An absurdist reading of corruption in a pandemic era in Nigeria: A consideration of Ola Rotimi’s <i>Holding Talks</i>

Abstract

The entire world was ravaged and devastated by a pandemic that came to be medically known as Covid-19 (corona virus) in 2020. Because of its  contagious and deadly nature, stringent rules were put in place by various governments to help manage the situation while medical personnel worked  tirelessly in search of a cure. It affected every aspect of human life; be it governance, economy, social and educational institutions. Although undesirable,  it helped to expose the deepseated level of corruption and absurdity in the Nigerian government because some government officials charged with the  responsibility of protecting the citizens from the pandemic were also the ones that hoarded palliatives and siphoned other materials and provisions  meant to save the same citizens from hunger and death. And some government officials that were supposed to encourage citizens to comply with the  preventive rules were the ones that trivialized the seriousness of the matter. It is against this backdrop that this paper adopts the literary method as to do  an absurdist reading of corruption in a pandemic era in Nigeria, using Ola Rotimi’s Holding Talks as a textual reference. It concludes that if properly  engaged, the theatre of the absurd can help to reposition a nation such as Nigeria by its redirection of its priorities.