Sustainability of Oral Performance in Nigeria: A Case Study of Urhobo Culture
Keywords:
Sustainability, Orality, Culture, Performance, UrhoboAbstract
Orality precedes all other forms of communication known to humans. In addition, language and culture
are symbiotic considering the fact that without language there is no culture and culture, being the
totality of the way of life of the people is summed up in language. Both are used as means of
identification which suggest that they cannot be separated. This paper studies the level at which orality,
as a means of communication, is deteriorating in Nigeria and amongst the Urhobos, in particular, on a
daily basis. This research uses three significant features of oral performances, which include speaking,
singing and storytelling, to investigate how this orality is being sustained in Nigeria and amongst the
Urhobo people. It was discovered that among 50 respondents of the current generation, only 5% could
speak, sing and tell stories in the language in which the cultural ingredients are stored. This is greatly
affecting the cultural psyche of the people. In return, this situation affects the moral decadence of the
populace, which is an indication that the people and their language are going into extinction. It was
suggested that the Urhobo people in particular and Nigeria at large should wake up to this clarion call
to save and sustain their heritage (culture) of the people for the sake of posterity.
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