INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we will study the thematic treatment of anti-colonial themes in Nigerian dramatic literature and theatre. In Nigeria, many writers major in almost all the genres hence the sameness themes in all their works. Wole Soyinka is known more as a dramatist/theater practitioner but he is also a very popular poet and novelist. He is at present the only writer in Nigeria with the longest series of memoirs. Chinua Achebe is best known as a novelist but he also writes good poetry. His collection of poetry, Beware Soul Brother, won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize when it came out. John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo is known better as a poet but he is also a well respected playwright whose works have been given world acclaim. In all these writers, we see the consistency in the manner with which they treat their themes while the anti-colonial themes are mostly prevalent. We shall use the works of two Nigerian playwrights: Ola Rotimi and Femi Osofisan, to study the anti-colonial themes in Nigerian drama.
3.1 General Overview
In Nigeria, drama/theatre is a reflection of life. Right from the pre- colonial, pre-literate days, it has been in existence and it is reflected in the people’s festivals, rituals, mythology and other forms of social engagements. It is a medium through which he reaches out to, or better still, courts the supernatural world and certain enigmatic developments or phenomena of life in order to transcend them. However, the African man’s contact with the colonial world has eroded some of the importance attached to certain African values. Exposure to education and other seemly more refined religious practices has diminished, significantly, the importance that was once attached to certain beliefs and notions. Today, the story has changed. Nigerian playwrights in the years before and immediately after independence wrote to correct certain misconceptions about her people. Others wrote to magnify and eulogize those aspects of the Nigerian culture that promote good will and social harmony. So much has been said about the origins and development of dramatic and theatrical activities in the Nigerian society that dwelling on it here would amount to a mere rehash of ideas of some sort.
Ogunbiyi edited a book entitled Drama and Theatre in Nigeria: A Critical Source Book (1981) which turned out to be a compendium of essays on dramatic and theatrical activities in certain festivals and rituals among certain Nigerian ethnic sub-sets, Ogunbiyi had argued that it is rather a misnomer or better still, a falsity to refer to “Nigerian drama and theatre” since the theatrical vaunting of the country rests on dramatic and theatrical activities in the many ethnic groupings that constitute the Nigerian nation. The book was also written to correct certain notions about earlier Eurocentric theatre critics, especially in the West, who had written “books” on “Nigerian and African theatre and drama” practices, based on knowledge that were grossly inadequate, thwarted and lacking in hindsight.
Three years earlier, precisely in 1978, two foremost Nigerian theatre and drama critics, Oyin Ogunba and Abiola Irele, had made a similar and remarkable attempt in their brilliantly edited book, Theatre in Africa. Since then, a good number of books have been written and essays have either been published as articles in books and other learned journals, or as project dissertations and theses locked up in many institutions of higher learning across the Nigerian nation. One of such remarkable essays is Dapo Adelugba’s “The Development of Drama and Theatre in Nigeria”. His disputation was that Nigeria’s development in drama and theatre has taken many forms. Dramatic and theatrical activities in Nigeria is, indeed, very robust, vibrant and dynamic. Dapo Adelugba’s translation of Bakary Traore’s thesis, titled “The Black African Theatre and Its Social Functions” is a worthy testimony to this. Other noteworthy testimonies include Biodun Jeyifo’s The Yoruba Popular Travelling Theatre of Nigeria, Onuora Ossie Enekwe’s Igbo Masks: The Oneness of Ritual and Theatre, Ebun Clark-Bekederemo’s Hubert Ogunde: The Making of Nigerian Theatre and a host of others. All these are academic endeavours towards explicating the trend of dramatic and theatrical activities in the Nigerian society.
In the same vein, books have been written on “the masters of contemporary Nigerian dramas” and on their art. It is, however, a sad commentary on the Nigerian literati that efforts of our literary critics have been directional, focusing on the old generation of writers like the Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, and the world acclaimed novelist, Chinua Achebe, even long after the former had won the laureate and the later has been over-exposed internationally. Not even their contemporaries like the chemist novelist, Cyprian Ekwensi and the domestic dramatist, James Ene Henshaw, to mention a few, have enjoyed half the kind of attention which they have commanded. The argument may be that there is always something new to talk about in their work. However, there has been the consistent attack by the dramatists and theatre practitioners on the bad effects of colonialism on Nigeria. Even the neo-colonial attacks have been hinged on the negative effects of colonialism on Nigeria.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
Nigerian drama/theatre has consistently attacked imperialism at various stages of development. Discuss this trend.
3.2 Anti-Colonial Themes in Ola Rotimi’s Ovonramwen
Nogbaisi
Ovonramwen Nogbaisi by Ola Rotimi begins with Oba Ovonramwen’s tasks of controlling a growing rebellion within his kingdom. There is a confrontation between him and some of his rebellious chiefs and, most importantly, the British and French Governments who were searching for economic domination of many parts of Africa and the rest of the world too. This historical play is divided into three Acts, with a prologue at the beginning and an Epilogue at the end. Act One establishes Ovonramwen’s revenge and judgment on his two chiefs (Obaruduagbon and Esasoyen) that both of them must die for killing Uwangue Egiebo, Ovonramwen’s Chief Adviser, as a result of the political fall-out for the political soul of the Benin Kingdom. This action is followed by the visit of Itsekiri Traders who come to beg Ovonramwen for shortchanging the Benin people. Uzazakpo (the aged court jester) also admonishes the King to beware of people, especially his Chiefs, and to also seek the loyalty of Ologbosere against the growing hypocrisy of his Chiefs. Ifa priest also warns Ovonramwen to be careful: “Oba Alaiyeluwa, Ifa has sent me to deliver the word – Caution. I have delivered the word. Caution. My lord… Oni ofIfe sends you greetings.” (16)
This warning is overtaken by the visit of two white men; Hulton and Gallwey who bring a Trade Treaty document to the King to sign and which the king refuses to sign. Hulton is surprised. This Act ends with Ovonramwen instructing Ologbosere, his third-in-command, to lead the Benin army to Agbor to teach the people there some lessons because “the people of Agbor, of late have been getting too hot for our peace” .
Act II starts with a dramatic celebration of one of the Benin’s traditional festivals, the Ague (igue) festival, and the unceremonious invasion of the Benin Kingdom by white men under the control of Acting Consul- General Phillips. Okavbiogbe, the Chief Policeman of the Benin Empire, warns the white men of the danger inherent in seeing the Oba during the Ague festival and his encounter with Phillips sets the conflict of this play. Phillips goes on to state the intention of the British Monarch: “what then are we in Africa for? What object brings us here?
Commerce, gentlemen! Commerce brought us to Africa; commerce determines our actions in Africa!” (32).
Obaseki and Oshodin (Benin chiefs) meet Acting Resident Roupell in Act III of the play and they promise to locate Ovonramwen and give him up. The King, however, gives himself up and Roupell demands that he surrender to the British Authority and after serious persuasion from his Chiefs, Ovonramwen removes the crown on his head and surrenders to the British Monarch; an act which Roupell confidently and heroically celebrates: “From this day, this land of Benin belongs to her Royal Majesty Queen Victoria!” (54)
The chiefs are tried and seven of them are to die for killing seven white men. Obayuwana (a Benin Chief), however, refuses to be shot, instead he heroically stabs himself and Ovonramwen leaves for Obaseki’s house to re-strategize for the continuation of the war against the white imperialists. Ovonramwen hides and sleeps in the bush with Uzazakpo, the Court Jester who makes things easy for him on their way to Okemue to meet Ologbosere and before they could reach Okemue, Roupell and his soldiers apprehend Ovonramwen and he paradoxically rejoices with the white men on their success in capturing Benin: “Not much. Tell Queen Victoria that at last the big pot of corn has been toppled; now mother hen and her children may rejoice!” (78)
This play is totally anti-colonial. It reveals the destruction of one of the strongest monarchs in Nigeria. It reveals the imperialists invasion of Africa using commerce and Christianity as yardsticks. It reveals the downturn in the history of Nigeria as the political, cultural and religious aspects of the people are infected with colonial intrusions that destroyed the system.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
Discuss the various anti-colonial dramatic elements in Ovonramwen
Nogbaisi.
3.3 Anti-Colonial Themes in Femi Osofisan’s Midnight Hotel
Osofisan is a playwright critical of a Plethora of social vices in contemporary Nigeria. Midnight Hotel is a work of satire which concerns corruption and decadent political culture. It questions the credibility of Nigerian law makers and touches on political intolerance and religious charlatans in the society. The prevailing immorality, hypocrisy and flirtatious tendencies of highly placed persons are aspects of the national psyche which he subjects to criticism. All these mannerisms and characteristics are offshoots of colonial education and exposure. Nigerian culture was a morally based one before colonialism. Femi Osofisan is of the view that nepotism, corruption and favoritism have gone deep into the Nigerian political system as a result of the imitation and adaptation of the imperialists system of politics and justice. The point of corruption is driven home when Awero, the only female Member of Parliament decides to take Pastor Suuru to a hotel so that she could “sample” him before he is given a contract since, according to her; male MPS do this to the opposite sex. But when Suuru does not compromise with her she says: “For Christ’s sake, what’s wrong with you? I’m telling you its regular practice in parliament. All the male MPS are doing it even to their own nieces and cousins: every one in our contracts and award committee is taking some member of the opposite sex somewhere or the other before jobs are given out. They call it “sampling” the goods…” (Midnight Hotel, 13) In response to Suuru’s question Awero says, “Why not? Once you cooperate and I sample … once you stop making a fool of yourself: and not only Abuja the new capital, I assure you. Depending on you, your company can bag ten, fifteen contracts in a week: our committee has far ranging powers over contracts from Aladja to Ajaokuta, to Warri to Apapa you name It” (Midnight Hotel, 19). The picture painted reveals that our leaders are politically myopic, ideologically visionless and morally bankrupt. For Osofisan, Nigerian leaders subordinate the common man’s welfare to their selfish, avaricious and hedonistic tendencies. And all these are reflective of the imperialists’ capitalist tendencies.
Apart from his attack on the political system and its operators, Osofisan also criticizes political intolerance and victimization of political opponents. Political opponents in Nigeria are perceived as enemies. The government in power victimizes members of the opposition and denies their communities basic amenities. Victimization in Nigeria is forcefully demonstrated in Midnight Hotel when the headmaster (Alatise) who also lost the governorship election also lost his school to the winning party. This led to Alatise’s impoverishment and his subsequent search for refuge with his daughter in Lagos, listen to Alatise as he narrates his ugly experience to Awero: “You know, since the new government came in, it’s been hell for me. They took over my school, my land and here I am, jobless, homeless, and hungry.” (Midnight Hotel, 34) Femi Osofisan criticizes and condemns this “winner take all” syndrome, in Nigeria’s political system which negates the democratic principle. For him, winners should be magnanimous in victory, while losers should accept defeat and work in partnership with the winner in order to ensure a harmonious co-existence in the society. Osofisan’s search light in the play is also directed at prostitution, another social malady. Immorality and sexual perversion is another subject of attack because of its effect on our national psyche. Although he is quite critical of prostitution among the women in the society, Osofisan attributes the persistence of prostitution to people’s avarice and desire to get money at all cost. The playwright was unrelenting in his attack on religious leaders’ whom he regards as charlatans and hypocrites.
In Midnight Hotel, Osofisan takes a swipe at these religious leader’s clandestine activities, their moral filth, and their deceitful pronouncements which run counter to their divine calling. The character that embodies this negative aspect of the men of God is Pastor Suuru who shamelessly allows himself to be “sampled” in a hotel by Awero. Suuru is also a liar having falsely claimed to have been robbed by armed robbers. Osofisan therefore criticizes religious leaders for their failings and castigates them for misleading their followers. Commercialization of chieftaincy titles in communities did not escape Osofisan’s criticism and derision. In traditional Nigerian societies, chieftaincy titles were conferred on people of proven integrity. It was not for sale as is the case nowadays. Presently, fraudsters and the so-called philanthropists who have money and the wherewithal to “buy” the title are respected. This has resulted in the bastardization and commercialization of traditional institutions in Nigeria. This situation is driven home as Osofisan ‘tells’ how one Jumoh is made an Asiwaju of Ifeko for his humanitarian services. Jumoh sells his belongings to earn that chieftaincy title. What a shame.
Every aspect of Nigerian politics, social malaise, religious bigotry, corruption and all aspects of cultural degradation are all a result of the colonial education, colonial influence and the imitation of the imperialist’s ideals. This work is a satire on the imitation of European values against Nigerian moral culture.
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SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3
Explain the various behaviours of Nigerians in Midnight Hotel that are offshoots of colonial influence.
4.0 CONCLUSION
On the whole, Rotimi’s Ovonramwen Nogbaisi and Osofisan’s Midnight Hotel are dramatic works which explored situations and incidents that reveal Nigeria at the grip of colonial mentality. The playwrights in one form or another ridicule Nigeria’s politics culture, religious leaders, their leadership styles, and other social vices. Ola Rotimi’s play is a historical jab at the imperialists’ imposition of alien cultures in Nigeria. It attacks the destruction of culture and monarchs. Osofisan’s play laughs at and also makes us laugh at the society’s failings as a result of neo-colonial assumptions and aspirations. By examining the Nigerian history and attacking Nigerian society, Rotimi and Osofisan are using their artistic creation to bring about social change, a reconstruction of values and the need to go back to Nigerian roots in all ramifications. Rotimi’s Ovonramwen Nogbaisi and Osofisan’s Midnight Hotel share a lot of things in common in terms of the way they explored the Nigerian society vis-à-vis the influence and effects of colonialism.
5.0 SUMMARY
There is also a great element of verisimilitude in the two plays as far as the themes of anti-colonialism are concerned. In Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, we see a culture collapsing because of British invasion. The people’s culture becomes a bet for the imperialists whose intention was to use commerce and religion as tools for destroying Nigeria. In Midnight Hotel, Suuru is a Christian, a cheat and a destroyer of cultural values. The political leaders are corrupt. The religious leaders are corrupt. The anti-colonial elements are glaring as each play takes both historical and sociological jab at the influences colonialism have on the entire well- being of Nigeria as a nation.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
Answer the following questions carefully:
1. Explain the major thematic pre-occupation of Nigerian playwrights.
2. Discuss the anti-colonial themes in Rotimi’s Ovonramwen
Nogbaisi.
3. Assess the effects of colonialism in modern Nigeria as revealed in Osofisan’s Midnight Hotel.
4. Identify the key issues that Rotimi’s Ovonramwen Nogbaisi tries to reveal about colonialism and Benin History.
5. It is believed that colonial education is the bane of colonial mentality in Nigeria. How true is this in Osofisan’s Midnight Hotel.
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
‘Biodun Jeyifo (1984). “The Yoruba Popular Travelling Theatre of Nigeria”, in Nigeria Magazine, Lagos .
Ebun Clark-Bekederemo (1979).Hubert Ogunde: The Making of Nigerian Theatre.
London: Oxford Univ. Press.
Ossie Onuora Enekwe (1987). “Igbo Masks: The Oneness of Ritual and Theatre”, in Nigeria Magazine, Lagos.
Osofisan, Femi (1985). ‘Midnight Hotel’, in Morountodum and Other Plays. Ibadan: Longmans.
Rotimi, Ola (1981). Ovonramwen Nogbaisi. Ibadan: Oxford University Press.
Yemi Ogunbiyi (1981). Drama and Theatre in Nigeria: A Critical Source Book. Lagos: Nigeria Magazine.
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