Satire as a Parable of an Ailing Nation: Lessons from Niyi Osundare’s <i>The State Visit</i>

Abstract

The paper examines the satirical treatment of dictatorial and authoritarian leadership in Nigeria as portrayed in Niyi Osundare’s The State Visit. It documents Osundare’s protest towards the high spate of political chicanery amongst Nigerian leaders and its attendant effect of squalor and poverty amongst the citizens. The research adopts the content analysis methodology as well as the qualitative approach as it uses Osundare’s The State Visit as paradigm for the handful of political satires within the Nigerian dramatic landscape. Amongst others, the paper observes that tyrannical leadership constitutes a huge factor that militates against the growth and development of most African countries especially Nigeria. The study also brandishes satire as a unique art form that sets out to occasion positive change through the mechanism of corrective laughter and ridicule. It is for the foregoing that the paper advocates the dire need for the enthronement of purposeful and effective democratic leadership in Nigeria. Ideological commitment amongst Nigerian playwrights is strongly canvassed also in the study-a commitment towards crafting plays that harp on national bonding, solidarity, security and development.