Africa’s Democratic Despot and Its Transition

By Sulyman Abaya

This play is a dramatic exposé of agelong concerns on why Africa as a continent has not been able to completely break the yoke of military rule.

Sulyman Abaya probes the three-pronged anathema of Africa—poverty, war, and illiteracy—within the context of its undemocratic governance and inability to totally embrace democracy as the real reasons why the continent has been on the back seat.

As the play tries to capture the Western incursion to free Africa completely from the vestiges of military rule, it collapses into the glooming complexities of the deceit and chicanery of the sit-tight military rulers, who keep endless promises of transition from militarism to democracy.

The line drawn by the global trend to see the whole world become a democracy and the recurring decimal of military takeovers is where this play has found its voice to locate indices of Africa’s retrogression.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781546282495

Sulyman Abaya

The author, who has assiduously taken great penchant in the esoteric of poetry and literature, is one of the leading and assertive Nigerian Lawyers. He has handled and still handling high profile corruption and economic crime cases. As a past Secretary of Nigerian Bar Association, Ilorin Branch, he was a member of the National Executive Committee, the highest decision making body of the Bar in Nigeria between 2011-2013. He was appointed a Notary Public for Nigeria in 2007 by the Chief Justice of Nigeria. He is a Chartered Arbitrator of the Institute of Arbitrators, UK and Fellow Chartered Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria. A Constitutional lawyer, analyst, Public affairs commentator and ardent believer in the rule of law has featured some of his poems in anthology of International Library of poetry, Kent, England since 1997 and many other Nigerian anthologies and dailies. The author is a private Legal Practitioner in diverse areas of practice of legal practice and Managing Partner of Sulyman Abaya & Co., Rahmah Chambers, Ilorin, Nigeria. He is married with children.

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© 2020 Sulyman Abaya. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  02/22/2020

ISBN: 978-1-5462-8250-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-8249-5 (e)

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Characters/Dramatis Personae

Act 1

Scene 1

Scene 2

Act 2

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3   The Oracle’s Hut

Scene 4

Act 3

Scene 1

Scene 2   The State House

Scene 3   The Private House Of General

Scene 4   In Prison, Oracle Behind Bar

Dedicated To:

Sir James Sunday Bamigboye, SAN:

A Forensic Advocate Extra-Ordinaire

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1. I thank Almighty God who provided me the wherewithal for the writing of this play. However, it wouldn’t have been so possible without the hindsight, inspiration, ideas and staunch support of the people who provoked remote impetus and immediate antidotes to oppressive and undemocratic practices typified by 27th August, 2019. My appreciation goes to the following people:

2. (a) The traditional custodian of the locale which provided a miniature setting, His Eminence, Dr. (Alh) Ibrahim