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This paper reports the outcome of a Contrastive Analysis undertaken in order to account for some general principles governing the expression of time location in two apparently non cognate languages: English (Nigeria's official language) and ỤKWụANị, one of the indigenous languages of Nigeria. It focuses on the verb phrase component with temporal significance in signaling temporal sequences: temporal ordering previous, (past) simultaneous, (present) and subsequent (future) to given time reference. The linguistic framework adopted for analysis is Government and Binding (GB) Revised version of Transformational Generative Grammar which is premised on systems of principles of Universal Grammar. It explicates the possibilities and limits of rule interaction and functions in grammars. English syntactic strings and their ỤKWụANị translation equivalent provide the data for analysis. Aspects of grammatical convergence revealed in both languages show English Past signaled by {D1} and {li} in ỤKWụANị). Simultaneous and subsequent time marking in English is morphologically realized in relation to subject-verb concord whereas a T - marker "ne" is the simultaneity signal in ỤKWụANị. Subsequent time (Future) in English is M(AUX) "will"+ V and in Ukwuan M[VP] +V. It also shows that whereas in English, this is morphologically signaled, ỤKWụANị adds phonologically signal to the grammatical marker. Present and past tense structures in both languages are quite similar; resulting in significant congruent structures. Divergent as future time grammar may seem, our analysis also reveal quite similar patterns. There are indeed then meeting points for the two grammars in spite of geographical and cultural non contiguity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of rural decay, youth unemployment and crime in Nigeria, and the attendant social consequences as the country is besieged by a "formidable army" of disillusioned youth, are examined. Youths account for an estimated sixty percent of Nigeria's 160 million people. Less than ten percent of these youths are gainfully employed. A significant percent of even those employed, are grossly under-employed since their remuneration is far below their qualification and expertise. The criminal neglect and glaring poor infrastructural development in the rural areas, has led young people to migrate massively to the cities in search of a non-existent better life. They end up in crime. They have become ready tools as political thugs to unscrupulous politicians who use them to rig elections and wreck mayhem on opponents. Some youths operate as kidnappers, crude oil thieves, child traffickers or fraudsters. Some have gone to the extreme of taking up arms; being involved in militancy or insurgency. The activities of the disgruntled youths have brought untold pains and needless tears to thousands. The paper concludes that the survival of the Nigerian nation state lies in the urgent reversal of the current high level youth unemployment, massive investment in agriculture, rural transformation and urgent job creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to highlight some issues raised by Soyinka in an adulatory composition, public tribute (Mandela's Earth and Other Poems) to Nelson Mandela and the gains arising thereof for progressive leadership in Africa. The text is handled as a political poem, since it celebrates the anti-apartheid, and a psychic weapon for fostering 'African brotherhood.' Four Yoruba poetic forms (Owe, Alo Apamo, Oriki and Ofo) and their rhetorical strategies in creative translation are examined and adopted along with functional linguistic stylistic model as theoretical framework. Seventeen excerpts are then quoted in situ and analysed within the extra linguistic context of Vintage Mandela's death and continuing adulation. It concludes that Yoruba rhetoric adopted and integrated into EL2 expression are signals of an expressive compromise which by the poet's mature handling of cultural and linguistic translatability communicates only as effectively as possible while revealing the limits of translation. On misrule and transformative democracy in Africa, it advocates urgent election of able and sincere leaders to show how much of the Mandela-gainfrom- pain lessons can help to liberate Africa from the ills of misrule: hunger, chronic poverty, disease, ignorance, avoidable wars, pseudo democracy, other forms of injustices and terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]