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Tag: drama

  • Drama as Ekiti trader prostrates in court to escape sentence

    A trader  at the New Garage, Ado Ekiti,, Odims Frank,went flat tommy at an Ado Ekiti Customary court  earlier this week,begging for leniency after he was slammed with  contempt of court.

    Frank had  filed a petition at the court against  one Adenike Aarin,but  walked out of

    the court midway into the  proceeding.

    The  court president Joseph Ogunsemi did not take kindly to Frank’s action, and  directed a police officer attached to the court to get the man arrested.

    Back inside the court and told what offence he had committed, Frank  first went

    on his knees before prostrating to plead for leniency.

    “My lord, I am very sorry sir, please have mercy on me, I am very sorry. I will never do that again, I respect this court, kindly pardon me my lord,” he said.

    Mr .Ogunsemi upbraided him for his behaviour,saying: : “Is this the way you behave to your customers? This is a court of law, it is not a marketplace and you must comport yourself well in  court and not do what you like .

    “You are warned for the last time or have you taken ‘kain-kain’ this morning?

    “Don’t repeat that again.Rudeness to a judge is rudeness to all judges and magistrates in Nigeria.

    “If you do that again, that will be counted against you and the consequences will be terrible for you.You are pardoned.”

    Prior to Frank’s drama,counsel to the defendant, Miss E.E. Iseh, had r asked for a new date

    to apply for records of proceedings of the last sitting to enable her cross-examine the petitioner.

    The court president subsequently adjourned the case to August 31 for further hearing.

     

  • Drama as Ekiti trader prostrates in court to escape sentence

    A trader at the New Garage, Ado Ekiti,, Odims Frank,went flat tommy at an Ado Ekiti Customary court  earlier this week,begging for leniency after he was slammed with  contempt of court.

    Frank had  filed a petition at the court against  one Adenike Aarin,but  walked out of

    the court midway into the  proceeding.

    The  court president Joseph Ogunsemi did not take kindly to Frank’s action, and  directed a police officer attached to the court to get the man arrested.

    Back inside the court and told what offence he had committed, Frank  first went

    on his knees before prostrating to plead for leniency.

    “My lord, I am very sorry sir, please have mercy on me, I am very sorry. I will never do that again, I respect this court, kindly pardon me my lord,” he said.

    Mr .Ogunsemi upbraided him for his behaviour,saying: : “Is this the way you behave to your customers? This is a court of law, it is not a marketplace and you must comport yourself well in  court and not do what you like .

    “You are warned for the last time or have you taken ‘kain-kain’ this morning?

    “Don’t repeat that again.Rudeness to a judge is rudeness to all judges and magistrates in Nigeria.

    “If you do that again, that will be counted against you and the consequences will be terrible for you.You are pardoned.”

    Prior to Frank’s drama,counsel to the defendant, Miss E.E. Iseh, had r asked for a new date

    to apply for records of proceedings of the last sitting to enable her cross-examine the petitioner.

    The court president subsequently adjourned the case to August 31 for further hearing.

  • Buhari and the absence of drama

    President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), has denied Nigerians, the commonest attribute, of our political office holders. While his predecessors held sway, Nigerians were consistently treated to a lot of melodrama. But under PMB, the more the day go-bye, the less you hear or see. His best sound bite so far, remains, ‘I belong to nobody, and I belong to everybody’. A bit controversial, was his advocacy while in United States, that those who voted massively for him, and defended their votes, would benefit more, than those who gave him,paltry votes. Beyond a few more offerings, PMB prefers taciturn, to the garrulity of his predecessors.

    PMB,also, seems to abhor swagger. I recall the early days of President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), with his combative spokesman, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in tow. OBJ, loved to overawe,every of his audience. If he is called upon to make a speech, OBJ would trust up from his seat, as if he just discovered that a dry gun powder, was wired to his chair. He would stretch out his arms, collect his flowing agbada, and with a slight bow, move like the sound of thunder, to the podium;first to dramatically clear his throat,many times, before making his speech. So, part of the narrative of that era, was what one can describe as,the presidential surge.

    President Umaru Yar’Adua, unfortunately, did not live long enough, to develop,a signature swagger. So, what of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ)? Compared to OBJ, GEJ was a languid figure. Yet, nobody will forget the drama of a new couture, as one more national dress, was added to the menu. Despite the harassment from the press, GEJ rode through, with his Niger Delta hat and caftan. Also, there was the offerings of trepidation, whether in movement or in speech, which soon became a trade mark of GEJ. What many viewed as a signature of weakness, many have interpreted,as the melodrama of deceit; as GEJ dealt, a sleight of deceitful hand, to many of his political opponents.

    But the real miss, is the drama associated with the weekly meetings, of the federal executive council; after which two or three ministers,smile into the cameras, to real out tens of contracts, awarded for billions or trillions of naira. With false solemnity, the officials would for instance, inform Nigerians, that the federal executive council had awarded a contract, for the construction of a standard rail line, to run from Lagos to Kano, and that the contractors would soon mobilize to site. Perhaps,as events have recently shown, most of the exercise was more of a fluke. So, in vain did the beneficiaries of the contract wait to see the bulldozers, plonk the earth, for the announced project.

    One of such severally awarded, and re-awarded contracts, is the famous second Niger Bridge, and the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Nobody, will forget the performance by OBJ during his infamous ground-breaking ceremony, for the second Niger Bridge. As events subsequently showed, the process was orchestrated to give his political son, Andy Uba, then elected as governor of Anambra state, even when the position was not vacant;  something to boast about.That ground, was again re-broken by GEJ, in 2011, with the information released that what OBJ did previously, was a fraud; as there was no file in the federal ministry of works, to evidencethe earlier ground-breaking ceremony.

    Interestingly, by 2015, as GEJ’Sfailed re-election campaigns approached, he againrealised that the grounds of the second Niger Bridge, at Onitsha, had hardened again; and there was the need to re-break it, even if for the drama, and the entertainment of the people. So, pronto GEJ headed to Onitsha, and when he was reminded by the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, of his previousperformance, four years ago; he confessed that he cannot remember,his exact lines. But, the drama must go on. So, on primetime news, a footage of sand dunes, poles and pipes were showcased as evidence, forany doubting Thomas, that the drama of performance was ongoing at the Niger Bridge,in Onitsha.

    Perhaps, in deference to the style of PMB, the anti-corruption agencies have been less dramatic in performance, than they were, during the OBJ days. While the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has suddenly rediscovered its fangs, it has resisted the temptation, todisplay it, to excite the public. Even the drama of their inactive years, under GEJ, particularly as it affected high profile former political office holders, has given way to a more professional performance, under PMB. With the promise by PMB, that those who looted our treasury, would soon face the music, let’s see whether we would go back to the days of drama.

    Interestingly, even the laid-back Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), has suddenly become active. As former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, and his Police Service commission members would attest, the ICPC is no longer, a toothless bulldog. But luckily for him, he was indicted in an era of less drama, as he did not suffer the humiliation experienced by his former colleague, in office and corruption scandal, Tafa Balogun. If Okiro and his co-culprits would without further promptings, return the millionsof naira they allegedly shared, then who would deny PMB, the accolades of performance.

    As the days go by, Nigerians would realistically judge for themselves,whether PMB is truly,a ‘Baba Go Slow’, as many have adjudged him; or he is merely a more methodological president, than his predecessors. While the lack of drama, may actually be impinging on the offer of excitement ingovernance,whichNigerians are used to; it is hoped, thatPMB would compensate, with a better performance.

  • Drama as Okada rider escapes life jail

    Drama as Okada rider escapes life jail

    There was joy at an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos yesterday when a 19-year-old commercial motorcyclist Solomon Alu got a second chance to fight for his freedom. He had initially pleaded guilty to a seven-count charge of manslaughter.

    Alu, from Ebonyi State, was accused of, among others, reckless driving, driving against traffic, not wearing a helmet, causing the death of one Phillip Alu and injuring Mrs. Ogunfuye Funmilayo when his motorbike was involved in an accident around Benson Bus-Stop, Ikorodu, on July 1.

    During his trial, the court was astonished when Alu, head bowed, shoulders sagging and in tears, pleaded guilty to each of the seven-count charge. The offence contravened Sections 19 and 20 of the Road Traffic Laws of Lagos State. To the court’s surprise, was representing himself because he had no lawyer.

    In a voice, he muttered “guilty” to every count read to him. Even when he appeared to be struggling to understand some of the charges and they were re-read to him, his answer was still: “guilty”.

    After listening to him, Magistrate Makanju-Oshodi retired to her chambers. Under the Criminal Code, the maximum sentence for manslaughter is life imprisonment.

    “I have nobody,” Alu told The Nation, when he was asked why he didn’t have a lawyer. “I have nobody. I am 19 years’ old”.

    On why his family was not in court with him, he sobbed: “My elder brother is 22 years’ old. He is in Anambra taking care of our mother. She is ill. I’ve told him not to tell her I’ve been arrested.”

    On the magistrate’s return, two lawyers, a man and woman, walked in. “Are you the accused?” the man asked. Alu nodded.

    “We’re here to take your case for free,” the lawyer said.

    With the lawyer’s appearance, the magistrate allowed Alu to retake his plea. This time on his lawyers’ advice, he pleaded not guilty.

    The magistrate granted him N200, 000 bail, with two sureties in the like sum. She said the sureties should provide evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government as part of the bail conditions.

    The case was adjourned till August 6.

  • Election drama in Rivers

    Election drama in Rivers

    Last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections in River State were marred by irregularities, according to eyewitnesses. Correspondent BISI OLANIYI, who monitored the elections in Port Harcourt, the state capital catalogued some of the malpractices that marred the exercise.  

    Though the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, had assured Nigerians that the general elections throughout the country would be free, fair, transparent, credible and peaceful, the reverse was the case in Rivers State.

    It became apparent that the presidential and the National Assembly elections would be rigged in Rivers State in the evening of February 27, when it was confirmed that the original result sheets had been released to the leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    With the original result sheets with PDP leaders, colour photocopies were released by INEC to the Electoral Officers, who in-turn gave them to the Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs), for onward distribution to the Presiding Officers throughout the 23 local government areas.

    In a few places where elections took place in the state, the fake result sheets were used to deceive the electorate, who queued endlessly in the scorching sun, while the presiding officers mostly displayed ignorance by not removing the protective film on the lens of the smart card readers, which caused delay, before the supervising presiding officers came to their rescue.

    The Rivers governorship candidate of the PDP, Chief Nyesom Wike, a former Minister of State for Education, was so sure of “victory” at the polls, not through the ballots, but through massive rigging and writing of results in the homes of the leaders of his party.

    Wike was also supported in the senseless rigging by the Rivers Deputy Governor, Tele Ikuru, who last week, defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP, and other leaders of the party.

    The wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience, an indigene of Okrika in Rivers State, after voting with her husband in his Otuoke hometown, Bayelsa State, relocated to her palatial mansion in the old Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Port Harcourt, to coordinate the rigging.

    The First Lady (Dame Jonathan) and Wike, who are of the PDP, were giving instructions to the police and INEC officials to ensure “landslide victory” for President Jonathan. The police chiefs and INEC officials were helpless, considering the threats of losing their jobs and huge cash released to them.

    It was alleged that each of the Electoral Officers (EOs) in the 23 local governments were given N15 million to compromise the election and ensure “victory” for candidates of the PDP. Some of the EOs confronted neither confirmed nor denied the allegation.

    It was when Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Director-General of Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Organisation, got to his polling unit in Ubima, his hometown in Ikwerre Local Government Area for accreditation that the charade was exposed. Governor Amaechi insisted on seeing the result sheet, but the presiding officer could not produce it, he refused to be accredited.

    The governor returned home and gave the INEC ad hoc staff little time, presumably for the officials to bring the result sheet. But, the result sheet was still not available when he returned to the unit before the end of accreditation at 1 p.m.

     

    The Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said reports from other parts of the state showed that the problem of absence of result sheets was widespread.

    Similarly, the Rivers governorship candidate of the APC, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, equally refused to vote in his coastal Opobo hometown for the same reason: the absence of result sheets.

    While responding to allegations of the hijack of result sheets later, Wike urged Rivers people to ignore Amaechi and other APC leaders, insisting that the elections took place and that it was free and fair. He wondered why his former boss (Amaechi) would get to his polling unit and be asking for result sheet, instead of getting himself accredited in the interim before the arrival of the result sheet.

    Last Saturday’s elections in the state were marred by violence, killing of scores of defenceless voters, massive rigging, snatching of ballot boxes, intimidation of voters and many irregularities. The INEC officials and policemen connived with PDP leaders in the rape of democracy.

    For instance, eyewitnesses said policemen and PDP thugs who were recruited as INEC ad hoc staff were openly thumb-printing ballot papers at the Divisional Police headquarters in Kpor-Ogoni, Gokana Local Government headquarters. The representative of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Magnus Abe, who is seeking re-election, and the Caretaker Chairman of Gokana Local Government Council, Kadilo Kabari, who were at the police station to lodge complaints about the irregularities, were shocked to see policemen and PDP thugs thumb-printing ballot papers.

    Abe and Kabari were attacked by the PDP thugs, with the Gokana council boss given the beating of his life, thereby sustaining injuries and later made to sit on bare floor for so long, before he was allowed to leave and landed in the hospital. His nasty experience was one of the numerous cases in Rivers State.

    An elderly voter, who is a devout Christian, in the old Port Harcourt Township, popularly called Town, had an unpleasant experience that day. Just because he decided to vote for all the candidates of the APC, the peeping PDP thugs dragged him away and gave him the beating of his life. They only left him when he collapsed and he almost died. The thugs had seen that he placed his thumbprint beside the APC logo.

    At another polling unit in Rumuigbo-Port Harcourt, near the Psychiatric Hospital, the PDP thugs were reported to have taken over the voting centres. Eyewitnesses said policemen on election duty were helpless. A decent and well-educated man came to the polling unit to vote for all APC candidates, but the thugs collected his ballot papers and tore them to pieces. They had also observed that he voted for the APC. The gentleman simply walked away.

    An election observer from the Transitional Monitoring Group (TMG), Ibrahim Zikrullah, said: “We have Rivers State, where the election did not meet minimal standards of any recognised election. The state security took over the role of INEC. They were beating up people, smashing ballots and falsifying results.

    “The problems with the card readers did not help matters, because in some places they could not verify the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). And in our view, the manual verification compromised the purpose of the card reader.”

    To show their displeasure over the breaches observed during the election, thousands of APC members took to the streets in Port Harcourt. They took off from the Government House and later got to the headquarters of INEC on the Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu Expressway, near the corporate headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The protesters called for fresh elections in Rivers and the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dame Gesila Khan, for taking sides with the leaders of the PDP. Khan, an indigene of Bayelsa State, as President Goodluck Jonathan, was described as an associate of the President.

    The REC was also accused of releasing the original result sheets to Wike and other leaders of the party, with colour photocopies given to the electoral officers in 23 local governments across the state, which they used to write fake results, while Wike later submitted to INEC for collation, the “manufactured” results on original result sheets.

    Khan, however, said: “It is a lie and cheap blackmail. It is not possible to hand over original result sheets to politicians, especially with the security numbers on them. They should concentrate on campaigning and allow me to do my job.”

    Among the APC’s protesters were: Dr. Peterside; his running mate, Okorie Asita; Sen. Abe; Chief Tony Okocha; Rivers commissioners; federal and state lawmakers, among other eminent personalities. The determined protesters ignored the heavy security on Aba Road, especially between Waterlines Bus Stop and GRA Junction, thereby moving to the gate of the INEC headquarters.

    The protesters, who were armed with placards with various inscriptions, were chanting: “We no go gree.” Some of the placards read: “Change Rivers REC of INEC now, Prof. Jega”, “Electoral officers in Rivers State compromising with PDP”, “INEC in Rivers State is an arm of PDP”, “PDP members accredited as INEC ad hoc staff” and “Rivers INEC, where are our votes?”

    Peterside and some leaders of the APC, who insisted on entering the INEC headquarters to meet with the REC and formally register their protest, were barred by fully-armed riot policemen. The protesters then decided to sit on the ever-busy Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu Expressway, in front of INEC’s gate, for about two hours.

    The Rivers APC’s governorship candidate said: “What you are seeing here (at INEC headquarters in Port Harcourt) are registered voters, who are supporters of the APC. They are here to protect the fact that yesterday (on Saturday), they were not allowed to exercise their franchise. They got to their various polling units, only to discover that there were no result sheets and without the result sheets, the election cannot be conducted in compliance with the Electoral Law.

    “In substance, there were no elections anywhere in Rivers State, at least in 20 local government areas. Apart from the fact that there were no result sheets, the few places where accreditation was done, results were not announced at the polling booths, in accordance with the law. Results were not collated at the various LGAs. We later heard that results are being collated at various homes around the city of Port Harcourt and the suburbs.

    “So, we are here to register our protest. There were no elections in Rivers State and violence was visited on our people. Over ten persons died in various locations in Rivers State. Over 55 of our members were arrested by the police and the military. We are calling for elections and not cancellation, because there was no election. All we asking for is that please, can we vote? There are two different things; we are saying there were no elections at all and not that elections were not held.

    “We have been here for two hours and they said the REC is not available. Somebody who identified himself as the Administrative Secretary of INEC in Rivers State received our petition, but we are insisting that we must see the REC, because she played a key role in subverting the will of Rivers people.”

    Abe, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), who is seeking re-election to represent Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, also stated that he was manhandled in his Bera-Ogoni hometown in Gokana LGA of the state, during Saturday’s election and did not vote, insisting that nobody voted in his senatorial district.

  • Cut! And filmmakers join the political dance drama

    Obviously, there is a lull in film production, but some filmmakers and actors appear far from being idle. And I am not talking about some political skits and lousy campaigns, detailing the achievement of some political parties  but the actors as campaign tools for the political parties.

    Well, maybe, this might excite some electorates and draw votes for the choice candidates of the actors; this may not be far-fetched for many electorates who are die-hard fans of some political parties and candidates.

    There is less impact on the part of actors who rarely follow their choice politicians around for public campaigns, except for their hard-hitting arguments and propaganda posts on the social media.

    There is no gain saying that the real voters; a good number of them for that matter are not on Facebook, BBM, Twitter etcetera. And except a politician does not think that the celebrities he has paid for his campaign need to deliver, he should let them go on a tour of house-to-house campaign.

    Interestingly, there are more dramas to behold from our filmmakers even if they chose to snub location at this time. While some remind you of the days of the travelling theatres when they go round performing for kings and the influential, the others talk behind themselves of how they are short-changed of the money collected by their colleagues from politicians.

    Incidentally, the music artistes appear to be the saner party in this momentary boom, earning clean pay from political song contracts.

    In all, are artistes asking the right questions from politicians? Are they concerned about the benefits that will come to the industry as a whole; about enabling environment and government policies that will help the growth of their craft?

    If you ask me, until there is full disbursement of the Distribution fund under the Project ACT Nollywood grant, the fund remains a dangling carrot; as the initial Capacity Building and Production funds are far less an achievement like the Distribution fund would be.

  • Odia’s 1914 Centenary Dance Drama

    Last Saturday, Odia Ofeimum’s 1914 showpiece dance drama of the centenary year was staged at the MUSON centre, Lagos. It traced  the loss of our sense of community   to  the  subversion of our undoubtedly superior  social structure by fortune-seekers  from a hostile environment where  ‘live was  nasty ,brutish and a short’ with a prevailing culture of ‘the survival of the of the fittest’ . Their rape of their new conquered ‘garden of Aden’, where you don’t have to work hard to survive was aided and sustained through the introduction of Christian religion in the south and reliance on existing Islam in the north. It is significant to note that the foreign invaders were indifferent to how the south and the north worshipped their God. Of greater interest was how slaves and later farm produce needed badly in their plantations and factories get to the sea ports en route America and Europe.

    As it was before and after 1914, so it is today. What has happened is a change of paradigm. Globalisation, the new economic relations,   celebrated as the solution to poverty and inequality in   the world which supports government subsidy of $2 for every head of cow owned by a pastoralist in developed economies of the west in the circumstance where 75% of our compatriots live below a dollar a day can be regarded as the worst form of slavery. But just as our forebears were persuaded by   desperate men in search of ‘gold, glory and honour’,  that slavery and  later colonization were the only way to economic prosperity,  our today’s leaders, have accepted the current unequal economic relations  as the only way to  resolving our crisis of underdevelopment.

    Unfortunately at the Agip Hall of MUSON centre last week where Odia and many gifted Nigerian youths  called attention to our past folly   of seeking external solution to our crisis of underdevelopment, there were neither  presidential  nor gubernatorial aspirants. President Jonathan’s economic wizards were conspicuously absent. There were no representatives of Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN), Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, (TAN), Arewa Consultative forum, Yoruba Council of Elders, Igbo Elders Forum and all other groups that have contributed to the exploitation of the ignorance of our people since independence. How can we break the cycle of poverty, without first understanding the issues at stake?

    It can also be argued that it has been more of hypocrisy and conspiracy rather than ignorance. Is it not too much of a coincidence that those who insisted we cannot end our cycle of poverty by putting our fate in the hands of those who  cannot  solve the social problems of their own societies without first  promoting chaos in the conquered territories were haunted down?. Awo realized ignorance was the bane of the society and attacked it with free education. For a healthy and harmonious relationship, he advocated a federal arrangement based on equality of the major ethnic groups. He was labelled a communist and sent to jail.  Murtala Mohammed insisted we must seek home solution instead of reliance on strategies imposed by those whose survival depends on our inability to manage our affairs; he was murdered by a drunken Dimka. MKO Abiola spoke of reparation for over 400 years of exploitation; he won an election but died in prison in the presence of representatives of western powers. Buhari who during his first coming as military Head of State similarly   insisted solution to crisis of underdevelopment must be home grown suffered similar fate.    For rejecting the IMF’s bitter economic pill and insisting we would have to produce grains, if we must eat grains, he was in the night of many knives deposed by Babangida who reversed all his policies and went on to accept  IMF  liberalization policy. The result was the sharing of our national patrimony among privileged members of the ruling class and the opening up of our market to the importation of labour of other societies leading to crisis of unemployment for our youths.

    Odia’s centenary drama dance is a call on us to take another look at our crisis of underdevelopment. Can we continue to put our fate in the hands of those motivated only by the welfare of their own people, who turned our oil boom to oil doom, openly criticized corruption by our leaders but have no qualms holding on to proceeds of corruption?  As 2015 approaches, the choice of those who have since independence insisted on leaders who will not question their vision of society is clear. We will delude ourselves to assume the west, motivated only by self-interest will suddenly be on the side of the people

    China and India our new friends are equally are equally motivated by self-interest. A few years back, some crooked Indians masquerading as foreign investors, aided by   some unpatriotic Nigerians secured huge bank facilities to establish textile industries. Over 70% of the funds went into importation of machinery and raw materials from India.  Shortly afterwards, all the textile firms asked to be declared  bankrupt   while  Nigeria market became flooded  with textile products from India channelled through some European countries.  It is also on record how India we had thought would help us resolve the problem of our jinxed iron and steel industry colluded with some unpatriotic politicians to end our dream of an iron and steel industry.

    China has outwitted the West in flooding our markets with substandard goods. As Akin Oyebode recently put it, the celebrated transformation of our airports is largely done by replacing the old tiles with cheap Chinese tiles. Seventy percent of the $500m Chinese loan secured to build new airports will likely go back to Chinese firms. It has also allowed corrupt government officials  bring in unskilled Chinese workers in droves with many of them ending up selling wares in open market or ‘amala and ewedu’ in road-side eateries.

    In our struggle to overcome our crisis of underdevelopment and end the cycle of poverty and misery, among our people, the West whose interest it is to keep us down in order to sustain the high standard of living of their people cannot be a trusted ally.

  • Drama/theatre and society: What relevance?

    Drama/theatre and society: What relevance?

    DRAMA and theatre have their origins in the cultural settings of the past and the vicissitudes of the present. The theatre tradition has been part of the ritual and social life of the people embracing the totality of their way of life, habits, attitudes and propensities. Although looked at as a form of entertainment, theatrical activities and performances are regarded as informal ways by which the quality of lives of people can be inculcated and enriched.

    From the early ages to the medieval period, theatre and religion were regarded as “strange bed fellows” i.e. the most widely accepted theory on the origin of drama and theatre is that it arose out of myth and ritual. The earliest recorded quasi-theatrical event dates back to 2000BC with the “passion plays” of Ancient Egypt. The story of the god, Osiris was performed annually at festivals throughout the civilization, marking the known beginning of a long relationship between theatre and religion. Greek theatre, being the root of the Western tradition, was part of a broader culture of theatrical performances, which include festivals and religious festivals e.g. celebrating Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. Performers wore costumes and masks to represent certain mythical or supernatural forces.

    By the early middle ages, churches in Europe staging dramatised versions of particular biblical events on specific days of the year. Theatre was reborn as liturgical dramas-written in Latin and dealing with Bible stories and performed by priests or church members. Then came vernacular dramas spoken in common language and were a more elaborate series of one act dramas taking place in town squares or other parts of the city.

    There were three types of vernacular dramas. Mystery or cycle plays were short plays based on the Old and New Testaments organised into historical cycles; miracle plays dealt with events in a certain saints’ lives and morality plays taught lessons through allegorical characters, representing virtues and vices that beset all human beings in the later middle ages.  Also, passion plays portraying events in the life of the Christian master also became popular

    Symbolic objects and actions-vestments, altars, censers, extensive sets of visual designs and pantomime-were used to communicate to a largely, illiterate audience. Often providing their own costumes, amateur performers in England were only men, but other countries   had  female performers. Among the more notable religious plays were The Castle of Perseverance and Everyman. The Castle of Perseverance depicts mankind’s progress from birth to death, while Everyman is an allegory designed to teach the faithful acts of Christian charity are necessary for entry into Heaven. Everyman receives   Death’s summons, struggles to escap,e but finally resigns to necessity. Along the way, he is deserted by Kindred, Discretion and Strength-only Good Deeds goes with him to the grave.

    The most popular forms of drama and theatre in the medieval Islamic world were puppet (which included hand puppets, shadow plays and marionette productions) and live passion plays known as Ta’ziya in which actors re-enact episodes from Muslim history. J.A. Adedeji, in his pioneering of Yoruba theatre, explained that pre-colonial drama and theatre can be traced to the ”theatrogenic” nature of the deities in the Yoruba pantheon such as Obatala(creation), Ogun(creativity) and Sango(lightning) whose worship imbibed drama and theatre and their symbolic importance, in terms of relative interpretation.

    Over the years, the dramatic, performing and theatre arts are often misconstrued as professions based only on acting, singing and dancing. A theatre practitioner could be a playwright, critic, costume designer, make-up artiste, choreographer, filmmaker etc. The following are points of reference where drama and theatre serve in our various day-to-day activities.

    Drama and theatre are tools used to sensitise the general public on matters that affect them on daily basis. These include matters of family planning/child-spacing, conduction of census, campaign against sale and distribution  of fake and illegal drugs, HIV/AIDS and other STDs, abortions, child abuse/neglect etc. A perfect example is the TV series, I need to know, which focuses on the enlightenment of the youthful generation on the dangers of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, STDs and teenage pregnancies and the need to abstain from such vice,s in order to protect their future. Drama, as one of the core genres of literature, is the mirror of any society because it documents what is happening and throws it back at the same society.

    Drama can also be used as a means of self- expression and empowerment by people facing hostile political or social circumstances. For example, the Tivs used the traditional Kwagh-Hir puppet and masquerade theatre to voice opposition to political victimization during the 1960s. The works of Hubert Ogunde are satires that deal with topical events in Nigerian politics. One of such works, Yoruba Ronu (Yoruba Think) sheds light on the crisis in the Western Region during the 1965 elections, which eventually culminated into the January 15th 1966 bloody coup. Ola Rotimi’s The gods are not to blame is a Nigerian adaptation of the  Oedipus theme in which Rotimi uses the metaphor of communal dispute, self-love and ethnic pride to symbolise the problems that culminated in the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970. Thus, it is not the gods who are to blame for Nigerian national tragedy, but the people themselves who led their nation to disaster through their incautious actions and aggressive self-interest. Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Mugo’s The Trial of Dedan Kimathi is an imaginative reconstruction of the heroic role played by the legendary Dedan Kimathi, the leader of the Mau Mau movement in Kenya. Through mime and flashback, it equally shows the historic contributions of the Kenyan peasants and workers when they rose against the British colonialists to regain their lost lands and achieve political independence. Total theatre (a combination of mime, colourful costumes, traditional drumming, music and folklore) utilises realistic physical imagery and a flexible use of language. Playwrights and critics have made use of these techniques, but articulated them with “a radical appreciation of the problems of society.”

    Children’s theatre is another veritable tool for educating the much younger minds. With past TV programmes like Sesame Street, Tales by Moonlight, Story Land, African Moonlight Tales, The World of Children, Puppet Playhouse etc, young people are commonly imaginative and playful, and these habits are often encouraged by educators seeking to create an enriching and holistic learning environment. D. Olu-Olagoke’s The Incorruptible Judge and Felicia Nkem Onyewadume’s Echoes of Hard Times have provided appropriate context about the importance of drama and theatre as they continuously portray the various positive and negative elements about the society we live in through drama or play, dance or music.

    •Adewoyin Olawumi Moradeyo writes from Lagos

  • Love Like A Movie: Drama as Kelly Rowland performs in Lagos

    Love Like A Movie: Drama as Kelly Rowland performs in Lagos

    Fears that the second edition of Darey Art-Alade’s Valentine concert, Love Like A Movie, might hit the rocks gripped the crowd when a technical problem occurred while the American singer and headliner of the show, Kelly Rowland, was performing her second song.

    The show held on Friday at the Ocean View Grounds of the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Although the temporary hiccup was later sorted out, the news had already spread abroad, with the social media buzzing with the news that the visiting singer walked off the stage in anger.

    However, the slight hitch didn’t remove the shine from the well-advertised show, as the delectable singer thrilled the crowd, occupying tables with various staggering prices: N5million (Gold), N2million (Silver) and N10, 000 each for the regulars.

    Clad in a skimpy Ankara top on a smartly embellished pants cut in the same material, Rowland stormed the stage with excitement. However, she had barely done her third song, Motivation, when problems began. “I need some motivation,” she said jokingly, as she awaited a cue to bring her back on tracks. She left the stage as the light dimmed, and fans had to endure a long wait.

    Consequently, the hitherto enthusiastic crowd became impatient. It was obvious everyone wanted a smooth show. Hope, however, returned when Darey came up stage five minutes later, with well-rehearsed line to calm frayed nerves, as he said, “Everyone, make some noise!”

    Not betraying any modicum of emotion, he confirmed there was a technical hitch, which he said was being worked upon. Sadly, there was no anticipated rebound 10 minutes after the assurance from Darey. Not a few in the crowd knew that the American singer was upset backstage. As a result, her fans began to cheer her up, in the hope that she would be moved by their love. Chanting her name in unison, they cried: “K-e-l-l-y! K-e-l-l-y!! K-e-l-l-y!!!” But the singer was not to return so quickly.

    With a bit of drama, Darey said, “The devil is a liar!”, as he mounted the stage again. “Yes!” the crowd responded thunderously. “All me I know is, some people no go collect their balance,” he said, apparently referring to some members of the technical crew. “Clap for these Oyinbo guys…We gonna have a great show. We did have a technical problem. These things happen, but we have a lot in store for you. Ladies and gentlemen, we continue with the show, with a really, really resounding applause from you,” he said as the music blared again.

    The show did bounce back, with Rowland reeling out more of her hit songs and classics like Independent Woman, Soldier and Survival from her former Destiny Child’s group. She had kicked off her show with Dilemma and Kisses Down low.

    The singer was supported by top Nigerian acts like Mo’eazy and Zainab both of Soul Muzik, Tiwa Savage, Timi Dakolo, Lamborghini, Eva, Chioma and Waje, the stunning vocalist who joined Darey for a duet, rendering some of the best love tunes, including Turn Your Light Down Low that got fans dancing their hearts out.

    It was not the first time Rowland was having it rough in Nigeria. It will be recalled that the singer, in 2007, collapsed while performing at the second edition of the now rested Thisday Music Festival, after suffering dehydration.

    Darey’s show, like the maiden edition provided, much for fans to cherish. It offered the best of different genres, grouping artistes, according to their strength in R&B, Pop, Reggae, Naija, and Classics.

    A highly romantic evening, other thrilling performances included Zaina and Lamborghini performing Mr Lover Man, while Timi Dakolo wowed with When a Man Loves a Woman. And Darey and Eva did no less in making the crowd swing their waists as they rendered Dance With Me.

    The show had started with the usual razzmatazz, as Darey made a grand entrance from about 40 feet above on an illuminated silver box, doing Seal’s Kiss From a Rose.

    The stage was a creative masterpiece of compartmental light boxes with access stars.

    With side attractions, including support dance and acrobatics, the event could be said to have lived up to its billing.

  • Poly promotes peace with drama

    Poly promotes peace with drama

    Students of Nacabs Polytechnic in Akwanga, have collaborated with Nollywood to promote peace in Nasarawa State.

    The partnership followed the killing of some security operatives by the Ombatse cult about two months ago.

    The collaboration led to the production of a movie titled True Reflection. The movie was produced to douse tension and improve inter-community relations in the state.

    The polytechnic’s proprietor, Mr. David Abuluya, said the institution allowed the students to work together with the Nollywood actors because the state was known for peace, saying the school was ready to tackle anything that could cause crisis. Abuluya said the partnership was the institutiuon’s own way of contributing to the development of the state.

    The Head of Mass Communication department, Ms Oyebade Adeyemi, said the students’ participation in the project would expose them to the world of theatre and make them ambassadors of peace and unity anywhere they find themselves.

    The movie preached unity between various ethnic groups in the state. It was directed by Smart Conrad of Graceland Multimedia Consult and featured notable thespians such as Emmanuel France, Harrison Wilson, Vincent Kanayo and some Mass Communication students of the polytechnic.

    Speaking to the students, France said movie practitioners were mirror of the society, urging the students to emulate them to promote peace and security of lives and property. He noted the film production would be a stepping stone for them to achieve great things in future.

    Wilson said the movie actors were willing to partner with the polytechnic to restore peace. He praised Abuluya for financing the project, while urging him to continue to promote peace in the state. He also praised staff and students for their contribution to the success of the project.