JOSUGA: JOS JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES
type: channel
description: Josuga: Jos Journal of Humanities is published by the Faculty of Arts, University of Jos, Nigeria. The journal is dedicated to the publication of original academic papers in the areas of English and literature, Theatre and Film Arts, Mass Communication, Archaeology, Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, History and International Studies, Foreign Languages, Religion and Philosophy, and Musicology. Research results are presented as fresh theories, hypotheses, and analyses of new ideas or discoveries. Extensions of existing theories and reviews of books of this nature are also covered within the standard range of this journal. The journal aims to place intellectuals on the global map. The Aim and Scope The aim of founding Josuga: Jos Journal of Humanities is to establish it as a world class academic journal with a global brand that thrives on standards, quality, and originality.
publisher: Faculty of Arts, University of Jos
language: en
publication name: JOSUGA: JOS JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES
issn: 3121-7702
items: GARRICK BRAIDE AND THE METAPHYSICS OF AFRICAN SYMBOLISM
items: A COMPARATIVE STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF D. H. LAWRENCE'S SONS AND LOVERS AND JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS
items: EVENTS MANAGEMENT FOR THE THEATRE ARTIST: AN EXAMPLE OF JOS METROPOLIS
items: CHRISTIAN ETHICS, BIOETHICS, AND THE PROBLEMS OF DESCRIPTION
items: THE ROLE OF NEW MEDIA IN YOUTHS' PROTESTS AND AGITATIONS: AN INTERROGATION OF CIVIC ACTIVISM IN #ENDSARS
items: BEYOND THE LEAF: A CROSS-LINGUISTIC PRAGMATIC STUDY OF AFRICAN MEDICINAL PLANT NAMING
items: A STUDY OF THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DEMANDS OF DIRECTING ON UNDERGRADUATE PLAY DIRECTORS
items: THE ACCIDENTAL NATURE OF YOUTUBE FOR FILM ARCHIVING IN 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA
items: SOCIAL INSTITUTION AND RELATIONSHIP IN LUKE 22:14-30: A SOCIAL INTERTEXTURE READING OF REMEMBRANCE MEALS AND EFFECTS ON HUMAN DIGNITY
items: CULTURAL COMMODIFICATION AND THE CRIPPLING NIGERIAN CULTURES
items: THE CHALLENGES TO DOMINANT NARRATIVES OF OUTCASTS IN NIGERIA: THE CASE OF AHMED YERIMA’S OTAELO
items: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPLEXITIES AND CUES IN NIGERIAN MULTICULTURAL CHURCH CONTEXTS
items: POLITICAL RESISTANCE AND HUMAN EXISTENCE IN POST-ELECTION NIGERIA: A PRAGMATIC STUDY OF DR. YUSUF DATTI BABA AHMED’S TELEVISED REJOINDER
items: THE JESUS OF THE JESUS’ OPPONENTS: PERSPECTIVES AND TENSIONS IN THE FIRST CENTURY
items: ETHICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON HUMAN EPISTEMIC EMPLOYMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING
items: DISPLACEMENT AND THE URBAN SPACE IN CONTEMPORARY FICTION
items: RACIAL MIXTURES AND DISLOCATION: RECONFIGURING FRAGMENTATION IN KIM SCOTT’S BENANG
items: BETWEEN FACT AND FORM: RETHINKING LANGUAGE AND STYLE IN NIGERIAN HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP
items: MIND STYLE AND COGNITIVE FRAMING IN ABUBAKAR ADAM IBRAHIM’S THE WHISPERING TREES
items: RADICAL FEMINISM AND EMASCULATED PATRIARCHY IN LOLA SHONEYIN’S THE SECRET LIVES OF BABA SEGI’S WIVES

GARRICK BRAIDE AND THE METAPHYSICS OF AFRICAN SYMBOLISM
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description: This study undertakes a philosophical exploration of Garrick Sokari Braide’s prophetic ministry through the lens of African metaphysics and symbolic representation. As a charismatic prophet and spiritual leader in early 20th-century Nigeria, Braide’s movement emerged as both a religious revival and a metaphysical protest against colonial and ecclesiastical dominations. Central to his ministry were symbols—ritual objects, healing acts, spiritual visions—that mediated divine presence and invoked African cosmological structures. This study interrogates how such symbols, grounded in indigenous metaphysical concepts like vital force, ancestral agency, and spiritual causality, served not only as instruments of communication but as ontological realities within African thought. By bridging Christian prophetic narratives with African semiotic systems, Braide reframed spiritual authority and revelation in ways that affirmed local epistemologies. Drawing from African philosophy, religious studies, and historical theology, this paper argues that Braide’s prophetic symbolism was not merely expressive but metaphysically constitutive redefining being, power, and divine presence in an African Christian worldview. In doing so, the work contributes to contemporary debates on religious hybridity, symbolic ontology, and the enduring resonance of African metaphysical imagination in shaping prophetic identity.
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creator: INNOCENT KARIBO
creator: SUNDAY DEEZIA BURABARI
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 303
ending page: 316

A COMPARATIVE STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF D. H. LAWRENCE'S SONS AND LOVERS AND JOSEPH CONRAD’S HEART OF DARKNESS
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description: This research makes a comparative stylistic analysis of two literary texts —Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and David Herbert Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers. The study describes lexical and grammatical categories in the texts. The research employs Leech and Short’s (2007) checklist of linguistic and stylistic categories. The analysis reveals that Conrad and Lawrence operate different Linguistic styles in their writing. In Sons and Lovers, Lawrence makes use of metaphoric language, dialects. narrative conjunction, a series of questions for stylistic effects, though each for a different purpose. Also, Lawrence makes a subtle and effective use of a complex range of vocabulary. while Conrad's prose is bespattered here and there with some foreign lexical items, which consciously or unconsciously add to the texture of his style, a close investigation shows the prominent place he occupies in the English linguistic and literary tradition. The three main formative linguistic elements of Conrad's prose are English, French, and Polish. the writer employs narrative conjunctions, a series of questions for stylistic effects, though each for a different purpose. Resources of language are an essential part of the meaning of the novel, making the interpretation of it more precise and leading to a better understanding of the text. KEYWORDS:
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creator: ABDURRAHMAN SULAIMAN
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 283
ending page: 302

EVENTS MANAGEMENT FOR THE THEATRE ARTIST: AN EXAMPLE OF JOS METROPOLIS
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description: In recent years, there has been a significant surge in the establishment of event centres and the demand for professional event managers. This growth is driven by increasing social interactions and technological advancements in today's world. Events serve as vital social activities that unite people across religions, cultures, and communities, encompassing a wide range of occasions such as birthday parties, political rallies, funeral ceremonies, inaugural lectures, sports events, family and class reunions, romantic dates, baby showers, housewarming ceremonies, and weddings. Given their significance, events have become an integral part of modern life. However, the fast-paced nature of contemporary urban living has made event management essential for seamlessly coordinating gatherings while bridging diverse social backgrounds. This increasing demand has transformed event planning into a commercially viable enterprise. Consequently, theatre artists and other creative professionals must acquire foundational knowledge in event management to position themselves competitively in this entrepreneurial field. This paper explores the fundamental aspects of event management, covering organizational strategies, financial planning, blueprint development, and event execution. It outlines key considerations through the framework of the ‘Ws’ (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How), emphasizing the critical questions that must be addressed to ensure a successful and well-coordinated event.
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creator: YAKI DANIEL MUSA
creator: ELIZABETH GIFTY IDOKO
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 271
ending page: 282

CHRISTIAN ETHICS, BIOETHICS, AND THE PROBLEMS OF DESCRIPTION
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description: This paper examines the ethical challenges posed by two developments in biotechnology, as well as the role that Christian Ethics can play in enabling the church and society to respond wisely to these developments. The first ethical problem is the separation of four aspects of motherhood that can arise from the donation of DNA, the donation of mitochondria, surrogacy, and adoption. The second ethical problem arises from the advances in genetic engineering, which allow the production of human proteins in sheep’s milk (which is useful in treating certain diseases). This paper argues that both these problems turn out to be problems of description. Drawing on the contributions of Oliver O’Donovan, Miroslav Volf, and Michael Polanyi, the paper advances an analogy from the study of fractals to help explain how descriptions can be true even before they are exact, and how descriptions can become progressively more exact without having to renounce their earlier iterations. These more exact descriptions form a prerequisite for an informed response to the ethical challenges of biotechnology.
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creator: A. RICHARD CREIGHTON
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 245
ending page: 270

THE ROLE OF NEW MEDIA IN YOUTHS' PROTESTS AND AGITATIONS: AN INTERROGATION OF CIVIC ACTIVISM IN #ENDSARS
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description: The digital age, with its new media, has brought transformation and innovation to information transmission. This has not only diversified communication routes but also made it easily accessible to people in a globalised community. It has created a means through which people express themselves and share ideas, especially regarding happenings in the world around them. The new media has also introduced a new dimension to protest culture among citizens, especially youths. The #EndSARS protest of 2020 against police brutality and Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), unfortunately, turned tragic and has left a twist in the youth’s unrest and protest culture in Nigeria. Youth grievances further spurred the protest focused on other discontent situations, such as poverty, unemployment, non-inclusion in governance, poor infrastructure, and insecurity. This paper focuses on new media as a popular phase of digital technology. It probes the use of new media, its effect, success, and challenges within the context of the #EndSARS protest. Furthermore, it examines the role of the new media in propelling, coordinating, and organising the protest and the protesters. To achieve this, the study adopts a quantitative research method through a questionnaire designed as a research instrument to gather data from youths (18-39) who are the target audience. The questionnaire investigated the role of the new media during protests and examined how digital technology has become central to recent civil agitations among Nigerian youths. The findings of this research establish that social media platforms have transformed civil protests in the digital age. It also reaffirms the role of digital platforms in connecting, transforming, and revolutionizing protests and agitations for the present and the future. The paper concludes that if properly harnessed by youths and the Government, the new media will become a pedestal to build a new generation of patriotic, responsive, and active citizenship in Niger…
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creator: NKEMDIRIM OLUBUNMI ADEDINA
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 229
ending page: 244

BEYOND THE LEAF: A CROSS-LINGUISTIC PRAGMATIC STUDY OF AFRICAN MEDICINAL PLANT NAMING
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description: This work examines the intersection of language, culture, and ecological knowledge in the naming of medicinal plants in four major Nigerian ethnolinguistic groups: Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and Fulani. With a set of 39 indigenous herb names, this study demonstrates how naming practice carry encoded, functional, ecological, aesthetic, and symbolic as well as spiritual information. Grounded in Relevance Theory and principles in Ethnobotanical Linguistics, we explored how plant names function as communicative acts within cultural settings. The data were analysed qualitatively through thematic coding and quantitatively through a Chi-Square Test of Independence. Symbolic and spiritual naming dominated the naming practices of the Igbo and Yoruba speakers, functional descriptors were heavily favoured in Hausa naming, and ecological contexts were markedly included in the Fulani naming. Overall, these results demonstrate that plant nomenclature in African communities serve not only as socio-historical and ecological markers, but also as epistemological indicators that assist in the worldviews it embodies in framing reasons for spiritual and environmental interactions. Further, the research supports the growing literature on the potential benefits of indigenous knowledge systems and that language roots serve as primary agents of ethnomedical knowledge transmission.
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creator: ZAYNAB BOLANLE RAJI-ELLAMS
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 211
ending page: 228

A STUDY OF THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DEMANDS OF DIRECTING ON UNDERGRADUATE PLAY DIRECTORS
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description: Play directors face emotional and mental challenges in the course of their creative work and the managerial complexities of overseeing cast and crew in play production. Directing in the theatre demands a diverse array of skills, and this demand leads directors to frequently experience stress and burnout. Conditions in academic settings compound directors’ need to balance the burdens of play productions with their academic obligations, especially in the Department of Theatre Arts, where there seems to be non-stop activities. There is a dearth of research on mental and emotional stress faced by directors, especially undergraduate directors in Nigeria. The extant literature in this area is mainly focused on foreign professional directors. This study, therefore, investigates the mental and emotional stressors among student directors to identify their coping mechanisms and shed light on the psychological effects of directing on student directors in Nigeria. In this research, four student directors of the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan, were randomly selected for their dexterity and levels of experience. Their directing processes were recorded. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the directors to investigate stressors, coping mechanisms, and academic balance within the demands of directing, and data were thematically and theatrically analysed. Ethical considerations were prioritised, ensuring voluntary participation and comfort. Using Lazarus and Folkman’s Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Stress (1984) as its framework, the study finds that emotional and mental demands of directing combined with academic activities profoundly impact the well-being of student play directors. Anxiety, stress, emotional hangovers, severe moods, and depression are some of the noticeable mental and psychological patterns among student directors. The study concludes that even though student directors face significant and varied mental and emotional demands from play di…
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creator: JOHN AYANFEOLUWANIMI OLUWADARE
creator: OLUYINKA SMART BABALOLA
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 195
ending page: 210

THE ACCIDENTAL NATURE OF YOUTUBE FOR FILM ARCHIVING IN 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA
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description: This study examines the nature of accidental archiving and the role of YouTube as a platform for film storage within the Nigerian film industry, addressing the associated challenges and opportunities. Using platform capitalism as a foundational theoretical framework, the research employs a mixed-methods approach to assess the implications of leveraging YouTube as an alternative to traditional archival systems. The findings indicate that YouTube serves as a "democratic digital archive," facilitating greater access to content for Nigerian filmmakers and enabling them to engage directly with global audiences while bypassing conventional distribution channels. However, this platform presents significant challenges, including copyright infringement, piracy, content oversaturation, and quality control concerns. The analysis highlights the dual nature of YouTube’s influence in Nollywood. On one hand, it promotes accessibility and enhances cultural representation; on the other hand, it raises concerns about the dilution of industry standards due to the proliferation of low-quality productions. To address these issues, the study recommends establishing voluntary quality benchmarks, improving digital infrastructure, and taking proactive measures to tackle intellectual property challenges. These steps will help ensure that YouTube's repository potential aligns with Nollywood's aspirations for global recognition and cultural preservation. In conclusion, the paper provides valuable insights into the ongoing discourse surrounding digital media, archiving practices, and creative industries in the Global South.
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creator: MAKPRING LONGGUL DAKWOM
creator: JEREMIAH METHUSELAH JEREMIAH
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 193
ending page: 210

SOCIAL INSTITUTION AND RELATIONSHIP IN LUKE 22:14-30: A SOCIAL INTERTEXTURE READING OF REMEMBRANCE MEALS AND EFFECTS ON HUMAN DIGNITY
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description: The remembrance meal in Luke invites the reader to see how the Lukan Jesus effectively implements the new era of humanity through a meal scene rich in both social institutions and social relationships. Using intertexture as one of the subsets of socio-rhetorical hermeneutics, this article reveals that Luke situates his remembrance meal narrative to teach his community how to remember the Lukan Jesus and his sacrifice on behalf of humanity. The intertexture reading further reveals that this meal scene can activate different human institutions that aid in creating social relationships within human society. The article concludes that Lukan Jesus uses the remembrance meal scene to teach his newly inaugurated community how to remember him as they interact through different social institutions and relationships. Therefore, remembering Jesus in this context means the church and Christian community embarking on actions that will help shape, transform, and restore humanity's dignity.
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creator: JOHN A. EZELE
creator: GODWIN A. ETUKUMANA
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 175
ending page: 192

CULTURAL COMMODIFICATION AND THE CRIPPLING NIGERIAN CULTURES
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description: This study examines the impact of cultural commodification on Nigerian cultures, aiming to analyse the effects of cultural commodification on national identity, the role of globalisation in cultural commodification, and the implications of cultural commodification for cultural diversity and preservation. Guided by Commodification Theory, the study reveals that cultural commodification leads to the erosion of cultural differences and the homogenization of cultures, resulting in the loss of cultural authenticity and identity. The library research method has been adopted for this study. The findings also highlight the pivotal role of globalisation in facilitating cultural commodification, leading to the transformation of cultural practices and artefacts into marketable goods. The study concludes that cultural commodification has a profound impact on national cultures, emphasising the need for strategies to promote cultural diversity and preserve national cultures. This work recommends that government policies and initiatives should support local artists and cultural practitioners, cultural institutions partnering with local artists to develop cultural programs, and local communities taking an active role in preserving national cultures.
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creator: FAITH PAULINE EKPA
creator: DANIEL OFOMEGBE EKHAREAFO
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 161
ending page: 174

THE CHALLENGES TO DOMINANT NARRATIVES OF OUTCASTS IN NIGERIA: THE CASE OF AHMED YERIMA’S OTAELO
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description: This paper is a study of the outcast challenges in Ahmed Yerima’s Otaelo. It is a well-known fact that the outcasts face a lot of challenges in their society. This study, therefore, focuses on how the Osu-caste is marginalised and discriminated against, and how these abnormalities cause friction and division among members of the society. The Osu-caste victim experiences psychological trauma because of the illtreatment he gets from his people. As a literary study, this work employed an analytical approach in discussing the text under consideration. This paper reviews through text that the dominance of the freeborn castes triggers the resistance of the Osu-caste. The study is significant in its proposition because it is anchored on the cultural erasure of the Osu-caste in Igbo society. Advocating against the caste system, therefore, promotes equality, justice, and human rights for those involved, regardless of their birth background.
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creator: EVELYN NKECHI ISAMA
creator: MONDAY O. AKPOJISHERI
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 153
ending page: 160

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPLEXITIES AND CUES IN NIGERIAN MULTICULTURAL CHURCH CONTEXTS
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description: Arguments in scholarship and practice about models and methods of church planting and administration have been sharply divided along monocultural and multicultural perspectives. Most importantly, inevitable conflicts due to intercultural communication barriers have been suggested as grounds for strictly monocultural churches. However, in an increasingly globalised world, due to migration issues, among others, the global church is predisposed to 21st -century compatible multicultural contexts. This paper uses a literature research method to explore the concept of intercultural communication, its complexities, and cues in multicultural contexts to address communication barriers in multicultural churches. It analyses selected empirical case studies (secondary data) to propose an intercultural communicative framework on how Nigerian churches can handle intercultural communication barriers to foster truly cohesive multiethnic church communities. This paper argues that cross-cultural understanding through intercultural education and awareness prevents miscommunication that arises due to intercultural communication barriers in multicultural church contexts.
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creator: AYODELE SAMUEL ADEYEYE
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 143
ending page: 152

POLITICAL RESISTANCE AND HUMAN EXISTENCE IN POST-ELECTION NIGERIA: A PRAGMATIC STUDY OF DR. YUSUF DATTI BABA AHMED’S TELEVISED REJOINDER
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description: This paper is a pragmatic assessment that focuses on how language functions as a tool for political resistance and human existence. Data is drawn from Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba Ahmed’s post-election televised rejoinder following Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election and the issuance of the certificate of return to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by Professor Yakubu Mahmood, the then INEC Chairman. The objectives of the study among others are to: investigate how speech acts are used to perform political resistance and warn against perceived constitutional violations; explore what implicatures and inferences are embedded in the speaker’s utterances and how they contribute to the persuasive force of the message; and examine how the socio-political context of post-election Nigeria affects the interpretation of this rejoinder within Relevance Theory. Drawing on Speech Act Theory, Relevance Theory, and Politeness Theory, the study reveals how the speaker strategically uses directives, assertives, commissives, declaratives, implicatures, and face-threatening acts to challenge perceived constitutional violations while asserting ethical and legal authority. The study integrates concepts from three theories into a theoretical framework to underscore the value of a multi-theoretical pragmatic framework in interpreting political texts, especially in contexts marked by political resistance, human existence, and heightened public emotion. The findings from a multifaceted assessment of illocutionary force, contextual inference, politeness, and deixis contribute to existing research on political pragmatics within Nigeria, thereby illustrating how language both reflects and reshapes democratic struggle in transitional electoral societies.
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creator: KEZIAH JONAH PAM
creator: NUHU ISAAC OBINS
creator: MUKHTAR AHMAD
creator: AMINU ILIYASU BATAGARAWA
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 129
ending page: 142

THE JESUS OF THE JESUS’ OPPONENTS: PERSPECTIVES AND TENSIONS IN THE FIRST CENTURY
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description: The questions to be addressed in this work are: Did the opponents of Jesus during his ministry have a different picture of Jesus, contrary to the opinions presented by close associates in the Gospels? Were the opposition’s opinions in the formation of Jesus’ narration really minor in that their voices could not be heard during the composition of the Gospels? This quest is rooted in Morton Smith’s connotation, “Jesus of Jesus’ Opponents,” where he surveyed the various portraits of Jesus and insisted that the view of the opponents be re-echoed in the reconstruction of Jesus' life. Such an understanding becomes interesting because it challenges the pictures presented in the four canonical Gospels, which have been given wider coverage and attention as the authentic narration of Jesus, even though Smith’s argument has not been given wider circulation. By examining the motivations, identities, and concerns of Jesus’ adversaries, we gain deeper insight into the theological and sociopolitical challenges that shaped both his ministry and the emerging movement that would later bear his name. Through careful reading of historical sources and scriptural narratives, this study examines the nature of the opposition Jesus encountered and the underlying currents of fear, expectation, and hope that characterised first-century Judea. To analyse the opponents of Jesus in the first century, this study employs a historicalcritical approach and textual analysis of passages to identify and categorise the different groups and individuals who opposed Jesus, paying particular attention to their motivations, strategies, and theological objections. This article seeks to explore the complex dynamics between Jesus of Nazareth and the various groups that opposed him during his lifetime. It also challenges existing understandings and insists on the systematic merger of the narrations about Jesus in search of the true picture of Jesus in Palestine, rather than the modified picture of Jesus presente…
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creator: GIDEON Y. TAMBIYI
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 111
ending page: 128

ETHICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON HUMAN EPISTEMIC EMPLOYMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING
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description: The swift incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into diverse fields has generated substantial philosophical discussion concerning its influence on critical thinking. This essay examines, from a philosophical standpoint, how AI affects human cognitive functions, especially the ability to reason critically. By automating decision-making, redefining intellectual autonomy, and influencing information access, it investigates whether AI strengthens or weakens critical thinking, drawing on theories of epistemology and cognitive philosophy. Although AI systems increase productivity and offer extensive data processing capabilities, the study contends that they also run the risk of encouraging cognitive complacency, reducing reflective judgment, and reinforcing algorithmic biases. Conversely, by making it easier to access a variety of viewpoints and enabling sophisticated problem-solving, AI can be used as a tool to improve critical thinking. This ethical reflection highlights the necessity of ethical AI design and pedagogical strategies to ensure AI supports, rather than replaces, robust critical thinking in human cognition through a synthesis of philosophical frameworks, including Dewey's reflective thinking and Kantian notions of rationality.
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creator: OSAWU TUNDE
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 100
ending page: 110

DISPLACEMENT AND THE URBAN SPACE IN CONTEMPORARY FICTION
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description: This paper examines displacement and urban space in Lisa Braxton’s The Talking Drum and Tommy Orange’s There There to illustrate how the urban space evolves through a process of displacement. This evolution is expressed with terms like urban development, gentrification, urban renewal, etc. Using the poetics of geocriticism, the study proceeds on the assumption that urban spaces are at once social, cultural, physical, and discursive. It also investigates how urban spaces function as sites of spatial tension, aesthetic representation, and displacement in contemporary literature. The multifocal, stratigraphic, and polysensorial approaches of Geocriticism allow for an interdisciplinary exploration of space and the relationship between identity, belonging, and marginality. The paper argues that urban spaces in the selected texts embody contradictions that simultaneously offer opportunities for growth and conditions for exclusion. Thus, displacement, whether physical, psychological, or socio-cultural, is revealed as an outcome of urban evolution and is often driven by capitalist, political, and social forces. Characters in the texts experience dislocation due to gentrification, immigration policies, and identity crises. These suggest that the urban space is not inherently inclusive. Rather, it is contested, dynamic, and oppressive. The study highlights how each narrative uses multifocalisation and spatial metaphors to interrogate issues of privilege, access, and power. Urban spaces such as Oakland and Petit Africa emerge as spaces where identity is continuously negotiated and subverted. The urban condition, as depicted in the texts, aligns with postmodern concerns of fragmentation, heterogeneity, and existential ambiguity. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the urban space is both a product and a producer of social relations, and that displacement within it reflects the broader struggles over space, belonging, and survival. The study thus contributes to spatial literary…
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creator: STEPHEN ONIMISI AJINOMOH
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 89
ending page: 100

RACIAL MIXTURES AND DISLOCATION: RECONFIGURING FRAGMENTATION IN KIM SCOTT’S BENANG
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description: Settler colonies within postcolonial spaces continue to expose a wide range of thematic preoccupations that re-interrogate the colonial experience as an unbalanced one. This paper aims to present how Aboriginal literature is visualised in the fiction of Scott, serving as a medium to expose the extent to which racial mixtures lead to the dislocation of the indigenes from their long-held culture and traditional beliefs. This could be depicted in the ways in which the presentation of Australia as a “Terra Nullius” endangered pre-colonial harmony that extends to a more refined postcolonial discourse. Guided by Postcolonial theory and new historicism, this study therefore probes into the confines of hybridity and cultural ambivalence as significant facets in locating Aboriginal literature in Kim Scott’s Benang.
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creator: EYONG BETEK ENOWMBI
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 75
ending page: 88

BETWEEN FACT AND FORM: RETHINKING LANGUAGE AND STYLE IN NIGERIAN HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP
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description: This paper interrogates the relationship between factual content and stylistic form in Nigerian historical scholarship, challenging the longstanding assumption that historical writing must adopt a neutral, objective tone to be considered rigorous. It argues that language and style are not mere vessels for transmitting historical truth but are central to the construction, interpretation, and reception of historical knowledge. The study employs the qualitative research methodology, drawing on examples from both academic and vernacular traditions, including the works of Nigerian historians, oral narratives, and culturally embedded storytelling practices. The paper aims to explore how stylistic experimentation can deepen historical insight, broaden audience engagement, and reflect indigenous epistemologies. It also examines the institutional and epistemic constraints that discourage stylistic innovation, such as colonial legacies, academic gatekeeping, and the privileging of Eurocentric modes of narration. In proposing a more pluralistic approach to historical form, the paper advocates for an expanded methodological imagination that embraces linguistic diversity, indigenous expressive forms, and reflexive narrative strategies. Ultimately, it calls for a rethinking of scholarly conventions to make Nigerian historiography more inclusive, dynamic, and responsive to its own cultural and intellectual contexts
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creator: OLUWASEUN IGBAGBOYEMI SOILE
rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-01
publication date: 2025-06-01
starting page: 53
ending page: 74

MIND STYLE AND COGNITIVE FRAMING IN ABUBAKAR ADAM IBRAHIM’S THE WHISPERING TREES
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description: This study pioneers cognitive stylistic analysis in Nigerian short fiction, demonstrating how mind style and cognitive framing function in two selected short stories: “The Whispering Trees” and “Closure” from Abubakar Adam Ibrahim’s collection, The Whispering Trees. Drawing on Fowler’s theory of mind style and Gavins’ text world theory, the study investigates how linguistic features such as deixis, modality, transitivity, and narrative perspective represent character consciousness and guide reader interpretation. Through a close textual analysis, the study explores Salim’s cognitive transformation and spiritual awakening in “The Whispering Trees” and Sadiya’s emotional stagnation and grief in “Closure.” The findings reveal that the author’s stylistic choices not only shape the characters’ mental representations but also guide the reader’s cognitive and emotional engagement with the narratives. This interdisciplinary approach highlights the value of cognitive stylistics in African literary studies, offering new insights into the mental and emotional complexities of contemporary Nigerian fiction.
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rights: Copyright (c) 2025
date: 2025-06-25
publication date: 2025-06-25
starting page: 31
ending page: 52

RADICAL FEMINISM AND EMASCULATED PATRIARCHY IN LOLA SHONEYIN’S THE SECRET LIVES OF BABA SEGI’S WIVES
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description: Lola Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives (2010) is interpreted as a radical feminist discourse, where Lola Shoneyin presents an emasculated or powerless patriarchy. This paper, utilising the sociological and radical feminist approaches to literary criticism, looks at how Shoneyin projects the reaction of the African woman in the face of depravity, corruption, sexploitation, and oppression by demystifying masculinity and patriarchy. Shoneyin’s special use of the scatological narrative technique succinctly describes how the woman is subjugated by patriarchy and how she uses her physical and mental capacities to circumvent it. This paper is discursive and shows how Shoneyin effectively uses the pathetic situation of the woman in the text to saliently describe the subtle but forceful ongoing role reversal between the genders in Nigeria. The paper concludes that gender politics is enforced by patriarchy and is sustained by the politics of economic subjugation of the female, and that the best way to transform things for the African woman is through positively aggressive changes.
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creator: MAUREEN AMAKA AZUIKE
creator: DANIEL MAMMAN GABUN
rights: Copyright (c) 2024
date: 2025-04-01
publication date: 2025-04-01
starting page: 17
ending page: 30