Depiction of Security Issues in Selected Yorùbá Proverbs

Abstract

Yorùbá proverbs are a part of the wisdom lore of the Yorùbá race. The Yorùbá people value proverbs highly. They try to look for solutions to their problems in their proverbs. The prevailing criminal in Nigeria create an atmosphere of insecurity in the country. The question this paper intends to answer is whether the use of Yoruba proverbs can bring insecurity in Yorùbá land under control? To answer this question, adopting the sociology of literature, this study examined thirty security related Yorùbá proverbs collected through personal observations and published texts on Yorùbá proverbs. Our findings showed that false assumptions, bad company, and lack of foresight can bring about insecurity, while having foresight and making joint efforts can strengthen the security of Yorùbá land. The paper concludes that Yorùbá proverbs relevant to security matters can reduce the problems of insecurity in Yorùbá land if their teachings are utilised to guide them appropriately. Keywords: insecurity, proverbs, vigilance, wisdom