Frank Okwu Ugboajah, Oramedia, and the Ethical Paradigm of Development (Civilization)

Abstract

This chapter features Frank Okwuadigbo Ugboajah and his theoretical idea of oramedia. Ugboajah argued that traditional culture should be harnessed for sustainable development, and that folk media cannot be separated from folk cultures in whose context they are significant. He regarded folk media as interpersonal media rather than group media because they speak to common people in their language and deal with problems of direct relevance to their situations. The cultivation of the moral mind, which is the foundation for civilization, is already embedded in African cultures. It is encapsulated in ubuntuism and demonstrated by African peoples through their songs, poems, proverbs, and folktales. Therefore, African traditional oral arts, which are essentially oral ethics, should be employed and deployed in order to mobilize African individuals and communities for an ethical revolution. Ugboajah called for a fusion of oramedia and relevant modern mass media. One of the important areas of future inquiry is to investigate how folk media are being or can be integrated into digital platforms for the popularization of knowledge about them and their application.