An author’s ‘Asaba’ drama

Title: Asaba: The Dance of the Dead Author: Ugo Chukwuedo Pages: 30 Reviewer: Nathaniel Bivan I have read a number of books about the Nigerian civil war, both fiction and nonfiction, but reading a play was an exceptional experience. The author of Asaba apparently had a single motive–to creatively show what happened in Asaba, Delta […]

Title: Asaba: The Dance of the Dead

Author: Ugo Chukwuedo

Pages: 30

Reviewer: Nathaniel Bivan

I have read a number of books about the Nigerian civil war, both fiction and nonfiction, but reading a play was an exceptional experience. The author of Asaba apparently had a single motive–to creatively show what happened in Asaba, Delta State during the civil war which took place between 1967 and 1970. 

The play begins with a meeting at the palace of Asagba, the chief of Asaba. Representatives of Asaba are gathered and the topic is the civil war. It immediately becomes evident that the Asaba people are caught in between staying loyal to Nigeria as a nation and Biafra championed by the east, a region they belong to. 

This book is fast-paced, and because it’s just thirty pages, I was able to finish reading it while commuting and gather my thoughts together. This I think is vital considering the theme. It may surprise some readers when they discover what the author, Ugo Chukwuedo is trying to say. When the leaders of Asaba remained indecisive, worried about the war and at the same time the behaviour of the ‘Biafran rebels’ (this is what they are referred to in the book) who were forcing their people to join the military and raping wives of those who refused, the war reaches their doorstep. So there were two categories of easterners; the Biafrans and those forced to suffer the consequences of the war because they belonged to the region. 

There are many questions in this play and interesting characters, including Ntaba, ‘the mad artist’. For example, couldn’t the Nigerian military have made more effort to secure the lives of civilians, especially those simply caught under the umbrella of the eastern region? 

When a scout brings news that the Nigerian troops were advancing, the people of Asaba plan mobilise and defend themselves. Seeing the futility of the effort, they decide to welcome their unwanted guests with gifts to no avail. The war came to Asaba, finally, and it wasn’t pretty. The commander of the Nigerian army seizes their gifts and opens fire. 

Since this play is titled ‘Asaba: The Dance of the Dead’, any reader is likely to expect more when the Nigerian army invade the town. This could easily be seen as a major weakness of the play. But again, it may have been the author’s decision to keep out a part he predicts may incite, rather than inform or even correct. Nevertheless, reading the book was revealing and would be for any reader.