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1. Contemporary Investigations on Academic Freedom and Conflict in Africa: A Metaphorical Linguistic Analysis

Author:
Abdul Karim Bangura
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
That transgression against academic freedom is a major human fault line that leads to conflict in Africa is hardly a matter of dispute. Yet, this topic has not received its deserved attention in the study of peace and conflict on the continent. By arguing that one factor that is employed to contravene academic freedom in Africa comprises the metaphors that are employed in discussing the issue, this paper offers a linguistic analysis of the metaphors that have appeared in contemporary works on the topic, beginning with the one commissioned by CODESRIA, edited by Mamadou Diouf and Mah- moud Mamdani, and published in 1993 to that written by John Higgins and published in 2014. This is essential because metaphors are not just “more picturesque speech.” The power of metaphors hinges upon their ability to assimilate new experiences so as to allow the newer and abstract domain of experience to be understood in terms of the former and more concrete, and to serve as a basis and justification for policy making. We should there- fore be horrified by the metaphors that have become the currency in our discourses within the academy, as some of these lead to the loss of lives, employment, gender equity, benefits, prestige, etc.
Topic:
Linguistics, Academia, Domestic Policy, and Free Speech
Political Geography:
Africa

2. Wole Soyinka: Writing and Speaking Peace

Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
The state, one of Nigeria’s major agricultural hubs, has experienced in- cessant attacks by herdsmen ostensibly seeking grazing grounds for their cattle. At a crowded early-morning meeting with the state governor, Sam- uel Ortom, reporters and members of civil society groups, Soyinka spoke with his signature directness.42 He not only pronounced the killings by the herdsmen an act of ethnic cleansing, he also accused President Muham- madu Buhari of abdicating his responsibility to act. And he contended that the time had come to invite the international community to intervene in the festering crisis. He was clear what the international mandate ought to be: to reverse the forcible removal of farmers from their land and end the oc- cupation by the invading herdsmen. The vehemence of his criticism of Bu- hari’s administration was significant. Although grudging, Soyinka’s support of Buhari as a candidate in the 2015 presidential election had scandalized many of the laureate’s fans. For me, the trip to Makurdi was a fitting finale. It showcased Soyinka in his vocation and constituency as both an artist-intellectual and a voice of con- science—a tireless advocate for the restorative balm of justice. As Soyinka told me, in what seemed like a parting shot, “When a community is careless and doesn’t nip in the bud, in time, those with [a] power obsession, with that need to dominate, then they find themselves enslaved. Belatedly they real- ize it, and then they try to struggle out of the net that has been spun around them.”43 At its best, his work has been to urge us all to vigilance, resistance, and a commitment to justice.
Topic:
Political Activism, Language, Peace, and Free Speech
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria