Second term for Greg Odutayo

By Jerry Adesewo Next Daily November 30, 2010 10:56PM

The three-man National Delegate Council’s Electoral Panel, chaired by Nifemi Richards, has returned Greg Odutayo unopposed for another two years’ tenure as the national president of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), the apex body for theatre practitioners, at the just concluded national convention of the body.

Odutayo took office in 2008 at the Ekiti convention, where he secured a landslide victory over Biodun Abe as the president.

CEO of Royal Roots Communication, producers of television series, ‘My Mum & I’ and ‘About To Wed’, Odutayo was commended for the achievements of his first tenure. Among other things, the administration brokered an insurance deal that theatre practitioners across Nigeria can benefit from. A NANTAP website was launched; and the administration has been very vocal in the agitation for an Endowment Funds for the Arts.

Other members of the executive who also returned unopposed include the deputy president, Toyin Ogundeji; secretary general, Steph Ogundele, director of business; and Deji-Etiwe Suleiman, who was the immediate past chairman of Lagos NANTAP.

The fresh faces in the National Executive Council elected and sworn-in for the first time on Saturday, November 20, include: Adesewo Adebayo, as assistant secretary general; Lara Akinsola, as director of finance; Ofonime Inyang, as director of research and documentation; Ozi Okoli of NN24, as director of publicity; Idoyen Francis, as director of productions and screening; Patrick Okonkwo, as director, copyright and royalties; Yinka Aiyelokun, as the chief whip; while the duo of Faith Eboigbe and Christopher Ifezime clinched the two ex-officio positions.

Chair of the National Delegate Council, Segun Oyewo, challenged the executive to move the association further up to take its pride of place in the nation’s polity, as a major stakeholder.

“Our fate and future we have committed into your hands today because we have absolute trust in you. Make sure that you give this association all the best. Two years is a long time and is so very short as well, but, it is not how short, but how well. We wish you all the best and expect the best from you,” he admonished.

The national delegate council also appointed a five-man constitution review committee, chaired by Nifemi Bruce Richards, to review the constitution of the association. This followed an earlier failed attempt by the Biodun Abe administration.

Other members of the review committee include: Lara Akinsola (Lagos); Gold Ikponmwonsa (Abuja); Christopher Ifezime (Delta); and Mufu Onifade of Lagos State. The committee is expected to liaise with chapters across the nation for their contributions and then present the reviewed constitution for ratification at the next National Delegate Congress, holding in Abuja, in November 2011.

Remembering Ken Saro Wiwa on Stage

Death is a debt that every one must pay. Though the how and when, unlike debts owed a bank or some magnanimous benefactor, we may not know. Yet, we still must pay. And the why, for sure, is different from one debtor to another. However, there can be nothing as dispiriting as knowing that you are going to die, as well as the manner and time of death.

For Kenule Saro Wiwa, the Nigerian writer, theatre producer, and environmentalist, it was a mixture of all, as re-enacted in Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba's play ‘The Killing Swamp', where the playwright, using his creative licence, digs dramatically into the final moments of the late Ogoni activist's life.

The play, directed by Chidi Ukwu, was staged in Abuja on Saturday, November 13, by an Abuja-based theatre company, Arojah Royal Theatre. It was to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of that execution, spearheaded by the then military ruler, Sani Abacha, an act that was widely condemned by the international community.

Patrick Otoro is Ken Saro Wiwa

The audience in Abuja, largely populated by members of the international community, was held spellbound by the delivery and interpretation of Patrick Otoro, who played the role of Kenule.

"The performance was so real that I felt like I was witnessing the exact incident as it happened... Kenule is a very strong character and the actor succeeded in arresting the audience," said Yoash, an Isreali in the audience.

He revealed that it was his first time watching a stage play since arriving Nigeria; and added that the lady sitting beside him was close to tears and murmuring repeatedly: "Did they really did that to him?"

Otoro, who endured the passing away of his father just days before, put up such a heart rendering performance. He could be described as a veteran of Adinoyi Onukaba's plays, having at various times produced, directed, or acted in some of the playwright's pieces. Among Otoro's earlier involvement in Onukaba's plays, are: ‘A Resting Place', ‘Tower of Babel', and ‘Her Majesty's Visit'.

"It's a great honour been given the responsibility of re-enacting the lifetime of such a great personality like Saro Wiwa. I am glad, however, that I did not disappoint. This will no doubt remain for me as one of the highest point of my active career as a theatre practitioner," he said of playing the lead in ‘The Killing Swamp'.

Other players in the four-man cast play were: Jibrin Ahmed as Major; Ikponmwonsa Gold; Seun Odukoya; and Adetutu Adebambo, who played Asabe in the first and second performances respectively.

Gaming with death

Though a dramatic imagination of the playwright, the last moments of the late Ken Saro Wiwa, as depicted onstage, moved the audience to tears. Kenule engaged in what Major refers to in the play as ‘buying time' with various demands.

The highpoint of the play was the late discovery by Kenule that his cousin is the Major who has been assigned to carry out his execution. This revelation was followed up by a long drawn argument about the real reasons behind his predicament, the foundation set up in the name of Bera's father, and the possibility that money must have exchanged hands. Having failed to talk him out of avenging his father's death, Kenule gave up his antics and orders Bera (Major) to carry out the execution, saying, "Go on, do what you are here to do."

The play opens and ends at a clearing in the bush, where Kenule and the Ogoni eight are executed. It employs a flashback at some point to re-enact the meeting of Asabe and Kenule at an audition and then the court scene, which had both players switching roles. The same technique was employed in the court tribunal scene, where Major assumed the role of the judge.

‘The Killing Swamp' offers fresh insight into the Niger Delta issue, especially as it relates to the intrigues behind the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa. The playwright, however, in his wisdom, employs humour in his treatment of some of the most salient issues in the play.

Commenting on the production, the playwright, Adinoyi Onukaba, praised the high quality of work put into the production by the actors and director.

"While it is right to say this is my play, what you have seen here today is beyond me. It is the interpretation of the director and his artists. You don't always have much influence on how your play is produced. Once the book leaves your hand and goes into the hand of a director, he gives it whatever interpretation that suites him, and in this case, I must say that the director, Chidi Ukwu, is very good and has done a good job."