The Framing of Political Messages in Ayinla Omowura’s Song-Texts
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Date
2016-01-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Communication and Language Arts
Abstract
Studies on African popular music have revealed that African musicians
engage in political discourse which they deploy to reconstruct nationhood.
There is no doubt that popular indigenous musical genres, especially those
that were prominent at one time in the past, have been given insufficient
attention in research studies by African scholars. Many of these studies have
been driven especially by social responsibility theory, hegemony and
counter-hegemonic theories and so on. However, this study using framing
theory and textual analysis approach, examined the political themes
described in Ayinla Omowura’s song texts of Orin owo'le Eko (Lagos Rent
Edit), Ire wole de (Udoji Salary Increase), National Census, Eyin Oselu wa
(Our Politicians), Challenge Cup and Late Murtala Mohammed. Findings
reveal that Lagos rent edict, Udoji salary increment report, 1973 national
census, politicians' attitudes to elections, new currency introduction and
1972 change in the driving system are the dominant political events in the
songs. Moreover, the social realities described include militarism,
insufficient basic amenities, unemployment, policy implementation,
hooliganism and electoral violence, rule of law, political class wrangling,
among others. In addition, government and political leaders were mostly
portrayed as benefactors, while masses were sometimes counselled, or
mildly reprimanded by the musician. In conclusion, though the events
described in the selected songs happened in the 1970's in Nigeria, these
themes still feature in the country's socio-political realities and are germane
to political discourses in the twenty-first century Nigeria.
Description
Keywords
Portrayal, Political Communication, Ayinla Omowura, Popular Music, Nationhood