RITUALS, DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE IN OUR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY: A READING OF ESIABA IROBI’S NWOKEDI (A PLAY)

Abstract

The reconstruction and renewal of the society which rituals enact in traditional society have drawn the interest of contemporary dramatists in charting a course for the society beleaguered in political debauchery and social imbalance. This study examines the positions of the playwright in Nwokedi (A Play) as he offers antidote for the nagging problem of governance in our society through the traditional approach of rituals. Esiaba Irobi expresses disdain for governance in our contemporary society and advocates for its reordering through rituals. This paper assesses the workability of his propositions in redeeming our societal ethos and thereafter proffer acceptable solutions to the governance problem bedeviling our society. The paper concludes that the playwright’s intervention is premised on demonstration of the artist’s calling in social advocacy.

 Rituals, governance, Nwokedi, cleansing, rites, society, people