We learn from history that some consequences of abysmal government policies and dysfunctional tactics include socio-economic retrogression, increased deprivation ideology, victimhood, rebellion, war and revolution; and theorists have provided several plausible contextualizations for elucidation. One of such conceptualizations is Ted Robert Gurr’s theory of relative deprivation, which can be applied to illuminate sufficiently how discontent enacted in Ahmed Yerima’s trilogy can lead to aggressive responses. Thus, through an interpretive approach, we shall look at how Yerima portrays creatively in his trilogy – Hard Ground, Little Drops, and Ipomu why a show of force, divide and rule, carrot and stick tactics by successive Nigerian governments have exacerbated grief, restiveness and rebellion in Niger Delta because of unwholesome oil exploitation and ineffectual corporate social responsibility approaches. In the end, this study proposes that Niger Delta oil exploitation related discontent will fester and linger if functional inclusiveness and proportional infrastructural development are not deployed progressively.

Globally, the issues of extrajudicial killings are on the increase. From racial killings in the West to wanton human rights violations in Africa, the pains are the same. Thus, protests has always been a channel employed by many including activists, labour and union leaders among others, to press home grievances and demands against unfavourable policies and social malaise. This paper draws attention to how youths in Nigeria utilised the physical space to spark a protest, in October 2020. Notable actors, musicians, comedians, activists and the international community in their numbers, moved to the street in defiance of security orders to protest against police brutality and harassment. In view of the outcome of the protest, which was later hijacked by hoodlums, the paper examines a non-violent alternative which can be used to address societal issues. It is in this context that the paper examined the role of theatre as a tool for activism, advocacy and communication with specific reference to street theatre, a type of improvised street drama performance that addresses unfavourable socio-political and cultural issues. The data for the study is obtained mainly from the internet, print media, observations, interviews and literary works. For its methodology, the study utilises the popular theatre approach. The study concludes that street theatre has a major role to play in addressing socio- political issues without resorting to violence.

This is a study of two plays that are based on the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok Girls’ Secondary School by the Boko Haram insurgents. The plays, Preamble to Apocalypse by Fidelis Okoro (2016) and Embers by Soji Cole (2018), are here treated as a narrative continuum, which tracks the girls' abduction from their school to the Sambisa Forest, to the IDP Camps, and culminate in their degeneration into suicide bombers. The concepts of halfway house and purgatory are used to equate both the intended and the actual experiences of the girls, and sexual objectification theory is employed to underscore the causes of the traumatic experiences of the girls and argues that their radicalization is due more to their disillusionment with the government than with Boko Haram. There are three categories of characters in the plays - the abductors (villains), the rescuers (heroes), and the females (victims). However, as the narrative progresses, the line between terrorism and heroism blurs. The boundary between villainy and victimhood collapses. Apart from a close reading of the selected texts, the paper also draws supporting data from media reports that validate the literary accounts.

The medium of “photography” has encompassed the world, but depending on the cultural context, it is characterized by different aesthetics that come with different associations and implications. Drawing on cultural anthropology and semiotic image analysis, this article contributes to research on cross-cultural aesthetics with a focus on Nigeria. Based on a sample of 100 Instagram posts with the hashtag #nigerianphotography, it explores how social conventions of art influence popular Nigerian photography and create a unique style: there is a strong focus on the staging of people, who are usually shown in front of simple backgrounds as full body shots. In addition, Nigerian photography places a clear emphasis on colour and heavy retouching. These aspects are seen as consistent with African art in general, which is often more concerned with conveying abstract concepts than authenticity. Thus, it can be stated that Nigerians appropriated photography in their own way, emphasizing the symbolic rather than the indexical function of photography. Nigerian popular photography can be understood as a continuation of classical African art rather than a break with its tradition.

Artistic symbols in many ways act as complimentary narrative tools that elevate and define the message from the artist, which can help to generate efficacious consciousness and mood aggregation in the beholders. The purpose of this study is to deepen the appreciation of the embedded significances of keys as symbolic objects in selected symbolist art by Alex Idoko which represents variously, mystical attributions and significations as understood within different worldviews. Through the application of interpretive discuss approach in relating relevant concepts of symbolism, the study elucidates on the symbolical, mythological, mystical and metaphorical denotations and attributions of chains, padlock and keys in line with Victor Turner’s concept of operational, exegetical and positional meanings. In the end, we observe that the selected work by Idoko subsume deep and dense creative vision projecting deliberate effort in using art as a means of sharing cultural ideas, mystifying aesthetics, propelling curiosity, and mood/emotion intensity.