Abstract:
Post-independence disillusionment, a condition whereby people are disappointed as a result of
socio-political failure in post-independence Africa, is one of the motifs that preoccupy
contemporary Nigerian drama. Existing studies on Femi Osofisan’s literary works have
approached this concern with a bias for scapegoating colonial and neo-colonial leaders as the
cause of Africa’s underdevelopment, while neglecting the role of the followership in the
collective predicaments. This study was, therefore, designed to examine the representation of the
complicity of followership in post-independence disillusionment in selected plays of Femi
Osofisan and the dramaturgical devices employed to enhance the representation. This is with a
view to establishing the contribution of the followers to their collective predicaments.
Robert Young’s version of Postcolonial Theory was adopted as framework, while interpretive
design was used. Nine plays of Osofisan were purposively selected for their representations of
post-independence disillusionment from the perspective of the ruled. The selected texts were
Fires Burn and Die Hard (Fires), Birthdays Are Not for Dying (Birthdays), Love’s Unlike
Lading (Love’s), Esu and the Vagabond Minstrels (Esu), Farewell to a Cannibal Rage
(Farewell), Aringindin and the Nightwatchmen (Aringindin), Altine’s Wrath (Altine’s), The
Inspector and the Hero (Inspector) and One Legend, Many Seasons (Legend). The texts were
subjected to critical analysis.
Actions and inactions of the followers in the selected plays demonstrate that ordinary people
contribute significantly to post-independence disillusionment and underdevelopment. Lawal
(Altine’s), Ereniyi (Inspector) and Alowolodu (Legend), who are hitherto common people, are
shown to behave and perform worse in leadership position than their predecessors. Esu and
Farewell depict how relatively privileged few, who should champion the cause of the voiceless,
betray their kinsmen through sycophancy and treachery, while Aringindin depicts the high
handedness of vigilante groups whose victims are equally commoners. In Fires, setting ablaze of
the market by Alhaja in order to conceal her dealing in contraband goods throws the rest of the
market women in untold hardship. The corrupt practices of the business associates of Kunle
Aremo’s father in Birthdays also project the followers as being as corrupt as their leaders.
Bassey’s usury practices in Love’s depict the exploitation of the masses, while other characters’
political apathy foregrounds insensitivity to their own predicaments. Dramaturgical devices are
used in the plays to enhance the playwright’s innovative representations of the dysfunctionality
of post-independence Nigeria. In Fires, Birthdays, Love’s and Inspector, aesthetics of masking,
Orunmila motif and symbolism are deployed to expose the followers. Satire, paradox and irony
are used in Esu, Farewell, Aringindin, Altine’s and Legend to lampoon the followers for being as
guilty as the leaders they accuse.
Femi Osofisan deploys satire, paradox, irony, among others, to portray the followers as complicit
in post-independence disillusionment in Nigeria. These plays point attention to followership as a
significant factor in post-independence development in Nigeria.