TEACHING AND PREACHING PEACE AND TOGETHERNESS THROUGH MUSIC: THE PERICOMA OKOYE EXAMPLE

Abstract

Living in peace and harmony among neighbours and community are critical ingredients that propel growth. When people are happy with themselves it transcends to the overall wellbeing, togetherness and progress of the community. Music is a potent unifying factor for the overall wellness of the people. The study aims to expose the importance of music in propagating love, peace and progress of the people through the musical works of Chief Damian Azubuike Okoye, (Pericoma) a traditional music exponent from Arondizuogu. The work is hinged on Johan Galtung’s theory of Peace which acknowledges that peace is a relation between two or more parties and that peace is not a property of one person as it takes two to tango. The study adopts the content analysis approach of the qualitative research methodology to critically examine two music albums of Pericoma as case studies. four-man focused group discussants were purposively selected by the researcher to analyze the data. Two albums of the artist were played during our meetings for them to get more acquainted with the lyrics. The albums were later shared to the discussants and we agreed to meet after one week for the analysis to enable them play and listen to the selected portions of the albums. Result of the analysis show that music is a genuine tool for teaching and preaching peace and togetherness. The study recommends the teaching of music in our schools and the use of music for the sensitization of the populace