Revolutionary ideology in Nigerian playwriting and the fate of a nation in crisis: A critical analysis of select plays

Abstract

 The paper interrogates the ever present revolutionary Ideology in Nigerian playwriting with a view to interpreting this concept as a fall out of the crisis of leadership and the debilitating state of the Nigerian society. In view of the fact that this concept is related to leadership as it deals with politics and the alienating effect of bad leadership on the populace, the paper critically studies the issues of leadership and the ensuing revolutionary ideology evolving from the lopsided relationship between the rulers and the ruled, the advantaged and the  disadvantage, the privileged and the less privileged as dealt with in some randomly selected Nigerian plays. Emeka Nwabueze’s A Parliament of Vultures and Esiaba Irobi’s Nwokedi are used as paradigms to demonstrate revolution as the conceivable response of the masses to tactless leadership. The content analysis approach of the qualitative research methodology is employed in data collection and analysis. The Marxist Philosophy of a classless society appears to have furnished a firm base for the thematic and ideological outlook of the playwrights whose works have been used as case studies. The work in the final stance recommends good leadership as the riposte to revolutionary ideology, using playwriting as an apparatus for creating an atmosphere for the emergence of responsible and responsive leaders.