Morountodun, a play written by Femi Osofisan, a retired Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan, as well as Iredi War, written by Sam Ukala, also a Professor of Theatre Arts from the Delta State University, Abraka, were among the three plays staged at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), as Final Year Students of the Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies did their mandatory Production Workshop group presentations.
The above-mentioned plays were staged after the presentation of Irene Salami’s Sweet Revenge by the students, who were 120 in number but grouped into three for the Production Workshop, a course handled by Associate Professor Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, the Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO).
The 2nd group produced Femi Osofisan’s Morountodun, an exciting historical play that reflects the oppression of the poor by few individuals that control the means of production; it explores and addresses the plight of the downtrodden and the lower class of society, which has been of interest to scholars and students, especially those interested in contemporary African performance.
The play features a Yoruba queen, Moremi, who in a celebrated act of heroism, offered herself to be captured by the Agbekoya’s who were said to be constantly attacking the Yoruba nation; to her, the only way to discover the secret behind the extraordinary power the Agbekoya’s had that made them practically invisible and invincible in battle was to infiltrate their ranks.
Morountodun, through the reincarnation of history and myth calls for collective efforts and mutual understanding to end the constant class struggle and bring about new a world order.
In Iredi War, the students from the 3rd group captured the uprising of the people of Owa Kingdom against the oppressive rule of the British colonials.
Iredi War, which happened in 1906 in Delta State, is a true life story of the mess put in place by the colonial overlords to overwhelm the local people; in that mess, some of the local people became collaborators and helped the white people to mess their people up.
The motive behind this was to denigrate the people and their culture; and Iredi War addresses the socio-political history of the Owa Kingdom and the imperialistic tendencies of the colonialists at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Speaking before the commencement of the Production workshop, Prof. Ayakoroma had disclosed that the students were given the leverage to choose any play of their choice and they came up with the above mentioned three plays.
Present during the Production Workshop group presentations were the External Examiner, Professor Tor Iorapuu who is also the Dean, Faculty of Arts at the University of Jos, Plateau State; Professor Gwamna Dogara (Dean, Faculty of Arts, NSUK), Lantana Ahmed (Acting Head of Department), Professor Emmanuel Dandaura (Pioneer Head of Department of Theatre & Cultural Studies), Dr. Philip Umaru, Dr. Damisa Suru, Mr. Chikada Daniel and Ms Agatha Nwanya.
Caleb Nor
Corporate Affairs Unit
NICO, Abuja