Nigerian Cultural Concept of Humour and Its Creative Use as a Coping Strategy

There have been great strides in the field of positive psychology from various regions of the world. The current phase in positive psychology research is stimulating interest in the cultural nuances of positive constructs for human development. Humour is one of the positive human traits engendering current research in the field. Despite the reported regional contributions to the field, Africa’s influence seems negligible. This chapter stimulates the contribution of an African perspective to the global positive psychology discourse in humor research. Relying on the African belief that elders and authorities are custodians of culture and traditions, two Igbo elders, one Ogoni elder and an expert in Yoruba culture were interviewed to examine the use of humour in their sociocultural milieu as a creative escape and coping strategy to confront life’s challenges. Findings identify the cultural use of humour as a coping stratagem in all areas of the Nigerian life. Humour is also a political weapon that provides relief from bad governance and a contemporary means of survival in the face of unemployment. It is recommended that a deliberate effort be made to study the positive construct of humor as practised in the Nigerian cultural context and adapt same practice to other milieu experiencing similar sociocultural challenges. Future researches should aim at building a synergy between Nigerian cultural nuances of humour and the gains of positive psychology for the purpose of deepening global comprehension and to add the needed African voice to the extant literature.