




































 

242 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

PRESERVING AND PROMOTING NIGERIAN FOLKSONGS IN A DIGITAL ECONOMY  

  

Adesipe, Adekunle Enitolorunyan 

0806-603-8345 adesipe247@gmail.com 

 

Abstract  

Nigerian folksongs are tunes that help to moderate communal lifestyle and character. Good 

behaviours are encouraged while public denunciations of evil deeds are done through extemporized 

chants. It is however a case of deep concern that these innumerable folksongs, though laced with 

proverbs and wise sayings yet have little or no place in the digital archives. Majority of the Nigerian 

traditional folksongs are not transcribed and this obstructs the foundational basis for the new 

African Art Music thereby making form and analysis in African music a herculean task. This research 

canvasses for the digitization of our rich and enviable traditional folksongs in various dialects in a 

digital economy. It proposes the utilization of multimedia as an aid to retaining and promoting the 

rich cultural values of our society via the digitization of our folksongs as well as re-awakening the 

dying culture of singing lessons in our schools which has been a medium through which we teach our 

kids moral lessons that shape and modify behaviours. The research relied on ethnographic materials, 

available literatures on folksongs and the syllabi of high-stake examination industries in Nigeria. 

Findings revealed that the dearth of instructional materials for the teaching of folksongs can be 

resolved via the utilization of digitization mechanisms. It is observed that the use of multimedia 

makes singing lessons real and fun to children and makes it easily accessible and affordable to 

teachers and learners. Kids are fascinated when they see a dancing castle and images via animations 

and cartoons especially with musical notes. Conclusively, it is recommended that Music technologists 

adopt the utilization of multimedia mechanisms to preserve and promote our culture and at the same 

time raise its standard as a tool for revenue generation. 

 

Introduction   

Nigerian folksongs are melodies that play a crucial role in shaping communal lifestyle. They encourage 

good behaviour while publicly denouncing evil deeds through spontaneous chants. It is worrisome that 

despite their richness in proverbs, they have little or no presence in digital archives. Most folksongs 

are not transcribed thereby hindering the development of new African Art Music and making analysis 

and form in African music a challenging task.   

The study reviewed existing literature on folksongs and the syllabi of major examination bodies in 

Nigeria. Findings indicate that the lack of instructional materials for teaching folksongs can be 

addressed through digitization. This research advocates for the digitization of folksongs in various 

dialects within the digital economy.  

 

It suggests utilizing multimedia to preserve and promote the cultural values embedded in these 

folksongs and to revive the declining practice of singing lessons in schools. Multimedia tools make 

singing lessons engaging and enjoyable for children, while also being accessible and affordable for 

teachers and learners. Nigeria is a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multilingual nation.   

The nation is ethnically and culturally diverse although tribes and tongues differ yet bound together 

in brotherhood. This giant of Africa has thirty-six States with the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja 

as the nation’s capital. The nation is divided into six geopolitical zones. These are North-West, North-

East, North-Central, and South-West, South-East, South-South geopolitical zones. With over three 



 

243 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

hundred traditional festivals and dance styles, this South-West country of the Sub-Sahara has more 

than five hundred ethnic groups each of which has its lifestyle and character moderated by countless 

legendary tunes and thought-provoking folksongs.  

Folksongs are traditional song-style of a community. The Nigerian traditional folksong is peculiarly an 

extemporised music composition that reflects the cultural heritage and practice of people who by 

virtue of geographical location or language have things in common. Folksongs are not written down but 

are transmitted orally (as game songs among children or as work-songs among adults) from generation 

to generation by our progenitors.  The use of folksongs is peculiar to the community it originates 

from.  

 

The original composers of folksongs are often anonymous and embellished in melody or texts. 

Consequent upon this, there is an urgent need for digital archiving. In Nigerian settings one observes 

that almost every aspect of our lives is covered by folksongs and there is a folksong attached to 

almost every sphere of life.   

 

Folksongs are deeply enmeshed in philosophical and proverbial speeches. But as thought-provoking as 

the folksongs are, despite its valuable effect, most of them are not documented. To this end, it is 

then essential to digitalize by means of animations and scoring these all-important streams of songs 

for the purpose of building the young ones and for the sake of influencing the outer world while 

projecting the viable, noble cultural heritage lest the culture dies (Adesipe 2023). By extension, it is 

hoped that this would create an avenue for revenue generation.  

 

Adenle, (2011) postulated that folksongs evolved through the process of oral transmission, being 

shaped by (a) continuity which links the present with the past; (b) variation which springs from the 

creative impulse of the individual or the group; and (c) selection by the community which determines 

the form in which the music survives. This assertion precludes survival i.e. preservation or promotion 

via the instrumentality of digitization.   

 

According to Adeoje (2011), “Folksong is an aspect of the oral traditions of any nations which is used 

to address topics or issues that concern the natives of a community.” What this suggests is that 

folksongs on truancy and uncleanness among youths in the schools are used to rebuke irresponsible 

acts and teach neatness among kids at the grassroots. An example is the Yoruba folksong “We Ki o 

Mo! i.e. Bath and be Neat! The question is what happens when these proponents die? The tradition 

dies a natural death except there is a deliberate effort to spread it through the process of 

digitization.  

 

Adesipe, (2024) alerts that “if our cultural heritage (of which traditional folksongs…are an 

indispensable…force and factors to reckon with) is relegated to the background, we would 

frustrate…our relevance…bastardize our cultural symbols…heritage, significance and identity…” 

Adesipe’s opinion reveals a heart-cry and call to strengthen our cultural heritage. This has not 

reflected technological impacts in any way.  

Folksongs were composed extempore i.e. at the spur of the moment. Some folksongs came about as 

bodies of legendary tunes that were handed down to us by our progenitors or forefathers.  

 

Folksongs are traditional customs preserved among people.   



 

244 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

They extol the rich cultural life of any people. If the customary beliefs of our land are to continue 

there is need to archive and document and practice them. To ensure the survival of Nigerian folksongs 

and preserve our rich cultural heritage, archival digitization is essential. Utilizing multimedia tools 

for documenting and archiving these folksongs will help retain and promote the cultural values 

embedded within them. This approach will also revive the declining practice of singing lessons in 

schools, which have traditionally imparted moral lessons and shaped children's behavior.  

Currently, singing lessons and music education in schools can seem monotonous and lack innovation. 

Folksongs vary significantly across different regions in language, style, texture, and customs. Unlike 

the Western tradition, where folksongs often feature refrains or stanzas, Nigerian folksongs are 

unified by their traditional nature and the moral lessons they impart.   

 

Multimedia can make singing lessons more engaging and enjoyable for children, while also being 

accessible and affordable for teachers and learners. Animated visual aids and musical elements 

captivate children's imaginations, making lessons more concrete and fun. To preserve and promote 

our cultural values, Nigerian music technologists should adopt multimedia tools and methods. This 

strategy not only enhances cultural preservation but also elevates the standard of folksongs as a 

potential revenue source.  

 

To support the preservation and promotion of Nigerian folksongs, educational bodies and major 

examination organizations in Nigeria should dedicate significant portions of their syllabi to various 

aspects of traditional music.   

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in its current JAMB syllabus made it elaborate 

(JAMB 2023:166) likewise the National Examinations Council (NECO 2014 : 282) and West African 

Examinations Council (WAEC 2016 : 728 and revised edition in 2017 : 728). Digitization of folksongs 

is a potential change agent and a formidable tool of retention for our cultural heritage.   

 

Folksongs are generally simple and short tunes and are oftentimes easy to learn. They serve as a 

check for social and moral conducts. Such songs bring the culprit to the limelight for proper discipline. 

This can be seen in the Ekpe and Ikoro festivals of the Akwete Ndoki community in Abia State 

(Bentina A.M 2014).  

 

He observed that young girls who toyed with their virginity and were guilty of promiscuity were dealt 

with by being ostracized. This often serves as deterrent to further perpetrators of social vices in 

the society. According to Adesipe’s Northern Nigerian festivals of the maidens and the girl-child 

education as tools for societal wellness (2021), folksongs via traditional festivals help to control and 

regulate social mores and ethical standards.   

They help to keep public morality by fearlessly announcing and admonishing evil deeds and doers in 

the society. This is further corroborated by Adesipe in his book, History of Nigerian Folksongs 

(2024), exhorting that the heart of a matter is a matter of the heart, so the heart of education is 

the education of the heart.  

Education is the mirror of any society. A child educated only at school is an uneducated child because 

educating a man’s mind without morals tantamount to educating a menace to society…That is what our 

tradition teaches – morals. This underscores the import of education through the instrumentality of 

folksongs.   

 



 

245 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

Folksongs and The Dynamics of Multimedia Tools 

For the fact that the world has become a global village, it is essential that Musicologists utilize the 

World Wide Web (www) interface to judiciously and further enhance the beauty of the Nigerian 

folksongs.  

As Babatunde (2011) rightly observed that popular music exponents and professionals in Nigeria have 

exploited multimedia resources in varied ways. There is evidence that popular music and musicians 

have been influenced by developments in the use of multimedia resources such as audiovisual 

products, computers, and sound generators. But this is not to be so in the case of folksongs 

digitization.   

Multimedia signifies a combination of multiple media using electronic and digital manipulations to bring 

about knowledge enhancement.    

A cursory consideration of the Items - Moderation discourse and materials of the Joint Admissions 

and Matriculation Board (JAMB) revealed that some of the young resource persons found it a 

herculean task providing examples of traditional folksongs whenever they got to folksongs section.   

 

Technological Enhancements of Folksongs Via Animations  

Technological enhancements like animated cartoons, images and graphics may be employed to teach 

simple and exciting folk-tunes like Oluronbi. These cartoons may need to be translated to cover a 

wider view. This will indubitably make Music career reverberates with new enthusiasm among children.   

Kids are captivated when they see the effect of animations, cartoons and or motion pictures being 

displayed when songs are going on over a recorded devise such as Digital Video Recorder (DVR) etc. 

If this happens in the comfort of our homes how much more the impact it creates in the four walls 

of the classrooms. With the new sophisticated and psychedelic digital remote technology and the 

digitization of our folksongs in place, folksongs will enjoy a prominent position and play a major role 

in the following ways:   

1. It makes classroom learning lasts longer in the memories of the learners (as in Yoruba’s “Bata 

Re a dun Ko-Ko-Ka” i.e. You’ll Go Places);   

2. It awakens the creative instincts and musicality in the youths;  

3. It will make Nigerian folksongs library conspicuous on the internet;   

4. It boosts youth’s morals (as in Yoruba’s Ko ’le, Ko ’le, Ko ’le Sori Apata i.e. Build, Build, Build 

on the Solid Rock);   

5. It makes the rich cultural values of the land stick fast in their memories;   

6. It inculcates good manners in the young minds (as in Yoruba’s “Bomode O Ku” i.e. Young Shall 

Grow);   

7. It helps to moderate the behaviours of adults in the society especially in trying times (as in 

Igbo’s Dibe! Dibe! Dibe!” i.e. “Take Heart! Take Heart!”);   

8. It curbs societal miscreants (as in Yoruba’s “Omo To Mo ‘ya Re Loju” i.e. The child That 

Belittles his Mother);  

9. It cautions against the evils of polygamy, polyandry etc. (as in Yoruba’s “Gbanjo Iku De!” i.e. 

Death, For Auction)  

10. It supports tough penalties against corporate miscreants (as in Yoruba’s “Oyi mee”);   

11. Our social mores are upheld firmly and promoted and projected to the outer world;   



 

246 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

12. The ever shifting mores of the day and almost dying culture of good morals are rejuvenated 

and made steady through obedience (as in Yoruba’s “Ma Lo We” i.e. Don’t Go Bath);   

13. Our proprieties, customs and manners of a polite society are further strengthened  

(as in Yoruba’s “Isa-nsa Ma tun de O” i.e. Here comes the Truant);   

14. Conformity to what is socially acceptable in conduct or speech is effectively taught through 

this mode among youths in their teenage years (as in Yoruba’s “Bata Re a Dun Ko-Ko-Ka” i.e. You’ll Go 

Places);  

15. It shows how much value that Nigerians place on their dead or burial ceremonies (as in Hausa’s 

“Sai Wata Ra Na!” and Ya Tafi Kenan i.e. “Till We Meet” and Igbo’s “Oyi Mee” and “Onye amuna ladoo”)   

16. It makes youths learn how to conduct themselves with propriety in the private and public 

right from youths (when they travel out of the country, they spread our rich cultural heritage among 

the whites that they mingle with on campus);  

17. The culture of dying interests in Music by the young ones is further re-awakened with this 

technological development;  

18. It showcases our rich cultural heritage to the outer world via folktales and folklores  

(as in Yoruba’s “Ode Ma Pa Mi!” (Hunter Kill Me Not!), “Aja Duro Ran Mi Leru!” (Doggy, Wait, Lighten 

my Burden!);  

19. It helps to transmit the rich culture to the up and coming generations;  

20. It makes room for easy retrieval of such songs;  

21. It makes room for sundry lessons, caution, warning, praise and commendation (as in Yoruba’s 

Yokolu! Yokolu! Ko wa Tan Bi! (See What You Caused Yourself!);  

22. It instills the fear of God in people’s minds and simple obedience to instruction of the gods 

or the Supreme Being (as in Yoruba’s “Babalawo Mo Wa Bebe” i.e. “Oh Thou Seer, I Come Pleading”);  

23. It instills in the people the mind to value their relations (as in Igbo’s “Mmekota” One’s 

companion);  

24. It creates an avenue for our youths to appreciate the dignity in labour (as in  

Yoruba’s Ise Loogun Ise” (Labour Averts Poverty) and “Ise Agbe Ni’se Ile Wa” (Farming Is Our 

Vocation);  

25. It is a mark of societal identity and nationalism such as identifying tribal, language and 

geographical entity (as in Yoruba’s “Ola Ilu wa Lawa Ma n Wa o” i.e. We Cherish Our Land). 

 

Using Multimedia Tools to Project Folksongs  

Multimedia aids may be variously viewed, defined and described as materials enhancing technological 

production packages and delivering the work in audiovisual forms to the audience. Multimedia is a 

technological process of combining audio and visual materials in a unified form for the sake of 

entertainment, education, information and commercial purposes.  

Multimedia interplays with visual and audio gadgets in diverse ways. Multimedia uses a combination of 

different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive 

presentation. The text of the folksongs are written out and later recorded in voice via a digital 

machine. Images and animations are later added to make it lively and dramatic. Invariably, multimedia 

is an integration of multiple types of media into a single presentation and or package.   



 

247 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

Here are few traditional folksongs that were scored with Sibelius music software which can be 

digitally manipulated to enhance learning and infuse good morals using motion pictures. The graphical 

illustrations by the sides of the scores can be animated using motion pictures with the aim of 

captivating the learners and make learning fun. As the musical notes are moving along the melodic 

line, the animated graphics by the sides move alongside.   

Fig.1   

 
Fig.2  

 
Fig.3  

  
Fig.4 

 
 

Fig.5                     

    

  

  



 

248 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

 Fig.6 

  
Fig.7 

  
 FIG.8                

  
Fig.9 



 

249 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

  

  
  

  



 

250 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

Fig.10  

   
Fig.11 

  
Fig.12 

  
  



 

251 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

Fig.13                                                                                                                                     

 
Fig.14                                                                                                  

     

  



 

252 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

Fig.15 

  
Fig.16   

 
Fig.17 

  



 

253 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

 

Fig.18  

   
 Fig.19 

 
STAGE 1:  

At this stage, critical thinking is established. Afterwards, technical skills and imaginative 

thinking are manipulated and organized towards producing a multimedia animations or cartoons. 

Multimedia is a project development that requires creative, technical, organizational and 

business skills.  

STAGE 2:  

The ingenuity and resourceful thoughts in stage 1 above are harmonized using technological 

enhancements. Here, multimedia is presented by a combination of texts, art, sounds, animations 

and videos.  

STAGE 3:  

The provision and architecture in Stage 2 above is further delivered to the end-user via 

electronic or digital manipulations.    

Animations as in figures 20 – 24 can be colourfully displayed to make learners active in class.  

Fig.20 Fig.21    

 

Figures 20 and 21 above are a piece of animations displaying game song. This can be a way of 

making children learn with fun.  

Fig.22            

  

Fig.23 

   
 Figures 22 and 23 above can be painted in beautiful colours and be made to jump up and down using 

the multimedia animations and by so doing; it becomes a bit easier for kids to clap the rhythms.  

  

      



 

254 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

An American psychologist, Jean Bamberger (2000) outlined two phases on the basis of studies 

on the development of early musical literacy with the help of colourful notes (image notation): 

the figurative phase of graphic representation (symbols next to one another, ranging symbols 

one next to the other) and the phase of metric representation (where the sounds and duration 

are expressed in symbols).   

Teaching with the application of digital media therefore appears as an innovative teaching tool 

which contributes to the efficiency of teaching Music Education in lower primary school grades 

(Garcia, Mirra, Morrell, Martinez & Scorza, 2015; Ranker, 2015). It is noteworthy to state that 

students who attend classes in which digital media are used have significantly better learning 

achievements compared to students who attend traditional class.   

 

By Way of Reflection  

Oluronbi folktale is easily remembered when the song is rendered because it is reinforced with 

folksongs that drive home the point being made. In the tale of Oluronbi, there was a village 

besieged with calamities. They resolved to visit the magic tree in the forbidden forest near 

the town to seek help from the deity. The deity's agent interceded on their behalf and asked 

what they would offer in exchange.  

The villagers promised goats. Oluronbi, the heroine of the folktale and the young wife of a 

wood-carver, vowed to dedicate her own child to the deity if she were granted one. When the 

miracle of fertility came, Oluronbi gave birth to the most beautiful child in the land, destined 

to be dedicated to the deity.  

The couple loved the child deeply, and her beauty made them reluctant to fulfill their vow. 

While others honoured their promises, Oluronbi and her spouse refused. One fateful day, as 

Oluronbi walked through the village farm with her baby straddled at her back, the spirit 

snatched the child and transformed her into a small brown bird using magical powers. The bird 

perched on a branch of the tree and sang the song in Oluronbi’s score (see fig. 14).  

Another case is the song, Oyi Mee among the Igbo people of Nigeria. This is a song that talks 

about the ordeal of the womenfolk in their matrimonial homes. It is satirical! It is a message 

to the lazy men who prefers to enslave their women.  

When a woman dies in her matrimonial home without proper care, the song is rendered with the 

aim of passing across a message to the relations.   

This song helps to condemn in strong terms such acts like nonchalance, maltreatment or other 

domestic violence among community members. This is seen in the local dialect song below 

although it is not the lingua franca Igbo language. Here is the song.  

 Oyi Mee Cheru Moo g’mbomanu gi uka      Friend, let me gist you  

Oyi Mee Cheru Moo g’mbomanu gi uka      Friend, let me gist you  

Aga m’ekworo n’mu luko di uwa ja anwu n’onyene   Will I die because of the man I 

married?  

Ja anwu n’onyene ne mu luko di ja anwu n’onyene   Die, because I’m married to a 

man?  

Akpoko bu n’ugwo            Pepper, you buy on credit!  

Ja anwu n’onyene            Die, because I’m married to a 

man?  

Ikerike bu n’ugwo            Salt, you buy on credit!  



 

255 
 

Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 

Ja anwu n’onyene            Die, because I’m married to a 

man?  

Ja anwu n’onyene               Die, because I’m married to a 

man?  

Ja anwu n’onyene            Die, because I’m married to a 

man?  

Conclusion and Recommendation  

Nigerian traditional folksongs enjoy more prominence as it becomes more captivating in the 

teaching-learning or classroom setting. It is helpful in the aspect of helping to reshape our 

cultural heritage and project it to a larger world. If these folksongs and folktales are digitized 

and people now have to buy and listen to it, both young and old will better trace their roots.  

It will be a reminiscence of our noble historical genealogies. As we make purchase of these 

digitalized folk pieces it is also an avenue of generating revenues. This opens us up for greater 

possibilities. Researchers will soon pick up the scores for further exploits. Music technocrats, 

Music researchers, ethnomusicologists as well as Music technologists will have much to do in 

this regard if our folksongs and folktales can be collected and diligently harnessed into a digital 

cocoon for the purpose of reviving and retaining our culture as well as projecting it to the outer 

world.   

 

References  

Adenle, A. (2011), The Changing Social Functions of Yoruba Folk Music, Nigeria  

Adeoje, O.A. (2011), Forms and Functions of Yoruba Folk Music: A Case of Some  Selected 

Children Game Songs. Journal of the Association of Nigerian Musicologists Vol.5 (2011).  

Adesipe, E.A., Adesola, O.A., Glory, N., Oritsetimeyin, N. (2021), Northern Nigerian  festivals 

of the maidens and the girl child education as tools for societal wellness.  

Journal of Nigerian Music Education No.13 (2021).   

Adesipe, A.E. (2023), Nigerian Festivals and Traditional Instruments. Available on  

https://selar.co/x120z2  

Adesipe, A.E. (2024), History of Nigerian Folksongs. Available on https://selar.co/18131g  

Babatunde, H.M. (2011), Multimedia Revolution and Popular Music in Nigeria: A Review.   

Journal of Association of the Nigerian Musicologists Vol.5. (2011).  

Bamberger, J. (2000). Developing Musical Intuitions. Oxford University Press (2000).  

Bentina A.M (2014.) Ekpe and Ikoro festivals of the Akwete Ndoki community in Abia  State.   

Garcia, A., Mirra, N., Morrell, E., Martinez, A. & Scorza, D. (2015). The Council of Youth  

Research: Critical Literacy and Civic Agency in the Digital Age. Journal of Reading & 

Writing Quarterly, 31(2), 151-167 (2015).   

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (2023), JAMB Examination Syllabuses.   

Published by JAMB Nigeria Pages 164 - 172.   

National Examinations Council (2016), NECO Examination Syllabuses. Published by  NECO, 

Nigeria Pages 282 - 295.  

Ranker, J. (2015). The Affordances of Blogs and Digital Video: New Potentials for  Exploring 

Topics and Representing Meaning. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(7), 568- 

578 (2015).   

West African Examination Council (2016), WAEC Examination Syllabuses printed by  WAEC, 

Nigeria Pages 709 - 739.  


