Culture On Display As Ondo Honours Abiola

The 2019 June 12 celebration in Ondo State was a departure from the past. In place of the expected regular public lectures to discuss issues relating to the historic June 12, 1993 presidential election presumably won by the frontline businessman, the late Chief MKO Abiola, Ondo State opted for a stage drama to drive home the message of the election, globally reputed to be the fairest in the political history of the country.

Unlike the conventional style of hosting lectures or symposia, the Ondo State government employed the vehicle of popular theatre to  recreate the unforgettable moments of June 12 with its concomitant hopes, betrayals, dictatorship, tragedies and unfathomable cycle of man’s inhumanity to man.

The special stage drama presentation, entitled JUNE 12: THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES, traces Nigeria’s struggle for democracy from the military coup that toppled the democratically elected government of President Shehu Sagari  in January 1984 by a military cabal led by General Muhammadu Buhari.

Using music, mime, costumes and mind blowing narrative techniques, the play reminds us of a sad past and uncertain future.

With an A-list cast that included popular Nollywood acts like Toyin Adegbola, Ebun Oloyede, Taiwo Ibikunle, Potable and a host of others, nothing less was expected. For more than three hours, the crowd that gathered inside the International Culture and Event Centre, Akure, were left in awe of the politics and intrigues of the June 12, 1993 election.

Joined by the state cultural troupe, the cast did justice to the theme. A giant canoe on the stage (painted in the colour of Nigerian flag), depicted the country, as each successive leader struggled to row the canoe in the troubled waters of corruption, nepotism, violence and division among the ethnic nationalities.

The drama opened with beautiful drumming, followed by enchanting choruses that soon dovetailed into acrobatic dancing steps that left the crowd asking for more. From the opening stage, it was a matter of you missing an action if you wink. The drama also exposed the roles played by the various actors in the struggle to the attainment of the current democratic dispensation.

And expectedly, the guests, which included the state deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, commissioners and other top bureaucrats, were left on the edges of their seats till the curtains were drawn. But importantly, the images left on the minds of the crowd by the drama left everlasting impressions which no lecture could.

Even the young ones, who were not born when the stories being presented took place, now has better understanding of the tragic events that set the country on the brink of a precipice between 1993 and 1999.

For the younger generation, it was a great opportunity to know and understand the undercurrents that led to the annulment of the election and the roles played by all the groups and individuals, including the popular National Democratic Coalition, better known as NADECO.

To drive home the points embedded in the drama, a three-man panellist, which included journalist and social commentator, Lanre Arogundade, and Oba Adedokun Abolarin,  the Orangun of Oke-Ila were unanimous in their commendations for the state for using drama to drive home an important aspect of the nation’s history.

They explained that the drama captured and chronicled the series of events and activities that gave birth to the democracy Nigerians are enjoying today, and advised that the drama be packaged into a documentary to further educate Nigerians and future generations on the roles played by the individual heroes of the June 12 struggle.