When theatre arts graduates “trade places” in Jos

The opening ceremony of the event, which lumped other performances including a comedy, a mock beauty pageant and a cantata made the play, which can be described as a satire, because of the germane theme which resonates with the immediate community. But it did more than that for the about 200 old students of the […]

The opening ceremony of the event, which lumped other performances including a comedy, a mock beauty pageant and a cantata made the play, which can be described as a satire, because of the germane theme which resonates with the immediate community.

But it did more than that for the about 200 old students of the department who heeded the call for a reunion and pulled themselves from all parts of the globe to honour the invitation to come together and relive old memories as a way of leaving a legacy for the department.

The play which opens with a scene depicting the subjective yet un-appreciated role of women in a certain community goes to suggest that for men to appreciate what the women go through, they have to swap places with women.

The Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Jos was established in 1973 with the now late Prof. Sunny Oti as the pioneer head of department. But since the establishment of the department which produced its first set of graduates in 1977, about 33 years ago, it has experienced what some describe as a one way passage of human traffic with graduates  moving on without looking back at the cradle in which they were nurtured.

Prof. Victor Dugga, director of the university’s advancement office and Magareth Adaba Soyemi, graduates of 1990, felt this was not right and that for the department to develop, the old students have to trade places with the current ones to feel what they feel.

The play celebrates a certain character by the name of Omi, a male chauvinist who always dismisses his three wives who toil in the farm from morning to evening, take care of the children in the house and cook his food as well as warm his bed as “a lazy lot who do nothing but gossip and chit chat for the whole day.

He however thinks of himself as a hardworking, resourceful and indispensable manager of the house.

Always drunk and yelling at his wives, one day he declares in the presence of his drinking friends: “I am sure I came here with my two legs but now I cannot find them,” he says while wobbling on the very limbs he has declared missing.

Looking down ON THE FUTURE

For long, theater arts graduates dismiss every new set of intakes, always regretting that the kind of tutelage they received during their time has waned in terms of quality and depth while the materials and facilities for the training have disappeared.

Currently, apart from the stage and the sets, which are definite in a play, other facilities to enhance aesthetics and make-belief have gradually vanished.

One of the lecturers in the department had to lament openly that scenes enacted off the stage cannot be depicted as desired as the follow-spot lighting equipment  the department had has long broken down.

Unfortunately that is a very important aspect of theatre which ensures audience participation and the kind of community involvement in drama that Ngugi wa Thiongo,  the Kenyan novelist and playwright championed in his country.

The undergraduates go ahead to forge a performance, sometimes taking it to the next level by shooting a film or what is popularly called “home video” but the criticism for every shot and act floods in torrents of biblical proportions.

But what have the older generation of artistes done to improve the quality of the performance of their younger siblings?

Prof. Dugga has been part and parcel of the department since the day he mounted the stage for the first time in 1986.He has stayed back after graduation and has been given the responsibility of raising funds for the general running and development of the university.

After many years, he felt he has not given enough to the very spot that shot him to limelight and did not hesitate using his experience to bring together those he could reach as a starting point for the project which in the long run is meant to be for the benefit of the department.

“We all started form here and there is no way we can raise our heads if the very place that contributed in shaping our future is left to rot,” he said.

Head of the department, Prof. Irene Salami-Agunloye in her welcome address, also beckoned on the former students of the department to look into ways of bringing ideas that could move the department forward.

She expressed appreciation that the reunion is happening in her time and encouraged the kind of gathering saying it would go a long way in encouraging the younger ones.

And back to the play

The three wives of Omi are usually apprehensive whenever their husband finishes his meal and it is time to go to bed. This is because he could pick on any of them to satisfy his desire in his brutal fashion.

On a particular night, the younger wife tells him  point blank that she is tired and not in a position to grace his bed.

This  offends Omi who produces a copy of the timetable for his wives and reminds the younger one that it is her turn and since  he has paid her dowry, he owns her and all her possessions, including the very thing she is trying to deny him. The young wife would not budge

To appease the master, the older wife offers to substitute the younger one but the husband at first turns down the offer saying she is too old and repulsive. He later accepts because he could not approach the third wife who has just had a baby.

Later, Omi agrees to trade places with his wives and they became his husbands, and he their wife for seven days, he realized that their tasks was not easy and sought a role reversal to the original status even from day one when he went to the farm, carried the baby on his back and came home to prepare dinner for the husbands only to be told to get ready to perform another energy sapping function late in the night.

He yelled and cried for rescue and at the end of the day confessed that he had underestimated what the women were going through.

The reunion

Initially the idea for the meet was for the class of 90 but the idea to invite all graduates was later agreed on. Some came from Europe, others from all over Nigeria.

It was jam packed and so real it re-enacted the flavour and feel of decades past. Jokes sprang up effortlessly from childish pranks of those days. Lecturers too were not spared as Prof. Augustine  Enahoro took the brunt of the jokes on lecturers as his former students recalled his no nonsense mannerisms. Former lecturers in the department like Prof. Musa Dauda Enna and Lantana Ahmed were also there.

But Adaba Soyemi who contributed time and resources for the meet could not turn up (for reasons best known to her) and her role on the schedule of things like Omi’s younger wife had to be given to another.

Touring memories

The second  day of the meet was more formal as the old students were taken on a tour of the department. Later that day, a congress  held in which many issues were raised on how to improve the department.

There were calls for suggestions on how to make the event more regular. It was settled that it should be every two years. Individuals were encouraged to make contributions to the department and there were offers of new computers, books and job opportunities.

The re-union was rounded up with a dinner at the leadership institute which saw a fusion of ideas from the old and the new as undergraduates tried to have a feel of what drove the older set and the older sets were able to witness first-hand the kind of things that drive the present set.

Hot Ice, a group that used to thrill students in the late 80’s with their performances on every show on campus was asked to perform. It was not easy after years of separation so  Okwoche, who used to be the lead vocalist of the group, offered to rap instead and made up for what the younger generation wanted  to feel.

The highpoint of that evening was the arrival of the Minister of State for Niger Delta, Samuel Ode, an old boy of the department whose presence electrified the hall and gave hope to the younger generation.

He donated a bus and sums of money to the department and spoke to the youths.

“The department prepares you for the role in the larger society and if you can pick some of the things taught then you can face the challenges out there with ease,” he said.

The dinner ended and it was time for all to depart, the pleasure the meeting afforded evaporated into thin air like it never happened. Phone numbers, emails and other addresses were exchanged as the old students returned to their corners of the world.