Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

The unprecedented global proliferation of various social media platforms, ayelujara, continues to amplify dynamic shifts in social norms and ethos across various human societies. This leads to cultural fluidity, with the redefinition of several cultures along global trends as dictated by social media standards. Once regarded as a 'disney world' of fantasies, social media is fast becoming an alternate reality that distorts the societal perception of the public sphere, dictating what is regarded as an acceptable standard of living. Characterized by flagrant displays of opulence and extravagance, the majority in society are pressured to acquire wealth regardless of the cost, oftentimes eroding socio-cultural ethos on wealth acquisition. Nigerian society, a conserved culture teeming with a large number of youths, is also highly impacted, with an increased spate of ritual killings to acquire wealth, prostitution and celebrated internet fraud. The culture of hard work and successive progressions through life as a means for wealth acquisition is gradually eroded with the prevalence of the "get rich quick or die trying' syndrome. This poses security, economic and socio- cultural challenge and several attempts made at mitigating these continue to fail; hence, the need for sociocultural approaches to demystify the unreal world of social media. This paper analyses the Yoruba deontological and ethical approach to wealth acquisition, with the specific aim of reducing unethical quest acquisition of wealth by re-echoing the consequences of unjustly acquired wealth as enshrined in the Yoruba paradigms of altruism and the Ifa corpus. We presented the social media influence (ayelujara) and Yoruba paradigm of patience (surulere) as twins - a dichotomy of yin and yang, which must be well-balanced for healthy living. Premised on deontological and virtue ethical arguments, this paper provides a philosophical, yet realistic model of how this dichotomy can be harmonized and deployed for the proper orientation of the larger African society on the opulence fantasy world of social media.

Open Full Text (PDF)