Women as agents of conflict resolution in Femi Osofisan’s <i>Moroutodun</i>

Abstract

Over the years, there have been incidents of class struggle and secessionist agitations especially in developing nations such as Nigeria. This has drawn the attention of the government, security agencies and the ruling class who deem it a threat to the peace and unity of the nation. Many of such agitations are tackled using different strategies to manage the situations especially when it results to crisis and clash of interests leading to destruction of lives and properties. Nigeria, has recorded several incidents of agitations mostly from minority and separatist groups who see themselves as the oppressed and marginalized in the aspects of leadership, governance, power and unequal distribution of the nation’s abundant wealth and resources. The literary world has contributed severally through the works of contemporary African playwrights such as Ngugi wa Thiongo, J.P Clark and Femi Osofisan, who have successfully woven their themes on issues such as conflict, emancipation, oppression and social struggle. This paper is premised on the theory of conflict resolution techniques and dispute management systems and textual analysis as its method. The paper examines the portrayal of women as agents of conflict resolution in Femi Osofisan’s Moroutodun. It further draws the attention to the integral role of women in bringing about peace, positive change and development in the society. The paper concludes that women
should be given a chance as men to contribute to peace-building and conflict resolution in the society.

Keywords: Women, Agents of conflict resolution, Moroutodun, Femi Osofisan, Nigeria