Light Up Our Delta E-Book

kenechukwu obi

• Herausgeber: KenWrites
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

This play examines in an informative, educative and entertaining manner, the harsh environmental realities in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria, and the need for governance truly sensitive to the plight of the Niger delta people to be entrenched there. This play is a challenge to the Nigerian State, which it believes has the capacity to make the Niger Delta region a much better place, the world can be proud of. 

Leseprobe

LIGHT UP OUR DELTA

A PLAY

BY

KENECHUKWU OBI

CAST

OLD MAN       -      OLDER MAN IN HIS FIFTIES

BOYO            -      HIS SON, NIGER DELTA YOUTH

ONOME -       NIGER DELTA YOUTH

EJIRO -      NIGER DELTA YOUTH

EFE            -      NIGER DELTA YOUTH            

EVIE            -      NIGER DELTA YOUTH            

ALERO - NIGER DELTA YOUTH

2 MALE DRUMMERS - NIGER DELTA YOUTH

SCENE 1

The stage is illuminated, revealing a wooden chair at its centre. Soft throbs of drums come alive as Boyo, a young man wearing black shirt and trousers, wearily enters the stage. In his hands are some sheets of paper and a pen. Boyo stares briefly at the audience and bows his head. He sits on the chair and sleeps off. The drumming ceases, exposing Boyo’s thunderous snores. Then an old man, his father, with the aid of his walking stick toddles in, on a black shirt, a wrapper knotted round his waist. He is putting on shoes. His head carries a black cowboy hat.

OLD MAN

[Voice loud, carrying his heightened amazement]

Oh…. my God! [Looks up to heaven] It is this son of mine. [Coughs hard] May you not forgive him if my sun sets while I cough here this day.

A pregnant silence briefly pervades, Boyo’s snoring getting louder. The old man continues, certainly unimpressed.

OLD MAN

[To the audience. Pointing at Boyo] Did you hear that? On a day like this? That is my stupid stinking son! He still sleeps. Not just that, but he snores as well. Very heavily too. This son of mine has forgotten about this day. How can I explain this? Laziness has crept into his bones now that the die is cast. [He yells] He must get up! Boyo! [The old man begins to call on his son] Boyo! [He walks off the stage].

Boyo reluctantly gets up. Puts his sheets of paper on the floor and takes the chair away. Returns scratching his head and yawning.

BOYO

Never mind my father for one minute. He calls me a stupid stinking son when I’m simply a victim of his wasted youthful days. [Quickly looks behind to see if his father is coming before facing the audience again]. Mother told me every bit of how he was and still a nuisance to the family economy. I quite heard him while I snored. You all must believe me. [Quickly looks behind to see if his father is coming and faces the audience again] He never sent me to school. My mother did it with little sums of money she managed to keep out of his reach. I wouldn’t have acquired not even the least of some education if he [Quickly looks back again] had pounced on that money. He would have used it for his chronic alcohol consumption.

The old man suddenly walks in. Boyo cringes on beholding him.

OLD MAN

[He calls]] Boyo.

BOYO