The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has given a hint that the Federal government is now prepared to pay special attention to creativity in the country. The Minister who has been in the forefront of the campaign to focus attention on the development and tapping of the huge resources in the culture sector to rebuild the economy of Nigeria, made this remark recently in Lagos. It was during the occasion of the staging of Death and the King’s Horseman by Professor Wole Soyinka.
Part of the merits of the play is that it was written forty years ago. But to date the play is still relevant in the day-to-day happenings in Nigeria. It was due to its importance that the National Troupe of Nigeria in collaboration with the Minister chose the play to mark the thirty years of the Nobel Prize in Literature won by Soyinka in 1986 and to also use it to enliven the sector for Lagos at 50.
Mohammed did not only commend Soyinka for his futuristic play anchoring it on the role of the king’s horseman once the king is dead, he also encouraged other writers to always pull their resources together for the good of the society. An elated Mohammed made it clear that the federal government has now chosen not to neglect the Art sector so as to boast it to further enhance sources of national revenue.
Writers, he said, should continue to play the kind of role Soyinka has been playing so that in no time Nigeria would produce another Nobel laureate. For him, stories like this mirror the society and help to point out areas that enhance the culture of the people. Therefore, the death of the King’s horseman which is an old tradition which was punctured by the British colonial masters in the days of yore, shows that people in all circumstances are poised to react to events around them.
In the play, Elesin was too cowardly to play his traditional or god-ordained role to help the set pattern of the society to continue to function properly. His cowardly role created the avenue for the British to intervene. Not only that. The interregnum also led to the death of Elesin’s son, a promising young medical doctor who, in order to save the society and remove shame from his family offered to die in his father’s place.
Double tragedy though, but the incident almost put an end to the British recalcitrant mediation in the affairs of the locals. Elesin took his life, the British could not save anybody while the people continued to mourn these tragedies.
For Elesin, the pleasures of life, the sweetness of his new wife and the allure to continue to wallow in its many euphoric tendencies helped to scuttle his resolve to die. The lesson is clear: you can’t have your cake and eat it or eat your cake and still have it. Elesin enjoyed the huge beauty of office, but when it was time to give back to society, he shrieked his role. Consequently, this set in motion other chains of unfortunate happenings. It was terrible; it was tragedy.
In directing the play, Mike Anyanwu said he chose to alter one or two scenes to give the play its altruistic flavour. He changed the market scene where he ensured that most of the remarkable scenes took place. He ascribed more roles to the women. Yet, he ensured that the activities were limited in order to truly depict a society that was mourning its king. The king was dead, yet Elesin wanted to marry again. The women harassed and embarrassed him. Even though he ended up marrying the lady, that was the source of his downfall, his undoing.
The director of the Troupe, Akin Adejuwon also reiterated the role of the National Troupe as the apex theatre troupe of Nigeria to continue to fulfill its statutory role to the nation. This was why the play was chosen to bring out its import in a society where cultures are fizzling out gradually. It is now time to redraw interest to plays that have examples to offer to the society.