A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PLAY TITLED “ARMattan of VENOM” BY OLANIYI ABDULWAHEED

Playwright: Gege Baseran

Title of the book: ARMattan of VENOM  (KOMMEDY of the Other)

Genre: Play

Reviewed by: Olaniyi Abdulwaheed

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It may not take an ordinary man to wipe the tears of a suffering land. The land that is full of chaos is not always friendly with orderliness. While some are working towards progress, many are blocking the estuaries to the sea of social development. In the land, people bargain their conscience with personal gain. People whose responsibility is to look after the social well being of the people, serve as the doctors to societal hills, are even the patients to be treated at the ward of the universe. Oftentimes, it is so painful to be in the harsh condition of social weather; when there should be breeze, it gives heat; when rain is required, it gives Harmattan, so everyone in the society shivers in the boulevard of penury and chaos. In this sense, Gege Baseran travels to the world of sage and brings to the world a play,  “ARMattan of VENOM.” The book is referred to as (KOMMEDY of the Other).

“ARMattan of VENOM,” is a play that unfolds the pervasive corruption and mirthless chaos in Nigeria. The country is in the state of disorderliness in which everyone contributes to the hills of the society. The social vices spreading like wild fire in the country is propagated by both the leaders and the followers. The situation, according to the play, is initiated by the leaders while citizens find it difficult to habour the pain in their veins as result of penury that has worn them another life toga.
The play also extends its wing to show other social parasites, people who are rich but fail to add values to the society. People like this, according to the way characters are presented in the play, are usually find in the pub, spending money without considering the poor ones around them. Also, some are wealthy but always find joy in oppressing people around them. Besides, a social mouthpiece, such as media, that is being saddled with the responsibility of defending the common man in the country is also part of social venom, poising the minds of innocents and promotes snake bites of the oppressors. In the play, society of chaos, oppression, corruption, as well as injustice is projected in the play.   

The play starts with dramatization of criminals who are being convicted of killing; a reporter comes to the stage to interview the convicts. In this scene, we are made to realise that media work to protect their profession, not its integrity. The interview being conduction by the reporter tends to be in support of the government. Thus criminals being interviewed show that hatred towards government, protest that the illicit act they are being charged with is as a result of the irresponsibility of the government.  

Reporter : What made you commit such a dastardly act?

Badejo : Dastardly act? What do you mean by a dastardly act?

Reporter : Senator Santos was publicly shot dead by you. Wasn’t that dastardly enough?

 The senator being killed in the play is not a representative that wipes the tears of his electorates. The playwright unfolds the reason for the killing towards the end of the play. Senator Santos is introduced as a politician contesting for his re-election into the office. He has promised people money because people, especially government workers who have not collected their arrears, are disappointed by their senator. Supposedly, people use their internal suffocation of poverty in their body prompt them to the senator. The first scene of the play is tagged “The end.”

The play also protrudes the oppression going on among people in the society. This kind of people holds no political office but they own their government on their roof.  It has been shown to us in through the play that it is not only government that denies people their rights and oppress, but also people in different positions they hold in the society. An instance of this can be realised in the life a character called Baba Olowo, meaning “a man of money.” Baba Olowo is a landlord in the play who is always delighted by intimidating his tenants. Most of his tenants are civil servants who find it difficult to pay the rent. By so doing, landlord wants to use poverty confronting one of his tenants, Ladun, to taste the honey of her laps. The former wants to do it by force while the latter insists.

Priests are also part of the ship in the mirthless journey the country embarks on. But they cannot be neglected in the society. Their situation is brought to the stage during the execution arena of the criminals, at the end of the play. Imam and Pastor are presented on the stage with their holy toga to cleanse the sin of the convicts. To them, the prosecutor is innocent while the accused persons are not.  But according to the way the society is painted in the play, both the prosecutor, that is government, and the accused persons are in pool of illicit acts. So there is a need for the priests to be proactive about what is going on in the society and maintain fairness. Methinks, the way priests handle the situation in the scene is not in conjunction of the onlookers, so, the play ends there with exchange of fires, and stampede also stirs.

Gege Baseran’s play, ARMattan of VENOM, is a play that truly reflects the society in its entireties. The playwright is commended for the good work of arts. The message that the play is passing across can be known through the title. Although some words, in the title, are not well spelled, supposedly the playwright deliberately deviates from the norm and only maintains the phono-graphic aspect of the words. The title is metaphorical in nature, “ARMattan” is a season in the year where everything is dry, sometimes snow in the morning and heat in the afternoon, while “VENOM,” which is highly foregrounded, means a poisonous liquid which some snakes, insect, etc. produce  when biting or stinging. This title is a metaphor to the season of rage in Nigeria whereby the country is being bitten by corrupt leaders, oppressors, terrorists etc. Then, the playwright should also be commended for the arrangement of the play; the end is the beginning of the end while the end kicks off the play. Although the play is tagged “Kommedy of other,” it is not really a comedy in all senses but satire that is meant to ridicule the society.

In terms of language, the playwright is also commended. He gives characters roles to play and different characters with peculiar command of language. The author distinguishes between the literate and illiterate, rich and the poor, this is known through the use of language. Throughout the play, the diction is simple and accessible.

Gege Baseran’s play should be recommended for all youths in Nigeria at both Secondary and higher institutions. It is a book that mirrors the society in its entireties, which has unveiled the mask of the people in believing that only the leaders are the “venom” to this country. Thus, the play is challenging majority of the people in the country; both the leaders and the followers, to desist from being in the gloomy world that has enveloped the country. The play is in printing house, it will be out soonest.