SOCIO-POLITICAL INTERVENTION THROUGH LITERARY DRAMA IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF SELECTED PLAYS (2008-2018)

Abstract

Drama in Nigeria transcends its aesthetic and entertainment value to serve as a dynamic tool for social critique, political resistance, and civic education. Despite its transformative potential, drama remains largely undervalued by policymakers and society, resulting in a persistent gap between its possibilities and its practical application in fostering democratic values, social change, and national development. Within the period under review (2010–2018), Nigerian dramatists illuminated issues of corruption, inequality, and systemic oppression through stage and community theatre. Using a qualitative research approach that combines case study and content analysis methods, the study analyzes selected play texts to evaluate their thematic concerns and socio-political potency. Karl Marx’s Classical Marxism and Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre theories provide the theoretical framework for interrogating how drama functions as a medium of protest, education, and empowerment. The study concludes that drama in Nigeria, though affected by censorship and limited access, remains a powerful tool for resistance, social critique, and civic transformation when properly supported. The study recommends the use of drama in sensitizing the populace.