Taiwo Ọpẹyẹmi Akinduti headshot

Dr. Taiwo Ọpẹyẹmi Akinduti is a Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics & Nigerian Languages at Ọṣun State University, Nigeria. Her research explores Yorùbá language and literature, cultural practices, popular culture, gender, and indigenous knowledge, with particular attention to folklore, festivals, proverbs, and the intersections of culture, politics, and social experience. Her publications examine Yorùbá worldviews, gender roles, motherhood, infertility, and cultural identity. She has participated in several research initiatives and fellowships focused on African cultural heritage, indigenous knowledge, and community empowerment.

My research interests center on Yorùbá cultural studies, with particular emphasis on marriage and family, motherhood and infertility, and the study of musical expressions to interrogate social experiences and realities among the Yorùbá. This informed the writing of my doctoral thesis, titled “An Analysis of the Yorùbá Worldview of the Orature of Ọ̀pá Festival in Osí and Ìpinṣà Towns in Ondo State.” Among other findings, my research on the festival enabled me to highlight the discrepancies in the worldviews of celebrants on gender issues in two related Yorùbá communities. An extension of this research in my ongoing work has indicated that Yorùbá indigenous knowledge could be deployed to address the various challenges that female bosses experience while discharging their roles among male colleagues. I have published articles on Yorùbá folklore and political critique. My work has explored how Yorùbá cultural beliefs, festivals, gender roles, and religious practices have shaped Yorùbá identities and experiences. My academic trajectory aligns with the KASC mission, which focuses on the study of the African continent, its languages, and cultures.

Currently, my research focuses on issues related to nervousness during public presentations. The study identifies nervousness as a global challenge for public speakers. It examines how nervousness can be understood, managed, and controlled during public presentations. It identifies the conceptualization of the stage as a site of criticism and scrutiny as a major cause of nervousness and reconceptualizes the stage as a dialogic space that affords a speaker the opportunity to add value to their listeners. The study relies on a newly coined indigenous framework gleaned from Yorùbá philosophy as expressed in selected Yorùbá proverbs. The methodology involves published texts and key informant interviews. The identified proverbs are enriched with imagery that this study extracts and weaves to form a conceptual framework termed Mẹ́rùlẹ́rú.¹ The indigenous framework sees nervousness as a natural emotion that tends to enslave an individual who makes no effort to subdue it. The concept shows that if nervousness is preempted by a public speaker through proactive steps informed by relevant Yorùbá proverbs that reveal ways in which nervousness can be made to experience slavery, the stage will surely become a site of composure.

The study shows that it is worthwhile to engage indigenous knowledge to offer solutions. This is significant because it provides insight into the Yorùbá perspective on how indigenous knowledge can be deployed to solve problems, aligning with KASC’s interest in promoting indigenous epistemologies and understanding of Africa.

During the fellowship, I plan to critically examine and analyze how selected Yorùbá proverbs offer deep insights into how being intentional, focused, and determined can build speakers’ confidence. Access to the rich resources in KU libraries will enrich my findings. This research will contribute meaningfully to KASC’s mission by deploying African indigenous knowledge to address a global issue.