Identity-politics refers to the way in which a specific section of a given society agitates for e... more Identity-politics refers to the way in which a specific section of a given society agitates for equal rights, increased recognition and greater opportunities based on the specific ethnic , religious, gender or other characteristic that simultaneously binds it together as a social group and sets it apart from other groups. This essay looks at the changing nature of identity-politics in the drama of the contemporary Nigerian dramatist Ahmed Yerima. It argues that the playwright traces crucial shifts in relationships that obtain between and within the individuals and social groups depicted in his plays part of his overall concern with the nature of society.
This article examines the relationships that obtain between humans and nature in the work of the ... more This article examines the relationships that obtain between humans and nature in the work of the contemporary Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare. The primary eco-issue that Osundare raises is the deterioration of this relationship. In portraying a relationship between humans and nature, what Osundare implies is not a connection in the sense of a marriage of convenience between elements that have little choice, but a bond that is so intricately interwoven that it is actually a symbiosis in which both are so dependent upon each other that they ultimately become virtually indistinguishable. Thus, its disruption is not merely a damaging or severing of close ties; it is actually the ruination of the fundamental pillars upon which society is built, with ramifications that are all-embracing in their comprehensiveness. Osundare attributes the environmental crisis primarily to the advent of colonial rule which he argues fundamentally disrupted the hitherto harmonious relationship between indigenous Africans and nature. This disruption redefined the way the two related to each other by placing nature at the receiving end of relentless exploitation. Another way in which imperialism upset this relationship was in imposing an educational and social outlook on the indigenes which alienated them from nature. Thus, what existed formerly as a friend and helper had now become a thing to be disrespected, even while it was being exploited. In Osundare’s poetry, the relationship between humans and environment is seen from multiple dimensions and perspectives: it is personal, reflective of individual moods, hopes and desires; it is communal, demonstrative of a communal ethos, cultural attitudes and ways of life; it is political, simultaneously reflective of and resistant to attitudes and ideologies that are disruptive of a harmonious relationship; it is patriotic, reflective of a centripetal national character, incorporating ethnic, religious, ideological and other divides, and thus transcending them, to offer what might be called a “natural nation” which every citizen would have no hesitation in calling their own.
Identity-politics refers to the way in which a specific section of a given society agitates for e... more Identity-politics refers to the way in which a specific section of a given society agitates for equal rights, increased recognition and greater opportunities based on the specific ethnic , religious, gender or other characteristic that simultaneously binds it together as a social group and sets it apart from other groups. This essay looks at the changing nature of identity-politics in the drama of the contemporary Nigerian dramatist Ahmed Yerima. It argues that the playwright traces crucial shifts in relationships that obtain between and within the individuals and social groups depicted in his plays part of his overall concern with the nature of society.
This article examines the relationships that obtain between humans and nature in the work of the ... more This article examines the relationships that obtain between humans and nature in the work of the contemporary Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare. The primary eco-issue that Osundare raises is the deterioration of this relationship. In portraying a relationship between humans and nature, what Osundare implies is not a connection in the sense of a marriage of convenience between elements that have little choice, but a bond that is so intricately interwoven that it is actually a symbiosis in which both are so dependent upon each other that they ultimately become virtually indistinguishable. Thus, its disruption is not merely a damaging or severing of close ties; it is actually the ruination of the fundamental pillars upon which society is built, with ramifications that are all-embracing in their comprehensiveness. Osundare attributes the environmental crisis primarily to the advent of colonial rule which he argues fundamentally disrupted the hitherto harmonious relationship between indigenous Africans and nature. This disruption redefined the way the two related to each other by placing nature at the receiving end of relentless exploitation. Another way in which imperialism upset this relationship was in imposing an educational and social outlook on the indigenes which alienated them from nature. Thus, what existed formerly as a friend and helper had now become a thing to be disrespected, even while it was being exploited. In Osundare’s poetry, the relationship between humans and environment is seen from multiple dimensions and perspectives: it is personal, reflective of individual moods, hopes and desires; it is communal, demonstrative of a communal ethos, cultural attitudes and ways of life; it is political, simultaneously reflective of and resistant to attitudes and ideologies that are disruptive of a harmonious relationship; it is patriotic, reflective of a centripetal national character, incorporating ethnic, religious, ideological and other divides, and thus transcending them, to offer what might be called a “natural nation” which every citizen would have no hesitation in calling their own.
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