Dramaturgy of martyrdom and tension of postcolonial self-retrieval in Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba’s The Killing Swamp and Jude Idada’s Sankara

Abstract

This paper examined the imaginaries of viable and assertive nationhood in the face of fragmented, oppressive and tyrannical regimes that pervert postindependence and postcolonial African states. To do justice to this paper, the qualitative approach and critical textual analysis using postcolonial theoretical framework was adopted for this study. In the plays under review, Onukaba and Idada, conscript two contemporary revolutionary visionary leaders in the post-independence/postcolomial African politics; namely, Ken Saro-Wiwa and Thomas Sankara, to deliberate on the decadence that pervert African political consciousness, creating lessons for all. The two visionary leaders in context are metaphorically summoned to the court of history to reflect on socio-political reality of Africa‟s politics and governance. The two real-life personalities whose audacious stance against neocolonial African state created great political tension and struggles and thus they suffered martyrdom in their different efforts at national self-retrieval and struggle for true independent African nationhood. The two playwrights creatively endowed their protagonists with true heroic, democratic, nationalistic and populist revolutionary temperaments. The study while teaching a lesson to African politicians and people, concludes that postcolonial Africa is in dire need of revolutionary transformation from the neocolonialist and imperialist vestiges, despite the setbacks that have been experienced over the years. The paper further postulates that a radical temperament such as depicted by the texts under review, remains relevant for birthing a viable African nationhood that will free Africa from the dungeon of slavery, and concludes that attention must be given to the pitfalls of those who have made such moves in the past and failed for the sake of correction and fresh paradigms in such patriotic pursuits.