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Journal articles on the topic 'Nigerian Dramatists'
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1
Atanda, Yemi. "Nigerian Dramatists and the Postcolonial Dreams: Poetics of Ethnic Unity in Diversity." International Journal of Current Research in the Humanities 27, no. 1 (May 6, 2024): 384–401. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ijcrh.v27i1.24.
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This study examines the ideological persuasions of the pioneer Nigerian dramatists given their penchant to edifying the former British colony. Drawing on primary and secondary data, the study contends that contemporary Nigerian playwrights are steep in their ‘social commitments’ to aspire for a better and unified nation, in the face of ethnic diversities. It critically analyses, John Iwuh’s Birthright and Barclays Ayakoroma’s Castle in the Air, using Ngugi wa Thiong’O’s conceptualization of Liberation and Abiola Irele’s Alienation as a conceptual footing to demonstrate the exceptional social visions in the selected plays. In doing this, the study unpacks the boundary crossing between aesthetic, social-political and cultural realities to reconfigure the fractious environment for the holistic integrated and a better postcolonial Nigeria.
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Alabi, Oluwafemi Sunday. "An Exploration into the Satiric Significance of Abuse in Selected Nigerian Drama." Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, no. 35 (July 28, 2021): 143. http://dx.doi.org/10.14198/raei.2021.35.07.
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A general survey of the contemporary Nigerian theatre and drama reveals that several contemporary Nigerian dramatists have harnessed the art of abuse—invectives— as a device for conveying meanings in their works and achieving their satiric goals. These dramatists create characters that engage abuse to articulate the thematic concerns of their drama, accentuate the conflicts in them, and establish the socio-cultural and political setting of their drama. Although extant works on satiric plays have focused on the use of language, and other satiric devices such as grotesque, irony, burlesque, innuendo, sarcasm, among others (Adeoti 1994; Adenigbo & Alugbin 2020; Mireku-Gyimah 2013; Nyamekye & Debrah 2016), sufficient scholarly attention has not been given to the art of abuse as a trope in Nigerian drama. The article explores the artistic significance of abuse and its forms in selected works of two contemporary Nigerian dramatists: Femi Osofisan’s Altine’s Wrath (2002) and Ola Rotimi’s Who is a Patriot? (2006). These two plays are selected because they manifest ample deployment of the art of abuse and engage various sociopolitical issues. Hence, the article discusses how the art of abuse in these plays projects and addresses such sociopolitical realities as oppression, exploitation, resistance, self-interest versus national interest, and capitalism, among others. The article engages the principles of superiority theory of humour as espoused by Henri Bergson (2003) for textual analysis. It contends and concludes that abuse, as an inherent part of social and human interactions, has been an effective tool in satirising ills in individuals and society at large.
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Olaniyan, Modupe Elizabeth. "SYMBOLISM IN THE DRAMA OF JP CLARK AND FEMI OSOFISAN." Imbizo 5, no. 1 (June 23, 2017): 71–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2078-9785/2831.
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The interpretation of literary texts in African drama has become a hazardous task for many readers (especially non-African readers). It is often difficult to go beyond the superficial literal meanings of a text. Readers often take what characters say as what they mean and do and, unfortunately, most dramatists do not usually provide explanatory notes at the end of such texts to aid the readers’ understanding. Hence, the aim of this article is to embark on an analysis of the works of John Pepper Clark and Femi Osofisan (both Nigerian dramatists) to see how they have used symbolism in their plays The Raft and Another Raft respectively to convey meanings other than the surface textual meanings to the readers while trying to reflect the socio-political situation in Nigeria after independence. This will be discussed with a view to enlightening the readers on African dramatic texts about what symbols stand for in African drama, such that when reading African plays, readers will be in a position to appreciate and understand such texts better.
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Adepitan, Titi, Margaret Laurence, and Nora Foster Stovel. "Long Drums and Cannons: Nigerian Dramatists and Novelists 1952-1966." Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines 37, no. 1 (2003): 173. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4107387.
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Ukwen, Kyantirimam Riken. "On the Contribution of Nigerian Female Dramatists to Indigenous Theatre Development." OALib 02, no. 03 (2015): 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1101325.
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Griswold, Wendy. "Long Drums and Cannons: Nigerian Dramatists and Novelists, 1952-1966 (review)." Research in African Literatures 34, no. 2 (2003): 216–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/ral.2003.0030.
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Eziechine, Augustine Obiajulu, and Jude Aigbe Agho. "Democracy, Gender Issues and Women Empowerment in Nigeria: Reflections on Selected Nigerian Feminist Drama." Journal of Gender Related Studies 4, no. 1 (June 5, 2023): 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.47941/jgrs.1296.
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Purpose: Gender inequality has thrived in Nigeria for too long. Feminist scholars therefore feel that there is urgent need to change the status quo through feminist inputs and this led to the present persistent advocacy for women empowerment. Drama has been mostly deployed as a means of expressing this new trend of discourse. Thus, Nigerian writers, especially feminist dramatists, consciously reflect in their works the frightening realities of the prevailing socio- political and economic situations in the country, drawing the attention of the masses, especially the female gender to the inequality inherent in their exploitation, mobilizing the society to rise up against their oppressors. This paper therefore, is set to examine the issues of gender and women empowerment in Nigeria as reflected in selected Nigerian plays. The plays include Tess Onwueme’s The Reign of Wazobia, J.P. Clark’s The Wives’ Revolt and Fred Agbeyegbe’s The King Must Dance Naked.
Methodology: Textual analysis of the selected plays is carried out.
Findings: The analysis reveals that drama can be employed as a weapon to break the walls of cultural barriers that impede the struggle of women for social, political and economic empowerment.
Unique Contribution to Theory Policy and Practice: Thus, premised on the Womanist theory, this paper concludes that drama can be deployed as a means of promoting justice, gender equity and fair play in Nigeria’s drive towards the possibilities of true democracy. This is the playwrights’ contribution to the theory and practice of feminist drama in Nigeria.
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Amiriheobu, Frank, Victor Ordua, Ekperi Watts, and Ojobah Christian. "A TEXTUAL DISCOURSE OF MIGRATION AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN ABC DURUAKU’S A MIRAGE FOR A DREAM." Education and Science Journal of Policy Review and Curriculum Development 10, no. 1 (January 5, 2021): 86–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.48028/iiprds/esjprcd.v10.i1.07.
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Until recent time, Migration, a veritable tool for industrial enhancement, economic development, political inclination, scientific and technological discoveries, and social obligations has ironic positions, whose another view, geared by exploitation from the mid-twentieth century to twenty-first century, somewhat affects the centuries before them. This is made possible through its inclusion of illicit transactions, such as labour and commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, forced labour, child soldiers, drug trafficking, domestic servitude, and the removal of organs or tissue for sale as portrayed in ABC Duruaku’s A Mirage for a Dream. This menace is meticulously alarming especially in the Nigerian state in the 21st century. This cankerworm, caused by corruption, poverty, weak governmental system and unemployment ultimately triggered malicious activities like prostitution, armed robbery, kidnapping, incessant killings, and rape, thus, increased pain, suffering, sickness and death among the people and ridicules the identity of the Nigerian nation, thereafter, threatens its existence as a sovereign states. Amongst the major findings is that human trafficking has created a lot of creative punches and dramatic representations by critics and dramatists over the years, yet the issue is heinously prevalent. The study therefore aims at interrogating the connection between migration and human trafficking in the Nigerian society, as portrayed in ABC Duruaku’s A Mirage for a Dream. To achieve this, General System Theory and Content Analytical Methodology are employed. The study, therefore, recommends the establishment of an agency to monitor all cases of migration and human trafficking in the Nigerian state.
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Khan, Amara. "From Deconstruction to Reconstruction: Indian and Nigerian Nationalism and Colonial Encounter in Comparative Perspective." Global Regional Review VI, no. I (March 30, 2021): 59–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/grr.2021(vi-i).07.
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The article converses how the culture and history of the Indians and Nigerians were mutilated by the colonists by creating the adverse stereotypes of the indigenous people as uncivilized whose history and societal ideals were annulled as mock and vicious that required the instructive mediation of the Europeans and, correspondingly how the dramatists of the two said countries interrupt and oust overriding and tyrannical European data. I have explored in the article through which technique the biculturalism in Rabindranath Tagore and Wole Soyinka's temperament and background enabled them both to develop a style of syncretic dramaturgy for the cultural relations that imperialism created in their nations. Primarily expert in abilities that empowered them to accomplish noteworthy functions in the lives of their countries, together Tagore and Soyinka was particularly ingrained in their specific cultures. Though the authors did not discard the past, they did not urge a return to it.
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Iroh, Emmanuel O. "Nigerian politicians and the leadership question in Emeka Nwabueze’s A Parliament of Vultures and Alex Asigbo’s The Reign of Paschal Amusu." UJAH: Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities 20, no. 3 (October 30, 2020): 233–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ujah.v20i3.13.
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African countries have consistently been involved in civil unrest, political instability, threats of secession, selection instead of election as well as rigging of elections, sit tight leaders and many more malaise. Despite the fact that Africa is blessed with enough human, material and natural resources, yet most of these resources have been grossly mismanaged or fretted away by her leaders who have refused to rise above board. The aim of the research is to portray the efforts of our dramatists in exposing the machinations of our leaders in their quest to retain power and acquire wealth to the detriment of the masses. The objectives of the study is to expose some these devices and enlighten the public on the schemes of their leaders and politicians who pretend to be serving the public whilein the real sense are enriching themselves while impoverishing the masses as well as to expose the different ways in which these heinous crime against the people are perpetrated. The research adopted the qualitative methodology and a context analysis approach of two drama texts of Emeka Nwabueze and Alex Asigbo. The findings show that politicians adopt many tactics to fulfill their selfish and inordinate ambitions to the detriment of the nation which this paper sets to interrogate. The paper therefore concludes that drama has continued to be a potent tool in exposing societal ills. The study recommends conscientization and reawaking of national consciousness of both the leaders and the general public.
Keywords: Leaders, Politicians, Dramatists, Masses
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Griswold, Wendy. "BOOK REVIEW: Margaret Laurence.LONG DRUMS AND CANNONS: NIGERIAN DRAMATISTS AND NOVELISTS, 1952-1966. Edmonton: U of Alberta P, 2001." Research in African Literatures 34, no. 2 (June 2003): 216–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.2979/ral.2003.34.2.216.
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Asagba, Austin Ovigue. "Nigerian dramatists in search of a theatrical idiom: A Folklorish perspective on wale Ogunyemi, Kola Ogunmola and Atiboroko Uyovbukerhi." World Literature Written in English 30, no. 1 (January 1990): 88–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17449859008589122.
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Tugbokorowei, Martins Uze E., and Tunde Obado Oliogu. "The Director’s craft in the Nigerian Educational Theatre: A Study of Henry Leopold Bell-Gam’s Directorial Approach." Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 10, no. 9 (August 15, 2022): 20–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.37745/gjahss.2013/vol10n92033.
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Directing involves the art and craft of coordinating the artistic and non-artistic personnel in a production in order to creatively and effectively communicate to the audience the intended meaning of a play. Dramatists, actors, and theatre managers have all attempted to direct or manage the process of coordinating play production over the years, but it wasn't until 1874 that the Duke of Saxe Meiningen entered the picture and assumed official responsibility as a director in guiding the affairs of the stage business as we now know it. In this study, the directing style of South South Nigerian educational theater director Henry Leopold Bell-Gam is evaluated. Henry Leopold Bell-Gam directed plays on stage (land) and in the water, according to the study, which used the qualitative research methodology with a focus on the literary/analytical, historical, and sociological methods. The Laissez-Faire method is used by Henry Leopold Bell-Gam to direct his plays. He employs the laissez-faire method, which allows the actors to be at ease so that their greatest work may shine in a production. The study found that in the course of employing or performing his directorial responsibilities, he runs into a number of difficulties, including insecurity in the aquatic environment and scheduling conflicts. The study makes several recommendations, including the need for more research in the field of directing with regard to educational theatre directors in Nigerian universities, the need for scholars to consider Henry Leopold Bell-Gam's works as viable ones that will inspire further scholarly investigation, and the need for the government to encourage, support, and fund aquatic productions as a means of socio-cultural integration, tourism attraction, and economic boost, particularly for people.
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Afolayan, Bosede Funke. "The Court Poet/Praise Singer in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman and Ola Rotimi’s Ovonramwen Nogbaisi: A Critical Appraisal." Afrika Focus 32, no. 1 (February 27, 2019): 137–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2031356x-03201009.
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Oral artists are a common sight in traditional African societies and were most prominent in old empires such as Oyo, Benin, Songhai and Mali. They also existed in the Zulu empire, northern Nigeria and among the Akan in Ghana. Their place is integral to the social and political well-being of these empires. In the Oyo empire, court poets are known as Olohun-Iyo. They are called griots in Senegal and Mali and among the Akan of Ghana, they are called Kwadwumfo. Modern Nigerian dramatists such as Wole Soyinka and Ola Rotimi have appropriated the image and roles of the court poet in Death and The King’s Horseman and Ovonramwen Nogbaisi respectively. This paper defines who a court poet is, his role as a maker and wordsmith, and the nature of his work and patronage. It examines the qualities he must possess and the content of his poetry. In examining the place of memory and remembering in the discharge of the poet´s duties, the paper investigates the various mnemonic and retrieval systems used by the poet to recall past accounts and great deeds of the kings. The roles of traditional court poets will be compared with the roles played by Olohun-iyo and Uzazakpo in the selected plays. The paper will also discuss what has become of oral artists in modern African societies. How viable is the art-form in the modern world with the advent of technology? Has civilization and modernity eroded their importance in society? While affirming their traditional advisory, prophetic, warning, motivational roles and as repositories of customs and culture, this paper concludes by stating the poet employs linguistic, para-linguistic and “medicinal” strategies to recall events at a given performance.
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Chris Ajibade, Adetuyi,. "Thematic Preoccupation of Nigerian Literature: A Critical Approach." English Linguistics Research 6, no. 3 (September 4, 2017): 22. http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/elr.v6n3p22.
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Nigerian literature takes "matter" from the realities of Nigerian living conditions and value systems in the past and present. In the Nigerian society the writer, be it a novelist, dramatist or poet is a sensitive "questioner" and reformer; as all literature in a way is criticism of the human condition obtainable in the society it mirrors. The writer often cannot help exposing the bad and the ugly in man and society. Thus much of Nigerian literature is a deploration of the harsh and inhuman condition in which the majority of Nigerians live in i.e. poverty, misery, political oppression, economic exploitation, excesses of the affluent, liquidation of humane Nigerian traditional values, and all forms of injustices which seem to be the lot of a large majority in most Nigerian societies.In drama, novel, poetry or short - story, the writer's dialogue with his physical and human environment comes out as a mirror in which his people and society can see what they look like. Every image painted by a skillful artist is expressed or put into writing / print, becomes public property and leaves itself open for evaluation by those who read and understand the language and expression. There is therefore a need to identify the thematic preoccupation of Nigeria literature which is the focus of this paper with a view to identifying their peculiarities with textual references.
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Dunton, Chris. "Pierre Meunier, Nigerian Dramatist." Research in African Literatures 35, no. 1 (March 2004): 187–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.2979/ral.2004.35.1.187.
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Dunton, Chris. "Pierre Meunier, Nigerian Dramatist." Research in African Literatures 35, no. 1 (2004): 187–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/ral.2004.0011.
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Crow, Brian. "Soyinka and his Radical Critics: A Review." Theatre Research International 12, no. 1 (1987): 61–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0307883300013304.
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The volume of critical writing on the theatre of Wole Soyinka both in Nigeria and abroad indicates his unrivalled pre-eminence among African play wrights. His work is still not as well known in the West as it should be, though his plays do occasionally get performed, especially in the USA, and it is encouraging that six of them have recently been published in one volume in the Methuen ‘Master Playwrights’ series. If cultural chauvinism is at least partly to blame for ignorance of the Third World's leading dramatist, there is also a genuine problem of access to a writer whose work is ‘difficult’ even for the educated élite among his own people. Indeed, some younger Nigerian critics have persistently accused Soyinka of obscurantism and of being too much immersed in private myth-making, an arcane metaphysics, at the expense of communicating with a popular audience about issues which directly concern it. A heated and sometimes acrimonious debate has arisen in the last few years around Soyinka's theater, in which the dramatist himself has participated both as critic and artist. Since the controversy, like the drama, is not well-known, and some of its key texts are not easily available, my purpose here is to summarize its main features, the implications of which go well beyond the work of a particular writer, however important. In conclusion, I shall briefly review Soyinka's more recent work and its bearing on the critical debate.
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Lakoju, Tunde. "Literary Drama in Africa: the Disabled Comrade." New Theatre Quarterly 5, no. 18 (May 1989): 152–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266464x00003043.
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NTQ has given considerable coverage to forms of popular theatre for conscientization and development in the so-called Third World. By contrast with such community-oriented, audience-involving activities, is there a function for conventional ‘literary’ drama, on the western model, which can probably only reach relatively comfortable and literate middle-class audiences? Tunde Lakoju examines two such plays – I Will Marry When I Want by the Kenyan playwright Ngugi Wa Thiongo (London: Heinemann, 1982), and The Trials of Brother Jero by the Nigerian dramatist Wole Soyinka (Oxford University Press, 1964) – in terms of their success in measuring up to the needs they identify: and he considers, too, how those ‘needs’ may be variously assessed by theoretical and practical criteria. Tunde Lakoju is Senior Lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in his native Nigeria, having been awarded his doctoral degree from the University of Wales. His own play, The Last Saturday, has been broadcast in the BBC's African Theatre series.
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Bower, Rachel. "Tony Harrison in Nigeria: Teacher, Translator and Dramatist." English Studies 99, no. 1 (January 2, 2018): 34–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0013838x.2017.1405318.
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Olaniyan, ME. "Enhancing the Nigerian Educational System through Creative Dramatics." AFRREV LALIGENS: An International Journal of Language, Literature and Gender Studies 3, no. 2 (September 10, 2014): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/laligens.v3i2.1.
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Amiriheobu, Frank, Ekperi Watts, Anthony Terry, and George Owunari. "AFRICAN DEITY AND PEACE DEVELOPMENT IN JULIE OKOH’S WE ARE RIVERS AND THE NIGERIAN SPACE." International Journal of Strategic Research in Education, Technology and Humanities 8, no. 1 (September 3, 2020): 83–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.48028/iiprds/ijsreth.v8.i1.08.
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Until recent time, African deities, positioned as viable medium of creating sanity and tranquility in the African front have been ironically neglected due to incursion of Christianization, civilization, modernization, and advanced technology. The efficacy of the African deity which is paramount insomuch that it preserves the culture, tradition, norms, values, artifacts, morals, and way of lives of the people, thus militating against evil forces whose agenda is targeted at the people, by increasing the level of death, sickness, ailment, farming, barrenness, strive, poverty, and every other forms of wickedness as portrayed in Julie Okoh’s We Are Rivers, is today, neglected and most often abolished. This has unequivocally created fear and pain of the people and underdevelopment to the nation. It has therewith created impetus for creative portraiture in dramatic and argumentative representations by dramatist and critics over the years, yet, the issue is still persisting. The study therefore aims at repositioning African Deity as viable medium of sanity and a mechanism of enhancing peace and development in the Nigerian space. Thus, with content analytical methodology, this study investigates how Julie Okoh attempts to establish the cause and effect of deity negligence and service on the Nigerian space using the instrument of drama. The effect of it will create positive change amongst Nigerians, thus, create change in their society. The study therefore recommends that maximum attention be made towards promoting African deity to the frontier of politicians as that would define the hallmark of peace and development.
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Azunwo, Eziwho Emenike, and Emmanuella Omaga Sopuruchi. "The dramatist’s dimensions in tackling child labour in Nigeria: the exemplar of Faith Ken-Aminipko’s Say no to child abuse." Journal of Gender and Power 10, no. 2 (December 1, 2018): 73–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.14746/jgp.2018.10.004.
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It has been observed over the years that child labour has been a trending phenomenon in our society. It has also been noticed that poverty has driven a lot of parents and guidance to painfully force their children into early work. And this has caused a lot of hazards in our society especially Nigeria. It is on this note that this paper explains the reasons why children are forced to work, the effects of child labour upon our society, the causes of child labour, policies that have been made by government to impede it, types of child labour and how Nigerian Dramatist perceive the issue through their works. Lewis’ “Culture of poverty theory” and Stouffer’s “Relative deprivation theory” provide this paper with fibre and framework to interrogate the subject matter and provide the critical consciousness and promoting change of attitude. This research has its root in educating the minds of the people, enlightening the society on the dangers of child labour and creatively proffering solutions. Hence, the thrust of this research is to educate people on the danger of child labour and creating the desired awareness on the issue of child labour and the effects on our society. This paper adopts qualitative method of research since it will be engaged in much textual analysis. Following the methodology, this study summarises a finding which states that the prevalence of child labour in Nigeria is largely an internal problem with poverty, ignorance and bad government as leading causes. To this end, this study draws conclusion that the government, parents, institutions and the general public should cooperate in the best manner to put an end to child labour practice or reduce it to a bearable state. Further suggestions arouse at the end of this study.
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OKOLOCHA, H. OBY, and LENDZEMO CONSTANTINE YUKA. "Neologism and Dual Gender Status." Matatu 47, no. 1 (August 22, 2016): 15–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18757421-90000393.
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Wazobia, the name of the female king in Tess Onwueme’s play The Reign of Wazobia, is a neologism derived from Yorùbá, Igbó, and Hausa respectively, the three dominant languages in Nigeria. Motivated by the relevance of Onwueme’s lexical selection and the socio-political contexts in which the play is set, the essay relies on pragmatic contexts of language usage to analyse the coinage of the name to ascertain whether it dramatizes a political attempt to advocate unity between the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria. The essay also interrogates Wazobia’s dual gender status, and the feminist implications of the fact that she does not rule as a woman but as either a man or an androgynous figure. Wazobia’s dual gender and the illegal extension of her three-year regency raise a number of questions, some of which appear to contradict Onwueme’s well-articulated feminist stance. The essay shows that the neologism of Wazobia is largely restricted to a feminist stance, canvassing intra-gender unity among all Nigerian women as a prerequisite for attaining power and emergence into politics and spaces of leadership. Wazobia’s gender duality is interpreted as Onwueme’s rejection of gender-associated restrictions. This dual status also embodies socio-political implications for unity in the male/female divide, and the Igbóo/Hausa/Yorùbá division. The work interprets the favourable treatment of Wazobia’s tyranny as Onwueme’s feminist bias and political aspirations for women.
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Amiriheobu, Frank, Victor Ordua, Ekperi Watts, and Ojobah Christian. "A CRITICAL DISCOURSE OF GIRL-CHILD MARRIAGE/SLAVERY IN SELECTED NIGERIAN FILM." International Journal of Innovative Research in Social Sciences & Strategic Management Techniques 8, no. 1 (January 5, 2021): 118–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.48028/iiprds/ijirsssmt.v8.i1.10.
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Until recent past, girl-child slavery/marriage, guided by unscrupulous African culture, has posed as major practice in the Nigerian state in the 21stCentury. This cankerworm, manifesting through early marriage, money marriage, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and other forms of abuses on the women folk, weakens women participation in economic, political, religious, and social development, thus, increases the issues of pain, suffering, sickness, and death of the people and underdevelopment to the Nigerian 5state as portrayed in Stephanie Linus Dry. Dry is a 21st century film that interrogates girl-child marriage/slavery, money marriage, discrimination, deprivation and inequality against the women. Amongst the major findings is that girl-child marriage/slavery has provided impetus for dramatic and argumentative representations by critics and dramatist over the years, yet, the menace is highly prevalent in the Nigerian state in the 21st century, mostly in the Northern regions. The study therefore aims at interrogating the cause and effects of girl-child marriage/slavery in the Nigerian state in the 21st century. To achieve this, Radical Feminism Theory and Content Analytical Methodology are used as guide. More so, the study recommends that any culture, tradition, or norm that is responsible that for girl-child marriage/slavery in the Nigerian space should be abolished for equity and development to be ascertained.
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OLUFUNWA, HARRY. "Resident Aliens." Matatu 47, no. 1 (August 22, 2016): 127–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18757421-90000399.
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Identity-politics refers to the way in which a specific section of a given society agitates for equal rights, increased recognition and greater opportunities based on the specific ethnic, religious, gender or other characteristic that simultaneously binds it together as a social group and sets it apart from other groups. This essay looks at the changing nature of identity-politics in the drama of the contemporary Nigerian dramatist Ahmed Yerima. It argues that the playwright traces crucial shifts in relationships that obtain between and within the individuals and social groups depicted in his plays as part of his overall concern with the nature of society.
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Pardey, Hannah. "Dramatic Dissent in Wole Soyinka’s Metaphysical Play Death and the King’s Horseman (1975) and Biyi Bandele’s Netflix Adaptation Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman (2022)." Matatu 54, no. 2 (December 5, 2023): 173–203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18757421-05402002.
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Abstract Approaching the theme of this special issue as a dramatic structure, the contribution investigates the representation of dissenting practices in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman and Biyi Bandele’s Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman. First published in 1975, Soyinka’s metaphysical play dramatises the events surrounding the eponymous protagonist Elesin Oba who, according to Yoruba cosmology, must follow the king in death to ensure harmony between this world and the next. Questioning both metaphysical and Marxist readings of the play, I argue that its employment of ritual as a dramaturgical device functions to explore the intricate reasons for failed leadership in post-independence Nigeria. This re-reading of Soyinka’s classic is informed by its recent screen adaptation, Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman, which was co-produced by Ebonylife Films and Netflix and directed by the late Nigerian playwright and filmmaker Biyi Bandele. Reinforcing new Nollywood’s budding relationship with Netflix and its accompanying globalisation, Bandele’s movie appropriates the play’s dramatic structure of dissent on the levels of cinematography and editing, mise-en-scène and sound, inviting its transnational viewers to consider past and present manifestations of dissent as a means of managing and envisioning possible solutions to contemporary conflicts. The conclusion stresses that the ritual form presents a flexible device to interrogate historically specific power relations and encourage distinct generations of audiences to imagine their forms, causes, and alternatives; whereas Soyinka’s play suggests that these alternatives rest on the capabilities of the educated middle classes, Bandele’s movie constructs more diversified audiences which may settle for its consoling or dissenting aesthetics, respectively.
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Olu-Osayomi, Olusegun i. "Yoruba Festival and the Dramatist: Satire as Spine in Soyinka’s A Dance of the Forests." Yoruba Studies Review 7, no. 2 (January 19, 2023): 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.32473/ysr.7.2.132802.
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In most African societies, festivals play especially important roles linked to the survival of the society. This paper investigates the festival motif in Wole Soyinka’s A Dance of the Forests with the purpose of illuminating further his exploration of elements of indigenous African (Yoruba) lore. The paper contends that the satiric mode explored trenchantly in Soyinka's play's organizing and structuring principles. The paper posits that satiric mode is the fundamental backbone of his work, not just a decoration. The paper explains further that the festival's motif and cultural celebration built into the structure of the selected play and properly harnessed raw material for his poetry. The methodology is analytical and complemented by hermeneutics theory. By vigorously exploiting African (Yoruba) experience, festival motif, and satiric modes, in a manner relevant to the moral development of his world, it will be seen that Soyinka, succeeds in laying the foundation for a truly Nigerian national literature and it is, in fact, on this that his strengths as a satirist playwright lie
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Ohagwam, Uchenna. "Despoliated Ecosystem and the Exploited Woman: Victims or Volunteers? A Reading of Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow." Asian Education Studies 6, no. 1 (May 10, 2021): 22. http://dx.doi.org/10.20849/aes.v6i1.930.
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The horrendous situation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is gradually producing a rich and enduring literature, which paints a vivid picture of the trauma of living in that part of the world. Playwrights, poets, dramatists and literary critics have all lent their contributions in a determined effort at speaking up against the enormity of the environmental degradation in the region; a tragedy brought about by the insensitive exploitation of the region’s natural resources by multinational oil corporations. This study seeks to examine Kaine Agary’s perspective towards the problem as captured in her fictional work, Yellow-Yellow, with focus on the heavy toll it takes on the woman. The dilemma of being caught in the web of either a victim or a volunteer, compels the woman to either dependency or independence. Thus, the paper concludes by making a case for economic independence and argues that it is the surest security for women, especially, the Niger Delta woman.
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Awodiya, Daniel O., and Yvon Joseph. "Troubadour, Griot and Evangelist: The Compelling Narrative Rhetoric of ‘Erujeje’." International Journal of Public Theology 8, no. 1 (February 4, 2014): 51–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15697320-12341329.
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AbstractThe power of narratives as didactic tools, the repository of history, cultural knowledge and cultural identity is well known. Walter Fisher depicts stories as the sum of rhetorical expressions and applications of the pre-existing values of a community. Narratives and its corollaries—narrator, receptor (audience)—form a tightly woven knit. To be effective, the receptor must be complicit in the narrator’s jeu (game) which is to persuade the receptor of the fidelity and plausibility of the story. Numerous agents exploit the digital age as a new medium which has appropriated them a special niche in the arena of communication. In evangelism, Michael Fasina, also known as Erujeje, is at the heart of such a movement. This article is a treatment of Fisherian narrative and Aristotelian syllogism in an attempt to suggest that Erujeje, the Nigerian dramatist extraordinaire, combines those elements coupled with topoi familiar to his audience in order to proselytize.1
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Wambu, Chiemela, and Chinyere Ecoma. "CHUKWUMA NZEOGWU IN THE THROES OF CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN HISTORY." Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal 7, no. 6 (June 14, 2020): 22–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.76.8134.
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For the greater part of its existence as a sovereign state, Nigeria has witnessed more years of military than civilian rule. An excursion into this very important aspect of our national history must, of necessity, interrogate the circumstances and dramatis personae that led to the military’s intervention in national politics. One name that has never escaped the scrutiny in this effort is that of Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Though a posthumous research, the intention of this paper is to attempt a reappraisal of the often ignored, misinterpreted and maligned intentions of the principal actors of the January 15, 1966 military coup d’etat, especially the role of Nzeogwu. In order to achieve this objective, the research made use of both primary and secondary sources of data. These were subjected to initial qualitative analysis. The research concludes that part of the reasons for the misinterpretation of Nzeogwu’s role is the need to justify the failure of the government of the First Republic to satisfy the basic human and material needs of Nigeria. In addition, it establishes the fact that subsequent political equations and configurations in Nigeria have evidently been to the benefit of those who have been at pains to justify the brutality that attended the January 1966 coup d’etat.
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Desen Jonathan, Mbachaga. "Dramatic Literature and the Fight against Terror, Insurgency and Insecurity in Nigeria: Yerima’s Vision in Heart of Stone." Advances in Language and Literary Studies 10, no. 5 (October 30, 2019): 83. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.10n.5p.83.
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Issues of security of lives and property flood the news in Nigeria with focus on mayhem, bombings, brutality and mind boggling killings of persons. The fear has gone beyond that of armed robbery gangs to fear of kidnappers, political assassins and insurgent bombings which have become daily features of our news and social landscape. This paper takes a critical excursion into Ahmed Yerima’s Heart of Stone and explores his angst against insurgency and its causes in Nigeria highlighting religious intolerance and hate as well as poverty as strong reasons for this trend in Nigeria. The study uses content analysis to extract key issues captured by Yerima and discusses these issues in relation to socio political happenings in Nigeria. Findings reveal that, religious clerics abuse their place of authority by instigating and influencing innocent followers to commit violent acts of terror. It was also found that poverty is a strong force in influencing young people to seek better lively hood thereby becoming vulnerable to easy recruitment as terrorists. The paper submits, among others, that the disrespect to life occasioned by religious violence and insurgency places a demand on us as artiste and writers to arouse social conscience as we search for peaceful existence within the realities of our new modernity. This calls for a return to the core values of promoting love, tolerance, peace and above all, respect to life. Our writing as dramatists is called upon to throw its searchlight and prod conscience as it speaks to these issues. The paper concludes that, Nigeria’s unity is threatened by religious intolerance and hate and has led to threats of regions breaking to form independent states like Biafra, Oduduwa, Arewa Nation, Middle Belt and several others. A focus on the socio economic wellbeing of the poor and less privileged in our society and provision of basic amenities will go a long way in curbing this menace.
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Aderemi Adeoye, Michael. "Ẹnu dùn ń rò’fọ́…: Theatre design, audience cognition and dramatic adaptation of Fagunwa’s texts." Journal of Adaptation in Film & Performance 13, no. 3 (December 1, 2020): 185–202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/jafp_00027_1.
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The stage performance of Langbodo, a play, which Nigerian dramatist Wale Ogunyemi adapted from Soyinka’s The Forest of a Thousand Daemons, which, in turn, is a translation of D. O. Fagunwa’s prose, Ògbójú Ọdẹ Nínú Igbó Irúnmalẹ̀. 'The bold hunter in the daemon-infested forest', exposed the limitation of the text as a bearer of meaning in the theatrical adaptation context. The limitation is analysed in this work to justify the centrality of adaptation in bridging the text-design-audience semiotic gap. This study examines the technical challenges of theatre design in D. O. Fagunwa’s works resulting from their adaptation as drama. The Yoruba apothegmatic idiom, Ẹnu ‘dùn ń rò’fọ́, agada ọwọ́ ṣeé ṣán’ko (which means, literally, that ‘vegetable soup can be prepared orally if a mere hand suffices for a cutlass’), a traditional derision for the inadequacies of the text, and the Barthesian notion of intertextuality serve as a dual theoretical structure in this study. A combination of methodologies including participant observation and ethnographic approach suffice for the retrieval and analysis of performance materials, respectively. Therefore, the study contends that the process of stage adaptation in Wale Ogunyemi’s play, Langbodo, used the technical contributions of theatre design, as a catalyst for connecting Fagunwa’s ideas to the final audience.
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Ukala, Sam. "Impersonation in Some African Ritual and Festival Performances." New Theatre Quarterly 16, no. 1 (February 2000): 76–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266464x00013476.
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Few studies of African ritual and festival performance have been written from a theatrical perspective, and Sam Ukala believes that the richness of such events has yet to be fully explored by African dramatists – while most of the western paratheatrical experiments derived from them have been influenced more by anthroplogical models than aesthetic principles. In pursuit of a dramaturgical approach to the study of African rituals and festivals, he focuses on the role and nature of impersonation in these events, and examines the relationship between the forms, objectives, and contexts of the performances and the kinds of impersonation to be found in them. Distinguishing between the western actor and the African role-player, and between ‘intense impersonation’ and possession, he suggests also some generic parallels between western theatre and African performance. Sam Ukala is a Professor of Drama and Theatre Arts at Edo State University, Ekpoma, Nigeria. A theatre director and playwright, his published plays include The Slave Wife, The Log in Your Eye, Akpakaland, The Trails of Obiamaka Elema, Break a Boil, and Two Plays: The Placenta of Death and The Last Heroes. In 1998–99 he was resident writer and director at Horse and Bamboo Theatre in the United Kingdom, where, with Bob Frith, he wrote and directed Harvest of Ghosts, a first experiment with wordless visual theatre, an extension of his preoccupation with ‘folkism’, a dramaturgy based on folk compositional and performance aesthetics formulated in his article in NTQ47 (August 1996).
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Bello, Shamsuddeen. "Bridging the hiatus: Dramatic and poetic elements in Malalo’s kirari." Afrika und Übersee 95 (December 31, 2022): 1–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.15460/auue.2022.95.1.247.
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The theme of this paper is farautar jarumta ‘heroic hunting’ in the north-western part of Nigeria. The paper pays particular attention to the kirari ‘praise-epithets’, also called koɗa kai ‘adulation of the self’, of the mafarauta ‘hunters’ as one of the cardinal features of this kind of hunting. It traces certain dramatic elements, such as stage/space, costume and props, dramatis personae, plot, impersonation, and the spectacle as well as the singing and drumming that are an important part of performance of kirari. It further examines poetic elements in Ummaru Usman Malalo’s famous kirari Saka-cira; these elements are grouped into genealogy-based, action-based, and metaphorical yabo ‘praise’. The paper shows that, although the delivery of kirari has, in some studies, been analysed as a song text, it requires performance along with the dramatic elements which belong in a performance. The analysis of Saka-cira – which has never previously been studied – shows that in their kirari, mafarauta utilise poetic devices to portray, embellish, and exaggerate events, comparing themselves with, or even declaring themselves to be an animal or a natural phenomenon. The analysis in the paper relies on the Hausa version of the kirari. It utilises a transcribed version of Saka-cira, interviews, observations, and secondary literature.
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Harper, Peggy. "The Kwagh-hir of the People of Tiv: a Note on Dramatised History Telling and Constructions of Nature among the Tiv of Southern Nigeria." Environment and History 3, no. 3 (October 1, 1997): 371–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.3197/096734097779555845.
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Gbilekaa, Saint E. T., and Olympus G. Ejue. "RETHINKING THE HUMANITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERTEXUALITY AND ADAPTATIONS WITHIN THE DIASPORIC CONSTRUCT." International Review of Humanities Studies 6, no. 1 (January 28, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.7454/irhs.v6i1.307.
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Drastic socio/political and economic changes in the world have perhaps led to global mass migration, transcontinental transport or scattering of people away from their established or ancestral homeland. This obviously explains the vitality that has characterized the creative impetus of intertextuality and adaptation mechanics used by certain Nigerian diaspora dramatists over the years as group identity formation and social pattern of identity politics and cultural belonging in expressing universal human concerns. The question however is; has the adaptation of classical or historical plays to the dawn of modern play texts by Nigerian diaspora dramatists reinforced the Nigerian culture? The condition is foregrounded on the mind-set of most literary critics, who now seek to know where ‘home’ actually is, or what ‘rights’ and/or ‘entitlements’ an indigene-settler within the diasporic framework can celebrate in terms of human diversity or uniformity as they provide an insight into a world that is different from their own. It is this conceptual and cross platform reflections on themes and context within the diasporic construct of trans-textual adaptation, cultural citizenship vis-à-vis national or global idea of developing culture across borders that the paper attempted to interrogate. Using adaptation theory as its framework, the paper adopts a qualitative method of investigation. It is assumed that, the likes of Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi, J.P. Clark, Femi Osofisan, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Athol Fugard, Efua Sutherland and a host of others had adapted foreign play texts in order to engender socio/political interrelatedness based on their diasporic experiences and worldviews. The paper, therefore, concludes that; Diaspora formations have actually influenced theatre practice in Nigeria nay Africa through play-texts adaptation paradigms as vehicles that can be supportive of constructing peaceful societies.
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Akaenyi, Nkiruka Jacinta. "REDUCING CRIME THROUGH THE THEATRE: AN ANALYSIS OF FOLUKE OGUNLEYE’S JABULILE." International Review of Humanities Studies 6, no. 1 (January 28, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.7454/irhs.v6i1.306.
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This study examines the connection between family conditions and the criminal behaviours of children. Over the years, drama has been used to address the socio-political, economic and security challenges in different societies. The goal of these dramatists is to chart the way forward for a harmonious political, economic and social system. It is in this wise that, Foluke Ogunleye used her knowledge of drama to address serious issues affecting the progress and stability of the nation. This study finds that the explosion of crime in the nation is linked to the fragile family system surrounding the children’s upbringing by their respective families. This paper analyzes one of Foluke Ogunleye’s plays, Jabulile in an attempt to educate Nigerian families on what is expected of them as far as the issue of national security is concerned. This is done with the recognition that the family is the first unit of socialization. This study recommends that proper socialization of children by their parents is therefore a stepping stone for a harmonious socio-political system.
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Akinola, Ogungbemi Christopher, Patrick Ebewo, and Olufemi Joseph Abodunrin. "Christian Worship as Dramaturgical Model: A Study of the Use of Drama in Nigerian Churches." Imbizo 8, no. 1 (May 9, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2078-9785/2311.
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Humans are actors on the stage called earth. It was William Shakespeare, the quintessential dramatist, who asserted that the world is a stage and all the men and women are merely players who have their exits and their entrances. In some churches, drama is employed as a tool in evangelism, while in others, it is an avoidable distraction, relegated only for use by teachers who instruct Sunday school children. However, in spite of a dearth of widespread support for church drama, more churches seem to utilise theatre and drama in their worships. It is assumed that while hearers sometimes struggle to remember verbalised sermons, the same sermons might be remembered if they are dramatised with the embellishments that scenery, stage props, music, dance, lighting, costume and dialogue bring. This article reports on an investigation into the assumption that drama is one of the timeous tools used to proclaim the timeless truth of scripture. It draws on a mixed-method approach of quantitative and qualitative methods for the study conducted in four churches in three Nigerian cities. Its historical perspective attempts to sketch major empirically grounded features of Christian worship as dramaturgical model. It further reveals the inseparable fusion of religion, theatre and drama. Findings from the study indicate that theatre and drama have become prominent in Christian worship in Nigeria in the last few years. It also suggests that theatricals and dramatics are possible reasons some churches experience numerical growth.
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Afolayan, Bosede Funke. "The Court Poet/Praise Singer in Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman and Ola Rotimi's Ovonramwen Nogbaisi: a Critical Appraisal." Afrika Focus 32, no. 1 (September 5, 2019). http://dx.doi.org/10.21825/af.v32i1.11788.
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Oral artists are a common sight in traditional African societies and were most prominent in old empires such as Oyo, Benin, Songhai and Mali. They also existed in the Zulu empire, northern Nigeria and among the Akan in Ghana. Their place is integral to the social and political well-being of these empires. In the Oyo empire, court poets are known as Olohun-Iyo. They are called griots in Senegal and Mali and among the Akan of Ghana, they are called Kwadwumfo. Modern Nigerian dramatists such as Wole Soyinka and Ola Rotimi have appropriated the image and roles of the court poet in Death and The King’s Horseman and Ovonramwen Nogbaisi respectively. This paper defines who a court poet is, his role as a maker and wordsmith, and the nature of his work and patronage. It examines the qualities he must possess and the content of his poetry. In examining the place of memory and remembering in the discharge of the poet ́s duties, the paper investigates the various mnemonic and retrieval systems used by the poet to recall past accounts and great deeds of the kings. The roles of traditional court poets will be compared with the roles played by Olohun-iyo and Uzazakpo in the selected plays. The paper will also discuss what has become of oral artists in modern African societies. How viable is the art-form in the modern world with the advent of technology? Has civilization and modernity eroded their importance in society? While affirming their traditional advisory, prophetic, warning, motivational roles and as repositories of customs and culture, this paper concludes by stating the poet employs linguistic, para- linguistic and “medicinal” strategies to recall events at a given performance.
KEYWORDS: COURT-POET, PRAISE SINGER, TRADITIONAL AFRICAN POETRY, WOLE SOYINKA, OLA ROTIMI
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Olanrewaju Agboola, Michael. "Varia: Cultural Nationalism and Postcolonial Imperatives in Irene Salami-Agunloye’s Emotan: A Benin Heroine and Emmy Idegu’s Ata Igala the Great." VTU Review: Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences 5, no. 1 (June 30, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.54664/lyur5937.
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This article examines the efforts of postcolonial creative writers, particularly dramatists, who attempt to rethink the seeming erosion of African culture in the face of western cultural expansion. The present research adopts the methods of descriptive and content analysis, as it dwells on books, journal articles, and internet materials to examine its subject. Of immediate interest are two Nigerian plays, Ata Igala the Great by Emmy Idegu and Emotan: A Benin Heroine by Irene Salami-Agunloye, which are read as paradigmatic texts for interpreting problematic postcolonial relationships. The article contributes to discussions related to colonialism and the hidden agenda of neo-colonialism, which are often interpreted in terms of western economic interests underlying cultural expansion. The article demonstrates how African postcolonial writers have striven to reverse this trend by promoting Africa’s cultural aesthetics as they represent indigenous ways of life and their problematic interaction with western cultural patterns. The discussed works focus on cultural canons related to African life, such as consultation with oracles, ancestor worship, and festivals; and they demonstrate the aesthetic specifics of African dance, music, songs, and their semiotic significance. The article concludes that even though the two plays “speak back” to power, their strength lies in the articulation of certain aesthetic patterns that contribute to African self-location. Thus, the plays not only attempt to assert African culture, but they also strive to rethink the meanings of western cultural imperialism.
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Inegbe, Stephen E., and Rebecca Bassey. "THE POLEMICS OF LANGUAGE IN ESIABA IROBI’S CEMETERY ROAD." International Review of Humanities Studies, July 31, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.7454/irhs.v0i0.256.
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In the culture of any group of people, language, as a potent means of communication, cannot be relegated to the background. Every good play reflects the people for whom it is written. Esiaba Irobi’s Cemetery Road is not an exception. This essay, therefore, considers the employment of language as one of the major tools of revolt in Esiaba Irobi’s Cemetery Road in the dramatist’s attempt to restructure and build a new egalitarian society. The essence of this study is to reveal how Esiaba Irobi, has been able to deploy language as a revolutionary weapon in his play, Cemetery Road. The study, thus, showcases the ideological concern of the playwright in the play. The play is ideological because it takes a radical position on the issue of change in certain aspects of the Nigerian society. This essay, therefore, seeks to unveil the different aspects of language used in Cemetery Road. An examination of the text reveals that the dramatist employs macabre language or language of violence, persuasive language, wit, mockery and sarcasm, proverbial language, imagery, language of abuse and insensitivity, and language of despair.
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Azeez, Tunji, and Babafemi Babatope. "HISTORICITY AND GENDER HEROISM IN OLA ROTIMI’S HOPES OF THE LIVING DEAD." International Review of Humanities Studies, January 31, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.7454/irhs.v0i0.217.
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The intercourse of history and Drama is an age long phenomenon. On one hand, the evolution and the various developmental stages of drama find expression in history. On the other hand, historical occurrences provided and still provide raw materials for drama. Historically, women have been represented in drama since the beginning of literary tradition. Aristophanes (410 BC) represented Greek women, reflecting the strength and weakness of women and more importantly the role of women in nation building. Shakespeare and Webster portray women substantially in their plays. Nigerian playwrights are not left out in the scheme, as they employ the instrumentality of history to dramatise traits of legendry Nigeria women and thus preserve their heroic deeds for the prosperity of posterity. This paper interrogates the interplay of history and gender heroism in Ola Rotimi’s play, Hopes of the Living Dead. The framework for this discourse is “Stiwanism”, the African expression of feminism. The paper argues that Ola Rotimi, in a bid to celebrate African women does not create a fictitious personality with fabricated legendary deeds, but falls back on history to showcase the legendary and heroic nature of African women. History, therefore, enhances the tangibility of gender heroism as dramatised by Ola Rotimi in the play. We conclude that, in Hopes of the Living Dead, Ola Rotimi employs history to unearth the past, thereby reconstructing the present and taking a peep into the future about what is expected of the African women as leaders and co-workers in social and political re-engineering.
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"Nationalist Approach in Appropriating Traditional and Modern Identity in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel." University of Chitral Journal of Linguistics and Literature 6, no. I (March 30, 2022): 1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.33195/jll.v6ii.345.
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Wole Soyinka, an African dramatist, has represented Nigerian culture and traditions in his works. He has highlighted the post-colonial context and the resistance by the natives to European cultural hegemony. This research paper aims at exploring the nationalist approach in explaining the current state of values and the attitude of people in Nigeria through a nationalistic idea that ascribes gender roles in its attempt to retain true self-identity. The nationalistic approach propounded by Fanon has been employed as the framework for Soyinka’s play The Lion and the Jewel. The study finds out that Soyinka has highlighted gender roles and the customs related to marriage, bride price, and the relation between husband and wife. He emphasizes the responsibility of women in terms of defining their roles and retaining their values by accepting the prescribed status assigned to them in a patriarchal setup.
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Layiwola, Dele. "The Radical Alternative and the Dilemma of the Intellectual Dramatist in Nigeria." Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies 19, no. 1 (1991). http://dx.doi.org/10.5070/f7191016805.
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Onanuga, Ayobami, and Paul Onanuga. "Individualism and the Erosion of African Communality: Exploring Drama for Societal Change in Femi Osofisan’s Plays." Imbizo 12, no. 1 (April 26, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2663-6565/7751.
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Cultural purists are convinced that African values are being eroded by intrusive and hegemonic Western structures. The conviction is validated by the increasingly individualistic set-ups that threaten longstanding African communality. Hinged on two central assumptions—that literary texts are cultural artefacts and exist as documentations on the happenings and changes in the society within which they are produced—we examine the framing of individualism and communality in Major Plays 2 by foremost Nigerian dramatist, Femi Osofisan. The study identifies the representations and domains of individualism and submits that it is often presented as detrimental to the established and normative ethos of the African communal spirit. The domains explored range from politics and social relations to the intertwined concepts of choice and compulsion. Reliant on the ethos of religious and ritualistic practices, Osofisan asserts his social advocacy through a recommendation of the eschewal of individualistic tendencies and appeals for communal considerations in African social actions. The article concludes that despite the perceived influence of globalisation through the influx of individualistic tendencies, the traditional society sustains itself through entrenched values and rules.