DOCSLIB.ORG

Joseph Chimbuto- the Representation of Women in Nollywood Films

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Joseph Chimbuto- the Representation of Women in Nollywood Films DOCTORAL THESIS The representation of women in Nollywood films an investigation of its impact on audiences in Malawi Chimbuto, Joseph George Salijeni Award date: 2016 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 29. Sep. 2021 THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN NOLLYWOOD FILMS: AN INVESTIGATION OF ITS IMPACT ON AUDIENCES IN MALAWI by Joseph George Salijeni Chimbuto [BA, MA] A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD Department of Media, Culture and Languages University of Roehampton 2015 ABSTRACT Since its emergence two decades ago, the Nollywood film industry is fast becoming social, cultural and economic phenomenon among Malawian audiences. Every year, Nollywood actors visit Malawi and some Malawi print media have columns dedicated to Nollywood. According to unofficial statistics carried out by this study, nine out of every ten film enthusiasts in Malawi’s rural areas are Nollywood fanatics, and at least seven out of ten people in the urban areas frequently watch Nollywood films. The films are more popular than both Hollywood and Bollywood films. It could be argued that this popularity is due to the reason that the films are cheaper to buy. Another reason is that the proliferation of free-to-air satellite dishes has made these films easily accessible for the Malawian audience. Notwithstanding these perspectives, this study reveals that unprecedented appeal to Nigerian made films is first and foremost a result of cultural identity. The study, carried out among nine communities across Malawi represented by focus groups, demonstrates that viewers enjoy watching the cultural portrayals manifested in the films by the characters which, they feel, are similar to their own real life and experiences. Taking into account the widespread patronage of Nollywood films, it is safe to assume that these films are making an impact on the local audiences. Based on focus group discussions and analysis of the six case study films by 83 participants in selected areas across Malawi between 2012 and 2013, the study findings indicate that there is a problem of power relations in Malawian society based on gender and ii sex. Men have the upperhand in decision making, access to resources and education opportunities. The study reveals that emergence of the films in Malawi is offering another perspective of gender and social relations: the films’ portrayal of women shows that it is possible for them to have equal opportunities and power relations as their male counterparts. As the case study films were representative of Nollywood films owing to the fact that they represented women/gender and gender relations similary, this study therefore suggests that the films have a potential to bring about social change in Malawian communities. Through the responses of participating audiences that encompassed both men and women, the study reveals that the cinematic portrayals, especially those of female characters, have the potential to change the social perception of women and womanhood. The study uses continentalisation ( as adapted in Omoniyi, 2014b) as a conceptual framework in interpreting and analysing audiences’ responses to female representations in Nollywood films. The study observes that both Nigerian (as depicted by the film characters) and Malawian audiences share common cultural aspects that are predominantly African. The study regards Nollywood as a vehicle of intra-continental cultural flow. For this reason, the study makes an attempt to explore the extent to which Nollywood could be effective in facilitating gender notions that are identical across African societies. The study claims that despite variations in certain elements, culturally, there are more commonalities than differences among Africans. Malawian audiences and in iii particular, female audiences could get an inspiration from the portrayals that would advance their cause in society. Arguably, the portrayals of militancy and some heroism in some female characters could go a long way to inspire the female audiences and instill confidence in them. Thus, exposure to the films for a long period could improve Malawians’ perception of women or womanhood. This thesis therefore argues that Nollywood is a vehicle for the flow of these engendered notions of power relations across the continent. Thus, these engendered notions should be identified as African approaches to gender, and with their emphasis on balanced power relations between male and female members of communities, they have the ability to/ they have a potential to deconstruct social gendered female stereotypes. This study therefore claims that Nollywood films in general offer positive, empowering representation of African women. Nollywood studies are a rather young research field, and the representation of women in those films has been poorly-studied area so far, with gender relations being largely ignored by scholars. The fact that this is the first study done on the reception of Nollywood in Malawi makes it arguably a unique and valuable contribution to knowledge. Keywords: Nollywood, female representation, continentalisation, Pan-Africanism, audiences, gender relations iv v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................ ii Table of contents ......................................................................................................... vi Dedication ................................................................................................................. xiv Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... xv PART I CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 2 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................... 2 Research Questions .................................................................................................................. 5 Aim and Objectives ................................................................................................................. 7 Significance of the Study ......................................................................................................... 8 Relevance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 9 Films and Potential for Social Change................................................................................... 11 Contested Concept of African Gender ................................................................................... 12 The Methodological Approach…………………………………………………...16 Organisation of the Focus Group Discussions ....................................................................... 16 Synopsis of the Case Study Films .......................................................................................... 17 vi Organisation of the thesis………………………………………………………….26 CHAPTER TWO 2.0 CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND SECTION ONE Background to the Nigerian Film Industry ............................................................................ 34 Nigeria’s Socio-Economic and Political Context .................................................................. 34 Gender Issues ......................................................................................................................... 38 Regional Integration .............................................................................................................. 40 The History of the film industry in Nigeria ........................................................................... 41 SECTION TWO The Nollywood Film Industry and its Development ............................................................. 45 The Question of Genre in Nollywood Films .......................................................................... 51 The Relevance of Nollywood to Popular Culture .................................................................. 58 SECTION THREE Development of Film Culture in Malawi ............................................................................... 60 Malawi’s Political, Cultural and Socio-Economic Context ................................................... 60 Gender Relations.................................................................................................................... 64 Regional Integration .............................................................................................................. 66 Background to Cinema/ Film Watching in Malawi ............................................................... 66 Television
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2013'S Biggest Winner a PASSION for FASHION ONLINE MOVIE
    Nolly Silver Screen ISSUE 01 FEB 2014 O.C. UKEJE 2013’s Biggest Winner A PASSION FOR FASHION Actors turned Designers ONLINE MOVIE HOW IT ALL STARTED STREAMING The History of Discover the best Nollywood 6 websites for Nollywood movies Editor’s NotE the amount of work that needed to be done. A lot of writing, editing, design- ing, following people up and yes, also elcome to our first edition W psyching myself. In the end, I knew that of Nolly Silver Screen magazine. The we had no choice but to just go for it idea of starting this publication came and put in nothing but our very best. while discussing with Adeniyi Olu- tayo of Nultan Nigeria Limited, own- To all the people who believed in this ers of tvNolly. He encouraged me to project and have lent their support go for it despite his fears of a lack of and time, I say a big THANK YOU. To audience; ‘who would read it?’ He had O.C. Ukeje, our cover star who I had the asked. This made me think and do pleasure of talking to quite a few times. some research. I found out that peo- He taught me something important: ple want content to entertain, inform when it is time, everything will just fall and help them connect with the stars. in place. And that is the Nolly Silver Nolly Silver Screen magazine aims to Screen story. Maybe it is time, maybe be that go-to guide for the industry. everything is falling into place, at least you have the magazine in front of you.
    [Show full text]
  • BIA Builds Low-Cost Schools in Lagos - Nigeria Daily News 6/01/2016, 12:02 PM
    BIA builds low-cost schools in Lagos - Nigeria Daily News 6/01/2016, 12:02 PM (( (( USA News UK News Muhammadu Buhari Boko Haram Gossip Soccer Middle East Comments # 1608 $ 113 Trending Humor Women Travel Tech Economy LifeStyle Recipes Odd Type & hit enter ! French Market Inn $74.35 Covered By Expedia's Best Price Guarantee Expedia.com Dalung, Onazi mourn" NFF BREAKING Head of Protocol,NEWS Ibrahim Abubakar | $2.1bn arms deal: EFCC not after us – NBC | WOW! Miss Nigeria 2015 Made Chief In Her Hometown | LASU Gets New Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olarenwaju Fagbohun ) Gunmen kidnap wife of Super 2016: States increase Photo: See Pastor Touching A Alleged N300m fraud: EFCC Lassa fever: Lagos lawmaker Share/Tsaragi Clash: Ahmed Eagles midfielder expenditure by N700bn Lady’s ”Thing” During Prayer docks ex-PDP boss, Bello, son urges residents to be cautious sets up Enquiry Commission HOMEmore NEWS ' POLITICSmore FOOTBALL ' JOKESmore ENTERTAINMENT moreVIDEOS ' MUSIC ' morePHOTOS MOVIES ' moreFAMOUS NIGERIANS HOME | NEWS | Sections Fake Vice Pres. Yemi Osinbajo Linkedin President Buhari Recovers $7billion NNPC New � � Music Account Emerges to Scam People (Images) Stolen Fund From JV Partners Sports BIA builds low-cost schools in Lagos SAFIYA MOHAMMED 07/09/2015 19:41:00 90 COMMENTS 0 Politics Facebook Twitter Google+ Email View Comments Videos A non profit organisation, Bridge International Academies, has launched two low-cost schools in the Socialize Movies Ijegun and Ikorodu areas of Lagos. According to the Academies Manager, Bridge International Academies, Ijegun, Mr. Raymond Anyasi, # $ + International the idea to establish low-cost schools in Nigeria was to improve access to quality education.
    [Show full text]
  • Suffragette Study Guide
    © ATOM 2015 A STUDY GUIDE BY KATY MARRINER http://www.metromagazine.com.au ISBN: 978-1-74295-622-0 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au Running time: 106 minutes » SUFFRAGETTE Suffragette (2015) is a feature film directed by Sarah Gavron. The film provides a fictional account of a group of East London women who realised that polite, law-abiding protests were not going to get them very far in the battle for voting rights in early 20th century Britain. click on arrow hyperlink CONTENTS click on arrow hyperlink click on arrow hyperlink 3 CURRICULUM LINKS 19 8. Never surrender click on arrow hyperlink 3 STORY 20 9. Dreams 6 THE SUFFRAGETTE MOVEMENT 21 EXTENDED RESPONSE TOPICS 8 CHARACTERS 21 The Australian Suffragette Movement 10 ANALYSING KEY SEQUENCES 23 Gender justice 10 1. Votes for women 23 Inspiring women 11 2. Under surveillance 23 Social change SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2015 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION 12 3. Giving testimony 23 Suffragette online 14 4. They lied to us 24 ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS 15 5. Mrs Pankhurst 25 APPENDIX 1 17 6. ‘I am a suffragette after all.’ 26 APPENDIX 2 18 7. Nothing left to lose 2 » CURRICULUM LINKS Suffragette is suitable viewing for students in Years 9 – 12. The film can be used as a resource in English, Civics and Citizenship, History, Media, Politics and Sociology. Links can also be made to the Australian Curriculum general capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability and Ethical Understanding. Teachers should consult the Australian Curriculum online at http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ and curriculum outlines relevant to these studies in their state or territory.
    [Show full text]
  • Makers: Women in Hollywood
    WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD OVERVIEW: MAKERS: Women In Hollywood showcases the women of showbiz, from the earliest pioneers to present-day power players, as they influence the creation of one of the country’s biggest commodities: entertainment. In the silent movie era of Hollywood, women wrote, directed and produced, plus there were over twenty independent film companies run by women. That changed when Hollywood became a profitable industry. The absence of women behind the camera affected the women who appeared in front of the lens. Because men controlled the content, they created female characters based on classic archetypes: the good girl and the fallen woman, the virgin and the whore. The women’s movement helped loosen some barriers in Hollywood. A few women, like 20th century Fox President Sherry Lansing, were able to rise to the top. Especially in television, where the financial stakes were lower and advertisers eager to court female viewers, strong female characters began to emerge. Premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime allowed edgy shows like Sex in the City and Girls , which dealt frankly with sex from a woman’s perspective, to thrive. One way women were able to gain clout was to use their stardom to become producers, like Jane Fonda, who had a breakout hit when she produced 9 to 5 . But despite the fact that 9 to 5 was a smash hit that appealed to broad audiences, it was still viewed as a “chick flick”. In Hollywood, movies like Bridesmaids and The Hunger Games , with strong female characters at their center and strong women behind the scenes, have indisputably proven that women centered content can be big at the box office.
    [Show full text]
  • The Onward Migration of Nigerians in Europe
    A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Imagined Futures: The Onward Migration of Nigerians in Europe Jill Ahrens Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in Geography School of Global Studies University of Sussex June 2017 ii Summary of Thesis Dynamic mobility and migration patterns, including forced migration, have always formed part of the complex social, cultural and economic relationships between Africa and Europe. Like other Africans, Nigerian migrants live in countless locations around the world and are connected to their homeland through contingent transnational networks. This thesis explores the onward migration of Nigerian migrants towards, within and beyond Europe and analyses the motivations, patterns and outcomes of their multiple movements. Six cities in Germany, the UK and Spain are the main research locations for the fieldwork that took place over 17 months. The three countries are important destinations for Nigerian migrants in Europe and also the principal destinations of intra-European onward migrants. The cities included in this study are the capital cities Berlin, London and Madrid, as well as Cologne, Manchester and Málaga.
    [Show full text]
  • Nollywood Interventions in Niger Delta Oil Conflicts: a Study of Jeta Amata's Black November
    NOLLYWOOD INTERVENTIONS IN NIGER DELTA OIL CONFLICTS: A STUDY OF JETA AMATA'S BLACK NOVEMBER Emmanuel Onyekachukwu Ebekue* & Michael Chidubem Nwoye* http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/og.v15i1.6 Abstract The discovery of oil in Oloibiri town in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria in 1956 has brought with it myriads of problems to the region. There has been lingering crisis in the region which has led to repeated loss of lives and properties. There have been countless efforts at finding a permanent solution to the conflict. However, there seems to be a renewed agitation and restiveness resulting from the stoppage of the amnesty program that was instituted by the late President YarAdua’s federal government. It is against this background that the researcher embarked on this work in order to critically x-ray Nollywood’s contribution to the peace effort with a special attention to JetaAmata’s Black November (2012). The researcher used the case study approach of the qualitative research method in analyzing his data. Findings from the research showed that any solution to the lingering crisis aimed at long term must adopt a populist approach. Key Words: Nollywood, Niger Delta, Oil, Conflict, Intervention 1.0 Introduction The importance of film in human society has been underscored by critics. However, the potential of the film medium are yet to be fully utilized for national uplift and human development. Many countries of the world with the United States of America (USA) and India at the vanguard have used the film medium to give their people a better life.
    [Show full text]
  • Florida Southern College Assessing the Vanishing Lesbian in Book-To
    Florida Southern College Assessing the Vanishing Lesbian in Book-to-Film Adaptations: A Critical Study of Rebecca, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Black Panther Felicia Coursen Thesis Advisor: Dr. Moffitt May 2, 2021 Coursen 2 A Framework for Understanding the Vanishing Lesbian Popular media consistently disregards lesbian voices and identities. The film industry, as a facet of popular media, often neglects to tell lesbian stories. When films do include lesbian characters, the depictions are often problematic and grounded in stereotypes. Literary critic and queer theorist Terry Castle argues the following in her book, The Apparitional Lesbian: Female Homosexuality and Modern Culture: “The lesbian remains a kind of ‘ghost effect’ in the cinema world of modern life: elusive, vaporous, difficult to spot – even when she is there, in plain view, mortal and magnificent, at the center of the screen. Some may even deny she exists at all” (2). Castle explains the “ghost effect” of lesbian characters in cinema, which is better identified as the process of lesbian erasure. Although the two terms are synonymous, “lesbian erasure” provides a more clear-cut verbalization of this process (i.e., there once were lesbian characters, but they are now erased). Lesbian erasure is a direct result of the following: (1) the absence of lesbian characters, (2) the inclusion of only one-dimensional/stereotyped lesbian representation, and/or (3) the use of subversion and subtextualization to hide lesbian characters from audiences. Book-to-film adaptations reveal the ghost effect most clearly. Lesbians in book-to-film adaptations are not only apparitional; they vanish right before the viewers’ eyes.
    [Show full text]
  • Inequality in 900 Popular Films: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBT, & Disability from 2007‐2016
    July 2017 INEQUALITY IN POPULAR FILMS MEDIA, DIVERSITY, & SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE USC ANNENBERG MDSCInitiative Facebook.com/MDSCInitiative THE NEEDLE IS NOT MOVING ON SCREEN FOR FEMALES IN FILM Prevalence of female speaking characters across 900 films, in percentages Percentage of 900 films with 32.8 32.8 Balanced Casts 12% 29.9 30.3 31.4 31.4 28.4 29.2 28.1 Ratio of males to females 2.3 : 1 Total number of ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ speaking characters 39,788 LEADING LADIES RARELY DRIVE THE ACTION IN FILM Of the 100 top films in 2016... And of those Leads and Co Leads*... Female actors were from underrepresented racial / ethnic groups Depicted a 3 Female Lead or (identical to 2015) Co Lead 34 Female actors were at least 45 years of age or older 8 (compared to 5 in 2015) 32 films depicted a female lead or co lead in 2015. *Excludes films w/ensemble casts GENDER & FILM GENRE: FUN AND FAST ARE NOT FEMALE ACTION ANDOR ANIMATION COMEDY ADVENTURE 40.8 36 36 30.7 30.8 23.3 23.4 20 20.9 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ % OF FEMALE SPEAKING % OF FEMALE SPEAKING % OF FEMALE SPEAKING CHARACTERS CHARACTERS CHARACTERS © DR. STACY L. SMITH GRAPHICS: PATRICIA LAPADULA PAGE THE SEXY STEREOTYPE PLAGUES SOME FEMALES IN FILM Top Films of 2016 13-20 yr old 25.9% 25.6% females are just as likely as 21-39 yr old females to be shown in sexy attire 10.7% 9.2% with some nudity, and 5.7% 3.2% MALES referenced as attractive. FEMALES SEXY ATTIRE SOME NUDITY ATTRACTIVE HOLLYWOOD IS STILL SO WHITE WHITE .% percentage of under- represented characters: 29.2% BLACK .% films have NO Black or African American speaking characters HISPANIC .% 25 OTHER % films have NO Latino speaking characters ASIAN .% 54 films have NO Asian speaking *The percentages of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Other characters characters have not changed since 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • GENRE: DOCUMENTARY / CULTURE / ARTS This Is Nollywood Tells the Story of the Nigerian Film
    THIS IS NOLLYWOOD (54' & 70') GENRE: DOCUMENTARY / CULTURE / ARTS This Is Nollywood tells the story of the Nigerian film industry—a revolution enabling Africans with few resources to tell African stories to African audiences. Despite all odds, Nigerian directors produce between 500 and 1,000 movies a year. The disks sell wildly all over the continent—Nollywood actors have become stars from Ghana to Zambia. We experience the world of Nollywood through acclaimed director Bond Emeruwa's quest to make a feature-length action film in just nine days. Armed only with a digital camera, two lights, and about $20,000, Bond faces challenges unimaginable in Hollywood and Bollywood. Electricity goes out. Street thugs demand extortion money. The lead actor doesn’t show. But, as Bond says, “In Nollywood we don’t count the walls. We learn how to climb them.” In Nigeria’s teeming capital of Lagos, we attend an audition where hundreds of hopeful actors vie for their chance in the limelight. We meet some of the industry’s founding fathers who tell us of their responsibility to educate their massive audiences: many of the films deal with AIDS, corruption, women’s rights, and other topics of concern to ordinary Africans. The impetus behind Nollywood is not purely commercial; the traditional role of storytelling is still alive and well — just different. Nollywood, Nigeria's booming film industry, is the world's third largest producer of feature films. Unlike Hollywood and Bollywood, however, Nollywood movies are made on shoe-string budgets of time and money. An average production takes just 10 days and costs approximately $15,000.
    [Show full text]
  • Reclaiming Women's Agency in Swedish Film History And
    chapter 1 Visible absence, invisible presence Feminist film history, the database, and the archive Eirik Frisvold Hanssen In this essay I aim to address a series of theoretical and methodological questions relating to current projects that disseminate film historical research focusing on women’s contributions, and in particular the role of the film archive in these efforts. Although the argument is of a general nature, it is nonetheless informed by specific circum- stances. The essay was written in conjunction with the National Library of Norway’s involvement in a specific project—the website, Nordic Women in Film, initiated by the Swedish Film Institute, and linked to the research project ‘Women’s Film History Network: Norden’ (2016–2017).1 In a newspaper commentary on the launch of the Norwegian content published on Nordic Women in Film in December 2017, film scholar Johanne Kielland Servoll described the website as a kind of ‘awareness project’ (erkjennelsesprosjekt) similar to the logic of counting within discourses on gender equality or the Bechdel–Wallace test, revealing how many—or how few—women who have worked behind the camera in Norwegian film history.2 At time of writing, the website includes biographies and filmographies relating to 295 Norwegian women working in the film industry, along with 45 in-depth articles and interviews covering a variety of Norwegian angles on historical periods, professions, and film genres. 33 locating women’s agency in the archive Contributing material to be published on the website entailed a number of choices and questions for the National Library of Norway, some of which I will examine more thoroughly in what follows.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nigerian Entertainment Industry (Nollywood) Culture and Society Being
    Sociology and Anthropology 6(8): 657-664, 2018 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/sa.2018.060804 The Nigerian Entertainment Industry (Nollywood) Culture and Society Being Yosi Apollos Maton Deputy Provost of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria, Nigeria The University of Jos, Nigeria Copyright©2018 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract The fight for independence was carried out 1 . Brief Historical Background and with a lot of zeal, which the populace embraced with high Geography of Nigerian Society and hopes that these ideologies and promises of our great nationalists would come to fruition within the shortest time Culture possible. Yet, times, opportunities and years have come Before the advent of colonialism what is known as and gone, still we have nothing or little to show, especially, st Nigeria today was not in existence, rather Kingdoms or in the 21 century scenario, where Africa dreams and empires that had existed as separate of entities were in hopes have been shattered. These ideologies seem existence. They had governmental structures of their own. unrealistic and the promises are not forth coming. It has These separate entities were later lumped together into one little to show except bad governance, crisis, violence, nation, therefore it became united nation at independence poverty, oppression, marginalization and the moral decay in 1960; but there was still need for nurturing’ and of our rich cultural values and societal structures. One is reinventing ways to build it’ because of its diversity [3].
    [Show full text]
  • Africa's Soft Power : Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies and Cultural Exports / Oluwaseun Tella
    “This seven-chapter book is a powerful testimonial to consummate African scholarship. Its analysis is rigorous, insightful, lucid and authoritative, providing fresh perspectives on selected uniquely African philosophies, and the potential­ ities, deployment and limitations of soft power in Africa’s international relations. The author rigorously Africanises the concept, broadening its analytic scope from its biased Western methodology, thus brilliantly fulfilling that great African pro­ verb made famous by the inimitable Chinua Achebe: ‘that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter’. This is truly an intellectual tour de force.” W. Alade Fawole, Professor of International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. “This book addresses an important tool in the arsenal of foreign policy from an African perspective. African states have significant soft power capacities, although soft power is not always appreciated as a lever of influence, or fully integrated into countries’ foreign policy strategies. Tella takes Nye’s original concept and Africanises it, discussing Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa via their respective philosophies of Pharaonism, Harambee, Omolúwàbí and Ubuntu. This study is a critical contribution to the literature on African foreign policies and how to use soft power to greater effect in building African agency on the global stage.” Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive, South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, South Africa. “Soft power is seldom associated with African states, given decades bedevilled by coup d’états, brazen dictatorships and misrule. This ground-breaking book is certainly a tour de force in conceptualising soft power in the African context.
    [Show full text]