GPH-International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research

Personal Names as Repositories of Communal History and Circumstance among the Igala People of Kogi State

2026-08-02T11:35:48+00:00

Personal names among African communities function as durable instruments of memory, holding within a single word the conflict, migration, reconciliation and communal occurrence that shaped the moment of a child's birth; this premise underlies the paper, Personal Names as Repositories of Communal History and Circumstance among the Igala people of Kogi State. The paper attempted to identify the categories of communal history and circumstance encoded in Igala personal names, examined the processes by which such names are assigned in relation to family and communal conditions surrounding birth, and assess the extent to which this historical content is presently preserved or eroded among Igala bearers in Kogi State. Halbwachs's Social Memory Theory was adopted as the guiding framework, treating personal names as social instruments through which a community relocates and sustains its past. A systematic review methodology, structured according to the PRISMA 2020 guideline, was employed, drawing on twelve verified scholarly sources retained after a staged process of identification, screening and eligibility assessment. Findings showed that Igala names encode identifiable categories of communal experience, including conflict, migration and reconciliation; that naming is assigned through an interpretive, communally witnessed process rather than private parental choice; and that indigenous naming content is undergoing measurable erosion among urban and elite bearers, though comparative evidence suggests deliberate maintenance can sustain such content even beyond the ancestral territory. The paper concluded that Igala personal names remain a viable, though weakening, repository of communal history, and recommended deliberate documentation, community-based naming education and further empirical fieldwork within Kogi State.

Correcting Misrepresentation: Igala Names as Evidence Against External Narratives of Negative Meaning

2026-08-02T11:46:19+00:00

Names are never neutral; they carry the weight of a people's culture, history, and self-understanding, yet unfamiliar names are routinely misread, diminished, or dismissed by those standing outside the culture that produced them. It is this problem that motivates this paper on "Correcting Misrepresentation: Igala Names as Evidence Against External Narratives of Negative Meaning." The paper examined the structural and semantic composition of Igala personal names, to identify and evaluate the external and internalised narratives that attribute negative or evil meanings to them, and to present verified documentary evidence as a corrective against these narratives. It adopted Afrocentricity theory as its theoretical framework, privileging indigenous self-testimony over externally imposed judgement in determining what Igala names actually mean. Methodologically, the paper adopted a systematic review, synthesising sociological, linguistic, and field-documentary sources on Igala naming alongside comparative literature on name-based discrimination and colonial misrepresentation. The paper showed that Igala names are deliberately constructed grammatical and ritual units encoding theological, historical, and moral instruction; that claims of negative meaning persist through both colonial-era mischaracterisation and internalised self-doubt within the Igala community; and that independently corroborated evidence overwhelmingly attributes courage, gratitude, faith, and honour to these names rather than the alleged negativity. The paper concluded that the prevailing negative narrative is factually unsustainable, and recommended formal documentation of name meanings, targeted community sensitisation, and further peer-reviewed compilation of verified Igala naming data.

Intergenerational Transmission of Igala Naming Practices amid Religious and Educational Change

2026-08-02T11:57:54+00:00

Personal naming among the Igala people of Kogi State has long functioned as a repository of ancestral memory, theological conviction and linguistic artistry, yet this inheritance now confronts the twin pressures of religious conversion and Western-style schooling, a tension this paper examined under the title Intergenerational Transmission of Igala Naming Practices amid Religious and Educational Change. The paper pursued three objectives, namely to establish the extent to which elders transmit the meanings, structure and ceremonial procedures of indigenous names within the family, to assess the influence of religious affiliation on the choice between indigenous and foreign names, and to determine the effect of formal education on younger Igala persons' competence in the Igala language and their consequent capacity to reproduce indigenous naming forms. Socio-onomastic theory provided the guiding framework, treating naming as a form of social action shaped by its surrounding conditions. A systematic review methodology, structured according to the PRISMA reporting guideline, was adopted to identify, screen and synthesise relevant scholarly sources. The review found that ceremonial transmission persists procedurally while interpretive competence increasingly concentrates among elders, that religious affiliation produces substitution, hybrid and demotion patterns in naming choice rather than a single uniform effect, and that English-medium education measurably erodes the linguistic competence underlying indigenous naming. The paper concluded that the survival of Igala naming as a living rather than ceremonial practice depends on reconciling religious and educational institutions with indigenous linguistic continuity, and recommended explanatory naming ceremonies, hybrid naming dialogue with religious leaders, and curriculum-based Igala language instruction.

The Shift from Cost Cutting to Value Creation: A Paradigm for Integrating Procurement Strategy in Dufil Company, Port Harcourt

2026-08-03T13:15:17+00:00

The study examines the shift from cost cutting to value creation through an integrated procurement strategy framework, using Dufil Industries, Port Harcourt as a case context. Procurement strategy was conceptualised through three dimensions, namely strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, and procurement integration, while value creation was treated as a composite dependent variable. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, given the ordinal nature of the perception-based data obtained through a structured questionnaire administered to 152 staff of the procurement, supply chain, and production departments. Descriptive results showed generally favourable perceptions of procurement practice, with strategic sourcing recording the highest mean score (M = 3.74), followed by value creation (M = 3.68) and supplier relationship management (M = 3.61), while procurement integration recorded the lowest, though still moderately high, mean score (M = 3.42). The correlation results showed that strategic sourcing (rho = 0.612, p < 0.05), supplier relationship management (rho = 0.587, p < 0.05), and procurement integration (rho = 0.493, p < 0.05) each had a positive and statistically significant relationship with value creation, leading to the rejection of all three null hypotheses, with strategic sourcing exerting the strongest association and procurement integration the weakest. The study is anchored on the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory, which jointly explain how procurement-related resources and capabilities can be configured to create and sustain competitive advantage, and the findings are consistent with prior empirical studies linking sourcing, supplier relationships and functional integration to firm performance and value outcomes. The study concludes that procurement strategy, taken as a whole, significantly drives value creation in Dufil Company, Port Harcourt. It is recommended that procurement units in manufacturing firms such as Dufil Company be repositioned from transactional cost centres to strategic value-creating units.

DOMESTIC REBELLION: HOW WOMEN WEAPONISE DECEPTION AS FEMINIST RESISTANCE IN THE SECRET LIVES OF BABA SEGI’S WIVES BY LOLA SHONEYIN

2026-08-04T10:48:28+00:00

This paper explores how weaponised deception functions as a calculated form of feminist resistance within the patriarchal household in Lola Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives. Moving beyond traditional critical evaluations that mischaracterise co-wife rivalries as moral failings or domestic malice, the study applies James C. Scott’s framework of infrapolitics alongside Obioma Nnaemeka’s Nego-feminism to map the subversive operations of the Alao household. It examines how the senior wives utilize systemic paternity fraud, capital siphoning, and performative flattery within micro-spaces like the kitchen to quietly undermine the patriarch's authority and reclaim reproductive autonomy. The analysis further traces how the fourth wife, Bolanle, acts as an accidental catalyst whose demand for modern scientific transparency collapses these protective illusions. Ultimately, the paper argues that Shoneyin validates duplicity as a legitimate postcolonial survivalist methodology, transforming a strict patriarchy into a renegotiated space of shared female authority.

Collaborative Humanities, Theoretical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges

2026-08-08T11:05:49+00:00

Collaborative Humanities has emerged as a significant paradigm in contemporary scholarship, reflecting a shift from individualistic research traditions toward interdisciplinary and participatory modes of knowledge production. This paper examines the theoretical foundations and contemporary challenges of Collaborative Humanities, drawing on perspectives from the digital humanities, sociocultural theory, and interdisciplinary research. It explores how collaboration among scholars, institutions, and communities enhances the production, dissemination, and application of humanistic knowledge while fostering inclusivity and intellectual diversity. The study discusses key theoretical orientations that underpin collaborative approaches, including constructivist epistemology, participatory knowledge production, and networked scholarship - emphasizing their relevance to modern humanities research. At the same time, the paper identifies major challenges confronting Collaborative Humanities, such as institutional constraints, authorship and intellectual property concerns, unequal access to resources, disciplinary boundaries, and technological disparities. Through conceptual analysis and illustrative examples, the study demonstrates that while collaborative models expand the scope and social relevance of the humanities, their effective implementation requires supportive institutional frameworks, equitable participation, and sustainable infrastructures. The paper concludes that Collaborative Humanities represents a transformative approach to scholarship capable of addressing complex social and cultural issues, but its long-term viability depends on resolving structural and methodological challenges within contemporary academic environments.