Nigerian Drama I: Onitsha Market Literature and Ene Henshaw

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1 .0 Introduction

In this unit we will see how it blossomed through the Onitsha Market Literature and the efforts of the first educated playwright in the Nigerian dramatic scene. You may wonder why we have decided to include Onitsha Market Literature here since the writers in this tradition wrote essays and novelettes too. The reason is that Veronica My Daughter, a play, by Ogali A Ogali towered above other works of the period. It was adjudged the most popular. Published in 1956, it hit a record sale of 250,000 copies. Honestly, the publishers (or pirates) of the play are still smiling to their bank as it is still being studied.

We have also decided to bring in here the foremost Nigerian playwright, Ene Henshaw whose play This is Our Chance is also very popular among students in the secondary schools.

We will start our discussion of Nigerian literary drama here with the earliest written dramatic tradition in Nigeria.

3.1 The Onitsha Market Literature

 The Onitsha Market Literature refers to a number of pamphlets, books and other publications sold at the Onitsha Market in Nigeriain the 1950s and 1960s. During this period, a vibrant literary genre emerged in Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of the eastern Nigeria and now Anambra State. Much of it was written inpidginand Creole varieties of English. This form of literature is now interesting to researchers as a secondary source of information about social conditions of the time. General readers can appreciate it for its creative use of colorful, non-standard English as well as its often racy plotlines. The obvious characteristics of Nigerian literature here is that most of the writers were amateur and of modest educational background. The books were inform of novelettes, plays and inspirational materials. They were mainly pamphlets.

Onitsha Market Literature consists of stories, plays, advice and moral discourses published primarily in the 1960s by local presses in the lively market town of Onitsha. In the fresh and vigorous genre of Onitsha Market Literature, about twenty-one pamphlets were produced from Onitsha Market and they exemplify styles of expression found in this intriguing form of African popular literature. Some of the popular titles include:

. How to Write Love Letters

. How to Become Rich and Avoid Poverty

. My Seven Young Daughters are after Young Boys.

Scholars acknowledge the important role of Onitsha Market Literature. In his contribution, Chinua Achebe describes the literature of that tradition as embodying the "social problems of a somewhat mixed-up but dynamic, even brash, modernizing community." (Chinua Achebe in the preface to Obiechina’s book on Onitsha Market Literature). The works were written by School teachers and civil servants and others with modest education. Their works include stories, plays, advice and moral discourses that were all published by local presses. Emmanuel Obiechina, a prominent scholar of Onitsha market literature, argues that this African popular literature is "an integral, if unique and startling, part of the West African creative scene”. (Obiechina 65) and as a matter of fact became a springboard for the development of written literature.

Among the most prolific of the writers were Felix N. Stephen, Speedy Eric, Thomas O. Iguh, and O. Olisah, the latter two having also written chapbook plays about prominent literary figures. Ogali A. Ogali seemed to be the most popular through his best seller, Veronica My Daughter.

3.1.1. Theme

It is unfortunate that this vibrant literary tradition fizzled out after the civil war in Nigeria, and the books except one or two have gone out of publication. However these voices from the bookstalls of an African market enhance our understanding of the cultural contexts in which they were written and provide valuable perspectives on a wide range of themes.

We do not know how many libraries in Nigeria have a catalogue of these publications but The Kansas State University has one which consists of an array of popular literature collected in 1966 by Thomas R. Buckman, former Director of Libraries in the University. Buckman described the works as representing “a unique form of popular literature in Africa” that reflected “the serious concerns and social tensions of many of the people” in newly- independent Nigeria. Many pamphlets were handbooks offering advice in the face of adversity--grave or light (Trust No-Body in Time Because Human Being Is Trickish and Difficult). Much of the literature focuses on love relationships and illustrates a moral as the drama ends in disaster (About the Husband and Wife Who Hate Themselves). Some of the

booklets detail trials and tribulations that a protagonist must overcome to achieve success in the fast-paced urban environment of West Africa (No Condition is Permanent). Buckman noted that the popularity of the works was an evidence of the “great thirst for general reading matter among the growing literate population in that part of the country”(Internet).

Onitsha market literature made a significant contribution to resources exemplifying this genre and to the general development of Nigerian Literature. The Onitsha market bookstalls were destroyed at the outbreak of the Biafran War

3.1.2 Audience

Onitsha market literature is grounded among the masses, and it is their voices that we hear in this amazing collection. The works were aimed at the new literate class of Nigerians such as taxi drivers, mechanics, white-collar clerks, primary school teachers, small-scale entrepreneurs and traders. In all the books were highly patronized by the youth. They were written in simple English and presents basic concerns about sex, money and their style enthralled a vibrant cross-section of Nigerians. Local publishers supplied creative and enticing reading material to a public with a literary appetite that in turn gained confidence in the local uses of English. Scholars hail this popular literature, in part conditioned and compromised by the marketplace, as a major impetus for an eager literate public to experiment with more serious and dynamic works of creative writing.

Although Nigerian literary artists such as Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and Ola Rotimi and Zulu Sofola hold well-deserved positions of honor as the creators of beautiful and exceptional literature, most of the authors of popular market literature remain unknown and unseen beyond the market. Cyprian Ekwensi, as noted earlier started his literary career with the Onitsha Market Literature. The Kansass University has taken an initiative to document the achievement of these obscure authors and their works. This initiative is highly commended as it introduces these ‘invisible’ authors to the widest audience possible through the Internet, and provides a context to fully understand and appreciate this literature for the masses.

3.1.3 Style

The style of the market literature is firmly grounded in African oral traditions with plays, riddles and jokes as common features. Thus, the Onitsha pamphlets reflect earlier African oral texts and their rich histories. The main preoccupation of these writers was to communicate their ideas, to send a message, to educate, inform and entertain their audience. So little or no attention is paid to aesthetics, the artistic excellence of the works technical channel. Just as eager readers purchased Nigerian market literature 40-50 years ago, this initiative makes Onitsha pamphlets accessible once again to a wide-ranging readership on the Internet.

3.2 Ene Henshaw

Ene Henshaw straddled the worlds of medicine and literature so well at the same time. He studied and practiced medicine and also wrote literary works.

In humility, he effectively impacted on his society with his great love for the arts and through his medical practice. In both vocations he distinguished himself as a selfless patriot, indeed an icon. He delved into the world of literature because of his desire to preserve the good African tradition but at the same time, his plays were not only recommended text in Nigerian schools, they also had electrifying effect on the young and impressionable minds of Nigerian youths.

In plot and style, Henshaw's works are quite simple, yet evocative. He wrote with such hilarity that many would have thought he was a comedian. His flagship drama This is Our Chance drips with so many medical terms it is not difficult to see that the author had something to do with medicine. He was indeed a physician. The impact of the slim drama is such that decades after many people had read it ; they can still recall vividly its main characters like Bambulu (the class teacher), Chief Damba and the bashful Princess Kudaro.

Henshaw's use of language in that drama is so engaging that students invariably find it necessary to read the book a second time. The bombastic eloquence of Bambulu, the imperial sagacity of Chief Damba and the angelic mettle of Kudaro all combine to make the book a memorable piece of literature. This is Our Chance mirrors the condition of most Nigerian rural

communities at the time it was written. Teachers were top of the ladder in terms of western knowledge. Some of them, however, over reached themselves. It is still easy to hear Bambulu, the big-talking, love-struck school teacher, telling Princess Kudaro, Damba's daughter, of his so-called medical invention which he described as "the child of my brain, the product of my endeavour and the materialization of my inventive genius." He makes further claims about the invention when he says: "It is an anti-snakebite vaccine. Western science has not succeeded in producing anything so potent. But I Bambulu, have, without laboratories, without help, produced this medicine from herbs of this village."

Such superfluous claims by a school teacher make the book a delight to read. The playwright captured the true state of things at that time. Here was a teacher wooing a pretty princess by making claims that few people in the village could contest, no matter how spurious it might have been. The author wrote other equally successful plays.

In the medical field, Henshaw was no less successful, having risen to the position of Director of Medical Services in the defunct South Eastern State. He later became a Chief Medical Adviser to the Rivers State government in the area of tuberculosis control. His public service went beyond medicine and literature. He also served as a member of the 1989 Constituent Assembly where he chaired the committee on human rights. In that role he equally distinguished himself as one of the most respected members of the Assembly. An Efik by birth, Henshaw made friends across the nation. He was awarded the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

His works include: Children Of The Goddess, Companion For A Chief, Dinner For Promotion,Enough Is Enough, Jewels Of The Shrine,Magic In The Blood,Man Of Character, A Medicine For Love ,Song To Mary Charles, Irish Sister Of Charity,This Is Our Chance

4.0 Conclusion

Onitsha Market literature refers to a number of pamphlets, books and other publications written by people with moderate education and sold at the OnitshaMarket in Nigeriain the 1950s and 1960s. Much of it was written in pidgin and Creole varieties of English. The obvious characteristics of Nigerian literature here is that most of the writers were amateur artists. The books were presented as novelettes, plays and inspirational materials and published as pamphlets. However, a great Nigerian, writer Cyprian Ekwensi emerged from that unique tradition

5.0 Summary

We have seen in this unit the emergence of a group of literary artists who wrote in moderate English language. While they sought to entertain their audience, they made some money. We also considered the first Nigerian dramatis, James Ene Henshaw .

6.0 Tutor Marked Assignment

Who were the writers of the Onitsha market literature and what was their major thematic preoccupation

7.0 References /Further Studies

Achebe, Chinua in the forward to Emmanuel Obiechina, An African Popular Literature: A Study of Onitsha Market Pamphlets (Cambridge, 1973),

Lindfors, Bernth, “A Preliminary Checklist of Nigerian Drama in English,” Afro-Asian Theatre Bulletin, II, no. 2 (Feb. 1967), 16-21.

Obiechina, Emmanuel, An African Popular Literature: A Study of Onitsha Market Pamphlets (Cambridge, 1973), 1.

CRL Web site at:http://wwwcrl.uchicago.edu/info/camp/onitsha.htm(Dec. 19, 2002).

http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/african/onitsha.html(Dec. 19, 2002).