The drama of Ahmed Yerima

In my exploration into the work of Ahmed Yerima, I will argue that he is a socio-political realist playwright, as evidenced by the socio-political realism that is visible in all of his dramatic representations. All of the text under study, validate Yerima’s critical viewpoint of the prevailing government of the day. In representing a typical day in the life of his characters, Yerima creates a relevancy to modern Nigerian theatre and, indeed, African theatre and literature through his treatment of contemporary social, political, economic, cultural and religious issues. He is a playwright who is conscious of his immediate environment, and he reflects this in his drama. His drama is best described by the words of Ngugi wa Thiong’o, a Kenyan writer and playwright who states, “literature does not develop in a vacuum, it is given impetus, shape, and direction by social, political and economic forces in a particular society.