This paper explores a narrative path towards foregrounding what it calls a gender-relative morality as a core dimension of female subordination. It takes a feministapproach to ethics, which stresses specifically the political enterprise of eradicating systems and structures of male domination and female subordination in both the public and the private domains. The theoretical implications of Feminist narrative ethics is then applied to the philosophical imports of Yorùbá proverbs about women as a way to tease out how female subordination is grounded in Yorùbá ontology and ethics. Spe[1]cifically, the essay interrogates the ethical and aesthetical trajectory that leads from ìwà l'ẹwà (character is beauty), a Yoruba moral dictum, to ìwà l'ẹwà obìnrin ([good moral] character is a woman's beauty). Within this transition, there is the possibility that the woman is excluded from the category of those properly referred to as ọmọlúwàbí.
The youths of any nation are the bedrock of her development, through viable socio-political and economic contributions. They are the indispensable agents of change that can turn the table round for better, especially in developing nations. The natural psycho-biological development of youths and young adults, living in a nation going through socio-political economic and security challenges, coupled with their being nurtured in some cases through faulty parenting, have manifested in the typology of Nigerian youths. The nation now has a high number of misguided youths who portray demeaning image about Nigeria. This study, hinged on Elkind's (1967) constructionists' perspective of adolescents' cognitive development and womanists' theory as opined by Hudson-Weems (1993) and Kolawole (1997), to the effect that the desire of the agitating African women is complementarity with men in all aspects of life. With these views; exemplified with excerpts from randomly selected Yoruba dramatic, prosaic, and poetic texts, this essay submits that improper parenting, peer group pressure, excessive drive for material wealth, unemployment, poverty, inaccessibility to social and financial aids as experienced by the youths, are some of the reasons why the future appears bleak for Nigeria. The study recommends collective responsibility by parents, to become positive role models for their children by spending undivided and qualitative time with them, thus creating a good and safe environment for their children to be free to express themselves. Corporate organizations and religious bodies should pay back to the society by organizing workshops and low-capital focused entrepreneurial seminars for the youths. Government should as a matter of urgency, put massive employment generation on priority list, ensure a drastic reduction in the years of working experience required before youths' employment and ensure desirable remuneration for employed youths by individual and corporate bodies.
It is unknown how Yoruba women textile traders organize their textile enterprises, despite the vagaries of informal economy. However, in an informal economy, trade in every commodity has its own social organizational structures and politics. Scholars have argued that commodity needs to be separately studied so to detangle the various structures and politics associated with each commodity so that behavioural patterns that lead to entrepreneurial development can be determined. The focus of this paper therefore is to examine the organizational strategies of Yoruba women textile traders. The paper hinges on social action theory by Max Weber. The research design is qualitative in nature. Eight focus group discussions were conducted among the women respondents; Forty (40) in depth- Interview, and six case- studies were conducted. The findings reveals that in social organization of textile trading, several unique methods were adopted such as; placing of exclusive rights on some textile materials, innovation and imitation of textile materials for continuous trading of textile materials. In promotion of textile materials, the finding reveals that economic and non-economic activities were utilized to promote sales. While some classical tenets of entrepreneurship, were adopted by the women in recording the transactions. The paper recommends innovative attitude, importance of role mentors, building of social Capital among other traders in the market, and teaching of record keeping of transaction. All these are essential tools for women entrepreneurship development in informal economy.
Women have been victims of gender ideology which, according to Hussein (2005), is a systemic set of cultural beliefs through which a society constructs and wields its gender relations and practices. Gender ideology contains legends, narratives and myths about what it means to be a man or a woman and suggests how each should behave in a society (Olabode, 2009). Women are a non-homogenous group as their status and roles in the society are determined by a complexity of factors such as being a daughter, sister, and wife; a cultic member; and the economic and political positions they hold in the market place and in local governance (Ilesanmi, 2013). Sub-ethnic variations were also reported in customs and practices such as a marriage and family life, pre-natal and post-natal practices and others. Men in various sub-ethnic (Yorùba) groups are given privileges in matters relating to power and control ́ in domestic and public spheres. Since culture is not static but rather dynamic, therefore contemporary writers are now advocating for portrayal that will extol women's virtues, thereby bringing to the fore the indispensable roles women play in society. In order to redeem and recreate an enhanced status for women, studies about women abound in literary studies, with little attention given to issues of women in Adébayó ̀ Fa ̩ ́letí 's poetry. Thus, using the feminist approach ex ́ - amines how women are portrayed in Fálétí's poetry so as to establish his view about the womenfolk.
It is unknown how Yoruba women textile traders organize their textile enterprises, despite the vagaries of informal economy. However, in an informal economy, trade in every commodity has its own social organizational structures and politics. Scholars have argued that commodity needs to be separately studied so to detangle the various structures and politics associated with each commodity so that behavioural patterns that lead to entrepreneurial development can be determined. The focus of this paper therefore is to examine the organizational strategies of Yoruba women textile traders. The paper hinges on social action theory by Max Weber. The research design is qualitative in nature. Eight focus group discussions were conducted among the women respondents; Forty (40) in depth- Interview, and six case- studies were conducted. The findings reveals that in social organization of textile trading, several unique methods were adopted such as; placing of exclusive rights on some textile materials, innovation and imitation of textile materials for continuous trading of textile materials. In promotion of textile materials, the finding reveals that economic and non-economic activities were utilized to promote sales. While some classical tenets of entrepreneurship, were adopted by the women in recording the transactions. The paper recommends innovative attitude, importance of role mentors, building of social Capital among other traders in the market, and teaching of record keeping of transaction. All these are essential tools for women entrepreneurship development in informal economy.
Contemporary studies have revealed that Yoruba women, particularly Ijebu women, have contributed to the development of Yorubaland. Apart from the traditional roles of women in Yorubaland, Ijebu women have cut a niche for themselves in the age-grouping system. It is the intent of this study to establish the contributions of Ijebu women to the upliftment of their society and indeed of the Ijebu nation. This study therefore reveals that women in regberegbe (age group) organizations have contributed immensely to the development of Ijebuland. Just as men in age groups have benefitted, the women's age groups have also enjoyed government patronage, support, and interest. This was demonstrated when the Ogun State government offered employment to some of the age group members. The involvement of these women has shown that Ijebu women are active in the development of Ijebuland through the age-group system and this has further debunked the erroneous public opinion that Ijebu women are party-goers and docile. On the contrary, they are hard-working, social, nationalistic, and community-development oriented.
Through the modern history of the indigo-dyed textile adire, produced by the Yoruba in southwest Nigeria, this essay examines the relationship between the production of the textile, the gendered divisions of its production, the development of modernity, and the appropriation of textiles by artists working in Nigeria since the time of independence. The essay presents the argument that a close look at the role adire played in pre-independence decades will reveal that its women dyers were actively involved not only politically and socially in colonial resistance, but also as the producers of visual culture: they expressed themselves aesthetically through the textile pattern. Finally, the textile's intimate connection to the construction and preservation of memory in Nigerian society is considered as a motive for the appropriation of its pattern language by several of Nigeria's prominent modern and contemporary artists.
This study was centred on the edible cola nuts (Cola acuminata and Cola nitida), often referred to as obi abata and gbanja (yoruba) in Abeokuta metropolis. The study examined economic impacts and various uses of the cola nut. Structured questionnaire with open and close questions was distributed to120 respondents in the study area. Markets were selected from three Local government areas namely Lafenwa, Kuto, Iberekodo and Ishiun at Owode Egba purposively. The markets are local markets where farm produce are being sold in the study area. Descriptive statistics, cost and return analysis was used to analyze the data obtained from the study. The result obtained shows that 88.33% of the respondents were female who engage in the trade, 52.50% were in age group above 45 years which was the largest and were Yoruba. 51.87% had no formal education and are mostly full-time sellers. The result also revealed that traditionally 81.67% uses the nut for wedding and 97.50% for dye. The cost analysis reveals the average profit for each market, at Ishiun ₦3 293.375, Lafenwa ₦8 702.83, Kuto ₦4 869.40, and Iberekodo ₦3 127.20 and the rate of return on investment were at Ishiun 33.24%, Lafenwa 35.96%, Kuto 33.17%, Iberekodo 26.54% , respectively. It shows that Lafenwa has the highest rate of returns on investment and profit. The result also showed that the mean value of profit and return on investment for all the market were ₦4 998.21 and 32.23% respectively, this was due to the level of organisation in transaction in the market. The result also reveals the market margin per market at Ishiun 24.95%, Lafenwa 26.45%, Kuto 24.95%, and Iberekodo 21.00% respectively with the mean margin for all the market at 24.33%. The major problem encountered in business was basically that of storage with insect infestation at 53.33% and heat 51.67% which reduces the value and invariably the price of the product. Hence, a good storage system is important to improve sales. Hence a good policy must be put in place for good storage system to improve quality during storage and enhance income of respondents.
Yorùbá culture of present-day Southwest Nigeria and Southeast Republic of Benin, has received much attention from academics over time. In part, this is due to the culturally ingrained female power that has existed and persisted over time in Yorùbáland. However, some scholars have argued against the gender structure generally accepted by scholars to be grounded in Yorùbáland. In particular, Oyeronke Oyewumi made a compelling, yet controversial argument in her book The Invention of Women: Making An African Sense of Western Gender Discourses (1997). Oyewumi asserts that scholars have imposed their Western bias in their research on the Yorùbá based on their own understanding of gender roles throughout history. Although Oyewumi makes many valid arguments in her volume, this study will expose weaknesses in her claim in regards to important gender distinctions that have existed in Yorùbáland over time, and in particular female power in the marketplace. By examining two Yorùbá concepts of female power, the deity Ajé and the concept of àjé, the culturally ingrained importance of female power will be made clear and contribute to the vast scholarship on related subjects. The goddess Ajé, as a deity of the marketplace, has received little attention in scholarship on the Yorùbá pantheon, yet she provides an example of the importance of womanhood in Yorùbá culture. The concept of àjé, on the other hand, is much better studied concept of female power in Yorùbáland. Àjé represents female power throughout many facets of Yorùbá life, including economic, domestic, religious, as well as political spheres. These expressions of culturally grounded female power within Yorùbáland are exemplary of the dynamic gender structure in Yorùbá culture. Contrary to what Oyewumi asserts, and contrary to many early Western feminists' accounts, Yorùbá women have been able to harness female power to their advantage throughout Yorùbáland over time.
This paper concentrates on a comparative study between Alu of the drama The Swamp Dwellers by Soyinka and the Feminist views of Beauvoir in The Second Sex while the areas of the drama so far explored and discussed are native narrative, political views, decline through modernization, moral-spiritual standpoint, family bonding and human-nature tie. In the drama, if the vital role played by Alu is construed, she appears as a woman figure of infinite capaciousness with her duties, responsibilities, feelings, commitments, rights and privileges in family and society. Alu succeeds because her human-centric Yoruba tradition gives support to her family-centric biology and psychology. But contrary to Alu, Feminist views disseminated by Beauvoir in The Second Sex embark on the estrangement of women from family and humanity. Thus, the paper seeks to unearth how Alu of Yoruba tradition harmonizes and unifies humanity through her role in family and society while Feminism of Beauvoir opposes them and wishes women to be separated. In this qualitative research of thematic analysis method, Family Systems Theory and Religious Humanism Theory were applied. By recommending for women the re-introduction of traditional human-centric life in family and society, this research may contribute to women's emancipation from misery.
Female genital mutilation (or female circumcision) has been experienced by over 100 million women in sub-Saharan Africa and the Nile valley. Efforts to suppress the practice were made in the earlier decades of the present century, especially by missionaries in Kenya in the 1920s and early 1930s. Successful indigenous opposition to this activity led to a cultural relativist attitude toward FGM being dominant among governments and international bodies for the next half century. This situation has changed over the last 20 years as the women's movement has led an attack on the practice, so that by the mid-1990s all relevant major international bodies and governments without exception had committed themselves to its suppression. Nevertheless, efforts to counter FGM have often been weak and there has been little evidence of their success. This paper draws on a continuing research program among the Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria to show not only that FGM has begun to decline but that this occurence can be explained wholly by programs organized by the Ministry of Health and women's organizations. The focus of this paper is on the determinants of this change. These are shown to be: (1) a reduction in ceremonies associated with the practice, (2) its increasing medicalization, (3) indigenous secular campaigning based on the provision of information, and (4) a focus on individuals, especially women. There is little belief that the campaign is an assault on the culture, but rather a growing feeling, especially among those influenced by it, that it would be more appropriate once such a campaign has begun for it to be whole-hearted rather than lukewarm.
Female genital mutilation (or female circumcision) has been experienced by over 100 million women in sub-Saharan Africa and the Nile valley. Efforts to suppress the practice were made in the earlier decades of the present century, especially by missionaries in Kenya in the 1920s and early 1930s. Successful indigenous opposition to this activity led to a cultural relativist attitude toward FGM being dominant among governments and international bodies for the next half century. This situation has changed over the last 20 years as the women's movement has led an attack on the practice, so that by the mid-1990s all relevant major international bodies and governments without exception had committed themselves to its suppression. Nevertheless, efforts to counter FGM have often been weak and there has been little evidence of their success. This paper draws on a continuing research program among the Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria to show not only that FGM has begun to decline but that this occurence can be explained wholly by programs organized by the Ministry of Health and women's organizations. The focus of this paper is on the determinants of this change. These are shown to be: (1) a reduction in ceremonies associated with the practice, (2) its increasing medicalization, (3) indigenous secular campaigning based on the provision of information, and (4) a focus on individuals, especially women. There is little belief that the campaign is an assault on the culture, but rather a growing feeling, especially among those influenced by it, that it would be more appropriate once such a campaign has begun for it to be whole-hearted rather than lukewarm.
I am delighted to announce the publication of Volume 27 (2021) of our esteemed journal, Lagos Notes and Records. The volume contains twelve (12) well-researched articles in the various disciplines of the Humanities such as communication studies, history, language studies, linguistics, literature, and other related disciplines. The first article by Abimbola Adesoji, "Newspapers and the Sharia Debate in Nigeria: Contexts, Issues and Trend", examines some selected newspapers' and magazines' coverage of the Sharia debate in Nigeria with focus on bringing out their different dimensions and patterns of the issues and the contexts in which they discussed them. The newspapers and magazines are Daily Times, Nigerian Tribune, New Nigerian, National Concord, The Guardian, Newswatch, Tell, as well as New York Times, London Times, and the Global Mail of Canada. Using the historical and comparative research methods, the author concludes that the positions taken by the various newspapers were influenced by the way they assessed how Nigerians perceive religion and allow it to influence their decisions and actions in their relationship with one another. In the second article, "Ananse/Èşù Rising: Trickster Figures andShakespeare in Davlin Thomas's Lear Ananci, a Caribbean King Lear", Lekan Balogun analyses how Thomas appropriates both Shakespeare's King Lear and Ananci in order to provide forceful and penetrating insights about the failure of postcolonial realities in the English-speaking Caribbean country of the author. He argues that Thomas' Lear Ananci uses Shakespeare's King Lear and the Yoruba (diasporic) tradition about the trickster Ananci, who assumes the personality of Esu, to address the post-colonial political failures in Trinidad and Tobago in particular and the Caribbean as a whole. The third article by Faruq Idowu Boge, "Water Challenges in Post-colonial Ikorodu Area of Lags State, 1967-1999", examines the history of water infrastructure and challenges in Ikorodu area of Lagos from 1967 to 1999. It employs the qualitative method and historical research approaches to discuss the issues of water challenges, such as inadequate water supply and poor infrastructure, and their impact on the socio-economic development of Ikorodu and its environs during the post-colonial period. The article closes with the recommendation that the government should partner with the private sector to address the problems associated with water supply in the area. Ademola Fayemi and Abiola Azeez, in the fourth article, "Epistemic Unfairness in Barry Hallen's Account of Agency in Yoruba Moral Epistemology", examine the problem of unfair treatment and discrimination against epistemic agents in knowledge production, knowledge sharing, and consensus practices in Hallen's account of Yoruba epistemic thought. The authors are of the view that understanding epistemic agency is essential to examining the depth of epistemic harm and the conclusion inherent in Yoruba epistemology. In the fifth article, "Perspectives on Cultural and National Development as Reflected in Two Igbo Poems", Ujubonu Okide discusses some cultural and national development initiatives and strategies that can be derived from some Igbo poems. The author uses the theory of inference and implication to scrutinize issues such as the attributes of a good citizen and the portrayal of leadership as contained in Maduekwe's "Ezi onye obodo" and Ekechukwu's "Obodo anyi" selected from Akpa Uche's (1979) An Anthology of Igbo Poems. She concluded that the attainment of national unity and progress should be seen as the outcome of a mutual sacrifice consciously undertaken by cultured citizens and leaders. The sixth article, Clement Odoje's "Confluence of Interests in the Translations of Ake: the Years of Childhood and Aké: ní Ìgbà Èwe: An Appraisal of Language Retrieval and Translation", investigates the interests behind the literary translation of Wole Soyinka and Akinwumi Iṣọla's translations of Ake with the view to establish the necessary features of translation and language retrieval employed in the process. The author argues that, although both writers employed the same strategies such as language transposition and equivalence, there are certain features that distinguish one from the other. Arising from the above, the author concludes that translation exhibits two different cultures and languages while language retrieval exhibits the same culture but different languages in the source and target texts. Ayọdele Oyewale's "The Ethos of Homage-paying and the Assessment of Ethical Issues in Yoruba Verbal Arts" is the seventh article. It examines the moral issues involved in Yoruba homage-paying using seven explicit Yoruba proverbial sayings on homage, selected Ifa verses, and two oral genres as case studies. Based on the ethical determinism approach, the author concludes that while early Yoruba professional artistes had clear understanding on how germane the Yoruba concept of homage was in their society, their contemporary counterparts appear to have deviated from the norm. John Olubunmi Faloju and Eniayo Sobola in the next article, "The Meaning, Function, and Contextual Usage of Metaphors on Women in Russian and Yoruba", employ the theory of context by Bronislaw Malinowski to investigate the meaning, function, and contextual usage of metaphors on women in Russian and Yoruba cultures. They argue that metaphors are used to project the worldview of people in different speech communities on social issues and women generally, and that metaphors in the two societies portray women both positively and negatively, especially in terms of their social functions and speech acts. The ninth article by Raheem Oluwafunminiyi, "Writing on Marginal Muslim Figures: The Religious Career of a Community Mu'adhdhin in FESTAC-Town, Lagos, Nigeria", discusses the activities of some of the "marginal" Muslim figures in FESTAC Town, who played significant roles in the historical progression of Islam in the area. The author also addresses some of the misconceptions associated with the Mu'adhdhin in a typical Yoruba Muslim community and recommends the need for the Muslim community to accord the Mu'adhdhin the recognition specified by the Shariah. Folorunso Adebayo's "Comparative Literature in Nigeria: A Thematic Examination of Gogol's The Government Inspector and Osofisan's Who's Afraid of Solarin?, which is the tenth article of the volume, discusses the relevance of comparative literature, intertextuality, and modern drama in Nigeria with focus on the distinction between literary adaptation and translation in Femi Osofisan's Who's Afraid of Solarin and Nicolai Gogol's The Government Inspector. The author concludes that for countries to address some of the social, economic and political crises plaguing them, they need to dramatise important literary texts for their sociopolitical re-orientation, and that Nigeria needs to incorporate such texts in the school curriculum at the primary and secondary school levels. In the eleventh article, "Undressing to Confront the Bullet: Nigeria's Niger-Delta Women Mobilizing against Malpractices and Violence in the 2019 Rivers State Gubernatorial Elections", Olasupo Thompson examines how some women in Rivers State during the 2019 gubernatorial election in the state deployed nudity as a form of non-violent protests against the crisis that trailed the election. Based on the qualitative method of research, the frustration-aggression, and the J. Curve theories employed, the author argues that the use of the unconventional method of nudity by the women in Rivers State to press home their demands succeeded in thwarting electoral malpractices in the affected areas of the state. In the concluding article, "The Impact of 'Ghana-Must-Go' Returnees on the Agricultural and Community Development of Ghana", Paul Njemanze and Omon Osiki investigate the impact of Ghana's returnees, who were victims of the 1983 mass expulsion exercises in Nigeria, on the agricultural and community development of Ghana. They argue that the activities of the returnees assisted in great measures in reducing the humanitarian crisis and food scarcity associated with the expulsion exercises and that this assisted in no small measure in their reintegration into the Ghanaian society. Finally, I want to sincerely thank and congratulate the Editorial Team and the Advisory Board for their efforts and hard work in ensuring the timely completion of this volume. I also congratulate the authors for the success of getting their papers published in our journal. It is my sincere hope that the academic community will find the articles therein interesting and meaningful in their quest to expand the frontier of knowledge in the humanities and allied disciplines.
Adire and Aso-oke are important dress-items in many traditional ceremonies and social events amongst the Yoruba people. There is a noticeable decline in the use of Yoruba cultural dresses such as aran, etc during outing. This is aside from aso-oke and adire. A lot of factors are responsible for this. This study is aimed at creating awareness on the use of the adire and aso-oke among youth. The study was carried out in both Lagos and Abeokuta. At Mainland local government area in Lagos, a total of 70 youths were randomly selected and four elderly men and women were purposely selected to know the elderly peoples view of aso-oke and adire usage in the recent times and in the past. Both interview and questionnaire methods were used to collect data: interview guide were used to collect information in order to achieve a better objective, while other means such as visuals and fabric materials are also employed to gather pieces of information on the current use of adire and aso-oke among the youths. Results indicate that the usage of adire and aso-oke among the youth is limited to ceremonial occasion only. The paper also reveals that aso-oke is not popularly used among the youth in both Abeokuta and Lagos, but adire is faintly given prominence. Both adire and aso-oke are old standing craft that have more than a century of longstanding tradition in Yorubaland. There is a probability that if both attires can be redesigned with price reduction, public enlightenment and encouragement from parents and guardians will make the youth of today would a second thought in reconsidering adire and aso-oke as their best attire for fashionÂ
Editorial I am delighted to announce the successful publication of Volume 26, 2020 of our esteemed journal, Lagos Notes and Records. This current edition is made up of thirteen well-researched articles across the various disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences namely History, Philosophy, Creative Arts, Language Studies, Literature, Communication Studies, and Linguistics. Lynn Schler in the first article, 'The Local and the Global in African Studies: An Essay in Honour of Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju @ 60', argues that in every geographic context, African studies evolved as an intersection between local and global flows of ideas, politics and capital. She concludes that the future of African studies requires scholars to view Africa as both a singular idea and a conglomeration of vastly diverse cultural contexts. Scholars must be aware of what is distinctive in local contexts and also take cognizance of global solutions. In the second article, 'Identity and Ideological Positioning in Popular Nigerian Ethnic Jokes', 'Rotimi Taiwo and David Dontele examine the discursive constructions of selected jokes to determine their expression of attitudinal and ideological dispositions of the ethnic groups within the multilingual/multicultural context of Nigeria. They argue that ethnic jokes in Nigeria construct stereotypes about linguo-cultural signs, and that the jokes have been stripped of their stigmatizing effects owing to the ability of Nigerians to laugh collectively at their perceived prejudices and stereotypes. In a related article, 'Impression Management and Face Sensitivities in Delta State Courtroom Interactions', Olasimbo Takpor and Felix Ogoanah investigate impression management and courtroom interactions in High Court proceedings in DeltaState of Nigeria within the theoretical framework of Rapport Management Model (Spencer Oatey). They conclude that to manage face sensitivities, courtroom interactions create diverse impressions of themselves or others by deploying impression management strategies such as self-promotion, intimidation, apologies, ingratiation and conformity as determined by the peculiarities of legal procedures and cultural norms, which mediate judicial proceedings, interpretations and decisions. Felix Ajiola's 'Colonial Capitalism and the Structure of the Nigerian Cocoa Marketing Board, 1947-1960' examines the origin, structure and impact of the Nigerian Cocoa Marketing Board (NCMB) from its inauguration in 1947 up to 1960. The author argues that the NCMB served various interests and purposes, which hardly benefitted cocoa producers, but rather exploited them through intolerable taxes, harmful price regulations and unfavourable grading policies. In another article, 'The Language Factor and Internet Penetration in Nigeria: A Practical Assessment', Olushola Are examines all the unstated assumptions behind quests for more language options on the internet with specific reference to Nigeria. The author concludes that the provision of Nigerian language options online would not significantly enhance internet penetration in the country without broader adjustments to the roles and status of indigenous languages as well as greater socio-economic and political reforms to fight general social exclusion for which linguistic exclusion of any form may be merely symptomatic. In the sixth article, 'Theatrical Intervention towards "Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness"', Oluwatoyin Olokodana-James examines Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness (BPCR) strategies. She argues that BPCR reduces the risks of complications in that it helps health practitioners to detect danger signs from both mother and the newborn early enough. Using qualitative research approach, the author employs theatre and dance as interventionist tools to educate women within Ifako-Ijaye LGA in Lagos State on the usefulness of BPCR. In a different article on 'Stress Patterning in Polysyllabic Words among Educated Yoruba Speakers of English in Lagos', Emmanuel Osifeso investigates one hundred (100) undergraduate and post-graduate students across Lagos State to underscore the role of stress patterning of polysyllabic words among educated Yoruba speakers of English in Lagos (EYSEL). He concludes that EYSEL have a propensity for shifting the main stress in English polysyllabic words rightward. Victor Ariole's article, 'Peul (Fulani) Worldview as seen in Ba's Work: A Critique', identifies the cultural integration constraints in Africa using Ba's discussion of the Peul/Fulani as a case study. He concludes that Ba's thought patterns are quite relevant in understanding the Peul's worldview which sees probity and constituents' responsibilities as inalienable with peaceful living or existence. Babatunji Adepoju in the ninth article, 'Cohesion in English Biblical Narratives: A Study of "The Prodigal Son"', examines the different methods that writers/speakers employ in making English narratives coherent. He discusses the reasons why many texts are considered disjointed/disorganised thereby making such texts lose the desired radiance. He concludes that the unity of a text is enhanced by adherence to the appropriate usage of grammatical and lexical ties in English narratives. Ayọdele Shotunde in 'A Discourse on the Nature of Crime and Punishment in the Administration of Social Justice in an African Culture' evaluates the nature of crime and punishment among the Yoruba of Nigeria. Adopting the critical and prescriptive methodology, he concludes that it is important to take an insightful look at the traditional Yoruba conception of crime and punishment given its embedded spirit of forgiveness because such has the potential of fostering better social ethics in contemporary Nigeria. In the next article, 'China-Hong Kong Dual System: Twenty-Three Years of Uncertainty and Broken Promises', Henry Ogunjewo argues that the relationship between China and Hong Kong in the last twenty-three years have been characterised by broken promises, failed covenants, unnecessary political meddling, judicial undercutting, press gagging and restrictions on freedom of expressions, leading to protests and political tension in Hong Kong. He concludes that the United Kingdom, former colonial administrator of Hong Kong, needed to bring international pressure on China to protect the interests of Hong Kong. Bisoye Eleshin's 'High-Toned Vowel Prefix in Yoruba' examines prefixation as it relates to gerund derivation in Yoruba. He uses the morpho-syntactic approach to establish the claim that there actually exists a high-toned vowel prefix i- in Yoruba and that the class of noun it derives is gerund. The last paper by Mosunmola Ogunmolaji and Oyinade Adekunle ''Madam Due Process': The Public Life of Obiageli Ezekwesili' is a biography of Obiageli Ezekwesili. The authors analyse the public life of Obiageli Ezekwesili providing insights into her lifestyle, especially the major forces that spurred her interest in politics and public administration. They conclude that Ezekwesili is an intellectual who has broken gender barriers in Nigeria. She possesses pragmatic understanding of the yearnings of Nigerians through deliberate identification of their problems, acquisition of necessary problem-solving tools, and swift responses to the problems whether or not she stepped on toes in the process. I hereby warmly recommend these articles to the academic community with the hope that scholars will find them interesting and useful. I congratulate the Editorial Team for a job well done despite the constraints of the COVID era! Professor Olufunkẹ Adeboye Dean, Faculty of Arts Editor-in-Chief