from the academy. But one serendipitous develop-ment in recent times is the rise of the vanity press which allows individual authors to finance their own publications as well as the pervasiveness of electronic sites where authors can sell their works as e-books without necessarily going through the established publishers. Thus, to a large extent, writers have a modicum of control over their content and form without the overriding but subtle control of the medium of publications.

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Conclusion

This paper has conducted a survey of the media of publication of African literature from the colonial to the present and concludes that a great transition has taken place. This transition is not only from oral to written but from written to the virtual space provided by new technologies. The paper also finds out that much of this transition observable in the literature is due to the editorial policies of the publishing sites, either oral or written, and that the notion of the freedom of the artist to write as he feels has been largely circumscribed by the editorial policies of the owners of the publishing sites. But with recent development in publishing technology and the democratisation of the virtual space through technological advancements, African literature is entering a crucial phase in its existence, the liberty phase when African writers can truly be free to write, publish and disseminate their works without kowtowing to the editorial dictatorship of any publisher.

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Osundare, Niyi. Songs of the Season. Nigeria: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1990. Print.

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CHALLENGES OF TEACHING PRACTICE IN BENINESE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

KODJO SONOU Gbègninou Théophile

English Department, Institut Universitaire Panafricain-IUP (Panafrican University Institute) Porto-Novo, Republic of Benin

Abstract

Teaching practice is an important subject for teachers’ training. Teachers‘ training is theoretical and also practical. There is critical need for the student-teachers to undergo teaching practice. Trained teachers are to put the trainees through. Therefore, the process of teaching is for them to gain teaching experiences. The experiences are necessary for the teachers‘ job. But it is regrettable to note that problems arise from teaching practice as the techniques and the management are not effectively taken into account during the process of training students who will become teachers. Such problems are: the duration of the teaching practice, the supervision, financing, teaching materials, etc. The research objective is to examine and to analyze the challenges of teaching practice in Beninese secondary schools and suggest to both teachers and student-teachers the implementation of the techniques and managerial norms of teaching practice for amelioration. Quantitative method of research with random access technique coupled with interview was used to carry out the research work. The results obtained have shown that there are many challenges that the student-teachers are facing. More appropriate techniques and managerial norms are to be put into practice for the supervision of student-teachers during their teaching practice training.

Keywords: Teaching practice, student-teachers, norms, teaching, management

Résumé

Le stage pratique et professionnel est une matière très importante pour la formation de l‘enseignant. La formation de l‘enseignant est à la fois théorique et pratique. Il y a un besoin crucial de stage professionnel par les élèves-professeurs dans le processus de la formation des élèves-enseignants.

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Alors, les enseignants formés doivent mettre les élèves-professeurs dans des situations de classes afin de leur permettre de développer des aptitudes pratiques d‘enseignants. L‘acquisition de ces expériences est nécessaire pour la pratique de la profession d‘enseignant. Mais, il est regrettable de constater que des problèmes surgissent des stages professionnels parce que les techniques et la gestion ne sont pas bien prises en compte lors de la formation des élèves-enseignants qui doivent devenir des professeurs de plein droit. Ces problèmes sont : la durée du stage professionnel, la supervision, le financement, les matériels didactiques etc. La recherche a pour objectif d‘examiner et d‘analyser les difficultés auxquelles les élèves- professeurs font face et celle de la gestion du stage professionnel des élèves- professeurs et de suggérer aussi bien aux enseignants qu‘aux élèves- professeurs l‘application des techniques et les normes de gestion des stages pratiques dans les cours secondaires au Bénin. Les résultats obtenus ont montré que les normes sont à peine respectées et il est important de mettre en application les normes pour une meilleure pratique de la supervision des élèves-professeurs pendant le stage professionnel.

Mots-clés : stage professionnel, élèves-enseignants, normes, enseignement, management.

Introduction

Teaching practice in teacher‘s education aims at empowering graduating competent teachers in the course of their acquisition of practical knowledge and experiences in the field of teaching. It is therefore expected that student-teachers are to demonstrate aptitude not only in acquiring knowledge in their specialized areas of study but also in the art of teaching. It is obvious that it is through teaching-practice exercises that teaching compe- tencies are developed. Therefore, before a student-teacher is declared qualified for certification, he/she must have acquired and demonstrated competencies in teaching.

The research is centered on language education where English as a foreign language is the specific domain of the student- teachers used as sample.

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It should be noted that the most important advantages of the teaching practice is to make the student teacher a competent teacher who can teach with little or no supervision. Every profession sets objectives to be achieved by members of that profession. The programs designed for the practical teaching here are to help the trainees to bridge the gap between the theory and the practical. The medical and engineering profess- sions have programs such as housemanship and industrial attachment respectively, while in teachers‘ training, it is tea- ching practice that is the practical way for the student-teachers to gain more experiences. The objectives of teaching practice are based on the belief that; ―practice makes perfect‖. In this case, the perfection does not only refer to the student teacher, but to all the participants in this situation such as the student teacher, supervisor, participating school and even the external examiner. They are expected to perfect their different activities and roles played during teaching practice.

There is, therefore, a crucial need to better train the student- teachers for them to become competent teachers who will keep the nation moving from grace to grace. The student is ready to learn when he has a competent teacher before him, and a competent teacher is trained by the process of teaching practice.

The cognitive knowledge of the student-teachers must be taken into account by the training teacher. When he is teaching, the student-teacher observes and there after a discussion starts between the two and here the teacher must begin with what the student-teacher knows. You will find that learning moves faster when it builds on what the student already knows. Teaching that begins by comparing the old, known information or process and

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the new, unknown ones allows the student to grasp new information more quickly. Teaching practice aims at making student-teachers to quickly acquire competencies.

The research work is presented with nine different points as follows: background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives, hypotheses, concept of teaching practice, research methodology, discussions on the findings, observations and the suggestions. Each of the points is developed to suite the aim of the Research work.

Background of the Study

Teaching practice is very important to the student-teachers as it helps them to acquire knowledge and experiences. A school is a formal milieu where knowledge is acquired in a very organised way. Teaching practice is planned step by step and level by level as to suit the needs of the student-teachers. To get this properly done, practical experiences showing between the teachers and the student-teachers in the classroom situations is required. Explaining the usefulness of classroom, Kocchar (2007:188) states that:

The classroom is a formal place where teachers and learners meet for teahing and for learning. Mee- tings between teachers and learners should be occasions for learning, thinking and understanding. Classroom is the place where maximum advantages are achieved in the process of education.

Here, teaching practice is the object of this study. Teaching practice needs techniques and good management to be applied by the teacher as to achieve his goal of making the Student- teachers to acquire experiences. Therefore, it becomes

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imperative that teaching practise activities are well planned and well conducted. This shows the importance and the usefulness of teaching practise and the application of the techniques that must be used to achieve the goal of teaching and learning by students on the one hand and by the student-teachers on the other hand.

Statement of the Problem

Techniques of teaching practice such as planning the lessons, getting ready the teaching materials, understanding learners‘ sociology and psychology under the supervision of a teacher are necessary. For effective teaching practice to take place, there is need to create a conducive atmosphere for learning, but it seems that most English language teachers in Republic of Bénin are ignorant of these techniques. The absence of these managerial techniques of teaching practice is a great problem to the teachers. He has less time and almost no materials to take good care of the student-teachers that he is training alongside the regular school students. The absence of classroom management techniques in English language education can be attributed to inefficient training and or no training at all. Another factor, however, can be poor teaching practice. More so, indiscipline on the part of the students is yet another factor militating against effective teaching practice.

Objective of the Study

The objective of the study is to:

expose and appraise the techniques of teaching practice to student-Teachers;
1. examine and analyse the usefulness and the challenges of teaching practice techniques in the teaching and

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learning of English as a foreign language to both the student-teachers and the learners ;

discuss the challenges of teaching practice techniques in English as a foreign language.

Hypotheses

Three hypotheses were used to verify the usefulness of techniques of teaching practice in the process of teaching and learning of English as a foreign language.

Exposing and appraising the techniques of teaching practice help student-teachers of English as a foreign language to better know the practical techniques of the profession in order to apply them in teaching;
1. Examining and analysing the usefulness of the techniques of teaching practice of English as a foreign language teaching and learning make teaching and learning process beneficial to both student-teachers and the learners;
1. Discussing the challenges of teaching practice techniques in English language studies gives way to remedy to the short comings and reinforces the quality of teaching and learning.
Concept of Teaching Practice

There are various definitions by different scholars on this subject matter. In Nigeria, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) in 1991 defined teachi ng practice as «an internal part of the teacher education programs aimed at providing student teachers the opportunity to put into practice their theoretical knowledge in real school life

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situation. » For Okorie (1979) and Ogwo (1999), « teaching practice is an exercise in which a student teacher is exposed to all the practices of a full-fledged teacher.» According to Kashim (2015:58):

Teaching practice is the first opportunity the student teacher has to showcase his / her theoretical knowledge in a practical or actual situation. It is at this time that he / she comes in contact with the different categories of pupils, the classroom and school environment. The teaching practice must take place in a school setting to give the student teacher the opportunity to develop himself/ herself professionally.

This means that teaching practice has a link with classroom and school environment. More so, the classroom is a place dominated by the teacher‘s authority, where teaching practice takes place under the supervision of the teacher. By the teachers‘ activities, student teachers learn and practice what is being done by experiences through observations. He sees to the provision of teaching materials and tools for practical work. He regulates the time for activities and assigns duties to the class. For Kashim (2015), «Classroom is the place where the teacher mostly carries out his primary assignment of teaching, counselling, supervision and research ». The classroom is a place where instructions take place in the school. It is made of walls, doors, few desks, benches, the chalkboard and other teaching aids. A classroom is a place of social intimacy where children live together and are held together for the purpose of learning to read, write and also achieve the purposes of the school.

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Advantages of Teaching Practice

The student-teachers get a lot of benefits from teaching practice. Teaching practice has the advantages of applying principles of learning to a particular situation to bring about meaningful changes in the experience of the learners; identify objectives of teaching and to see the relationship of a day‘s lesson to the long range plans for a week or term, organize syllabus content around major concepts and generalizations in the development of sequential learning in a unit or a course of study. Teaching practice activities also help to use knowledge of human growth and development of children and adolescents in providing effective teaching and learning situations. The activities make the student teachers to become familiar with a variety of instructional materials and resources; evaluate and select those appropriate for the objectives in a teaching unit or lesson.

Other activities are to identify factors that influence the effectiveness of the teaching learning process and ways to direct or control them; identify factors that influence the effectiveness of the teaching learning process and find ways to direct or control them, apply the principles of evaluation and use the results of evaluation as a means for improving instructions. Develop efficient and effective-practices for carrying the management classroom; communicate and work effectively with pupils, members of staff and other members of the school. Establish rapport and appropriate means of interaction with individuals and small or large groups.

More so, the advantages of teaching practice are to have the opportunity to participate in community activities which will enhance the professional growth of a teacher. It should be noted that the most important advantages of the teaching practice is to

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make the student teacher a competent teacher who can teach with little or no supervision

Purpose of Teaching Practice

The purpose of teaching practice is to help student-teachers develop positive attitude towards the teaching profession; expose student teachers to real life classroom experience under the supervision of professional teachers; enable student teachers, discover their own strengths and weaknesses in teaching and develop opportunities to consolidate and overcome them; to provide a forum for student teachers to translate educational theories and principles into practice; again teaching practice activities help to familiarize student teachers with school routines; expose student teachers to the total school environment; provide student teachers with the necessary skills, competencies, personal characteristics and experiences for fulltime teaching after graduation; to serve as a means of assessing the professional competence of student teachers.

Teaching Practice Code of Conduct

In the process of teaching-practice knowledge acquisition, student teacher must respect the rules of the code of conduct. Firstly, student teachers are expected to stay in the school to which they are officially allocated. On no account should any student teacher change his/her school without due clearance from the chairman of the teaching practice committee. They are expected to come punctually and leave only at the official closing time. The attendance register must be signed personally in the principals/ headmaster’s/ headmistress‘ office. Early de- parture and absence from school without the principal‘s/ headmaster‘s or the headmistress‘ permission would result in suspension from the exercise. Secondly, cases of illness must be

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reported to the school authority as soon as possible. If it is serious enough to warrant absence from school, a medical certificate must be obtained from a doctor in a government hospital. Medical certificate obtained from private hospitals will not be honored. Cases of illnesses not so reported will be treated as absence without permission. This will result in suspension from the exercise. Also persistent shabby, flam- boyant or indecent dressing to school would attract suspension from the exercise. Thirdly, any reported and confirm act of rudeness, insubordination and non-cooperation with the principal/ headmaster/headmistress and his staff would attract suspension from the exercise. Repeated immoral relationship with student-teachers will not only result in immediate sus- pension from the exercise but will also be followed by investigation by the school‘s Students-disciplinary committee. This code of conduct will help student-teachers to conduct themselves well as ambassadors of their institutions for effect- tive competence acquisition.

Research Methodology

Quantitative method of research coupled with interviews was used to carry out the research.

Research Instrument

A questionnaire was used to collect data that are analyzed. Random Access technique was used to select 30 student teachers who are under training at the Porto-Novo Teachers training school, University of Abomey-Calavi.

Method of Data Collection

Thirdly, 200L students were selected from the English Department of Porto-Novo Teachers Training School,

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University of Abomey-Calavi and positioned in six secondary schools across the country by a group of 5 student-teachers per school. The schools where student-teachers were sent for their teaching practice exercises are:

Lycée ¹ Mathieu Bouké, Parakou in the north of Republic of Benin
1. Lycée Mafori Bangoura, Abomey in the central region of the country
1. CEG² Bohicon, situated at the centre of Republic of Benin
1. Lycée Coulibaly, Cotonou at the south of the country
1. Lycée Behauzin, Porto-Novo at the south of the country;
1. Lycée Technique of Agbokou, Porto-Novo in the south of the country;

Questionnaire sheets were distributed to the 30 student-teachers after they had spent three months in their different schools of teaching practice. The distribution took place at the Port-Novo Teachers Training School, University of Abomey-Calavi, after the 30 students had completed their 200L teaching practice exercises and returned to their school base at Porto-Novo. A week after the questionnaire was distributed, the sheets were filled and the Researcher collected them back for data presentation and analysis.

¹ Lycée is a High secondary school. After their baccalaureate i.e. WASSC, the best students are sent to this type of school depending on their domain of specialization.

² CEG in french is ―Collège d‘Enseignement Général―, that is Secondary school of general studies.

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Presentation of Data and Analysis

The table below contains Research questions and the responses supplied by the 30 student-teachers. In the table data obtained were also presented as well as the percentage of the responses.

Table presenting data and results

N_°	Questions	Student- teachers	Percentages
1.	Did you enjoy your teaching practice exercises?	Yes	No	Yes	No
25	05	83.33 %	16.67 %
2.	Are you able to reinforce your teaching aptitude after the teaching practice exercises ?	30	00	100%	00%
3.	Did you submit a report to your Head of Department after the exercises?	30	00	100%	00%
4.	Did you obtain more than 14/20, i.e. 70/100 as mark given by the teaching practice supervisor?	26	04	86.66 %	13.33 %
5.	Did you obtain 12/20, i.e, 60/100 as a mark at least?	04	–	13.33 %	00%

Figure source, Kodjo Sonou, 2020

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Discussions of the Findings

All the 30 student-teachers who participated in the teaching practice exercise responded to the five questions on the questionnaire sheet. After collecting all the responses supplied by the respondent, the findings were discussed.

Analyses of the Results

Each of the results obtained after treating the questions are presented and analyzed here.

Question 1: Did you like your teaching practice exercise? 25 said yes, i.e., 83.33% while 5 student-teachers said no to that question, i.e. 16.67%. After interviewing the student-teachers, the researcher observed that the 5 who did not like and enjoy the exercise faced many challenges on their field of practical training. The difficulties they encountered are as follows: lack of money to take good care of themselves; some also complained about lack of adequate teaching materials; while some did not appreciate their supervisor who was the teacher training them.
Question 2: Are you able to reinforce your teaching aptitude after the teaching practice exercises? All the 30 student-teachers supplied a positive answer, i.e. 100% positive answer. This means that even those 5 students-teachers who stated that they did not like or enjoy the exercise gained a lot from the exercise.
Question 3: Did you submit a report to your Head of Department after the exercise? All the 30 student-teachers said Yes, i.e. 100% of positive answer. The report is part of necessary documents that help the school authorities to appreciate the quality of the exercise.

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Question 4: Did you obtain more than 14/20, i.e. 70/100 as mark given by the teaching practice supervisor? 26 student- teachers responded Yes, i.e., 86.66% of the positive answer. This result shows that large majority of the student-teachers are very serious about the exercises.
Question 5: Did you obtain as mark, at least 12/20, i.e. 60/100? 4 student-teachers said yes. And, this is very significant because in Porto-Novo Teachers Training School, the minimum mark that a student must obtain as to pass a subject is 12/20 i.e 60/100.

A very good conclusion was drawn from the exercise as all the student-teachers passed the subject. The result also demonstrated that the inspectors appreciated the quality of the exercise.

It should be noted at this point that the three objectives and the three hypotheses of the study are confirmed with the results of the research work. As for objective n°1 the expositing and appraising the techniques of teaching practice, the student- teachers better know the techniques and also the challenges as to develop their professional skills. Therefore, hypothesis is confirmed with objective n°1. Also, for the objective n°2, the hypothesis n°2 is confirmed with the objective as by analyzing the challenges of teaching practice and appreciating the usefulness of teaching practice, the student-teachers get better informed and benefit a lot and the learners as well. The hypothesis n°3 is also confined with the objective n°3 as the discuss on the challenges of teaching practice, help the student- teachers to do away with the bad habit and to cultivate the good and professional teaching habit and aptitude.

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Challenges of the Teaching Practice Exercises

Both the student-teachers and teachers who were training the student-teachers face many challenges in the process of the exercise.

Financial Challenges

Government does not finance teaching practice exercises. Student-teachers have to get money to travel to where they are posted and probably rent a house if the community or school authorities do not provide them with a room. Feedings and dressing, and teaching materials purchase are some other challenges that the student-teachers are facing.

Teaching Practice School Challenges

Many challenges are observed here:

As soon as the student teacher collects his/her posting letter, he/she is expected to report to the principal/headmaster/ headmistress immediately and a letter of acceptance would be given to him/her to submit to the chairman teaching practice committee. The teaching practice school will organize an orientation for teaching practice students. This orientation is necessary to enable student teachers familiarize themselves with the school, school rules, classrooms and community envi- ronment.

Kashim (2015:65), states that: « After the orientation, the student-teacher is assigned a class or classes to teach and the subjects to teach. In a normal situation, student-teachers are assigned to teach subjects in their areas of specialization or related subjects». But in these activities, the challenges are very high. For example, a student teacher who specializes in English language education may be asked to teach French, Spanish or

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German. The student-teacher is expected to collect the syllabus and break it into the scheme of work for the duration he/she would be on teaching practice. It is from this scheme of work that he/ she would plan the lesson to be taught.

Adequate preparation before the actual teaching is very important. The student-teachers have to write the lesson plan, get relevant and adequate instructional materials and then present the lesson. During the lesson presentation, the student teacher is expected to maintain good classroom communication and control. He/she is expected to keep records of students‘ or pupil‘s continuous assessment, make personality adjustment in line with the professional ethics. He/ She must participate in the school‘s co-curricular activities and also adjust to the school and community standards of behaviour. These are great challenges for the student-teachers who, one way or the other, learn a lot from them.

Student-Teachers Qualification for Teaching Practice Qualification for teaching practice is a challenge. Teaching practice is a six (6) credit unit and compulsory for all students undergoing teacher education programmes. Students must pass some prescribed courses to qualify them for teaching practice, for instance, the Porto-Novo Teachers Training School, stipu- lates, that teaching practice is compulsory for all students. Only students who pass Teaching methodology Micro teaching theory would qualify to go on teaching practice. The school also further stated that teaching practice has to be done in the student‘s teaching subject(s) and has to be passed for the student to earn the six (6) credits unit required in this course.

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Furthermore, the school stipulates that teaching practice exer- cise is to last for a full semester duration which should run at a stretch from the beginning of 100L, 200L and 300L second semester to the end. Each student teacher should have a minimum of ten (10) supervisions, where inspectors come in a week or two weeks to the end of the semesters at the 300L to appreciate the whole quality of the three academic exercises.

Supervisor‟s contributions

The Supervisor plays a great role in the process of the activities of teaching practice. He/she may assemble the student teachers with the help of the students‘ principal to address them before he/she starts to supervise them, or may go straight to supervise those that are already teaching in the classroom. He/she inspects their scheme of work, past and present lesson plans. He/she watches the student teachers teach, write comments and award scores based on the score sheet‘s mark allocations.

After the whole exercise, the supervisor will discuss with the student-teachers pointing out their weaknesses and strength as written on the Score sheet. This exercise helps student-teachers to adjust and improve. He/she leaves and submits the scores to the chairman teaching practice committee and report any challenges faced either by the student-teachers or him or herself in the teaching practice school. Kashim (2015:67), supported that: « It is expected that the student- teachers choose a leader who will be a link between them and the teaching practice school and between them and their institution.» When student- teachers abide by the school and community rules and the code of conduct, they will find that teaching practice is rewarding.

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Observations

Observations here are the problems militating against effective teaching practice.

I have observed and found out that effective teaching practice is facing some problems for which remedy must be found.

Teaching practice is a gradual process, i.e., a step by step process. When the step is not followed the way it ought to be, the student-teacher will not be well trained.
The duration or the number of hours or minutes approved for a teacher training student-teacher or even the student-teacher to practice what he has learnt in the school is always insufficient. All the 30 student-teachers and even their trainers described this as a great problem.
The teacher who is training must be competent enough as to train others properly. No one can give what he does not have. The incompetent teacher work result to incompetent student-teacher. And this is a great challenge to the school administration.
Lesson planning is an important activity for the student teacher, who by this activity put into practice what he has learnt in theory. The challenge here is that he has to be put through by the trainer teacher who must supervise how the student-teacher is planning his lesson.
The teaching materials are necessary for teaching practice to take place. Enough chalk or maker, teacher and students‘ books, novels for reading and comprehension, etc., are necessary for the activity. Availability of electricity is also necessary for projection or use of audiovisual instructional aids for example. Teaching strategy is another challenge for the student-teacher. They must at all cost develop their own way of

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passing a message to their students for better comprehension. A teacher is an artist. All acceptable physically demonstrations are, sometimes, necessary to make students better understand and capture the message he or she is transmitting. For example, why can‘t a teacher dance or make movements when teaching a song or reading a text, pronouncing the words properly before asking the student to do so.

The period of interaction between the teacher and the student-teacher is another great moment of challenge. This moment must not be practiced, but fun and pleasant because if good atmosphere is not created by the teacher, the student- teacher will not learn much. There must not be fear in their relationship; it must remain professional. But, of course, the difference in rank and tall respect to a senior colleague is recommended. Sexual and material harassment must be shunned on the part of the teacher who should remain a model vis-à-vis the student-teacher. Even when the teacher that is training is younger than the student-teacher, the respect must be intact for good professional collaboration.
Proper dressing is another great problem faced by the student-teacher as some of them lack necessary means to dress suitably. Unsuitable dressing – sandals, transparent clothes, etc., are not good and does not show or give good image to the learners that consider the student-teacher a model.
The dilemma of lack of teachers in some schools: – It has been observed that due to lack of teachers, student-teachers are positioned to replace the teacher and this is not acceptable. The student-teacher need more practical activities as to be fully trained and declared a graduate teacher who can teach without any supervision or assistance. But, it is regrettable to observe and witness this situation in some schools. The situation is less observed in the big cities such as Cotonou, Porto-Novo,

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Parakou, Abomey, but more rampant in the other cities and rural areas of the country.

The researcher gets confused to hear student-teachers ex- plaining the way they are employed as teachers, sometimes, are engaged fully into teaching activities as if they were already trained teachers, and this must be discouraged.

After these observations suggestion for effective teaching prac- tice with respect to norms and free of negative challenges are presented to conclude the research work, suggestions for effective teaching practice are presented as goods and norm to respect.

Suggestions for Effective Teaching Practice

The research makes some suggestions for effective teaching practice techniques by the different actors. The suggestions highlighted ways and manners by which effective teaching practice techniques can be developed.

Following the eight observations that are part of the problems militating against effective teaching practice, the researcher makes suggestions for remedy.

Gradual process must be followed in the teaching practice process.
The school administration must do their best to solve time factor problem in the teaching practice process.
The school administrators must select very good and competent teachers to train the student teachers.
The trainer teacher has to train the student-teacher on lesson plan.

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Teaching materials must be available and teaching strategies must also follow.
There must be a very good interaction between the teacher and the student- teachers as to facilitate learning.
A teacher or student-teacher is a model who must properly dress as to maintain his personality and to remain a model.
Teachers should be fully engaged in teaching activities without supervision if he or she is not already well-trained.

With the good implementation of all these suggestions teaching practice exercises will be better used as a means to empowered student-Teachers in the process of their training.

Conclusion

Teaching is the most important activity in the world that makes human beings to graduate from one level of understanding and knowledge acquisition to the other. It develops a human being and makes him to be useful. Its practice is about sharing experiences with the new or future teachers that are, here, called Student-teachers. A good teaching practice techniques, application and management helps to produce by training, good and competent teachers. These competent teachers are at the centre of any national development. Knowledge and competences acquisition are obtained through experiences and practice. Particular attention must be paid to teaching practice in the teacher training schools.

It is important to observe that effective teaching practice and learning is a process that is followed step by step as to train the student-teachers. In some situations, hopefully most, there is

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need to have time to sit down and develop a formal teaching plan. In others, one is confronted with a ‘teachable moment” when the student is ready to learn and is asking pointed questions. The teaching practice techniques presented help the teacher to give better orientation to the subject for effective teaching practice and good training of the student-teachers. The problems of duration for effective teaching practice to take place, there are needs to consider the size of the moment i.e. the duration. Teaching is most effective when it produces response to the needs of the learner.

Effective teaching practice implies involving the student- teacher to plan the lesson under the supervision of the teacher. For learning to occur, there is need to get the student involved to identify his learning needs and outcomes. Also, there is need to help him to develop attainable objectives. As the teaching process continues, you can further engage him or her by selecting teaching strategies and materials that require the students‘ direct involvement, such as role playing and return demonstration. Regardless of the teaching strategy you choose, giving the student the chance to test his or her ideas, to take risks, and to be creative will promote learning.

This research work helps to understand that good and effective teaching practice, produce good and competent teachers. Similarly, qualitative teaching practice techniques and norms implementation give ways to qualitative trained teachers. In teachers‘ training schools and education training setting, teaching practice is necessary and even indispensable as nobody gives what he / she does not have. One gives only, what he / she has. And during teaching practice process, the student-teachers

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must acquire the practical knowledge that they have to use while in classroom situation.

Bibliography

Abani, A. O. and Mohammed, M. O. B. (2010). Fundamentals of educational management. Lagos. Babs – Olatunji Publisher. Ada, N. A. (2010). Curriculum and instruction: an introduction to general methods and principles of teaching. Markudi. Aboki publishers.

Abimiku, J. M. (2012). ―Classroom management and control‖, in Akwangza Journal of research in educational studies. Vol 1, N°1. Makurdi. Abo ki publishers

Kashim, K. L. (2015). Planning to teach (a text for teaching trainees and trainers in Nigeria). Abuja. Fix impressions. LTD Kashim, K. L. (2016). Psychological testing and assessment in counselling. Keffi. Kaymos Printing works.

Kochhar, S. K. (2007). Methods and techniques of teaching. New Delhi. Sterling Publishers. Ltd. p.188

Kodjo Sonou, T. G. (2013). Sociology of education in practice. Porto-Novo. Africatex Médias.

Olaitan, S. O. and Aguidiobo, O. N. (1982). Principles and practice teaching. Ibadan. Spectrum books Limited and john Wiley & sons.

Omokhodion, J. O. and Dosunmu, S. A. (2010). Invitation to sociology of education. Lagos. All print graphics.

Adeyemo, D. O. (1997). Financial and administrative procedure in Nigerian local government, Ile-Ife, Local Government Publication Series.

Bennis, W., & Nanus, B. (1985). Leadership: The strategies for taking charge, New York, Harper & Row.

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Brown, M. E. (2007). ―Misconceptions of Ethical Leadership: How to Avoid Potential Pitfalls‘‘ in Organizational Dynamics, 36 (2), 140-155.

Dossou, D. D. (2013). Management et organisation du travail du cadre dirigeant. Cotonou. Editions Oba.

Kodjo Sonou, G. T. (2012). Comprendre la Culture et la civilisation françaises et francophones. Porto-Novo, Editions Sonou d‘Afrique.

Mialaret, Gaston. (1996). Les sciences de l’éducation. (5^ème Ed.). Paris : PUF, 127P.

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ANALYSIS OF BANK CREDIT RATIONING IMPCT ON NIGERIA‟S REAL SECTOR WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF MACRO-ECONOMIC VARIABLES

OYEWALE „Kayode

Finance Dept., Fac. of Mgt. Sc.,

Univertity of Lagos/

ALLIU Kehinde

Finance Dept., Fac. of Mgt. Sc.,

University of Lagos/

ITEMEH Godspower

Banking & Finance Dept., Fac. of Mgt. Sc.,

Ekiti State University/ ILEMOBAYO Akinwunmi Simeon Finance Dept., Fac. of Mgt. Sc.,

University of Lagos

Abstact

This research effort examined the impact of bank credit rationing (i.e., sharing limited loan-able funds to overly available farmers) to the real sector on the Nigerian economy whilst employing the agricultural sector as a benchmark. it also tested the effect of macro-economic fundamentals on the sector covering 1981 to 2017. The study utilized data sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulleting and World Bank Report. To ensure adequate observation for statistical testing, it adopted a time series regression data analysis. As an extension, the time series nature of the data and the need to investigate the short and long-run dynamics of bank credit rationing on the Agricultural output in Nigeria made necessary the choice of Error Correction Model (ECM). Going by the findings of this study, loans to agric sector (which is part of the explanatory variable), have two-period lag in the study’s parsimonious ECM model. Whilst, the key macro-economic variables exhibited dimensional outcomes; the first period lag D(LSEC_AGRIC(-1) has a negative (-100314) and significant (p-value = 0.0121) impact on output. This therefore means that increase in sectoral loan would significantly decrease output which might suggest that due to

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macro-economic effect, the loan structure is not suitable enough to drive value within the period of study. But the second lag period D(LSEC_AGRIC(-2)) showed a positive (79820.36) and significant (p-value

= 0.0361) impact on agricultural output. The overall outcome thus reveal the fact that, where capital rationing elements are adequately applied, increase in sectoral loan would significantly increase agricultural output with its attendant impact on economic growth – if such credits are optimally utilizedsed; and key macro-economic fundamentals put in check.

Keywords: Bank credit rationing, Bank lending, Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme, Macro-Economic Variables, Agricultural sector output, Economic growth and development

Résumé

Cet effort de recherche a examiné l’impact du rationnement du crédit bancaire (ex: le partage de fonds prêtables limités à des agriculteurs en excès) sur le secteur foncier de l’économie nigériane tout en utilisant le secteur agricole comme référence. Il a également testé l’effet des fondamentaux macro-économiques sur le secteur de 1981 à 2017. L’étude a utilisé des données provenant du bulletin statistique de la banque centrale du Nigéria et du rapport de la Banque mondiale. Pour assurer une observation adéquate des tests statistiques, il a adopté une analyse de régression par séries chronologiques des données. Comme prolongement, la nature chronologique des données et la nécessité d’étudier la dynamique à court et à long terme du rationnement du crédit bancaire sur la production agricole au Nigéria ont rendu nécessaire le choix du modèle de correction d’erreur (ECM). D’après les résultats de cette étude, les prêts au secteur agricole (qui fait partie de la variable explicative), ont un décalage des deux périodes dans le modèle parcimonieux ECM de l’étude. Tandis que les principales variables macro-économiques présentaient des résultats dimensionnels; le décalage de la première période D (LSEC_AGRIC (-1) a un impact négatif (-100314) et significatif (valeur p = 0,0121) sur la production. Cela signifie donc qu’une augmentation du prêt sectoriel réduirait considérablement la production, ce qui pourrait suggérer qu’en raison de l‘effet macroéconomique, la structure du prêt n’est pas suffisamment adaptée pour générer la valeur au cours de la période d’étude. Mais la deuxième période de décalage D (LSEC_AGRIC (- 2)) a montré un impact positif (79820,36) et significatif (valeur p = 0,0361) sur la production agricole. Le résultat global révèle donc le fait que, lorsque

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les éléments de rationnement du capital sont correctement appliqués, une augmentation du prêt sectoriel augmenterait considérablement la production agricole avec son impact sur la croissance économique – si ces crédits sont utilisés de manière optimale; et les principaux fondamentaux macroéconomiques sont suffisamment contrôlés.

Mots clés: Rationnement du crédit, prêt bancaire, système de garantie du crédit agricole, variables macroéconomiques, secteur agricole, production du secteur agricole, croissance économique.

Introduction

In the trek towards sustainable economic development of an emerging nation as Nigeria, agriculture sector is of paramount concern since it stands in the primary position and therefore the forefront of virtually all productive connections. Often, short- term loans from financial institutions are mainly required to meet important financing needs in the agricultural production cycle. Such advances are earmarked for crop and livestock intakes, production requirements, and other related services that include handling, manufacture, packing, processing, storage, transport, and marketing of agricultural produce (including agro-allied products).

Agriculture in Nigeria is the most dominant sector and a major source of livelihood for the majority of the population. It accounts for about 70% of employment; in spite of this, it has not been able to achieve the major objectives of agricultural development (Ayodele, 2019).

The Nigerian agricultural sector is vital to its economic growth and development since it has innumerable potentials of generating employment opportunities, alleviating food inse- curity, encouraging agro-industrialization and improving

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entrepreneurship through capacity building. The realization of this fact led Nigerian government to embark on several agricul- tural development programmes, many of which, unfortunately could not see the light of the day (Manyong, Ikpi, Olayemi, Yusuf, Omonona, Okaruwa and Idachaba, 2005).

As it is today, there abounds in contemporary Nigeria, plethora of agricultural financing programmes that are geared towards lifting her economy out of the present predicaments – App-N(1). These noble schemes are expected to trigger the necessary transitions to larger scale, less labour-intensive and modern farming methods amongst Nigeria farmers.

The Nigerian agricultural sector is largely situated within the framework of the rural economy. A key feature of the sector is the dominance of small scale farmers, rural house-holds, agricultural house-holds or farm house-holds. They cultivate less than five (5) hectares of land on the average; thus they look insignificant individually but collectively they form the foundation on which the nation‘s economy rests (Rahji and Adeati,2010). On the whole, agricultural growth is a key instrument to alleviating rural poverty and facilitating urbanization.

In line with above reasoning, Okolo (2004) has described agricultural sector as the most important sector of the economy which holds a lot of potentials for the future economic development of the nation through the creation of employment opportunity to the teeming population. In spite of the important role which the agricultural sector plays in the development of a nation, previous Nigerian governments at the Federal, State and Local Government levels had failed to address the specific

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constraints in their various attempts to increase agricultural production in Nigeria. This is in spite of the fact that the contributions of agriculture to economic development include providing increased food surplus to the rapidly expanding population, increasing the expansion of the industrial sector that constitutes a major source of employment, earnings foreign exchange through commodity export and provision of market for the production of the industrial sector. Besides, agriculture also generates capital for sustainable industrial production via providing food and raw materials inputs for industrial processing, etc.

However despite its laudable benefits (both present and potential), the agricultural credit market in Nigeria is affected by different imperfections such as covariate risk, scarcity of collateral, information deficiencies and mass illiteracy of clients. The wide-scale of credit rationing by banks to agricultural sectors is often attributed to the widespread of information asymmetry which leads to problems of adverse selection and moral hazard that underpins the reluctance of commercial banks to lend to farmers (Olomola, 1999a).

It is however important to stress further that over the contemporaneous years, illiteracy and information lag have constituted great hindrance to farmers such that had deprived them of taking a good advantage of alternative means of reaching out to desirous agric-borrowers which abounds in plethora form courtesy of governments financing schemes.

Beyond these stalling limitations, it could be deduced that agricultural credit market in Nigeria is fraught with pitfalls and characterized by seeming unwillingness of the commercial

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banks to adequately lend to it. For instance, this unwanted development is proven when agric. lending is viewed vis-a-vis other competing or prioritized sector like manufacturing lending

– App-D(2&4). Situations as this may not be unconnected with perceived high risk of agric-loan repayment and inadequate collateral security offered by local farmers. This development explains why the CBN interventionist effort, via the agric-credit guarantee scheme fund (ACGSF) came on board to fill this obvious gap.

However, despite the wellness intended by the scheme, its operation started to meet similar fate that had bedeviled existing commercial bank lenders to agric-sector – App-N(2).

To further buttress this debacle of insufficient agric-lending, this study offers an apt recapitulation of its observations with further detailed extension in the Appendices N(1), D(1) to D(4)..

Other notable constraints spurring agric-credit rationing are poor agricultural statistics and land information system – including underdeveloped property rights regime; especially as regards the difficulty in using land as collateral for loans.

Statement of the Problem

Scheming through the aforesaid, it is thus noted that increasing agricultural productivity has been a key development challenge in Nigeria over the decades. This is in spite of the gamut of agric-schemes that have been ―lavished‖ by succeeding governments – even before 1960 political independence. There is a general consensus that the key constraint facing farmers remains lack of access to formal sector credit to enable them

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take advantage of economic opportunities so as to increase their level of output – hence move out of poverty zone. This concern for mainly small farmers and the rural poor as such, has been responsible for the design of various financial sector policies. In this regard and as already noted above, a very notable policy frame work is the Nigerian Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF). This was established to mobilize funds from the banking sector for rural development by guaranteeing loans from commercial banks for investment in agriculture. Despite its noble intention of minimizing risks involved in financing the sector by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) the vicissitudes of the financial sector appeared to be inseparable from the performance of the ACGSF in meeting up with its goals of mobilizing adequate credit for the agricultural sector – hence its progress has over the years been largely restrained.

Thus, a corollary to the above notion suggestively rests on the fact that while lending to agro-business is vital for a number of reasons, most banks still prefer to ration credit to agricultural sectors, i.e. sharing limited (loan-able) funds to overly available farmers – App-D(1) & N(3). Two reasons could be pointed at in this regard. First, it could be a response to farmers‘ low demand. Second, low amount of available credit could result from the supply-side to indicate a restrictive bank credit policy to agriculture – albeit, this is ―internally‖ conceived in order to avoid the wrath of the financial authority that sees the sector as a prime sector for lending purpose.

At this point, the culmination of all the analyses above takes this research effort a step further from observing the general notion of capital rationing impact on agricultural output; but attempts offering a logical extension to the discussion by way of

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considering (independently) the roles of the fundamental macro variables expressed in the form of interest rate alignment (i.e. cost of agriculture loans), inflation (increased cost of goods and services) and foreign exchange (cost of FOREX in naira terms). This will no doubt help a great deal to expand the frontier of relevant knowledge regarding the bank lending and capital rationing arguments.

Study Hypotheses

In this study, the following null research hypotheses are tested: H₀₁: Bank credit rationing has no significant impact on agricultural sector output in Nigeria.

H_02a: Macro-economic variable A (Inflation) has no significant impact on agricultural sector output in Nigeria. H_02b: Macro-economic variable B (Foreign Exchange) has no significant impact on agricultural sector output in Nigeria.

H_02c: Macro-economic variable C (Interest Rate) has no significant impact on agricultural sector output in Nigeria.

Conceptual Framework

Bank Credit Rationing and Agricultural Sector

Latruff and Fraser (2002) observed that credit rationing occurs when farmers have limited access to credit or regarding individuals that source for agricultural expansion or restricted in the amount they can borrow. Most poor lives in the rural areas while only few in the urban centers that forms a large percentage of the population in the country. They are also dominant producers of food and other essential materials. Meanwhile, the financial institutions have not adequately provided financial services to them as a result of their stringent conditions for making funds available to farmers as well as the

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lack of access to available funds irrespective of the bank lending constraint.

Konare (2001) opined that the issue of inadequate access to credit by rural farmers, among others, has remained the central concern for farmers and a key constraint to the modernization and diversification of their activities. Failure to exchange information between the lender and the borrower brings about information asymmetry between the two parties, and to address this problem, lenders limit their activity in order to possess limited information asymmetry (Stiglitz &Weiss, 1981). The poor in the rural area whose main occupation is farming and who can contribute significantly to the development of the sector do not have access to banking services.

Mehrteab (2005) echoed in this direction when he posited that the challenges facing the present day farmers in Nigeria is lack of access to loans from financial institutions based on inadequate information on their demand for collateral and related requests by those institutions. Okurut (2006) also remarked that the rural poor farmers are excluded from the formal financial system due to the fact that formal banks are either unwilling or unable to serve farmers. These banks face high risk and transaction costs, difficulties in enforcing contracts, and penalization by the Central bank for lending to enterprises that lack traditional collateral. They also lack reliable information on borrowers, appropriate information systems and instruments for managing risk.

Information asymmetry or lag could be pointed as a reason for credit rationing in most credit markets. Rendering the case study of Bulgaria as an instance, the case of lending institutions

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apply various measures to overcome this information lags. These include requirements for detailed financial data about capital adequacy, liquidity, leverage, credit history, etc. One can expect that the higher farm profit is, the better access to credit market a farmer will have. But in many cases the adequacy of financial information is questionable. In practice we observe negative correlation between farm profitability and banks‘ willingness to advance loans. The reason is that farmers keep an incomplete financial reporting system – where there is any at all. Another factor that increases asymmetric information is farmers‘ incapability (in many cases) to present clearly and confidently their conceptions and business-plan about the investment and credit use before lenders. Among the specific factors of imperfect markets in Bulgaria, collateral problem cannot be explained by information asymmetry theory. Insufficient collateral continue to be the most amongst lenders‘ reasons to deny or decrease the amount of available credit.

Assessment of Agro-Allied Effects

As a logical extension to our discussions, a further peep would capture the importance of agric-based commodities as we examine its contribution to other key sectors of the Nigerian economy via agro-allied analysis in Tabular format as follows-

Table A: Transformation of Agric-produce to Agro-allied products

RAW AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE	MANUFACTURING/SMES OUTCOME
Rubber	Rubber shoes, plastics, tyres, gum, etc.
Cassava	Primary consumption, flour, animal feeds, etc.
Palm oil	Primary consumption, soap, pomade, etc.
Cocoa	Cocoa butter, beaverages, ointments,

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	etc.
Animal farming: e.g. goats.	Goat skin: mat, slippers, bags, clothing, etc.

Source: Author‟s compilation (2019)

Indeed the list is endless as new inventions and innovative progress are being made on ‗daily‘ basis across the globe – not excluding Nigeria.

Put in a nutshell, therefore, the above developments further spells out the following imperatives of the agricultural sector in Nigeria:

the synergetic impact of agricultural produce on other productive sectors including SMEs and manufacturing sectors;
massive employment generated in the above process leading to immeasurable wealth creation;
the value chain process allows for vertical and horizontal integration in all its ramifications;
the principle of comparative advantage is very open for pursuit as Nigeria could trail the Indian model. The model embraces the business culture of dwelling mostly on agric- produce and agric-allied products in which a country enjoys most comparative advantage. Thus Nigeria stands to enjoy a huge comparative benefit from her rich soil that permits quick return on farm investments;
where reference is made to a statement credited to the erstwhile Nigerian minister of agriculture Adeshina (2011), regarding the prospect of the regularly growing agricultural sector; his remark gave an expectation of a likely huge upsurge in the trend of some key cash crops in years to come as he sounded that ―….if this trend continues, Nigeria would be the

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largest exporter of cocoa, rubber, palm oil, groundnut and all other commodities that are currently doing well.‖

Control Variables

In explaining the output from agricultural sectors in Nigeria, and in line with current thinking on global dispensations, a number of macroeconomic variables have been identified as determinants of outputs. Amongst these, interest rate, exchange rate and inflation rate have gained attentions in developing country like Nigeria like Nigeria; thus enhancing their choice for discussion below. While interest rate was used as a measure of credit rationing, exchange rate and inflation rate both impact the main (local and foreign) costs to users of finance. Thus whilst FOREX represents the cost of external fund, inflation posit even a greater danger to local cost and both would tell on the capacity of the users fund.

Theoretical Framework

In studying bank credit rationing quite a number of theories come handy, however it is the authors‘ believe that the most relevant and applicable to this study is the disequilibrium or supply side theory.

Supply-Side /Disequilibrium Credit Rationing Theory In summarized form, the availability or supply-side measure of credit rationing stresses that credit rationing depicts a situation where banks are unable to grant credit due to disequilibrium in the credit market that is occasioned by insufficient supply condition. The key source of bank credit supply is deposit. This simply suggests that a lower deposit base may also imply lower bankers‘ abilities to create credits or offer loans. Developments as this may provoke the incidence of credit rationing.

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Review of Empirical Literature

Bank credit rationing is an issue that accommodates optimization of available (but limited) credit in both developed and developing countries. The table below provides brief empirical discussions on bank lending which invariably proxy the essence of bank credit rationing – App-N(4).

Table B: Empirical Analysis of Agricultural Sector Credit Impacts

Sector Author(s) & year	Scope / Focus of the Study	Estimation Technique s	Findings
Lawal A. I., Asaleye		Nigeria:1981 – 2017		They employed	Results reveal that, though a positive
the	relationship exists
A. J., Inegbedion H.,	-examined the
Ojeka J. D.,	Impact of	augmented	between
Adekunle S. K.,	DMBs credit on	regressive	agricultural output
Olaniyan E. T.,	Nigeria’s	distributed	and each of
Eyiolorunshe T. D.	agricultural	lag (ARDL)	agricultural sector
& Olabode O. A.	productivity	to analysis	credit guarantee
(2019)	with a focus on	the	scheme fund and
	the effects of of	applicable	the government
	ACGSF, interest	data within	recurrent
	rate and	the concept	expenditure on the
	government	of financial	agriculture sector,
	recurrent	liberation	the relationship is
	expenditure.	frame work.	not significant.
		Nigeria:		The study	Results show that
Romanus	1990-2016	employed	DMBs credit and
Osabohien, Adesol		ARDL	ACGSF increased
a Afolabi, Abigail	Study examined	econome-	food security by
Godwin (2018)	the potential benefits of	tric approach	8.12% and 0.002% respectively, while
	agricultural	on the time	population reduces
	lending enroute	series data	food security by

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	(ACGSF) and their corresponding interest rates to farmers	sourced from CBN and FAO. .	0.001%.
Obilor, S. (2013)		Nigeria:		Study	The results prove
	1978-2002	adopted	that
	Auto-	ACGSF.allocation

	Investigated	Regressive	, produce a
	empirically the	Moving	significant positive
	impact of ACGS	Average	effect while the
	fund, agric-	(ARMA),	agric-product
	product prices,	ADF Test	prices and
	government	within an	commercial banks‘
	fund allocation,	OLS	credit to
	commercial	Regres-sion	agricultural sector
	banks‘ credit to	framework	produced
	agricultural	to test the	significant
	sector on	impact of	negative effects.
	agriculture	the four key
	sector.	independent variables on
		agriculture
		sector
		output
Sebopetji, T. O., &		South Africa		Applied the	Results show that
Belete, A. (2009)	2000-2008	technique	gender and
	of Probit	agriculture have
Estimated
	factors affecting	Analysis.	considerable
	small-scale		positive effects on
	farmers‘		the decision of
	decision to take		farmers to use
	credit.		credit.

Self-compilation (2019)

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Methodology
- Population and Sample Size

This study is time-series based and sees the population from a time base rather than cross-sectional. It adopts a judgmental sampling techniques using sample size that covers the period of 1980 to 2017.

In the light of above specifications, the study empirically estimates the influence of bank credit rationing to agricultural sector on Nigeria‘s GDP. It is essential to reiterate that the issue of ―bank credit rationing‖ (quite unlike outright ―bank lending‖) is still very much in the evolving stage in Nigeria. As a result, local literatures/models do not abound in plethora form. While the study relies on established foreign literatures to fill this obvious gap the use of a simple econometric model is thus made necessary. To be specific, econometric regression models applied in this study centers on the application of error correction models to agricultural outputs. It ultimately explains variation in the values of the dependent variables on the basis of changes in the independent variables. The assumption is that, the dependent variable is a linear function of the independent variables. In summary, this study converges on ECM model as treated hereafter.

The Credit Rationing Model

Agricultural sector credit rationing model shares the objectivity of examining the relationship between bank credit rationing and agricultural sector output in Nigeria. Accordingly, the agricultural sector output error correction model for this study can be estimated in a form suitable for empirical testing as:

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DAgriQt = a0 +a1åDAgriQt–i +a2 åDDEPBt–i +a3 åDTRADBt–i +a4 åDIMAt–i +a5 åDSECTCt–i

n n

t=i t=i t=i t=i t=i

+a6 åDEXRTt –i + a7 åDINFLt –i + a8ecm(-1) + et t =i t =i

…….(3.1)

Where;

Dependent Variables;

∆AgriQ = agricultural sector output relative to gross domestic product. This represents the historical annually agricultural sector output series for the period of 1980 to 2017 in Nigeria.

Independent Variables:

∆DEPB = is an indirect proxy for credit rationing of the banking sector. It is measured by dividing deposit liabilities by total assets of the bank and reveals the proportion of total assets that is deposit liabilities; which also shows the extent of credit banks can offer subject to CBN regulatory guidelines. This approach assumes credit rationing when the level of deposit is relatively small. This measure of credit rationing was drawn from the availability or supply-side measure of credit rationing which stresses that credit rationing is a case where banks are constrained to grant credit due to imbalance in the credit market that is caused by inadequate supply conditions. The source of bank credit supply is deposit. This means that a lower deposit base would imply the presence of credit rationing. It is expected a low deposit to domestic borrowing in the banking sectors would constraint supply of credit and instigate credit rationing to agricultural sector which would impact negatively on their output performance. The study therefore expects credit rationing measured by banking sector deposit to domestic

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borrowing to have a direct relationship with agricultural performance.

∆TRADB = is an indirect proxy of banking sector credit rationing. It is measured by dividing trade credits by domestic debts and reveals the ratio of trade credit and domestic debts.

Trade credits is the credit extended to you by suppliers who let you buy now and pay later.

This approach of considering credit rationing came from the work of Stiglitz and Weiss (1981). It was based on the asymmetry information existence that discourages loan applications. The approach considers credit rationing via volume of trade credits. Trade credit is borrowing that is provided by suppliers rather than banks. Use of trade credit can also be found in the contribution of Peterson (1994), Cosci (2002) and they argued that the use of trade credit as a proxy for credit rationing is based on the pecking order hypotheses which posits that the second financing source of investment projects after internal financing is bank financing. If firms are credit rationed by banks, then they will switch to alternate external sources of finance such as trade credits even if they are the most expensive. The greater the volume of trade credits when compared to domestic borrowing the higher the degree of credit rationing. This use of trade credits as a measure of credit rationing is very popular in the literature and the argument that support its usage is based on the premise that borrowers that are out-rationed by banks often depend on trade credit from their suppliers. It is the expectation of the study that credit rationing measured by trade credits compared to domestic borrowing to engender a direct relationship with agricultural produce.

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∆IMA = represents an indirect measure of credit rationing that is proxy by Interest rates misalignment for the earmarked period of 1980 to 2017 in Nigeria. This version of measuring credit rationing could be linked to the work of Jaffee and Modigliani (2001). It is disequilibrium method of measuring credit rationing and supported by Fair and Jafee (1972); Maddala and Nelson (1974). It is noted that disequilibrium of interest rate is described as misalignment in interest rate. To estimate misalignment degree of interest rate, a least square regression error term is commonly utilized and this represents the difference in actual interest rate series and the mean fitted values. Find below a misaligned or disequilibrium interest rate equation that drives credit rationing;

et = a0 – (i – iˆ)t

……………………………………………(3.1)

In equation 3.1, the interest rate misalignment that create credit

rationing is proxy by et , while (i – iˆ)t

represents the difference

between actual and the fitted value of interest rates series. We therefore expect credit rationing measured by interest rate misalignment to have a direct relationship with agriculture outputs.

Control Variables

∆SECTC = this is the ratio of bank credit to agricultural sector for the period of 1980 to 2017 in Nigeria. This research expects a positive relationship between banking sector credit allocation and outputs from agricultural sector.

∆EXRT = this represents the historical annually exchange rate (naira-dollar) for the period of 1980 to 2017 in Nigeria. This

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study expects a negative relationship between exchange rate and output from agricultural sector.

∆INFL = inflation rate. This represents the historical annually consumer price index (CPI) for the period of 1980 to 2017 in Nigeria. We expect a negative relationship between inflation rate and output from agricultural sector.

E_t = stochastic error or disturbance term expected to satisfy the usual properties of zero mean, unit variance and zero covariance, included to account for the non-deterministic nature in this specification.

Method of Data Analysis

This study conducted preliminary statistical analysis as descriptive statistics and correlation matrix for the purpose of description regarding the nature of our data. In testing the hypotheses, the study adopted econometric techniques. This analysis is supported by unit root test, co-integration test and error correction model. In conducting this analysis, E-views 8.0 econometric software has been applied. The fundamental justifications for the use of this methodology include: (i) The high tendency for most time series variables to be non- stationary; that would necessitate the use of first difference of the variables and the error correction model in this study. (ii) The ECM would also be allowed to connect the short run and the long-run behaviour of the dependent and independent variables over the period of study.

The unit root test was conducted using the Augmented Dickey- Fuller (ADF) test. As they are non-stationary, then there might be spurious regression. This implies that there exists a correlation between the variables instead of a meaningful causal

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relationship. It is therefore imperative that the variables must be found individually stationary and be co-integrated before empirical tests (especially causality and error correction model) can take place. If the time series are found to be non-stationary at their levels (that is evidence of unit roots), then, the series would be differenced a number of times. If after the first difference the series becomes stationary, then, it is said to be integrated of order one and this implies that they must be modeled in their first difference to make them stationary (that is, they are stationary in their first difference). A time series is stationary if it has close to constant mean and variance over time. This implies that its‘ values have constant variability and it enables us to avoid the problems of spurious regressions that are associated with non-stationary time series.

Data Analysis

The study examined the impact of bank credit rationing on Nigeria‘s Agricultural Sector. The dependent variables are agricultural outputs. The explanatory variables are banking sector credit rationing proxied by ΔDEFB, ΔTRADB, and ΔIMA; while sectoral contribution to agriculture ( i.e., ΔSECTA), exchange rate (ΔEXRT), Inflation rate (ΔINFL) were used as control variables.

In estimation of the model, econometric estimation techniques were adopted. The estimation started with the computation of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient of the variables, Unit root and co-integration test. The unit root test provides information on the stationarity properties of the variables and this is conducted using the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test. In the case of co-integration test, the Engel and Granger two stage techniques is adopted. The co-integration

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test provides information on the existence of long-run stable relationship between the dependent and explanatory variables. These tests form the basis for the short run dynamic error correction model. In carrying out this econometric estimation process, E-Views 8 software was adopted. The next sub-section shows the analysis of sectoral distribution of bank credit and rationing agric-sector under consideration including presentation and interpretation of the estimated results obtained.

Descriptive Statistics

This research effort relies on the variables located in Column A to generate the results of other columns (i.e., B to E) in Table C below. All numeric-details of Column A items are found in App-D(2,5,6,7,9,10 & 11), CBN (2018).

Table C: Results of Descriptive Statistics

Variables (A)	Mean (B)	Standard Dev. (C)	Jarque-Bera (D)	Observation (E)
AGRICQ	173347.2	81324.43	2.111(0.3)	19
INFL	18707.49	6165.64	3.325(0.1)	19
EXRT	7.719474	1.59405	2.173(0.3)	19
IMA	22.08842	21.0550	7.532(0.0)	19
TRADB	98.7344	41.0413	2.432(0.2)	19
DEFB	-0.6430	3.759134	0.499(0.7)	19
SEC_AGRIC	0.97237	0.84447	12.644(0.0)	19

The average level of sector output contribution in Agriculture (SEC_AGRIC) was 57092.6 and a standard deviation of

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42812.3.The high standard deviation shows that there has been presence of variation in bank credit allocation in relation to Agricultural output in Nigeria.

Correlation Matrix

Correlation measures the degree of linear association among the variables. In most regression analysis study, correlation matrix is often used to test for the existence of multi-colinearity, which is the existence of high correlation in any two explanatory variables. (i.e. where it is difficult for e.g. to measure the individual impact of agriculture and manufacturing sectors on economic growth- though both affect economic growth. Table

4.6 below; provide the obtained Pearson correlation coefficients results.

Table 4.6 below shows that Agricultural Output (AGRQ) has fair negative correlation relationship with Inflation rate (INFL

= -0.48), a strong positive association with exchange rate (EXRT =0.81), a weak and negative relationship with Interest rates misalignment (IMA = -0.20), a strong positive relationship with Trade Debts(TRADB = 0.81), a strong positive relationship with Banking Sector deposits (DEFB = 0.96), and a strong positive relationship with Sectoral loan to Agriculture (SEC_AGR = 0.88). Our Observation therefore shows that, exchange rates, trade debts, banking sector deposits, and sectoral loans to Agriculture are more associated with Agricultural Output, and thereby have the capacity to influence output, compared to interest rate misalignment and inflation rate.

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Unit Root Test

Unit root test in this study is used to investigate whether or not Agricultural output (AGRICQ), inflation rate (INFL), interest rate misalignment (IMA), exchange rate (EXRT) Trade debts (TRADB), Banking sector deposits(DEFB), Sectoral loan to Agriculture (SEC_AGR), time series are stationary and to find out their order of integration. Tables 4.3 and 4.4 shows results for the unit root test for the variables at levels and first- difference using Augmented Dickey-fuller (ADF) test.

The empirical findings reveal that Agriculture (AGRICQ), inflation rate (INFL) exchange rate (EXRT), Trade Debts (TRADB), Banking deposits (DEFB), Sectoral loan to Agriculture (LSEC_AGR) were non-stationary at level, while interest rate misalignment (IMA) was stationary at level. This therefore means that using the OLS regression techniques at levels in estimating our formulated model would lead to spurious regression results since some of the variables were not stationary at level.

In order to resolve this problem, the first differences of the variables were taken and they were subjected to ADF Unit root test. Table 4.7, shows the results of the Unit root test at first difference using ADF test.

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Table D: Augmented Dickey-Fuller Unit Root Test at Level

	Variable	ADF Statistics	ADF (95%)	Order of Integration	Remark
	AGRICQ	2.415827		I(0)	Non-
Level	INFL	-2.88189	I(0)	Stationarity
	EXRT	-0.08398	I(0)	Non-
	IMA	-4.84598	I(0)	Stationarity
	TRADB	2.927464	I(0)	Non-
	DEFB	1.286927	I(0)	Stationarity
	LSEC_AG	-1.41874	I(0)	Non-
	R

Source: Author’s computation (2019)

The empirical findings from the table below reveal that Agriculture, output (AGRICQ,), inflation rate (INFL) exchange rate (EXRT), Trade Debts (TRADB), Banking deposits (DEFB), interest rate misalignment (IMA), sectoral loan to Agriculture, (LSEC_AGR,) were stationary at first difference. This therefore means that using the OLS regression techniques at levels in estimating our formulated model would lead to spurious regression results since some of the variables were not stationary at level. That is after taking the first-difference of the variables and testing for their stationarity property, they all became stationary. This, therefore indicate that the best regression results will be obtained when the first differences of the variables are used to estimate the model. Results also show that variables are all integrated to order one.

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Table E: Augmented Dickey-Fuller Unit Root Test at First Difference

	Variable	ADF Statistics	ADF (95%)	Order of Integration	Remark
	∆AGRICQ	-4.12676	-2.97185	I(1)
First	∆INFL	-4.8618	-2.98623	I(1)
Difference	∆EXRT	-5.66491	-2.97185	I(1)
	∆IMA	-7.37492	–	I(1)
	∆TRADB	-6.57671		I(1)
	∆DEFB	-4.3773		I(1)
	∆LSEC_AGR			I(1)

Source: Author’s computation 2019)

Co-integration Test

The results from table E show that the absolute value of the ADF statistics (-3.41071) was greater than the absolute value of the ADF critical value at 5 % level of significance (-2.96777).

Table F: Co-integration Test (i)

	Variable	ADF Statistics	ADF (95%)	Orderof Integration	Remark
Level	ECM	-3.41071	-2.96777	I(0)	Stationarity

Source: Author’s computation (2019)

This implies that the dependent variable and independent variables are co-integrated. This in other word means that between 1981-2017 periods, there was a long run stable relationship among Agricultural, output (AGRICQ), inflation rate (INFL) exchange rate (EXRT), Trade Debts (TRADB),

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Banking deposits (DEFB), interest rate misalignment (IMA) and Sectoral loan to Agriculture (LSEC_AGR,) in Nigeria such that any divergence in their behavior in the short run will converge in the long run. Therefore, the existence of co- integration in our model necessitates the formulation of the error correction model. The ECM (when estimated) represents the short run dynamics of the model. The existence of co- integration among the variables justified the use of ECM in this study.

Table G: Co-integration Test

	Variable	ADF Statistics	ADF (95%)	Order of Integration	Remark
Level	ECM	-3.48166	-2.9677	I(0)	Stationarity

Source: Author’s computation (2019)

The results from table G show that the absolute value of the ADF statistic (-3.48166) was greater than the absolute value of the ADF critical value at 5 % level of significance (-2.96777). This implies that the dependent variable and independent variables are co-integrated. This in other word means that between 1980-2017 periods, there was a long run stable relationship among agricultural output (AGRICQ), inflation rate (INFL) exchange rate (EXRT), Trade Debts (TRADB), Banking deposits (DEFB) and interest rate misalignment (IMA).

The results from table 4.5.3, show that the absolute value of the ADF statistic (-3.1676) was greater than the absolute value of the ADF critical value at 5 % level of significance (-3.04039). This implies that the dependent variable and independent variables are co-integrated.

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Error Correction Model (ECM)

In order to explain the short-run deviations that might have occurred in estimating the long-run co-integrated equation and to test the formulated hypotheses, the error correction model was taken.

The Error Correction Model ECM (-1) coefficient of -0.41267 carries the correct sign, and it is statistically significant at the p- value = 0.0013. This result also clearly shows that short-run deviation in bank credit rationing is quickly adjusted to equilibrium in the long-run. Also, it is found that the Durbin- Watson value was 1.81 which indicates that there is absence of autocorrelation in the model.

Below are further results that are presented and discussed below.

Results

In the case of the variable, Loan to Agricultural sector, which is part of the explanatory variable in this study; we have two- period lag in the parsimonious ECM model. These are D(LSEC_AGRIC(-1)) and D(LSEC_AGRIC(-2)). The first

period lag D(LSEC_AGRIC(-1) has a negative (-100314) and significant (p-value = 0.0121) impact on output. This therefore means that increase in sectoral loan would significantly decrease output which might suggest that the loan structure is not suitable enough to drive value within the period of study. But The second lag period D(LSEC_AGRIC(-2)) showed a positive (79820.36) and significant (p-value = 0.0361) impact on output. This therefore means that increase in sectoral loan would significantly increase agricultural output if the loan is properly packaged and delivered to the sector appropriately.

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Inflation rate (INFL): has its original form with one period lag respectively in the parsimonious ECM model, which are; D(INFL), D(INFL(-2)). The current period inflation rate D(INFL), has a positive 409.4703 and significant (p- value=0.0005) impact on Agricultural output. Also, second period inflation rate D(INFL(-2)), has a positive (625.1593) and significant (p-value= 0.00) impact on Agricultural output. This therefore means that increase in inflation rate would significantly affect Agricultural output in Nigeria.

Exchange rate (EXRT): also has its original form, with one period lag in the parsimonious ECM model, which are D(EXRT)and D(EXRT(-2)). The current period Exchange rate D(EXRT) has a negative -515.911 and significant (p-value = 0.0021) impact on Agricultural output in Nigeria. Also, second period exchange rate D(EXRT(-2)), has a positive (241.8308) and an insignificant p-value=0.1136 impact on Agricultural output. This therefore implies that changes in exchange rate has a mixed effect on Agricultural output in Nigeria – thus suggesting that as time passes, the impact on agricultural sector can significantly change in different directions.

Interest rate misalignments: has its original form with its period lags, which were; D(IMA), D(IMA(-2)) respectively. Our results showed that both periods have a positive and significant impact on agricultural sector output. Specifically, D(IMA), has a positive (2752.918) and significant impact at 1% level (P-value=0.00); and D(IMA(-2)) also have a positive (944.4115) and significant influence on output at 1% level (P- value=0.0283). This indicates that interest rate misalignments, has impacted positively and significantly on output.

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The overall findings therefore indicate rejection of the null hypotheses (H₀) which state that there is no significant relationship between bank credit rationing (including the macro variables) and Agricultural output in Nigeria – all the alternative hypotheses are therefore accepted.

Concluding Remarks

Based on the findings above, it is clear that credit rationing by banks has significant impact on agricultural sector output in Nigeria. The more capital that is rationed, the lesser the farms produce made available. What this development portends is the potential for all agricultural financiers to make the most of this fact and explore all available windows to buffer up existing loan-able funds which does not only abound in the banking sector but also in non-bank financial institutions, government agencies non-government organizations (NGOs), etc. Approaches as these should be more pragmatic and robust than the conventionally funded Agricultural Credit Guarantee Schemes (ACGS) by Nigerian monetary authority. Besides, the need to have a more aggressive re-focus on the macro-economic variables‘ (i.e. interest rate, foreign exchange and inflation) contribution to Nigeria‘s economic growth dispensation is very much highlighted in this research effort.

All the above notions reside in the monetary/financial side. But beyond that, enlightenment of the farmers should occupy higher priority amongst other strategic plans that will eventually bail the Nigerian agricultural sector out of the doldrums. It is therefore important that the methodology of enlightenment and related campaign should assume more intensive dimension than what is presently obtainable.

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A CONTEXTUAL STUDY OF LITERARY TROPES IN

AD L L TE J ‟S IN R N

J Esther T t layo Department of Linguistics, African and Asian studies

University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Abstract

Language is considered one of the essential pillars of literary works. A good literary work is produced with a great deal of literary language that serves as the communicative tool and the link between the artist and the audience. In literary works, thematic foibles of the artists can even be subdued by his or her dexterity in language use. So, it is not surprising to discern some literary tropes which the artist uses to highlight his intents in his literary works. Little or no attention has been paid to the language and style of Adé l l te j , there is need, therefore, to illuminate his personalized language style. his study, therefore, investigates the use of unique literary tropes in the language of l te j u’s In n. he study identifies the literary tropes which reflect culture and traditions of the Yoruba society, and combine effectively with other devices to form his unique language style. Anchored on the Systemic Functional Linguistics, a strictly context-based approach where the utility and speech situation is prioritized for language use, the study identifies eight literary tropes: simile, metaphor, personification, wordplay, proverbs, songs, incantations and loan words which garnish the drama text out of numerous observed. The findings of this study among others reveal that Adé l l te j u’s In n is a mixture of loan words for a literate society. Furthermore, the author’s choice of words and fitting tropes highlights his dexterity and competence in language which also signals the realism. Exploration of the tropes in the drama text reveals that language use is a germane ingredient of literary works and literary criticism. The study concludes that the literary tropes contribute to the elegance of his language style.

Keywords: Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), Stylistics, Literary tropes,

Literary Criticism, In n,

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Résumé

La langue est considérée comme l’un des piliers essentiels des œuvres littéraires. Une bonne œuvre littéraire est produite avec une grande quantité de langage littéraire qui sert d’outil de communication et de lien entre l’artiste et le public. Dans les œuvres littéraires, les faiblesses thématiques de l’artiste peuvent même être atténuées par sa dextérité dans l’utilisation du langage. Il n’est donc pas surprenant de discerner certains tropes littéraires que l’artiste utilise pour souligner ses intentions dans ses œuvres littéraires. Peu ou pas d’attention a été accordé à la langue et au style d’Adé l l t j , il est donc nécessaire d’éclairer son style linguistique personnalisé. La présente étude examine donc l’utilisation de tropes littéraires uniques dans la langue de l’In Ràn de l t ju. L’étude identifie les tropes littéraires qui reflètent la culture et les traditions de la société yoruba, et se combinent efficacement avec d’autres dispositifs pour former son style linguistique unique. Ancrée dans la Linguistique Fonctionnelle Systémique, une approche strictement basée sur le contexte où l’utilité et la situation du discours sont prioritaires pour l’utilisation de la langue, l’étude identifie huit tropes littéraires: simile, métaphore, personnification, jeu de mots, proverbes, chansons, incantations et mots d’emprunt qui garnissent le texte dramatique parmi les nombreux observés. Les résultats de cette étude révèlent entre autres que l’In Ràn d’Adé l l t ju est un mélange de mots d’emprunt pour une société lettrée. En outre, le choix des mots de l’auteur et les tropes qui s’y adaptent mettent en évidence sa dextérité et sa compétence dans la langue, ce qui signale également le réalisme. L’exploration des tropes dans le texte dramatique révèle que l’utilisation du langage est un ingrédient essentiel des œuvres littéraires et de la critique littéraire. L’étude conclut que les tropes littéraires contribuent à l’élégance de son style linguistique.

Mots-clés : Contexte, Tropes littéraires, Stylistique, Linguistique fonctionnelle systémique (LFS), Critique littéraire, Iná Ràn,

Introduction

Language is an essential tool employed by literary writers to construct their thoughts and intentions in their literary texts. The use of language in these texts is anchored on figurative tropes which helps the writers to display their creative ingenuity. This has been used by l te j in In n, to paint a clear and

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indelible understanding of the piece as a footprint in the mind of his audience. Communicative power of figurative tropes in literary piece expresses cultural and social background of the text and enhances cognitive processing of the message of the author.

Scholars have emphasized the importance of language to a

literary work (Adébo w lé 1994; j 2005, Aj b dé 2016,

l te j 2016). While Adébo w lé 1994 sees language as an

indispensable aspect of the style of a literary artist, j 2005 explains that language is an important tool in the hands of a writer as linguistic incompetence can jeopardize his whole efforts. She further argues that language uniquely marks or singles out an individual from the crowd, bringing out the idiosyncratic ability which characterizes an individual‘s unique- ness. Aj b dé 2016 in her own view sees language as a vehicle of communication, while l te j 2016, sees language as the medium of a work of art. In other words, literature exploits language resources to create, through imagination literary works that depict the events and happenings in the society ( l te j 2016). In In n, the author uses figurative language contex- tually in consonance with the discourse. There are two broad and common modes through which language use is being approached in Yorùb field of interpretation Stylistics. The first one is the examination of figurative language while the second is the adoption of what l t nj (1982a) ³called institutional/ traditional oral materials which include songs, incantations, riddles, folktales, or k , If -verses, proverbs among others. The use of the traditional oral materials, are instrumental to the work of art explored in this study. They determine how actively

³ l t nji, O. (1982a) Adéb yo F lét : The Study of His Poems.

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competent a literary artist is, and they are also one of the focuses of the literary critics while in the process of criticism. This work is motivated by two factors: first is that, little or no attention has been paid to the language and style of Adé l

l te j , there is need, therefore, to illuminate his personalized language style. Second, the drama-text is a typical prototype of the current marginalization, oppression and suppression of the less privileged in African Society. Consequently, this study sets out to examine the relevance of context in the interpretation of meaning, and highlight the literary tropes which contribute to the elegance of his language style, thereby foregrounding

l te j ‘s contribution to literary works.

Synopsis of In R n

This play titled In n is written by Adé l l te j , a prolific Yorùb playwright. The play though published in 1999 is relevant and will continue to be relevant to Yorùb society. In

n is a protest play that explains how the oppressed and

suppressed masses in O b dà, an imaginary setting and its

environ revolt against the highhandedness of the authority. It is massive movement championed mostly by the peasants to check the excesses of the authorities who refuse to provide basic amenities like good road network, potable water and health care delivery, despite the taxes of different kinds which they also increase almost annually.

The play opens with the expression of plight of the villagers when one of the youths, B nko l é fell off the palm tree and dies because of lack of health-care delivery. They recount and lament how people have been dying at regular basis in this manner without the intervention of government. They have to get to Ibadan, headquarter of the government before they can

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have access to these amenities, but government never cease from levelling huge taxes on people. This harsh condition, couple with highhandedness of the tax collectors, prompt awareness among the masses that have since turned blind eyes to this. They organize themselves and report to Aje l e ‘ s office in Ibadan. They select leaders among them, notably An e r e , who travel to Ibadan alongside jàl to present their grievances to the head of government after several letters have been sent to no avail. They are met with strong opposition and resentment from Aje l e who labels them rebels, and vows to deal with two of them as fugitives if any mayhem eventually happens in the regions. Immediately they returned home to give B n kon association the feedback of the meeting they had with Aje l e , another increment on the taxes is announced alongside other levels. The plan is ongoing to oppose this when the tax collectors, mùd and Yés fù beat g ndélé to stupor. They flee but when g ndélé is eventually confirmed dead, the masses violently react by burning some government property and arrest some government officials.

Aje l e summons people to address the burning issue but when the masses reach the gathering, many of them were arrested and detained at Agodi in bàdàn. Those that escaped the arrest re- strategized to attack the government and free their members.

An e r e and his entourage proceed to Ibadan where they

confront the government. Many of their members including

jàl lose their lives in the expedition but some policemen and their commissioner are not spared too. They set free the inmates and they head back home.

An e r e being the leader of the protest is given special treatment and several things to douse the grievances of the masses. He

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relocates to Ibadan with his family in O b dà, and while at

Ibadan, believing that the storm is over, he gets married to Mopé who is plotted to by the government. Mope deceives An e r e to follow her to a party organised by one of her friends. She ensures An e r e does not fortify himself with any charm. She even came back to disrupt the spiritual candle An e r e lit inside his house, unknown to An e r e who is eventually arrested by the police along the road. He tries his best to escape but all to no avail. He then realises the kind of person Mope who he believes to be his wife is. An e r e is detained by the police for many weeks before the news of his release is announced on the radio to the excitement of the masses. He is chiefly welcomed

back to O b dà with songs, drums and cheers. The most

important thing is the government stoppage to other levels apart from tax and pronouncement of new method of tax-collection. They also announce the intention of government to commence the provision of many amenities that the masses desire in the region to avoid future re-occurrence of the bloody attack.

Literature Review: Place of Language in Literary Works The role language plays in literary works is essential and germane. Language use in literary works helps in effective discharge of the message the artist intend to pass across to the audience. This implies that without appropriate language use, communication of message in any work of art is woeful. Shaw (1991:65) observes the same thing when he says:

The study of language of an author serves two purposes. It can lead the way to better understanding of author‘s meaning and fuller appreciation of his literary skill and it can provide materials for the study of history of language. And if the author‘s work is widely read, his linguistics habits are likely to exert an important influence on others who use the language.

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There is a clear emphasis on the study of author‘s language in any literary work. The easier understanding of works is achieved through this. Besides, the appraised author is well known, for criticism of the artist does not mean that the author‘s work is condemned but placed before the bigger audience. l t nj (1982b:80) observes similar thing about language and literature when he emphasises the value of language in literature as the pillars and devices. He opines:

We are then forced to make the obvious and basic statement that language underlies all other devices employed in literature since it is the way words are manipulated that determines the desire effects achieved. In other words, it is only for reasons of convenience that we have subtitles as… the more one realises that they all hinges on language use.

This indicates that language use in any literary work makes it easy for the audience to decipher what actually the literary artist has in mind. This is exactly what l t nj (1982b) observes in F lét ‘s poetic works, but this is not limited to only poetry, it cuts across all genres of literature. Similarly, Or m gùnje (1996) is not concerned about language and its bond with the central message the addresser wishes to pass across, but also the impact the language has on audience. The audience feels greatly elated when language use of the artist is superb and colourful. The flowering use of language places the literary artist in a very high place in the mind of the audience. Orímóògùnj (1996:58) explicates thus:

Èdè ní òpómúléró lítíré alohùn, láìsí èdè, kò lè sí mí nínú lítíré alohùn. Èdè ni ó j epo t gbé k lítíré alohùn rìn; òun sì ni j tí í fún lítíré alohùn ní okun àti agbára láti mí.Èdè ni d fi ń gbé èr w n jáde nínú…

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Language is the pillar of oral literature, without language, there will be no life in oral literature. Language is the fuel that makes the vehicle move. It is the blood that gives oral literature the strength and power to breath. Language is what human use to air their thought from their minds.

To him, language use is just like the fuel that powers the vehicle, the blood that makes living of work of art remarkable

(O p do t un, 2003). This is why language is one of the devices

through which the competence of an artist is measured. Even when the message, plot and techniques of presentation are deplorable, the artist wobbles are covered most time by his charming nature of language in literary work. Language occupies a central place in literary production. In fact, it is an obvious fact that without language, there will be no literature. The centrality of language to virtually all aspects of human life which includes literature, gives us a reason to be curious about its nature and language use.

This summarises all we have been saying and the ones we actually set to undertake in this study. The sole aim of this study is to explore how language used by the artist conveys his message to the audience and how it helps to effectively and successfully convey the information to the audience. Besides, what amount to dexterity in creativity through which we adjudge and appraise the work of an artist is his presentation through language use. It is therefore not surprising that language use plays vital roles in l te j ‘s conveyance of details to the audience.

Theoretical Framework: Systemic Functional Linguistics Systemic Functional Linguistics advocates the effective capturing of language use in a certain context. It involves the

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realism of forms, functions and utility of language in any linguistic domain. Halliday (1970, 1984, 1994) observes lan- guage as a tool of organising, directing and coordinating people‘s behaviours in the language community. This is the reason why the function of language hinges mostly on communication, and language is one of the differences between human beings and other creatures. The term functional symbolizes that language performs a lot of functions, hence functional. It is functional and semantic rather than formal in orientation. It is bordered on how language is used whether in spoken or written and this takes place in contexts of use. In other words, the model operates in the context of use, which is the environment, situation, or circumstance of use and not in isolated sentences or words. Apparently, it is based on the context of situation and the context of culture.

Bloor and Bloor (2004) also explain that Systemic Functional Linguistics is a system of meaning which makes the meaning of language, context and utilities a priority in the society. The addresser selects from multiple choice made available by the linguistic lexicon in relation to the context and situation not in vacuum or distant from the obtainable situation. Ayeomoni and Akinkuolere (2012) also emphasises the need for the study of speech situation before the choice from networks of options. This is why the Systemic Functional Linguistics is very relevant to this study. The study investigates the relevance of language use in relation to the context, situation and domains of speech, which is not quite different from what the proponents of SFL hold as theoretical approach. The study of meaning is very germane and fundamental to the study of language. The significant thing about language is the relationship that exists between the user of the language and the ‗circumstances‘ or the

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‗situation‘ in which such use occurs. This circumstance or situation is referred to in systemic functional linguistics as

‗context‘.

Context is very important and fundamental to this work, because utterances are used in combination with the linguistic, physical, situational or psychological contexts. In other words, interpretation and meaning depend on context, and this is the main reason for the choice of SFL, a sociological and contextual approach, suitable for this research.

Analysis and Discussion

Linguistic competence of a literary artist is measured in diverse ways. But one of the most important ways of appraising artistic competence of a literary artist from the perspective of literary stylisticians ⁴is by adjudging his use of figurative languages and traditional oral materials. These tropes are highly essential for the measure of literary dexterity of the writer. The exposition through language use is very germane to the approach of analysis through linguistics because language is the base and it is through language we can see the hidden fact in literary works. This is why the figurative languages like simile, metaphor, personification, wordplay are highlighted on the one hand, institutional/traditional oral materials ⁵ such as songs, incantations, proverbs and loan words are analyzed on the other hand in l te j ‘s In n as follows:

⁴ Shaw, B. (1991) ‗Characterristics of Styles and Stylistics in Three novels of Charles Dicken‘ makes distinction between linguistic and literary stylistics. ⁵ Institutional Oral Materials are equivalent of traditional oral materials. See

j , (2020)

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Use of Simile

Simile is a figurative trope where there is direct comparison of two things that are alike with markers such as: like, as, and their equivalent ( l t nj , 1984, Or m gùnj , 1996, p d tun, 2003). The obvious and overt comparison of two things of similar attributes is called simile. The analogy in question makes the description of event or object very clear, but it needs the presence or imagination of the two objects, events or occurrences before one can establish what simile tends to achieve. The use of simile illuminates, magnifies and explicates the idea or object being described better. This directly or indirectly adds glamour to the expressions.

In In R n, l te j makes use of a great deal of simile todescribe and present vivid description of events in different context. The trope is recognised with the markers of simile as comparison. Example of this is:

g nd l : B An e r e ti gbo ‗or ‘ o! L b s ré l s be . Ile l b B nko l é

t ń jà ràpà b ej t wo n le y n. P. 2

The moment An e r e hears voice of someone languishing in agony! He quickly rush there, seeing B nko l é on the ground, wallowing

on the ground like a snake that its back is already injured.

There is obvious usage of simile in the speech of g ndélé above. Line three above illustrates the use of simile that explains how B nko l é wriggles in pain after falling off the palm-tree on the farm. g ndélé who hears the voice, tries as much as possible to rescue him but all to no avail. This is part

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of what accumulate to pressure from the masses to the authority. Similarly, on page 9, another instance of simile is observable as seen here:

n : ùgbo n o r o t a b d j r , g g n ni y

g n b gbà o ù b lé. P. 9

But whatever we do in unison, will surely be erfect like that of moon set.

The author here compares how their effort in togetherness would be perfect and successful unlike when they don‘t act in unison. It is in Yorùb linguistic lexicon that nothing is as naturally perfect as the early set of moon. This occurs during the meeting of people from different clans that come together to convey their grievances to Aje l e .

In a similar vein, S f wù‘s mastery of abusive words and the way she rains them on Làm d is described thus:

o y nmu: A-aa! S f wù. O wa pa Làm d ni?

T o s ń b u b a ń l yin. P. 14

Haaa! S f wù. Do you want to kill Làm d ?

You are just abusing him like we lick honey.

Fo y nmu here likens the way S f wù abuses Làm d to the perfection obtained from someone that lick the honey. This describes S f wù‘s level of mastery of abuse. This is a perfect example of simile, for the use of b i (as) is a signifier of simile. Another example is given below:

re m : N t to , t t t r kan b p mo o d o wa,

ùgbo n yà omi t ń j w k e kèrém . P 32

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re m

Truly, there is a narrow road like rat‘s pathway reach our town but we are indeed suffering from water scarcity.

also compares the road that passes through their village

to that of rat‘s pathway. The road is so narrow that it cannot accommodate two vehicles at a time. This further portrays the extent to which government has neglected them in the region, ⁶despite the huge amount of money they pay as tax and other levels.

The description of mùd and Yés fù who collect tax is also compared to cocoa measurement as thus:

j l : T b r ikùn w n, e l y b nb b èn g réèd k k . P. 35

If you see their tummy, it is very busty like the measurement for k k .

The description here depicts how massive their corrupt practices are in the course of collecting the tax. They collect money and pay less than half to the government. They go to the extent of collecting goats, yams and other yam produces as bribes from whoever does not have money, and none reach government. This fuels the reason why Government increases the tax in regular basis. g ndélé also compares Fo y nmu who is coming from the main market, where people were arrested, to a leaf that is being carried by river as thus:

⁶ The region is not given a literary setting in In n; we only see O b dà and other communities that make up the unknown geographical location that has Ibadan as the headquarter.

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g nd l : Tie fara bale n . T o s ń gbo n b ewé j bèlè.

n k n l dé? P.64

You should at least be patient. Why are you shivering like a leaf on water?

I asked what exactly is the matter?

The speech above presents a graphic description of Fo y nmu who just witness the arrest of many people (masses) who attend the supposed gathering where Aje l e will discuss way out with them. Instead of Aje l e to address them, they were ordered to be arrested and the rest of them re-strategise to confront the authority to free their people.

The use of simile like this makes the understanding of the scene or event easier for the audience. It is obvious that l te j used simile with great dexterity.

Use of Metaphor

While simile is the overt comparison, that is, the direct comparison of two things with similar characteristics, metaphor for the comparison is always covert because there is no specific marker of metaphor like simile. So, the comparison that does not involves as, like, as as (b , dàb , j , r …bi n Yorùb ) is metaphor. We have instances of metaphor in In n as thus:

o y nmu: èmi! mi?

mi Fo y n-mu-ke r ù- -be k Pàgb n-j -ke rù- -b à. P.16

I ! I!

I, one that eat pounded yam such that it scares cornmeal

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I, one that kill snail to scare s à (divinity)

Fo y nmu employs metaphor to describe himself here without any marker of comparison. He compares himself to someone that takes pounded yam as if he takes cornmeal. This is an instance of covert comparison to explain the strength and traits he possesses as a person. In the same vein, we have another example of metaphor when Dà n says:

n : Mo ko !

é mo pé j ba ni O l run wa, b ti e wu lo r un l ń l . P.21

I have written it o!

You know the government is our God, and God does as He likes.

The government‘s power in those days was unquestionable. This is why Dà n who is a bit educated and informed to write protest letter, proclaims government to be God because of the authoritative power they wield. So, to Dà n , challenging government will not be an easy task.

Similarly, the author through mùd , the tax collector, describes local cigarette as a monster as thus:

m d : Kàtàb , à jo o n -un t bà t m b i

wèrèpè. Ohun n à l ń je w nn w nn . P. 25 Cigarette, the monster that is very hot like velvet bean. It is also called w nn w nn .

He compares t bà to à jo o n (monster) because of the effects it has on the smokers. He also calls it w nn w nn due to its size and effects that it has after smoking it. He even incorporates

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simile in it ands liken it to wèrèpè (velvet bean), which makes it a pictorial description of cigar.

Use of Personification

This is a literary device where the qualities of human are given to non-human. The distinguished attributes of human beings which include talking, anger, walking, helping, saving, among others, is grounded in Yorùb . Just like metaphor and simile, personification intends to magnify the extent to which something has gone, so as to create a mental image in the mind of the listener. In In n, there are instances of personification where the human attributes are given to non-humans. This is what plays out on page 23 as seen here:

L m d : M w -m w lap y lé tiw n ń d n K d n w -gbà-w -gbà? P. 22 Theirs has always been to collect, like pigeon wings.

It has never been turned towards giving to people.

The wing of bird is given human quality so as to magnify the extent to which the authority milk the citizens dry all in the name of taxes which they did not even utilise for the benefit of the masses. That is why act of collection as attributed to wing of pigeon in Yorùb lexicon is used.

Furthermore, Aje l e also give the attributes of human or animate quality of being lean to the account of the council areas because people refuse to pay their tax as follows:

Aje l e :

Akoto gbogbo k ńsù l rù hangogo, èy ti fi hàn pé k san ow or y n. P. 44-45

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The councils‘ accounts are thin which Shows that you have not been paying your tax.

It appears that the description of an action is much clearer when it is compared to human being. That is why Aje l e uses the thinness which is an attribute of animate to describe how dry their accounts are as a result of people‘s refusal to pay their taxes, whereas, the collectors of tax are the perpetrators of evil who fail to remit what they collect from people to government. Needle is also given a human attributes of going through something on page 91 where An e r e is confronted with the police Mopé sets up to arrest him. He says:

An e r e :

Mo gb rad n tor a k ba mo , ile lè lo o y lo h ùn- n. abe r e l ko n à t d .

I am prepared in case of any set back out there, the needle will escape before the path is blocked.

While it is true that needle‘s movement is compare to someone that just breakthrough a hurdle yet, needle has no leg nor any appendages like human or animal that will make it walk as the author uses it. This is clearly an indication of personification.

Use of Wordplay

Wordplay is the symbolic play on words, sounds or phones to foreground aesthetics. This occurs when there is deliberate or aesthetic juxtaposition of same or similar sound across a stretch of utterances just to make the expression both charming and colourful. It is a juxtaposition of lexical items which are somehow similar in shape, to produce an effect of verbal

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dexterity ( l t nj , 1984). ⁷In In n, we have the instance of wordplay in page 42 as follows:

Aje l e :

Ab l j – y n. Pé je ar oko k s pé

k m m ohun t to . b oko a m a k èèyàn n p l ?

No wonder. Being villagers does not mean you should not know the right thing. Is it that farm makes someone this uncivilized?

The second syllable in oko (farm) is what brings the application of k (savage) a verb that means to be uncivilised. This is what a character, Aje l e uses to create aesthetic effect in the discourse. The author intentionally uses this to beautify the discourse. This also shows the competence of the author in language.

Similarly on page 60, the author uses the same tropes where he plays on the first syllable of the word S àr Sùr jù to create another verb, sùe sùe in the second clause of the sentence. It appears as thus:

L m d : B èèyàn tile ń je Su ra Sùr jù, wo n ni y

e s e s e m .

If one‘s name is S àr Sùr jù, he is not supposed to be this dense.

The first syllable ‗su‘ in ‗Su ra‘ and ‗Sùr jù‘ (names) is employed to create a jocular verb that also indicates being dense and dull. This is the dexterity of author at play in In n. The fact that the first syllables of the first set of words are the ones employed in the examples given below does not mean that only syllables are used in such manners. That is just a coincidence,

⁷ See l t nj (1984). Features of Yorùb Oral Poetry.

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IUCDS/CIUED-Journal of Research Findings/Revue des Résultats de Recherche, Vol.3, N°2, Sept, 2020

any phonological element vowels, consonants; even words can also be used to create aesthetic effects.

Use of Institutional/Traditional Oral Materials

Traditional oral materials are the ingredients that harbour the Yorùb deep thoughts and emotional state of the mind of the speakers. Although, dialogue is the pillar of drama as literary genre, it is not uncommon to encounter the Yorùb traditional oral materials as ornaments in the works of writers. These elements are aptly important because one‘s strong feelings and emotions are poetically established in drama just like it happens in real life. This is why poetry, drama and prose are interwoven in Yorùb field of stylistics. Unless the savour has been removed or the writer makes a deliberate attempt to avoid making poetic elements appear in text, novels in Yorùb will always be distinguished with intra-textuality of different genres. These genres are primarily independent on their own but they are use inter-textually for aesthetic purpose in other genres. Hence, l te j employs the same materials heuristically in In

n. The traditional oral materials used majorly are proverbs, songs, and incantation. They are discussed herein:

Use of Proverbs

Proverbs are expression and products of deep thoughts (See B mgb é (1968), j -Adé (1983), l t nj (1984), Mieder,

2005; Ow m yèl (2005), Adéy m (2009), Ol j nm (2012). Proverbs are also considered the store-houses of Yorùb philosophy, worldviews and conceptions about humans, events, natural occurrences and other phenomena. These observations are then woven in language succinctly that the addresser and addressees relate to them based on the dictate of the context or situation at hand. l t nj (1984:169) buttresses this opinion

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that; ‗Proverbs occur informally in day-to-day verbal commu- nication, their reference being a person or a situation known to both the audience and the user before they are uttered.‘ They are witty, succinct, terse and laconic remnants of old philosophies and general belief system of certain race or tribe. The more one studies proverbs, the more one is convinced that there is a

universality and internationalism in their contents (O n 2004).

y m

Usage of proverbs in In n cannot be exhausted under this sub-heading because the author used them severally. Our analysis here only captures few of them as representative of proverbs.

While lamenting on the kind of suffering they are going through

in O b dà and its environs, A m sà uses the proverbs to

highlight the extent to which their agony is. He says:

A m s : O r o wa dàb àgbàlagbà t ń s ré

l à r n e e k an. B n kan k b lé on to n, d j d j on to n n l ti m a lé n kan. P.30

Our issue is now like an elder running in the spear grass. If something is not after him, he must be after something.

This proverb stresses the kind of oppression they are passing through. The liberation movement which they are set to undertake is the reason why they gather which is synonymous with what someone that runs in spear grass sees before he/she runs.

To express the hope and not despair in their attempt to liberate

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the masses, re m says:

re m : Wo n n k n j e f n pàdé y pé, yà t

ń j m f n og n d n, yà t ń j m

f n gbo n o ù, b k b pa m , n l ti

s n le y n m ni. P.31

They said I should inform this gathering that the suffering that has plagued a child for twenty years, the suffering that has plagued a child for thirty months, if it does not kill the child, it should leave the child in peace.

The proverb here preaches perseverance and determination to douse the severity of suffering they are going through. It preaches that once steadiness and persistence is imbibed in the masses, they will surely eventually be free. This message he brings from his village as a representative, is adequately conveyed through the proverb. The proverb in the example above is a counsel for everyone to possess a great virtue which is perseverance, ability to endure hardship and unpalatable situations.

On page 36, re m goes further that they will not fold their

arms and keep on being oppressed. He protests thus:

re m : O eun jàl . Là kàyè r k n baj e. je

k ko wé s k ńsù. B eb t b m ka f n

mo eku, àwa n à a s fi y n wa pamo o

Thank you, jàl . You shall continue to grow in wisdom. Let us write to the council. If a sneer knows how to hold on

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to rat, we shall also hold on to our palm- fruit bait.

He buttresses the need to write a letter to council with the proverb, that if the government refuse to do their responsibility as government, the citizens too will not hesitate to stop their civic responsibilities. The responsibilities he has in mind here are tax and other levels that government collect with nothing in terms of basic amenities to show for it.

When An e r e and jàl visit Aje l e , to convey their grievance and Aje l e takes them for rebels, An e r e plays down the need for threat of Aje l e by using the proverb:

An e r e :

lo l Aje l e , a hà ! O r o y n bo r om ràn? A gb ni lét , or nk n ń e j e . P. 49

Your majesty, Aje l e , is the matter more Than this on, it is as if someone is slapped and the knee begins to bleed.

An e r e sees no reason Aje l e should be angry to the extent of calling them rebels because they come to recount their ordeals in their communities. What they say to them shouldn‘t have warrant such reaction, hence the proverb he uses.

These are few of the proverbs used in In n. They are so many that we cannot exhaust their explanation under this sub- heading, yet, the use of proverb provides the shortcut for the conveyance of messages by the characters in In n.

Use of Songs

Songs come hand-in-hand with beautiful composition of discourse in Yorùb . The user of language can afford to use

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songs at regular intervals only when he is actively competent linguistically. When one is able to do this, the communication, message and themes will stick to the memory of the addressee for long. Songs involves mostly orchestration of one‘s strong emotion with beat and regular rhythmical patterns. It is usually accompanied with musical ensembles, mostly drums in African society. Songs permeate every angle and segment of African, most relevantly here, Yorùb society, in that hardly will they involve themselves in anything without coining a suitable songs to edify such occasion. This is why Ulli Beier via O l t nj (1984:8) affirms that:

There is no occasion in Yorùb life that is not accompanied by songs. Both marriage and funeral are all occasions for lyrical song of great beauty. Everyday life is also accompanied by great deal of impromptu singing, a kind of musical thinking, in which the singer puts everything to a tune which happens to pass through his head.

This implies that almost all segments of life in Yorùb have befitting songs that they use to make it lively. Even when Yorùb are in bad mood, there are still songs that fit in to such psychological state of mind. So, it is not surprising that songs are employed severally in In n. A folkloric song ⁸is used to mourn B nko l é who just died after falling off the palm tree as follows:

Gbogbo w n: ùp ale o,

O r un e b jà

b b l

b l l wuro

⁸ This kind of song has root in Yoruba cultures but they are used by artists who are deeply rooted in the culture.

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A dé l le . P. 3

The moonlight at night Heaven is not like market We would have followed you We would have gone in the morning

And returned in the evening.

The song here is what they use to downpour the emotional

outburst of the people of O b dà. This makes it clear that the

author is deep rooted in the Yorùb folklore from which the song comes. Similarly, mùd and Yés fù use another song on page 52 to aid punishment of tax defaulters as follows:

Orin: O po l o p n‘m k f n gbàj

J ńk l bo

O po l o p n‘m k f n gbàj

J ńk l bo . P. 52

A toad backs its child without a girdle It is staggering

A toad backs its child without a girdle. It is staggering.

The song is what the tax defaulter danced to till Làm d gives up the ghost. His death culminates into chaos where many properties are destroyed and many officers of the government are kidnapped and detained. This incident also marks the end of tax payment till normalcy is returned to the region. Aside from this, it is one of Yorùb traditions that songs go hand-in-hand with wars. The use of song motivates, inspires and propels the warriors at the battlefield. An example of that is found thus:

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Orin: ń pol w oo

ń pol w

le k o r un ń pol w . P. 74

It is seriously advertising It is advertising

Heavenly cornmeal hawker is advertising.

This song is known for inspiration and motivation of the warriors during the war, confrontation and protests. This is what prompts the use of such song at the warfront. This is to further prove that the author is conversant with the linguistic and institution lexicon of Yorùb because he makes the right choice of language use at the appropriate time.

Another sphere of action where songs are used by the author is when An e r e was released from the detention. He was met with jubilation, songs and all sort of poetic renditions just like Yorùb do during important occasion like that. Example of such songs is seen here:

Orin ti l : d g n An e r e

K àbo , é d ad a lo dé?

k W rào l a

K àbo , é d ad a lo dé. P. 108

d g n An e r e

Welcome, hope you arrived well? Husband of Wuraola

Welcome, hope you arrived well?

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This is a congratulatory song to welcome An e r e , and at the

same time praise him for his heroic deeds during the protest, that eventually liberates people from shackles of oppression and dehumanisation of the authority. These kinds of scenes demand for usage of songs and the author does as necessary. Use of

songs in l te j ‘s In n especially in O po l o p n‟m k f n

gb j is incomplete, and this shows that l te j fails to pay attaention to his use of songs. The song supposed to include e e l p n tire lo d d n

Use of Incantation

Incantation is one of the feature types in Yorùb oral poetry that is usable inter-textually across all genres. The use of fo (incantation) involves the invocation and reference to the spirit in the eternal truth in the past to ensure the present one is successful as the user wishes it to be. This oral poetry can be used in full or part of it may be employed to resolve the present related issue. In fo (incantation), the user takes advantage of the truth in the past incidence and the outcome may be benevolent or malevolent. The two types depend on the mood and condition of the user. So, when such is used in drama texts, it becomes language use for heuristic effects. l te j makes use of incantation where An e r e and police confront each other. When Am sà is shot by one of the police on their way to Agodi and An e r e employs Yorùb incantation to relieve him of the pain as seen here:

An e r e : gbé e w k to j e . ..

P t p t lomi por in

gbàr j n pa yàngb ile P t p t lomi por in

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gbàrà j n pa yàngb ile

Tu-e ! tu-e ! tu-e!

Bring him so that we take care of him. Water is known for quenching fire completely

Erosion is known for quenching dryness of land

Water is known for quenching fire completely

Erosion is known for quenching dryness of land

Water is known for quenching fire completely

Erosion is known for quenching dryness of land

Tu-e ! tu-e ! tu-e!

This is an incantation used to heal rather than mere heuristic effect. It is used to relieve the person hit by the bullet so as to continue with the mission they set to accomplish. Having rendered this incantation, the victim becomes normal and agile and he shows no hesitation to continue at the battlefield. Such is the power inherent in some Yorùb incantations.

When An se r e ‘ s spell conveyed through incantation could not

work on O g lo p à (Commissioner of police), he also casts

his own incantation on An e r e as a war crest as thus:

O g

lo p : t be y n An e r e

As j gan! As j gan! As j gan! Ar nj gan! Ar nj gan! Ar nj gan! A k na j gan lo r e

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O g

A k ta j gan lo f à Bo p à b pe ej

T un tor in e ni B e b t b pa eku A pa n iyè mo l e

Go o – go o n e ad or àba Ad or àba k n yè n n An e r e wo te o wày………………….. P. 81

Enough is enough, An e r e One than runs militarily One that walks militarily No one cane J gan

No one shoot arrow at J gan

If a STICK is used to kill snake It kills it alongside the venom If a sneer kills a rat

It kills it alongside the memory The fowl on the roost is always dense

The fowl on the roost lacks strength.

An e r e , I have caught you today.

lo p à uses this incantation as an attack on An e r e

because he is also versed in the culture and spiritual fortification. This depicts what we can actually encounter in the Yorùb society regardless of the kind of work you do. It is a signal to realism that is germane in literary works.

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In the same vein, while taking on commissioner of the police, An e r e applies incantation as one of the war crests in Yorùb . The he uses incantation to hypnotise the police as thus:

An e r e :

l t aj b l in aj n gbé Mo b à, o r yé pin l n

Tor jo to k b b m l k k

jo to g e d e b b tie n ro r un. T t n dé b . P. 78

Whatever dreams a dog has lives in the dog

Mobile police, today is your last day

Because the day the viper gives birth is the day it dies.

the day the banana gives birth is the day it dies.

You are finished today.

The incantation here is confrontational because the duel between the two is not for joke or ornaments, but destruction aimed at someone at the opposing side. This highlights another application of incantation in Yorùb . Yet, it contributes to the author‘s eye for precision right choice of expressions. The implication of the right choice of oral materials and time during which they are normally used, indicates author‘s dexterity in language use at the right contexts.

Use of Loan Words

so p r s mi gan an n gbà t mo gbo P.7

It surprised me when I heard

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n sib tù n àd gb wa y mà ń d wa l gara P.7

Lack of hospitals in this our area disturbs our peace

fi k n fi ro o b ù ra P. 8 I have to rub it with rob

Daas – rait! P. 9 That‘s alright!

T b r be e y n, àmo r àn t mà m w ni pé k fi ro wa t go f me t lét – P.10

If it is like that, the advice I will bring is to inform the government about our challenges

T b di Mo ń dè, n k létà n à, y s t

Se k t r tàb maànù K ńsù lo wo . P.11

On Monday, I will write the letter, it will get to the Secretary or Council Chairman.

The borrowed words: so p r s (surprise), sib tù (hospital), ro o b ù (rub), Daas – rait (That‘s alright), go f me t(government), Mo ń dè (Monday), Se k t r (Secretary), maànù (Chairman), K ńsù (Council) makes the drama text contemporary.

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Conclusion

This study has revealed that the most prominent tropes in In

n are simile and proverbs. The examined tropes are simile, metaphor, personification, wordplay and loanwords, proverbs, songs and incantation which highlight the author‘s level of linguistic competence and aesthetic dexterity. Not only these, it was also established in the study that the contextual use of language by l te j , serves as the frame through which the themes, setting, background, characterisation and other critical yardsticks are viewed. In other words, criticism of author‘s language use creates an avenue to see these elements at a glance. The author relies too much on proverbs and monotonous use of simile as dominant tropes. Similarly, while the monotonous presentation of thematic preoccupation seems to be the weakness of author‘s style, yet his language use covers the flaw and intimates the audience with the author‘s inherent ideas. This affirms that language exists not in vacuum but in relation to situations and contexts which are relevant to SFL. The study emphasized that the study of speech situation before the choice from networks of options is paramount in literary works. In this paper, it was discovered that l te j ‘s ingenuity is projected in the use of loan word. This brings new innovations to the writing of Yorùb novels in the contemporary society. It adds uniqueness and flavour to his writings. His use of proverbs is contextually desirable.

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“AN THIS ALSO…HAS EEN ONE O THE ARK PLACES O THE EARTH”: MULTI-LEVEL SATIRE IN JOSEPH CONRA ‟S HEART OF DARKNESS

ADENIJI Abiodun English Department, University of Lagos

Abstract

he variegated and, sometimes, acrimonious responses to Joseph Conrad’s novella often serve to obfuscate the real issues broached by Conrad in his seminal work. Consequently, the merits of Conrad’s novella which lie in its denunciation of man’s brutality to his fellow man and his sacrifice of his humanity on the altar of materialism are often lost in the fold of theoretical effervescence and perceptual rancorousness. This paper argues that the exploration of the multiple levels of satire in Heart of Darkness more vividly reveals the humanistic concerns of the novelist about the deleterious impact of colonialism/imperialism, on the colonisers and the colonised. By deploying selected concepts in psychoanalysis in the analysis of irony, a major component of satire, the paper concludes that man’s inordinate desire for material acquisition often warps his sense of judgement leading to the numerous evils prevalent in society today.

Key Words; Darkness, Heart, Multi-level, Satire, Earth

Résumé

Les réponses variées, et parfois acrimonieuses à la novelle de Joseph Conrad sert souvent à offusquer les faits réels par Conrad dans son œuvre séminale. Cependant, les succès de la nouvelle de Conrad qui se trouve dans la dénonciation de la brutalité de l‘homme vers son compatriote et son sacrifice de son humanité sur le podium du matérialisme sont souvent perdus dans la sphère de l‘effrénée théorique et de la rancœur perpétuelle. Cet article argumente que l‘exploration des niveaux multiples de la satire dans Heart of Darkness (Cœur de l’Obscurité) révèle plus clairement les inquiétudes humanistiques du romancier sur ce qui concerne l‘impact négatifs du colonialisme/impérialisme , sur les colonisateurs et les colonisés. En se servant des concepts sélectionnés dans la psychanalyse dans l‘analyse de

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l‘ironie, un constituent majeur de la satire, l‘article conclut que le désire excessif de l‘homme pour l‘acquisition matériel influence souvent son jugement aboutissant aux plusieurs méfaits dominant la société d‘aujourd‘hui.

Mots clés : Obscurité, Cœur, Multi-niveaux, Satire, Terre

Introduction

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that Joseph Conrad consciously injected into his masterpiece multiple levels of satire which subtly interrogates the accepted norm of his day about the moral imperatives of imperialism to the white man. In the process, Conrad critiques human institutions in ways that highlight the urgent need for the reformation of the inner architecture of the human mind as a condition for the reformation of society‘s physical institutions. The idea behind imperialism couched by its apologists is that the white, being of superior intellect and advanced social development, has a moral burden to civilise people of inferior races of the world and bring them from the darkness of ancestral barbarity to the light of modern civilisation. Consequently, the argument goes, the white has the right to exploit the natural resources that are abundant in their colonies to benefit their industrial growth at home. According to John Attridge (2018):

During the second half of the 19th century, spurious theories of racial superiority were used to legitimize empire-building, justifying European rule over native populations in places where they had no other obvious right to be. Marlow, however, is too cynical to accept this convenient fiction. The

―conquest of the earth‖, he says, was not the manifest destiny of European peoples; rather, it simply meant ―the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves.‖

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The seeming nobility of the civilising mission is subtly subverted by Conrad in his work, although in ways so ambiguous that the reader is left to unravel the authorial intention and overriding theme of the work in a multiplicity of interpretations. Tamador Khalaf Abu- Snoubar Balqa (2017, p.1) acknowledges the ambiguous nature of the text when he asserts that Conrad is ―Sometimes… condemned as a supporter and defender of the imperialist views and in other situations he is thought to be ambivalent, ambiguous and indecisive concerning this same topic‖. This paper attempts to integrate the various conflicting interpretations of Conrad‘s novella by focusing on the satiric import of Conrad as the main organising principle behind his diverse significations in the novella. The paper argues that in the final analysis Heart of Darkness is a condemnation of colonialism as a dehumanising enterprise to the colonised as well as the colonisers. Satire puts man and his institutions up for ridicule in such a way as to highlight the weaknesses therein and subtly call for remedial action. By employing relevant concepts in Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis, the id, the ego, the superego, the collective and personal unconscious and some of the drives that motivate human actions, and inactions, this paper lays bare the ironic texture of Conrad‘s multi-level satire in Heart of Darkness.

Written over a century ago, Heart of Darkness has attracted a deluge of criticisms. As mentioned above, the vital thesis in the work which is Conrad‘s denigration of colonialism as a dehumanising enterprise has been largely over-swept by the flood of criticisms of the novella inspired by mutually antagonistic and divergent theoretical perspectives. In the main, however, the critics of the novella could be classified into eight categories: the critics of consciousness using insights from

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psychoanalysis, the archetypal/myth critics, the critics of race, the critics of colonialism, the gender critics, the language/- philological critics, the philosophical critics and the responders, those who have responded to the various issues raised by other critics of the novella (Lisa Goddard, 2012). There are too many critics in each category to cite all in this short paper, but an attempt will be made to mention a few in each category.

Notable among the critics of consciousness is Albert Guerard whose ―The Journey Within‖ (1958/2006) approaches the text from the language and psychoanalytical perspective. He argues that the darkness in the text is a metaphor for the darkness in human heart which comes to the fore when the restrictions of law and morality are removed. Thus, to him, the darkness is not really about Africa as it is about the bestial nature of man which comes to the fore under certain fluid/amorphous social conditions. This paper aligns itself with Goddard‘s response to Guerard that: ―although this may not be a novel about Africa, the setting is no accident. Conrad deliberately chooses a region and cultural context that would resonate with the European audience as savage and uncivilized,‖ (2012). Qiling Wu and Tsingan Li in a joint paper entitled ―Read Death Drive through Heart of Darkness‖ (2017, 128) present a similar approach to Guerard‘s by reading Marlow‘s journey to the inner station as

―a journey to self-discovery or drive-discovery‖. Other criticisms using insights from psychoanalysis include: Charlotte

K. Spivack‘s ―The Journey to Hell: Satan, the Shadow and the Self‖ (1965) and Dorsha Hayes‘s ―Conrad‘s Heart of Darkness: An aspect of the Shadow‖ (1956), a Jungian criticism that highlights personal and collective shadow.

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The archetypal and myth critics use insights from either the archetypal theory of Joseph Campbell or Northrop Frye‘s theory of myth to criticise the novella. Examples of such criticisms include: James Mellard‘s ―Myth and Archetype in Heart of Darkness‖ (1968) and Jerome Thale‘s ―Marlow‘s Quest‖. (1955). The most vociferous and cantankerous criticisms of the novella have been associated with race, and foremost among them is Chinua Achebe‘s criticism. Achebe says that Conrad is racist in the way he presents Africa and Africans in his novella:

Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as ‗the other world‘, the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilisation, a place where man‘s vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality (2)…The point of my observations should be quite clear by now, namely that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist. (Achebe. 1988. P. 8).

Achebe comes to this conclusion after considering the way Africa and Africans are presented in Heart of Darkness as the

―other‖, the inferior to the white man; or the sub-human to the white man‘s humanity in appearance and in setting. This notion is buttressed by the constant reference to Africa as the heart of darkness, and the lack of social institutions that make places like Europe bastions of light, in a word, ―modern‖. Achebe wrote his critique against the backdrop of the Negritude movement then sweeping all over Africa and the diaspora the aim of which was to recuperate the African identity and personality battered and lost in the gallows of slavery and colonialism. One of the many issues that evoke the anger of Achebe is the language question in Heart of Darkness. Writing from the standpoint of an African cultural icon Achebe lambastes Conrad as a racist because he does not deem it fit to give the Africans in his narrative a language, thereby denying them voice and agency in matters which take place mainly on

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the African continent. This allegation is valid even if some Africans speak in English in Heart of Darkness. For example, the leader of the cannibals tells Marlow: ―Catch ‗im…Give ‗im to us…Eat ‗im‖ (p.58). And the African servant who announces the passing of Kurtz says: ―Mistah Kurtz – he dead!‖ (p.100). Another criticism that addresses the issue of racism in Heart of Darkness is Hunt Hawkin‘s ―Heart of Darkness and Racism‖ (1982/2006) in which the critic argues that though the modern reader can read Conrad as a racist, but in the time he lived and wrote, he was considered one of the foremost critics of European colonialism. Hunt Hawkins also points out that Heart of Darkness is more of a critique of the white colonisers than a critique of the Africans. He cites many instances in which Conrad is more critical of fellow white men than of blacks. John Attridge‘s conclusion on the debate is that, ―If Achebe did not succeed in having Heart of Darkness struck from the canon, he did ensure that academics writing about the novel could no longer ignore the question of race‖ (2018). Other criticisms in this category include Patrick Brantlinger‘s ―Imperialism, Impressionism and the Politics of Style (1988)‖ (2006) and Paul Armstrong‘s Heart of Darkness (2006).

Leading the category of those who criticised the novella from the standpoint of colonialism/race is Edward Said who absolves Conrad of the racist charge by asserting that the overriding vision of society as at the time Conrad wrote his work was shaped by imperialism: ―Independence was for whites and Europeans; the lesser or subject peoples were to be ruled; science, learning, history emanated from the West‖ (Said, 1994, p.24). Unfortunately, this view contrasts with the personal view of Conrad which is critical of imperialism. According to Said:

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Conrad’s way of demonstrating this discrepancy between the orthodox and his own views of empire is to keep drawing attention to how ideas and values are constructed (and deconstructed) through dislocations in the narrator’s language. Marlow, for example is never straightforward. He alternates between garrulity and stunning eloquence. (Said, 1994, p. 29).

But because of the limitation of the time he lived, ―Conrad could not grant the natives their freedom, despite his severe critique of the imperialism that enslaved them‖ (Said, 1994, 30).

Jeremy Hawthorn is one of those who critiqued the novella from the gender perspective. In ―The Women of Heart of Darkness‖ (1990/2006) he avers that the two major female characters in the work have been othered by the author and represented as inferior to their male counterparts. Expatiating on Hawthorn‘s averment, Goddard (2012) says:

The two main female characters, The Intended and the mistress, seem to offer a clear Madonna/whore binary. One is all ―fecund‖ (60) body, the other is barely visible, hidden in shadows. The naïve innocence of the European woman, contrasts with the inscrutable purpose of the African woman, but both are essentially projections of male fantasy. The African woman stands in for Africa. Kurtz‘s conquest of both can be achieved only by slipping into savagery, by disappointing his European betrothed, and by rejecting all that is civilized. European women, by contrast, are there to believe and repeat the lies of imperialism. They bolster the men with reassurances that their imperialist work is noble and to the greater good. In both cases women are symbols rather than people – they are lifted on pedestals above the fray in order to serve the needs of the male psyche. Conrad depicts the African woman as proud and magnificent, where the European woman is weak, unhealthy, and deceived. We can certainly read this as indicative of Conrad‘s anti-imperialist sympathies, but he also denies the African woman a voice, and describes her as

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―savage‖ and ―mysterious‖. His whole description smacks potently of the ―noble savage‖ trope, so although he may be using his female characters to indict imperialism, he manages to be both sexist and racist in doing so.

Another critic who analysed the novella from the gender perspective is Torgovnick Mariama whose ―Primitivism and the African Woman in Heart of Darkness‖ (1990/2006) condemns the way Conrad represents the African woman in his novella as a subordinate other not only to the males, but to the European woman as well.

Ian Watts is one of those who critiqued Heart of Darkness from the language perspective. In ―Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness‖ (1979/2006), he asserts that the darkness in the work is a multi-plane symbol which could stand for wilderness, Africa, Africans and Europe. What is intriguing in Watt‘s critique is his rather specious averment that Marlow carries the darkness in him from Africa to Europe. In contrast, this paper argues that darkness already exists in Europe before the colonial incursion into the African space. The philosophy category is represented by Daphna Erdinast-Vulcan (as cited in Goddard 2012) who reads the text as Marlow‘s pilgrimage in search of the truth. The responders include, Wilson Harris‘s

―The Frontier on Which Heart of Darkness Stands.‖ (1981), Morgan Svenson‘s ―Critical Responses to Joseph Conrad‘s Heart of Darkness‖(2010), Charlie Wesley‘s ―Inscriptions of Resistance in Joseph Conrad‘s Heart of Darkness‖ (2015), John Attridge‘s “How Conrad‘s Imperial Horror Story Heart of Darkness Resonates with Our Globalised Times” (2018,), Balga‘s ―Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: Debunking the Two Basic Imperial Clichés‖ (2017), Ryanne‘s ―The Necessity

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of the Reader: A Literary Criticism of Heart of Darkness‖ (2014), Kwame A. Appiah‘s ―In My Father‘s House‖ (1992) etc. As pointed out earlier, none of the critical reviews above concentrated solely on the more profitable project of unravelling Joseph Conrad‘s disgust of the colonial machinery by focussing on the multi-layered satire in the text.

Darkness is a motif, a recurring theme in Conrad‘s novella. The narrative begins with the concept of darkness in the heart of London, and follows Marlow to Belgium where he picks up his letter of appointment in a company filled with darkness. Marlow proceeds to the Congo, a place of darkness ruled by white men with darkened souls. He returns to Europe to meet Kurtz‘s Intended, a woman in black ensconced in the darkness of interminable mourning. The novel ends where it started on the bank of the River Thames whose limitless waterway leads

―to the uttermost ends of the earth‖, its water ―flowing sombre under an overcast sky – seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness‖ (p.111). The darkness motif affirms Conrad‘s satiric intent that colonialism, denuded of the beautiful toga of a civilising mission, is a dark affair. Conrad affirms this notion when he declares: ―The conquest of the earth which mostly means the taking away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much‖ (p.10). In the preceding sentence, he describes the conquest of other lands as

―robbery with violence and men going at it blind – as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness‖ (p.10). Of course, it could be argued that Marlow in this context refers to conquerors such as the Romans who conquered Britain, and not colonists such as the English. However, Marlow, a first-person narrator and pseudo-author is unreliable and prejudiced in his

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judgements as further analysis will show. Conrad, therefore, gives the perceptive reader a strong impression that he is laughing at Marlow himself and does not acknowledge the difference between ―conquerors‖ and ―colonists‖. Moreover, to the victims of foreign domination, Conrad inclusive, Marlow‘s patriotic justification is mere hair-splitting. The point being made in this paper is that throughout the three levels of satire dissected below, the darkness motif pervades. It could, therefore, be argued that the presence of darkness in both Europe and Africa, in whatever form, is a satiric device used by the author to deconstruct the supposed difference between the colonisers and the colonised. At a deeper level, the perva- siveness of darkness is a pointer to the archetypal evil in human nature. It could be inferred that darkness symbolises evil while light symbolises good. Darkness is resident in the id of all human beings while light, the positive side of the binary construct resides in the superego. Consequently, human beings naturally gravitate towards evil while positive ethics must be learnt, and have to be drilled into men from birth. In sum, nobody teaches a child to be evil, but he is forced by society‘s rules and mores to abide by his culture‘s notion of light, the good nature. However, when the archetypal ego which arbitrates between the archetypal id and the superego containing societal restraints, the laws, the cultural inhibitions is removed or put in abeyance man easily reverts to the state of darkness observable in Kurtz, the pilgrims, the manager and his uncle, etc. The irony obvious in the darkness motif in Heart of Darkness is that the white man, underneath his veneer of civilisation and cultural evolution is still a brute in his heart of hearts. There is therefore no fundamental difference between the colonised and the colonial powers. Hence, Marlow observes with awe and cynicism that the howling mob on the bank of the

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Congo River rouses a spark of resonance in him, forcing him to admit, albeit reluctantly that a kinship exists between the colonisers and the colonised in spite of their seemingly divergent folk ways: ―They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of their humanity – like yours – the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar‖ (p.51)

Satire on the English

The English are the first and last butt of Conrad‘s acerbic satire, and he achieved this excoriating task through a skilful manipulation of setting and characterisation. The novel begins with five characters sitting in The Nelly, a fishing yawl anchored on the River Thames at Gravesend, a major port in the 19^th Century. They watch as the sun goes down, and the writer creates a sombre atmosphere evocative of gloom and inevitable doom through his description of the setting. He says the air is

―dark over Gravesend‖ and ―seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless‖ over the city like the Sword of Damocles (p.1). Further on in the narrative, the first narrator describes London as ―the monstrous town‖ and ―a brooding gloom in the sun‖ (p.7). The image presented to the reader by the words ―doom‖, ―gloom‖, ―mournful‖, ―brooding‖, and

―monstrous‖ is that of a city with a heart of darkness, an innate evil nature. The pun on the name of the port, Gravesend, intended or accidental, is therefore very telling. London is a city that sends men to their early graves or it sends death (graves) to lands unknown through the colonists who embark from the port. These colonists ultimately bring doom, slavery and death to other, weaker lands in their practical expropriation of the resources of these weaker nations in the guise of a hypocritical, greed-driven civilising mission. When the imagery is extended

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to cover the whole of England, Conrad‘s subtle satire is that England is itself a place of darkness, moral and spiritual darkness, where materialism reigns supreme. Since the light in England, the archetypal abode of the colonisers appears to have been dimmed by the darkness (inordinate materialism) in its collective unconscious, therefore, the individual English colonists who sail from here could only foist darkness on other peoples because they possess in their ids the same crass materialism in the collective unconscious of their nation, having come from London, the heart of darkness itself. And to drive home the barb in his mockery Conrad infers that England is a place which rewards deeds of darkness by mentioning Sir Francis Drake as one of the intrepid English explorers who brought profit and fame to the country. The irony is that to other European nations, Drake was nothing but a knighted pirate on whom King Philip II of Spain once placed a bounty! The subtle satire in this piece is the author‘s insinuation that it is only in such a place as dark England that a pirate such as Drake could obtain (purchase?) a knighthood.

Conrad, through Marlow, accentuated this point later when he declares. ―But darkness was here yesterday‖ (p.8) reinforcing an earlier assertion that ―this also …has been one of the dark places of the earth‖ (p.7). As observed above, the evidence in the text contradicts Watt‘s observation that Marlow brings darkness from Africa to England. Going by the foregoing analysis, London itself has always had darkness resident in it. Again, it could be argued argue that Marlow‘s observation refers to the state of the pre-English nation when the Romans conquered the Anglo-Saxons. Today, the argument would continue, there is no darkness anywhere in England but glowing cities filled with educated and civilised citizens whose hearts

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burn with evangelical fire to save the souls of the benighted savages inhabiting the British colonies. However, the gunboat diplomacy adopted by the would-be saviours and the rapacious despoliation of the resources of ―conquered‖ nations by the British give the lie to these mental cum intellectual props. The slave trade in which the British participated actively showed that material gain, not civilisation, was the motive force behind the British colonial enterprise. Conrad emphasises his satire on the English when he ends the novella with the ubiquitous image of darkness. Conrad‘s motif inevitably leads to the question: who possesses the heart of darkness, the colonised or the colonisers? At various points in the narrative, Conrad points to the colonisers as possessing the heart of darkness. In spite of Marlow‘s puerile attempts to absolve the English and blame the Europeans for the monstrosity of the colonial project through their lack of efficiency and abandonment of the idea of the civilising mission, the reader has no doubt that the English are also complicit in ―the horror‖ (100). The ensuing analysis of the activities of the English characters in the novel shows them as hypocritical in their pursuit of the Idea of a civilising mission and as inefficient as their European counterparts in the way they go about achieving their avowed mission.

Balga observes that ―Conrad employs the strategy of presenting and highlighting the long established imperial clichés just to debunk them and to show how fake they are‖ (2017, p.1). This strategy is obvious on Conrad‘s work right from the beginning in his characterisation. Conrad begins his satire of the English by creating two unreliable participant narrators, Charles Marlow and the unnamed narrator, ―narrators with dubious views on truth‖ (Rhyanne, 2014), The unnamed narrator begins and ends the story while the bulk of the tale is

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told by Marlow. Conrad, through these implied authors, their words and their silences, brings out the hypocrisy in the English colonial or imperial enterprise. The first narrator, for instance, says that the five men who we observe relaxing on the Nelly at the beginning and the end of the story are friends bonded by their love for the sea even through ―long periods of separation‖ (p.5). It is therefore ironical that he could not provide the personal names of many of his ―friends‖. The veracity of his statement is, therefore, controverted by his inability or refusal to name all of the ―friends‖ except Marlow. The other ―friends‖ he referred to by their official titles, the Director, the Lawyer and the Accountant. On the surface, this may be deference to their exalted position in the society, but the absence of their personal names could be a subtle satire on the ―friends‖, hinting at the not-so-savoury, or ―efficient‖ means of attaining their exalted statuses. Or it could be Conrad‘s mockery of the contrast between the moral expectations of those titles and the gaping disappointment in the character of the holders of the titles. For instance, the Director of Companies is described as ―our captain and host‖ (p.5), a man who resembles ―a pilot which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified‖ (p.5). It is, therefore, shocking to the reader that this man is not even a sailor but a landlubber who actually works behind a desk in an office in London rather than navigating a vessel in the sea. Through him, Conrad mocks all the directors or owners of sea-going craft as people who profit from the toils and losses of other men, the intrepid sea-farers. Such a man could afford a ―cruising yawl‖ because he has others in the heart of darkness whose labour funds his exquisite pleasure. He is, therefore, no better than the Belgian employer of Marlow, Kurtz and the pilgrims who sends them on the perilous journey to the Congo while he remains

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ensconced in the comforts of Belgium, reaping the benefits of their toils (the ivory).

The Accountant and the Lawyer are no less satirised by Conrad. The lawyer, for instance, is described by the first narrator a ―the best of old fellows…with many years and many virtues‖ (p.5). This image is in sharp contrast to the picture of lawyers in the mind of the average reader, men more concerned with legalism than justice in their battle to win a case and make money. Such men are rarely described as pools of many virtues. So the reader is immediately attracted to this pleasant exception to the rule. However, the reader‘s expectation of virtuosity on the part of the lawyer is instantly subverted by the narrator‘s not-so-subtle complaint that the lawyer has used his age and position, not virtues, to expropriate ―the only cushion on deck, and was lying on the only rug‖ (p.5). The lawyer, therefore, is only virtuous in mien and not in deeds, a hypocrite. So is the Accountant who is expected to be scrupulously honest, conservative and trust- worthy, meticulously balance the company‘s assets and liabilities. By their training and responsibility, accountants are not expected to be gamblers, so they do not gamble away the fortunes of their companies. But this accountant loves to play dominoes, a game evocative of a gambling session. The image of the Accountant is thus ironical; it implies that despite his avowed or expected fiduciary duty to the shareholders, this accountant is not entirely trustworthy. In essence, all these characters are whited sepulchres.

Ian Watt in The Rise of the Novel (1957b) asserts that the use of proper names (first name and surname) is one of the surest ways of building a particularised personality for a homo fictus:

―Proper names bring to mind one thing only; universals recall

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any one of many. Proper names have exactly the same function in social life: they are the verbal expression of the particular identity of each individual person‖ (Watt, 1957b, 19-20). Thus proper names confer on the fictive characters physical concreteness and cultural specificity because names are usually culture-bound. General names such as Christian, Mother-Mercy, Director, Accountant, and Lawyer are by the same token nebulous, culturally void and, above all, lacking in personal accountability and trustworthiness. That is the ultimate butt of Conrad‘s satire of the unnamed English characters, the hint that they are faceless, therefore untrustworthy. By inference, the English are neither transparent at home nor trustworthy in their dealings with the hapless subjects of the British Empire. But why would the unnamed narrator refuse to tell us that some of his friends are not as plain as they look? The most obvious answer is that he is in denial, one of the defence mechanisms in Freudian psychology. He appears overawed by the achieve- ments of his ―friends‖ and finds it difficult to tell the reader outright that they are not what they seem. In the same vein, he employs reaction formation, another defence mechanism to cover his inferiority complex by choosing to focus on the high- sounding titles of his ―friends‖ rather than their personal names that could elicit negative reactions from him. His subtle resentment is repressed in his id, but filters out in his ironically depersonalised depiction of his supposed friends.

The most iconic figure in Conrad‘s satire against the English is Charles Marlow. In him and through him, Conrad deploys irony, the acerbic variety, to expose the English as double- tongued phonies who ridicule Europeans for their lack of efficiency in the management of their colonies but engage in shenanigans that seriously subvert their assumed moral

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superiority over the non-English colonisers. The first narrator subtly warns the reader that his successor is not to be fully trusted by describing him as sitting ―…cross-legged‖ and with a

―yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and with his arms dropped, the palm of hands outwards, resembled an idol‖ (p.6). Elsewhere, the first narrator describes him as a Buddha figure which casts a religious aura on Marlow, thereby engendering in the reader the expectations of an honest, straight-laced, God-fearing individual who will avoid all appearances of evil. Ironically, Marlow is far from this moral height judging by his activities, and the first narrator warns the reader not to trust him when he observes that though Marlow is a seaman, ―he did not represent his class‖ (p.8). Put differently, the first narrator warns the reader not to judge Marlow by his self-denying appearance and to take his words with a healthy dose of scepticism. In other words, his outward appearance and eloquence may be a general façade covering the vile darkness in his id. The following incidents authenticate the hypocritical nature of Marlow as a proud, mendacious and an unreliable character.

The general tone of Marlow‘s narration is critical if not condemnatory of Europeans‘ lack of fidelity to the idea of imperialism/colonialism as a civilising mission, and their inef- ficient ways of managing their colonies, implying that they are

―conquerors‖ and not ―colonists‖ like the English. He thus puts the English on a high moral ground compared to their ―inferior‖ white brothers. But the author deftly shows the complicity of Marlow, by extension, the English, in the same moral faux pas. For example, Marlow describes the Belgian city where he collects his letter of appointment as ―a whited sepulchre‖ (p.14), but the author shows through his setting and characterisation

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that the English are also whited sepulchres, most especially through the description of the persons and implied nature of the Director, the Accountant, the Lawyer and even Marlow. It has been noted earlier that the ―darkness‖ motif runs through the narrative. In a subtle manner, the concept of ―a whited sepulchre‖ is applicable to both the English and the Europeans. By describing Belgium, and Belgians, as whited sepulchres Marlow gives the impression that he is not. Yet, he gets his appointment through nepotism, not merit. His effort to downplay the moral decadence implicit in his action by saying that it ―was already a fresh departure for me‖ because he was not used to ―get things that way‖ (p.12) is simply laughable. In psychoanalysis, Marlow employs the defence mechanism known as rationalisation, a way of explaining away justifying an unfavourable behaviour with his own concocted set of evidence or reasons. To the astute reader, Marlow is also engaged in repression, tucking away in his id the unsavoury truth that he got his job as captain of a steamboat in the Congo through an aunt who knew ―‗the wife of a very high personage in the Administration, and also a man who has lots of influence with‘ etc etc‖ (p.12). Later in the story, the same Marlow condemns the conspiratorial tete-a-tete between the Manager of the Central station and his uncle devising a stratagem to prevent Kurtz from taking over the nephew‘s job (p.43) but remains silent about the underhand influence that secured him his appointment.

One sore point that Marlow keeps hammering on is that the Europeans are inefficient in the management of their colonies unlike the English. He also infers that their inefficiency eventually leads to the bastardisation of the big idea back of colonialism which is the noble project of bringing civilisation to

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the benighted natives of their colonies. He mentions some of the manifestations of the inefficiency: the senseless shelling of the bush by a French man-of-war (p.20); the objectless blasting of the earth ―which is all the work going on‖ (p.22); the abduction and wicked abandonment of black men ―brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legality of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest (euphemism for dying) (p.24); the clutter and chaos of the company‘s Outer station (p.26); the sinking of the steamer through a rash action by the Manager of the Central station and the ―pilgrims‖; Kurtz‘s unsound method of robbing the natives of their ivory and murdering whoever stands in his way; the aimless scheming of the men in the Central station

―like a lot of faithless pilgrims bewitched inside a rotten fence‖ (p.33); the futility of putting out a fire by fetching water from the river with a tin pail that has a hole in its bottom (p.33) etc. etc. It is, however, ironical that with all his English efficiency, it takes Marlow months to fix his steamboat, and that not without the help of the same Europeans that he loves to deride as

―inefficient‖.

Marlow often lambastes his European counterparts for being hypocritical and untruthful in everything they do:

They (the pilgrims) beguiled the time by backbiting and intriguing against each other in a foolish kind of way. There was an air of plotting about that station, but nothing came of it, of course. It was as unreal as everything else – as the philanthropic pretence of the whole concern, as their talk, as their government, as their show of work. The only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading-post where ivory was to be had, so that they could earn percentages. They intrigued

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and slandered and hated each other on that account – but as to effectually lifting a little finger – oh, no. (p.35).

The image of the European colonists graphically painted in the excerpt above is that of a bunch of lazy, lying, hypocritical and morally debased people who tell the world that they are in Africa to civilise the natives but are really self-servers. With such moral interdiction exuding from the mouth of Marlow, one would expect him to be morally upright, avoiding the slightest tinge of lies and hypocrisy. But in the final analysis, he tells biggest lie in the book by reassuring Kurtz‘s Intended that the last word spoken by Kurtz was her name: ―The last word he pronounced was – your name‖ (p.110). And this from a man who says: ―You know I hate, detest, and can‘t bear a lie…‖ (p.38). The truth is that the last thing that Kurtz says before his death is ―The horror! The horror!‖ (p.100). In sum, Marlow is nothing but a whited sepulchre. He is an incurable Anglophile who sees nothing commendable in Europeans. Does this not resonate with the on-going cantankerous and untidy exit of the British from the European Union? In Freudian psychology, Marlow, and by implication, the British engage in mere projection, misattributing to the Europeans the flaws they see in themselves, thereby rationalising their imperial misadventure as a good project because it is better than the way the Europeans handle their colonies.

Satire on the Europeans

By inference, the analysis above of Conrad‘s satire on the English includes the satire on the Europeans. They subscribe to the idea of the civilising mission, but subvert the mission by their rapacity and inefficiency in the management of their colonies. The painting of the blindfolded woman could be

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regarded as a symbol of the bastardisation and impracticality of the civilising mission in Africa. The woman is carrying a torch, no doubt a symbol of light, civilisation, the pursuit of truth. At the same time, she is blindfolded, keeping her in perpetual darkness in spite of the light of the torch, and rendering the lighted torch a futility. The symbol could then be interpreted as the good desire to bring light to the African peoples which has been subverted by the repressed blinding desire for materialism of the torch bearers. Ryanne (2014), however, interprets the painting in a slightly positive way:

The painting depicts ―a woman, draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch‖ on a ―somber-almost black‖ background (Conrad 75). Blindness in literature generally indicates a failure to see truth and this, combined with the recurrence of the light versus dark motif in the torch and the black background, possibly indicates a failure to know truth, but a determination to pursue it despite the surrounding night of ignorance and confusion.

While agreeing with Ryanne‘s initial interpretation of the symbol, this paper does not agree with the latter part as there is evidence to support the view that the Europeans are determined to pursue the truth (the idea) in the novel. Rather, we observe some evidence to the contrary. A few instances deserve special mention. First is Conrad‘s description of the headquarters of the company in Belgium as a force-field of darkness. The people who work there, though white, appear in plain but sombre apparels radiating melancholy and dread. For example, the guardians of the entrance to the company‘s headquarters are two women who sit knitting black wool. The symbolism of the colour black resonates with the threatening air about the building. To further compound the melancholic atmos-phere, the women say nothing to him, or any one for that matter. One

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of them leads him silently to a non-talking secretary who leads him to the office of the chief executive officer described as ―an impression of pale plumpness in a frock,‖ (p.15) who shakes his hand with a murmur and shows him out. At the end of the brief encounter with the CEO and the secretary, Marlow declares:

I began to feel uneasy. You know I am not used to such ceremonies, and there was something ominous in the atmosphere. It was just as though I had been let into some conspiracy – I don‘t know – something not quite right, and I was glad to get out. (p.15).

The dark wool being woven silently by the women is somehow symbolic of the atmosphere about the company and, therefore, conveys the impression of a company engaged in an immoral, secretive business which, Conrad hints, is what colonialism is all about. Such a dark place could only employ people whose hearts are filled with darkness, willing to engage in dark, immoral and debasing methods to acquire wealth in Africa, a continent far removed from the controls of a law-regulated society such as found in Europe. As Guerard observes, when such depraved officers get into the midst of a people where they are lords, no policeman, no laws, the bestiality in their ids bursts the bonds, the confining strictures erected by the ego to visit absolute mayhem on the hapless natives of the Congo. No wonder the company doctor conducts a private experiment to determine what type of white men take up such conscience- searing jobs. Conrad‘s inference is that only men with innate evil can work for such a company. The uncle of the manager of the Central station is such a feckless character. He boldly advises his nephew to simply hang an itinerant trader who has been undercutting him in the district even though he is a white man. The uncle justifies his horrendous advice by asserting:

―Anything…anything can be done in this country‖ (p.46). In

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other words, anything, even murder, can be done in Africa by the colonisers because the laws and the morality that undergird European societies are non-existent or, at best, in suspended animation in the colonies.

Besides Conrad‘s satire of the European‘s place, he also pillories the European adventurers themselves. Earlier, the inefficiencies of the European colonists have been well documented by Marlow. Even though Marlow‘s hypocritical and anglophile sneer has been exposed, his criticism remains trenchant. But by focussing on Conrad‘s characterisation of the European colonists themselves, another level of satire is laid bare. First, the employment and promotion structure of these Europeans is flawed. The most important qualifications are being white, male and being financially desperate enough to go into such a dangerous place as the tropics. This is buttressed by the pilgrims who do not seem to possess any outstanding qualification for the job except being white and willing to do anything to get some ivory. This is also true of Kurtz, the protagonist who is driven to murder, bestiality and, worst of all, apotheosis because the parents of his Intended consider him too poor to marry their daughter:

I had heard that the engagement with Kurtz had been disapproved by her people. He wasn‘t rich enough or something. And indeed I don‘t know whether he had not been a pauper all his life. He had given me some reason to infer that it was his impatience of comparative poverty that drove him out there. (p.108, emphasis mine).

The focal point of this satire is Conrad‘s subliminal nudging of the reader towards the conclusion that such a warped employment policy cannot attract the best staff. The satire, as noted earlier, is also on the promotion policy of the company

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which is as warped and as illogical as its employment policy. The promotion exercise is not based on any scale of merit, but on a white man‘s staying ability: ―…nobody here, you understand, here, can endanger your position. And why? You stand the climate – you outlast them all‖ (46, emphasis mine). In other words, none of the pilgrims in the Central station, the

―here‖, can replace the manager because they are all susceptible to fever. The only person who has the clout and is of a somewhat hardy constitution to challenge his position is Kurtz, and he is out there sick and dying. Which is one of the reasons the manager only makes half-hearted efforts to save him; and when push comes to shove would rather save the ivory accumulated by the mentally unstable Kurtz than save him. He is apparently relieved when Kurtz dies en route back because a vital threat to his position has been eliminated without firing a shot. In retrospect, the sinking of the steamboat was not an accident but a well-thought-out sabotage to make sure Kurtz dies before he could be rescued. The reluctance of the manager to help Marlow restore the steamboat to sea worthiness confirms the sabotage theory. Conrad‘s satire on the European stations with its untidiness and chaos invariably implies that lack of order and discipline is repressed in the collective unconscious of the Europeans. This comes to the fore in a place such as the Congo where the individual European could do as he pleases far away from the confining restrictions of the ego and the superego.

Like he did to the English characters, Conrad shows his condemnation of any form of colonialism by ―othering‖ its major characters through depersonalisation and dehumanisation techniques. He achieves this by giving them general and not personal names: secretary, the chief executive, the manager, the

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accountant, the brick maker, the pilgrims, etc. Conrad‘s

―othering‖ device poignantly infers that colonialism dehuma- nises not only the colonised but the colonisers themselves. Even the few characters he names are as terrible as the unnamed ones. For example, Fresleven, a Dane and former skipper of the steamboat dies in a gambling altercation with a black chief (p.15). Kurtz whose methods of collecting ivory the manager condemns as ―unsound‖ (p.89) is the most heartless of all. He robs, kills and encourages internecine wars in the interior so long as he is able to loot the natives‘ store of ivory. He cuts off the head of those he considers rebellious and plants them on sticks leading to the entrance of his station. This instils mortal fear in the natives and they approach his abode crawling on their hands and knees. He selects a native woman as his mistress and empowers her to ride roughshod over her compatriots. He later sets himself up as a god which the natives must worship or perish. The irony in Kurtz is that he starts out imbued with the notion of civilising the natives. But in the end, the darkness in his personal unconscious, his id, breaks loose and becomes overpowering in an environment devoid of the supervision of the ego and superego. It is apparent at the end of the novel that Kurtz has been in denial all along, repressing the mercantilist ambitions in his id and hiding his inordinate desire for money in the folds of his magnificent eloquence. In the end, he has only one advice for the company: ―Exterminate all the brutes!‖ (p.74). This expression shows his true feelings for the Africans that he exploits and brutalises. Besides the Belgians and the French, Conrad also condemns the Russians as hypocritical and inefficient. He was particularly hard on the Russians who he represented as the clownish Harlequin figure in a patchwork of cloths, unwittingly doting on the dissolute Kurtz and incapable of standing on his own feet (pp.78-79).

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Conrad‘s anger is justifiable when we remember that Poland, his country, was under Russian domination for a long time. His parents perished under the regime, while he was forced to flee his native country from the age of sixteen. He later naturalised as an English man rather than go back to Poland. In essence, Conrad beams his satirical searchlight on the places and persons of the European colonists in order to expose the crass mercantilism of the whole enterprise, and the mordant hypocrisy of their avowed civilising mission to the African continent.

Satire on the Africans

So far, we have argued in this paper that Conrad, though white, has been critical of the white man‘s foray into Africa because he was, himself, a victim of colonialism in the Russia-dominated Poland. The foregoing analysis of the two levels of satire, on the English and the Europeans, palpably reinforces this assertion. Thus, we can conclude that Conrad‘s veiled sympathies are with the colonised, the Africans, even when he criticises them. Chinua Achebe calls Conrad a racist due to his refusal to ascribe a language to the Africans in his text. This is evident in the last section of the book where Kurtz‘s African mistress and his other acolytes resist Marlow and company from evacuating Kurtz to the Central station. They howled and wailed and stamped, but no sensible words issued out of their mouths:

…they shouted periodically together, strings of amazing words that resembled no sounds of human language; and the deep murmurs of the crowd, interrupted suddenly, were like the responses of some satanic litany. (p.96).

The quote above betrays Marlow‘s assessment of Africans as a people without a ―human language‖. This forces us to ask if a

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language is ―human‖ only when it is English or European. To Kurtz who obviously understands the Africans, the language spoken by them is ―human‖, ―sensible‖ and not ―some Satanic litany‖. The racism in Marlow which surfaces here ascribes

―language‖ to the natives who can speak English, no matter how rudimentary. So in matters of language, Africans are satirised as second-class human beings compared to the white men. This is why Marlow calls the Africans in his narrative ―savages‖,

―brutes‖ and ―cannibals‖. It is, however, doubtful if all the views of Marlow, the narrator, are shared by Conrad the author. The fact that he puts other words in the mouth of Marlow that show deep sympathy for the Africans highlight Conrad‘s disagreement with wholesale condemnation of Africans as savages in dire need of redemption.

In his satire on the African space, Conrad constantly refers to the African setting as ―dark‖: ―We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness‖ (p.50); ―The brown current ran swiftly out of the heart of darkness, bearing us down towards the sea with twice the speed of our upward progress…‖ (pp.97). A serious engagement with the quotes above reveals that in each instance the expression ―heart of darkness‖ as it relates to Africa refers to a physical locale bereft of the modern amenities and luxuries commonly available in Europe: no tarred roads, no well-dredged rivers, no modern transportation system, no modern housing scheme, no electricity, etc. Still, Conrad asserts that the African in Africa is noble in his place while the white man is an intruder. Describing a boat being paddled by some Africans on the Congo River Marlow says they,

…had bone, muscle, a wild vitality, an intense energy of movement that was as natural and true as the surf along their

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coast. They wanted no excuse for being there. They were a great comfort to look at. (p.20, emphasis mine)

Two points stick out of the quote above: one, the African in Africa is in his true and natural environment. By inference, therefore, the white man is ―unnatural and untrue‖ in the African setting. Two, the Africans need no ―excuse‖ to be in Africa, whereas the white colonists had to concoct all manner of inventions to justify their presence on the continent. So to Conrad, the colonial enterprise is no more than an invasion of the African space by the profit-searching white colonists. Down the same page, Conrad says that the white men in Africa are

―intruders‖ who nature itself ―tried to ward off‖ (p.20). He accentuates this notion of the nobility of the African in Africa when he describes the cannibals engaged to help on the steamboat as ―Fine fellows – cannibals – in their place‖ (p.49). And as a testimony to the nobility of the cannibals, Marlow submits: ―they did not eat other…‖ (p.50), wondering ―Why in the name of all gnawing devils of hunger they didn‘t go for us – thirty to five – and a have a good tuck in for once…(p.59).

In the final analysis, the Africans, though they live in a physically dark continent, come off as being more open, more noble and more dependable than the white men who come from a very ―civilised‖ place but who truly possess the heart of darkness judging by their evil actions on the African continent. Kurtz is the epitome of the popular saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Here is a man who left Europe with the notion of coming to civilise Africans only to let loose the bestiality in his id. Conrad firmly declares that the heart of darkness belongs to the white man when he says that

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Kurtz‘s eloquence only serves to hide ―the barren darkness of his heart‖ (p.98).

To the modern reader, a very telling satire on Africans is depicted in the gambling session where Fresleyen kills his gambling partner, the unnamed African chief (p.13). Implicitly, African leaders are being derided as unserious individuals who gamble away the fortunes of their people instead being engaged in the more serious business of statecraft. A greater satire occurs towards the end of the novel where the African mistress and her people bewail the evacuation of their former oppressor, Kurtz, instead of rejoicing at his forced exit. This indicates the love- hate relationship between the colonised and the colonisers, and foreshadows how the empire (the erstwhile colonies) will continually be tied to the apron strings of the metropolitan centre (Europe). That has been the experience of many former colonies to date. Even though Conrad prophetically foreshadows the end of colonialism when he makes the white men to withdraw, escape in their steamboat, leaving the Inner station (symbolic of Africa) to the Africans, the new independent African nations are still economically dependent on their former colonial masters. In Freudian psychology, this means that a lot of African leaders are living in denial, fooling themselves that their nations are free when, in fact, they have only exchanged physical colonialism for a worse sort, mental colonialism.

Conclusion

Reformation, not mockery for the sake of ridicule, is the aim of satire. In this Juvenalian satire, Conrad attempts to prick the heart of his compatriots back to life by making them to realise that imperialism or colonialism is nothing but the worship of

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materialism at the expense of their own humanity. As Murfin says, citing Edward Garnet, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness offers an ―analysis of the deterioration of the white man’s morale, when he is let loose from European restraint, and to make trade profits out of the subject races‖ (Murfin, 1966, p.99). Thus the whole purpose of Heart of Darkness is Conrad‘s call for the dismantling of the imperial/colonial architecture which, in the final analysis, reduces man to a level far below that of the vilest beast in the jungle. To have made such a call in 1902, at a time when imperialism/ colonialism was booming all over Europe, took more than ordinary courage.

References

Achebe, C. (1988). An image of Africa: Racism in Conrad‘s Heart of Darkness. In Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays, 1965-1987, Heinemann International.

Armstrong, P, B. (2006). Heart of Darkness: A Norton Critical Edition, 4^th ed. W. W. Norton.

Appiah, K. A. (1992). In my Father’s House. Oxford University Press, Inc.

Attridge, J. (2018). How Conrad‘s imperial horror story Heart of Darkness resonateswith our globalised times. http://theconversation.com/how-conrads-imperial-horror-story- heart-of-darkness-resonates-with-our-globalised-times-94723.

Balga, A. T. (2017). Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: Debunking the Two Basic Imperial Clichés. In European Journal of English Language and Literature Studies. 5, 1 – 11. Brantlinger, P. (1988/2006). Imperialism, impressionism, and the politics of style. In Heart of Darkness: A Norton Critical Edition, 4^th ed. W. W. Norton, 386-395.

Conrad, J. (1994). Heart of Darkness. Penguin.

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Fordhanm, F. (1966). An Introduction to Jung’s Psychology. Penguin Books Ltd.

Gay, P. (ed.). (1995) The Freud Reader. W.W. Norton & Co. Goddard, L. (2012). Conrad and the critics: Responses to Heart of Darkness. https://landing.athabascau.ca/blog/view/136721/conrad-and- the-critics-responses-to-heart-of-darkness-ii .

Guerard, A. (1958/2006) The Journey Within. In Heart of Darkness: A Norton Critical Edition, 4^th ed. W. W. Norton, 326-36.

Harris, W. (Spring, 1981). The Frontier on Which Heart of Darkness Stands. In Research in African Literature 12 (1), 86- 93.

Hawkins, H. (2006). Heart of Darkness and Racism (1982). In Heart of Darkness: A Norton Critical Edition, 4^th ed. W. W. Norton, 365-375.

Hawthorn, J. (1990/2006). The women of Heart of Darkness. In

A Norton Critical Edition, 4^th ed. W. W. Norton, 405-415. Hayes, D. (1956). Conrad‘s Heart of Darkness: An aspect of the shadow. In Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture, 43-47. Mellard, J. (1968). Tennessee Studies in Literature, 13, 1-15.

Morgan, S. (2010). Critical responses to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. [Master‘s Thesis], Sodartorn University.

Murfin, R. C. (1996). Heart of Darkness. Bedford/St. Martin’s. Spivack, C. K.(1965). The Journey to Hell: Satan, the Shadow, and the Self. In Centennial Review, 9(4), 420 – 437.

Ryanne. (2014). The necessity of the reader: A literary criticism of Heart of Darkness. https://abookishcharm.com/2014/12/11/the-necessity-of-the- reader-a-literary-criticism-of-heart-of-darkness/

Said, E. W. (1994) Culture and Imperialism. Vintage Books.

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Thale, J. (July, 1955). Marlow‘s Quest. In University of Toronto Quarterly, XXIV, 355-358.

Torgonick, M. (1990/2006). Primitivism and the African woman in Heart of Darkness. In A Norton Critical Edition, 4^th ed. W. W. Norton, 396-405/

Watt, I. (2006a). ―Impressionism and Symbolism in Heart of Darkness‖ (1979). In Heart of Darkness: A Norton Critical Edition, 4^th ed. W. W. Norton, 349-65.

(1957b). The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding. Penguin Books Ltd.

Wesley, C. (2015). Inscriptions of resistance in Joseph Conrad‘s Heart of Darkness. Journal of Modern Literature. 38 (3), 20- 37.

Wu, Q and Li, T. (2017) Read death drive through Heart of Darkness. In English Language and Literature Studies, 7 (2), 128-131. http://doi.org/10.5539/ells.v7n2p128 .

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COMMUNICATION SOCIALE – IMPORTANCE DE LA FENETRE DE JOHARI

ADENIYI, EMMANUEL A.

Village Français du Nigeria

Badagry-Lagos

Résumé

Si la communication est l’action de communiquer, de transmettre et de recevoir, d’établir une relation avec autrui, la perception, la réception ou la transmission de cette communication ne peut pas se passer sans la connaissance de certaines théories fondamentales. La connaissance, la mise en application de ces théories facilite, développe et encouragent la communication. La communication se passe à travers des signes et des actes ; c’est aussi un ensemble de signaux décoder, déchiffrer et à digérer. Une fois, les actes, les signaux, les codes déchiffrés et digérés, la communication devient “irréversible. Cette présentation vise à mettre en relief certaines règles et approches et certains devoirs à accomplir afin de mieux communiquer. “Les sciences du langage sont aux Sciences Humaines ce que sont les Mathématiques aux Sciences Exactes.” Guide de l’étudiant – 1997-98 FLASH-UAC.Apres de mûres réflexions donc sur la citation ci- dessus, nous avons pensé à voir et analyser et surtout à réveiller l’attention de la société sur l’importance de la communication sociales, quelques approches communicatives, principalement la fenêtre de JOHARI un outil très important dans la communication sociale.

Mots clés : communication, approches, sociale, importance, fenêtre de JOHARI

Abstract

If communication is the action of communicating, transmitting and receiving, or establishing a relationship with others; then the reception or transmission of this communication cannot take place without the knowledge of some basic theories. The knowledge and application of these theories facilitates, develops and encourages communication. Communication takes place through signs and acts: it is also a set of signals to be decoded and understood. Once the acts, signals and codes have been decoded,

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communication becomes “irreversible”. This presentation aims at highlighting some rules and approaches as well as tasks to be accomplished in order to communicate better. “The sciences of language are to the Humanities what Mathematics is to the Natural Sciences “. Student’s Guide 1997-1998, FLASH UAC. After careful reflections on the above quote, we sought to see and analyse, and above all to awaken the attention of the Society, especially of “communicators”, on the importance of Social Communication and its related theories on communicative approaches especially the JOHARI Window, a very important tool in Social Communication.

Key Words: communication, approach, social, importance, JOHARI window

Introduction

Tout enseignant est un communicateur de grand public. Tout enseignant de langue, formateur de communicateurs ne doit pas ignorer certaines théories, certains principes qui guident, facilitent/empêchent la communication sociale. Cette présentation vise encore à nous faire prendre conscience de l‘importance des sciences du langage dans notre vie du 21^ème siècle, qui sera “le siècle de la communication”.

Ceci nous mènera à voir quand dit-on il y a communication quels sont les aspects qui empêchent la communication ou qui la facilitent, tout en tenant compte de l‘importance de la fenêtre de JOHARI, une des approches très importante dans la Communication sociale.

Finalement, cet article nous invite donc à une auto-évaluation communicative dans un siècle dit “siècle de communication”

1.1. La communication et son importance

Communication: dérivé du latin “communicare” mettre en commun, être en relation, communion, partage transmission.”

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“Action, fait de communiquer, d’établir une relation avec autrui. Action de transmettre quelque chose à quelqu’un ; son résultat. Communi-cation d’une nouvelle. Prendre, recevoir une communication. Communication de masse ensemble de moyens et techniques permettant la diffusion des messages écrits ou audio visuels auprès d’une audience plus ou moins vaste et hétérogène”.

action pour quelqu’un, une entreprise d’informer et de promouvoir son activité auprès du public, d’entretenir son image par tout procédé médiatique.

Cette définition sommaire et simpliste du Petit Larousse illustré 1996, montre qu’il y a communication lorsqu’on émet ou reçoit des messages et lorsqu’on donne une signification aux signaux d’une autre personne. Cette définition nous permet de remarquer en outre que la communication humaine est toujours déformée par les parasites, elle se produit dans un contexte, elle a un certain effet et comporte une possibilité de rétroaction. Elle suggère en outre qu’il faut avoir une vision transactionnelle de la communication. Celle-ci souligne que les communicateurs envoient et reçoivent des messages de manière simultanée. A un moment donné, nous sommes en mesure de recevoir, de décoder et de réagir au message qu’une autre personne nous envoie, en même temps que cette autre personne puisse recevoir le nötre et y réagir. La vision transactionnelle montre aussi la difficulté qu’il y a à isoler un acte séparé de communication des événements qui la précèdent ou le suivent.

En résumé, la communication est un processus continu, trans- actionnel, impliquant des parfois se participants qui se trouvent dans des environnements différents pouvant parfois se chevaucher, et qui créent des relations personnelles en envoyant 377

et en recevant simultanément des messages dont la plupart est déformé par des bruits physiques, physiologiques ou psychologiques, par des préjugés liés à la société, aux croyances culturelles, religieuses, aux appartenances politiques, etc.

“Pour comprendre la communication sociale, ce qu’il faut, ce ne sont donc pas de petites recettes, mais un engagement profond, mais aussi un savoir parler, savoir écouter, savoir se taire, savoir qui l’on est, où l’on est et quand l’on est, savoir exister et savoir finir” comme le dit Jacques DURANT (1981), cité par : DADELE UAC avril 1998.

Jacques DURAND (1981), résume par-là “la compétence communicationnelle qui peut se définir comme ce qui suit”.

“C’est l’art de communiquer efficacement. C’est la capacité d’obtenir ce que l’on désire des autres d’une manière qui maintienne la relation dans des termes acceptables pour chacune des deux parties”.

“La compétence communicative inclut la connaissance de l’influence du contexte sur le contenue et la forme de la communication. C’est elle qui dicte par exemple qu’en certains contextes et avec certains auditeurs tel sujet convient et tel autre ne convient pas. La connaissance des règles du comportement non-verbal – l’å propos du toucher, du volume vocal et de la proximité physique fait aussi partie de la compétence.”

Notons qu’il n’y a pas de façon “idéale” de communiquer et la compétence est fonction de la situation. Nous avons tous des degrés et des sphères de compétence communicationnelle; il s’agit d’améliorer les uns, et d’augmenter le nombre des autres.

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1.2. Quelques principes/approches de la communication

La communication est un ensemble de signaux et se présente normalement sous forme d‘ensemble de comportements ou de messages verbaux ou non verbaux. Les comportements verbaux et non verbaux se renforçant les uns les autres ou se corroborent.

Généralement nous n’accordons pas d’importance à la nature globale de la communication.

Elle passe inaperçue. Mais lorsque les messages sont contradictoires nous prenons bonne note, et commençons alors à douter de la sincérité et de l’honnêteté de la personne.

La communication est aussi un processus d’ajustement et elle n’a lieu véritablement que dans la mesure où les gens comprennent leurs systèmes mutuels de signaux, et son efficacité dépend en partie de la capacité à déceler les signaux de l’autre personne, d’en connaitre l’usage et d‘en comprendre la signification.

Il y a communication lorsqu’on émet ou reçoit des messages et lorsqu’on donne une signification aux signaux d’une autre personne.

La communication comporte aussi des transactions symétriques et complémentaires. Dans une relation symétrique, les deux personnes se reflètent réciproquement leur comportement. Le comportement de l’un reflète ou imite celui de l’autre. Si l’une harcèle, l’autre réagit de façon similaire. Si l’une exprime de la jalousie, l’autre exprime de la jalousie. Si l’une est passive,

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l’autre est passive. C’est une relation d’égalité et l’accent est mis sur la minimisation des différences entre les deux individus.

Dans une relation complémentaire, les deux individus adoptent des comportements différents. Le comportement de l‘un provoque chez l’autre le comportent complémentaire. Dans les relations complémentaires, on maximise les différentes, l’une supérieur et l’autre inférieure, l’une passive et l’autre active, l’une forte et l’autre faible.

Les cultures organisationnelles instaurent parfois des relations de ce genre, comme la relation complémentaire entre professeur et étudiant ou entre patron et employé. L’un des problèmes souvent relié aux relations complémentaires est la rigidité.

En outre, les séquences de communication sont ponctuées à des fins d’interprétation. Les actes de communication sont des transactions continues sans début ni fin clairement définis.

En tant que participants ou observateurs de communication, nous divisions ce processus circulaire et continu en causes et effets, en stimuli et réponses.

1.3. Quelques théories communicatives

La communication étant un acte continu, transactionnel et involontaire, voyons de près trois théories très importantes :

Théorie de la CIBLE ou Point de vue Action.
Théorie du PING PONG ou, Point de vue Interaction.
Théorie de la SPIRALE ou point de vue Transactionnel.

1. “La théorie de la cible a comme point focal, l’Émetteur. Que l’émetteur sache et maîtrise ce qu’il a dit, voilà toute la communication. Tout se concentre sur la chose à dire.

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L’émetteur seul est pris en considération. Les signaux, le message, le récepteur ne sont pas importants. L’acte de la communication devient un acte magistral, l’accent est mis sur l’émetteur et son habileté de la transmettre.

La théorie de la cible est finalement autoritaire.

“Théorie du PING-PONG est linéaire. Elle est cause et effet, rétroactive, stimulus-réponse. L’Emetteur, le Récepteur s’accusent. C’est du tac au tac. Vous dites quelque chose, je réponds, vous en dites plus, je réplique, vous me taper, je réagis, je ne laisse rien passer. La communication est divisée en stimulus-réponse. Elle ne prend pas en compte la-complexité, l’honorabilité, le respect de la personne humaine.

Elle est vindicative.

“Théorie de la SPIRALE est interdépendante. Elle est une causalité mutuelle. La communication est réciproque des deux parties. La conscience de la communication n’apparaît systématique parce que les paroles sont échangées. Nous sommes à la fois cause et effet, stimulus et réponse, à la fois émetteur et récepteur. L’émetteur d’un message se met en place du récepteur, analyse, examine l’effet que son message peut avoir sur le récepteur. Dans la communication SPIRALE, nous sommes le produit de comportements antérieurs qui dépendent de la perception que nous avons de nous-mêmes. Nous sommes conscients que cette perception est affectée par la perception que nous avons du comportement des autres envers nous- mêmes. La communication est démocratique, elle n’est pas arbitraire.

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1.4. Communication sociale et ses finalités

La communication Sociale peut Se définir comme cette articulation vivante faite de structures et d’actes qui lie symboliquement (i.e. au moyen de signes) l’individu et la société dans une relation de réciprocité constituante.

Finalités

La communication sociale a trois finalités très importantes.

Convaincre par la persuasion.
Contraindre par la réglementation. Ili. Contrôler par le suivi.

i. La réglementation intervient s’il y a la persuasion, si la population est convaincue et le contrôle s’impose après tout. Tout se réunit en AMONT par la loi de 3T, et en AVAL par la loi de 3S.

La loi de 3T

Unité de TEMPS (un temps rigoureusement précis arrêté de commun accord avec les acteurs).
Unité de THÈME – Loi fondamentale (un seul message par campagne, un seul sujet, ceci est une règle absolue d’efficacité).. iii Unité de TOUT-mettre un maximum de moyens, de canaux sur le même sujet, dans le même espace géographique en même temps, un temps (LIMITE).

La loi de 3S – règles opérationnelles : STRATEGIE-SLOGAN- SYMBOLE.

La stratégie organise la communication, elle consulte les lieux, le public, etc.
Le slogan résume l’idée que l’on veut communiquer, transmettre en quelques mots.
Le symbole est la signature sonore de la communication, c’est le logo de la communication.

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Aspects facilitant/empêchant la communication, importance de la fenêtre JOHARI.
Pour rendre une communication facile comme la dit Jacques DURAND, il faut savoir qui l’on est, où l’on est et quand l’on est, savoir exister et savoir finir, simplement savoir se maîtriser, savoir-faire taire son SOI.
“Dans toute forme de communication donc, le SOI est l’élément le plus important. Ce que l’on est et la manière dont on se perçoit influencent la manière de communiquer et la manière de répondre aux autres. La conscience de SOI est au cœur de toute communication. Elle peut s’expliquer par l’étude des divers aspects de soi, tels qu’ils peuvent se manifester à autrui et à soi.
L’outil servant habituellement à cette analyse est une division métaphorique du soi en quatre portions appelées fenêtre de JOHARI. Cette fenêtre divisée en 4 portions qui représentent différents aspects ou composantes du soi : le soi dévoilé, le soi aveugle, le soi caché et le soi inconnu.

1 soi dévoilé o	Soi aveugle 2
Soi caché c 3	Soi inconnu 1 4

soi dévoilé = soi connu de vous et des autres = zone publique

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soi aveugle = soi non connu de vous = connu seulement des autres
soi caché = soi non connu des autres = connu seulement de moi
soi inconnu de vous ni des autres = zone inconnue

Eclaircissement sur la fenêtre de JOHARI

La fenêtre de JOHARI est une méthode de représentation de la communication entre deux entités. Elle a été créée par JOSEPH LUFT et HARRINGTON INGHAM en 1955. Le mot

« JOHARI » est d‘ailleurs tiré des premières lettres des prénoms de ses inventeurs.

Ces composantes sont interdépendantes : si l’une domine, les autres s’estompent plus ou moins. Voici une définition de ces composantes.

Le soi dévoilé (ou zone ouverte/libre) représente toutes les informations, tous les comportements, toutes les attitudes et tous les sentiments personnels connus de soi et d’autrui, La proportion dc soi dévoilé varie selon la personnalité et les personnes fréquentées. On se montre ouvert avec certaines personnes ct fermé avec d’autres.

Le soi aveugle (secrète) représente ce que les autres savent de vous et que vous-même ignorez. Il peut s‘agir de l’habitude de dire “est-ce que vous voyez ?”, de compléter les phrases des autres, de votre tendance à dramatiser à propos d’insultes imaginaires ou celles de chercher à attirer l’attention. Le soi aveugle inclut aussi des expériences dont vous n’avez jamais entendu parler ou que vous avez oubliées. Les aspects aveugles entravent la communication, d’où l’importance de réduire le plus

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possible la part aveugle en vous. Un homme dont le soi aveugle domine est moins sociable.

Le soi caché représente tout ce que vous savez de vous et que vous ne révélez pas. Cette portion inclut tous les secrets que l’on a réussis à garder. Il peut s’agir de rêves ou de fantasmes, d’expériences passées gênantes ou d’attitudes, croyances et valeurs dont on éprouve une certaine honte. Il y a des secrets que l’on peut partager avec certaines personnes mais pas avec d’autres.

Le soi inconnu représente ces aspects inconnus de vous- mêmes, inconnus d’autrui. Il s’agit d’informations enfouies dans le sub-conscient ou ayant d’une manière ou d’une autre échappée à la conscience. Une des façons d’accéder à ce domaine est de chercher à se connaître soi-même en compagnie de gens de confiance, dans un climat d’ouverture de franchise et de compréhension.

1.7 Avantages de l‟emploi de la fenêtre de JOHARI

La fenêtre de JOHARI permet aussi de comprendre le rôle important joué par l’ouverture de soi dans les communications interperson-nelles. La taille relative de chaque zone dans nos fenêtres de JOHARI personnelles change de temps à autre, selon nos humeurs, le sujet que l’on aborde et notre relation avec l’autre personne.

Le développement et la suppression de la conscience de “SOI” facilitent et entravent à la fois la communication. Comment peut-on développer et supprimer sa conscience de “soi” et quels aspects de la conscience de “soi” doit-on développer ou supprimer?

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Pour développer, augmenter la conscience de “soi”, il faut s’analyser, écouter autrui pour se voir d’un point de vue extérieur, être à l’affût des informations sur soi, données par autrui, se voir selon divers points de vue et augmenter la part dévoilée de “SOI”

On doit supprimer “l’estime de soi” qui se réfère à la valeur qu’une personne s‘accorde. Pour relever l’estime de soi, il faut pratiquer, l’affirmation de soi, la recherche de personnes encourageantes, le travail à des projets voués à la réussite et admettre qu’on ne peut être aimé de tous.

On doit en outre faire un dévoilement de son “soi caché” qui se réfère à une forme de communication où l’on révèle à une autre personne de l’information sur soi que d‘habitude on tait. Cet aspect est possible dans les conditions suivantes : en présence d’une seule autre personne, quand le locuteur, éprouve de la sympathie ou de l’amour pour son interlocuteur, quand l’interlocuteur se dévoile à son tour, quand le locuteur se sent compétent, est très social et extraverti et quand l’information révélée est plutôt personnelle tout en étant avantageuse.

Conclusion

Communication, ensemble de signaux, ensemble de comportements ou messages verbaux ou non verbaux qui se renforcent ou se corroborent. C‘est un processus d‘adjustement qui n’a lieu véritablement que dans la mesure où les gens comprennent leurs systèmes mutuels de signaux. L’efficacité de la communication dépend en partie de la capacité à déceler les signaux de l’autre personne, d’en connaitre l’usage et d’en comprendre la signification.

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La communication est un processus qui émerge du passé et se dirige vers le futur. Elle est transactionnelle, elle est émission et réception simultanées de messages, elle est inévitable et irréversible.

La communication a lieu à travers plusieurs approches, elle a plusieurs caractéristiques et il y a plusieurs facteurs qui la facilitent ou qui l’entravent, et nous avons vu plusieurs façons d’encourager de développer, de promouvoir et de la faciliter.

Les questions pertinentes que doit poser tout communicateur et auxquelles répond cette communication sont les suivantes :

Nous arrive-t-il d’examiner, de revoir notre fenêtre de JOHARI de temps en temps ?
Quels efforts faisons-nous pour développer, améliorer, notre communication ?
Nous arrive-t-il de nous efforcer pour communiquer attentivement et recevoir attentivement tout message ?
Pourquoi est-ce que nous ne comprenons pas certains messages qui nous sont destinés ?

Même, si la communication est de nos jours et se fait de façon automatique (par la machine), la communication sociale reste et demeure importante, primordiale et irréversible.

La communication automatique (par machine ne peut pas tout dire, nous avons et aurons toujours besoin de mettre en pratique la majorité des principes de la fenêtre de JOHARI.

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Bibliographie

Jacques, DURAND, Les formes de la Communication Ed. DUNOD, 1981, cité par Dr A. DADELE lors du Séminaire sur les théories de la Communication et de l’Information – Université Nationale du Bénin, avril 1998.

Le Petit Larousse illustré – 1996.

KASPER, Faerch, C. G.: (1984) “Two ways of defining communication strategies in language learning”, No. 34.

MYERS, Gail et Michèle : (1984) The dynamics of human communication, Montréal, Mc Graw Hill.

WATZLAWICK, Paul: (1978) La réalité de la réalité, confusion, désinformation, communication, Paris, Seuil,

Basil BERNSTEIN (1973), Langage et classes sociales, Minuit, Paris.

COTTERET, J .M. (1973) Gouvernants et gouvernés, la communication politique, paris’ PUF,

STOEZEL, Jean et Alain GIRARD, Les sondages d’opinion publique, Paris, PUF ; 1973.

MOLES, Abraham: Théorie de l’information et perception esthétique, Paris, Gauthier, 1972

ROSIE, A.M.: Théorie de l’information et communication, Paris, DUNOD, 1971.

BURGELIN, Oliver: La communication de masse, Paris, Ed. SG. Pp. 1970.

LUJHAN, Marshall, M.C. : Pour comprendre les mass-médias, Paris, Ed., Seuil, 1968.

CARYOL Roland : La presse écrite et audio-visuelle. Paris, PUF.

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SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS INFLUENCING ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF COVID-19 INFORMATION IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

ADEMOLA-ADEOYE Feyi

Institute of African & Diaspora Studies (Lagos African Cluster Centre)

& ADEDARA Ayodeji Department of English, University of Lagos, Nigeria

This study investigates the influence of sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., gender, age, ethnic group, religion, education) on residents’ acceptance of the existence of COVID-19 and use of COVID-19 related information in Lagos State, Nigeria. The seven dependent variables for the study were belief in COVID-19, source of COVID-19 awareness (whether government or person-to-person), preferred source of media for COVID-19 information (whether electronic or social media), media perceived to be credible, belief in COVID-19 information on social media, perceived benefit of social media information in the prevention of COVID-19, and reception of fake COVID-19 news. Data were collected from 526 respondents across the

37 local council development areas of the state using a structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using bivariate chi-square tests. It was found that women were significantly more likely to believe in the existence of COVID-19 than men (p: 0.003), in addition to being more likely to believe in the positive impact of social media information on the prevention of COVID- 19 than men (p: 0.040). More older people sourced COVID-19 information from government sources compared to younger ones (p<0.001). People 60 or older were more likely to accept COVID-19 information posted on social media than younger people (p: 0.001). While three-quarters of Hausa people sourced COVID-19 information from the electronic media, more than half of Yoruba people and people from less populated groups preferred social media information (p: 0.019). Those with tertiary education were more likely to accept the existence of COVID-19 (p<0.001) and were more positive about the role of social media information in the prevention of COVID-19

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compared to those with lower levels of education (p<0.001). The implications of the findings are also discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19, fake news, social media, Lagos State

Résumé

Cette étude examine l’influence socio-démographique (exemple: le genre, le sexe, le groupe ethnique, la religion, l’education, etc.) de l’acceptation de la réalité du Covid-19 et l’utilisation des informations qui y sont relatives par les habitants de l’Etat de Lagos. les sept variables dépendantes sur lesquels reposent l’étude sont la croyance en l’existence du Covid-19, la source de la campagne de sensibilisation (soit par le gouvernement soit de personne à personne), le choix des médias préférés pour les informations sur le Covid- 19(soit médias électroniques soit sociaux), les médias perçus comme crédibles, croyances aux informations dans les médias sociaux, l’utilité des informations émanant des réseaux sociaux dans la prévention du Covid-19 et la réception des fausses nouvelles. Des données ont été collectionnées auprès de 526 enquêtés à travers les 37 gouvernements locaux de l’État de Lagos par l’entremise d’un questionnaire structuré. Ces données ont été analysées à la lumière des tests bivariés et chi-carré. Il a été découvert que les femmes sont plus susceptibles de croire en l’existence du Covid-19 que les hommes (p:0.03). En outre, elles croient que les réseaux sociaux influent positivement dans la prévention du Covid-19 que les hommes (p:0.04). Les plus âgés se contentent des informations relayées par les sources gouvernementales par rapport aux jeunes (p<0.001). Les personnes âgées de 60 ans ou plus sont méfiants des informations sur les médias sociaux que les jeunes (p:0.001). Tandis que trois quart de l’ethnie haussa recueillent ses informations des médias électroniques, plus de la moitié de l’ethnie yoruba et d’autres groupes ethniques moins peuplés préfèrent les informations des réseaux sociaux (p:0.019). Les personnes qui ont fait les études supérieures sont non seulement plus enclins à accepter l’existence du Covid-19 (p:0.001) mais aussi à vanter le rôle positif des médias sociaux dans la prévention de la maladie à coronavirus comparativement à celles qui ont un niveau d’éducation bas (p<0.001). Les implications de ces résultats sont discutées.

Mots-clés: le Covid-19, les fausses nouvelles, les médias sociaux, l’État de Lagos.

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Introduction

Between January 2020 and March 2020, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) went from being considered a ―public health emergency of international concern‖ (WHO, 2020a) to being categorised as a ―pandemic‖ (WHO, 2020b). Given such an alarming situation, it has been no surprise that all over the world people have reacted in diverse ways to the far-reaching impact of the disease. The first confirmed case of coronavirus in Nigeria was traced to an Italian national on February 27, 2020. Since then the number of confirmed cases has been increasing (Amzat et al., 2020). In an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus, the head of government set up a Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to interface with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Federal Ministry of Health. Their collective objective was to implement policies and measures for curbing the spread of the virus, hence the necessity of accurate information dissemination across the country‘s regions.

To this end, the media act as a mirror of the nation as it reflects the views of the people regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The media have the responsibility of creating awareness, thereby shaping the way Nigerians behave towards the virus and improve their awareness. However, while it is debatable that social media has the ability to misguide and misinform the public on issues pertaining to the virus, for instance, it also remains a vital tool for influencing the opinions or behaviour of large numbers of people (Kadam and Atre, 2020; Apuke and Omar, 2021).

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As has been reported in numerous newspaper and magazine articles (e.g., see Eghagha in The Guardian, June 29, 2020; Hoechner in The Conversation, April 15, 2020; Madden in Africa in Focus, April 2, 2020), much of the scepticism about the virus in Nigeria and other parts of Africa is traceable to the claims and counterclaims being peddled on social media. As already observed, information is key in the prevention and management of COVID-19 and the source of such information and how people use it is equally important. People react differently to social phenomena, including the COVID-19 pandemic, based on characteristics such as gender, age, education, marital status, etc. (Adesegun et al., 2020; Campos- Castillo, 2021). An understanding of what group is likely to accept the existence of COVID-19, as well as of those who are vulnerable to fake news and how different groups use information related to the pandemic, is key to the successful prevention and management of the pandemic. To this end, this study investigates the influence of sociodemographic factors (e.g., gender, age, education, religion and ethnicity) on belief in the existence of COVID-19, vulnerability to fake news, preferred source of information, media perceived as credible and the perceived benefit of social media information in the prevention of the virus.

Literature Review and Theories

Since the emergence of COVID-19 in December 2019, a significant body of scholarship has built up on different aspects of the pandemic. While most of the studies focus on epidemiological and attitudinal issues (e.g., Adegboye, Adekunle and Gayawan, 2020; Adesegun et al., 2020; Agusi, et al., 2020; Hager et al., 2020; Ogundokun et al., 2020; Olaseni et al., 2020; Omaka-Amari et al., 2020; Oyeniran and Chia, 2020;

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Reuben et al., 2020), only few of them strictly examine the role of social media in propagating either helpful or harmful information about the virus. For example, within a strictly Nigerian context, Obi-Ani, Anikwenze and Isiani (2020) investigated the role of social media in the dissemination of panic-inducing information on the novel coronavirus, particularly in terms of ideas propagated by famous religious figures and non-scientists claiming to have credible knowledge about how to cure or prevent the virus.

Despite the surge in COVID-19 confirmed cases, some Nigerians still deny the existence of the disease. In fact, many Nigerians still consider the virus a government-generated hoax to tactically steal, embezzle and misappropriate the state funds meant for tackling the virus. Like other Nigerians, therefore, many Lagosians have been failing to observe the safety measures stipulated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Amidst the continuous increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, Mojeed (2020), citing a study conducted by SBM Intel, noted that only 68.8% of Nigerians believe that COVID-19 is real, while the remaining are either unsure or believe that it is a hoax designed to promote a pernicious agenda. Thus, such thinking makes people less open to the idea of vaccination, as more than one-third of respondents said they would not be taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Focusing on Lagos, Madike (2021) reported similarly that residents are suspicious, do not believe in the existence of COVID-19 and may not take the vaccine. He stated that the problem of disbelief in the virus is compounded by the utterances of religious leaders, whom many Nigerians tend to rely on for solutions to

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social and health issues – for instance, place of child delivery (Alabi et al., 2020) and COVID-19. Yinka Odumakin, a notable member of a Yoruba sociocultural organisation, was reported by Madike (2021) early in 2021 to have expressed scepticism about the vaccine, claiming that people were being used as guinea pigs by multinational health organisations. Odumakin himself would later die – in April 2021 – of complications arising from the virus. Other prominent casualties of the virus included a former chief of army staff and a Lagos senator. The refusal to accept the reality of COVID-19 and the spread of false information may be explained by the rumour transmission theory of Allport and Postman (1974), which suggests that the transmission of rumour is a function of importance and informational ambiguity. In other words, for the emergence and dissemination of a rumour, the theme of the story must be important to both the message sender and the recipient. In disaster and crisis situations, such as the ongoing pandemic, people frequently experience a shortage of reliable information and, therefore, tend to fill the gap with subjective elaboration, thereby overworking the rumour mill (Shibutani, 1966).

The mass media has the responsibility of disseminating information that pertains to the public in every sphere of reality. Given this, scholars such as Apuke and Omar (2020) noted that the Nigerian print media has performed creditably in covering the pandemic. In Nigeria, there has been close monitoring of the print and electronic media regarding reportage of COVID-19 issues, hence the due diligence exercised in the coverage and dissemination of same. However, this has not been the case with social media. In a survey conducted by Nwakpu et al. (2020), findings suggest that in the wake of COVID-19 related information in Nigeria, the media trusted was the electronic

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media at 78 per cent, print media at 22 per cent and social media at 11.2 per cent. This suggests that although there may be widespread social media use, traditional media are more trusted in the coverage and dissemination of COVID-19 related information. Although information shared on social media regarding COVID-19 issues can sometimes be misguided based on individuals‘ personal feelings, assumptions, speculations, prejudices and biases, social media tends to spread information quickly and make a positive impact on the prevention of infection. To this end, health organisations such as the NCDC have Twitter accounts via which they post daily COVID-19 information. Studies have shown that although social media are a primary source of fake news on COVID-19 (Kadam and Atre, 2020; Apuke and Omar, 2021), they have played a crucial role in the spread of awareness of the virus and public health information (Kadam and Atre, 2020).

Regarding the influence of sociodemographic characteristics, studies have shown that women are more likely to tweet information that will keep the population safe, while men tweet more about cancellation of sports and political aspects of the virus (Thelwall and Thelwall, 2020) even though men are more susceptible to the virus due to lifestyle behaviour such as smoking (Walter and McGregor, 2020). This suggests that women may be more informed about the pandemic and may believe more in the existence of COVID-19 than men. This may be explained by gender socialisation theory, which suggests that men and women are traditionally assigned different roles. John et al. (2017) define gender socialisation as the ―process whereby individuals develop, refine and learn to ‗do‘ gender through internalizing gender norms and roles as they interact with key

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agents of socialization, such as their family, social networks and other social institutions‖ (p. 6). Women as caregivers may spend more time on medical issues than men (Walter and McGregor, 2020), a fact that explains why the former are more knowledgeable about COVID-19 (Adesegun et al., 2020) and share more COVID-19 related information on the internet than the latter (Campos-Castillo, 2020). Regarding age, there is evidence that young people use the Internet for search, in addition to using social media more than older people (Schehl et al., 2019), especially for sharing COVID-19 related information (Campos-Castillo, 2020). Studies have also shown that older people prefer offline sources compared to the younger generation (Chaudhuri et al., 2013). This is explained by the age stratification theory, which suggests that due to structural lag, older people are unable to keep pace with rapid technological changes (Riley et al., 1994) such as social media use.

With respect to education, there is evidence that utilisation of health facilities, knowledge of the pandemic and taking precautions may increase alongside one‘s level of education (Alabi et al., 2020; Adesegun et al., 2020). This may be because education increases critical thinking and evaluation of situations. In addition, educated people may have medics as friends and are in a better position to seek clarifications about COVID-19. As for ethnic group, the majority of Hausa-Fulani people are domiciled in the northern region, while the Yoruba and the Igbo are prominent groups in the south. Alabi et al. (2020) reported that the two regions have perennial sociocultural differences dating back to precolonial times. The authors used the Cosmopolitan-Success and Conservatism Failure Hypothesis (CSCFH) to explain the fact that due to low levels of education and exposure in the north, utilisation of

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healthcare facilities was lower in the north than in the south. It may thus be inferred that since all respondents were sampled in Lagos, members of ethnic groups domiciled in the south may believe in the existence of COVID-19 and have a positive attitudes towards COVID-19 information than those groups situated in the north. This is because even when people migrate to Lagos from different parts of the country, they retain their original culture.

Methods

The study adopted a cross-sectional online survey involving a quantitative method of data collection. The online survey was necessary given the extant rules on social distancing. The study was conducted in Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria. Lagos State was selected because it has the highest COVID-19 incidence in the country, with the study cutting across all the 37 LCDAs in the state. The study population comprised residents of Lagos State as the time of the study regardless of whether they were Lagosians or migrants from other states. The basic inclusion criteria were (i) being at least 15 years old and (ii) being in Lagos during the time of the study.

A total of 526 respondents completed the online survey, which was created on Google Form. On November 8, 2020 the researchers began sharing the web link to the survey via WhatsApp to their phone contacts while requesting them to help repost it. Subsequently, they engaged research assistants to help administer the survey in the far-flung LCDAs to ensure full representation.

A four-section structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from respondents. Section A of the questionnaire

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sought to elicit sociodemographic information on respondents, such as age, sex, education, religion and ethnic background, etc. Section B sought data on respondents‘ awareness levels on the COVID-19 pandemic. While the third section had questions on sources and credibility of information from social media on COVID-19, the final section addressed issues of sufficiency of information from social media on COVID-19.

Five sociodemographic factors (sex, age, religion, ethnic group and education) constituted the independent variables. The study had seven dependent variables related to acceptance and use of COVID-19 information, namely: belief in COVID-19 (―Do you believe that COVID-19 is real?‖); main source of COVID-19 awareness (whether government or person-to-person); main media source of COVID-19 information (whether electronic media, print media or social media); perception of credible media (―Which of the three media is not likely to disseminate doubtful information?‖); belief in every information shared on social media about COVID-19; perception of the impact of COVID-19 information (―Did the information shared on social media about COVID-19 make a positive impact on the prevention of infection?‖); receipt of false COVID-19 information (―Did you receive information about COVID-19 that you later found to be incorrect?‖).

Regarding data analysis, the responses to the online survey were downloaded into a Microsoft Excel worksheet and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 22) for detailed statistical analyses. Simple frequencies and percentages were used to analyse the sociodemographic characteristics and other variables at the univariate/descriptive level. At the inferential level, we used the bivariate chi-square test to show how each of

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the five socio-demographic variables are related to the depen- dent variables. To avoid cumbersomeness, only statistically significant factors are presented in the results section. The analyses were done at a 95% level of statistical significance.

Results

The results are in two sections. The first is the descriptive section where the five socio-demographic factors (see Table 1) and seven dependent variables (see Table 2) are presented. From tables 3 to 5, we show the bivariate association between the sociodemographic factors and the dependent variables. Only statistically significant factors are shown in the inferential analysis.

Univariate Analysis

Table 1: Sociodemographic characteristics of respondents

Gender	Frequency (526)	Percent (100.0)
Female	258	49.0
Male	268	51.0
Age
15-29	167	31.7
30-44	215	40.9
45-59	135	25.7
60 and above	9	1.7
Ethnic group
Hausa	12	2.3
Igbo	97	18.4
Yoruba	345	65.6
Others	72	13.7
Religion
Christianity	437	83.1

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Islam	80	15.2
Others	9	1.7
Education
Secondary	63	12.0
Tertiary	463	88.0

Table 1 shows that either gender constitutes almost half of the total sample (49% for males and 51% for females; this happened by chance). The majority (40.7%) of the respondents were between ages 30 and 44, 31.7% were 15-29 years old and around a quarter (25.7%) of the respondents were 45-59 years old. Regarding ethnic composition, close to two-thirds (65.6%) of the respondents were Yoruba; the Igbo constituted 18.4% of the sample, while the Hausa accounted for 2.3% and other ethnic groups such as the Tiv , Urhobo, etc., accounted for 13.7%. The Yoruba were in the majority because the study was conducted in Lagos, in the southwestern part of the country, which is largely populated by the people of Yoruba descent. With respect to religion, an overwhelming majority (83.1%) of the sample were Christians, while Muslims accounted for 15.2% of the total sample. Around one-tenth (12%) of the sample had secondary education, while the majority (88%) proceeded beyond secondary school. Those with tertiary education are in the majority probably because the study was conducted online.

Table 2: Acceptance and use of COVID-19 related information

Belief COVID-19	Frequency (526)	Percent (100%)
No	19	3.6
Yes	502	95.4
Not sure	5	1.0

400

Main source of COVID-19 awareness
Government	384	73.0
Person-to-person	142	27.0
Main media source of COVID-19 information
Electronic Media	249	47.3
Print Media	7	1.3
Social Media	270	51.3
Media not likely to disseminate doubtful information
Electronic Media	251	47.7
Print Media	147	27.9
Social Media	128	24.3
Believe every information shared on social media about COVID-19
No	445	84.6
Yes	81	15.4
Information shared on social media about COVID-19 made a positive impact on the prevention of infection

401

No	130	24.7
Yes	385	73.2
I don‘t know	11	2.1
Receipt of false COVID-19 information
No	221	42.0
Yes	305	58.0

Table 2 presents data on acceptance and use of coronavirus-19 related information. The table shows that 502 (95.4%) of the sample believed that COVID-19 is real, while 19 (3.6%) respondents said it is not real. For about 7 in 10 respondents (73%), government was the main source of COVID-19 awareness, while the remaining 142 (27%) sourced information from persons. Around half (51.3%) of the respondents sourced COVID-19 information from social media, 47.3% relied on electronic media such as radio and television, while 7 (1.3%) sourced COVID-19 related information from the print media. Despite the fact that the majority relied on social media for COVID-19 information, social media are believed to be the least credible. The majority (47.7%) believed that electronic media are not likely to disseminate doubtful information, compared to 147 (27.9%) for print media and 128 (24.3%) for social media. At least one in ten persons (15.4%) reported that they believed every information shared on social media about COVID-19, while 84.6% of the sample reported otherwise. When asked about whether information shared on social media about COVID-19 was making a positive impact on the prevention of infection, 73.2% of the sample responded in the affirmative; about a quarter (24.7%) said no, while 11 (2.1%) respondents said they do not know. Surprisingly, more than half

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(58%) reported that they had received COVID-19-related information which they later found to be false.

Inferential Analysis

Note: Only factors that are statistically significant are shown in the tables below.

Table 3: Sociodemographic factors associated with belief in COVID-19, source of awareness and major source of information

Gender	COVID-19 is real	Total	X² (p)
No	Yes
Female	3 (1.2%)	255 (98.8%)	258 (100.0%)	8.975 (0.003)
Male	16 (6.1%)	247 (93.9%)	263 (100.0%)
Total	19 (3.6%)	502 (96.4%)	521 (100.0%)
Education
Secondary	9 (14.5%)	53 (85.5%)	62 (100.0%)	23.661 (<0.001)
Tertiary	10 (2.2%)	449 (97.8%)	459 (100.0%)
Total	19 (3.6%)	502 (96.4%)	521 (100.0%)
Age	Main source of COVID- 19 awareness	Total	X² (p)
Government	Person- to- person

403

15-29	100 (59.9%)	67 (40.1%)	167 (100.0%)	23.093 (<0.001)
30-44	165 (76.7%)	50 (23.3%)	215 (100.0%)
45-59	111 (82.2%)	24 (17.8%)	135 (100.0%)
60 and above	8 (88.9%)	1 (11.1%)	9 (100.0%)
Total	384 (73.0%)	142 (27.0%)	526 (100.0%)
Ethnic group	Major sources of information on COVID- 19	Total	X² (p)
Electronic Media	Social Media
Hausa	9 (75.0%)	3	12	9.973 (0.019)
Igbo	55 (57.3%)	41	96
Yoruba	158 (46.5%)	182	340
Others	27 (38.0%)	44	71
Total	249 (48.0%)	270	519
Religion
Christianit	197 (45.4%)	237	434	9.432 (0.002)
Islam	49 (64.5%)	27	76
Total	246 (48.2%)	264	510
Education
Secondary	48 (77.4%)	14 (22.6%)	62 (100.0%)	24.453 (<0.001)
Tertiary	201 (44.0%)	256 (56.0%)	457 (100.0%)

404

Total

249 (48.0%)

270 (52.0%)

519 (100.0%)

Table 3 shows which of the sociodemographic characteristics is associated with three dependent variables, namely: belief in existence of COVID-19, source of COVID-19 awareness and media source of COVID-19 information. It was found that gender and education were associated with belief in existence of COVID-19, as 98.8% of females said they believed in the virus compared to 93.9% of males (X²: 8.975; p: 0.003). Almost all of those who had tertiary education (97.8%) believed in COVID-19 compared to 85.5% of those with secondary education (X²: 23.661; p< 0.001).

Only age was associated with source of awareness (X²: 23.093; p< 0.001). It was found that reliance on government as the main source of COVID-19 awareness increases with age group; that is, people within 15-29 years of age relied more on person-to- person information, while older people relied on government sources (82.2% for 45-59 years old and 88.9% for 60 years old and above). Three factors (ethnic group, religion and education) were associated with media source of COVID-19 information. Exactly three-quarters of Hausa sought COVID-19 information from the electronic media compared to 57.3% of the Igbo. Contrarily, more than half (53.5%) of the Yoruba and those from other ethnic groups (62%) sought information from social media (X²: 9.973; p: 0.019). It was also found that the majority (54.6%) of Christians sourced COVID-19 information from social media, while 64.5% of Muslims relied on the electronic media (X²: 9.432; p: 0.002). For education, those with secondary education relied more on electronic media (77.4%),

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while those with tertiary education sourced COVID-19 infor- mation more on social media (56%) [X²: 24.453; p< 0.001].

Table 4: Socio-demographic factors associated with belief in information shared on social media and impact of social media information on prevention of COVID-19.

Age	Belief in every information shared on social media about COVID-19	Total	X² (p)
No	Yes
15-29	146 (87.4%)	21 (12.6%)	167 (100.0%)	15.478 (0.001)
30-44	171 (79.5%)	44 (20.5%)	215 (100.0%)
45-59	123 (91.1%)	12 (8.9%)	135 (100.0%)
60 and	5 (55.6%)	4 (44.4%)	9 (100.0%)
Total	445 (84.6%)	81 (15.4%)	526 (100.0%)
Gender	Information shared on social media about COVID-19 made a positive impact on the prevention of infection	Total
No	Yes
Female	53 (21.2%)	197 (78.8%)	250 (100.0%)

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Male	77 (29.1%)	188 (70.9%)	265 (100.0%)	4.208 (0.040)
Total	130 (25.2%)	385 (74.8%)	515 (100.0%)
Religion				11.224 (0.001)
Christianity	95 (22.3%)	331 (77.7%)	426 (100.0%)
Islam	32 (40.0%)	48 (60.0%)	80 (100.0%)
Total	127 (25.1%)	379 (74.9%	506 (100.0%)
Ethnic group
Hausa	3 (25.0%)	9 (75.0%)	12 (100.0%)	10.231 (0.017)
Igbo	36 (37.9%)	59 (62.1%)	95 (100.0%)
Yoruba	77 (22.8%)	260 (77.2%)	337 (100.0%)
Others	14 (19.7%)	57 (80.3%)	71 (100.0%)
Total	130 (25.2%)	385 (74.8%)	515 (100.0%)
Education
Secondary	29 (46.8%)	33 (53.2%)	62 (100.0%)	17.316 (<0.00 1)
Tertiary	101 (22.3%)	352 (77.7%)	453 (100.0%)
Total	130 (25.2%)	385 (74.8%)	515 (100.0%)

407

Table 4 presents the sociodemographic factors associated with belief in information shared on social media and perception of the impact of such information on the prevention of COVID-19. It was found that only age was associated with belief in information shared on social media about COVID-19. About four in ten (44.4%) respondents who were 60 years old or older were more likely to believe all the information they get about COVID-19 on social media compared with 12.6% of those aged 15-29, 20.5% of those aged 30-44 and 8.9% of those aged 45-59

(X²: 15.478; p: 0.001).

Four factors (gender, religion, ethnic group and education) were associated with the perception of the impact of COVID-19 information on the prevention of the virus. It was found that more females than males (78.8% vs 70.9%) believed that the information shared on social media about COVID-19 had a positive impact on the prevention of infection (X²: 4.208; p: 0.040). More Christians believed in the positive impact of such information than Muslims (77.7% vs 60%). Respondents outside the three dominant ethnic groups had the most belief in the positive impact of COVID-19 information shared on social media (80.3%), followed by the Yoruba (77.2%), Hausa (75%)

and Igbo (62.1%) [X²: 10.231; p: 0.017]. As predicted, respondents who had tertiary education had more belief in the positive impact of COVID-19 information shared on social media than those who had only secondary education (77.7% vs 53.2%) [X²: 17.316; p: <0.001].

Table 5: Socio-demographic factors associated with receipt of false COVID-19 information and credible media.

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Age	Receipt of false COVID-19 information	Total	X² (p)
No	Yes
15-29	81 (48.5%)	86 (51.5%)	167 (100.0%)	21.741 (<0.001)
30-44	103 (47.9%)	112 (52.1%)	215 (100.0%)
45-59	35 (25.9%)	100 (74.1%)	135 (100.0%)
60 and above	2 (22.2%)	7 (77.8%)	9 (100.0%)
Total	221 (42.0%)	305 (58.0%	526 (100.0%)
Religion
Christianit y	173 (39.6%)	264 (60.4%)	437 (100.0%)	6.595 (0.010)
Islam	44 (55.0%)	36 (45.0%)	80 (100.0%)
Total	217 (42.0%)	300 (58.0%)	517 (100.0%)
Education
Secondary	44 (69.8%)	19 (30.2%)	63 (100.0%)	22.747 (<0.001)
Tertiary	177 (38.2%)	286 (61.8%)	463 (100.0%)
Total	221 (42.0%)	305 (58.0%)	526 (100.0%)
Age	Media not likely to disseminate doubtful information	Total

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	Electron ic Media	Print Media	Social Media
15-29	77 (46.1%)	46 (27.5%)	44 (26.3%)	167 (100.0%)	15.294 (0.018)
30-44	94 (43.7%)	61 (28.4%)	60 (27.9%)	215 (100.0%)
45-59	79 (58.5%)	35 (25.9%)	21 (15.6%)	135 (100.0%)
60 and above	1 (11.1%)	5 (55.6%)	3 (33.3%)	9 (100.0%)
Total	251 (47.7%)	147 (27.9%)	128 (24.3%)	526 (100.0%)
Education					16.588 (<0.001)
Secondary	43 (68.3%)	5 (7.9%)	15 (23.8%)	63 (100.0%)
Tertiary	208 (44.9%)	142 (30.7%)	113 (24.4%)	463 (100.0%)
Total	251 (47.7%)	147 (27.9%)	128 (24.3%)	526 (100.0%)

Table 5 shows factors associated with being a victim of fake news about COVID-19 and perception of the credibility of the media. It was found that the reception of false COVID-19 information increases consistently with age group. Around half (51.5%) of respondents aged 15-29 reported receiving such news, compared with 74.1% of those aged 45-59 and 77.8% of those who were at least 60 years old (X²: 21.741; p: <0.001). More than half (60.4%) of Christians had received false COVID-19 information compared with less than half (45%) of Muslims. Similarly, more than half (61.8%) of those who had

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tertiary education reported receiving false information, unlike less than half (30.2%) of those who had secondary education (X²: 22.747; p: <0.001).

Regarding credible media, age was a significant factor as people aged 60 or above believed more in the credibility of the print media (55.6%) than other age groups. Those younger than 60 responded in favour of the electronic media. For the three age groups younger than 60, social media were the least credible (X²: 15.294; p: 0.018). For education, a little more than two- thirds (68.3%) of those with secondary education believed in the credibility of electronic media, followed by social media, but less than half (44.9%) of those with tertiary education believed in the credibility of electronic media. Moreover, 30.7% had trust in the print media while 24.4% believed in social media (X²: 16.588; p: <0.001). Table 6 below summarises the results of the bivariate analysis.

Table 6: Summary of Bivariate Analysis

S/ N	Variables	Belief in the existence of COVID-19	Main source of COVID-19 awareness	Preferred source of COVID-19 information	Belief in every information shared on social	Belief in the impact of social media	Receipt of false COVID-19 information	Media perceived credible
1	Gender	✓	❌	❌	❌	✓	❌	❌
2	Education	✓	❌	✓	❌	✓	✓	✓
3	Age	❌	✓	❌	✓	❌	✓	✓
4	Ethnicity	❌	❌	✓	❌	✓	❌	❌
5	Religion	❌	❌	✓	❌	✓	✓	❌

: Significant

❌: Not significant

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The table above shows that education has an influence on five of the dependent variables, followed by age (4), religion (3) gender and ethnic group (2).

Discussions

This study investigates the influence of five sociodemographic factors on seven dependent variables, viz: media perceived as credible, belief in the existence of COVID-19, main source of COVID-19 awareness, preferred source of COVID-19 information, belief in every information shared on social media about COVID-19, belief in the impact of social media information, and reception of false COVID-19 information.

The study shows that majority of the respondents believed in the existence of COVID-19, with only 3.6% thinking otherwise. This contradicts the study conducted by SBM Intel as reported by Mojeed (2020), which study found that 14.4% of Nigerians were unsure of COVID-19 and 16.7% believed it is unreal. It should be noted that the study reported by Mojeed (2020) was conducted in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, Abuja) and that the figures reported were the mean scores. The point here is that the rate may vary across states and regions, with Mojeed reporting that more than 50% of respondents in states such as Kogi, Nasarawa, Sokoto, Ekiti and Enugu did not believe in the existence of COVID-19. The current study, when compared with that of SMB Intel as reported by Mojeed (2020), confirms the cosmopolitan-success and conservative-failure hypothesis (Alabi et al., 2020; Kunnuji et al., 2017). This is because a cosmopolitan state like Lagos is more likely to have access to the right information than states like Kogi, Nasarawa and Sokoto, a situation which may explain the high level of belief in the existence of COVID-19 in the

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current study. It is worth noting that in Kogi State the governor insisted that COVID-19 is a hoax and did not allow NCDC officials to operate freely in the state.

This study also shows that, although the majority (51%) of respondents sourced COVID-19 information on social media, less than a quarter (24.3%) accepted the credibility of social media; in other words, the majority had more confidence in the print and electronic media. This is expected, given that social media remains flexible and unregulated in the country, making it accessible to all and sundry. Despite this, 73% of the respondents believe that the information shared on social media can help to prevent the spread of the virus. These findings are supported by earlier studies which reported that although the spread of unverified and false COVID-19 information via social media is rampant, the platform serves as a source of education for users (Kadam and Atre, 2020; Apuke and Omar, 2021), given that health organisations now disseminate information on social media. In Nigeria, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) usually fines erring media houses that mishandle information relating to national issues. It makes sense to assert that this action puts print and electronic media houses in check, thereby increasing public confidence in the information they report. The finding that over half of the respondents had been victims of fake news may be explained by rumour transmission theory, against the backdrop of the notions of importance and lack of adequate information. The early to mid-2020s in Nigeria, as in many other parts of the world, was marked by lockdowns and lack of adequate information on the origins, spread and control of the virus. Residents, especially the less educated, were left with no choice than to feed on different conspiracy theories and fake news.

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The study also showed that gender had a significant influence on belief in the existence of COVID-19 and belief in the positive impact of social media information. The direction in both cases was that females accepted the existence of COVID- 19 and believed information about it had a more positive impact than men did. The findings are supported by earlier studies (Thelwall and Thelwall, 2020; Walter and McGregor, 2020; Adesegun et al., 2020; Campos-Castillo, 2020) which reported that women are more knowledgeable about COVID-19 and shared such information on social media more than men did. The findings may also be explained by gender socialisation, since women oversee domestic affairs, including the health and overall wellbeing of household members. This role pushes women to seek health information more than men do. Similarly, this study shows that ethnicity influences two of the dependent variables. The finding that the Hausa people of northern Nigeria rely on the electronic media for COVID-19 information may be explained by the CSCFH theory. This is because while the south has embraced the new order of social media, the north has remained cautious about accepting the use of traditional media. On Lagos streets it is not uncommon to find northern males clutching at their mobile radios as they monitor local and international news. In addition, use of social media requires ownership of smartphones and access to the Internet. Nigeria‘s Demographic and Health Survey of 2018 shows that ethnic groups of the south have more access to phones and Internet service than their counterparts from the north (NPC & ICF, 2019). The finding that the Yoruba believe in the positive impact of social media information (77.2%) more than the Hausa (75%) is quite easy to understand. However, it is yet unclear why the Igbo have recorded lower scores of 62.1%. Further studies should be conducted in this regard.

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This study shows that religion has a significant influence on three variables: source of COVID-19 information, belief in the positive impact of social media information and reception of fake news. The reason for Christians‘ preference of COVID-19 information from social media, while the majority of Muslims rely on the electronic media, is also yet unclear; as such, it requires future investigation. Moreover, future studies may investigate why more Christians believe in the positive impact of social media than Muslims. For the moment, it is safe to suggest that the reason why more Christians were victims of fake news than Muslims may be because the former sourced COVID-19 information more from social media, which are prone to being used as a conduit for unverified and false news. With respect to age, this study shows that more older people relied on government sources for awareness than young people did; older people believed every COVID-19 information shared on social media more than younger people did. Consequently, the former have been victims of fake news than the latter. The finding that older people believe COVID-19 information and are more vulnerable to fake news than younger people is clear. Although young people use social media more than older people, the former use Internet search engines more than the latter (Schehl et al., 2019; Campos-Castillo, 2020). Therefore, young people are able to seek information from different sources to verify any news more than older people can. This is also explained by the age stratification theory (Riley et al., 1994): Since the Internet and social media may appear complex, younger people are more conversant with different sources of verifying news, a situation which makes them less vulnerable to false news than older people. For example, there are web apps to verify the authenticity of pictures shared online – apps which younger people are more likely to utilise than older people.

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Education appears to have the most influence on the dependent variables. It is understandable that respondents who had tertiary education believed in the existence of COVID-19 more than those with less education. This is to be expected, given that access to information, connection and critical reasoning are expected to accompany tertiary education. It is also under- standable that more educated people sourced information from social media than the less educated. This is because use of social media may require some education. For example, opening a social media account, uploading pictures and sharing messages may require some technical know-how which is likely to be available to those with tertiary education. This may also explain the finding that those with more education believe more in the positive impact of social media in the prevention of COVID-19 than the less educated. Surprisingly, however, the more educated people have been victims of fake news than the less educated. This may be connected to the fact social media, being the primary source of fake news, is used more by the educated. From another perspective, the less educated may not even be able to differentiate fake news from real news. This means that even when they have been victims of fake news, they may be oblivious to it or fail to accept their error.

Conclusion

Despite persisting belief by some Nigerians that COVID-19 is a hoax and that vaccines are a creation of mischievous people trying to reduce the African population, the study found that a large percentage of people in Lagos State believe in the existence of COVID-19 due to the cosmopolitan nature of the state. There is a high level of reliance on social media for COVID-19 information owing to its flexibility, although the electronic media are perceived as more credible. Given that

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many Lagos residents have been victims of fake news, it is necessary to educate the population on the need to verify news before further spreading it. This study has shown that social media have both positive and negative outcomes for the spread and management of COVID-19. Consequently, there is need for policymakers and health organisations to take advantage of the positive side by sharing adequate and accurate information via social media. To be sure, information spread on social media by well-known organisations would be held as more credible than information released by bloggers and other individual users.

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ETHNICITE ET CONFLIT ETHNIQUE : RECAPITULA- TION ET TEMOIGNAGE DU GENOCIDE RWANDAIS DANS L’OMBRE D’IMANA DE VERONIQUE TADJO

BALOGUN Leo Iyanda

Department of European Languages &

Integration Studies University of Lagos

Résumé

Le monde a connu ces dernières décennies une pléiade de génocides émanant de différents conflits ethniques mettant ainsi en péril la vie d’une multitude de personnes. Le génocide rwandais est l’une des catastrophes le plus manifeste que l’Afrique ait jamais connue. Partant du génocide rwan- dais à la récapitulation et au témoignage des événements les plus sanglants et meurtriers, Véronique Tadjo a su mettre à nu les causes et conséquences de ce fléau entre deux ethnies rwandaises à savoir les Hutus et les Tutsis qui se rivalisent. Pour analyser cette déchéance humaine qu’a connue le Rwanda, nous nous sommes inspirés de deux approches à savoir : l’appro- che journalistique et l’approche sociobiologique de l’ethnicité. Les deux approches mettent en évidence les bases fondamentales ayant conduit au génocide rwandais tel que l’a décrit Véronique adjo dans son roman L’Ombre d’Imana. Ils s’en suivent également dans ce récit la description de l’auteur des faits concrets, ses expériences et les témoignages des victimes de génocide au jour le jour pendant cette période. Nous remarquons finalement que cette écriture de Véronique Tadjo à travers L’Ombre d’Imana met l’accent avec fidélité et précision sur des réalités mélangées la fiction donnant ainsi naissance à la faction.

Mots-cles :Le génocide, la déchéance humaine, approches journalistique et socio-biologique, la faction, l’ethnicité.

Abstract

In recent decades, the world has witnessed many genocides as a result of different ethnic conflicts that endangers the life of multitude of human beings. The Rwandan case was one of the worst genocide that Africa has

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ever witnessed. From the Rwandan genocide to the recapitulation and the witnessing of the dreadful events that mark that incidence, Véronique Tadjo has unveiled the causes and consequences of the scourge between two Rwandan ethnic groups namely the Hutus and the Tutsis. In the analysis of this work, we made use of two literary theories such as the journalistic and socio-biologic approaches to ethnicity. These two literary theories explained vividly the basis of the fundamental events that led to the Rwandan genocide as described by Veronique Tadjo in her novel L’Ombre d’Imana. The author also made use of concret facts, experiences and the victims‘ revelations on daily basis giving thus credence to the author‘s narration.

Key Words: Genocide, Human degradation, Journalistic and Socio- biological approaches, faction, ethnicity.

Introduction

Le génocide est un crime contre l‘humanité tendant à la destruction totale ou partielle d‘un groupe national, ethnique, racial ou religieux ; sont qualifiés de génocide, les atteintes volontaires à la vie, à l‘intégrité physique ou psychique, la soumission à de conditions d‘existence mettant en péril la vie du groupe, les entraves aux naissances et les transferts forcés d‘enfants qui visent à exterminer un groupe humain donné. (Larousse, 1998).

Cependant, dans les deux dernières décennies, plus précisément dans les années 1994, plus d‘un million de Rwandais ont été massacrés par les Rwandais majoritairement Hutus. C‘est un événement qui reste jusqu‘aujourd‘hui le plus triste de l‘histoire du génocide que l‘Afrique ait connu. Cependant, pour faire la lumière sur ce qui s‘était passé en réalité dans la société rwandaise de 1994, il aurait fallu des personnes vouées à des recherches pour lever le voile sur les massacres qui ont vu le jour pendant ce temps. Plusieurs romanciers ont écrit pour mettre en exergue le génocide rwandais où des milliers de

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Tutsis ont trouvé la mort suite au massacre des Hutus déterminés à nettoyer complètement de la société rwandaise leur soi-disant ennemis, Tutsi. Que pouvait être alors à la base du différend qui aurait germé la haine et le désaccord entre les deux frères ennemis vivant dans un même pays, le Rwanda ? Qu‘est-ce qui s‘était justement passé durant cette période ? Certains écrivains ont fait la lumière sur ces événements de manière méthodique et méticuleuse en retraçant au jour le jour, les événements qui ont marqué le génocide rwandais. Parmi ceux-ci figurent Jean Hatzfeld, Ted Conover, Günter Wallraft et Véronique Tadjo. Ces écrivains ont adopté des approches littéraires variées à savoir l‘approche journalistique et l‘ap- proche sociobiologique de l‘ethnicité pour venir à bout de leur récit.

L‟approche journalistique

L‘approche journalistique dans la littérature fait appel au journalisme littéraire, au terme journalisme narratif qui permet à un écrivain de faire le récit réel et succinct des faits tels qu‘ils se sont déroulés selon les jours, les lieux et les heures.

Dans l‘espace francophone, les termes ‗journalisme narratif‘ ou

‗grand reportage‘ sont utilisés pour qualifier les œuvres d‘Albert Londres (Au Bagne, 1924 , Chez les Fou (1925), L‘homme qui s‘évada (1928)°et de Joseph Kessel, L‘armée des ombres (2011), Les mains du miracle (2013), Fortune Carrée (2003) par exemple. Alors qu‘en anglais on utilise à quelques nuances près ‗narrative journalism‘, ‗literary journalism‘, literary reportage‘, ‗literary non-fiction‘, ‗aesthetic journalism‘,

‗non fiction reportage‘, ‗creative non-fiction‘ et j‘en passe. Toutes ces appellations désignent toujours plus ou moins la même chose, c‘est-à-dire une écriture à partir des faits réels,

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mais où l‘accent est mis tantôt sur la fidélité de la réalité (récit non-fictionnel ou bien la faction) tantôt sur le protocole journalistique (information, précision).

N‘importe quel que ce soit le cas, Véronique Tadjo s‘est illustrée en faisant dans L’Ombre d’Imana un récit journalistique du génocide rwandais des années 1994 que nous tenterons d‘analyser ci-dessous. En outre, nous avons également soumis ce récit de Véronique Tadjo à une approche socio biologique de l‘ethnicité.

L‟approche socio-biologique de l‟ethnicit

Cette approche socio-biologique de l‘ethnicité est l‘œuvre du Belge Van Den Berghe (The Ethnie Phenomenon, 1981). Pour cet auteur, la cohésion des sociétés humaines à l‘instar des sociétés animales repose sur les intérêts individuels de leurs membres. Ces derniers se mesurent en terme de succès reproductif. Par népotisme, tout individu aura tendance à favoriser sa parenté, c‘est-à-dire les individus porteurs des mêmes gènes afin de maximiser la reproduction de son espèce. Cette théorie insiste sur le fait que l‘ethnicité est une affaire de sang. Que les comportements puissent changer selon les circonstances sociales. Pour V.D. Berghe, il s‘agit du principe d‘un substrat biologique et génétique qui rapproche naturel- lement les individus appartenant à un même groupe ethnique. Et justement pour Berghe, la mobilisation de l‘ethnicité à des fins politiques serait facilitée par ce fait car il suffirait d‘activer des sentiments ethniques préexistants dans nos gènes. C‘est exactement ce qui s‘est passé entre les deux groupes ethniques rwandais qui se sont soulevé les uns contre les autres. Les Tutsis sont majoritairement des éleveurs possesseurs de nomb- reuses vaches tandis que les Hutus sont les agriculteurs moins

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haut placés dans la hiérarchie socio-économique traditionnelle. Tutsi signifie être riche et Hutu, la classe moyenne. A l‘époque coloniale, les Belges avaient réussi à créer une sorte de division au niveau social laissant après les indépendances un héritage déplaisant. Les résultats étaient la haine, le divisionnisme et le tribalisme qui ont conduit au génocide brutal et terrible survenu en 1994. Pendant cette période, des organisations non gouverne- mentales et volontaires se sont engagées dans l‘action humani- taire pour sauver des vies humaines.

L‟ethnicit rwandaise

Au Rwanda par exemple, on n‘a jamais connu la mobilité ethnique. Il n‘y avait que trois options qui ne sont d‘ailleurs pas des choix, puisqu‘on ne peut pas choisir légalement son ethnie. L‘ethnie est transmise selon le système patrilinéaire. Un enfant issu d‘un couple mixe prend l‘ethnie de son père. Il ne peut en aucun cas la changer. Nous savons justement que malheureusement pendant les massacres, ces critères de nativité ont servi pour éliminer les personnes qualifiées de « Hutsi » (issue du couple Hutu-Tutsi). En se référant aux travaux de J. Nagel et al (1986), nous nous rendons compte que la reconnais- sance et l‘institutionnalisation de l‘ethnicité dans la politique accroit le niveau de mobilisation ethnique parmi tous les groupes ethniques et déterminent les frontières selon lesquelles la mobilisation et le conflit ethnique vont se produire en fixant les règles régissant la participation politique et l‘accès au pouvoir.

Selon J. Nagel (1986 :78), « La mobilisation ethnique dans un Etat est probable lorsque les structures de la participation, de ‘adhésion et du pouvoir politique sont organisées selon les clivages ethniques.

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Lorsque des groupes ethniques s‘adressent à l‘autorité pour revendiquer des droits, nous ne parlons pas de conflit ethnique. Par contre lorsque les groupes ethniques se trouvent en confrontation entre eux, de façon que l‘enjeu du conflit mette en cause l‘existence même d‘un groupe ethnique, nous sommes face à un heurt ethnique. La spécificité des conflits ethniques est qu‘ils ne concernent qu‘au moins deux groupes ethniques sans mettre en cause l‘autorité constituée. Cette dernière intervient par contre pour faire cesser le conflit, notamment en tranchant le différend qui oppose les groupes en conflit.

La déchéance humaine : récapitulation et témoignage

Récapitulation

Le génocide demeure ainsi une forme de déviance extrême quelquefois difficile à appréhender. Les massacres de masse qui le nourrissent révèlent d‘un comportement social perverti qu‘appa-remment rien ne justifie. Tel est le cas du génocide rwandais de 1994 que l‘auteure ivoirienne a su élucider de manière à faire voyager le lecteur dans un monde dominé par la violence. Le génocide des Tutsis et de quelques Hutus modérés par les extrémistes Hutus est particulièrement resté gravé dans la mémoire collective de l‘humanité. Dans l‘intervalle de près de trois mois seulement près d‘un million de rwandais sont exterminés (ONU, 1999) alors que le pays comptait seulement entre temps sept millions d‘habitants. Tout ce massacre se déroulait en présences des Occidentaux qui n‘avaient aucune- ment intervenus pour mettre fin à ces tueries. Par ailleurs, des auteurs se sont également mobilisés pour décrire, analyser et exposer les massacres qui se sont déroulés en 1994. Les

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particularités dudit drame expliquent en partie notre intérêt pour cette analyse. De plus, certains auteurs dont Véronique Tadjo, se sont faits l‘obligation de raconter les événements de manière chronologique afin de reconstituer l‘histoire du génocide rwandais grâce à l‘expérience des témoins oculaires.

Quant aux Occidentaux, ils sont enthousiasmés de voir devant leur écran de télévision et d‘autres médias sociaux des images de famine, de tueries, de massacres, d‘exterminations, etc…

Témoignage

Dans son roman, Dans le nu de la vie : récit des marias rwandais et Génocide rwandais, l‘écrivain français Jean Hatzfeld, décrit son expérience d‘observateur sur la ligne de front. Il met en évidence ceux qu‘il a rencontrés durant ses années de reportage et les différentes thématiques de guerre qu‘il a abordées. Dans son roman écrit sur le Rwanda, Hatzfeld a utilisé le témoignage des gens qui ont vécu cette expérience de crise, de massacre et d‘extermination de plus d‘un millier de rwandais. Pour Tadjo, les témoignages sont multiples. Le tout ne suffit pas seulement de raconter le génocide rwandais sous sa forme fictive, mais d‘utiliser cette approche qui lui permet de rapporter les événements sous une base quotidienne à travers son contact avec la population locale. Sur-ce, elle dit :

Cela faisait longtemps que je rêvais d‘aller au Rwanda. […] Me rendre à l‘endroit même où ces images télévisées avaient été filmées. […]. Parfois, quelqu‘un vous dévoile un secret que vous n‘aviez pas sollicité. Vous êtes alors écrasés par un savoir trop lourd. Je ne pouvais plus garder le Rwanda enfoui en moi. Il fallait crever l‘abcès, dénuder la plaie et la panser. (L‘Ombre …,13)

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Beaucoup de choses se sont déroulées au Rwanda et il fallait coûte que coûte retracer la piste de l‘histoire afin de garder bonne mémoire du génocide qui a eu lieu.

C‘est le 15 Avril 1994 de 7h30 du matin à 14 heures que le massacre s‘est déroulé à Nyamata. Plusieurs milliers de personne avaient trouvé refuge dans l‘église et ses annexes […]. Les autorités avaient demandé à la polulation de se regrouper : « Rassemblez-vous dans les églises et les lieux publics, on va vous protéger ». A la fin de la guerre, ce sont les rescapés qui ont ramassé les squelettes et les ossements éparpillés. (L’Ombre …, pp. 23 – 24)

Nous remarquons dans la citation ci-dessus faites, des précisions sur des dates et des heures pendant lesquelles les massacres ont eu lieu. Les autorités qui ont perpétué ce massacre ont réussi à tromper les victimes qui se sont réfugiés dans les églises et ses annexes. Peu après, ces réfugiés ont été tous massacrés sans distinction. L‘église de Ntarama est un exemple palpable cité dans le roman où des milliers de réfugiés ont été exterminés. Les crânes des hommes tués majoritairement des Tutsis et leurs os ont été la preuve du nombre de personnes tuées par les miliciens Hutus. A titre de preuve, voici ce que faisaient ces miliciens Hutus :

Au moment des événements, les miliciens prenaient les jeunes de forces et les obligeaient à combattre et à tuer : « Si tu ne tues pas, nous te tuerons. Si tu ne les tues pas, ils te tueront ! » (L’Ombre …, p.33)

Tout le monde a commis un crime ou un autre. Même les femmes ont également participé au massacre comme le confessent ce jeune rwandais ci-dessus. « Quand tu refuses de tuer, là tu es tué en retour ». Il y avait des tueries çà et là. Elles étaient organisées individuellement ou par groupe. Pour les milices, on ne devait pas permettre la survie des Tutsis. Il

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faut attaquer, tuer et s‘accaparer les biens des autres. (p. 123). Le nettoyage devait être absolument total. C‘est comme cela qu‘a été le massacre des Tutsis, des slogans à l‘appui pour les exterminer. Les slogans ci-après ont été utilisés pour encourager l‘extrémisme des Tutsis. (L’Ombre …, p.123).

Pour finir, prenez vos machettes, prenez vos lances, faites-vous épauler par les soldats. Les agents du FPR (Front Patriotique Rwandais), exterminez-les parce qu‘ils sont maudits…Combattez : Ecrasez-les ! Debout ! avec vos lances, vos bâtons et vos fusils, vos épées, des pierres, tout transpercez-les, ces cafards, ces ennemis de la démocratie, montrez que vous savez vous défendre, encouragez vos soldats. (L’Ombre…, p. 124)

Face à ce fait accomplis, l‘on se pose la question de savoir ce qui a pu exactement être à la base de ce conflit ethnique rwandais ? Des recherches ont situé la différence entre ces deux frères ennemis, les Hutus et les Tutsis. Mais avant de parler des causes du conflit, cherchons tout d‘abord à savoir qui sont-ils ces deux frères ennemis ?

Présentation des Hutus et des Tutsis ?

Des idées contradictoires émergent le plus souvent lorsqu‘on parle de ces deux groupes ethniques. Pendant que certains historiens sont d‘avis que les Hutus étaient des Bantous et qu‘ils venaient du Sud et de l‘Ouest, d‘autres sont d‘avis que les Tutsis sont venus du Nord et de l‘Est et font partie des populations originaires de la vallée du Nil. Les Tutsis auraient conquis et opprimé les Hutus à un moment donné de l‘histoire. Pour d‘autres, lorsqu‘on parle de Hutus et de Tutsis, ces deux groupes ne sont qu‘une seule et même ethnie. L‘opposition entre les deux groupes ayant été forgée par la colonisation, puis utilisée à des fins politiques depuis le milieu du XXè

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siècle. Ils ont les mêmes pratiques religieuses et parlent la même langue.

Par ailleurs, certains historiens européens, les Belges, en parti- culier, affirment que les Tutsis, selon leur taille, seraient sans doute venus de l‘étranger, surtout du Tibet ou de l‘Egypte. Mais ces derniers temps, certaines révélations lient leur origine à l‘Ethiopie. Véronique Tadjo nous livre les raisons pour lesquelles les Tutsis ont été la cible du génocide :

Une des raisons pour lesquelles les Tutsis ont été pourchassés vient des hypothèses évoquées par les historiens européens, Belges en particulier, qui vers la fin du XIXè siècle leur attribuèrent une appartenance étrangère. Selon eux, les pasteurs « Watussis » qu‘ils trouvaient grands et élancés, contrairement aux agriculteurs hutus d‘une taille plus petite, n‘étaient pas originaires d‘Afrique centrale. Pour certains, ils seraient venus d‘aussi loin que le Tibet ou l‘Egypte. Mais le lien avec l‘Ethiopie reste l‘affirmation la plus courante. Il apparait même que les Tutsis l‘aient confirmée car le costume traditionnel porté par les femmes est très proche de celui des Ethiopiens. (L’Ombre…, p.34)

C‘est surtout cette question d‘originalité qui sera à la base du conflit qui va plus tard naître et qui sera la source du massacre ethnique rwandais. Des interférences étrangères à travers lesquelles les puissances coloniales se sont mêlées ont donné du feu au poudre. En effet, les observateurs de cette crise ont constaté que les Belges et les Français supportaient les Hutus au pouvoir contre les Tutsis minoritaires :

Ainsi, on peut dire que la France et la Belgique continuèrent jusqu‘au bout à soutenir un régime génocidaire car pour eux, seule la majorité ethnique hutue était garante de démocratie au Rwanda mais les massacres furent bel et bien le résultat des manipulations politiques de l‘élite qui créa un climat de

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haine et de division en poussant la majorité ethnique contre la minorité afin de garder le pouvoir. (L’Ombre …, p.46)

A part l‘interférence des pouvoirs coloniaux, une autre cause du conflit rwandais est que, le 6 avril 1994, l‘avion de Juvénal Habyarimana est abattu au-dessus de Kigali. C‘est l‘élément déclencheur du génocide des Tutsis sachant bien que les causes réelles de ce conflit sont plus profondes. Les vrais massacres ont débuté le 7 avril 1994 mais pour mieux appréhender les causes, il fallait cependant remonter à 1990 pour mieux comprendre les événements qui ont réellement eu lieu. Le 1^er Octobre 1990. Le 1^er Octobre de cette année-là, le FPR (Front Patriotique Rwandais), un mouvement politique and militaire fondé par des descendants d‘exilés Tutsi des années 60, lance depuis l‘Ouganda sa première offensive contre le Rwanda. Leur objectif était de prendre le pouvoir et de se retrouver à la tête de l‘Etat. L‘attaque était soldée par un échec et le président Juvénal Habyarimana, un militaire hutu, en profite pour lancer une féroce répression contre la communauté Tutsi. Un climat de dégradation socio-politique s‘imposa. Plusieurs personnes d‘ethnie Tutsi étaient arrêtées et massacrées. Un rendez-vous d‘accord de paix fut fixé par la suite parmi les protagonistes à Arusha en Tanzanie pour des discussions de paix. Cet accord de paix appelé Accord d‘Arusha qui prévoit un partage de pouvoir fut signé en 1993. Malheureusement cet accord fut rejeté par les extrémistes hutus car ceux-ci ne veulent pas d‘un gouvernement de transition avec un partage de pouvoir avec le FPR. Les miliciens rebelles tutsis mettront encore du feu dans le poudre lorsque le Falcon 50 qui ramenait de Dar-es-Salam en Tanzanie, le président rwandais, Juvénal Habyarimana et son homologue burundais, Cyprien Ntaryamira, sont abattus par un

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missile des rebelles Tutsis près de l‘aéroport de Kigali. Ces deux hommes revenaient d‘une réunion sur la crise au Rwanda et au Burundi lorsqu‘ils furent attaqués. Le lendemain de cet attentat, les débordements civils commencèrent à se manifester de la part des Hutus. Les miliciens « interahamwe » et les militaire hutus commençaient ainsi leur chasse aux tutsis. La radio de la haine fut installée. Cette radio va diffuser à perpétuité la haine, les insultes, les lancements de soulèvement, des appels au meurtre contre les Tutsis et la folie meurtrière s‘empare de tout le Rwanda. Voilà en bref les récapitulations que Véronique Tadjo essayait de nous rappeler dans son roman, L’Ombre d’Imana.

Conclusion

La lecture du roman de Véronique Tadjo nous rappelle le parcours socio-politique qu‘a vécu le peuple rwandais pendant cette période de discordance politique. L‘auteure ivoirienne a fait un récit journalistique des événements qui ont eu lieu pendant cette période. Bien que le génocide rwandais pouvait être évité à travers des négociations présidées par la communauté internationale, mais hélas ! Les massacres, les viols, les tueries et des exterminations ethniques ont été le résultat de la négligence politique des super puissances impliquées dans ce génocide rwandais. Ainsi, par devoir de mémoire, Véronique Tadjo décide à travers L’Ombre d’Imana de redonner un nouveau visage au génocide rwandais à travers des témoignages et des récapitulations des événements qui ont eu lieu au Rwanda dans les années 1994.

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Bibliographie

Carney J.J. (2013): Rwanda before the Genocide: Catholic Politics and Ethnic Discouse in the Late Colonial Era. Oxford. Oxford University Press.

Coquio Cathérine (2006): Guerre colonial française et génocide rwandais : la responsabilité, l‘implication de l‘Etat français et sa négation. Cahiers d’histoire. evue d’histoire critique http://journals.openedition.org/chrhc/785 http://doi.org

/10.4000/chrhc.785

Dallaire Roméo (2005): Shake hands with the Devil : The Failure of humanity in Rwanda. London: Arrow Books.

Gordon, Gregory S. (2017): Atrocity Speech Law: Foundation, Fragmentation, Fruition. Oxford. Oxford University Press.

Ingelaere, Bert (2016): Inside wanda’s Gacaca Courts: Seeking Justice After Genocide. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Larousse, Le Petit (1998): Le Petit Larousse, Grand Format en Couleurs. Paris:Edition Entièrement Nouvelle. Larousse.

Longman, Timothy (2010): Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda. New York: Cambridge. University Press.

Mc Doom, Omar Shahabudin (2020): The Path to Genocide in Rwanda: Security, Opportunity and Authority in an ethnocratic State. Cambridge University Press.

Pottier, Johan (2002): Re-Imagining Rwanda: Conflict, Survival and Disinformation in the Late Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Prunier, Gérard (1998): The Rwanda Crisis, 1959-1994: History of a Genocide (1^st ed.) London: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers.

Tadjo Véronique (2006): L’Ombre d’Imana. Voyage jusqu’au bout du Rwanda. En partenariat avec Radio France Monde. Coédité grâce au soutien d‘Actes Sud. Tunis. Alliance des Editeurs Indépendants.

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PORTRAYAL OF ETHNICITY AND LEADERSHIP INSELECTE OR PROSE NARRATIVES

O L R NW Ab d m

Abstract

Department of Linguistics and

African Languages University of Ibadan,

Ethnicity as a social phenomenon is associated with interactions among members of different ethnic groups. Hausa, Igbo and or b are the major ethnic nationalities in Nigeria; it has been used as a tool of political and economic ascendancy in Nigeria since the colonial era. It also promotes beliefs, customs, identities, sense of pride and positive image of a group in relation to others. It is characterised by competition for resources and power, as well as assertion of cultural identity, which often result in conflict. Intelligentsia, scholars and researchers have worked extensively on conflicts across the globe, but the issue of ethnicity and leadership in or b prose narratives has not been given adequate attention. Therefore, in this paper, Marxism, the political and economic principles advocated by Karl Max which canvases for the rejection of political and economic oppression, is used in the descriptive analysis of three or b novels, O mo Ol k n E sin

( ) by Adéb yo

F lét , Or lawe

d g n ( 3) by Afo l b O l b mt n,

and re O n Kakanf ( ) by ébo Awe . he selected novels are repletewith issues of ethnicity and leadership in Nigeria. Critical textual analyses of the novels reveal the motifs of hatred, servitude, cheating, domination, discrimination and betrayal which are the flaws of Nigerian leaders. Citizens are therefore advised to participate actively in electing competent leaders that will promote communalism, philosophical attitude and unity necessary for collective survival and sustainable development.

Keywords: Ethnicity, Leadership, Marxism, Yoruba prose narratives

Résumé

L‘ethnicité comme phénomène social s‘associe aux interactions parmi les membres des groupes ethniques différents. Le haoussa, l‘igbo et le yorouba sont les ethniques majeures au Nigeria; ceci a été utilisé comme outil de dominance au Nigeria dès l‘époque coloniale. Aussi favorise-elle les 434

croyances, les coutumes, les identités, le sentiment de fierté et l‘image positive d‘une ethnique par rapport aux autres. L‘ethnicité se caractérise par la lutte pour les ressources et le pouvoir autant que l‘assertion d‘identité culturelle, qui résulte au conflit. Beaucoup d‘intellectuels et de chercheurs ont travaillé succinctement sur les conflits dans le monde tout entier sans prêter assez d‘attention aux problèmes de l‘ethnicité et de leadership/direction dans les romans yoroubas. Donc, dans cet article, Marxisme, les principes politiques et économiques de Karl Max qui encourage le refus de l‘oppression politique et économique, est utilisé dans l‘analyse descriptive des trois romans yorouba à savoir, O mo Ol k n E sin (1969) de Adéb yo F lét , Or lawe d g n (1993) de Afo l b O l b mt n, et

re O n Kakanf (2005) de Débo Awe . Les romans sélectionnés sont

pleins de problèmes de l‘ethnicité et de leadership/direction au Nigeria. L‘analyse textuelle critique des romans révèle les motifs de haine, de servitude, de tricherie, de domination, de discrimination et de trahison qui sont les défauts des dirigeants Nigérians. Les citoyens sont donc sont conseillés à participer activement à l‘élection des dirigeants compétents qui promouvront le pouvoir aux communes, l‘attitude philosophique et l‘unité nécessaire pour la survie collective et le développement durable.

Mots Clés: Ethnicité, Direction, Marxisme, Prose narrative en Yorouba

Introduction

Literature is human imagination of the total experience and the human activities in elaborated language. It is a dramatic dressing of human activities and fictional representation of reality. The Yorùb novel is a genre of Yorùb written literature which emerged after Yorùb written drama and poetry ( g ns nà, 1992). According to g ns nà (1992), a novel is a literary creation of a world in the author‘s imagination. This aspect of Yorùb literature was encouraged by the effort of the Christian missionaries and the desire of some Yorùb indigenes to promote Yorùb literature. Scholarly works abound on Yorùb novels, such as B mgb sè (1974), g ns nà (1976),

s ol (1978), Barber (1978), Ol fajo (1988), Adébo w lé (1994),

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Aj b dé (2009), Shehu (2010), Aj b dé (2012), Bo l r nw

(2013), O ke ow 2015 and Abass (2018).

Ethnicity has been defined by various scholars. Wilis & Kadri (2017), see ethnicity as ―a fluid topic that can be manipulated by many interested actors for their own benefit. Okwudiba (1980:5) defines ethnicity as ―a social phenomenon associated with interactions among members of different ethnic groups‖. He opines that crucial communal factors may be language, culture or both. In the same vein, Suberu (1996:4) conceptualizes an ethnic group as a social collectivity whose members not only share such objective characteristics as language, but also core-territory, ancestral myth, culture, religion, and/or political organization. Nnoli (1980) further identifies some features of ethnicity which include the fact that it exists only within a political society consisting of diverse ethnic groups and that ethnicity is characteristically a common consciousness of being one in relation to other ethnic groups. Ethnicity is thereby characterised by competition for resources, power and the assertion of cultural identity.

Ethnicity or ethnic relations in Nigeria since the colonial period have remained one of the most important national issues. There are about 400 ethnic nationalities in Nigeria; but Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba have been acknowledged as the major ethnic groups. In Nigeria, ethnicity has been a major factor in national politics and economy as a tool of political and economic ascendancy and consolidation with its attendant crises and contradictions since the colonial period (Oyeweso, 2017). It is incontrovertible that colonialism brought into Africa new political and economic relationships. A new class of haves and have-nots emerged, especially through the extraction of wealth

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that went overseas. The new political parties also give room to rivalries and conflicts among the people of the colonies (Oyeshile, 2017). The scholar further states that the political parties that emerged after independence in most African States were autocratic and, in no time, became one-party states in the guise of protecting African communal kinship value system. This led to the problematic relationship between the state and the mass of the people and the deteriorating condition of the economy in the large majority of African countries (Freund, 1998:247). Scholars have addressed the problem of ethnicity so as to avoid incessant conflicts within the polity. These works include Osaghae (1992a and 1992b), Suberu, (1994), Horowitz, (1994), Ake, (1996), Campbell, (1997), Adekanye, (1998),

Ekeh, (2004), Odugbemi (2001), Oyeweso, (2017) and Oyeshile (2017). While most scholars are convinced about the negative effects of ethnicity in African socio-political dispensation, a few others like Anderson, (1983), Appiah, (1992) and Owolabi, (2003) have attempted to trivialize the situation by seeing ethnicity as a myth which has been peddled by colonialism. What can be inferred from the arguments of scholars on ethnicity is that there is need for national integration in order to avoid the evil of ethnicity.

A major issue affecting Nigerian polity has to do with leadership. Poor leadership is arguably at the heart of Nigeria‘s underdevelopment. Gary (2006) defines leadership as ―the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives.‖ (Cited in Oyeweso 2017:146)

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In Okadigbo‘s (1987) view, leadership is the process through which one individual consistently exerts more influence than others in the pursuit of good behaviour. Pearse (1985) takes a cursory look at leadership from political and moral angle. Adamolekun explores leadership in government administration as it relates to politicians, political (technocrats) and higher civil servants. Seteolu (2004) identifies six salient features of leadership with its theoretical underpinnings. They are trait, behaviour, attribution, charismatic, transformational and being visionary. Modern-day Nigerian society lacks visionary leaders who can inspire, cajole or even coerce where necessary so as to deploy every available resources at his or her disposal to develop and maintain the citizens‘ loyalty to the nation. Nigerian leaders lack true leadership qualities; they are rulers, commanders and controllers. This work therefore examines ethnicity and leadership as portrayed in the selected Yorùb novels with a view to sensitize the citizen to liberate themselves from political and economic oppression of the leaders. Literature, as a social fact, has some link with the various aspects of the society that produces it. Goldman (1977:56) observes that literature is holistic. It is a social reality that should be seen in its totality because all works of art are composed of variegated parts, yet dovetailing into a particular relationship from one to the other. Whoever is working on a work of art should therefore bear in mind a writer‘s cultural background and the ideology of his society. The novelist is influenced by the happenings in his/her society.

Theoretical Framework Marxist Sociology of Literature

Marxist sociology of literature is a scientific theory that dwells on how the oppressed in a society can change the oppression

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through organised struggles of the masses so that they can free themselves from exploitations and oppression. Literature in a capitalist economy is employed by the ruling class to legitimize and sustain its power. Marxist literary theory is interested in facilitating the understanding of the relationships between literature and the social structure of the society by examining the historical forces which are depicted in the contents of such a literary text. Marxism is a theory used in the critical analysis of history, society, revolution, economics and later found to be applicable to literary theory. Marxism as a theory is developed from the writings of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Fredrick Engels (1820-1895). Their views are collected from their scattered writings on literature, which, somehow, they did not develop systematically. Marxist literary critics examine the relationships between sociology and literature, and what these relationships should be in a class society and in the envisaged classless society. Marxist sociological approach to literature is an evaluative criticism of the para-literary aspects of a work of art, such as ethics that feature in a work. Marxist sociology of literature succinctly explains not only what we saw and what we now see in the social relations and the meaning of the artist‘s work, but also, what these social relations should have been or ought to be. Marxist ideologies agree that it is only through conflicts that the proletariat can liberate themselves from their capitalist oppressors. They believe also that awareness should be created among the masses in order to awaken and raise their consciousness for the purpose of promoting organized class struggles. The awareness, the consciousness, is that they have nothing to lose but their chains; they have a world to gain.

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Relationship between literature and Society

The relationship between literature and society is uniquely complex. The complexity of the relationship is reflected in the various attempts by scholars to define literature and its roles in society. According to Dasylva (1995:81), ―experience, imagination and the exploitation of the resources of language (and music in the case of poetry) are the basic components of literature‖. This implies that for literature to really explain society, language has to be used. The literary artist being part of the society, produces literature, using structures of words and ideas that are understood and shared by that society. All the norms and conventions which are inherent in the language are society-based. This is why literature itself is society‘s property and its mirror. It is pertinent to note that this same property is used to criticize, expose, change and even moderate the experience of the very people from whom it evolves. Dasylva (1995:82) succinctly illuminates this point when he opines that:

―Literature discusses life by reflecting, or refracting what may happen or what might (have) happen (ed), or what ought to have happen(ed), and not necessarily what had actually happened or is happening now.‖

From the above, there is no doubt that literature sometimes are based on the author‘s comprehension of life; he composed his literary work to meet his conceived ideas and leading his readers to visualize and phantasize the dream world of literary creativity.

As the literary artist influences the society, the society, in turn, influences him. In other words, the influence could be said to be reciprocal. Literature delineates the roles of man in his environment, as well as the conflicts and tension between

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groups and social classes. It deals with most of the same social, economic, religious and political situations and structures of the society. g nj m (1994:5) argues that, ―literature attempts to depict man and his environment within a creative mode‖, while

làb (2003:32) states that ―the analysis of any literary work in relation to its structure, content, function and effect, in the imaginative world of the artist is said to be rooted in and grows out of the parent social body.‖ Furthermore, B midélé (2000:4) attests that

―Literature is concerned with man and his society. It attempts to develop, elevate, expand and transform the experience of its audience. As a vehicle of human expression, literature seeks to investigate man, his behaviour in the society and his knowledge of himself‖.

It is on the basis of the above that we assert that literature reflects cultural values, influences and shapes society. What can be deduced from the views of the various scholars examined is that literature deals with and reflects various activities in society, like economic, political, social and moral issues and modes of production. In summary, society influences the content and the forms of literature, while literature in turn mirrors the nature, structure and ethical value of society.

Synopses of O mo O n sin Or a e O n a a

O mo O n E sin

g n and re

jày , the son of Chief Ol kùn E sin the young freedom fighter supported by three others, b wùm , the daughter of Ba le tu,

yo w of gb ho and Ko l jo of gbét , decide to free kè- gùn people from the political suzerainty of the Ol mok , and the

callousness of the àre m Ol mok , (first born prince).

Convinced of the humiliating effects of political dominations,

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jày and his comrades endure series of physical suffering to liberate their people. They are convicted and nearly publicly executed before the kè- gùn people come to their rescue. The people, already disillusioned with their servitude, supported the cause of the freedom fighters and in a peaceful but desperate demonstration, demanded their independence from the Ol mok .

Or lawe d g n

Or lawè d g n Ewéjé is the son of Ewéjé, an Ow dé chief

who is a powerful native doctor. As a result of L wé‘ s participation as his father‘s assistant in charm making, he comes to know a bit about charms, especially ìsújú. He takes ìsújú to school and uses it to play games among his friends. Ìsújú works like magic used in the act of vanishing (a case of the more you look, the less you see) Lawè plays this trick on his science teacher, Mr. Àlùkó, who does not believe in the existence of charms and diabolic powers. Mr. lùk experiences African magic first-hand when Lawè uses his ìsújú to move lùk ‘s plate of food and cup of water round the table. Adé, lùk ‘s friend and colleague also experiences it unknowingly when a cup of salt is poured into the plate of rice they are eating.

Thereafter, Adé gets wind of the working of ìsújú, he starts looking for a way of getting one for himself but all to no avail. He later resigns and becomes a full-time politician and a prominent member of Motótán Political Party. He schemes his friend, Àlùkó, into being an ally of the rival Nínálowó Political Party, which is the ruling party so that he will get first-hand information about the rival party‘s plan. He also tries to involve

Lawè in his scheme, but then, Lawè, who has graduated from

school and is now working as a journalist in a print media, has

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already been co-opted into a committee in the ruling Nínálówó Party. The party plans to kill Adé but fails in its entire attempt. However, Lawè works for the good of the society. He is the one informing Adé about N n low ‘s evil plans and he, sometimes, deals with the party himself with the use of j .As far as Lawè is concerned, N n low is a corrupt party. It commits all manners of atrocities. With the help of his father, Chief Ewéjé, L wè vows to help free the society from the destructive and wicked tendencies of the political party. He substitutes the president‘s speech, which consists of names of board chairmen, with another. When the party discovers this switch, and tries to make some corrections, L wè writes a critical article about this in the newspaper. His write-up provokes negative reactions from some affected people. He gets imprisoned in the process, along with the secretary to the government and many Owódé sons and daughters. The party chairman, Sádíákù, and Owódé son, stands as hindrance to their progress and so the civilian government loses control and there is chaos in the country, especially in Owódé.

Felicia and Sùwéb tù, wives of L wè and S l m n ù respect- tively try to get their husbands freed from incarceration but failed. There is also an attempt on the lives of L wè and some other political prisoners like S l m n ù, lùk , Alhaja F nmil y and Jomij kè but a message sent by L wè‘ s father through ìgìdì, as usual, saves them. Eventually, in the midst of the chaos, the military takes over power. The government of Nínálowó Party is overthrown and all political prisoners are released.

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re O n a n

The novel centres on L yo dé, a teacher, at a Baptist School in Aj lété town during the colonial rule in Nigeria. The exploitation, manipulation and domination of the colonial masters got to the extreme, and when L yo dé could no longer bear the situation he instigated his fellow teachers to reject the oppresion and discrimination of the colonial masters. Even- tually, L yo dé resigned his appointment as a teacher and travelled abroad to train as journalist and lawyer. Upon his return, he joins K redé‘s party headed by Awolo l ; the party is the most popular party among the Yorùb people. Other political parties formed are: Elépo party headed by S kéù and On g r party headed by là j B kàrè. On g r party belongs to the people of jo so town, while On g r party is synomymous with kè-On yanr n people. All the political parties mentioned formed the first political parties. There are lots of challenges, confrontations and conflicts among the political parties before and after the election. Aftermath of this was coup-de-tat. The military forcefully took over power.

Leadership and Governance in Nigeria

The Nigerian state is a deliberate creation of British colonial government which according to history forcefully merged different ethnic, religious and political groups to establish a political entity called Nigeria. The colonial government then used divide- and -rule tactic to administer the country and keep the people together for several decades thereby prolonging colonial rule. After years of resisting demands for the implementation of the elective principle, it was finally introduced in the Clifford‘s Constitution of 1922 (Olusanya, 1980:519). The 1922 Legislative Council did not alter the preferential treatment accorded the North. The Council was

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forbidden from discussing any bill on the North without prior authorization by the Governor. As a consequence, the North was kept removed from all those influences which had shaped the political attitudes of Southern politicians (Dudley, 1968:18). Politics of ethnicity became heightened in Nigeria during the decolonisation process of the 1940s and 1950s as the different groups which made up the country resorted to the use of ethnicity for political ascendancy and consolidation (Oyeweso, 2017:106).

Since Nigeria attained independence in 1960, the leadership style has become the focus of scholars. The character, quality and nature of political leadership in Nigeria have been characterised by poor visionary leaders whose interests in state power centre on self-centrednesss, servitude, betrayal and corrupt tendenceis in running the State affairs. Over the years, Nigerian leaders have been subjected to outright condemnation due to frequent leadership changes, harsh policies, food crises and insecurity, unemployment, political corruption and many other associated problems.

The importance of leadership in enhancing national cohesion, socio-economic transformation and development cannot be overemphasized. Scholars, pressure groups and human rights activists have responded through their writings to the issue of ethnicity and leadership in Nigeria politics. Yorùb novelists are not isolated from the debate. The development of the society is one of the major concerns of literary artists. The novelists therefore use their works to address the issue of ethnicity and leadership in their writings. In support of this claim, this study employs three Yorùb novels as examples of the portrayals of

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ethnicity and leadership by novelists with a view to articulating strategies for efficient leadership in Nigeria.

Portrayal of Ethnicity in the Selected or b Prose Narratives

Ethnicity

Lentz and Nugent (2002:2) note that ―ethnicity is a dazzling ambiguous category, which is at once descriptive, analytical and evaluative-normative‖. Ethnicity has been interpreted by various people not only in the academia, but also in the world of politics; it is a powerful source for identification and collectivities. Ojo (2014:119) established that ethnicity was the most recurring decimal and dominant feature of Nigerian politics between 1951 and 1983. The three major ethnic groups in Nigeria ( Igbo, Hausa and Yorùb ) always held one another in utter suspicion, and the basis of enduring political collaboration and partnership was almost zero. Political collaboration between the three major ethnic groups became almost impossible and when and where circumstances compelled some forms of political partnerships, they floundered over irreconcilable difference that revolved around ethnic rivalries and vagaries.

In Nigeria, like in some other nations, ethnic claim is often seen as a primal claim; an individual shows, first and foremost, allegiance to his or her own ethnic group. One‘s ethnicity defines one‘s socio-political territory, cultural traditions, and liguistic heritage, and it may compel an individual to establish boundaries in order to protect and defend what members of the group consider to be an ethnic space or region.

Colonialism brought into Nigeria new poltiical and economic relationships. It also ushered in capitalism in an

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explosive dimension, thereby creating a new class of haves and have-nots. This is portrayed by Awe in his novel re O n Kak nf :

N k k t a so ro re y , wo n al wo funfun l n ilé wé On te bo mi. wo n l s e k so re , wo n l gba ol ko , t wo n s sanw ol ko . A r l ra wo n al wo funfun n t

wo n je ol ko , w e le y me y , s je yo , l r n wo n l k k

gb n . (Awe 2005:10).

At the period we are talking about, the Europeans were the owners of Baptist schools; they were the one in charge, they were the ones employing teachers and paying their salaries. Some of the Europeans were teacher, but ethnicity manifested in them at that time.

Owing to ethnicity, the relationship between the Europeans and the black people are not cordial and this gave room to rivalries and conflicts. The workers that were Nigerians complained about the preferential treatment given to the Europeans thus:

wo n n kan ni wo n po t o fe f n lo so o s n. o n f n wa n po n me f le y n is e s ek ra. y l gb kéré j n n wo n l gba p me f po n l oo . je e mo pé wo n t n gbow

je mo n m r n Gbogbo wo n lo gba apo kan ow lej ,

do f po n ow g n e fo n. to s ye n wo n gba ow t

ti ow bo se lo to (Awe 2005:11).

They were the only ones drinking tea free of charge every afternoon. They gave us twelve naira after hard labour. The minimum wage they collected was one thousand two hundred naira monthly. Do you know that they receive other allowances? All of them receive two hundred naira visitors‘ allowance. Hundred naira for insecticides. Apart from these they collected allowance for tie and socks separately.

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The preference given to the Europeans does not go down well with the workers that are Nigerians. The workers believed that they all deserve fair and equal treatment.

The Nigerian teachers working at Baptist schools felt cheated and resisted the discrimination of the Europeans vehemently and called for emancipation from the servitude and exploitation of their oppressors thus:

K ye k a gba re de re de f wo n to h nr nw wo n b n lé- j k -t le k n m n lé (Awe , : ).

We should not accept this rubbish from the foreigners, those that sit with house-owners and lock up the owner of the house.

N k k t a wa y , s e l ye k wo n d d p te tij

j gbara lo wo wo n funfun n bik bi t a b ti s is e (Awe , 2005:16)

At this period, it is pertinent for the blacks to rise and fight for their emancipation from the whites wherever they are working.

It is obvious from the two exceprts above that L y dé detests domination and high-handedness of the task masters; therefore, he sensitises people to arise and fight for their rights. He calls for a change; and for a change to occur the people must rise and fight for their rights and freedom from the servitude and prejudice of their employer.

The teachers indeed make their grievances known by writing a letter of protest to the colonial-masters so that they can right their wrongs. Below is the report of the letter:

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L yo d so kutu-ke ge o ro s wo n al se jo on te bo mi. n be e is e n ni wo n s e be e wo n pe ara wo n n ol jo s n m mo . ni s e w re je b y ni e ko e s n wo n fi k wo n w wo n k n f n re je , e le y me y ; mo tara-e ni. n k wo n al se y ra s e t nse s wo n ohun t wo , b be e ko , in ni wo n n fi s r r lé s n (Awe , 2005:11)

L yo dè poured out his mind to the authorities of the Baptist schools. He said they are known for humanitarian work and they call themselves holy worshippers. He asked them if it is exploitation that the tenets of their religion teach them, they are full of exploitation, ethnicity, self-centredness. He said the authority should quickly correct their wrongs; if not, they are playing with fire.

The leaders treated the petition of their workers with utter disregard and therefore sacked the three teachers that signed the petition. L yo dé was not sacked because of his invaluable role as a Science teacher in the Baptist school, but he resigned his appointment, and this proves that he is not a traitor.

The structure of Nigeria as a nation and the practices it embraces have been the major setback to her economic and political development. The people are now calling for restructuring, and inherent in what they are saying is that the incoming and unborn generations of Nigerians must be considered in the restructuring exercise.

The post-colonial situation in Nigeria has not been better than the colonial era because political independence only resulted in some changes in the composition of managers, while the lopsidedness of the characters remained as it was under colonialism. This no doubt intensified the ethnic struggles within the Nigerian state. It presented itself as an apparatus of

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violence with a narrow social base. It also relied on coercion rather than on authority for compliance (Ake, 1996:3).

Marginalisation, which is the negative consequence of ethnicity in Nigeria‘s socio-political dispensation, is captured by Awe in

re O n Kaka f . There are disagreements and conflicts dueto marginalisation of some tribes and this led to altercations in the first Senate in Nigeria. Below is an excerpt as depicted by Awe :

y ti a w y pé e n kan gbé o kan n n ga jok , j f r f r , fi pe e l r Mo n mo d . K t mumi y t n, o k nrin kan t wo n p n b té ti gbé m ro ke se jo ba, l mo le , ye n n t k y ng (Awe 2005:108).

Before long, someone took one of the chairs, he flunged it, and it landed on Mo nmo dùs head. Before recovering from this, a man called b té took the government symbol of authority, smashed it on the ground and this was scattered.

One can deduce from the excerpt above that some ethnic groups are agrieved because they perceive that they are being marginalised; this led to disunity in Nigeria. Things are already falling apart in Nigeria especially in the western and the parts of the country and the centre could no longer hold. Eventually, the federal government arrested the leader of the poltiical party in the western state and put him in prison.

jo ba papo b j r m Awolo l s e e jo . o n l gbé

gbése t l doj jo ba papo déle wo n b so o s t mo lé f n

gb d e n . o n t n m wo n e me w re b i mél kan, wo n so wo n se wo n b kan n (Awe , 2005:113).

The Federal government apprehended Jér mù Awolo l . He was accused of treasonable felony and was incarcerated for a while. They also apprehended some of his supporters and imprisoned them.

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The incarceration of Jèr mù Awolo l escalates the conflict among the political parties and their followers, and this led to seizure of power by the military bringing the first elected government in Nigeria‘s history to an abrupt end.

Awe satirises the political history of Nigeria in the novel re O n Kaka f , especially the one that involved Dr Nnamdi

Azikwe, Tàf wà Bàléwà and Chief b fe mi Aw lo wo . Awe

tries to portray the first democratic dispensation in Nigeia as one devoid of peace, unity and development because it was centred on ethnicity, marginalisation, domination and exploitation.

It is depicted that there is need to deconstruct ethnicity. The Yorùb , Igbo and Hausa groups should gloss over ethnicity and accept certain values that bind them together as a people with common destiny. Also, there is the need for national integration by resolving the problems of injustice and marginalization of some groups within the Nigeria polity. If this is done, without any ethnic group feeling justifiably agrieved, maybe there would be peace and unity in Nigeria.

Portrayal of Leadership in the Selected Prose Narrative Leadership and misgovernnace in Nigeria and Africa has been the focus of scholars in the fields of Sociology, Political Science and Literary Studies. It applies to all categories of human collectivities, such as groups and organisations, both in the formal and informal settings. Leadership is important in development and problem-solving in any society. It requires qualities such as responsibility, accountability, transparency, responsiveness and standards to ensure good results. Oyebamiji (2012:61) asserts that ―Leadership is the act of implying a

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purposeful direction of the agreement to achieve desired and common goals, which will be to the benefit of the led and the leader. This implies that Olumese (1995:48) avers that ―a moral leader should have the ability to inspire others, must be willing to communicate honesty, and must have proven ability to tolerate criticism.‘

Igwe (2010:6) identifies the three key evils that have bedevilled Africa as poverty, massive state corruption and the unwilligness of African leaders to ensure good living standards for their citizens. In this case Kehinde (2008:38) also affirms that the failure in many African states were as a result of bad leadership. The novelists being part and parcel of the society also portrayed issues of leadership in their works. They portrayed the leaders in Nigeria, as one that lack vision; and this has had a negative effect on the citizens and the development of the nation.

In O mo Ol k n E sin, the leader subdues his subjects to untold hardship and treats citizens of lesser towns and villages as second-rate citizens. There is no freedom whatsoever for the

kè gùn people, but jày , the son of Ol kùn E sin convinced of the humiliating effect of political domination, resists servitude. His ideological position is shown in his utterance below:

Mo k r ra d n gb k n, n k s fe k a m a sin wo n ar kmo . K s e ni t s n wa n . N k s fe k e nike ni s n w , s gbo n k ye k wa n sin n (Faleti 1969:4)

I hate bondage and I don‘t subscribe to our servitude to k people any longer. Nobody is serving us. I don‘t wish anybody to serve us either, and so we too should not serve anyone.

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jày shows that it is irritating to be slaves to some so-called leaders and he retorts:

A s e e r k ni b b s ngb k s y n ni je b k b s y n, s mi n t mi. O lo run d wa b kan n ni. K w pé k a m a s e e r e n kan (Faleti 1969:6)

Shall we be slaves for ever? Or are you not tired of servitude? If you are not tired of it, as for me I am fed up. God created us equally, He does not task us to be slaves to some other people.

jày rebuffs servitude and calls for emancipation from the domination and exploitation of Ol mok . jày was arrested and imprisoned for revolting against undue subjection of his community and people to slavery in k . F lét as a novelist tries to portray Nigerian leaders as cheats, despots and people that lack political will, integrity and skilfulness to improve the quality of lives of the people. Their lust for materialsim, transient and ephemeral comfort of life transcend selfless and dedicated service to humanity; this has badly affected the development of Nigeria as a nation. What we can further infer from O mo Ol kun E sin is that African political leaders especially Nigerian leaders, lack direction and are insensitive to the plight of the citizens.

O l b mt n portrays the Nigerian leaders as individuals who threaten and intimidate those that they consider to be threats to their government. The author portrays a scene of misuse of power when the leader of the rulling party, N n low , threatens Mot t n the opposition party with illegal arrest and detention. Below is an excerpt.

Gb l h n y t S l mo n so j l k ti Lawe l y , la i b

ara wo n so o , on k l k k pinnu l ti l n le n tor pé wo n r

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i pé S l mo n ti mura t n l ti to gbogbo o n t b mo l ti fi pa Adé le nu mo . N Ow dé ti agb gb re wo n mo S l mo n , k s ibi t bur j f n un l ti s e s e ni

t b b j , k n oj n r r . (Ol bimtan 1973:79)

S l mo nù‘s comments create fear in lùk and Lawe ‘s heart without discussing with each other, they both stop talking because they observed that S l mo nù is ready to do everything to silence Adé. In Ow dé and its environs they know S l mo nù, he can go to any lengths to fight whoever he wishes. He doesn‘t have compassion for anybody.

We can deduce from the above excerpt that African leaders place more value on capturing political power for themselves and grow increasingly fearful about what seems to them to be grave consequence of losing it to their rivals in the competition for control of state power. Therefore, Nigeria as a nation needs collective survival in every aspect of its national life so as to move beyond political and ethnic sentiments that frequently undermine human survival.

Also, O l bimt n portrays Nigerian leaders as corrupt and those

that marginalize their subjects. Lawe an indigene of Ow dé

discovers that out of the eight key positions given out to the people by their leaders, his people are not considered. He became furious and felt that his people are being marginalised. He therefore uses his charm, ( s j ), to influence the appoint- ment of two out of the eight Chairmen from his own town, Ow dé.

s e o jo t ol r jo ba b wo n o ba so ro w r gan-an ni o fi

té lé or ko wo n t E gbe N n low fe fi s ip al ga gb mo ibi-is e jo ba. Me jo ni wo n n y n m r n- n l ti Awe ra, méj l ti murin ti o kan s wa l ti l o ba Od r y . (O l b mt n 1993:110).

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It was the day the president gave a motivational talk to the kings that he endorsed the names of those that N n low party intended to appoint as chairmen of board of government parastatals. They were eight in number: five people from Awe ra, two from murin, one came from King d r yà town.

The corrupt nature of the leader makes him to marginalise the other people who are aggrieved about the appointment of the Chairmen, and this leads to conflict that claims life and property in Ow dé town. Eventually, the military seizes power from the civilian for peace to reign.

Or lawe d g n depicts the poltiical conflict that existed between the Social Democratic Party (SDP); and National Republic Convention (NRC) in Nigeria in the Third Republic. The amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates without considering their histories and cultures has caused a lot of harm. The Hausa Fulani believe not only that they are more in population, but also that they are lagging behind the Igbo and Yorùb in terms of educational development and commerce. Thus, they do everything possible to control the political machinery and determine who rules the nation (Oyeshile, 2005:14). The Igbo, on their part, believe that; the Nigeria- Biafra Civil War brought untold hardship on their kinsmen and that most parts of the Eastern region are underdeveloped. The Yorùb believe that the federation has not been fair to them in the allocation of federal resources and that the federal character principle works against their interest because many of their qualified hands are not promoted in their working places. It is therefore obvious that the 1914 amalgamation brings tension and discord to Nigeria instead of development.

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Débo Awe also depicts Nigeria‘s leaders as corrupt in re O nKaka f . When Jèr mù Awolo l becomes the opposition leader, he chooses ‗Layo dé to be his representative at jo r . L yo dé‘s reversal of some finances and Awolo là‘s reaction to them is in the excerpt below:

Mo gbo pé o gbé wo n gbése kan t pa wo n o mo e gbe kan l ra. o n ni ko bo k bo t a f n wo n kan l r agolo m l k kan t wo lé f n jo ba k wo lé mo . S é to ni e e ni. Mo tie ti fe w d lo wo y n n pa re . N gb t mo ye wé ko s le n w , aw r ju ni or ko t mo r . ko s le n yé mi. (Awe 2005:95)

I heard that you took certain steps that affected some party members. They said one kobo that will normally give some people per a tin of milk and that enter into government‘s treasury has stopped. Is this true?. Yes. I want to inquire from you about it. When I checked the record, the name that I saw is fake. I don‘t understand it.

The leader of K redé‘s party was not satisfied with his explanation on the reason why he stopped the illegal transaction. He responded further:

N kan t d a lo d n w L yo dé o k n m ni ak nte le gan- an. S é o mo pé e n b se n d pe pe gbo do je n d pe pe . L r agolo m l k kan, ti l r p n ko lé kan t jo ba p nle igb d d b r ni a t yo ko bo ko o kan f n m m , ge ge b y w al s e p nle Igb d d (Awe 2005:96).

You have not done well L yo dé. You have wronged me greatly. Do you know that a labourer deserves his wages. On a tin of milk, and a roofing sheet that the government of Igbo dudu state bought we normally give Mama a kobo each, as the wife of the leader of Igbo dudu State

We can infer from the above excerpt that Awolo l the leader of K redé‘s party is not happy about the step that L yo dé has 456

taken because his wife is directly involved. This portrayed Awolo l as a corrupt and selfish leader. Though Layode apologises, together with other notable people in K redé party, Awolo l is not appeased, and therefore asks L yo dé to resign his appointment.

It is obvious that leaders in Nigeria make secret illegal profits out of their offices. For most Nigerians, politics and political power are all about national cake. Politics of ideology has not always been an issue among many Nigerian leaders. What matters to them most is the national cake; no wonder they approach the national treasury with an eye for loot. In this case, corruption, as well as greed on the part of the Nigerian leaders is the genesis of diverse conflicts in Nigeria.

Social mobilization and emancipation of the masses is highly necessary to get a lease from the unhealthy situation which the leadership in Nigeria has plunged the whole nation into. Electorates should also choose their leaders wisely based on merits and not on mere sentiments so that credible leaders can emerge. The elected leaders must also be accountable and should promote a sense of community. Philosophical attitude should be promoted among Nigerians for the nation to thrive and for the much-desired but eluding sustainable development.

Conclusion

This study examines the portrayal of ethnicity and leadership by Yorùb novelists. The character, quality and nature of Nigerian leaders have been characterised by poor visionary leaders whose interests in state power centre on self-centredness. The novelists reveal that colonialism brought into Nigeria new political and economic relationship that has led to a new class of

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haves and have-nots. The clarion call now is for a change and for a challenge to our downtrodden citizens to reject servitude and domination of the leaders. After all they have nothing to lose but their chains. The novelists reflect and refract that there is a pressing need for national integration by resolving the problems of injustice and marginalization of some groups within the Nigeria polity. The novelists present Nigerian leaders as those that lack focus and are insensitive to the plight of their citizens. It is apt to conclude that citizens should participate actively in electing competent leaders that will promote communalism, philosophical attitude and unity, all of which are a sine qua non for collective survival and sustainable development.

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COLLECTIVE MEMORY IN LAGOS AND IJEBU ODE’S PRECOLONIAL MONARCHICAL INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

ILUPEJU Taariqa-R. Adepeju

Department of History and

Strategic Studies University of Lagos

Ijebu and Lagos are two ancient Yoruba towns with rich oral traditions. The tradition of origin is a component of oral traditions that define how a group of people came into existence. The oral traditions of Ijebu and Lagos were collated by chroniclers {non-professional historians) to prevent them from going into oblivion. The chroniclers documented these traditions and published them as town histories. This paper studies these traditions of origin as documented by chroniclers. It examines how the narratives of origin have shaped the identity of Lagos and Ijebu people by utilising the collective memory theory to explore the framework within which pre- colonial Ijebu and Lagos functioned. The article also studies how collective remembrance appears in shared history to show the survival of traditions of origin. Elements of disparity are examined where there are multiple accounts of origin. Where such narratives appear, the first and second settlers’ narratives are analysed to establish the character of changes in the political institution. One must understand that the people’s acceptance and rejection of these traditions determine the legitimacy of their government. It is against this background that the paper examines if the political institutions influence the distortions and inventions traditions of origin in Lagos and Ijebu.

Keywords: Traditions of Origin, Collective Memory, Chronicles and Identity.

Résumé

Ijebu et Lagos sont deux anciennes villes yorubas avec de riches traditions orales. La tradition d‘origine est une composante des traditions orales qui définissent la façon dont un groupe de personnes a vu le jour. Les traditions orales d‘Ijebu et de Lagos ont été rassemblées par des chroniqueurs

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(historiens non professionnels) pour les empêcher d‘entrer dans l‘oubli. Les chroniqueurs documentent ces traditions et les publient comme histoires de ville. Cet article étudie ces traditions d‘origine telles que documentées par les chroniqueurs. Il examine comment les récits d‘origine ont façonné l‘identité des ressortissants de Lagos et d‘ Ijebu en utilisant la théorie de la mémoire collective pour explorer le cadre dans lequel Ijebu et Lagos précoloniaux fonctionnaient. L‘article étudie également comment le souvenir collectif apparaît dans l‘histoire commune pour montrer la survie des traditions d‘origine. Des éléments de disparité sont examinés lorsqu‘il existe de multiples récits d‘origine. Lorsque de tels récits apparaissent, les récits des premiers et deuxièmes colons sont analysés pour établir le caractère des changements dans l‘institution politique. Il faut comprendre que l‘acceptation et le rejet de ces traditions déterminent la légitimité de leur gouvernement. C‘est dans ce contexte que le document examine si les institutions politiques influencent les distorsions et les inventions des traditions d‘origine à Lagos et à Ijebu.

Mots-clés: traditions d‘origine, mémoire collective, chroniques et identité.

Introduction

The focus of this paper is to examine the extent to which state institutions influence identity creation in Lagos and Ijebu. Like other Yoruba nations, the Ijebu and Lagos established them. the head of the Ijebu monarchy is the Awujale while Lagos uses the oba (or Eleko). The establishments of these monarchies are immortalized in the traditions of origin of the nations (Ijebu and Lagos). These traditions of origin help to explain the existence of these two nations as well as their socio-cultural activities. In Ijebu we have three sets of migration accounts that explain how the ijebu people arrive at their location. While Lagos has two accounts, one of migration and the other of a conquered nation, the first settlers’ narrative does not necessarily explain the origin of the monarchy but rather of its people and chiefs as in Lagos. The traditions of origin define the formation of the existing

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political institutions and the various stages of cultural integration. Many of the traditions of origin are focused on the justification of the ruling monarchy and the roots of their poli- tical power and influences.

At the centre of traditions of origin in Yorubaland appears a legend whose appearance signifies the socio-political being of the state. Jan Vansina is of the view that ―legends of origin resemble palimpsests composed of layers of meaning reflecting earlier times and circumstances. His beliefs that if the development of these layers of legend can be chronicled convincingly‖, then the historical evolution of cultural norms and practices can be portrayedⁱ. Although one should not be eager to attribute a precise date to events that happened in preliterate times historians should create accounts of antecedent and causality. Traditional Yoruba political institutions justify their existence in their social institutions; it is the responsibility of the social institutions to preserve oral traditions in their performances and rituals. Every social group has its own identity accompanied by a past embodied in a collective performance that justifies its existence. H. Moniot believes that without a social face, traditions would no longer be transmitted and will lose their functions, the reason for existence and abandoned by the people they represent.ⁱⁱ However, in dealings with the social institutions and their relationship with the established political institutions, the historian must be cognizant of the concept of time, space, historical truth and causality. The information gotten must be studied in their relationship with time, human activities and social-political significance.

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Evaluating the Collective Memory in the Traditions of Origin of Ijebu and Lagos

The traditions of origin are remembered through inherited cultural practices, narratives in books, words of the elders or historians. The memory that shaped the identity of a group emerges in both the cultural practices and the political institutions of that group. In every Yoruba nation the central government influence the custodians of the past on which aspects of history to be reebered or forgotten. The various versions of the traditions of origin can be a form of selective remembering and forgetting that people construct out of the randomness and fragmentation of the most distant past to explain their present ordeal or placement within a group. Memory appears as a metaphor for mediating past events.ⁱⁱⁱ The elements of the precolonial past are found in symbolic or mnemonic cultural practices, such as festivals, sacred texts, rituals, monuments, tombs, rivers, trees and other objects in the landscape that commemorate the past and national pride. The history of the people are represented in the monuments and symbols in the landscape which the ancestor left for the purpose commemorating major events of the past. The museums, and archives whih appeared later were also constructed to serve as retrieval spots to memorialise the past.

The introduction of written cuture in the nineteenth century evolutionalised historical production from its oral and performatory status to a more rigid form of documentation. The early local intelligentsia embarked on the mission to save their town history from oblivion. The also collected oral triditions and transcribed them to writing to commemorate the identity of Ijebu and Lagos. The early town histories are called chronicles because of their unprofessional style ofdocumenting history.

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The narratives contained in chronicles about the pre-colonial past are not based on direct experiences of the chroniclers but on traditions collected from the elders or those that the group consider as the custodians of the past.

The early history of the Ijebu people is both obscure and uncertain. It is obscure in that until barely two hundred years ago nothing was written of our history. Even now we have to rely on traditions handed down from one generation to another. This way of recording history, as we all realise, is not entirely reliable. The memory may fail: political exigencies may force on the historian the necessity for hiding the truth or remoulding the whole story. All these factors must be carefully weighed together when reading through the early history of our land^iv

It is not possible to compare records on Ijebu history with those of other countries in this way. The king’s bards of ancient times, the royal historians, are no more. The men who profess to know anything of Ijebu history were hampered by the political happenings of the period.^v However, through the study of many publications, the historian can to an extent sift out the elements of biases. Ijebu and Lagos are two Yoruba nations, like other Yoruba groups there are versions of their traditions that link them to Ile-Ife, the Yoruba ancestral home. The tradition of origin appear in two folds, first is the first settler‘s narratives and the other is the narrative that legitimizes the occupying hegemons or current monarchical system.

Ijebu Traditions of Origin

Yoruba myths of origin, current among all groups, relate the story of the origin of humankind and the Yoruba race at Ile Ife. The same myths also provide an explanation for the political organisation of the Yoruba in separate kingdoms.‖^vi

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Tradition has it that Ijebu Ode was founded by three waves of migration led by three men. Olu Iwa appears to be the first to arrive with his followers. The second to arrive was Arisu known as Oba Ijasi, who also came with his followers. And the last migrants came with Ogoborogan known as Obanta.^vii According to Epega who states that Osin, Olode at Ijebu founded Ijebu Ode with their followers. He believes that their sojourn began in Ijebu Ijesa contrary to other tradition that linked the migration to Ile Ife.^viii Adebonojo, on the other hand, traced the migration to Wadai.^ix

I.B. Odukoya believes that OluIwa was a prince of Ife who lived around the time of Sango‘s rulership in Oyo, a prince of Ile Ife set out from his home with a mission to establish his own rule in the new land. At that time in Ile Ife, the masculine urge for conquest and the quest to rule a great kingdom were the prerogatives of royal princes. The ethos demanded that any prince with bravery and skills who could not rule in Ile Ife search for another territory to establish their kingdom. After he must have found a sojourn to establish his kingdom, the prince must return to Ife for his coronation rites. It is from Ife that the prince would receive his crown of leadership. The traditional crowns of the new Yoruba towns are decorated with beads but no veils which distinguished them from the traditional seven Yoruba ancient kingdoms. Oluiwa established the kingdom of Ijebu and had a short reign. Odukoya reports that OluIwa only had a daughter who could not rule after her father‘s demise because of her gender. Gborowo, daughter of OluIwa left Ijebu and arrived at Ife where she married the Ooni and bore him many children. Ogborogan who was the second son of Ooni could not inherit the throne. So his mother informed him of his grandfather‘s kingdom and urged him to reclaim it. Ogborogan

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son of OOni descendant of Oduduwa and grandson of OluIwa set out of Ife to search for his grandfather‘s kingdom. He visited Orishanla, whose priestess; Idako consulted the oracle on his behalf. The divination directed Ogborogan to seek ―the land of the red earth where there was hardness in the water‖ and she then handed him a cockerel. Ogborogan was told to observe the manners in the cockerel crows at dawn; he was told that on the day he reaches his grandfather‘s kingdom the cockerel would crow seven times. Upon his departure, Gborowo gave her son a mystical wooden axe and the Ooni gave Ogborogan a beaded crown. Ogborogan was accompanied by his friend Osolanke. The two friends left Ife along with some followers who wished to relocate with them.

Adebonojo on the other hand, reports that OluIwa left Eygpt along with Oduduwa because of unrest. When they got to Ile Ife, Oduduwa decided to settle there but Oluiwa chose to continue the journey to establish his kingdom. OluIwa was accompanied by Ajebu, Olode, Arisu, Mowo and others; however, before he embarked on the journey, he married his daughter Gborowo to Oduduwa. After spending a long period on the road they got to a place (Ijebu-Ode) and met a man called Lageru and a vast pool of water (lagoon). OluIwa consulted Lageru because he noticed that Lageru appeared to be a diviner. Lageru consulted Ifa and carried out the necessary ritual. Lageru placed a mat on the massive water and a piece of land emerged. So, OluIwa settled there which is now called Ijebu Ode.

The OluIwa tradition of origin is forged along with a mystical being narrative, it is obscure in that there is no clear evidence of where OluIwa migrated from. However, is being been linked to

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Ogborogan again when OluIwa is said to be his grandfather. What is certain is that Ogborogan gained his legitimacy through his mother who is said to be OluIwa‘s daughter and there is no alternate version to this. The tenure of OluIwa‘s reign in Ijebu Ode is unknown; his type of political administration is also unknown. What is known is that there was an Oba Ijasi who ruled as Osi in Ijebu Ode. The reign of the Osi in Ijebuland is also linked to the foundation of Imusin and Ijebu Igbo. From all traditions, it is evidence that the current Awujale of Ijebu can trace his ascendency to Obanta which means it is the Obanta regime that produced the political structure that is still practised in Ijebuland.

Migration stories commemorate the history and geography of a large population. The hierarchy of roads, trees, rivers, mountains which the ancestor passed by creates sacred landscapes for commemorations. These sacred routes also include places of heroic deeds such as where an individual sacrificed himself to enable smooth passage or an individual kills a wild animal that could have to maim the migrants. At the end of the journey, the reason for settlement and how settlement occurred is commemorated. Settlement in a new place can appear as a group of migrants locating a deserted abode and if they met people how did they get to accept them. Settlements can appear as a result of easy assimilation or conflict. While tradition presents OluIwa as a first settler his grandson appears at the third wave of migration. Obanta’s link to OluIwa and the fact Osi had no heir made it easy for him to be accepted by the people. Obanta established the Awujale dynasty in the pre- colonial and the dynasty still survived to date. The various disparaging account which is not conflicting if carefully studied

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only give credit to the various stages of migration into Ijebu Ode and its environs.

According to Tunde Oduwobi ―In Ijebu lexicon, the term osi, like olu, is normally used as a synonym for the king which implies royalty‖ and that the word owa connotes (state) authority, the refrain of “Owa Osi” (literally, “royal authority”) which accompanies the coronation of a newly-elected Awujale signifies the conferment of state power (owa) on the new king (osi). He also claims that the term Olode and Ajebu which appear in many Ijebu traditions means ―owner of the town and owner of Ijebu‖ respectively.^x If his assertion is correct it means that before the arrival of Obanta (Ogborogan) the previous rulers of Ijebu were known by other titles. However, the term Awujale has continued to be used to refer to rulers of Ijebu Ode since the reign of Obanta. It is very difficult to know the exact numbers of those that ruled before Obanta because many rulers of Ijebu Ode are remembered with their oriki inagije (personal praise names) which serves as a historical cliché to summarise an important happening their reigns including Obanta himself.

The Tradition of Origin of Lagos

Unlike Ijebu, there is a common tradition of identity in Lagos; the early settlers of Lagos trace their origin to the Olofin of Iddo and Ogunfunminire of Isheri. Ogunfunminire an Ife hunter led a group of Awori that settled at Isheri. He was later given the title Olofin Awogunjoye. The ongoing war in the region during that era made the Awori move from Ebute Metta to Iddo Island where they built a more secured place against external attack. Traditions have it that Olofin divided the land among his many sons (Idejo chiefs). There is no controversy about the origin of Lagos in Iddo and the movement of the central power From Iddo to Eko. However, there is no way to track the chronology

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IUCDS/CIUED-Journal of Research Findings/Revue des Résultats de Recherche, Vol.3, N°2, Sept, 2020

of the olofin that ruled the area. The tenure of the olofin’s is vague in mysticism.

Lagos known in precolonial times as Eko was said to be the creation of one of the Olofin’s sons Aromire. Aromire moved from Ido to establish a pepper farm at the present site of Lagos. The Pepper farm was called Oko Idunganran (Idunganran is an Ijebu word for pepper as against the common Yoruba word ata). The palace of the Oba of Eko is called Iga Idunganran (the Pepper place or palace). The transition of power from the Olofin children to the current ruling institution in Eko can be traced to the Benin Conquest of the region during the reign of Olofin at Ido. The present ruling house traces its ancestry to Ashipa. No tradition clearly defines who Ashipa is whether he was a relative of the Olofin or a warlord from Benin.

Tradition traces the Benin Conquest of Lagos to two events; the first was the case of a woman named Aina who was robbed of her goat by the residents of the Olofin’s palace. The case was reported to the Olofin but Aina did not get justice. She went further to seek redress from the Oba Benin who in return invaded Ido on two failed attempts due to the geographical location of Ido and the war strategy of the Olofin. On the third attempt, Benin not only conquered Ido but captured the Olofin. The Olofin’s capture was also linked to his wife Ajaye. Ajaye is said to have revealed the secret of her husband‘s mystical power to the conquering forces from Benin. The Olofin after spending some days at the dungeon of the Oba Benin and showing no resilence was freed for his bravery. The Olofin returned to Ido but the territory was already under Benin‘s supervision. The Oba of Benin sent three men to act as viceroys in Ido, they were Asheru, Akigdagba and Olorungbiwa. After Asheru‘s death, his

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body was returned to Benin by Asipa. The Oba of Benin then honoured Asipa with the rulership of Ido. Asipa‘s body was also buried in Benin and so was the body of the succeeding rulers that ruled Lagos before Akinsemoyin. On this note, one can deduct that Asipa is of Benin origin since the ritual of his burial follows that of Benin traditions. Asipa was succeeded by his son Ado. His descendant ruled by demanding tributes from Olofin’s children and the tributes were sent to Benin.^xi

The traditions acknowledge the reign of Olofin and the Benin conquest of Lagos. Dioka affirms that the Benin conquest and occupation of Lagos had an immense impact on the dynastic development and culture of Lagos. He believes that a conquering army can settle among a conquered nation but that does not make them the founder of that nation. Nevertheless, by being absorbed by their host community they become acculturated into the new society. He also notes the impact of migration into Lagos and the effects on the traditional institutions in Lagos.^xii Kristin Mann also traces the origin of Lagos to Ife through Ogunfunminire. However, Like Dioka, she believes that the conquering Benin incorporated indigenous Lagos into her political administration and that it was the assimilation of the conqueror by the conquered that formed the Idejo chiefs. Nevertheless, for the Idejo to gain legitimacy they forged a shared Awori origin giving them the first settlers‘ status. The internal intrigues in Benin along with the rise of Oyo and Aja empires weakened Benin‘s hold on Lagos. The Benin influence on Lagos led to the eradication of the title Olofin and its replacement with oba.^xiii

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Genealogical Study of Lagos and Ijebu King Lists

Studies have shown that oral societies tend to eliminate ‘useless’ ancestors, that is to say, those who did not leave descendants, or those whose reigns were too short for meaningful impact. ^xiv This explains why the genealogical depth of each group in a given society tends to remain constant. Only ‘useful’ ancestors are used to explain the present. The identity of an ethnic group is often expressed by a single ancestor placed at the beginning of a genealogy. This is the ‘first man’, a founding hero or a mystical being. An individual appears as the first ‘useful’ ancestor, his presence in history or tradition helps to explain the existence of this group of people. The mention of Olofin Ogunfunminire to the transition to the Asipa dynasty shows that there is a distortion in the genealogy of the Olofin‘s dynasty in Lagos. The same can be said in the gap created between the reign of OluIwa and Obanta, not much is said about the political activities of those that ruled before Obanta and there is no clear number to the tenure of their reign. There was no reason why the list of the succession of the kings should not be correct, or why their genealogy should be doubtful, except that it was deliberately forgotten to give more meaning to the new dynasty which replaced them; and took over the genealogy of its predecessor to legitimize itself.^xv

Commemoration appears sometimes in form of historical clichés or what Yoruba calls oriki Inagije (personal eulogies) words like ‗Fidipote‘ (to use a bottom to quench an uprising). Such accolade could only pick on a historian curiosity which uprising but if the question is not asked the event will not be narrated. A whole number of kings in Ijebu Ode have their oriki inagije, it is left to the historian to ask the question of why such words are used to summarize a king‘s reign. In Lagos on the

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other hand we have some rulers commemorated with places such as Olofin Ajaiye. The Olofin Ajaiye is the olofin that drowned at the Ajaiye Abys. We also have such historic nicknames that have become titles such as Aromire (He who is friendly with water). These historic clichés have become a very important part of commemoration and have helped keep the precolonial Lagos and Ijebu Past alive.

	Odutola‟s List^xvi	Adebonojo^xvii	Olusola^xviii
S/N	Awujale	Awujale	Awujale
1	Obanta	Obanta 1430	Olu-Iwa
2	Moniguwa	Obaguru 1445	Oshi
3	Oba Gura	Munigbuwa 1455	Obanta
4	Oba Loja	Obanla 1460	Monigbuwa
5	Oba Lorin	Obaloja 1470	Oba Guru
6	Oba Apasa	Obalofin 1482	Oba Loja
7	Oba Ganju	Apasa 1496	Oba Lofin
8	Oba Tomumogboye	Obagunju 1508	Oba Apasa
9	Oba Ofiran	Tewogboye 1516	Oba Ofiran
10	Obaruwa (Arunwa)	Obaruwa 1520	Obaruwa
11	Oba Adisa	Ofiran 1529	Obaganju
12	Otutubiosun	Lapeguwa 1532	Tolumogboye
13	Aluwakale	Owa Otutubiosun 1537	Lapengbuwa
14	Oba-Jewo	Ajuwakale 1540	Otutu
15	Elewuileke	Gbadisa 1552	Ajuwakale
16	Ore-Yeye	Obajewo 1561	Adisa
17	Olumodan	Obalewuileke 1576	Jewo
18	Olutoyese	Obalumodan Elewu Ileke 1590	Elewu-Ileke
19	Olumodan	Mase 1620	Ajana
20	Jadiara	Olotuneso 1625	Olutunoyese
21	Mase	Mola 1635	Olumodan
22	Sapo-Oku	Ajana 1642	Mase
23	Atonajoye	Ore (Female) 1644	Ore-Yeye (Female)

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24	Omila	Obaguwaja 1654	Agunwaja
25	Ajana	Jadiara 1660	Jadiyara
26	Mekun	Sapokun 1675	Asapo-Okun
27	Gbogidi	Folajoye 1687	Afolajoye
28	Ore Geje	Mekun 1692	Omila
29	Oluyuruwa	Gbogidi 1702	Mekun
30	Olope	Ojigi Moyegeso 1710	Gbogidi
31	Ayora	Obaliyewe 1725	Ore-Geje (Female)
32	Rubakoye	Olope Oluyoruwa 1730	Oluyoruwa
33	Sopenuwa	Ojora	Muwagona
34	Orodudujoye	Fesogboye	Olope
35	Boyejo	Geje Female 1749	Ayora
36	Oniyewe	Saponuwa Rubakoya 1750	Fesojoye
37	Moyegeso	Orodudujoye 1755	Rubakoye (Female)
38	Atewogbuwa	Tewogbuwa 1758	Sapen-Nuwa
39	Gbelegbuwa 1760	Gbeleguwa 1760	Oniyewe
40	Fusegbunwa 1790	Fusengbuwa 1790	Boyejo
41	Setejoye 1819	Setejoye 1820	Moyegeso
42	Fugbajoye- Anikilaya 1830	Anikinaiya 1821	Orodudu-Joye
43	Ademuyewo- Fidipote 1852	Fidipote 1850	Atewogbuwa
44	Adesimbo-Tunwase 1886	Tuwase 1886	Gbelegbuwa I (1760)
45	Adeleke-Ogbagba 1895	Ogbagba I 1895	Fusengbuwa (1790)
46			Setejoye (1819)
47			Figbajoye Anikilaya (1820)
48			Ademuyewo Fidipote (1852)
49			Adesimbo

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			Tunwase (Aboki) (1886)
50			Adeleke Ogbagba (1895)

There are three lists provided above but Adebonojo‘s version has a more detailed chronology in terms of assigning dates to names. Tunde Oduwobi explains that there is a discrepancy with Adebonojo‘s list because he exempts Boyejo who died shortly after he assumed office. The omission of Boyejo in Adebonojo‘s king list corroborate Vansina assertion that kings with very short tenure with no significant contribution were easily lost in traditions. He, however, authenticates Adebonojo‘s regnal lengths which he believed were drawn from received traditions, have been adopted from the reign of Tewogbuwa upwards. Although, the dating associated with Gbelegbuwa represents a discrepancy resulting from an acceptance of Payne‘s records.^xix However, Payne‘s list is not included because he only mentioned a few kings in his timeline. The framework of a dynastic chronology has been established which assigns the period of the primal dynastic ancestor (by name Obanta) to the second half of the fifteenth century. The evidence corroborates the earliest documented reference to the Ijebu Kingdom by Pacheco Pereira in his Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis to the late-fifteenth-century. ^xx Beyond that, the Benin traditions associate the advent of the Ijebu dynastic ancestor with Oba Ozolua‘s reign.^xxi

A reoccurring visitation to the king list during succession disputes is only to legitimize claims to the throne by various contenders. For example in Ijebu, the abidigba (born on the throne) paradigm in which kings were chosen was distorted

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when the chosen king was not an abidagba, again such distortion appears when there are ‗credible‘ no male successor from the ruling houses whose turn it was to produce the ruler. Also in Lagos, there was a distortion in the selection process when Akinsemoyin bypassed his direct descendant to make his sister‘s son crown prince. When distortion happens as a result of discrepancies in available king lists, memory operates as a resource and products of perpetual stages of influx. ^xxii The historian studies the omission and inclusion by comparing available data to give a plausible explanation and interpretation like Tunde Oduwobi has done in his ―The Age and Kings of the Ijebu Kingdom‖^xxiii

Lagos (King List)

S/N	Takiu‟s Lagos Kings	ashinro‟s Lagos Kings
1	Ado (1630-1669)	Ado (1690-1720)
2	Gabaro (1669-1704)	Gabaro (1720-1730)
3	–	– ELETU KEKERE (1730-1734)
4	Akinsemoyin ( 1704-1749)	Akisemoyin (1734 -1779)
5	Ologun Kutere (1749-1775)	Ologun Kutere (1780-1806)
6	Adele Ajosun (1775-1780)	Adele Ajosun (1806-1813)
7	Oshilokun (1780-1819)	Eshilokun/Ashilokun (1813-1829)
8	Idewu Ojulari (1819-1821)	Idewu Ojulari (1830-1834)
9	Oluwole (1834-1841)	Oluwole (1836-1841)

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10	Akitoye (1841-1845)	Akitoye (1841-1845)
11	Kosoko (1845-1851)	Kosoko (1845-1851)
12	Akitoye (1851-1853)	Akitoye (1851-1853)

The dates provided by Takiu Folami are said to have been copied from J.B. Losi, History of Lagos.^xxiv Losi is said to have gotten his King‘s list from Payne. It is hard to ascertain the true date of king Ado‘s reign because the dates were based on intelligent guesses. The problem of chronology in the Lagos dynasty continued with the discrepancy dating of Oba Akisemoyin. Takiu dates Akisemoyin reign to 1704; however, contemporary evidence suggests that Akinsemoyin reigned around 1760. The year 1760 became acceptable because of sources gotten from Lagos relations with her neighbours and the presence of European traders in Lagos during Akinsemoyin‘s reign. Nevertheless, Fashinro ascribes 1734 to Akisemoyin‘s, whereas Fashinro did not state his source of date but from his king list his date for Ologun Kutere‘s reign correlates with P.A. Talbot‘s king list.^xxv Moreover, Bosede Sanwo also produced the same king list as Fasinro‘s as an original king list of Lagos.^xxvi From 1841, the dates were precise because of the availability of written records, which continued until the date.

The number of kings differs because Folami did not record Eletu Kekere‘s reign. Tradition has it that his tenure was too short and bore little or no impact. The shortness of his tenure is reported to be in months though Fashinro gives him years. However, he left no heir, which explains why the title reverted to his uncle Akinsemoyin.

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The king list of reigning dynasty is usually well known as many dates back to as far as five hundred years. The king list is known because the legitimacy of the ruling dynasty relies on it. The anomalous interruption of the old order creates a form of social amnesia that makes it easy for the conquerors to establish their political system. The chronology of the reign of the first settler‘s is distorted and deliberately forgotten in that not only the political system changes but the new dynasty invents their social institutions. The politics of the new regime is to control knowledge of the past.

Conclusion

The evidence for this study is gotten from the available written documents. The bulk of the sources are works of town historians who took it upon themselves to save oral traditions from going to oblivion by documenting them. Their production has made it easy to access these data. Where there are variants that show that written documents are not as static as they imply. The study of the various texts especially those written by indigenes of the state shows how the people want or choose to remember their most distant part.

The traditions that describe the origin, the essence of a people and their reasons for existence in each society is different and the criteria used are arbitrary and limited. Although Ijebu and Lagos are two Yoruba subgroups, even though they are neighbours, one must research their similarities in the context of the people and culture they represent as two separate entities. From this article, the author have provided evidence that disparities in oral tradition occur when there are political tussle. The struggle for power often yield to distortion and invention of

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traditions as each party tries to proves it legitimacy to the throne and extent of its geographical jurisdiction.

Collectivity in the acceptance of oral tradition explains the extent in which the populace accept and identify with such traditions. Collectivity is seen in the social practices used to commemorate oral traditions mainly in the coronation rituals and the national festivals. The citations of kinglist also helps to invoke rememberance and to incite in the consciously of the people the autithentication of such tradition. In every oradition tradition, there is an individual who the people identify with as their founding father. So the authentication of any oral tradition must be woven around this founding father and his descendants.

The ‘culture-hero’ who appears as a mystical figure, warrior or just leaders are used to explain the cosmological setting, the strength of the political institution and the administration‘s period of prosperity in the society. The founders of the reigning monarchy such as Obanta in Ijebu and Ado Keme in Lagos are also well memorialised. The two kingdoms have some irregularities in their succession system because some kings were exiled and for some other reasons the reigning patriarchy was disrupted due to internal strives. It is also a coincidence that two exile princes in the history of Lagos and Ijebu also found sojourn in Epe. However, there are dissimilarities in that Ijebu have produced more kings than Lagos. Ijebu also produced two female kings and Lagos has none. The culture heroes are usually well commemorated in epic narrative and serve as the collective memory engraved in oral tradition in Lagos and Ijebu which can also be found in the pioneering chronicles of both Yoruba towns.

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Endnotes

Jan Vansina, ―Comment: Traditions of Genesis‘,

Journal of African History 15,

no.2 (1974): 317-322; also in Listening to the African past, ed. in Joseph C. Miller, 82.

Ibid.
Jay Winter, ―Sites of Memory‖ in Susannah Radstone and Bill Schwarz, Memory: Histories, Theories and Debates, (New York, Fordham University Press, 2010), 313.
T. O. Ogunkoya, The Early History of Ijebu‖ Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol. 1, no. 1 (1956): 48-58.
Ibid. preface.
M. R. Doortmont, ―Recapturing the Past, Samuel Johnson and the construction of Yoruba History‖ (PhD Thesis, Rotterdam: Eramus University, 1994), 6.
Moses Botu Okubote, Iwe Ikekuru ti Itan Ijebu (Ibadan: Ola-Olu Stores, 1937), 1.
D. Onadele Epega, Iwe Itan Ijebu ati Awon Ilu Miran (A History of Ijebu and Some Other Towns) (Lagos: Ife-Olu Printing Works, 1934),
B. O. Adebonojo, Itan Ido Ijebu (A History of Ijebu) (Lagos: John West, 1990),
O. T. Oduwobi, ―Oral Historical Traditions and Political Integration in Ijebu‖ History in Africa 27, (2000): 249-259.
John B. Losi, History of Lagos (Lagos: The African Education Press, 1914), 1-10.
L.C. Dioka, Lagos and Its Environs (Lagos, First Academic, 2001)

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Kristin Mann, Slavery and the Birth of an African City: Lagos, 1760-1900 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007).
Jan Vansina, Oral Tradition as History (Oxford: James Currey Ltd, 1997), 158.
Ibid.
Odubanjo Odutola, Iwe Kini Ilosiwaju Eko Itan Ijebu (A Study of Ijebu History, Book I) (Ijebu-Ode: Eruobodo Press, 1946), 5-6.
Adebonojo, Itan Ido Ijebu, 20-21.
Olusola, Ancient Ijebu-Ode (Ibadan: Abiodun Printing Works, 1968), 63–66.
O. T. Oduwobi ―The Age and Kings of the Ijebu Kingdom‖ History and Diplomacy: Essays in Honour of Ade Adefuye, edited by R.T Akinyele (New Jersey: Goldline and Jacobs Publishing, 2018), 56-60.
This is the now well-known work of Pacheco Pereira. See J.D. Fage, ―A Commentary on Duarte Pacheco Pereira‘s Account of the Lower Guinea Coastlands in His Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis, and some other Early Accounts,‖ History in Africa (HA) 7 (1980): 65; Robin Law, ―Early European Sources Relating to the Kingdom of Ijebu (1500–1700): A Critical Survey,‖ HA 13 (1986): 246.
Armaury Talbot, The Peoples of Southern Nigeria, 218; as a warrior-king, J.U. Egharevba, Some Tribal Gods of Southern Nigeria (Benin: Author, 1951), 12.
Susan A. Crane, ―Memory, Distortion, and History in the Museum‖ History and Theory 36, no. 4, (1997): 44-63.
O.T. Oduwobi ―The Age and Kings of the Ijebu Kingdom‖ 56-60.

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J. B. Losi, History of Lagos (1914 reprinted, Lagos: Lagos African Education Press, 1967), 13.
P. A. Talbot, ―The Peoples of Southern Nigeria: A Sketch of their History, Ethnology and Languages‖ Historical Notes, Volume 1(London: Fran Cass & Co. Ltd, 1969).
Bosede Sanwo, A History of Lagos, (Lagos: Julia Virgo Enterprises, 2010), 43.

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