Popular Culture in Nigeria: The Case Study of Nigerian Music Industry

Year 2020, Issue: 5, 124 - 139, 24.12.2020

Bilal Rabiu Kolo Mustafa Yağbasan

Abstract

We are living in a period portrayed by various, magnificent, addictive, and unremitting excitement in the circle of popular culture. With the coming of online life, it has turned out to be simpler to spread culture over the globe, changing the world into one worldwide society. This has additionally caused the entrance of popular culture into different parts of society. Yet there is no denial that popular culture has some disastrous consequences on youth’s capacity meaningfully to societal development. It could be said that this culture has affected many individuals’ life in a negative way and it has directly reflected on the communal living. Despite that it has been observed that the popular culture products are being rapidly consumed. Many reasearchers has sought for explanation to this complicated puzzle. No doubt Frankfurt School of Thought’s findings in this regard are of remarkable nature. And it is upon this school that I attributed all my arguments regarding the true intention of popular culture products. I would argue that popular culture was deliberately planned to control people, serve the needs of capitalism and ensure the continuity of its dominance. And to support my argument I have based my theoretical framework on Frankfurt School of Thought. For the Frankfurt School, popular culture is the culture produced by the culture industry to secure the stability and continuity of capitalism. The main focus of this article is to introduce to the readers the popular culture in Nigeria focusing on music as a case study. Thus, an overview of how the music industry has affected the Nigerian society is going to be put forward. To achieve that, I started by defining what popular culture is, and then go on to discuss the demographics of Nigeria. The research after has tried to put forward how the popular culture and musical products affected and corrupted the society

Keywords

Popular Culture, Nigeria, Youth, Music Industry, Frankfurt School of Thought

Nijerya’da Popüler Kültür: Nijerya Müzik Endüstrisi Üzerine Örnek Olay İncelemesi

Abstract

Popüler kültür sarmalında; farklı, görkemli ve bağımlılık yartan coşkuların ortaya çıktığı bir süreç yaşanmaktadır. Çevrimiçi yaşam ise küresel kültürün dünya genelinde yaygınlaşmasını kolay hale getirerek, dünyayı sarmalayan yeknesak bir toplumun ortaya çıkmasına sebebiyet vermiştir. Böylelikle popüler kültür, dünya toplumlarının tümüne sirayet etmiştir. Süphesiz, popüler kültür daha ziyade gençler üzerinde etkili olmakta ve toplumsal gelişmeyi engelleyen bazı olumsuz sonuçlara yol açmaktadır. Bu kültürün aynı şeklide pek çok bireyin hayatını menfi yönde etkilediği ve toplumsal yaşama da doğrudan yansıdığı söylenbilir. Buna rağmen popüler kültür ürünlerinin hızla tüketilmeye devam edildiği gözlemlenmektedir. Pek çok araştırmacı ise bu girift sorunun açıklamasına çaba sarfetmektedir. Frankfurt Düşünce Okulu’nun bu anlamdaki tespitleri de kuşkusuz dikkat çekmektedir. Okul, bu kültürün; insanları kontrol altına almak, kapitalizme hizmet etmek ve hâkimiyetinin süreğenliğini sağlamak amacıyla bilinçli olarak planlandığına vurgu yapmaktadır. Popüler kültür ürünlerinin üretiminin reel amacını çözmeyi merkeze alan bu felsefe, bu çalışmanın teorik çerçevesini oluşturmaktadır. Frankfurt Okuluna göre popüler kültür, kapitalizmin istikrarını ve devamlılığını sağlamak üzere kültür endüstrisi tarafından üretilen kültürdür. Çalışmanın temel gayesi Nijerya’daki müzik endüstrisi özelinde popüler kültürü tanıtmaktır. Böylece müzik endüstrisinin Nijerya toplumunu nasıl etkilediğine dair genel bir yaklaşım ortaya konulacaktır. Çalşımaya bu kültürünün tanımlanmasıyla başlanmış ve ardından Nijerya demografisi hakkında bilgiler verilerek toplumun; popüler kültür ve müzik ürünleri marifetiyle nasıl etkilendiği ve yozlaştığı ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır

Keywords

Popüler Kültür, Nijerya, Gençlik, Müzik Endüstrisi, Frankfurt Düşünce Okulu

References

• Adamu, A. U. (2007). Transglobal media flows and African popular culture: Revolution and reaction in Muslim Hausa popular culture. Kano: Visually Ethnographic Productions.
• Agu, D. C. (2008). Advancing music scholarship in Nigerian Contemporary Music theory, pedagogy and creativity. Awka Journal of Research in Music and Arts. (AJRMA). 5, 216-233.
• Asad, T. (1973). Anthropology & the colonial encounter, Vol. 6, (Ed.). London: Ithaca Press.
• Blench R. (2003). Position Paper: The Dimension of Ethnicity, Language and culture in Nigeria, Mallan Dendo, Cambridge, UK.
• Calhoun, C. J. (Ed.). (1992). Habermas and the public sphere. MIT press.
• Edensor, T. (2002). National identity, popular culture and everyday life. Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Effevottu, E. (2019). Youth and Popular Culture Popular Culture and Youth Capacity for Societal Development in Nigeria. University of Ibadan Press.
• Falola, T. & Heaton, M. M. (2008). A history of Nigeria. Cambridge University Press.
• Geary, W. M. (2013). Nigeria Under British Rule (1927). Routledge.
• Ikimẹ, O. (1974). The British in Bauchi, 1901-1908: An Episode in the British Occupation and Control of Northern Nigeria. Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 7(2), 271-290.
• Killam, G. D. (1968). Africa in English Fiction: 1874-1939. [Ibadan, Nigeria]: Ibadan University Press.
• Larkin, B. (2000). Hausa dramas and the rise of video culture in Nigeria. Nigerian video films, 73, 209.
• Larkin, B. (2004). Bandiri music, globalization, and urban experience in Nigeria. Social Text, 22(4), 91-112.
• McGaha, J. (2015). Popular Culture & Globalisation. Multicultural Education. 23(1): 32- 37. National Youth Policy. 2001. February, Abuja.
• Nachbar, J. & Nachbar, J. G., & Lausé, K. (Eds.). (1992). Popular culture: An introductory text. Popular Press.
• Nzewi, M. (2007). Re-searching music education for civic activism. Music Education Research music education for civic activism. Music Education Research, 9:3, 305- 321.
• Ochrie, E & Emeka, L. (2003). Thought systems informing musical arts. In A. Herbst, M. Nzewi and K. Agawu (ed). Musical Arts in Africa; theory, practice and education. University of South Africa. Pretoria pp 38 – 49.
• Okafor, R. C. (1993). Diminuendo: of receding fields and threatened culture among the Igbo of Nigeria. Paper presented at the International Conference in Environmental Issues. Enugu State University of Technology.
• Omibiyi - Obidike (1987). Whither Music Education in Nigeria? Paper presented at the 1st National Conference of Nigerian Association of Music Educators, March 11 – 18. Anambra State College of Education Awka, Nigeria.
• Page, M. E., & McKinlay, A. (1987). Africa and the First World War. Springer.
• Storey, J. (2012). What is popular culture? In Cultural Theory and popular Culture (pp. 17-32). Routledge.
• Street, J. & Inthorn, S. & Scott, M. (2015). Politics and popular culture. Manchester University Press.
• Strinati, D. (2004). An Introduction to Theories of popular Culture. 2ndEdition. London and New York: Routledge.
• Waterman, C. A. (1990). Jùjş: a social history and ethnography of an African popular music. University of Chicago Press. Internet Resources
• Delaney, T. (2007). Pop Culture: An Overview. Retrieved on 29/06/2017 from https:// philosophynow.org/issues/64/pop_culture.
• World Population Review. (2019). Retrieved 05-13, from http://worldpopulationreview. com/countries/nigeria/