MARXIST CRAFTSMANSHIP IN NIGERIAN DRAMA: A STUDY OF OLU OBAFEMI’S SUICIDE SYNDROME AND OLA ROTIMI’S IF...

Abstract

This paper examines the deployment of Marxist aesthetics and ideology in Nigerian drama through a critical study of Olu Obafemi’s Suicide Syndrome and Ola Rotimi's IF... A Tragedy of the Ruled. It examines how both playwrights employ Marxist aesthetics to expose class contradictions, systemic oppression, and the failures of postcolonial leadership. Obafemi’s Suicide Syndrome presents a trenchant commentary on intellectual disillusionment and the socio-political betrayal of the masses, while IF...dramatizes the complicity of traditional institutions in perpetuating neo-colonial oppression. The study reveals that both plays, though stylistically distinct, embody a deliberate Marxist aesthetics that foregrounds the agency of the oppressed and call for socio-political transformation. Ultimately, the paper underscores the role of drama as a tool for ideological resistance and a medium for articulating revolutionary consciousness within Nigerian society. The significance of this study lies in its contribution to knowledge on how Nigerian dramatists adapt and localize Marxist aesthetics to reflect indigenous socio-political realities. The study recommends that Nigerian playwrights and artists should continue to create socially committed works that expose contradictions within society and amplify the voices of the marginalized.