A Discursive Engagement of Ideological Issues in Ilaje Zionist Gospel Songs: Lekan Remilekun-Amos and Debo Ojubuyi as Exemplars

Abstract

The ideological practices of Christian groups in Nigeria and beyond, as evident in their songs, have received considerable attention from scholars across disciplines, including linguists. However, the songs and music of the Ilaje Zionist Christian movement, which constitutes a major bloc in the Nigerian “white garment” Christian circle, have not received serious scholarly attention. To address this gap in the literature, this article explores ideological issues in Ilaje Zionist gospel songs. Two prominent male artistes within the Ilaje Zionist Christian movement are sampled as case studies. The theoretical framework for this study is critical discourse analysis with emphasis on Fairclough’s analysis on ideology and insights from Odebunmi’s notion of shared cultural knowledge. The study identifies the following ideological themes that reverberate in this Christian movement: life is a battle, human wickedness, life is a matter of time and season, you reap what you sow, and life is vanity. The findings reveal that there are areas of complementarity between the Yorùbá ideological standpoint and the Christian biblical principles about life, as evident in the analysed songs. While the songs of the Ilaje Zionist Christian movement are gospel in nature, they reveal the people’s ideological attachment to their indigenous roots as a sub-group of the Yorùbá.