Deploying Orature to Meet the Challenges of Unemployment in Nigeria
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International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies ISSN: 2202-9478 www.ijels.aiac.org.au Deploying Orature to Meet the Challenges of Unemployment in Nigeria Opoola Bolanle Tajudeen1*, Kadiri Razak Aare2 1Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria 2Federal College of Education (special) Oyo, Nigeria Corresponding author: Opoola Bolanle Tajudeen, E-mail: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Nigeria in the last three decades has had to grapple with the perennial problem of unemployment. Received: March 10, 2019 This is not uncommon among developing nations considering the legacy bequeathed by the Accepted: April 27, 2019 colonial masters. The widespread exploitation and misadventure in the African continent, Published: April 30, 2019 defective political structure and the political elites that continued the exploitative tendencies of Volume: 7 Issue: 2 their masters remain a sad commentary. It is on this premise that this study intends to interrogate the problem of unemployment from within. The literary theory is pluriversalism while the teaching learning theory adopted was the behaviouralist approach. A noteworthy realisation Conflicts of interest: None is that Orature is the verbal artistic product that encapsulates the sensibility and knowledge Funding: None production of the African world view that shows that native intelligence can positively contribute to national development. The study concludes that Orature, if properly deployed could be a plausible solution to unemployment particularly among the Yoruba youths in Nigeria. Key words: Unemployment, Pluriversalism, Orature, Native, Intelligence INTRODUCTION youths in order to save many African languages from go- Yoruba is the language of the Yoruba people who are predom- ing to extinction because or the influence of western educa- inantly settled in south- western Nigeria, the nation which tion. The reactions of students to traditional oral literature has most populated black people in the world. It is one of the (orature) as a course of study shows their lack of interest in three major languages in the midst of Nigerians’ four hun- African traditions and culture due to the powerful influence dred languages. Yoruba is used as medium of instruction at of western education and its accompanied perceived civiliza- Yoruba native speaking schools and study as a school subject tion. For example, their responses to questions that demand up to University degree level. It is a language with codified fascinating answers on their family verbal art reflecting their orthography. The Yorubas are also found in large number in socio-cultural milieu such as: eulogies, (oriki), wedding other nations of the world like the Republic of Benin, Brazil, chants (ekun(iyawo), god of thunder chants (Sango pipe), Gabon and United States of America. The Yoruba culture in- poem (ewi), hunting chants (Ijala), masquerade chants(esa clude traditional mode of greetings, governance before col- egungun) etc. prominent among the Yoruba speech commu- onization, wedding, naming and religious ways of life with nity were shabbily done. The students often come up with series of oral traditional renditions (orature). In the Yoru- such flimsy excuses like “I am sorry sir, we are Christians in ba culture, there are gods and goddesses who are believed our family, so we do notattend such programmes’”. Another to be the disciples of the main god known as ‘Olodumare’. student oncee said “Islam has taken over such practices in The gods and goddesses in Yoruba land have different oral my family. In fact, the masquerade costumes and her para- praising poems, songs and chants which in the context of this phernalia in our family compound have been burnt and de- article are classified as oral literature and orature. In addi- stroyed.’ Other students described performances in Yoruba tion, Yoruba have family praise poetry and other traditional oral literature as fetish exercises that may lead one to hell in renditions for merriments and festive gatherings. This study the heaven. These responses and actions are glairing signs centres on training the Yoruba youths on the utilization of that Yoruba oral literature and verbal arts are gradually dying their numerous family traditional verbal arts as source of live- if the new generation of the Yoruba people are not encour- lihood particularly in the recent period of unemployment. age to keep them alive. In Nigeria, in the recent time, issue of youth unemployment has been considered as veritable source of youth restiveness and display of unruly beaviours, Statement of Problem and Background of the Study hooliganism, killing, kidnapping and political thuggery. There is an undoubted need to encourage the promotion Many of the hawkers on the Nigerian streets are Nigerian of African oral literature particularly among the African youths with Bachelor Degrees in Arts, Sciences and Social Published by Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD. Copyright (c) the author(s). This is an open access article under CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.7n.2p.144 Deploying Orature to Meet the Challenges of Unemployment in Nigeria 145 sciences making their living on running after passengers sisted in enlisting their interest and cooperation throughout to hawk their commodities daily because they cannot get the exercise. This approach was informed by the behaviorist employed or even been empowered to be on their own. Ac- assertion as claimed by Strinivsan that: cording to one of them, he makes about one thousand naira “Leaning is a complex stimulus which Skinner referred (less than 4 USD) daily in this tedious attempt. Therefore, to as the three term contingency comprised of discriminative the need to encourage additional sources of self-employment stimuli” However, in this research, the choice of theoretical opportunity informed a study of this nature. Also, this study framework did not make us lose sight of Joseph Muleka’s stands out as another effort in the promotion and protection (2014) opinion on the challenges of choice of theories for of African and Yoruba traditional verbal arts through formal African oral literary works thus: training of Yoruba youths. “Owing to the centrality of the performer, in an African performance, choice of theory in respect of oral literature put the artist at the centre, because application of the Western Purpose of the Study theories to African oral literature becomes difficult because This research among others is aimed at training Yoruba most of such theories are not designed to cater for oral nature youths on the use of Yoruba orature as veritable source of of African literature”. The Social learning method of Albert employment in addition to their acquisition of Western edu- Bandura in which learners learn through each other was also cation at the Universities. The natural creativity in the youths adopted. This theory has often been called a bridge between were elicited through trial performances of students’ choice the Behaviorists and cognitive learning theory because it of their respective verbal acts. The use of electronic devic- encompasses attention, memory and motivation. Each stu- es such as android phones, video clips and recording of the dent’s presentation encouraged others such that more in- displayed verbal arts in the class was also to promote the terest in other verbal arts were developed by the students. students skills in modernisation of traditional performanc- Six class sessions of 22 undergraduate Yoruba youths of the es of Yoruba oral traditions and verbal renditions. The main Federal University Oye Ekiti, Nigeria were organized. Each purpose of this study is to prepare Yoruba youths to be en- student presented his/her community oral verbal arts. Wed- lightened on alternative means of getting self-employment ding chants, traditional drums and dance steps were prom- after university education through the acquisition of good inent among the presented orature. Observations and sug- performance skills in Yoruba verbal arts (orature). It is also gestions for improvement on each performance were made the intent of this research work to promote and protect Yoru- and students learned from each other as expected in Badura’s ba oral literature. behavioural principle of teaching and learning. The whole class was then constituted into performing group schedule to entertain guests at the University’s forthcoming convoca- Theoretical Frame work and Methodology tion and graduating ceremony. The students involved are all In securing a sound base for this study, the adopted theo- Yoruba natives and of between eighteen and twenty years of ries were pluriversalism and the behaviourist approaches age presently in the 300 level. to learning. While the pluriversalism theory was used in laying emphasis on evidences that confirm the world view on the prominent position of African oral literature and the Review of Literature contributions of African literary scholars in literary studies, The political situation in Nigeria like in most Third World the behaviourialist stimulus response aspect was favorably Countries that had once suffered colonialism cannot be left utilized as a base for teaching orature practically as means undiscussed in a study of this nature. For example, according of securing self-employment by the youths used for this re- to Oke et al (2008, p. 54), the colonial administrators real- search and others as it assisted students to learn from each ized there