Book Censorship in Nigeria: A Study of Origin, Methods and Motivations, 1805-2018
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Date
2018
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Publisher
University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)
Abstract
Twenty-first century Nigeria may be described as the era of democracy yet freedom to
publish, which is one of the hallmarks of true democracy, seem to be endangered more than
ever before. Conversation around this subject has, however, been superficial, lacking in both
historical and empirical depth. The aim of this study, therefore, is to investigate the origin,
methods and motivations of censorship in Nigeria with a view to deepening the
understanding of this phenomenon. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected offline
and online using document analysis and interviews were analysed by simple percentages and
the constant comparative method. Findings indicate that book censorship began in 1805,
over two centuries ago. Eleven methods, including, burning, banning and bombing have been
employed and three major motivations (political, religious and socio-cultural) were
identified. This study, beyond the conjectures that make up the literature, sheds light not only
on the murky history of censorship in Nigeria but also on the emergence of positive
censorship—censorship not undertaken by politicians and religious leaders to stifle free
speech but by communities, schools and social media to challenge books with culturally
immoral contents. This development promises to strengthen the peer review process to the
benefit of all stakeholders in the book chain
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Keywords
School censorship, Library, Cultural values, Censorship motive, Origin, 1805