FOSTERING UNITY-IN-DIVERSITY: AN APPRAISAL OF E. C. ARINZE’S MENTORSHIP STYLE AND SELECTED COMPOSITIONS

Abstract

The need for national cohesion in Nigeria despite the ethnic diversities cannot be over-emphasized. Though ethnic divisions and sentiments still exist, continual efforts are still made in different spheres of influence to achieve unity in Nigeria. Mentorship has provided enabling environments to foster this (in different fields and professions), and music has been one of the viable channels used in preaching national integration. Many Nigerian popular musicians have been involved in this effort via music composition/production and mentorship. This paper appraised music mentorship and composition as a platform and catalyst in fostering unity-in-diversity in Nigeria. It takes a historical and exploratory look at E. C. Arinze - a highlife music legend and nationalist in Nigeria who practiced this ideology of unity-in-diversity throughout his music career – in his mentorship style and in the lyrics of his (selected) original music compositions.