Abstract
Based on data presentation and analysis as theoretical support, this paper examines Teacher, Father of Learning (Teacher ubankaratu), a celebrated praise song by the Nigerian oral artist Dan Maraya Jos. Drawing on a literary translation and close reading of the lyrics, the study explores how the song elevates the teacher as the foundation of all professions and a moral guardian of society, while simultaneously critiquing the neglect and poverty that often characterize the teaching profession in the world, in Nigeria particularly. Situating the work within the Hausa oral tradition of praise poetry, the analysis highlights the useof metaphor supported by repetition, and moral imagery to articulate the cultural philosophy of education for both training and nation-building. References to figures such as Doctor Bunza, as well as to global centers of learning, expand the song’s scope from the local to the international, underscoring the universal relevance of teachers. The paper argues that Dan Maraya’s performance is both celebratory and critical: it praises the selfless labor of educators while drawing attention to their marginalization. More broadly, the song reflects African oral traditions that frame teachers as leading light indispensable to both personal development and collective progress.
Keywords: Dan Maraya Jos, Hausa oral poetry, teachers, Nigeria, education, nation-building
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/sojolics.2025.v01i03.030
author/Dr Adamou Ide Oumarou
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 1(3) | December 2025 |
