CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL ISSUES IN THE ÌJÁLÁ POEMS OF ÒGÚNDÁRE FỌ́YÁNMU AND ÀLÀBÍ ÒGÚNDÉPÒ

This study offers a critical analysis of political issues in the Ìjálá poetry of two prominent Yorùbá oral artists, Ògúndáre Fọ́yánmu and Àlàbí Ògúndépò. While Ìjálá is traditionally a hunters’ chant used to praise Ogun, the Yorùbá god of iron, it has evolved into a potent medium for socio-political critique. This research interrogates how Fọ́yánmu and Ògúndépò employ the aesthetic, symbolic, and performative resources of Ìjálá to engage with themes such as leadership failure, corruption, civic irresponsibility, youth marginalization, ethnic chauvinism, political betrayal, and postcolonial disillusionment. Guided by Postcolonial Theory (Said, 1978; Bhabha, 1994; Spivak, 1988; Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, 1986) and Sociocultural Theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1991), the study adopts a qualitative research design, using thematic content analysis to examine ten selected poems, five from each poet, sourced from textual anthologies and oral performance recordings. The findings reveal that both poets transform Ìjálá into a politically charged performance space, where metaphor, satire, proverb, and historical allusion serve as instruments of resistance and civic reawakening. Fọ́yánmu’s chants are characterized by confrontational satire and an unflinching indictment of both political elites and complicit citizens, while Ògúndépò’s verses adopt a reflective, didactic tone rooted in Yorùbá cosmology, framing political decay as a moral and cultural crisis. Their works also confront the enduring legacies of colonialism, the manipulations of identity politics, and the erosion of communal ethics, advocating instead for justice, merit-based governance, and national unity. The study concludes that Ìjálá poetry remains a dynamic and relevant medium for political discourse in contemporary Nigeria, bridging the past and present as it critiques governance, reinforces cultural identity, and calls for ethical leadership. It recommends greater integration of indigenous oral traditions into civic education, systematic documentation of oral performances, and further interdisciplinary research into the political agency of African oral literature. This work contributes to African literary scholarship by illuminating the adaptability of traditional art forms as vehicles for postcolonial resistance, cultural preservation, and nation-building.