AMAMIHE Journal of Applied Philosophy

EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF AFRICAN FOLKTALES

Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu, PhD — 2025-06-30

African people are storytelling people. And these stories, usually about nature- plants, animals, the other aspects of the environment- are employed in daily conversations to mirror the ideas of the African people and their general outlook on life, conduct, and morals. It is such that they carry the traditions, culture, and life of the African people, not only as a means for the preservation of the African values but also as a means of communicating them to the next generation. This piece attempts to study the nature of African folktales, their types, and educational value. For the achievement of the aim and objectives of this work, the phenomenological and hermeneutic methods of inquiry will be employed. The Igwebuike theoretical framework will be used for the interpretation and understanding of the African reality and its relationships. This research discovered that apart from the African system of education, which is tied to roles such as farming, hunting, firewood gathering, etc., the African got much more instruction through tales, which has for centuries before the advent of Western education, served as an integrated classroom. It further recommended the employment of African indigenous folktales in educational institutions in Africa, more importantly, at the primary and secondary levels. In this way, the African will be taught within categories that he or she understands and appreciates.

FALSE TESTIMONIES AND RELIGIOUS MANIPULATIONS: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR MASS COMMUNICATION

Shekinah Pius Emenogu — 2025-06-30

This paper critically examines the emergence and proliferation of false testimonies and religious manipulations within contemporary Christianity, particularly within Pentecostal and Charismatic traditions in Nigeria. While testimonies serve vital roles in affirming faith, motivating congregants, and promoting religious growth, they are increasingly exploited for economic gain, psychological control, and the consolidation of clerical authority. This study investigates how these deceptive practices are communicated and legitimized through mass media platforms. Anchored in Social Exchange Theory and Weber’s concept of Charismatic Authority, the paper explores the intersection of religious communication and media, highlighting the ethical dilemmas posed by falsified testimonies and manipulative religious broadcasts. This paper contributes to a broader understanding of the intersection between religion, media, and social influence, offering insights into the challenges of navigating truth and deception in an increasingly complex information environment. It employs qualitative content analysis of televised religious programs and digital testimonies, offering insight into how mass communication perpetuates spiritual deception. Recommendations are made for ethical religious broadcasting and increased media literacy among religious audiences.

RATIONALIZATION: ITS EFFECTS ON AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

Afamnede Godfrey Oguechuo, PhD — 2025-06-30

Rationalization, the process through which traditional beliefs and practices are systematically analyzed and adapted to fit modern frameworks, poses significant challenges to African Traditional Religion (ATR), which has long been the bedrock of African identity, spirituality, and cultural heritage. This paper investigates the multifaceted effects of rationalization on ATR, exploring how the shift towards logical and empirical explanations undermines the mystical and spiritual dimensions intrinsic to indigenous practices. This paper aims to contribute to the discourse on the ongoing tension between modernization and the preservation of indigenous cultural practices, ultimately advocating for a balance that respects both traditional and contemporary dimensions of African spirituality. This research makes use of the culture-area approach method in its work. It recommends, among other the avoidance of over-rationalization, reductionism, and disconnection from communal practices. By acknowledging and navigating these complexities, ATR can maintain its unique spiritual and cultural heritage while adapting to the challenges and opportunities of the modern world.

SOCIAL MEDIA HATE SPEECH: A SOCIO-PRAGMATICS INVESTIGATION

Abiodun C. Ayeni, PhD — 2025-06-30

This study focused on identifying, categorizing, and analyzing hate expressions prevalent on social media in Nigeria. Through the use of an internet-based application, the study purposively gathered twenty (20) utterances and two (2) songs containing hate-related content from the period of 2014 to 2023. These samples were sourced from two digital platforms: X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. Three primary themes of hate speech were identified: ethnic motivated hate speech, religious-motivated hate speech, and politically-motivated hate speech. Ethnic-motivated hate speech emerged as the most dominant category, accounting for 42.3% (n = 11) of the collected data, while politically-motivated hate speech was the least represented at 26.9% (n = 6). Applying the Socio-Pragmatics framework alongside the Hate Speech Act theories to interpret the data, the study highlighted distinct linguistic and contextual features that characterize hate speech. Furthermore, findings revealed that hate expressions were strategically utilized by social media users to demean, dehumanize, or silence individuals/groups targeted by such utterances. It concluded that hate expressions are deliberately crafted to inflict significant emotional and psychological harm on their targets, thereby reinforcing a sense of subordination. Additionally, the recurring use of hate expressions was linked to their function as identifiers or labels for distinguishing concrete entities.

ANALYSIS OF BOLA AHMED TINUBU’S 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN SPEECH

Abiodun C. Ayeni, PhD — 2025-06-30

This study presents the Harrison et al. (2017) model of Speech Act analysis of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2023 campaign speech at Anambra. The study identified, categorised, and accounted for the speech acts performed by Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT). The speech was broken down into texts, and forty-five (45) tests were obtained for analysis. Using the qualitative and quantitative data analysis method, the data were coded as Text1 to Text 45. The study identified the five (5) key speech acts that were propounded by Harison et al (2017) -convention, intention, function, expression, and norm- and three (3) other peculiar speech acts -Norm/Intention, Function/Intention and Expression/Intention- which are products of the combination of two of Harison et al.'s (2017) speech acts to form a speech act. Two texts from each speech act found in the study were analysed, making a total of sixteen (16) texts analysed. Intention, with 44.4% frequencies of occurrence emerged the most frequently used speech act, followed by: Norm/Intention with 13.3% frequencies of occurrence, Norm with 11 %frequencies of occurrence, Convention with 8.9% frequencies of occurrence, Expression and Function with 6.7% frequencies of occurrence each, and finally, Function/Intention and Expression /Intention with 4.5% frequencies of occurrence respectively. The study revealed that Intention was the most frequently used speech act by BAT to convey his political aims and ambition so as to achieve his intention. The study concludes that this approach of inspiring and persuading the audience to get the audience’s votes by politicians, and in turn, attain their political intents, is a common phenomenon found in political speeches.

TOWARDS A VIRILE DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA, THE AFRICAN MAN’S UNDYING HOPE: A PHILOSOPHICAL ASSESSMENT

Ignatius C. Uzondu, Ph.D — 2025-06-30

Before the exploration of African land by the Portuguese in the 1400s, Africans had been in tremendous yearning and hope for genuine development, and to date they still yearn and live in hope for its realization. In the United Nations’ world sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda or expectations, one sees that currently, most African nations have not achieved even one goal out of the 17 sustainable goals. Africans, nevertheless, continue to hope for better days, and the African communal and communitarian spirit continues to sustain Africans in its march towards the achievement of the SDGs. Within the context of this paper, Nigeria, since its independence to date, has been struggling for economic emancipation and development through successive political regimes. Not minding the fact that Nigeria has had 25 years of unbroken democratic governance, genuine democratic leadership has been elusive, and its citizens are yet to enjoy core democratic dividends and significant economic development. Today, citizens continue to wallow in hard economic recession and abject poverty amid plenty of wealth, despite the country’s rich human and natural resources. Thus, the recurring fundamental question is why efforts to fix Nigeria’s underdevelopment have failed all means adopted so far? Added to this is the fear that the new democratic culture appears to have lost its flare, especially with the current web of partisan politics. One, therefore, is challenged to ask if honest politics, true democracy, and leadership are still possible in Africa and Nigeria. Using philosophical analysis, we look critically at the African/Nigerian economy and democratic governance, in order to see the root cause of its degeneracy or debasement and proffer solutions for a better Africa and Nigeria.

POLITICS OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS IMPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MODULAR REFINERIES IN NIGERIA

Kussah, Terwase Kimbir, Ph.D. — 2025-06-30

This paper examines the impact of petroleum product importation policies on the development of modular refineries in Nigeria between 2012 and 2023. It investigates the relationship between import license allocation, crude oil for fuel swap deals, and investors in modular refineries. The research questions whether unaccountable subsidisation of petroleum products imports undermines investment in modular refinery development and human capital development in Nigeria's downstream petroleum industry. The findings suggest that the nonchalant attitude of not fixing state-owned refineries and undermining modular refinery development through reprehensible policies is deliberate due to primitive accumulation through subsidies.

DEMONISATION OF AFRICAN CULTURES BY EUROPEAN MISSIONARIES AND THE CHRISTIAN MISSION IN AFRICA: A PASTORAL INTROSPECTION

Nweke, Charles Ikechukwu — 2025-06-30

This article highlights the general impact of the demonisation of African cultures by the early European Christian missionaries on the Christian mission in Africa. This is done against the backdrop of the prevalence of inauthenticity and religious syncretism among African Christians. The study believes that the early European Christian missionaries misconceived, misinterpreted, and humiliated African cultures on the course of their missionary activities among the people. And this could have been inspired, among other things, by the European bias and misconceptions against Africa and Africans as a dark continent and a people without civilisation, respectively, as popularized by some of their renowned thinkers and philosophers like Comte, Hegel, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Homer etc. Hence, it is only by unveiling and embracing the shameful truth of this negative approach of the Christian missionaries to African cultures, and making some appropriate adjustments in her missionary endeavours in this light, shall the Christian mission shall bear the desired fruit of authentic Christian life among Africans. This calls for some effective dialogue between Christianity and African cultures.

IGWEBUIKE INTEGRATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY

Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu, PhD — 2025-06-30

African scholars have responded variously to the question of who a person is in African ontology. Some scholars have spoken of the African personality in terms of Africa’s geo numerical identity, some others have spoken of Africa in terms of her civilization and colour based identities. These perspectives notwithstanding, this piece focused on the relational-based identity of the African personality. While several papers have discussed the relational-based identity of the African personality, the present work distinguishes itself by its specific understanding of the African living person as a dialectically relational organism, with a coherent pluralism or a composite of complex elements within the same self. To achieve the aim and objectives of this paper, the Igwebuike theoretical framework will be utilized. This complementary framework will guide the development of this piece. The hermeneutic and analytical methods of inquiry will also be employed during the course of the development of the paper.