One  denominator that binds the creative works of writers from the Niger  Delta  is the commitment of their arts to the  quest for self determination bothering on economic, political and environmental freedoms.

This quest has consistently been the concern of  successive generations of Niger Delta fighters for emancipation from the time of Jaja of Opobo, Nana of Iteskir down to to Issac Boro, the father and symbol of modern day Niger Delta struggle for self determination.

Also in the area  of imaginative literature, succession of writers have attempted to  address these concerns through  near romantic adoration of of the plundered environment  through generation of works   that beam their  imaginative rays on  other strands of the Delta region’s experiences.

It is against this kind of background that one  engages the great works of John Peppe Clark,  Gabriel Okra,Isidore Okpewho, GG,Dare, Ken Saro Wiwa down to Nimmo Bassey, Nengi Illagha and Ogaga Ifowodo to mention but a few.

This unrepentant commitment  of art to political and social activism, therefore, has become a kind of canon that shapes the face of the Niger Delta  struggle in all spheres of imaginative expression be it religion, comedy, commerce  or other forms of popular culture.

A scene from the play

In the fore front of this of art  now is  fast rising writer and activist, Ekanpo Enewariddeke. The author, whose modest works  have won  regional prizes uses his wealth of experiences  as an activist to comment on the struggle question of his people.

One of such literary outcomes from this  bustling imagination is the award winning play, The Wanted Man in Camp Four. Succinctly put, the play captures the struggle for self determination in the Niger Delta and the resultant hostage taking that takes place. The conflict of the play becomes the intrigue that plays out between the armed youths championed by Polo, the face of the struggle and GOC, that personalizes the State and exploitative multinational companies.

It is this beautiful but disturbing narrative that forms the plot of the the play , which students of  the Department of Fine, Industrial and Theater Arts, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island brought  on stage penultimate week.

While the play wears a revolutionary garb, it appropriates the vehicle of myth in its redemptive struggle for the Niger Delta . It appropriates the myth of Egbesu, the the war god of Ijo people of Niger  Delta as the   uncollecttive force that shapes and directs the nature and character of the struggle.

In the hands of Abray, the director of the playis constructed around the myth of Egbesu and the struggle wears the face of Ijo religion, culture and tradition. In essence, this new dramatic interpretation begins to lend new meanings, which seems to argue that the struggle which is seen from the larger lens of collective fight  against dominant powers, rather than one clanish fight for fiefdom control..

What one also sees in the  the production is  a choreography of Ijo  mannerisms and  a projection of the Ijo ethnic Nationality as the most authentic agitators for self determination in the region. This  assumption , we think is assumptive.

However, the entire stage performance  does not amount to a bad delivery despite poor lightening and poor sound control. Rather, the strength of the performance is further enhanced  by popular vibes brought into the drama through the activities of the armed youths.

The play is full of intrigues and conflicts. And these factors are carefully manipulated by the director ,who appropriate them to good use to achieve desired dramatic effects  for  an over all cathartic pleasure.