Programme: English

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A Demographic Overview of Undergraduates in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions: Implications for Policy and Support Systems
(Asian Journal of Social Science, 2025) Eyisi, Meek; Abikoye, Gboyega E.; Abiodun, Gesinde M.; Eyisi, Joy
This study examines the demographic characteristics of undergraduates in Nigerian tertiary institutions and their implications for educational policies and institutional support systems. Using an ex post facto research design, data were collected from 4,930 respondents across federal, state, and private universities in Southwest, Southeast, and Northcentral Nigeria. A stratified random sampling technique ensured diverse representation, while a socio-demographic questionnaire captured key variables such as gender, age, marital status, religion, and academic levels. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics with SPSS Version 26. The findings revealed notable patterns, including a gender imbalance with 63.3% female and 36.7% male respondents, a majority of younger students aged 18–24 years (76.2%), and a predominantly single population (84.1%). Religious diversity was also evident, with Christianity (71%) as the most represented affiliation. These patterns suggest critical areas for intervention, such as promoting gender equity through scholarships and mentorship programs, youth-oriented mental health services, and family-friendly policies to support married students. Additionally, fostering interfaith dialogue and inclusivity remains essential in Nigeria’s diverse higher education environment. These insights highlight the value of demographic analysis for designing inclusive and equitable policies that address the unique needs of Nigerian undergraduates. Future research is recommended to explore regional variations and longitudinal changes in student demographics to further inform policy-making and institutional practices.
A Linguistic Investigation of Mental Health Discourse on Instagram: A Transitivity Approach
(Forum for Linguistic Studies Volume 07 | Issue 06, 2025-06) Anake, Scholastica Andokie; Chimuanya, Lily; Evaristus, Adesina; Kayode, Oluwagbenga A.; Ogbulogo, Charles U.
Online discourse has contributed to the widespread dissemination of mental health awareness (MHA) worldwide. These mental health advocacies are mediated using discourse, also known as language in use. However, studies on online MHA, especially from the perspective of applied linguistics in Nigeria, appear to be few. Therefore, this study examined MHA discourse in two purposively selected Instagram platforms: Sanemind and the NEEM Sanctuary. The study’s objective is to identify the discursive contents in the selected platforms and the lexical resources in the selected MHA texts using a mixed method of data analysis. The data were analysed using the transitivity strand of the systemic functional analysis. The data analysis and discussion of findings identified three main themes of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery communicated through the transitivity processes: material, mental, verbal, relational, behavioural, and existential processes. This study concludes that the material process of ‘doing’ and ‘happening’ are the most used verbs for communicating MHA, followed by the verbal process of ‘saying’ and the relational process of ‘being’, which indicates that mental health concerns are more prone to what people do, say and their relationship with self and others. The study recommends that online content creators must ensure the lexical resources employed in mental health awareness communications are accurate, concise, and clear to avoid misrepresentation and misunderstanding of their intended messages. Thus, they may require the services of language and linguistics experts to review their online content
A POSTCOLONIAL EXPLORATION OF JAPA IN SELECTED NOLLYWOOD FILMS
(Covenant University Ota, 2025-03) GOODMAN FANCY RERELOLUWA; Covenant University Thesis
Given the escalating rate of emigration in Nigeria, this study critically analyses four Nollywood films: Arie and Chuko Esiri’s Eyimofe (2020), Dika Ofoma’s A Japa Tale (2023), Tola Olatunji’s Kanaani (2023), and Kunle Afolayan’s Ijogbon (2023). Employing a qualitative approach and the post-colonial theoretical framework, the analysis explores the depiction of the complex interplay between emigration and the postcolonial theory in the selected Nollywood films. These films serve as cultural commentaries on the lived experiences of Nigerian youths. By situating these cinematic representations within the broader context of post-colonial discourse, the study uncovers the nuances of Nigerian youths’ longing for Western life, as portrayed by contemporary Nollywood filmmakers. This study applies a descriptive research design employing qualitative data collection and analysis, with the four films serving as the primary data sources. It fills a scholarly gap by doing a literary x-ray of the selected Nollywood films, comprehensively analysing them and highlighting their approaches to emigration narratives. In addition to redefining japa, the study analyses how japa is reflected in the films, uncovering the nuances of Nigerian youths’ longing for the European life, portrayed by contemporary Nollywood filmmakers. The conclusions drawn underscore that Nollywood filmmakers are not only storytellers but also social critics, adept at articulating the motivations that fuel emigration among Nigerian youths. The conclusion of the study also highlights the relationship between hybridity, mimicry, third space of enunciation and ambivalence, offering a profound understanding of the motivations behind japa and its consequences.
A Redefinition of Woman, Voice and Development: New Nigerian Novelsand the Burden of Being
(XIX ISA WORLD CONGRESS OF SOCIOLOGY, 2018) Omidiora, Oluwasegun; Onwuka, Edwin; Ovia, Ebikaboere
A Transitivity Analysis of Mental Health Awareness Discourse on Instagram
(Word (Routledge Tailor and Francis Group), 2025) Anake, Scholastica Andokie; Chimuanya, Lily; Ogbulogo, Charles U.
Discourse is dynamic, varied, and tailored to match the communication needs of an environment. In Nigeria, the need to communicate mental health awareness (MHA) is imminent; thus, the advent of social media discourse allows mental health awareness content creators to reach a wider audience. The study aims to identify the predominant MHA themes in two purposively selected Instagram platforms, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) and She Writes Woman (SWW), and to analyze the recurrent linguistic resources in the selected MHA texts. The study uses the transitivity framework for descriptive-qualitative and qualitative data analysis. The findings show three major themes: diagnosis, treatment/therapy, and prevention/recovery. It also shows the material process as the most frequently used transitivity in mental health awareness advocacy on both Instagram pages. This suggests that the triggers of mental health issues are majorly related to the verbs ‘doing’ and ‘happening’, from diagnosis and treatment processes to recovery.
An Investigation of The Dominant Themes In Online Political Leadership Campaigns: A Case Study Of The OBIdient Campaign Discourse on X
(Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Volume 7, Number 2, 2025) Chimuanya, Lily; Tagbo, Chika; Owoeye, Samuel T.
Background: The persuasive function of language is perhaps most evident in political campaigns.The Nigerian political context is expected to reflect a robust adaptation of persuasion. Therefore,the OBIdient movement, a new phenomenon in the Nigerian political space, would offer anengaging framework for evaluating the persuasive dynamics of political communication inNigeria. Objective: This study investigates the dominant themes in the OBIdient campaign discourse on X(formerly Twitter). Methodology: This research used a descriptive qualitative research design. The data for this workwere drawn from tweets from members of the OBIdient campaign movement. Dell Hymes' (1964)ethnography of communication (SPEAKING) was used to analyse the tweets from members ofthe OBIdient campaign movement. The ethnographic dimensions of the campaign necessitated thechoice of this model. Results: The findings of this study revealed the following dominant themes: persuasion,admiration, gratitude, religion/focus, transparency/good governance, hate politics, and politicalkilling. Unique Contribution: This work adds to the sparse literature available in this area and the use ofDell Hyme’s Ethnography of Communication - SPEAKING model in doing a case study analysisof political discourse. Conclusion: Social media platforms have changed the dynamics of political discourse globallyand Nigeria is no exception. Recommendation: Further studies may consider a comparison between data obtained from othersocial media platforms using a different theoretical framework. The researchers believe thatsuggested further studies would most likely widen the horizon of the impact of the #Obidientpresidential campaign of 2023
“Attention Beneficiary…!”: Assessing Types and Features of Scam Emails
(Handbook of Research on Deception, Fake News, and Misinformation Online, 2019) Ovia, Ebikaboere; Uba, Emmanuel
This chapter identifies the various types and features of scam emails as a genre of computer-mediated communication. The types identified include money transfer, investment scam, inheritance claim, next-of-kin claim, charity donation scam, foreign aid scam, foreign lottery scam and email account lottery scam. The study also describes the linguistic and discourse features of these types of scam emails and argues that the more knowledge of online financial crimes that is created and disseminated, the more people are informed and empowered to protect themselves against them. This study hopes to contribute significantly to literature on phishing attacks and online financial crimes.
“Attention Beneficiary…!”: Assessing Types and Features of Scam Emails
(IGI Global, 2019) Chiluwa, Innocent E.; Ovia, Ebikaboere; Uba, Emmanuel
This chapter identifies the various types and features of scam emails as a genre of computer-mediated communication. The types identified include money transfer, investment scam, inheritance claim, nextof- kin claim, charity donation scam, foreign aid scam, foreign lottery scam and email account lottery scam. The study also describes the linguistic and discourse features of these types of scam emails and argues that the more knowledge of online financial crimes that is created and disseminated, the more people are informed and empowered to protect themselves against them. This study hopes to contribute significantly to literature on phishing attacks and online financial crimes.
Between Tradition and Modernity: Patriarchy and Power Dynamics in #ArewaMeToo Discussions on X Platform
(Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Volume 7, Number 2,, 2025) Chimuanya, Lily; Uduak-Abasi, Uyah
Background: Language is crucial to the production of discourses that legitimize sexual violence and rape since language is a symbolic system of power. It is through such power of discourse, that sexual violence and rape victims form linguistic narratives that enable them to share their experiences. Objective: This research examines the patriarchal, religious, and cultural practices that legitimise sexual violence in Nigeria on the X platform. Methodology: This study employed a qualitative design using Fairclough’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis. Data were purposively gathered and thematically coded. The sampled tweets comprise 100, manually gathered from #ArewaMeToo on X, produced by Nigerians. These tweets were numbered randomly from T1 to T100 based on how the data was gathered. (‘T’ represents tweets). Results: Results indicate that strong religious and cultural explanations underpin the prevalence of rape and sexual violence practices in Northern Nigeria. It also provides evidence that patriarchal power structures enhance these practices. This accounts for the prevalence of certain ideologies that accompany such events, such as the ideology of silence and fear, shame, and stigma. Unique Contribution: This study has revealed how X serves as a platform for users to express opinions on posts made by survivors and victims’ experiences of rape and sexual violence. Conclusion: This study concludes that the conversations on the Nigerian X platform reflect some ideological perspectives and contentions underlying rape and sexual violence as well as reactions showing disapproval for such ideologies. Recommendation: Further studies may embark on a critical discourse analysis of other hashtags that address rape and sexual violence and a critical discourse analysis of gender inequality using other social media platforms
CHINUA ACHEBE’S IKEMEFUNA: A POETICS OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIO-CULTURAL NARRATIVE
(2021) Ayinuola, Fortress Isaiah; Onwuka, Edwin; Uba, Immanuel
This paper attempted a reconstruction of the Achebe’s prosaic rendition of Ikemefuna’s experience in Things Fall Apart into another form – the poetic form. Thus, we present a spaciotemporal exploration of Ikemefuna of the Igbo cultural setting transformed metaphorically into the Nigerian youth setting. The poetics of Nigerian Ikemefuna is that of mutual suspicion, fear of regional, religious and ethnic domination, aggravated by the hopelessness of a battered national psyche with prodigals in power. The narrative of Ikemefuna is a metaphor for the battered Nigerian youths, scape-goaticism and the Nigerian socio-cultural contradictions. Through the use of literary devices like imagery, metaphor, symbols and juxtaposition we poetized the narrative of Umuofia/Ikemefuna and Nigeria/youths. We adopted Vladimir Propp’s concept of fabula and syuzhet, where the manipulation of the fabula by the author/poet creates syuzhet, variations of fabula. We examined the role of de-familiarization, Barthes view on variations which resulted in the death of the author/poet and Oscar Wilde’s opinion that the critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things. The syuzhetal defamiliarization technique enabled us to reconstruct Achebe’s prosaic Ikemefuna into a poetic variant – the poem: Ikemefuna. This mode of generating a new meaning in another literary form has not only enhanced poetic innovation, criticism and craft; it has enhanced readers/writers ability to critically and creatively articulate Nigerian diverse socio-cultural experiences.
Communicating Religious Extremism in West Africa
(2020) Chiluwa, Innocent; Chimuanya, Lily; Ajiboye, Esther
Whereas modern communication strategies have been celebrated for promoting ease of interaction, this chapter highlights that they have been deployed by some terrorist groups in Africa to threaten human security. It defines religious extremism in terms of the expression of extreme or violent actions or jihad on the basis of particular interpretations or understanding of religious teaching or scripture, especially the Quran. The chapter examines the (online) communication behaviours of extremists/terrorist groups in West Africa and Somalia that are often associated with Islam. It also examines religious extremism and its relation to violent conflict and describes the extremist violent activities of some identified African terrorist groups, and how contemporary media and the Internet have provided dynamic platforms for disseminating their message and ideology. Liebman views religious extremism as the desire to expand the scope, details and strictness of religious law, social isolation and the rejection of the surrounding culture.
DANCE OF INTRIGUE: A SEMIOTIC READING OF WOLE SOYINKA’S KONGI’S HARVEST
(International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviews Vol.6 No.4, 2016-12) Awogu-Maduagwu Edith Abisola
This paper sets out to examine the importance of quasi verbal elements as dramatic motif in Soyinka’s Kongi’s Harvest. The plot is informed by the post-colonial leadership of African societies in the wake of the departure of imperialist powers, and dramatizes the conflict between the traditional authorities on the one hand, and the western styled new leaders on the other, as they struggle over the newly independent African countries. Through a semiotic analysis of the text, this paper examines the use of the non-verbal motif of dance as a message medium. The aim is to validate the relevance of non-verbal communication in the construction of African drama and to recommend greater allegiance to the application of traditional elements in the writing of contemporary African dramatic literature. Peirce’s Structuralism theory of semiotics is employed in the analysis of the role of dance and gestural forms. Findings reveal the rich colour which traditional elements such as dance and mime can bring to the understanding of a contemporary play. The work is expected to contribute to the search for a concise dramaturgy of African literature.
DEPICTION OF PAIN AND LOSS IN SELECTED POEMS OF STELLA NYANZI AND IJEOMA UMEBINYUO
(Covenant University Ota, 2025-09) LOKO, Olufunmilayo Janet; Covenant University Dissertation
This research investigates depictions of pain and loss in select poems of two contemporary women writer’s, Stella Nyanzi and Ijeoma Umebinyuo. Applying reader-response and psychoanalytic theories, this qualitative study employs close textual analysis to investigate the poetic techniques, imagery, and symbolism employed to portray these experiences. The findings show that both poets question conventional narratives about African women’s lives, resulting in nuanced poetics of vulnerability and resistance. The study’s most significant contribution is its theoretical finding which is poetry has the unique ability to circumvent the unconscious obstacle to communicating trauma that is common in traditional psychoanalysis. Through its symbolic use of aesthetic languages, poetry allows for the safe expression of raw truths, facilitating a journey of catharsis and healing. This research contributes to trauma scholarship by deepening our understanding of evolving narratives of pain and loss in 21st century contemporary African women’s poetry
EXPLORATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND MILITANCY IN SELECTED NOVELS OF CHRISTIE WATSON AND CHIMEKA GARRICK
(Covenant University Ota, 2025-08) Omesu, Modupeoluwa; Covenant University Dissertation
This study critically explores the intersection of environmental degradation and militancy in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, as represented in Christie Watson‘s Tiny Sunbirds Far Away and Chimeka Garrick‘s Tomorrow Died Yesterday. The Niger Delta, though richly endowed with natural resources, has suffered years of ecological devastation and human suffering due to oil exploration and governmental neglect. Drawing on eco-critical theory, the study examines how these two literary texts represent the lived realities of pollution, poverty, and political alienation, and how these conditions give rise to various forms of resistance including militancy. The research highlights how literature is a mode of protest, capable of amplifying the voices of marginalised communities and exposing the complexities behind youth militancy not merely as criminality, but a reaction to systemic violence, economic exclusion, and environmental collapse. Through the characters‘ struggles, the novels reflect the despair, resilience, and resistance that shape life in the region. By foregrounding local voices and socio-ecological trauma, this work contributes to eco-critical and postcolonial scholarship while calling attention to the urgent need for justice both environmental and human. It affirms literature's capacity not only to document injustice but to humanise it, to bear witness, and to agitate for change.
Exploration of Oil Bunkering in Chimeka Garrick's Tomorrow Died Yesterday
(Exploration of Oil Bunkering in Chimeka Garrick's Tomorrow Died Yesterday, 2025-06-30) Onwuka, Edwin; Omesu, Modupeoluwa
This study examines the pervasive issue of oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria through a textual analysis of Chimeka Garricks' Tomorrow Died Yesterday. The Niger Delta, is a region abundant in natural resources, has been plagued by illegal oil extraction, environmental degradation, and sociopolitical disruption. Garricks' novel offers a nuanced literary portrayal of these crises, highlighting the interplay between economic desperation, militant insurgency, and governmental corruption. This study aims to examine the representation of oil bunkering in Chimeka Garricks' Tomorrow Died Yesterday as a central socio-political and economic concern in the Niger Delta. And to also explore how the novel critiques systemic corruption, government complicity, and the failure of legitimate structures, which enable the persistence of illegal oil activities. The study is a qualitative methodology that use the text as a reflection of the Niger Delta realities and also criticticlly examines the root causes of oil bunkering and the aftermath as reflected in the text Tomorrow Died Yesterday engages with themes of environmental destruction and political corruption, it does not extensively examine the intricate operations of oil bunkering and its socioeconomic networks. This study seeks to fill that gap by analyzing the novel's portrayal of oil bunkering, foregrounding it as a critical issue rather than a peripheral theme. Through a transactional reader reponse theory, this research unpacks the thematic concerns surrounding oil bunkering, shedding light on its ramifications for both the environment and local communities. The study underscores how Garricks utilizes narrative techniques, character development, and setting to critique the exploitative dynamics in the oil-rich region. By exploring the intersections of literature, socio-political commentary, and environmental justice, this research contributes to broader discussions on resource control, state violence, and ecological sustainability in postcolonial African literature. Ultimately, this study highlights how fiction can serve as both a historical record and a call to action for socio-envitonmental justice in the Niger Delta.
Exploring History, Migration and Social Experience in Select Poems of Edward Kamau Brathwaite
(Benin Journal of Literary Studies (BJLS) Vol. 1, No. 1, 2019-12) Onwuka, Edwin; Eyisi, Joy
This study examines Edward Kamau Brathwaite’s exploration of migration and social experience in his poetry as a vehicle of appraising Caribbean realities. Brathwaite’s poems will be interpreted using New Historicism as literary tool with a view to highlighting migration/journey motif as fundamental in exploring social realities as well as the human condition in the Caribbean society. This paper is a qualitative and library-based study of Brathwaite’s poems as literary art, focussing specifically on interpretation of their content which explores migration and social experience in the Caribbean world. Four selected poems are engaged in the study for their distinction in reflecting core concerns of the Caribbean enclave specifically dealing with social conditions and migration. These four poems are also used to highlight Brathwaite’s style to enhance the forcefulness of his message in them.
Global Education and Language: Proposing a Universal Variety of English as Medium of Instruction
(Global Partners in Education Journal – Special Edition Vol. 5, No. 2, 2015) Chimuanya; Eyisi, Joy; Idaraobong, Joshua; Omunagbe, Dorcas; Ojo, Kanyisola; Demurin, Deborah
Global Education begins with raising an awareness of global challenges, creating an in-depth understanding of what the challenges entail with the goal of changing people’s thoughts and attitudes, encouraging them to live out their lives to the fullest and play their special parts effectively. To this end, in order to enhance these goals, communication is crucial especially being that it entails making use of an acceptable and intelligible language variety. How can Global Education attain its goals if it does not begin to prescribe and describe for itself, a Global variety of the English language developed just for instructional purpose in the delivery of Global Education? This paper therefore proposes a move towards the prescription and description of a mutually intelligible variety of the English language, to be used just for Global Education. This proposal is born out of our experience during our first collaboration with three other Universities in taking the course ‘Global English Varieties’. One of the major challenges that impeded our flow was the variety barrier. This paper will also ascertain the percentage of Covenant University students confronted with this same challenge by the use of questionnaire. A hundred questionnaires was distributed and analyzed.
Globalization and Security in Nigeria
(Agogo: Journal Of Humanities Vol. 4, 2018) Ovia, Ebikaboere
Globalization is the ability by man to crisscross the world irrespective of geographical boundaries. Unhindered movement is an evidence of human development from simple manual efforts at achieving things in ancient times to sophisticated technological means in contemporary times. The free access to other nations is double edged, that is positive as well as negative however. The effect of globalization on the security of Nigeria shall be the focus of the paper. The type of weapons at the disposal of citizens before and after colonialism shall be examined. The sources of such weapons as well as their sophistication shall also be examined.
Going superstitious and blaming the invisible “other”: a linguistic appraisal of social media posts on “village people”
(Languages and Cultures, Vol. 58, 2024) Igwebuike, Ebuka Elias; Chimuanya, Lily; Egwu, Anya Ude
In this study, we explore how superstitions and blame are weaved in the linguistic con structions and representations of “village people”, the infamous mystic villains. Using Cultural Discourse Analysis (CuDA), we examine selected social media tweets and posts in which netizens deployed a mix of linguistic humour, the traditional African belief sys tem, and quasi-religious sensibilities to project the irrational belief in supernatural infl u ences of village people. We show how discursive conceptualisations such as evilifi ca tion, enemifi cation, remote controlling and monitoring are used superstitiously to blame the imaginary “village people” for individual and personal adversities of the unfortunates. This article underscores how peculiar Nigerian socio-religiosity and shared socio-cultural background shape the instantiations of fear and the institution of potency of vicious su pernatural powers.
Hashtag activism: Analysing linking discourse markers in #ArewaMeToo conversations on X platform
(Masyarakat, Kebudayaan dan Politik, 2025) Chimuanya, Lily; Uduak-Abasi, Uyah
Hashtag activism has emerged as a powerful tool for online advocacy, enabling marginalized individuals to gain visibility and foster collective action. In the absence of physical cues, users rely on linguistic elements to express engagement and support through linking discourse markers. Therefore, the subject of this study focuses on how connecting discourse markers are used in the #ArewaMeToo online conversation to express stance and inclusivity, on sexual violence. The study also explores how discourse markers function as substitutes for physical conversational cues in online activism. The study was conducted in 2024 using a qualitative method. Data were purposively selected from #ArewaMeToo conversations on X platform in Nigeria and grouped through discourse analysis. The database was collected from 300 tweets, with 63 tweets selected for analysis and reproduced in this study as representative examples. The findings of the study revealed that the discourse markers employed in the #ArewaMeToo movement such as cohesive devices, punctuation and capitalization have emerged as crucial tools for conveying engagement, support, emotional intensity and reinforcing advocacy. The study concludes that linking discourse markers substitute for vocal differences and serve as linguistic resources that signal solidarity, emotion, and resistance in the fight against sexual violence