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  • Cultural Consciousness and the Human Condition: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Africa and Beyond
    Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025)

    EDITORIAL FOREWORD

    By Prof. Isaiah U. Ilo
    Editor, Abuja Journal of Humanities
    Faculty of Arts, University of Abuja, Nigeria

    It is with great satisfaction and a deep sense of purpose that I present this edition of the Abuja Journal of Humanities (AJH)—Volume 6, Number 1 (2025)—titled “Cultural Consciousness and the Human Condition: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Africa and Beyond.” The selection and publication of this volume emerge from a vision: to foreground rigorous, reflective, and original research that interrogates the shifting dynamics of identity, ethics, expression, and memory as they intersect with Africa’s past, present, and unfolding futures.

    The twenty-four articles gathered in this issue span multiple domains—literature, philosophy, linguistics, media studies, theology, cultural studies, and disability theory. Despite their disciplinary variety, the contributions are unified by a shared concern for understanding how human beings across contexts construct meaning, assert agency, respond to marginalisation, and negotiate belonging. From the subtleties of linguistic variation in post-conflict zones to the decolonial aesthetics of African drama; from the gendered body as a site of cultural resistance to the philosophical implications of transhumanist ideologies—this volume traverses vast terrain while remaining anchored in the African scholarly experience.

    The journal’s contributors engage critically not only with traditional academic canons but with everyday cultural practices, grassroots narratives, and alternative epistemologies that continue to shape African societies. The issue reflects an intentional disruption of the Eurocentric gaze that too often distorts African intellectual contributions. Instead, the articles embody a situated and dignified voice—asserting African thought as central rather than peripheral to global scholarly conversations.

    This volume also marks a significant moment in AJH’s history. It signals our editorial commitment to promoting interdisciplinary scholarship that is bold in scope, inclusive in vision, and ethically grounded. As the humanities grapple with the demands of a rapidly evolving world, the need for scholarly inquiry that is critically alert to context, complexity, and cultural specificity becomes ever more urgent.

    May this issue inspire further reflection, debate, and research. More importantly, may it reaffirm our shared commitment to the humanities as a transformative force—one capable of healing, remembering, imagining, and reconstructing the world through knowledge.

  • Reclaiming African Voices: Identity, Communication, and Social Transformation
    Vol. 6 No. 2 (2025)

    Editor’s Preface

    The Abuja Journal of Humanities is delighted to present Volume 6, No. 2 (2025), a collection of eighteen articles that converge on the theme Reclaiming African Voices: Identity, Communication, and Social Transformation. The contributions span literature, linguistics, theatre, film, philosophy, religion, and history, but they are bound by a shared concern: how Africans negotiate identity, construct meaning, and transform society amidst colonial legacies, cultural contestations, and global shifts.

    This issue affirms that the humanities in Africa are not merely descriptive but transformative. From Igbo naming practices and Yàgbà syntax to ecofeminist struggles in Niger Delta literature and biblical reinterpretations for women’s empowerment, the articles highlight how African voices are both rooted in indigenous epistemologies and responsive to global debates. The unified theme thus captures three central strands: Identity, as scholars reclaim cultural heritage and resist misrepresentation; Communication, as language and discourse shape politics, performance, and law; and Social Transformation, as theology, psychology, and conflict studies point toward healing, resilience, and renewal.

    Section I: Identity, Culture, and Decolonization

    Recovering suppressed voices, reinterpreting cultural heritage, and challenging colonial or patriarchal legacies.

    This section foregrounds how African identities are reclaimed through literature, theatre, archives, and film. Articles revisit ecofeminist struggles, solo playwriting, biblical role models, Igbo naming philosophies, Nollywood controversies, and Pan-African integration. Together, they show that African culture is not static but a living resource for decolonization and renewal.

    • Art. 27 – Environmental Despoliation and Women’s Strategies of Resistance — Chukwu & Gbenoba
    • Art. 32 – Writing Solo Plays in Nigerian Theatre — Agoma
    • Art. 33 – Colonial Power and Relational Being: Igbo Women in Colonial Archives — Aniakor
    • Art. 34 – Biblical Females as Role Models in Nigerian Governance — Egwuanikwu
    • Art. 36 – Cultural Misrepresentation in Gangs of Lagos — Idyo
    • Art. 39 – Igbo Naming and the Philosophy of Decolonization — Agozino
    • Art. 42 – West African Nationalism and ECOWAS — Aminu & Yacob 
    Section II: Language, Communication, and Meaning

    Investigating how language, discourse, and performance shape power, identity, and interpretation.

    Language is central to African humanities. This section examines deception in Ponzi narratives, political defections, minimalist poetic style, Soyinka’s dramatic dialogues, presidential rhetoric, translation ethics, and syntactic structures in Yàgbà. Collectively, these studies reveal how communication is both expressive and political—shaping communities, institutions, and identities.

    • Art. 25 – Discourse of Deception in Ponzi Narratives — Afegbua
    • Art. 26 – Political Defections and Contextual Integrity — Ezenwoali & Osebor
    • Art. 28 – One-Clause Sentences in Yeibo’s Poetry — Aihebholoria
    • Art. 29 – Verbal Jousting in Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel — Ehimen & Korakpe
    • Art. 30 – Pragmatic Functions in Buhari’s Independence Broadcast — Ogundele, Tiamiyu & Dare
    • Art. 31 – Ethics of Translation and Interpretation in Nigeria — Iwala & Ashiru-Abdulrahman
    • Art. 35 – Syntactic Transformations in Yàgbà Dialect — Umaru & Adegboye
    Section III: Religion, Mental Health, and Social Transformation

    Exploring intersections of faith, psychology, trauma, and socio-political crises in shaping African futures.

    The final section brings theology, psychology, and conflict studies into dialogue with Africa’s lived realities. Articles explore trauma and stigma in African literature, prayer and resilience in biblical texts, ethno-religious conflict in Kaduna, and the algorithmic economy of Nigerian skits. They affirm that healing and transformation in Africa must engage both spiritual and socio-cultural resources.

    • Art. 37 – Trauma and Memory in Ikpi and Verissimo — Agboola
    • Art. 38 – Philippians 4:6–7 and Mental Health — Okoh
    • Art. 40 – Ethno-Religious Conflict in Zangon-Kataf — Shuaibu & Tijani
    • Art. 41 – Algorithm, Virality, and Nigerian Skit Production — Ilo

    Together, these eighteen contributions embody a humanities of reclamation. They recover suppressed voices, restore cultural dignity, and reimagine African futures. By weaving identity, communication, and social transformation into one integrated theme, this issue positions African scholarship not as peripheral but as central to the global humanities conversation.

    Prof. Isaiah U. Ilo, Editor AJH