Yorùbá folktales, oral storytelling and the decolonial imperatives for children’s education in Africa

Yorùbá folktales, oral storytelling and the decolonial imperatives for children’s education in Africa

Chika C. Mba & Ănuolúwapọ̀ Adéwùnmí Adétọ̀míwá

Issue: Vol. 7 No.9 2026 Article 18 pp.2728 – 2745
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267918 Published online 28th October 2026

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ABSTRACT

This study examines the cognitive, cultural, and decolonial significance of traditional Yorùbá folktales. It establishes Yorùbá folktales as a vital component of African oral storytelling, capable of informing the development of Afrocentric educational frameworks for children. Although academic discourse acknowledges these educational and social deficits, there remains a critical research gap regarding how traditional oral narratives can be systematically operationalised within educational policy and practice. Using a conceptual review and qualitative approach, this research highlights the decline of African oral traditions and links this phenomenon to contemporary challenges faced by African youth, including identity crises, social fragmentation, ethical erosion, and cognitive dissonance. It posits that the primary drivers of this cultural attrition are the coloniality of the African educational system, the pervasive influence of modern media, and the hegemony of written literature. The study acknowledges the utility of “Secondary Orality” and digital storytelling in fostering engagement with these traditions and uses secondary data to analyse the structural paradigms of Yorùbá folktales. Overall, the research advocates the cultural reappropriation of digital storytelling, proposing a pedagogical model in which primary oral storytelling is used alongside digital formats. It concludes that integrating oral storytelling into classroom curricula is essential to actualise Afrocentric education and dismantle the lingering effects of educational coloniality.

Keywords: African Oral Storytelling, Afrocentric Education, Children, Pedagogy, Yorùbá Folktales

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Chika C. Mba is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana; the Director (Ghana), Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa & Senior Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), in conjunction with the “Freiburg Research Collaboration Programme (FRESCO), University of Freiburg. His teaching and research span the broad domains of African philosophy, decolonial thought, human rights, and global justice. His work centres on understanding Africa and Africans in key debates in philosophy and the humanities more broadly, raising challenging questions for hegemonic discourses about human nature, global justice, (global) culture, and human rights. His recent publications include: Mba, C.C. (2026). Negotiating Kwame Nkrumah’s Dilemma and the Systemic Intersection of Academic Freedom, Decolonisation and Knowledge Production in Africa. Discover Global Society. (4) 273: 1 – 23; Mba, CC et al. (2026), Decolonising Climate Change Policies and Governance Strategies in Ghana, Postcolonial Studies.

Ănuolúwapọ̀ Adéwùnmí Adétọ̀míwá is a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics, African and Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos. She holds First and Second Degrees in Linguistics and Yorùbá, as well as a degree in Yorùbá Language. Additionally, she serves as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Yorùbá Language and Culture Proficiency Programme (YLCPP) for Second Language Learners and Expatriates at the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her research interests span Ethnography, Anthropological Linguistics, African Languages, and Cultural Studies. She is currently pursuing her doctoral research at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, funded by the Lisa Maskell-Gerda Henkel Foundation, Germany.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Mba, Chika C., and Ănuolúwapọ̀ Adéwùnmí Adétọ̀míwá. “Yorùbá folktales, oral storytelling and the decolonial imperatives for children’s education in Africa.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.9 (2026): 2728 – 2745. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267918