THE PIDGIN LANGUAGE AS A TOOL FOR POETIC REFLECTIONS IN ECHEZONA IFEJIRIKA'S SONGS OF INITIATION

Abstract

This work focuses on how Echezona Ifejirika uses Pidgin English in his text, Songs of Initiation, to depict some societal ills and follies in the Nigerian system. These societal ills, such as fraud, joblessness, squandering and misuse of public funds, economic and political instability, poor standards of education, examination malpractice, embezzlement, bribery and corruption, sheer wickedness, and other forms of irregularities, are frowned upon by the poet, primarily to correct them through his work. The poet’s use of an alternative language reflects his opinion that poems can also be written in a manner that can be easily understood by ordinary people and not only by the elites in society. This implies that the research exposes the poet and his poems to a wider audience with a view to sharing the contents and lessons of the poems. The theoretical framework of this work is sociological theory because of the contemporary issues discussed in the text. The data for this study were obtained through literary research from different textbooks, library materials, journals, dictionaries, internet sources, and the primary text, Songs of Initiation. However, this work aims to caution society through Pidgin English poetry, while also advising Nigerian politicians who have taken governance as an avenue for private enrichment to retrace their steps.