Dramatic literature as instrument for peacebuilding: an ultra reading of Ahmed Yerima’s Pari and Femi Osofisan’s Women of Owu

Abstract

Nigeria’s social environment is crime-infested as crime is elevated above virtue with criminals having a field day. Violent crimes such as kidnapping, assassination, armed violence and other acts of terrorism are committed with impunity.The nation’s instability nurture high growth of insurgency terror groups in the society and other conflict related issues. Thus, this lack of sociopolitical, religious and ethnic harmony in the society has put a lot of communities into conflict and war situations. This generally can be linked to ignorance, negligence and lack of awareness. This study points at the impacts of dramatic literature in creating effective awareness on the need for environmental stability and peace, as drama affects individuals, physically and psychologically in all ramifications. Hinging on Pierre Duhem’s Instrumentalism Theory (IT), this article X-rays the potency of dramatic works in creating awareness and making adequate corrections that could bring unity, peace and stability in society, using Yerima’s Pari and Osofisan’s Women of Own as textual referents of analysis and discussion. The paper adopts the historicocritical and content analysis methods of research to engage the selected texts. The conclusion reached is that peacebuilding is the responsibility of every member of society that demands eschewing insincerity, lawlessness, social insecurity/inequalities and religious extremism.