A Qualitative Study of Nigerian Couples in The

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

A Qualitative Study of Nigerian Couples in The A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF NIGERIAN COUPLES IN THE UNITED STATES: EXAMINING EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY AND THE CONCEPT OF DIFFERENTIATION OF SELF A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Benson Okpara December, 2013 A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF NIGERIAN COUPLES IN THE UNITED STATES: EXAMINING EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY AND THE CONCEPT OF DIFFERENTIATION OF SELF Benson Okpara Dissertation Approved: Accepted: Advisor Department Chair Dr. Karin Jordan Dr. Karin Jordan Committee Member Interim Dean of the College Dr. Rebecca A. Boyle Dr. Susan G. Clark Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Cynthia A. Reynolds Dr. George R. Newkome Committee Member Date Dr. Suzanne MacDonald Committee Member Dr. John Queener ii ABSTRACT The purpose of the Study is to examine emotional reactivity of Nigeria couples in US in line with the concept of differentiation of self. This is very important because some Nigerian families’ emotional reactivity in the U.S. had caused numerous divorces and separations, as well as physical, emotional, and mental abuse of spouses and children. The main research question the researcher sets out to answer in the study is (a) what role does emotional reactivity play in the marital stability within the family system of Nigerian immigrants in the U.S.? The following sub-questions helped to answer the main research question. (i) What are the difficulties and consequent stressors? (ii) What is perceived as different from life in Nigeria? (iii) What is the nature of change and adaption to life in the U.S? (iv) What is the impact on marriage and family? Five Nigerian couples that are struggling to hold on to their marital union were used for the Study. A phenomenological research approach was used to understand the effects of their emotional reactivity on the stability of their marriages. This approach emphasizes the meaning participants derive from their life experience and validates their individual and social construction of reality Through the analysis of the couples’ interview the following themes emerged (a) Role Reversal/Adaptation (b) Financial stress (c) Lack of support network (d) Experience of Discrimination in places of work. The study also made the following iii findings that a good understanding of the Bowen differentiation of self (togetherness and individualism) will help Nigerian couples to master their emotional reactions in the face of stressful daily life in the US. Suggestions for future study in the area of the study and researcher’s personal recommendation were discussed iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the eternal memory of my beloved elder sister, Emilia Adanna Njoku, who was shot dead on 21st April 2010 the same day I submitted the IRB application for this research work. Also I dedicated this dissertation to the memory of my beloved parents, Chief Pius Okparaibeneme and Ezinne Alice Okparaibeneme, and finally to the memory of Gloria Uhlik v ACKNOWLEGEMENTS The long journey of completing this dissertation and the PhD program has been very challenging and daunting. I wouldn’t have finished it had it not been for the love and support of many wonderful people who encouraged and supported me. First I must acknowledge the tremendous contributions of my Advisor Dr. Patricia Parr, who mentored me during the earlier stages of my research but died before the research work was finished. I would also like to thank Dr. Karin Jordan and Dr. Suzanne MacDonald who helped me to finish the remaining chapters of my research work after the death of Dr. Patricia Parr. I am also thankful for the input of the other members of my dissertation committee – Dr. John Queener, Dr. Rebecca Boyle, Dr. Cynthia Reynolds. I would also like to thank my Bishop Most Rev Augustine Ukwuoma, the Catholic Bishop of Orlu, Nigeria for allowing me to finish this program and also I am thankful to his predecessor Bishop Gregory Ochiagha, The Bishop emeritus of the Catholic diocese of Orlu Nigeria who sent me for further studies in the US. My unreserved gratitude goes to my special friends, Dr. Ed and Mary Ann Cosentino and also Eleanor Campana. My special thanks go to Brenda Jones, Msgr. Bill Connell, the entire members of St Mary/St Benedict Parish Canton Ohio and Holy Family Parish Poland Ohio. Finally I am thankful to my family for their love and vi support, and to my numerous friends in Nigeria and in the U.S for their friendship, love and concern. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Nigeria and Its Demographics ......................................................................... 2 Brief Historical Perspective ............................................................................. 4 Nigerian Population the U.S ............................................................................ 6 Nigerian Immigration in the U.S ...................................................................... 8 General Concept Family and Culture ............................................................... 11 Bowen Theory of Differentiation .................................................................... 17 Significance of the Study ................................................................................. 18 Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................... 20 Research Question ............................................................................................ 21 Delimitation ...................................................................................................... 21 Author’s Statement ........................................................................................... 22 Summary .......................................................................................................... 24 II. REVIEW OF THE LITTERATURE .................................................................... 25 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 25 viii Murray Bowen (1913-1990) ............................................................................. 26 Bowen’s Theory ......................................................................................... 27 Major Concepts .......................................................................................... 29 Differentiation of Self ................................................................................ 34 Emotional Reactivity .................................................................................. 43 Nigerian Marital Law and Divorce ............................................................ 46 Shortcomings of Marital Law ..................................................................... 47 The Statutory Marital Law and Divorce ..................................................... 48 Catholic and Protestant Influences on Nigeria Statutory Marital Law and Divorce .................................................................................... 49 Nigerian Reactions to the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1970 ...................... 52 Nigerian Customary Law of Marriage and Divorce ................................... 53 Customary Marriage Celebration ............................................................... 54 Essential Requirements for Customary Marriage ....................................... 56 Islamic Marriage (nikah) and Divorce (talaa) ........................................... 59 Marriage in the U.S. ......................................................................................... 63 Challenges to Marriage in the U.S. ............................................................ 65 Sex as a National Obsession ....................................................................... 67 The Internet and Its Effects on Human Relationships ................................ 68 Changing Gender Roles and Power Issues in Marriage and Family .......... 69 Summary .......................................................................................................... 71 III. METHODS AND PROCEDURES ..................................................................... 73 Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................... 73 ix Research Question ............................................................................................ 73 Research Design ............................................................................................... 74 Participants Recruitment ............................................................................ 74 Study Participants ....................................................................................... 75 Data Collection ................................................................................................. 76 Initial Contact and Telephone Interview .................................................... 76 Demographic Questionnaire ....................................................................... 77 Interview Protocol .....................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • Read Ebook > Igbo Calendar from A.D. 0001 to A.D. 8064
    FD1KTHEPSGEH » eBook » Igbo Calendar from A.D. 0001 to A.D. 8064 Find Kindle IGBO CALENDAR FROM A.D. 0001 TO A.D. 8064 Xlibris, United States, 2010. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 229 x 152 mm. Language: English . Brand New Book ***** Print on Demand *****.The Igbo Calendar presents a comparative analysis of the Igbo calendar, Gregorian calendar, and other world calendars. It gives insight into the origin of Igbo calendar dealing with the origin of the four Igbo market days (EKE, ORIE, AFO, and NKWO). It portrays the calendar as 112 Reference Charts from AD 0001 to AD 8064 with each reference... Download PDF Igbo Calendar from A.D. 0001 to A.D. 8064 Authored by Hrh Eze Silver Ibenye-Ugbala Released at 2010 Filesize: 6.77 MB Reviews These types of pdf is the ideal book accessible. It can be loaded with wisdom and knowledge I realized this ebook from my dad and i recommended this pdf to learn. -- Miss Rosa K essler IV This book will not be simple to get going on reading but extremely exciting to read through. Yes, it can be play, still an interesting and amazing literature. I am very easily could possibly get a delight of reading a written book. -- Rene Olson TERMS | DMCA 3CYZB2CTLWFQ » Doc » Igbo Calendar from A.D. 0001 to A.D. 8064 Related Books 31 Moralistic Motivational Bedtime Short Stories for Kids: 1 Story Daily on Bedtime for 30 Days Which Are Full of Morals, Motivations Inspirations Learn em Good: Improve Your Child s Math Skills: Simple and Effective Ways to Become Your Child s Free Tutor Without Opening a Textbook How to Make a Free Website for Kids The Story of Patsy (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press) Homeschool Your Child for Free: More Than 1,400 Smart, Effective, and Practical Resources for Educating Your Family at Home.
    [Show full text]
  • Mathematics in African History and Cultures
    Paulus Gerdes & Ahmed Djebbar MATHEMATICS IN AFRICAN HISTORY AND CULTURES: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY African Mathematical Union Commission on the History of Mathematics in Africa (AMUCHMA) Mathematics in African History and Cultures Second edition, 2007 First edition: African Mathematical Union, Cape Town, South Africa, 2004 ISBN: 978-1-4303-1537-7 Published by Lulu. Copyright © 2007 by Paulus Gerdes & Ahmed Djebbar Authors Paulus Gerdes Research Centre for Mathematics, Culture and Education, C.P. 915, Maputo, Mozambique E-mail: [email protected] Ahmed Djebbar Département de mathématiques, Bt. M 2, Université de Lille 1, 59655 Villeneuve D’Asq Cedex, France E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Cover design inspired by a pattern on a mat woven in the 19th century by a Yombe woman from the Lower Congo area (Cf. GER-04b, p. 96). 2 Table of contents page Preface by the President of the African 7 Mathematical Union (Prof. Jan Persens) Introduction 9 Introduction to the new edition 14 Bibliography A 15 B 43 C 65 D 77 E 105 F 115 G 121 H 162 I 173 J 179 K 182 L 194 M 207 N 223 O 228 P 234 R 241 S 252 T 274 U 281 V 283 3 Mathematics in African History and Cultures page W 290 Y 296 Z 298 Appendices 1 On mathematicians of African descent / 307 Diaspora 2 Publications by Africans on the History of 313 Mathematics outside Africa (including reviews of these publications) 3 On Time-reckoning and Astronomy in 317 African History and Cultures 4 String figures in Africa 338 5 Examples of other Mathematical Books and 343
    [Show full text]
  • Igbo Language and Performance’
    2nd Annual Igbo Language Conference: Igbo Language and Performance This year’s conference will feature keynote addresses from: Amaka Igwe - Pioneer of modern Nigerian TV and Nollywood, whose productions include 'Rattle Snake', 'Violated', 'Checkmate' and 'Fuji’s House of Commotion'. Obi Emelonye - Nollywood director whose productions include 'Last Flight to Abuja' and 'Mirror Boy' Chika Unigwe - Author of the 2012 NLNG prize winning novel On Black Sisters' Street Dr Akin Oyètádé –Senior Lecturer in Yorùbá at SOAS Friday 5th April: Morning: Registration Welcome address from Dr Kwadwo Osei-Nyame, Jnr (SOAS) and Dr Martin Orwin (SOAS) Keynote: Dr Akin Oyètádé (SOAS) ‘Language Preservation through the Medium of Performance: the Case of Igbo’ Interactive session with Dr Nnamdi Ichongiri and Mr James Asoh who use drama and the AKAN’UHIE Board Game as tools for exploring and examining the complexities of the Igbo calendar Lunch Afternoon: Panel: Performativity and the Igbo Language Mrs Violet Ogochukwu Okoye (Federal Polytechnic, Oko) ‘Relevance of Language and Culture in Performance: The Igbo Experience’ Nkechi Okonkwo (Middlesex University) ‘Digesting Words and Meaning: Proverbs as Palm Oil for Problem solving’ Fr (Dr) Chikwendu Anyanwu (Umu Igbo Katolik Community) ‘Igbo Language and Performance’ Performance: Umuaka Igbo Taa, a children’s organisation based in Owerri, will perform Igbo Language songs, demonstrating how music is used as a tool to promote the Igbo Language. The performance is followed by a presentation by founder of Umuaka Igbo
    [Show full text]
  • Culture, Context and Mental Health of Somali Refugees
    Culture, context and mental health of Somali refugees A primer for staff working in mental health and psychosocial support programmes I © UNHCR, 2016. All rights reserved Reproduction and dissemination for educational or other non- commercial purposes is authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes, or translation for any purpose, is prohibited without the written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Public Health Section of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at [email protected] This document is commissioned by UNHCR and posted on the UNHCR website. However, the views expressed in this document are those of the authors and not necessarily those of UNHCR or other institutions that the authors serve. The editors and authors have taken all reasonable precautions to verify the information contained in this publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the material lies with the reader. In no event shall the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees be liable for damages arising from its use. Suggested citation: Cavallera, V, Reggi, M., Abdi, S., Jinnah, Z., Kivelenge, J., Warsame, A.M., Yusuf, A.M., Ventevogel, P. (2016). Culture, context and mental health of Somali refugees: a primer for staff working in mental health and psychosocial support programmes. Geneva, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Cover photo: Dollo Ado, South East Ethiopia / Refugees are waiting for non-food items like plastic sheets and jerry cans.
    [Show full text]
  • Re-Assessing Women's Relationship with the Eritrean Liberation Front
    Gender, Nationalism and Revolution: Re-Assessing Women’s Relationship with the Eritrean Liberation Front by Christine Mason Working Paper #274 December 2001 Abstract This paper is a re-assessment of the role of women in the Eritrean national liberation struggle. As such, it challenges the existing literature surrounding the topic and interrogates the emphasis placed upon women who fought physically in the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). The bulk of this research attempts to give voice to women who participated predominantly through non-military means in the predecessor to the EPLF, the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). Central to this research is the issue of why the role of female EPLF combatants is prioritized over female ELF non-combatants in existing literature and the growing nationalist mythologies of struggle, sacrifice and national and gender liberation. This paper concludes that the answers to such questions lie in the creation and re-creation of national narratives that exclude dissenting voices in order to preserve an artificial unity. As a result, it is both a denial of variegated female experience as well as an example of the totalitarian tendencies of national liberation ideology. About the Author Christine Mason (BA (Hons) LLB) lectures in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland and is completing her doctoral dissertation, Gender, Ethnicity and National Liberation Ideology in Eritrea, at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Her primary focus is gender-based research, from both a political and legal perspective. Several of her previous journal articles concern feminist legal issues in Australia, especially in relation to multiculturalism, as well as issues pertaining to gender, nationalism and development.
    [Show full text]
  • Omenala and Omenachukwu in Igbo World View: a Philosophical Equipoise
    OMENALA AND OMENACHUKWU IN IGBO WORLD VIEW: A PHILOSOPHICAL EQUIPOISE Jude I. Onebunne* Abstract Omenala and Omenachukwu are wings of basic and fundamental human trado-religious activities and interactions in Igbo society. Omenala as basic human culture can be defined as shared pattern of behaviour and interactions, cognitive constructions and affective understanding that are learnt through a process of inter and intra socialization. Omenachukwu translates essentially as Divine Culture and in a large sense, Christianity and by extension, inculturation. Omenala and Omenachukwu are basic human activities within human society in relation to a patterned way of life as well as to a being of a sort. In this paper, the researcher using the method of unaided critical analysis finds out that in Igbo Society, between omenala and omenachukwu is a vital activity seen in ‘ome’ and the conjunction ‘na’ relates the activity either to culture as expressed in the concept of ala and Chukwu as to a supreme being. Keywords: Omenala, Omenachukwu, Tradition, Religion, Culture, Socialization Introduction The Igbo is an ethnic group native to the present-day south- central and southeastern Nigeria. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River; an eastern (which is the larger of the two) and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are socially and culturally diverse. Igbo culture (Omenala) includes the customs, practices and traditions of the Igbo people. They have a dynamic and fascinating cultural heritage that says much about them. It Nnadiebube Journal of Philosophy, Vol.3(1), 2019 comprises archaic practices as well as new concepts added into the Igbo culture either by cultural evolution or by outside influence.
    [Show full text]
  • Permanence, Temporality and the Rhythms of Life : Exploring Significance of the Village Arena in Igbo Culture
    This is a repository copy of Permanence, Temporality and the Rhythms of Life : Exploring Significance of the Village Arena in Igbo Culture. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/142949/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Schofield, Arthur John orcid.org/0000-0001-6903-7395 and Ugwuanyi, John Kelechi (2018) Permanence, Temporality and the Rhythms of Life : Exploring Significance of the Village Arena in Igbo Culture. World Archaeology. pp. 7-22. ISSN 1470-1375 https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2018.1473164 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ 1 Permanence, Temporality and the Rhythms of Life: Exploring Significance of the Village Arena in Igbo Culture 1. John Kelechi Ugwuanyi (Corresponding author) ​ Department of Archaeology University of York King’s Manor York, YO1 7EP +447771725434 [email protected] Department of Archaeology and Tourism University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria [email protected] 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Ebook // Igbo Calendar from A.D. 0001 to A.D. 8064 > Download
    Igbo Calendar from A.D. 0001 to A.D. 8064 # PDF « DRD15YM7MX Igbo Calendar from A .D. 0001 to A .D. 8064 By Hrh Eze Silver Ibenye-Ugbala Xlibris, United States, 2010. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 229 x 152 mm. Language: English . Brand New Book ***** Print on Demand *****.The Igbo Calendar presents a comparative analysis of the Igbo calendar, Gregorian calendar, and other world calendars. It gives insight into the origin of Igbo calendar dealing with the origin of the four Igbo market days (EKE, ORIE, AFO, and NKWO). It portrays the calendar as 112 Reference Charts from AD 0001 to AD 8064 with each reference chart showing 72 related years with identical Igbo market days and Gregorian week days which co-jointly repeat every 112 years. It also gives guidance on how to read and use the calendar. The book pioneers a critical basis and guide for further research into the origin, nomenclature and applicability of the Igbo Calendar in contrast to the Gregorian calendar. It pioneers a critical basis and guide for further research into the origin, nomenclature and applicability of the Igbo Calendar in contrast to the Gregorian calendar. The book also contains the Map of Igboland, and two poems- The Last Words of Adam to Eve before partaking of the Forbidden Apple, and Eagle is King of the Birds, both written by the... READ ONLINE [ 9.65 MB ] Reviews This publication might be well worth a study, and much better than other. It is among the most awesome book i have got study. You may like the way the article writer publish this publication.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sacred Festival of Iri Ji Ohuru in Igboland, Nigeria UKACHUKWU CHRIS MANUS Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
    Nordic Journal of African Studies 16(2): 244–260 (2007) The Sacred Festival of Iri Ji Ohuru in Igboland, Nigeria UKACHUKWU CHRIS MANUS Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria ABSTRACT This article examines the religious significance of the New Yams Festival (Iri Ji Ohuru) among the Igbo of south-eastern Nigeria. Secondary data for the study was collected from ethnographical information on the origin of the custom by some well-known Igbologists. An analysis of a major extant etiological myth about the revelation of yams in Igboland is provided. A phenomenological description of the Emume (festival), the primary datum as it directly presented itself to my consciousness when I observed one such festival in my village of birth, Umueze, Uzoagba in the Ikedururu Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria, in 2004 is presented. Interview schedules with some elders and a ritual master of this kind of traditional custom was conducted in the village on 12 April 2004 and 1–7 February 2006. To anchor the findings on the place of yams on solid ethno-history, a brief sketch of the migrations of the Igbo people, their religion and the legend about their progenitor, Eri , is discussed. The aim is to provide the socio-religious background for understanding the divine origin and the sacred nature of yams in the traditional belief of the Igbo people. Popular views on the value of yams as principal staple in Igbo gastronomic life as attested in contemporary literary works are related. Matters of great interest to phenomenologists such as the descriptive account of the festival, its ritual acts, the oral nature of the incantations, and the age of the participants are discussed.
    [Show full text]
  • Deterritorializing the Future Heritage In, of and After the Anthropocene
    Deterritorializing the Future Heritage in, of and after the Anthropocene Edited by Rodney Harrison and Colin Sterling Deterritorializing the Future Critical Climate Change Series Editors: Tom Cohen and Claire Colebrook The era of climate change involves the mutation of sys- tems beyond 20th century anthropomorphic models and has stood, until recently, outside representation or address. Understood in a broad and critical sense, climate change concerns material agencies that impact on biomass and energy, erased borders and microbial invention, geological and nanographic time, and extinction events. The possibil- ity of extinction has always been a latent figure in textual production and archives; but the current sense of deple- tion, decay, mutation and exhaustion calls for new modes of address, new styles of publishing and authoring, and new formats and speeds of distribution. As the pressures and re- alignments of this re-arrangement occur, so must the critical languages and conceptual templates, political premises and definitions of ‘life.’ There is a particular need to publish in timely fashion experimental monographs that redefine the boundaries of disciplinary fields, rhetorical invasions, the interface of conceptual and scientific languages, and geo- morphic and geopolitical interventions. Critical Climate Change is oriented, in this general manner, toward the epis- temo-political mutations that correspond to the temporali- ties of terrestrial mutation. Deterritorializing the Future Heritage in, of and after the Anthropocene Edited by Rodney Harrison and Colin Sterling OPEN HUMANITIES PRESS London 2020 First edition published by Open Humanities Press 2020 Text © Contributors, 2020 Images © Contributors and copyright holders named in captions, 2020 Freely available online at: http://openhumanitiespress.org/books/titles/deterritorializing-the-future This is an open access book, licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution Share Alike license.
    [Show full text]
  • Shanti Morell-Hart
    Study of African and Australian Archaeoastronomy AUSTRALIA Eve Chase Freshman Monroe Project, Advisor: Shanti Morell-Hart Indigenous Australians are grouped into hundreds of tribes with different languages living in different regions. Folklore in regards to astronomy is equally diverse Africa consists of over a thousand different ethnic groups and tribes, each A common trend among the different Aboriginal groups is the concept of with varying astronomical views and practices. As it requires a significant Skyworld in which the sky is a different land inhabited by many people, amount of time, money, and effort to systematically analyze and record represented by stars. each groups’ astronomical views, a large amount of Africa’s astronomical knowledge is left undocumented. Aboriginal Astronomical Practices and Beliefs: • The Milky Way, seen as a band across the sky, has several different In the ancient Mali city of Timbuktu, thousands of manuscripts, mostly representations. Most commonly, it is considered to be a river, but it is from the 15th and 16th centuries, are stored in the city’s main library. Of also viewed as a tree or canoe. Some tribes view it as a separation these manuscripts, several are found to contain astronomical records and between two camps. The Milky Way is also considered to be inhabited information. One such manuscript contained information on using the by disembodied spirits. stars for navigation, observing the stars as a means to keep track of prayer • A shooting star foretold a relative’s death. times, and calendar determination based on astronomy. This article also • The Skyworld could be accessed by climbing a rope.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter One Introduction 1.1
    CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Backgroundof study Time is one of the age-long and central philosophical conceptsthat is analysed, critiqued and debatedbyphilosophers of all ages. As an indication to the centrality of time, Martin Heidegger writes; ―all ontology is rooted in the phenomenon of time correctly viewed and correctly explained.‖1 Henri Bergson likewise collaborates the above and opined that―philosophical questions are difficult because we do not think about real time.‖2This means that our day to day problems and difficulties will be reduced minimally if philosophers and the likes would conform to time.Time has a powerful and supreme influence in history through the efforts of men because through time their destinies are decided. According to Asukwo: All the resources committed to the mission of success, the mysterious hand of time is the shoulder to soothe the disheartened in moments of sorrow, the mysterious hand of time alone can lay on the heart to comfort the sorrowful of all medical aids and drugs administered to victims of injury, time is the master healer that treats the scar of every injury. When the oppressed cry out of justice, it is the judge of time that ultimately brings every offender to book. And when our consciousness has borne testimony of all these facts we cannot help but agree that the phenomenon of time is indeed supreme.3 In African ontology, the concept of time also has its overbearing influences.The relevavance of time permeates into all African worldview ranging from their culture, spiritual and economic life. This importance of time led Mbiti that ―in African worldview, time is the key to understanding the African ontology, their belief, practices, attitude and general way of life.‖4 1 This is not surprising while African book their appointments with the high noon, cockcrow, and sundown.
    [Show full text]