Repackage oral literature and make it more appealing to young readers

The young are precariously hanging on a social cliff. In our age youths have become synonymous with immorality, drug abuse, radicalisation and obsession with sophistication and partying. To ensure they remain in sync with emerging fashion trends, the young have thrown themselves headlong into betting and crime. Consequently, the society is disturbed and has never rested in the search for the cause of the insanity that has gripped young people.

Apart from unemployment and inadequate recreation facilities, the problem has also been attributed to young people’s abhorrence of reading. In fact, today’s youths would rather spend all their days reading social media updates on their smart phones and computers than sit down with a voluminous novel.

The young have certainly picked their hatred for reading from the older generation who prefer beer to books. The older generations have also taught the young that newspapers serve no greater purpose than meat wrapping. This is why oral literature has to be repackaged so as to make it appealing to the young. In literature lies boundless wisdom and experiences that would be very useful in taming the social and moral bankruptcy that is plaguing the youth. Some people have argued that oral literature has been overtaken by time but true practitioners and lovers of literature know that it is timeless.

The African proverbs are as relevant today as they were when they were first coined. The lessons in the numerous fables just can’t be wiped away with the advancement of technology. The tales of legends provide paragons of morality, courage, honesty and endurance among other virtues and values. Our riddles and songs are as invaluable today as they have ever been. Documented songs like Okot P’Bitek’s Song of Lawino would go a long way in dissuading the young from blindly adopting Western culture. Perhaps, it’s time we brought back oral literature radio lessons, adapted our fables into cartoons and just as we have done for literature texts, adapted our oral literature into simple films and thrilling movies.  Theatre performances should include dramatised narratives.

We should also consider blending the oral literature content with the social challenges of our time. On their part, teachers need to stop giving oral literature casual attention by teaching it to merely make students register good grades. No, teachers should arouse the learners’ interest in oral literature verifying their pedagogical approach to the teaching of oral literature.

Parents too, have a role to play  and should encourage their children to read by buying them books from when they are young. This way, we will expose the young ones to literature.

- The writer is a teacher