NIGERIAN GOSPEL MUSICIANS’ PERCEPTION OF ILLNESS, HEALING AND ITS RELEVANCE: SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL REALITIES

Abstract

The popularity and influence of gospel music grows by the day in Nigeria and has drawn scholars’ attention generating discussions on different aspects of it. However, the theme of illness and healing in the content of the Nigerian gospel music is an ongoing discourse. The focus of this paper is therefore, to discuss the relevance of the perception of the Nigerian gospel musicians on illness and healing to the social, economic and political realities of the country. The qualitative methodology is engaged with content and discographical analysis of some Nigerian gospel songs in order to discuss the manifestations of illness and healing in the songs and to discuss their relevance to the social, economic and political realities of the country. Interview with some gospel musicians is also employed. The paper relies on George Soros’ reflexivity theory as its theoretical framework. It is observed that there are terms, descriptions and symbolic representations in the gospel songs for illness and healing that are not unconnected with the expressions used in the context of the culture and traditions within which the musicians grow. The paper concludes that the gospel musicians’ perception of illness and healing is relevant to the social, economic and political realities of Nigeria because they help in the identification of the dimensions of illness, give insight into the real state of affairs, air the views of the citizens, react to the situation that they identify and proffer what they perceive as solution to the identified problems.