Negotiating hostile academic environment through theatre/stage performance

Abstract

In Nigeria, power enables the possessor to arrogate to himself/herself some form of infallibility and perfection in knowledge in matters of decision taking. It is especially so, where such possessor came into his position by way of tokens and offerings for ‘services’ rendered to the giver or in the expectation of some reward. The theatre/stage can negotiate a balance in power by producing plays which educate on the use of power. This paper deployed participant observation and textual analysis research methods to critically examine the concept and theory of power in the Nigerian space, with focus on tertiary institutions and how theatre can be deployed to achieve tolerance and recognition of merit. The objective was to expose the misuse of power/authority by those who possess it in tertiary institutions and show how the stage can synergize between those in positions of power and their peers/subordinates leading to conducive, working environment for progress. It concluded that where power was thrust upon people without recourse to merit, it was mostly abused, bred intolerance and muzzling of opposing viewpoints, hence terrorism. On the other hand, where power was bestowed on the basis of merit and intellectual attributes, it became a counter to terrorism. The paper has contributed to the discourse in the prevalent hostile academic environment in some Nigerian tertiary institutions with a view to providing a level playing ground through the production of stage plays that speak to stakeholders.

IMPACT STATEMENT

‘Negotiating hostile academic environment through theatre/stage performance’ is a research based on the author’s more than two decades experience of lecturing in Nigerian universities. It discusses how those in positions of authority, especially some Vice Chancellors use their position as means of getting even to dissenting voices and rewarding their cronies. This unfortunate state of affairs is also reflective of what obtains in the entire Nigerian work space thereby leading to corruption, abuse of office and mediocrity while merit is sacrificed and jettisoned. The paper advocates that this state of affairs can be improved with recourse to theatre/stage performances of plays such as Neither Ivory nor Tower whose theme celebrates the recognition of merit and level playing ground for peace, justice and unity in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, hence the larger society.

Nigeria is a unique country in many ways. What happens in the public domain among public office holders in Nigeria would leave most people from civilized societies aghast. The Universities and other tertiary institutions are not left out. Indeed, some Vice Chancellors in some Nigerian universities display astonishing abuse of power in the way they run their universities, making the academia look like lily livered, promotion and appointment seeking beggars instead of the dauntless, fire spitting eggheads they really are. This paper, based on direct experience, hence participant observation method, of the writer, examines how some Vice Chancellors misuse power in the administration of their universities. The paper notes that the theatre, as a discipline that can be used for good or bad, depending on the objective of the one deploying it, can be engaged to bring about peaceful co-existence in Nigerian universities and other crisis prone environments or societies.

Keywords:

• Authority/power
• Nigerian space
• terrorism
• counter terrorism
• theatre/stage

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Robert Read, Economics, University of Lancaster, Lancaster, UK

SUBJECTS:

• Theatre & Performance Studies; History; Philosophy; Cultural Studies

Introduction

Universally, and particularly in Africa, possession of power in whatever form, especially in government, is a thing to be desired and dreaded. It is desired because it confers on the possessor, a sort of godlike attribute which makes him or her to be coveted by others; and dreaded by those who do not have it, and who inadvertently or not may get on the wrong side of the possessor. It makes the possessor to arrogate some form of infallibility to himself/herself by looking down on others. Such mindset (Achebe, n.d., p. 27), in one of his articles refers to as the literal mind when he says the ‘literal mind is the one track mind; a mind that does not recognise that where something stands another one can stand beside it.’ The Igbo also have a proverb which says, let the kite perch, let the hawk also perch, whichever says the other should not perch, let its wings break. Over time, this proverb has been modified to create room for space, for accommodation and tolerance. It now says, let its wings not break but, let it show the other where to perch.

The above proverb is the thesis statement of this paper as it would be used to illustrate how some people once they manage to ascend the ladder of authority by whatever means, (merit is usually not a priority in such cases), they pull the ladder along with them or ensure its total destruction to make sure no other climbs up. Occasionally, they let the ladder down to create room for their cronies to climb and take it up again against their perceived enemies. Such attitude may be a product of some hidden fear; fear of failure, of losing their position, reverting to what they were prior to the present position, of exposing their secrets, and this fear more often than not leads them to fall victim to whatever they were running from! As the saying has it when one is too careful over an egg that is when it usually breaks. Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice puts it succinctly when he says, ‘they lose it that do buy it with much care-,’ (Act 1 Sc. 1:7).

Playwrights and filmmakers, over the years have amply demonstrated that the stage and the screen are change agents. One recalls Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead, Soyinka’s Trials of Brother Jero, Sophocles’ Antigone, Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, Ogunde’s Yoruba Ronu, among others. On the part of the screen, they are too numerous to mention but one cannot gloss over one of the films that helped to dismantle apartheid in South Africa-Sarafina. These theatrical productions in one way or the other, directly and otherwise, brought some or contributed to some change in the prevalent situations in their various cultures within the relevant eras. The theatre either through the screen or the stage is a potent catalyst to change and will continue to be as long as people populate the earth. And this it does through entertainment and education among many other approaches. The main concern of this article however, is stage performance and how it can contribute to change and conducive living in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

This paper examined the way power/authority is deployed in some tertiary institutions in Nigeria and how the theatre through the stage can make a positive difference. It used the participant-observation method of research to illustrate how the theatre can serve to broker peace by producing plays that encourage sound ethical practice in the university system. The aim is to expose the abuse and misuse of power in some tertiary institutions and how this abuse has negatively impacted on academic freedom and excellence thereby giving room to mediocrity and creating academic charlatans who would do anything to gain positions. Omoera and Anyanwu (2020) illustrate how playwrights and other writers in Africa have brought about change in their society through their incisive writings. Thus, theatre has always been a catalyst to societal change universally and Nigeria is not an exception (Anyanwu, 2017). Unfortunately, not much has been done in this area of research, using theatre to bring about change in tertiary institutions, which makes this paper a pioneering work with attendant limitations of dearth of literature.

Conceptual clarifications

Power is a concept familiar to most people and effectively utilized by few. It is however used and employed by many quite unconsciously and deliberately by a few; but every human being feels its impact, either positively or negatively. It is also one of the intangible possessions of man that produces both physical and psychological manifestations on the possessor and the one on whom it is used. Power comes in a variety of ways and in many different forms. But the underlying factor behind every form of power is that it expects compliance or obedience, as the case may be. Again, in most cases, it does not tolerate contradictions, questions or informed reaction but glories in what may be termed sheepish or automatic obedience to authority and that is especially so when vested in the ‘wrong’ person.

Indeed, power and authority can be regarded as synonymous. However, there are slight differences because sometimes one may have power and lack the authority to back it up; or have authority but without the power to support it. In this context, power and position, are related. Thus, authority of position and authority of intellectual power come into play. We shall return to this shortly. Meanwhile, let us see what the authorities have to say about power. Power, most times, is associated with leadership and influence. Adler and Rodman say that ‘leadership is the ability to influence the behaviour of others in a group’ (Adler & Rodman, 1982, p. 264). This influence is achieved according to them through the exercise of power which comes in several forms. They then identify six types of power which are: (a) Legitimate power: this comes from the position one holds such as parents, supervisor, vice chancellor, governor. The power from here comes from the title alone. (b) Coercive power: Compliance or obedience from here is not achieved out of respect but from fear of the consequences of disobedience. (c) Reward power: This is the opposite of coercive power as it leads to punishments. (d) Expert power: The influence from here is a product of the knowledge of the expert. (e) Referent power: This can be seen as social power because of the respect or attraction the members in a group have for someone in the group. (f) Information power: this comes when a member is in possession of information that would be useful to the group (Adler & Rodman, 1982, pp. 264–265).

Power can be possessed by anybody, whether individual, community, institution, etc., but not so authority though they appear to have similarities. One can possess power but lacks the authority to exercise it. It is therefore possible to have power without authority and authority without power. The different types of power occasionally dovetail into the others. In other words, none of the types is completely exclusive. Power on its own is often useless without authority. It is authority that brings out the functionality of power. Authority has been seen as ‘the power or right to give orders and enforce obedience’ (Adler & Rodman, 1982, p. 74). It is the ability of authority to enforce obedience or compliance that manifests into the several types of power that we see. The difference between power and authority is really subtle but it exists. In other words, authority is the hone that sharpens power. Power on its own may lie dormant. Authority is synonymous with position and is institution or official based.

It is possible for one to have power but lacks the authority or position to enforce it. This is the situation that brings about intelligent people being ruled or dominated by their less intellectually endowed counterparts because the latter have the position, hence authority to achieve compliance. In some cases, one sees the authority of position being used against intellectual power to achieve results. Indeed, often times, when authority of position is employed against power of intellect, it is the intellectual power that works against itself because of perceived rewards that come from authority of position. In such instances, the distant observer wonders at the level of compliance or obedience from a supposedly intelligent person being controlled by an apparently less intelligent even dull, one. Power is usually weak without authority. Indeed, it is authority that brings out the power in a person and this authority is a product of government, institution or corporate conferment. In other words, authority is as a consequence of the position one occupies as mentioned earlier. Power, on the other hand, operates at the level of the individual. It is when an individual ascends to a position of authority that his power becomes manifest. It is in this light that we will now discuss authority of position and authority of intellect, otherwise, possession of intellectual power against the position one occupies in the Nigerian university system.

Need we also say that power, when not properly and positively used derails into abuse which leads to terrorism? The term terrorism is defined as ‘the use of violence and threat to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purpose, the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization; a terrorist method of governing or of resisting a government’ (https://www.dictionary.com>browse). While Sesan (2019, p. 46) sees terrorism as ‘a politically and ideologically motivated act of violence to intimidate and subdue the government,’ Machunga and Dandaura (2017, p. 62), see it as ‘a deliberate commission of an act of violence to create an emotional response through the suffering of the victims.’ By implication, therefore, terrorism can be used by and against the government or any other agency to achieve preconceived goals. On the other hand, the same authors say that, ‘counter-terrorism incorporates the practice, military tactics, techniques and strategy that government, military, law enforcement, business and intelligence agencies use to combat terrorism,’ (p. 62).

The above definitions make us understand that both terrorism and its counter are military and government, business, law enforcement, as well as intelligent agencies strategies used in dealing with opposition. It also means that victims can deploy the same terrorist methods in self defence as well as the other parties. The methods used by any of the parties involved to check terrorism necessarily become a counter-terrorist one. It does not necessarily depend on violence but if it becomes necessary, violence is deployed in terrorist encounters. The same situation also obtains in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The stage while not incapable of deploying or teaching the deployment of violence in negotiating peace in tertiary institutions or elsewhere would rather opt for dialogue as an appropriate weapon of peace keeping.

Theoretical framework

The paper is anchored on the authoritarian theory of the press. It is the foremost of the media theories originating from the authoritarian atmosphere of the late renaissance, following the invention of printing. ‘In that society, truth was conceived to be, not the product of the great mass of people, but of a few wise men who were in a position to guide and direct their fellows’ (Siebert, 1956, p. 2). These people are usually those in government hence the theory was adopted by government and those in positions of power since they arrogate to themselves higher levels of knowledge and intelligence. The theory was endorsed in the various eras by such thinkers and philosophers as Plato, Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbs, Georg Hegel, among others. According to Siebert, one of the postulates of the theory recognizes that: ‘First of all, man could attain his full potentialities only as a member of society. As an individual, his sphere of activity was extremely limited, but as a member of society or of organized community his ability to achieve his goals was immensely increased,’ (Siebert, 1956, pp. 10–11).

The authoritarian theory, because of its ability to function as government mouthpiece, uses the press as an instrument to further government interest and does not broach any opposition. It is the theory that has given rise to the saying that ‘he who pays the piper, dictates the tune.’ Thus, the press can only function under this theory to please its employers, be they government or otherwise. The relevance of this theory to this paper is self-explanatory as it clearly favours those in positions of authority who are usually not favourably disposed to any forms of criticism. It breeds bad leadership which is the bane of Nigeria as a country. The major ‘press’ used in disseminating information in tertiary institutions are bulletins, internal memos, queries, newsletters and lately, the various social media platforms especially WhatsApp. Nearly every department, unit, student’s associations, classes, etc., has WhatsApp group platforms through and with which they disseminate information to their members before the release of hard copies to back up or authenticate such information. This leads to quicker, faster response to information; to effective, efficient communication and results.

Research methodology

The study deployed participant observation and textual analysis research methods to critically examine the concept and theory of power in the Nigerian space, with focus on tertiary institutions and how theatre can be deployed to achieve tolerance and recognition of merit. This is illustrated through the performance of the play, ‘Neither Ivory nor Tower’ written by Elo Ibagere and directed by the author. The performance took place on the 30 September and 1 October, 2021, at the Theatre Arts Complex, Site 3, Delta State University, Abraka. The Vice Chancellor, Professor Andy Ogochukwu Egwunyenga and the principal officers of the university were present. Also, among the audience were some of the professors who were portrayed as characters in the play. The play was a reflection/lampoon of the atrocious and horrible regime of the Vice Chancellor of a thinly disguised university and the challenges and tribulations which were meted out for those who opposed his regime. Through creative directorial and effective acting, the playwright, directors, actors and the crew were able to bring back sanity at the Ekumeku University, thus effectively reflecting how theatre can be used to achieve peaceful co-existence.

Hierarchy in the university system

The University is usually referred to as a place where the best education can be found. It is unique in several ways, some of which are that a university educated person is expected to fit easily in nearly wherever he finds himself/herself; the knowledge impacted is universal or almost so hence, university, a university graduate is expected to be above average in manners, outspoken, behaviour and knowledge. Indeed, the university is reputed to be the only place where freedom of expression is truly practised because it accommodates all viewpoints. It is therefore both liberal and liberalized in its attitude to the exercise of human rights. The university has its own community of intellectuals and is run in a manner slightly different from other institutions. It is known for setting standards of good behaviour. In the university you also get all kinds of people who reason and act in some queer or abnormal ways which they pass on as being radical. The leadership of the university revolves around the person of the Vice Chancellor as the visible head though he or she is not the central hierarchical leader. This position is occupied by the Visitor and the Vice Chancellor is answerable to him through the Chairman of Council.

Peretomode, citing the National Policy on Education (NPE 2004, 4^th Edition), section 8, sub-section 59, outlines the goals of tertiary education (higher education of which Universities are the peak), as follows, to:

• Contribute to the national development through high level relevant manpower training;

• Develop and inculcate proper values for the survival of the individual and the society;

• Develop the intellectual capacity of individuals to understand and appreciate their local and external environments;

• Acquire both physical and intellectual skills which will enable individuals to be self-reliant and useful member of the society;

• Promote and encourage scholarship and community service;

• Forge and cement national unity; and

• Promote national and international understanding and interaction (Peretomode, 2008, p. 4).

He further notes that the tertiary education was to achieve the above goals through ‘teaching; research and development, generation and dissemination of knowledge; inter-institutional co-operation; dedicated services to community through extra-mural and extension services’ (Peretomode, 2008, p. 4). Having outlined the goals of higher education and the means of inculcating same to the students, Peretomode goes ahead to quote himself in an earlier work where he identified ‘the specific true purposes of higher education to include the following,’:

• Teaching people to think further, broader and deeper than they have been so far brought up to do;

• Giving each student a training of mind and cultivation of independent mind to enable him/her think more critically and rationally, understand how conclusions are reached and make informed choices;

• Developing in students positive attitudes, emotional integrity and interpersonal skills;

• Providing an ethical education-a person who is not just a thinking creature, but one who is refined and knows the differences between right and wrong, and

• Developing in students a capacity and interest in serving others (Peretomode, 2008, pp. 7–8).

He concludes this segment of his inaugural lecture by positing, ‘Thus, the core purpose of higher education is to transform lives for the benefit of the individual and society’ (Peretomode, 2008, p. 8). These laudable objectives of tertiary institutions as were set down by The National Policy on Education and further expanded by Peretomode are no doubt inspiring, interesting and challenging. They are challenging because they are not altogether easy to actualise. The reasons for their not being easy to realize lie deeply in the nature of man. These are the issues we shall look into in the next few pages.

Authority of position and the burdens of headship

Leadership comes with much responsibility and is of many types. Shakespeare says through Malvolio, ‘some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.’ (Twelfth Night, Act II Sc .V). Even so is leadership. No leader wants to fail however he/she may come into position. The objectives of tertiary institutions as are outlined above should be the focus of any intellectual who finds himself in leadership position in the university. It is an obligation and as Iyayi says in his definition of an intellectual:

It means that being in a position to unearth the truth about any condition, we have a responsibility not only to pursue that truth no matter where it may lead but also, that when we find the truth, we will proclaim it and defend it. This is what is often called the commitment of the intellectual (Iyayi, 2002, p. 3).

Iyayi does not stop his definition of academics as intellectual workers alone but he goes further to place them against the peculiar environment in which they work and while citing Fanon, he posits:

In the specific African context of neo-colonialism, dependency and underdevelopment, the commitment of the intellectual assumes a specific meaning. It means that the intellectual worker must practice committed scholarship by taking the side of the oppressed. This is why Fanon said: History will have no pity for those who possessing the extraordinary privilege to speak the words of truth to their oppressors chose instead to hide in the cold complicity of silence (Iyayi, 2002, p. 3).

Quoting Comrade Samora Machel in the same paragraph, Iyayi says that, ‘Knowledge must be for the liberation of man,’ (Iyayi, p. 3). The above statements no doubt, make an intellectual leader stand out like a sore thumb from other types of leaders. It means that he/she is welcome or should be open to accommodate opposing viewpoints, seeing in such views new ways of looking at issues in order to be better able to address them. But more often than not, once some men and unfortunately, women, too, ascend positions of authority, in our country, it becomes an opportunity and an avenue to descend with heavy hands on dissenting voices. This goes contrary to the principles and objectives earlier spoken about: the need to produce thinking and reasonable students who are capable of examining issues before responding and not accepting things hook, line and sinker or in the traditional manner of accepting things from authority: ‘My father said so, and my father cannot be wrong.’

Unfortunately, the Nigerian state has tilted dangerously to the negative in everything and leadership at nearly all levels has gone to agents of and propagators of mediocrity who want to leave legacies of squalor, corruption, oppression, suppression, and a type of noisome putrefaction that leaves every decent person perplexed. Such is the situation obtainable in some of our Ivory Towers, our purported citadels of learning. Incidentally, in the revised eBook edition of his seminal work titled, Influence: the psychology of persuasion (Cialdini, 2007, p. 163), using several illustrations drawn from experiments and the Bible defends the sort of obedience to authority which leaves one aghast as to the intellectual power of subordinates in obeying certain orders. He submits as follows, ‘We learn it (in) this story that the correctness of an action was not adjudged by such considerations as apparent senselessness, harmfulness, injustice, or usual moral standards, but by the mere command of a higher authority.’

In his insightful convocation lecture delivered at the Delta State University, Abraka, and entitled, The Ivory Tower has Tilted, Onokerhoraye gives insight into how the university was run in the beginning. As he puts it:

At the beginning of the University enterprise in Nigeria, most of the decision-making organs were dominated by the senior members of the community, specifically the Professors. Power and authority within the university was distributed among departments, faculties, colleges, key committees and principal officers. In fact, the Vice Chancellor’s role was to coordinate the activities of the different decision-making organs. The Vice Chancellor at that time was basically primus inter pares or first among equals. Council was basically supreme as it handles all issues affecting the university with finality (Onokerhoraye, 2007, p. 35).

Over time, there was the need for expansion and accommodation of other members of the academic community in decision making process, specifically, the junior academic and non-academic staff, who felt that the professors (and rightly so), were not representing their interests. Onokerhoraye continues:

But in the real sense, the so-called participation by key stakeholders within the university is cosmetic. What has happened in the last two decades is that the Vice Chancellor’s powers increased to the extent that they are basically ‘sole administrators’ if not ‘dictators’ in the university’s governing structure. With the decline in financial resources to the universities, Vice Chancellors argue that the little resources available should be pooled together centrally invariably under the control of the Vice Chancellor. What follows is that heads of departments, deans, provosts and chairmen of key committees go cap-in-hand to beg the Vice Chancellor for funds. If a head of department or dean is one of the vocal critics of the administration or generally outspoken he has to pray to succeed in getting approval of funds from the Vice Chancellor for his programmes. Considering the fact that the Vice Chancellor also appoints chairmen of committees which he himself is not presiding over, the overwhelming influence of the Vice Chancellor in the decision making of the university in recent years can better be imagined (Onokerhoraye, 2007, pp. 35–36).

The above is a crystal picture of the prevalent situation in universities today. The effect is the deterioration and fall in academic standards as decision making is now more or less the sole preserve of the Vice Chancellor. He neither appoints nor approves his perceived critics to positions such as heads of departments, deans, committee heads but he goes on to sit on their promotions by seeing to it that their papers for promotion never get beyond prima facie assessment, and if they manage to survive that, then the faculty hammers in the nail. And if they survive faculty, their announcement is kept in view for as long as it suits them. Furthermore, Onokerhoraye gives the answer to the much power invested in the Vice Chancellor. He observes that enormous power and influence have been invested in the office of Vice Chancellor in the last two decades and such power and authority in irresponsible hands can do untold damage to both office and institution. This, indeed, is the case in some universities. It can come by way of corruption, muscling of dissenting voices, abuse of university autonomy, among other irregularities.

Authority of position and the exhibition of power

In Nigeria today, we see exhibition of power akin to what amounts to some issues raised by Soyinka in The Credo of Being and Nothingness, where it is assumed some proponents of certain religions denigrate those of others as nothing; or where some preachers regard their churches as Living, thereby implying that others are dead. What we see in the exhibition of power in whatever positions in present day Nigeria is something tantamount to ‘I have power, I have the authority, I will use it the way I want, you either wait for your turn or you go and hang!’ Leadership carries power, (Amadi, 2005). This is what we are going to address in this sub-section of the paper. We will outline the means by which those in authority oppress and suppress their colleagues who do not align to their kind of mental and ambitious use of power or type of leadership by prostration. The following are among the means by which those in authority relate with their purported or perceived enemies.

• Use of different criteria for promotion even within a department,

• Keyhole response or attention to rumours,

• Queries and blackmail,

• Misinformation/Withholding of same-giving their cronies information and with-holding same from others,

• Denial of appointments and promotion; also, sabbatical leave opportunities, grants, etc.,

• Upholding individual opinion over Board’s decision; and,

• Delisting of journals after using same to get cronies promoted.

The above are a few of the methods that those in authority of position employ against their perceived enemies who are probably their intellectual superiors. We will now look at the factors that affect/determine compliance from their cronies which make them not only jettison their conscience but go ahead and defend their oppressors and persecutors and in the process reduce the latter’s intellectual prowess, where they exist, to nothingness.

• Expectation of reward by way of appointments and promotion;

• To be seen to belong, identification;

• Ethnic affiliation and interest, particularly rampant in state owned tertiary institutions;

• Herd instinct, sense of belonging and fear of being different or stigmatized and fear of exposing their ignorance; and,

• Natural wickedness inherent in some people.

The foregoing are a few of the factors which bring about compliance even from the most unexpected of sources. One would think that having ascended to the highest peak of academic attainment, a professor, for instance, would be free to and from all bondages of and inhibitions of self-expression and speech. But, alas, it is when the fear begins for some of them. It is the time when appointments must be handed out at the expense of academic excellence and freedom. As the Igbo say in a proverb, ‘when bare hands break iron, all the woods become petrified with fear.’ Thus, many professors who otherwise should be defenders of free speech, university autonomy, academic freedom and mentors to their younger colleagues, for a pot of porridge become complicit in their silence.

Many people in authority deploy ‘keyhole’ method in relating with their colleagues especially those perceived to be enemies. Their cronies and horn-blowers go about listening at keyholes, nooks and crannies, Board meetings and wherever two or three are gathered to discuss, and report back to their masters. Some go as far as leaving their phone lines open at Board meetings, having been given enough credit vouchers by their masters, to enable them monitor proceedings. This makes it easy for them to know who says what, to whom, and indeed, the entire 5ws and H of news reporting! Sometimes, too, desperate desire to report on their foes goad the cronies into manufacturing stories credited to the enemies well aware that there would be no opportunity to cross-check. This is because they are in tune and familiar with their master’s modus operandi. Indeed, some sycophants in their bid to outdo themselves go as far as arrogating certain powers to themselves and putting it on the head of their innocent master. Unfortunately, this heightens the negative image of the master who probably would have acted differently if the case was presented before him.

Queries have the tendency to increase as appraisal time draws near. This is because a query nullifies the aspiration for promotion in a given year. There was the case of students who applied for re-instatement in a given university and in the manner of students the content of such letters was the same excluding names and matriculation numbers. The Head of Department of the affected students was horrified, when the Vice Chancellor, having read the letters, ordered him to issue the said students query on the grounds that their letters were plagiarised! The Head of Department was able to extricate himself by remarking that the students, having lost their studentship, were, at that moment of writing, not his students! The query would have to wait until they were re-instated! All these point to the falling standard of education (Banjo, 2008).

Another method of expressing authority lies in the way information is handled. More often than not, it is students who give information pertaining to the university to staff instead of the reverse. Also, certain information are relayed only to members of the inner circle. By the time it gets to those outside the circle, it is past and useless. For instance, some staff get information on appraisal, know the journals that would be accepted and even know when appraisal would close before the exercise was declared open; all in the bid to give them upper hand and undue advantage.

They may also place bottlenecks on your way so that by the time you overcome such bottlenecks, you would have lost the opportunity. For example, a colleague recently applied for concessional payment of school fees for his child who gained admission where he lectures. The said university operates a school fee system of indigene and non-indigene where the former pays slightly more than the latter. As a staff, his biological child should pay as an indigene so he applied to the Vice Chancellor to that end. Having bandied the application all over the units of the university, the Registrar then told him to attach ‘the originating document’ where such a decision was taken by Council! For over two months, the affected staff searched everywhere for the said document without success. Fearing that the child might lose the admission as screening of new students was about to close, he had to pay as non-indigene! He later discovered that the originating document was actually in existence long before he was employed and the Registrar was aware of it!

It is enough to note here that there is terrorism in our tertiary institutions perpetrated by no less a group than those we would ordinarily look to for protection against unethical practices. The worst part of it is that most of those who wield this authority of position against their colleagues fall under the category of those ‘whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by benevolent spirits,’ (Achebe, 2008, p. 21) but who have forgotten to be humble. They were those who got their promotions with cyclostyled papers and roadside publications but who now put obstacles in the wheels of progress of their colleagues. The desire not to create space in their terrorist oppression of the opposition does not augur well for the academia neither does it promote academic excellence. It is an express way to academic mediocrity and an appalling degradation of academic standards.

Theatre/stage, negotiating peace in academic environment

While expounding on what he calls ‘The pure theatre experience,’ Athol Fugard, in the introductory opening of his joint work, Statements (Three plays), with John Kani and Winston Ntshona, tells us about ‘the actor and the stage, the actor on the stage.’ He says: ‘Around him is space, to be filled and defined by movement and gesture; around him is also silence to be filled with meaning, using words and sounds, and at moments when all else fails him, including the words, the silence itself,’ (Fugard, 1980, p. i). It seems that the current Vice Chancellor of my University, Professor Andy Ogochukwu Egwunyenga, understands the inherent power in the stage as he effectively engages the Department of Theatre Arts in most of his awareness and enlightenment programmes to create an enabling atmosphere before the main events.

This part of the paper will attempt to discuss how the theatre can be deployed in filling the space created by acts of terrorism in tertiary institutions across the country caused by leaders who are best described in the words of Achebe already cited, as having ‘literal minds, one rack minds; minds which cannot comprehend that where something stands, another can stand beside it.’ What then can the theatre do to address or rather, redress this situation?

There is paucity of literature on how the theatre can be deployed to bring about leadership change in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. However, there is ample evidence/literature on how the theatre/playwrights can bring about change and development in any organization or society. Many writers have shown how Nigeria/African playwrights/dramatists and theatres have contributed to make the society a better place through their plays and productions (Akowe & Onaivi, 2018; Dandaura, 2017; Edun, 2017; Ogbonna, 2019). These writers variously discuss how the theatre can be deployed to bring about positive change via leadership. Others, such as Daniel-Inim (2018), Aniukwu and Uchumkpa (2018), Omotosho (2018), and Anyanwu et al. (1970), attest to the positive impact and ability of the theatre to bring about attitude change, contribute to societal growth and affect leadership for better productivity.

Leadership in all spheres of human endeavour entails representation. This is because everybody cannot be a leader so leaders are the representatives of the larger community of people. Theirs is the duty, the responsibility to project the desires, goals and aspirations of those who otherwise may not be in a position to speak for, defend themselves, or even know what is good for them. This is what the theatre does for the humanities. The stage reflects the society and exposes the negative inclinations while commending the positive policies of those in authority. In this way, it serves as a mediator between the oppressor and the oppressed, the terrorist and the terrorized; and fills the space with peace where there is war, with laughter where there is sorrow, lifts the tension and proffers an atmosphere of calm and relaxation. Edwin Wilson makes this clear when he says, ‘theater focuses on human beings, even though different plays emphasize different human concerns, from profound problems in tragedy to pure entertainment in light comedy,’ (Wilson, 2001, p. 5). Wilson goes on to tell us that changes have taken place in the world from the ancient times even to the present and concludes the paragraph by saying that ‘theater is one area where the preoccupations of men and women are still the core, the center around which other elements orbit,’ (p. 5).

The theatre not only uses the straight drama-tragedy, comedy, farce, satire, to educate and enlighten the society, it also uses absurd drama. Bamidele, citing The Myth of Sisyphus, says:

A world that can be explained by reasoning, however faulty, is a familiar world. But in a universe that is suddenly deprived of illusions and of light, man feels a stranger. His is an irremediable exile because he is deprived of memories of a lost homeland as much as he lacks the hope of a promised land to come. This divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting truly constitutes the feeling of absurdity, (Bamidele, 2001, p. 32).

Indeed, in our universities and tertiary institutions, the jostle for space at the top has made mockery of human dignity, academic excellence and freedom of speech thus making men and women, who otherwise, would be pillars of ethical, moral, logical, and even humane sources of reference, to lose their bearing. The egg heads that would be our role models have become worshippers of position and authority; ‘their manhood was finished in the classrooms; their testicles were smashed with large books!’ (P’Bitek, 1984, p. 117).

The theatre through performance functions as witness, prosecutor, plaintiff and judge in its various roles of addressing societal issues depending on what is prevalent at that point in time. It exposes evil and tables issues of concern for discussion and dissection, (Bakare, 2019). When things go wrong with individuals, the society or the polity, and all other professionals keep quiet, theatre practitioners react, (thewhistler.ng/i-feel-like-strangling-minister-who-removed-his-; theabujainquirer.com/?page = 920&get920). Issues which have reared their heads in our tertiary institutions like sycophancy should be condemned in the highest terms.

On the other hand, sycophancy in recent years has reached a shameless level, with individuals, patently harbouring clear and unmistakeable motives, taking whole pages of newspapers to fawn over those from whom material reward is obviously expected because of their positions in society. This phenomenon has resulted in a general lack of respect for merit, for if you flatter those who supposedly matter sufficiently you can reach positions which you do not deserve while keeping out those who deserve them. The ultimate goal, of course is the accumulation of wealth by any means imaginable. The resultant enthronement of mediocrity cannot be expected to aid the development of the country but rather gives further impetus to corruption, (Banjo, 2008, p. 11).

Banjo’s submissions above may seem exaggerated but the reality is most shocking. Sometimes there is a boomerang as the effects of sycophancy can be overwhelming and all encompassing, unable to discriminate the sycophants from the original focus of their evil. A good example can be seen when the members, the Executives of say, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), begin to hobnob with University’s management or the government, when either or both turn around (as they always do), the effect would not be on the larger members of the Union while sparing the Executives. This substantiates the claim above that effects of terrorism go beyond its intended target.

The role of theatre in negotiating peace and the overcoming atmosphere of fear in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions was further demonstrated by the production of Elo Ibagere’s Neither Ivory nor Tower which was performed in the Theatre Arts Complex of the Delta State University, Abraka, on the 30^th of September and 1^st of October, 2021. The performance which saw the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Andy O. Egwunyenga, his wife, Professor Mrs. Ebele Egwunyenga, the University Registrar, Mrs. Rufina Ufiofio among other principal officers present was a lampoon of the very same university thinly disguised as Ekumeku University. The play which is a very good example of a university talking to itself made great impression on its audience notwithstanding its criticism of the university administration. It condemned without equivocation the abuse of power and appointment by cronyism which obtained in tertiary institutions across the country. Also, in the maiden edition of the Awareness Workshop organized by the Delta State University, Abraka, Security and Road Safety Committee, headed by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Professor (Mrs.) Rosemary Okoh, which was entitled, ‘Security and Safety: The Concerns,’ on the 31^st of March 2022 and held at the 750 capacity auditorium and designed to discuss the endemic issues of insecurity, reckless driving/living, drug abuse, among others, the Department of Theatre Arts was invited to open the stage. This it did with a short drama sketch entitled, ‘This Life’ which exposed lucidly and dramatically the dangers enumerated in the theme of the workshop. This no doubt, helps to strengthen the union of Town and Gown.

The authority of position is never without trappings of autocracy. Like all management, those in positions of authority are usually afraid of losing their positions and they are in perpetual fear of those who possess intellectual power. It is therefore in the bid to gain some measure of credibility that those in power engage those with intellectual powers but the latent idea behind their engagement is really to reduce them to mere stooges. Unfortunately, these now abound in the academia because politicians have the power of engaging academic staff and of course, birds of identical plumage must flock together. The implication of this is a jettisoning of merit in preference for mediocrity which is a bye product of ethnicity, political affiliation, family, cronies and of course, horn-blowers and praise singers. Once more, Banjo asks: ‘But why should anyone put themselves through the strain of studying hard to emerge at the end with a good degree when there are less painful short-cuts to the accumulation of wealth, the assumed goal of human existence?’ (Banjo, 2008, p. 11).

Indeed, why bother to seek publication outlets in reputable journals when your masters in authority can change the rules of engagement as it affects promotion in order to accommodate you and reverse again after you have been elevated? Thus, hard word, intellect and principles are made nonsense of because men prefer to worship the gods of the stomach and that of materialism in preference to integrity, honesty, and the good old name that is priceless. In the light of the above, the theatre can at least expose these evils through satire, comedy, tragedy, farce, dance drama and all the paraphernalia of discourse at its disposal. The theatre has been proved to have the capacity to right wrongs and correct aggressive behaviours as well as counter terrorist inclinations (Doki & Odeh, 2018; James & Bakare, 2018).

The power of the stage to change viewpoints, create awareness, enlighten people and broker peace has been variously illustrated with the performance at various time of such plays as Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jero, Anyanwu’s Boundless Love, Ukala’s Fumes of Fuel, etc. Indeed, that the theatre/stage has the capacity to turn things around for the mutual benefit of all is not in doubt. Its direct communication with its face to face encounter with the audience imbues it with plausibility as the audience willingly suspends disbelief.

Conclusion

The paper interrogated the incidence of authority and how it is deployed by those in positions of power especially in Nigerian tertiary institutions and how the stage can be utilized to change the narrative. It was observed that the abuse of power by some of those in positions of authority has negatively impacted on scholarship in Nigerian tertiary institutions thereby promoting mediocrity and hero worship to the detriment of serious and committed scholarship. The benefits such as appointments to lucrative positions have side tracked and sidelined the pursuit of academic excellence thereby making nonsense of the few academics who cling to academic integrity and excellence in scholarship. The theatre can remedy this anomaly by producing plays that portray the consequences of abuse of power and suggesting how true leadership can be encouraged. All these were portrayed in Ibagere’s ‘Neither Ivory nor Tower’ thus showcasing what the theatre can do. Indeed, the title of the play itself gives the audience what to expect as it literally and sarcastically lampoons the setting of the play as taking place in neither nor tower (the University is seen as an Ivory Tower) symbolizing a place of knowledge, but this one is Neither Ivory, nor Tower. This can help bring back the dying pride of true academics scholarship epitomized in the enjoyment of academic freedom which promotes quality scholarship.

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Chukwuma Anyanwu

Chukwuma Anyanwu is an Associate Professor and the immediate past Head of Department of Theatre Arts, Faculty of Arts, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. He was formerly of the Department of Mass Communication of the same university. He lectures Film, Communication and Media Arts Studies, Playwriting and Dramatic Literature at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study. He is widely read and published in local and international journals and has contributed chapters in books. He is the Managing Editor (West Africa) of the International Review of Humanities Studies (IRHS) www.irhs.ui.ac.id, University of Indonesia. His recent works include: Anyanwu, C., U. B. Okpevra and A. L. Imiti. (2022). ‘Nigerian newspaper headlines on Covid-19: A reflection of government and citizens’ perception and attitude’, Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/oaah20 Cogent Arts & Humanities, Taylor and Francis. [10.1080/23311983.2022.2046361]. Anyanwu is currently working on a book, ‘Ethnic Dimensions in the Growth and Development of Nollywood Movies.’