Managing the Nigerian recessed economy through theatre and drama: Greg Mbajiorgu’s Wake Up Everyone as a paradigm

Abstract

There is no gainsaying that the Nigerian economy is recessed. Nigeria is perhaps one of the countries that dropped other means of economic survival avail to them and embrace the oil at its discovery. Since the discovery of crude oil the economy has lived on a mono-economy. Interestingly, it is now looking at the bedevilment of running a mono-economy in the eye. The means of surviving economic recession becomes the concern of many Nigerians. Before, salaries of workers can take them home, but now, it cannot even take them to the gate of their office. The ways to ameliorating this avalanche of problems posed by economic recession is the concern of both leaders and the led. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology and makes use of the content analysis instrument to investigate this menace through Greg Mbajiorgu’s Wake Up Everyone. Therefore, the paper opines that since the way out of recession is the concern, theatre and drama can help in quashing the menace of economic recession. However, it should be noted and acknowledged that recession is a country’s problem, but it correction can begin from individuals to the family level through drama and theatre. The findings show that drama through reading and theatre through gate taking can improve the lots of Nigerians in a recessed economy. The paper recommends that the family’s economy can be managed during recession by organising theatre troop and can be extended the nation at large. It concludes that if such is put into practice it will cushion the effects of the recessed economy on the people.