A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PECULIAR CONCEPT OF COMMUNAL-CARING-AND- INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN LAGOS IN YORÙBÁ WRITTEN POETRY

Abstract

One of the privileges that Lagos, either as a metropolitan city or State, has that others in Nigeria do not have is socio-economic opportunity as the commercial hub of the Nigerian economy with its proximity to the Sea and the Ocean. However, the Yoruba communal values system, which encompasses greetings and an attitude of caring that are integral to interpersonal relationships and deeply entrenched in Yoruba cultural heritage, is fractured by many peculiar challenges. The focus of this is a critical examination of city life in Lagos, specifically the interpersonal relationships of Lagosians.¹ The paper addresses the perennial problem, such as the essence of having cordial interpersonal relationships, for individual and societal development. The poem of Olúgbóyèga Àlàbá, titled: “Ìlú Ọ̀dájú,” (a town of the hard-hearted people), serves as our data. The twenty-two-line poem with four stanzas is subjected to a critical literary analysis, using the Culturalist theory. Findings show that the intra/iter-personal relationship that could still be found in the hinterland, “ìlú-òkè”, is elusive to many residents in Lagos. But more importantly, virtually everyone is living or relating with others with mutual suspicion; perhaps with unpalatable personal experience or misinformation about Lagos as a violent place. Hence, the city is referred to as a town of wisdom, “ìlú ọgbọ́n,” where everybody is expected to be too conscious of his or her environment and the trending phenomenon to fend, protect, and “fight” for survival of the fittest or his or her “rights.”