Madness has been frequently represented in English literature since it was an issue concerning not only medical practitioners and social control but also the role of women in society and the exertion of men’s will over wives, sisters, daughters and other female relatives. In this paper, the condition of nineteenth century women confined to the madhouses or asylums is discussed in relation to the different representations made by two Victorian novelists, Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and a contemporary writer, Sarah Waters. Theories of insanity and the motives of women abuse are widely introduced followed by some reflections on the representation of abuse in three novels: The Women in White, Lady Audley’s Secret and Fingersmith. A substantial difference between the first two novels and the modern one is the portrayal of sexual orientation, masochism and pornography.

Pastoralism has been an old practice in the Sahel region of West Africa. In recent years, pastoralists in Nigeria have increasingly been migrating on seasonal transhumance southward from the neighboring countries especially Niger Republic in search of better grazing conditions. This has increased pressure on farmlands which instigate farmer-herder conflicts. These conflicts occur mainly between farmers and pastoralists, but also between pastoralist groups themselves. However, there has been a shift in these conflicts recently to involve traditional institutions and in some cases the local authorities along the borderlands. The involvement of local institutions in the conflict has created an incentive for local actors, particularly pastoral community-based groups in responding to these violent threats. As pastoralists are mobile, these conflicts became difficult to contain and thus, spill across borders. Consequently, the conflict has now transformed into an urbanized regional conflict that involves some major cities along the Nigeria-Niger borderlands; Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina on the Nigerian side and Dosso, Tahoa, and Maradi in the Niger Republic. These areas are now experiencing an unprecedented growing wave of violence that has become complex and escalated into a hydra-social conflict. This research aims to investigate how the fluidities of the Nigeria-Niger borderland intensified armed conflicts between the local pastoral organizations and the sedentary population spreading to some urban cities along the borderlands.

This paper attempts to evaluate the different characteristics in the spiritual world that act on human destiny in blacks ‘cosmology in Ayi Kwei Armah and Gloria Naylor’s fiction while justifying the awareness of black intellectuals in their different approaches to sentence and redemption for African cultural revival. It also exposes black people facing acculturation phenomena and the deconstruction of the ancestral home. However, it argues that the achievement of the struggle for African cultural revival will be possible if they take the initiative in finding out specific strategies that would culturally, socially and politically reconnect black with their indigenous cultural reality. Some of these stratagems include good cultural references, rootedness, unity, teaming work, and rationality. To examine blacks’ spirituality in its double vocation of sentence and redemption, this study uses theories of anti-colonialists and Afro-centrists that advocate total liberation and empowerment of black people while assessing the issues of the disgrace of both African and African-American people. Similarly, the insights and commitment of thinkers like Afro-centrists are well considered as additional elements in this work. Ultimately, the novels contend that in African spirituality there is a divine will owed to the ancestors that have the mission of watching over their people and judging them in several ways when they are satisfied through rituals or recognition. As the authors of the three books suggest, the appreciation of ancestral legacy and cultural advancement is an effective means of ensuring blacks ‘social welfare in their communities and elsewhere.

The rhetoric of the spiritual dialectic is a recurrent phenomenon favourable to radicalism in the wake of disillusionment in the Postcolonial period in Ghana, as dealt in the novels by the Ghanaian writer Ayi Kwei Armah Two Thousand Seasons and KMT: In The House of Life. This situation is evident in colonised African societies, where the subversive discourse between some devotees of new religions such as Islam, Christianism and traditionalism, has stimulated contemporary public debate. It also analyses the anti-social relations between newly converted individuals while placing spiritual dialectic in a conflicting context of stigmatisation. The author’s motivation for raising awareness campaigns against religious intolerance stands for a global pan-Africanist strategy. It focuses on the hypothesis that Africans will only achieve freedom of expression if they set aside their separatist ideologies to nurture inclusive discourses in their societies. Drawing on Marxist and Afro-centrist theories, which advocate class equality and respect for African moral values, we will attempt to analyse in the corpus the various forms of conversational influence between co-religionists in the author’s texts. This work aims to edify readers on the nature of the rhetoric that has resulted from the hasty integration of Africans into new-infested theories of some fanatics favouring otherness in society. Eventually, African moral values are more favourable to the concept of ‘living together,’ since they are a mark of true African identity, fostering harmony and social balance.

Since the return to democratic governance in Nigeria in 1999, the country has witnessed several upheavals and topsy-turvy attempts toward improving people-centered democratic governance and leadership management in Nigeria. The challenges revolve around violation of the rule of law, abuse of fundamental human rights, electoral malpractices, injustice and impunity, corruption, terrorism, political instability, budgetary distortions, poor provision of infrastructural social amenities, unemployment and grinding abject poverty. Due to these numerous challenges, most scholars are skeptical about the success of democracy in Nigeria. Therefore, to understand whether or not the practice of Western democracy is a success story in Nigeria, this paper is structured into the meaning and principles or features of democracy, the success of Western democracy and its failures, and the way forward. The methodologies for data collection were library research and reviews. Qualitative primary data were accessed and used. The findings revealed that while there are gains in democracy, the pains and or failure outweigh the success.

This study aims to conduct a critical analysis of symbolism in modernist literature, with specific reference to the works of T.S. Eliot and Roland Barthes. The objectives of the study are to identify the key symbols employed by these authors, explore their significance within the context of modernist literature, and examine the underlying themes and messages conveyed through these symbols. The methodology of the study involves a comprehensive literature review of relevant scholarly articles, books, and primary sources related to modernist literature, symbolism, and the selected authors' works. The analysis will be conducted through close reading and textual analysis of specific poems and writings by T.S. Eliot and Roland Barthes, focusing on their symbolic elements and their connections to broader social, cultural, and philosophical contexts. The problem statement of this study addresses the need to understand the deeper layers of meaning and significance in modernist literature, particularly with regards to the role of symbolism. By unraveling the layers of symbolism in the works of T.S. Eliot and Roland Barthes, this research aims to shed light on the complexities and nuances of modernist literature, and contribute to a deeper understanding of its artistic and intellectual foundations. The results and discussions of this study anticipate uncovering the intricate symbolic network embedded in the selected authors' works, revealing the multiple layers of meaning and the interplay between symbols and their socio-cultural context. Furthermore, the study aims to identify recurring themes and motifs across their writings, highlighting the distinct approaches to symbolism employed by each author. In conclusion, this study seeks to provide a critical analysis of symbolism in modernist literature, specifically examining the works of T.S. Eliot and Roland Barthes. By exploring the symbols, themes, and underlying messages in their writings, this research aims to contribute to a deeper appreciation and understanding of modernist literature as a significant literary and artistic movement. The findings of this study will not only enhance the scholarly discourse surrounding these authors but also offer valuable insights into the broader field of literary symbolism and its relevance in modernist literature.

Lack of understanding of some social indicators, cultural values (values of apology) and the importance of face may lead to communication breakdown, discrimination and conflict. In this regard, this paper set out to identify apology strategies of male and female students of The University of Bamenda, to determine the attitude of male and female users of English in The University of Bamenda towards the use of face in social interactions, and to verify the extent to which culture influences their apology strategies. To carry out this study, 50 participants (made up of 25 boys and 25 girls among level 400 geography students from the faculty of arts) between the ages 20 and 35 were purposefully selected as respondents to our questionnaire. The findings indicated that the two genders have different strategies in offering apology and that the female gender apologises more than the male, this is demonstrated in the use of the difference theory. Also, most of the respondents felt that people are polite in most conversations to pass across their ideas or make the conversation good, this shows that most of them do not give pride of place to the issue of face in social interactions. Also, the findings indicated that culture and cultural practices influence social interaction between both genders. This, ties with a study conducted by Bataineh and Bataineh (2005) which was aimed at investigating the potential gender effects in American students’ use of apologies within the framework of the two-culture theory. The researchers recommended that, the use of speech acts specifically in apology strategies in male and female communication styles should be given more attention by students, teachers, curriculum developers, policy makers and governments so as to enhance its teaching, knowledge and usage by young Cameroonian speakers of English.