CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Moral principles, from time immemorial, are believed to have some intrinsic

values which make life governable and blissful. Invariably, every person, irrespective

of age, colour, sex or social standing is under the statutes of whatever moral principle

she/he chooses to live with. This is so, because, the concept of morality holistically

functions as the bedrock upon which the character, choices, behaviours and virtues of

a person rest upon. In the case of a society, morality serves as the bedrock upon which

the entire principle of a truly vibrant and egalitarian society rests upon. Implicitly,

moral principles form a fundamental aspect of every culture as they outline

comprehensively, codes of behaviors or conducts for the individual and the society.

Hence, one observed that, the problem of public morality and national indiscipline (in

Nigeria) is indeed alarming and worrisome.

Virtually all sectors of the Nigerian society have not been spared from the

ravaging effects of this plague (public immorality and national indiscipline). These

unfortunately, have eaten deep into the very fabrics of the nation. This debilitating

situation has been portrayed, categorically by Abogorin (1991) when he stated that

“there was never a time when humanity was so degraded and spiritually blinded as its

evident in the madness we see around us daily in Nigeria”. Nigeria, in her present

times, has had and is still having its fair share of moral decline. This is exemplified in

1
incessant news of corrupt practices all over the country, at every stage of her

development. On a critical assessment, these recurring news of corrupt practices are

evident in both high and low places of the Nigerian discourse. These disturbing news

take different shades such as: election-racketeering (these are evident in the several

election-result upturnings by electoral tribunals over the years), certificate-forgery (e.g

the erstwhile Finance Minister of Nigeria and her fake NYSC exemption credentials),

drug and human trafficking (this is evident in the several batches of deportees to

Nigeria. Some of which the Edo State Government and even the Bini palace have

placed on a sort of pay roll in recent times), smuggling, advanced fee fraud (419),

cyber-crime (or what we call yahoo-boys), alarming gruesome-crime rate, theft,

robbery, religious and ethnic violence, injustice, kidnapping, ritualism, assassination,

cult-clash etc.

Apparently, therefore, meaningful development has been hampered and the

nation is presently in the throes uncertainty. Essentially, moral education has been

viewed as a means of providing possibilities of moulding the members of the society

to adhere to those ethics that are considered ideal for the sustenance of the society.

Moral reflections have been linked up with people's convictions that no society could

ever move forward without strong and viable codes of conduct that regulate and guide

the behaviours of the members of the society.

Education in Nigeria and of course, all over the world is considered a weapon

that triggers national development. Moral education on the other hand, is the greatest

segment within the whole educational apparatus that warrants the acquisition of those

2
skills that shape and direct the actions of an individual to contribute immensely to

national development.

If education, being the process of bringing up individuals in a particular society,

it therefore follows that every society has its own indigenous system of education.

Societies, over the years, have continuously tried to develop ways of training its

youths to become responsible, to internalize the values of their indigenous society and

to be committed to the common good. It is not farfetched to entertain the idea that

some philosophies related to Africa must be the premise upon which education in

Africa should be founded on just like it can be reasonably inferred that Confucianism

has influenced the Chinese conception of education and that Buddhist and Greek

philosophies can be said to have influenced Japanese and Western views on education

and its development. Africa certainly has its thoughts about the concept of education.

Each of these thought-systems goes a long way to determine the aims, contents and

methods of the achievement made in Africa through education. Fafunwa (1971) opines

that it was the warrior, the hunter, the noble, the man of character or anyone who

combined education with a specific skill was one who was adjudged as well educated

and well integrated citizen of his community. From the following, one can see there is

a sharp difference between contemporary public morality and what is obtainable in

traditional African education. Therefore, there has been an urge by parents, teachers

and society at large to call back those values that were once peculiar to the African.

3
 Traditional African education can be seen to be the process of transmission of

African values and accumulated knowledge of the African society from one generation

to another. Hence, the history of African educational processes are agenda on which

education has undergone some trends of development. Traditional systems of teaching

and learning in Africa were, to a great degree, informal. Though informal, they were

however, proficient at developing and inculcating in children healthy attitudes and

worthwhile values. This type of education also helped in integrating individuals into

the society in which they belonged.

Individuals of African descent have value-system. These thoughts or values

have helped to fashion the African personality and identity that are globally identified.

These accounted for the world view of and for African society. Therefore, there is a

thought pattern or value system that cuts across virtually all areas of the African’s

reality or world view. For instance, it covered areas such as the African family,

religion, politics, economy and education. Education, just like every other area

influenced by this value system had very special aims and methodologies for its

achievements. The nature and rubrics of traditional African education was majorly

informal rather than formal. The child in traditional Africa was acculturated and

educated through processes of indoctrination. He was expected to apprehend and

appreciate the values and norms of his or her indigenous society. This was ensured and

made realizable through the good pedagogical tools of oral folklores and folksongs.

4
 More so, through songs and stories, the child was made to value and adore the

value-systems, beliefs and norms of the society. He was also taught correct and

acceptable social behavior through songs shrouded in entertainment and sometimes in

dreadful sounds and lyrics depending on the intention of the song. There is no gain

saying that storytelling, folksongs, proverbs and poetry were quite crucial in

traditional African education.

Essentially, the aim of Traditional African education was geared towards the

sustenance of communal living. Thus, one major yardstick for measuring the educated

man is his morals, manners, obedience to authority, respect for customs and

conventions (which make him to be at peace with the society), and a skill (to manage

uncertainty). Often times, all of these are learnt through morals derived from several

vistas of African thought of which folksongs are a major factor. These moral values

indeed had very great implication in defining the African child as a moral being.

In the traditional African family, members communally share virtually

everything and live peaceably with one another. They often work together, share

successes and sorrows together and reinforce one another in cases of difficulties which

they have to contend with. Children or young members of society get to imbibe the

spirit of endurance, courage, and more importantly, listening and adhering to the

positive advices of the elderly ones in their communities.

Education, from time immemorial, has partly concerned itself with the steady

socialization of the young into society. This involves teaching the young how to be at

5
peace with his environment and how to survive in it. There is therefore a need to

understand the nature of the African traditional society to be taught to the child,

especially in a formal system of education.

Moreover, instilling in children the spirit of hard labor was a major goal to be

achieved in African traditional society. Everybody in this setting had and cherished

communal duties to work. Every member of the family who enjoyed the rights of

getting to communally feast with his kinsmen and siblings did not take for granted the

roles assigned to him in the production of food. This was important as it was one of

the major means of survival within the society in which the individual belonged.

Children in this community acquired the knowledge of collective responsibility from

parents, and this was a vital aspect of African traditional education.

The cultural heritage of parents and society served as the borderlines for

Children to grow within. They, through observation and imitation, imbibed the culture

of their people especially as regards festivals, coronation of kings and installation of

chiefs, institution of marriage, rituals and religious practices. The head of the family

which was the father also occupied the position of a spiritual father as he taught

religious education to all members of his family through different meaningful methods

or approaches. These approaches or ways included taboos which were either told as

stories or were woven into folksongs. Some of these taboos have very dreadful and

frightful lyrics which were to serve as urgent warnings to children. Children were

expected to keenly observe and imitate their parents in worshipping gods and paying

6
reverence to the ancestors. Parents also involved the children when they were to carry

out sacrifices and rituals.

Another aspect of the society that served in the proper upbringing of the youth

is the age-grade institution. The knowledge of civic education is inculcated through

age grade association. The society is structured in such a way that the child at an early

age, identifies with an age grade. A host of activities were carried out in the age

grades. This is done as initiated youths in the community go together to build bridges,

clear paths, clean markets and also build markets. The youth in this community during

such development, acquire the values of communal living and togetherness. Jobs such

as fishing, hunting weaving of baskets and house chores, are learnt through the role of

Age groups, who may be their immediate elder brothers in their community. The

society also provides knowledge of the recreational arts. These include wrestling,

dancing, drumming and acrobatic display, and most especially moonlight storytelling

and games.

Vocational Education was also well established in traditional Africa. This area

covered agricultural education, fishing, farming, animal husbandry, carving,

drumming, leather working and trading. The epistemic imports possible in these

professions were acquired in African traditional education through the apprenticeship

system. The apprentice in the traditional system was handled by a master craftsman,

who in most cases, was a relative or family friend. Through practical observation of

parents on the farm and going on errands to fetch special leaves, the children got to

7
acquire agricultural education and traditional medicine knowledge. Children were

engaged in these processes of training from childhood till when they were of maturity

to practice independently.

The traditions and customs were yet another avenue for teaching African

authentic moral values to the youths of the African society. Children were made to

take part in traditional festivals by accompanying their parents to such festivals or

ceremonies. By watching the diverse ways these various ceremonies are performed,

children are able to know how to perform them and respect their rules and regulations.

As part of custom, children were often taught all sorts of folk-tales and folksongs in

the evening for relaxation by their parents and other elderly members of the

community. The folksongs and stories sang and told most times had some moral

underpinning. Proverbs were yet another tool used to teach some morals. Taboos, on

the other hand served as the “donts” of the society. Children in particular were sternly

warned about things termed as taboos.

For instance, In Yoruba speaking region of Nigeria, various taboos helped in the

moral and cultural development of children. Commenting on Yoruba mathematics of

indigenous education, Taiwo (1985 p.20) declared “the Yoruba have developed a

system of counting and have used a variety of human experiences to promote practice

and dexterity in enumeration. The Yoruba child is introduced early in life to counting

by means of concrete objects, counting rhymes, folklore, plays and games at home and

on the farm”. The last two statements of Taiwo’s opinion talks about the use of

8
indigenous education to bring about knowledge in the individual. Again, in some clans

in Igbo speaking parts of Nigeria, pregnant women should not go out in the middle of

the night. This was to avoid meeting with evil spirits. This is a custom which every

woman observes and it is the source of the knowledge of not going out in the night

which is generally accepted by people living in such society.

More reasonably, recitation is yet another source of knowledge in the traditional

system of education in Africa. African children of the Igbo tribe also memorized and

reproduced dirges of opele ceremonial songs and the various songs of joy and sorrow

(Ojukwu & Esimone, 2014). This source of knowledge was also well utilized in the

Yoruba speaking parts of Nigeria as earlier stated. Through various recitations and

songs, children learnt a lot about their culture and history. Most of the themes of

children oral literature (folktales, folksongs, proverbs, taboos etc), though generally

underscored by morals, referred most times to nature, meaning of existence and

realities, or evil in life. It is therefore not strange to find the content of most

contemporary Nigerian children’s fiction writings influenced by the oral tradition of

its people. Like in most African societies, the world view of most traditional Nigerian

people is broadly grouped into two, the divine and mundane or the heavens and the

earth. The heavens are argued to be the abode of God Almighty who presides over all

creatures, the gods and the ancestors, while the earth is the abode for human beings

and animals. Also prevalent in most African cultures is the belief in the continual

survival of the soul after death, with the dead still having the rights of continuous

9
involvement in the affairs of the living. In Okeke (1991), Amara Ghost. The

protagonist Amara who died shortly after giving birth to her only child guides Nne

until she met the man of her heart desire. This belief is very common in African

philosophical and traditional system.

One other major feature of African tales and songs was the use of animal-

characters. This formed a great part of the oral narratives in the traditional Nigerian

society. For instance an Okpe folksong (a southern ethnic group in Delta State of

Nigeria) which revolves around the cunning nature of a greedy tortoise is often times

presented as cunning and greedy in many other folksongs alike.

Folksongs as defined in contemporary times are songs that have been passed

through time and no one can easily establish their authors. These songs were sung by

mothers to their children at early stages of growth. These songs were also made

available to the children during occasions that the child attended with parents. Dirges

and lyrical eulogies of Legends formed a very important part of oral tradition and total

moral upbringing in most African societies. In this context, melodic tales of heroes

and heroines, heroic deeds, great deeds of war and warfare are passed on orally from

generation to generations. This most times formed pictures of how a good man should

be, how a good king should behave, the character of a good mother, the right conduct

of a father, brother sister etc. It provided children’s role models to tailor their lives in

the society. Some of the existing legends in present day Nigerian societies still

continue to form the contents of some creative fictions for Nigerian children. For

10
instance, Osewingie Ebohon’s Nogbaisi. This was a song about the great Oba

Ovarahmhen who stood fearlessly against the Europeans. He was the reigning king

during the Benin invasion by the British. He fought bravely and was later exiled to

Calabar. His heroic deeds and character are depicted in this folksong. Apart from

depicting exemplary characters of legends, there were songs for occasions that also

helped in the socialization of children, such as funeral songs, lullabies etc. It is

noteworthy that all these shades of folksongs mostly, had some amount of morals to

teach the child. Most folktales had features of folk-singing to make it more enjoyable

to the children gathered. Folksongs played a lot of roles apart from even teaching. For

instance Folksongs served as a form of escape from depression. For instance, the story

of omekagu. The rightful heir to the throne played his horn expressing his bitterness

and calling on the gods of the land to avenge for him. Folksongs were also used in

passing messages and as a medium of making complaints about injustice. This is

exemplified in the Bini musical series of odo where the husband of Iyobosa (a very

troublesome and promiscuous wife) used a song to tell the stories of his wife’s

atrocities to his kinsmen in family meetings. Some traditional institutions like

marriage, the Osu Caste system (among the Igbos), the new yam festivals, the Hausa

traditional durbar, were most times brought to the awareness of children through

folksongs and folktales. This is with the intention to transmit moral values and societal

consciousness. In the near past during the apartheid rule, in South Africa, one cannot

deny that folksongs played a very big role in Negroes of South Africa’s emancipation.

For instance iyo-sihelel-mama was a song explicating the pains that South Africans

11
were going through in the hands of their oppressors. The song also gave some hope

that South Africa will be free someday, and so, they were freed.

Although, most of the African oral narratives targeted at children audience had

direct implication for entertainment, and the main reasons behind them (among other

reasons) were for inserting and moulding of characters and preparing for adult roles

(Nkata, 2001). This helped the child to learn what is worthwhile with joy and

happiness without pains or mental stress, unlike contemporary times. In this context,

the types of moral message were a reflection of acceptable societal values. Folksongs

in indigenous culture usually stemmed from traditional beliefs and values. These

values, most times, emphasized individual responsibility on the concern for the

environment, communal welfare right, morals and attitude. Moral ethos were

determined through the perspective of their society. It is about the decolonization of

the African minds. This is unlike contemporary times were values regarding every part

of the African society seem to be borrowed. This has led to severe indoctrination on

the part of many Nigerians in virtually all sectors of morals.

According to Omonijo et al (2014), “people possess certificates without moral

value to complement with, because, Nigerians seem to have lost their moral integrity

to modernity”. Modernity, according to Omonijo et al (2014) began with the

enlightenment and it symbolizes separation from the past and requires a process that

usually goes from traditional to modern. In an attempt to be modern, evil ways of life

such as fraud, prostitution, and perversion of justice, not known in pre-colonial era,

12
were introduced into the Nigerian culture. It is therefore concluded that teaching of

moral character rooted in cultural ethics and ethos at all levels of education, coupled

with godly doctrines, will not only help to produce pragmatic leaders; but will also

ensure the attainment and sustenance of national development.

More confusing, teachers today are divided on what values should be taught to

children. Traditional values of conformity to societal ethos and traditional morality is

at face-off with foreign values of individualism and relativism. The media with its

display of strong language, sexual contents, profanity and violent scenes have however

not helped in charting a moral direction for the African child. From observation and

the study of folksongs in present times, firstly, seem to be available when children

from local schools sit to play boju-boju, obi-kere-re-mu-ke etc while children of the

middle class sing more foreign folk music such as ba-ba black sheep, fero-jacko etc as

a mark of academic sophistication and modernity. Secondly, folksongs with all its

appealing and melodic African taste are now utilized by dangerous secret cult group

members in Nigeria to portray and preach their cynic philosophies and activities to the

hearing of its members. These very horrifying and violence-laden songs are easily

downloadable from the internet. Some deadly groups call it jolly, and they also call it

jojo.

The present poverty in public or social morality in Nigeria leaves much room

for reflection and concern. This however, may not be far from indiscipline epitomized

by lack of honesty in public and other social affairs. In more recent times, high

13
incidence of fraud, cyber-crimes (yahoo boys), human and drug trafficking, juvenile

crimes, teenage pregnancy have caused many to declare Nigeria as an immoral nation.

These crises have complex origins with a growing trend to link the solution to problem

of teaching moral value in our schools. In other words, when there is decadence in the

moral status of most societies, there is always this tendency to look up to the schools

or the educational institutions to remedy the situation. This, however, may not be quite

out of place, because, firstly education is a value-realizing institution and schools,

especially, are seen as the moral energy of the society. In the school subject curricula,

there are particular subjects that are mostly vehicles to instill right moral attitudes in

the learners. This indeed is the actual essence of the schools as producers of people

that are good both in character and learning.

Essentially, in this study, African folksongs have been identified as having

underlying moral values which may have implications for reviving and teaching

authentic African moral values to the Nigerian child of today, just like it did in times

past. Oftentimes, such African folksongs are friendlier with the sages or old folks in

the African society. They are rarely found in literary textbooks recommended to

educational institutions. These textbooks are mostly employed in the teaching of

cultural and creative arts, music and Literature-in-English as school subjects. This is

also with the expectation that serious thought is given to the moral undertone of these

folksongs.

14
Statement of the Problem

Africa and Nigeria’s existence and development in particular appear to be

hindered by prevalent internal moral problems, such as those mentioned above. On a

lighter scale these problems take shape in several forms of immorality, even amongst

its current political leaders. On a practical scale, they manifest as fraud, dishonesty,

subversion of justice, mismanagement of the rule of law and due processes in the

nation’s social, political and economic life. A critical analysis of all these anomalies,

all point at the direction of the ailing moral health of the country. Nigerians still

remain stigmatized by the international community as not just only one of the most

corrupt countries in the world, but also one with high rates of terrorism, human-

trafficking, prostitution, black magic, ritualism and as one sitting on a keg of gun

powder waiting to detonate through corrupt practices. For instance, many persons in

the past and even present day scholars, have predicted the splitting of the country

along ethnic lines. This is seemingly due to lack of high moral standards is posing a

serious threat to national development. The culprits responsible for this deadly plague

are the leaders of the society, because they have not been leading with some

appropriate moral qualities. It is quite unfortunate they wouldn’t live so long to reap

these, rather the repercussion falls mostly on the future generations. The onus

therefore falls on the younger generation of the society to either continue in this trend

or change the tides of this immorality so as to chart a way of positive development for

the nation. It is, however, saddening that even the youths who ought to be the

15
lifejackets, are also deeply steeped in the pool of immorality. This necessitates a

comprehensive moral education programme for the country in order to develop in the

younger generation the right virtues capable of setting the country on the right part.

The problem of this study therefore was to explore the plausibility of integrating

Nigerian traditional folksongs into Nigeria’s basic education academic curriculum and

extra-curricular activities, with an aim to revive, recall and to teach authentic African

moral values to the Nigerian child.

Research Questions

The following research questions were raised to guide the study

1. What is the nature of African traditional Philosophy?

2. What are the predominant vehicles for African traditional knowledge

3. Can the contents of African folksongs serve as a viable vehicle for African

moral Philosophy?

4. To what extent are the ideals embedded in African Folksongs relevant to proper

moral education of the contemporary Nigerian child?

5. What and how can African folksongs be included in any curriculum aimed at

moral education for Nigerian secondary school?

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to determine how the moral values in

African folksongs can be revived and taught to school children with a goal to help

16
minimize contemporary moral problems in the Nigerian society. Specifically, the

study investigated

1. The extent to which moral values in African folksongs can help in the

inculcation of right moral attitude in the child.

2. The extent to which children’s literature can be used to broaden the child’s

understanding of the African worldview.

3. The extent to which African folksongs can be used in transmitting African

cultural values and belief systems to the child.

Significance of the Study

When this study is successfully completed, it could hopefully contribute

immensely to the body of knowledge, and increased information in the area of moral

values in African folksongs. It will be of great benefit to parents, government,

education planners, teachers, traditional rulers and children’s book publishers and

philosophers.

Moreso, The outcome of this study could help government and educational

policy makers on the need to review the present educational curriculum (especially at

the basic level) and make those subjects that promote Nigerian cultural values core

subjects that will be offered by all students in school. Nigerian school teachers would

be challenged by the outcome of this study to be morally upright and be good role

models to their students.

17
 Moreover, Parents living in urban areas that have adopted different

contemporary approaches to inculcate moral values in their children would have a

change of mind and start using the traditional method of inculcating moral values in

children through African folksongs. The use of these African pedagogical vehicle will

help teach the child authentic African moral values. Also, the outcome of this research

work could give more encouragement to our traditional rulers in Nigeria towards the

preservation of the rich cultural heritage in their various communities.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This research work covered some written and oral African folksongs that are

recommended as children’s literature in schools of the country. Precisely, some

written and oral folksongs selected were as follows:

1. Bata MiAdu Koko Bah, 2.BojuBoju, 3. IyeOge, 4. Olurubi, 5.OtutuUgo, 6.

Omekagu, 7. Obiajulu, 8. Senzemina, 9.Shone Malanga, 10.Siyahamba, 11.Nwa Bu

Onyiye, 12. Udegbunam, 13. Ki Nin Ofoleshe, 14. Omode O Gbohun, 15. Omi Hen

Hona

Mama Lisa’s world (2018) children play songs and indigenous folksongs

(a source material) retrieved from https//www.mamalisa.com. Other works will also be

considered from interviews with parents and traditional clerics.

In the typical African society there are all forms of folksongs. However, here

we are limited to folksongs that have worthwhile moral contents capable of teaching

18
some form of African moral virtues. The folksongs as employed here are such with

moral aspects to learn from. The study is also limited to students of basic level

education in Nigeria.

Definition of Terms:

Moral Value: This is an acceptable idea of right and wrong that can be a standard for

judging the worth of a situation. Moral values according to past and contemporary

scholars may vary in different contexts. This is said to be based on several factors such

as culture, religion, social groupings, laws of the land etc. Moral values used in this

study shall be one based on the African context. This, through the good office of

folksongs, shall be used to compare and correct seemingly modern day immoral

trends.

Indigenous Education: Indigenous Knowledge may be defined as the cumulative

body of strategies, practices, techniques, tools, intellectual resources, explanations,

beliefs, and values accumulated over time in a particular locality. In this study,

African ways of “coming to know” (epistemology) shall be discussed with intents of

ascertaining the relevance and usefulness of folksongs in traditional and contemporary

Africa.

Cultural Values: cultural values are the core principles and ideals upon which an

entire community exists. This is made up of several parts: customs (which are

traditions and rituals), values (which are beliefs). In this study, cultural values of

Africans shall be discussed. This will be discussed with intents of spotting a

19
contradistinction between traditional (authentic) African cultural values and modern

day moral crisis in Nigeria. The spotting of this contradistinction (between these two

moral blocs) shall be made possible through revelations gotten from African

traditional folksongs and an explication current day moral-breakdown.

Folksongs: Folksongs in this study are traditional songs of a people. They are songs of

anonymous origin (or are public domain) that are transmitted orally. They are

frequently a major aspect of national or cultural identity. Folk as used in this study

shall mean a group people or settlers with defined cultural and geographical space.

Folklore has been seen by scholars to be the ways the folk kept their history, culture

and lifestyle safe and alive. This was sometimes done for several other purposes such

as education, entertainment etc. It therefore follows that Folk-stories were stories

about the folk. Stories that could be told for pleasure or for education. Same also goes

for folksongs as songs about and of a folk. Just like folklore in general and folk-stories

in particular, folksongs can be sung for pleasure as in entertainment or education. In

this study, folksongs shall be examined from the educational point of reference.

20