By Prisca Sam-Duru

If you’ve mistakenly stepped on someone’s feet in an overloaded commuter bus in Lagos in recent times, and received a most aggressive response, then you’ll understand why Akinwunmi Sesan’s drama employed a psychiatric ward as a metaphor for Nigeria.

It is a serious situation. There’s tension in the land and out of frustration, people find themselves reacting violently at the slightest provocation. The supposed giant of Africa is in a dire situation and for Sesan, a playwright and academic, the most appropriate method to capture the mess the country has been thrown into by bad leaders is through the drama titled, ‘A Long Wait on the Moon’.

The play directed by Emmanuel Esiakpere, was the 2024 Chevron Drama at the 28th edition of the MUSON Festival, and it was performed last Saturday at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan Lagos. The play which had two shows- 12pm (Matinee) and 5pm(Eventide), was enacted by The Royal Crown Theatre under the leadership of Professor Muyiwa Awodiya.

‘A Long Wait on the Moon’, is a pulsating satire staged with such impeccable mastery by students and lecturers of the Theatre Arts department of the Osun State University.

Laced with music, dance and instrumentation, the play captures the daily challenges faced by the Nigerian masses who are now hoping upon hope that someday, a government will have the political will to improve the lives of the people. It is a depiction of the sad reality of a country whose people are living in abject poverty in the midst of huge natural and human resources.

The drama suggests that until the needs of ordinary citizens are recognised and met, we will all feel trapped in a “mental home,” which symbolises our difficult living conditions.

The stage opened with an electrifying instrumentation while simultaneously showing a psychiatric ward filled with over 15 mentally deranged people managed by only one health personnel. The patients occupy different positions while displaying diverse shades of madness. Two sick individuals- a man (Dr Sanjo Ilori and his friend), storm the ward screaming, ‘My bele ooo, my head ooo’. It turns into singing and dancing time. The belly and headaches are a result of hunger and too much thinking due to the severe hardship ravaging the people.

In the midst of the fracas their president addresses them in a national broadcast. First declaring that ‘on your mandate we stand’, the president directs that if the people are hungry, they should be given agbado(corn) in case rice is too expensive since they are both carbohydrates. While bragging about his achievements, he discloses that his administration has given the people uninterrupted power supply. At that moment, power goes off and the psychiatric patients go wild with jeers.

As soon as the president leaves the stage, the people make fun of his speech.

In every theatrical sense, ‘A Long Wait on the Moon’ is a very hilarious play that sends a strong message to the political elite in Nigeria on the need to quickly get the people out of the multidimensional poverty they’ve put them in. The play, though dealing with serious issues plaguing the country which for one particular character, includes lack of husband, the language/dialogue, plot and characterisation are thoughtfully weaved together to help the audience numb the pain of living in a rich but poorly governed country. It also exposes how people are turning into beggars and at this point, the character whose only problem is finding a husband, adds, we virtually beg for everything including husbands in this country. The cast at this point, storm the audience space and start begging while singing a popular song by beggars- babianla..”We beg to eat, beg to be healed and even beg to die”.

Next is a thrilling musical lamenting how naira lost its value, inflation, brothers killing each other because of oil, insecurity, as well as how the country is undermined by no facilities, no drugs in the hospitals while government officials and the rich travel abroad for medical tourism.

Some scenes also capture the nefarious activities of fake religious leaders who join forces with selfish politicians to inflict untold hardship on the citizens.

The play climaxes with the advice to Nigerians to shun ethnic politics, stop stealing from our selves, do our best for betterment of the Nigerian project and, value humanity over materialism.

The play according to Akinwunmi Sesan was in reaction to the theme of this year’s Muson festival- ‘Revival’. According to him, ‘A Long Wait on the Moon’ is being enacted at a time “when our country is facing an economic crisis, many ordinary people are suffering. They are not sick from common illnesses like malaria or typhoid but rather they are struggling mentally because of the hardships caused by the country’s situation.”

The executive director of the play, Professor Muyiwa Awodiya noted that the play is a reflection on our remote and immediate society, adding that it “interrogates our realities and how we have been individually and collectively managing the situations. Although our present realities have been stressful for all and sundry, the playwright presents the plot of the play comically so that we laugh away our stress. The characters in the play are seasoned and experienced actors and among them are Dr. Leke Ogunfeyimi, Dr. Sanjo Isaac Ilori and Owoyemi Alaameen Ademola. The play is also laced with music, dance and instrumentation under the control of Dr. Felix Keji Faniran. The play is very tempting to watch on stage.”

According to the artistic director of the play, “The characters in the play are actually in a psychiatric hospital because of the stress caused by the tough economic situation.

The play ends with the idea that while the government is responsible for the economy, citizens also need to work together if we want to benefit from good governance.”