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Portrayal of corruption and image of Nigerian leaders in written IGBO poetry: A mirror image reading

Author Affiliations

  • 1Department of Linguistics and African Languages, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Res. J. Language and Literature Sci., Volume 10, Issue (1), Pages 8-16, January,19 (2023)

Abstract

Corruption and poor leadership have been adjudged to be responsible for the present economic woes of Nigeria, forcing its many citizens into untold hardship. Earlier studies on corruption in Nigeria were more of political discourse; the views of Igbo poets who write in Igbo language have not been sought regarding the matter. To this end, this study investigates written Igbo poetry, with a view to examine how modern Igbo poets portray the menace of corruption in Nigeria and their views about Nigerian leaders, being the principal actors in the Nigerian project. Five poems written by four Igbo poets; two male and two females constitute the data for this study. The poems were randomly chosen to represent poems written in the four decades of the existence of written Igbo poetry (1975-2015), with a poem each representing each decade. Data were analyzed through the lenses of the Mirror image theory. Findings show that corruption in Nigeria has grown worse from the time the Igbo poets began mirroring it to 2015. Again the image of Nigerian leaders held up by modern Igbo poets in their works is that of corrupt and insincere elite group that cares less about the people they claim to lead. The study recommendsa psychological and moral examination of anyone vying for political office in Nigeria.

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