International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 4. (Issue: 2); December, 2020

Retelling History Through Historical Playwriting: The Example of Ben Tomoloju’s Aminatu Queen of

By

Emmy Unuja IDEGU Department of Theatre, Film and Carnival Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar.

Introduction One of the most relished aspects of typical Africans is their revered past. There is hardly any time reference is made to this part of our lives that nostalgic feelings do not erupt. Those events in the past that delight us are such that remind us of our being, our totality as Africans and the essence of our individual or collective personality. In instances that were not so favourable, we tend to redefine, restructure and reinterpret them towards glorifying even salient challenges that were to the contrary of our expectations. While historians basically concern themselves with documenting our past, the role of the historical playwright goes beyond mere documentation of the past. Through dialogue, action and other dramatic elements, the historical playwright activates the passive history by getting it theatricalised through the vibrant medium of dramaturgy. The past which the historical playwright discovers and expresses through the play text is not really a dead past, but a past which in several ways is still living and relevant in the present. The past is only meaningless to the historical playwright when he cannot comprehend the thoughts (overt and covert) about the events. His understanding of such hidden and open thoughts will in no small way aid his recreation of conflict around the event as history gives or the fresh creation and manipulation of conflict and characters to embellish and pragmatise the seemingly dead and inactive past in a number of ways, Yerima in Idegu (2004:102) attests to such when he opines that the use of historical materials in a work of art is the attempt by man to further explain the significance of the historical event in a ‘less serious’ storytelling version or style even while using the facts of the historical event. The study of a historical play, like Tomoloju’s Aminatu Queen of Zazzau, is not devoid of contradictions and challenges because no matter how well the historical playwright manipulates the historical materials at his disposal, his dexterity and mastery of presentation notwithstanding, on several occasions, the facts of history hardly ever get to us in play texts exactly as they happened. That is why Simon Gikandi, cited in Embu, Reuben & Idoko O. Festus (2019:214) asserts that literature is about real and familiar worlds of culture and human experience of politics and economics…rerouted through a language and structure at odds with history or geography books. Those events do not and cannot exist in absolutely unaltered form, principally for that piece of history to be recreated, presented and even interpreted to suit the creative artistic demands and desires of the playwright. In surmounting the creative challenges, the historical playwright should never be unaware of the choices available to the historical personalities in their days and as they affect even the present. This is what Chaim Shoham (ed) (1995:9) sums up when he asserts that the choices and dilemmas facing the heroes are meaningful and relevant not only to their own time, but also to the generation of the modern playwrights, readers and theatre audiences. Therein is the objectivity of the playwright’s interpretation, for after all, where the facts of history may be of little relevance to a people, the interpretation of the same past could generate controversy, animosity and in some cases rejection of the recreated history by the owners of that history. This way the playwright enjoys or endures the complementary relationship between him and his historical materials in a continuous process of molding and reshaping. This reciprocal action also involves reciprocity

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between the present and the past since the historical playwright is part of the present and the facts belong to the past. In instances where the playwright was part of an immediate past history at his creative disposal, or where events were passed unto him in oral tradition, the place of memory comes handy. It behooves on the historical playwright to be sharp, alert and sensitive to the dictates of his memory; principally because while history can be a problematic and incomplete reconstruction of what is no longer here but a representation of the past, memory ceaselessly reinvents tradition, linking the history of his ancestors to the undifferentiated time of heroes, origins and myths. Babawale (ed) (2011:62) History, to the playwright therefore, is a continuous process of interaction between the writer and his facts, an unending dialogue between the present and the past. It should be noted that in this dialogue, most often than not, in an attempt to artistically create or recreate history, the playwright consciously or otherwise, excludes the ritual essence (where applicable) of the event. In this process, the work of art loses some of its unique qualities and value. This equates what Walter Benjamin defines as aura: it loses the presence of the original (which is) the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity. The authenticity of a thing is the essence of all that is transformable from the beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced. According to this definition, Benjamin explicitly takes into consideration that past experience is enclosed in the aura of the work, and that experience may be lost in the process of deritualizing the work. This is the source of this ambivalence towards the loss of aura, since he also praised the freedom that the work of art gained by moving from cultic praxis into that of pure art, which is achieved in, for example, the theme. Avraham Oz (ed) (2000: 172). In this entire histo-theatrical process, the culture of the people whose history is been retold must be respected as nothing can be so artistically unfulfilling to the historical playwright than a rejected historical play by the owners of the culture from which the history and of course the play, emerged. Since culture is the way of life of a given people, representing that way to the contrary of the people’s acceptance can be catastrophic. This is why, in reacting to the meeting point between culture and theatre, Okwori (ed) (2004:143) submits that the way and manner a group of people do things, say things and react to things constitute in its entirety, the culture of such a people. Although culture is dynamic, it remains essentially conservative. It is however transmitted from one generation to another. And it is this transmission that has as direct bearing and latitude with theatre. Theatre on the other hand is widely known to be a structured performance before an audience. The nexus between culture and theatre is largely transportational. While culture generates codes on which a people’s behavioural pattern is anchored, theatre provides the vehicle with which these codes are passed from one generation to another. Theatre and culture are therefore largely environmental phenomenon. They interplay at various levels to produce a picture of the casual complexes that characterize a society. African Patriarchy and Women Adventurism There is hardly any meaningful study of the role and or place of women in the socio- cultural and political spheres of Africa without reference to the patriarchal nature of most African societies. This is a social system in which the male gender role as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children and property. Patriarchy implicitly is an institution of male rule and privilege, and entails great elements of women subordination. Simply put, it refers to a society or government in which men hold the power while women are remarkably excluded from it. http://oxforddictionaries.com. Scholarship, discourse and analyses of patriarchy are as elastic as its seeming endless contradictions. Some scholars are of the view that male domination here does not necessarily mean that all men are powerful or all women are powerless only that the most powerful roles in most sectors of society are held predominantly by men, and the least powerful roles are held predominantly by women. Patriarchy is inherently organized around

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an obsession with control, with men elevated in the social structure because of their presumed ability to exert control (whether rationally or through violence or the threat of violence) and women devalued for their supposed lack of control. http://gray.intrasun.tcnj.edu It is however, pertinent to note that even within contemporary cultural milieus; there are conscious and deliberate actions that still undermine the place of the woman, even in play writing where strong women character formation is frowned at. Take the experience of one of ’s greatest playwrights Ahmed Yerima in his writing of Attahiru for instance. A committee was set up by the to vet whatever Yerima had to project about “their own” hero and former leader, Attahiru. When the draft of the play was given to the said committee, Yerima (in an interview dated April 3, 2003), talking about their assessment says; ...the first draft was okay, but there was the need to place things deeper and further within the religious and historical context of the environment which the play was written. In the first draft for instance …, even the issue of women being on stage was looked at. In my first draft, in the early stage of the play I wrote, ‘there is pandemonium and women are running on the stage’. They said that I should play it down to ‘people are running’ and cut women off. Since it was a religio-historical play, they didn’t think that women should feature that much.

This proves right quite a number of critics who are of the view that African women have not had fair treatment in issues that pertain to patriarchy either in the reality of existence or even in the recreated worlds of theatre and drama. Rosemary Doofan Asen in Salami-Agunloye (ed) 2006: 170 bitterly laments that in early literature, women were usually presented as being silly, inactive, flighty, shrill, illogical, concerned with child rearing recipes. On the other hand women, who read, thought, reasoned, learnt, conversed seriously and lived active or creative lives were regarded as being exceptional, neurotic, unfeminine and deviants. And in a quick collaboration, James Atu Alachi in Salami-Agunloye (ed) (2006:195) gives this attitude a cultural coloration when he assets that strong believe in cultural traditions has relegated women to the background and subjugated them to men. It is so natural in most traditions to see women as weaklings, second-class citizens, less acknowledged, derogatory and playing domestic roles. It is common to find men occupy more dominant, prestigious and superior positions of the provider. Dominant behavior is synonymous with masculinity, which is most characterized as controlling, threatening, forceful and antagonistic. As vital and organized as these views are, there is a school of thought that is of the strong opinion that such criticisms are western culture influenced and should be discountenanced. Obadiegwu in Idegu (ed) 2009:91 is of this school when he states that much has been said and written about the oppression and disempowerment of African women. He submits that it is pertinent to note that all these are done using Western gender analyses and yardstick or their adaptation to discuss and seek for solutions for African problems. According to him, the question on how to solve these problems is culture-bound and any attempt, as it has been, to use foreign cultural ideologies is doomed to fail. This he concludes is because our conscious and cultural experiences are different. Nevertheless, long before the so-called Western-driven feminist consciousness, a lot of women in Africa exhibited great awareness in this regard. Referring to the role of women in the Aba Women war of 1929 in Eastern Nigeria, Idegu (2009:81) affirms that; In 1929 Nigeria when this conscious, deliberate and well orchestrated fight by the women was staged; there was nothing close to feminism in most parts of the world, not to talk of Nigeria. The point here is that, most often, it is

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not impossible to argue that before the Nigerian woman was educated enough to comprehend feminist aesthetics; their great grandmothers had gone far ahead of them. Literary, academic discourse on and about feminism may rightly be ascribed to Western education quite all right, but the consciousness to identify injustice against humankind, and particularly women, can be strongly argued to be inborn; nevertheless, awaiting some re- awakening and re-focusing to give it broader and deeper followership.

There are a number of studies that support this indigenized “superior role” of the woman over the man from the ancient times till our contemporary experiences. It is vehemently argued for instance, that Black women were not originally born under the yoke of patriarchy. Because of the natural role of the mother to her children and the larger society, during ancient times, all of Africa was argued to be matriarchal, achieving high levels of civilization. The religious systems imposed on Black women (and men) today are merely a corrupted version stemming from the overthrow of the spiritual and political kingdoms that the ancient mothers built and established throughout the entire ancient world. As the birthright of the African peoples, its logos (divine truths) were subsequently disseminated as their gift to the entire world. Today in contemporary times, millions of Black women continue to suffer for a generational spiritual malaise, largely because they have lost control with their divine mother. Millions of Black men too suffer an unspoken spiritual emptiness, because they were originally nurtured under the yoke of the divine African Mother, of whom they have forgotten, and their ancient fathers ultimately rejected in favour of the one dimensional force of cultural patriarchy. This spiritual alienation might explain one of the major reasons why Black men do not understand what they believe to be the “defiant and rebellious” nature of Black women. The reason might be explained because her primal spirit (just as his) was born free, under a matriarchal yoke, which understood and lived the divine concept of spiritual complementariness. That (matriarchy) was the natural (in contrast to the politically and culturally imposed) order of the African world for thousands of years, is never questioned by Africentric scholars, and Blacks who have rediscovered their spiritual roots. http://www.mamiwata.com/news.html. Marginalized roles of women is after all not an African phenomenon, it cuts across the globe. Writing about Miriam Kainy (the fiery Israeli feminist playwright) Yael Feiler in Idegu (2009:137) observes thus; To be tolerated by the Israeli nation, a woman should accept being an object. She should accept her role as a symbolic bride, faithful and loyal, be subservient to the national agenda. Furthermore, she is expected to support the men who are the representatives of the national identity, through good times and bad. But I want to ask and I want to imagine what might, would, happen if in the Israeli context ‘woman’ refuses to be this objectified…. It is possible after all that refused to be this objectified by the society that produced her. She lived up to the bidding by rising over and above gender issues as relate to governance in the ancient Zazzau. By proving herself strong enough and thereafter being acknowledged as such by her father she eventually mounted the throne as the Queen of Zazzau. A look at the play text should shed more light on this.

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The Play Aminatu Queen of Zazzau Depending heavily on oral traditions passed from one generation to the other (with its attendant little variation and embellishment) Aminatu more known as Queen Amina was born in the 16th early century during the reign of Muhammadu Abu, the 18th Habe ruler of Zazzau. She had a younger sister called Zariya, both daughters of Bakwa Turunku, the 22nd Habe ruler of Zazzau who reign from 1536 to 1539. When he became the Habe ruler of Zauzau, Bakwa Turunku had no son to succeed him especially at a time the Zazzau was under the expansionist threat of the Kwararafas. Depending on her early traits as a fearless, focused and strong willed personality, at age 16, Aminatu was given the title “magajiya” (heir apparent) to her father’s throne. Thereafter she gained the confidence of her father who willing pronounced Aminatu Queen and his successor before he died. Queen Amina took over the affairs of the kingdom with determination to make a remarkable mark against all odds as she did not only consolidate Zazzau but made the kingdom into a center of commercial and political attraction both within the immediate neighboring kingdoms and far away people and ethnic nationalities. It should be appreciated from the onset that in transforming the Queen story into a dramatic text the playwright is in no way a prisoner of history but he plays a role complementary to that of the historian in terms of expanding the scope of interpretation. For instance, he leads a profound insight appreciation by the audience. The dramatist, therefore, as an interpreter opens vistas that will aid historians in their search for new values the personality of Aminatu, the legendary Queen of Zazzau, and her society. Tomoloju (2005:3). Access to historical materials is one thing; converting the materials into a creative and artistic success is yet another thing. For Ben Tomoloju, it was no different challenge as he admits that; In this play, as one may argue for all historical plays, facing the objective of transforming a historical to a dramatic material, the creative wrier defiantly enjoys the licensee to bring about a whole life experience from whatever records are available. This is so in the case of Aminatu. Even if the dramatist does not add an extra detail to the fact of history, he still plays a role complementary to that of the historian in terms of expanding the scoop of interpretation. For instance, he leads a profound insight appreciation by the audience. The dramatist, therefore, as an interpreter opens vistas that will aid historians in their search for new values the personality of Aminatu, the legendary Queen of Zazzau, and her society.

Such values are themselves products of careful and critical examination of the available history to the reader, and the history retold by the playwright. How well this is done depends on the yardstick from which pedestal the reader/critic operates. It is on record that there abound play texts thematically structured to promote female characters written by women. However, there are other several instances where such events are also highlighted by male authors. Aminatu Queen of Zazzau, written by a male playwright exemplifies the collaborative effort of both female and male writers in the promotion and retelling of African stories that project the exploits of women. No doubt, the play falls in line with the assessment of Tess Onwueme in Hagher Harry(ed) (1988:114) about another male playwright who promotes female characters in his play thus;

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A major aspect of Osofisan’s revolution in modern Nigerian drama is the prominence and the consistent portrayal of women as heroes and harbingers of social reconstruction. In this regard, they are projected as forceful characters whose struggle for change exerts its influence as a model informing society on the need for change. In addition to other inherent or obvious motifs, Ben Tomoloju’s treatment of the Queen Amina story will further expand the study of feminism in global or African theatre praxis. Nevertheless, in studying Aminatu Queen of Zazzau, a play that celebrates the remarkable exploits of a queen in a predominantly patriarchal society, our focus will definitely not be in pursuit of feminism or feminist aesthetics, but appraising it as an historical play. Critiquing a similar play, Okey Okwechime in Adeoti (2010:54) agrees that: Admittedly, not all African playwrights who write about women subscribe to the tenets and arguments of feminism. Queen Amina of Zazzau as a play on a female centered theme is a significant contribution to historiography – an analysis of the processes by which our historical knowledge of feminism shows that the play ministers much to the masculine ego.

Early Traits.

The play begins with what looks like a family meeting between king Bakwa and his princess, Amina. The princess is told how vast the Zazzau kingdom is, introducing her as it were to the people and land she was to take charge of later. Not long afterwards the dialogue between father and daughter is interrupted by a raid by the Kwararafa warriors. While fight ensues, king Bakwa pleads for the safety of his princess, who nevertheless goes all out to fight in defence of her father and land. Not only does she fight, she kills one of the invaders to the admiration of the male warriors and the king. Highly elated, the king asks; “Amazing! Tell me, my guards, with a daughter like this, is there any need to pray for a son?” To which Jarmai replies; “This one daughter is more than a thousand men” Tomoloju (2005:16). While this recognition is an over kill, the issue here is that little princess Amina fared very well in facing the challenge to the kingdom with courage and success. Eventually, we see the fading out of king Bakwa and a gradual fading in of princess Amina, preparatory to taking charge of the kingdom she so defends. Shortly before Bakwa joins his ancestors, he proclaims the princess his successor: Bakwa: I remember that some years ago, you attacked some bandicts from Jukun with my guards. You fought like a lioness to defend the territorial integrity of Zazzau kingdom. And that day, I said that if one had a daughter like you, there was no need to ask for a son…. Since then, you have commanded troops. In my own life time, you have fought and won many battles. Aminatu…. You shall be known as the Lioness of Zazzau. You will take over the throne after me, since I have no son. No enemy’s blade will scratch you.

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And your reign shall be great and glorious. I hereby pronounce you Sarauniyar.Tomoloju (2005:19)

The entire kingdom celebrates in general acceptance of Amina as their leader and queen. One other early trait of Amina is her refusal to marry. This is of great concern to the family so much that part of the reasons for the illness of the king is attributed by Marta Bakwa (her own mother) to this. Much later in the play, Amina relishes this decision when she says; Amina: Conquest…and dreams upon my womanhood. Enemies. Yet they want my hand in marriage. Am I not the woman? I offer my whole body in bouts of blood. But when the act is done, the story is not told… because I am more than woman (Giggles) Blood and flesh Tomoloju (2005:19) Reasons for her blatant refusal to marry vary from her determination to remain focused on the administration of Zazzau and pursue the expansionist agendum. Again, one may ask by inference to other great women warrior/leaders that were nevertheless married and left legacies of profound accomplishment. Amina must have been into this for other hidden reasons which include but not limited to fetish practices that enhanced her status and prowess. A psychological explanation to this is attempted later in this analysis.

Administering and Expanding the Kingdom Straight away after she is turbaned, Queen Amina resumes full force, the administration of the vast Zazzau kingdom troubled with external aggression. Tactically, she begins to solidify the kingdom by blocking loopholes that enemies of the kingdom can take advantage of. She orders an immediate building of high walls round the city: Amina: For many years, enemies have used this point to lay siege and attack traders and farmers I their attempt to paralyze the economy of Zauzau…. And that is why I want walls built around the city. And every city under our dominion will also be surrounded by high walls, with city gates fully manned by soldiers armed to the teeth. Tomoloju (2005:26) With the kingdom this fortified, Queen Amina begins to lead her warriors to silence enemy kingdoms. One of the early victims is the Kwararafa king whose warriors once invaded Zazzau and gave Amina the opportunity to show her bravery. After a successful onslaught on the Kwararafa king she declares: Amina: This is one mission accomplished. Now the end has come for him and his land. And I, Amina, Queen of Zazzau, hereby make the following declaration: From this day, the land of Kwararafa has become a vassal under the kingdom of Zazzau. Tomoloju (2005:26)

Same can be said of other cities that the Queen establishes via conquest and good governance.

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Amina: Now we have to build very high walls around our cities, in , in Kwararafa, here in Zariya and everywhere, to forestall any possible invasion from our enemies Tomoloju (2005:26)

Her success story attracts emissaries from far and near including; Yawuri, Igala, Kebbi, Borno, Kano, Nupe, Kwararafa and others. In her thrust to conquer Gunukoland, she encourages her warriors as a general commanding officer would; Amina: We approach Gunukoland from the direction of Zuba, to the plains of Shiroro. The huge mountains will be our refuge at night. The valley will be our route by day. All of us, conquering matadors, you and I! Listen for my voice. Tomoloju (2005:74)

Not only does the Queen General Officer Commanding boost her warriors with motivating words to fight on, she mystifies herself by announcing to them her invincibility, and by implication her unconquerability: Amina: If you do not see my physical person, I am in the wind. Invincible. Aminatu…. And when you see me, I am the rock, Impregnable. Aminatu. Tomoloju (2005:74)

The praise Singer’s lyrics capture succinctly the Queen’s expansionism: Singer: We entered the bush. We captured the bush. The lion saw us and asked what was our mission in the bush that made us bow our heads in homage? We told the lion that someone more than the lion was here. It is Amina’s praise I am singing. We entered the sea, we captured the sea. The whale came to us and asked what was our business in the sea that made us bow our heads in homage? We told the whale that someone more than the whale was here. It is Amina’s praise I am singing. Tomoloju (2005:42)

In spite of all these, like all heroes whose prowess must end somehow some day, her seeming invincibility is rubbished when she dares attempt to extend her military might to the Igala people in Igalaland. But rather than give the reader this aspect of the Queen Amina history, like the Queen herself does in the play text, the playwright further embellishes her “invincibility” by mystifying her death when she comes in contact with a mysterious character, Babuga in the forest. The last moments of Amina goes thus: Babuga I am Babuga! I am no woman’s man!

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(The forest echoes with his voice, with strange animal sounds in chorus. An epic encounter ensues in which Amina subdues Babuga. He yells and disappears, but Amina now feels dizzy). Amina: No! This seems like a trap. ( She staggers off dazed) It will not happen. This is a trap. This is a trap. (The forest moves out with Babuga’s uncanny yell, followed by Amina’s screaming. Some Zauzau soldiers rush in the direction of the screaming, but find that the forest has disappeared and the Queen is also nowhere to be found) Tomoloju (2005:77)

The two soldiers then speak one after the other “I heard her screaming”. “It was here we left her”. “And the forest?”. “The forest was here”. “But now the forest has disappeared”. “And the Queen has also disappeared”. “Perhaps she has moved… Thereafter, the stage directions say; “Amina, like an apparition, appears from behind the knoll on horseback, frozen”, that is, dead but not without a word for her people: Amina: Indeed, I have moved, but to the other side of the river. A time comes when even the valiant crosses the line that separates the living from the dead. I have crossed… only to reside in the memories of the living. Go, loyal subjects…improve on the legacies I have left behind. Tell my sister, Zariya to keep the flag flying, so that no foe will wipe away the landmarks etched in the sands of time by Aminatu, Sarauniyar Zazzau. Tomoloju (2005:78)

A lot of mysteries and attempt to mystify Amina is evident in the way her end is managed or manipulated by the playwright. Amina meets the mysterious character Babuga and has a mysterious encounter with him in a mysterious forest; then the mysterious disappearance of Babuga and the forest and of course the mysterious disappearance of Amina herself who mysteriously shows up like an apparition, yet frozen-ie dead. Then a lot of questions arise. Is Babuga the Igalaman or standing for the Igala people that finally demystified Amina in her death in their hands at Idah, the traditional and administrative headquarters of the Igala kingdom? Is Babuga (who confesses to be man and woman) “I don’t need woman because I am man and woman, Tomoloju (2010:71), but to who the playwright ascribes a weird-looking characterization as “the hunter priest and warrior, a spirit being? Since Amina historically died in the hands of Igala people at Idah, are the killers of Amina also this mystified in the mystery behind the being called Babuga? Mysteries created about the death of great African leaders is part of the ways of amplifying such extraordinariness they possessed. The great Kenyan Mau Mau freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi, in Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s The Trial of Dedan Kimathi is given the power to change to any animal of his choice, appear and disappear at will while dealing with the enemies of Kenya. In Ahmed Yerima’s Ameh Oboni The Great, a play that glorifies the immediate past Ata Igala, His Royal Majesty, Ame Oboni, at the point of his death the playwright further mystified this mysterious king. The playwright allows three figures (ie ancestral beings)

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covered in the same wrapper of the Ata walk in silently. Then he makes the Ajamalede masquerade to come in saying to the Ata: Ajamalede: They have come for you. An Ata is a spirit god, he does not go alone. Follow them… your work here is done… you have fulfilled your destiny. Follow them… and call all your names… so that we may mark your presence in the land of the ancestors. Yerima:2005:58)

Rather than make the king commit suicide by hanging as he did historically, by the deliberate creation of stage directions to “honour” his death, the playwright submits:

He takes the black wrapper and ties it round himself like the other three figures; slowly all four of them walk out as the Ajamalede resumes his dance. As he dances, slow lights out. Yerima:2005:59)

Slow lights out, meaning the death of the king.

Queen Amina: Between Sadism and Masochism For whatever reason not disclosed in the play, and even in available oral traditions, the Queen refused and rejected marriage all the days of her life. Beyond permissive permutation, again either in the play text or oral history, the Queen’s deliberate rejection of marriage remains a mystery shrouded with complexities. How could a princess, from the very beginning reject any suggestion of marriage? What were on her mind about marriage and home formation? How could a leader of a people be “homeless” and yet want to be accorded total acclamation as a good leader? The mystery of her no marriage stance is further exacerbated by her sexual exploits with men. Why were men good enough to sleep with, yet too bad to have one of them as husband? And more questions which answers have remained far more elusive than solved. Not even the fluid explanation that she may have opted for this kind of life in order to concentrate on the affairs of the kingdom in any way diminishes the compounded mystery. No matter from which ever angle, the heroine’s rejection of healthy heterogeneous sexuality in terms of marriage in pursuance of authority amounts to debasement of her femininity. Okey Okwechime in Adeoti (2010:54) - History has it, and as recorded in the play that the Queen will sleep with men who always never survived the following morning to tell the story. In one of her speeches before the act, she boasts: Amina: Conquest…and dreams upon my womanhood. Enemies. Yet they want my hand in marriage. Am I not the woman? I offer my whole body in bouts of blood. But when the act is done, the story is not told… because I am more than woman (Giggles) Blood and flesh Tomoloju (2005:19) emphasis mine.

She derived pleasure from sexual relationship with men, yet cut them off in their prime. Her rather queer and somehow unnatural behaviour towards men and marriage leaves one the room

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to situate her on the pathway of sadism which is the derivation of pleasure as a result of inflicting pain or watching pain inflicted on others. In psychiatry, the term sadism and masochism describe a personality type characterized by the actor or actress deriving pleasure and gratification for inflicting physical pain and humiliation (sadism); and for suffering pain and humiliation upon self. (Masochism); such measure often is sexual, but not exclusively so. Moreover, the term sadomasochism denotes the co-occurrence of sadism and masochism in one person is discrete mental disorders. hhp://en m.wikipedia.or. Granted that the Queen derived equal pleasure from sexual relations with men and killing them thereafter, it can be inferred that she too had some hidden pains from this act. Where such is proven, as one may likely agree because of the preponderance of the act, she tilts to the disturbing combination of Sadomasochism. Queen Amina was involved in an aspect of sexual sadism called lust – murder sexual sadism. Here are cases in which there was a connection between sexual arousal and killing. This is further referred to as major sexual sadism which is usually not consensual and involves injury or death to the victim. The element of fear in the victim and complete control of the victim is the major sexual stimuli in major sexual sadism. The pain and suffering of the victim which may be both physical and psychological, is pivotal to the sexual arousal and pleasure. www.forenscpsychriaty.ca/.../sadism.htm. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1992 defines sadism as a “preference for sexual activity that involves bondage or infliction of pain or humiliation”. For the Queen, such pain was both on her victims and the entire male race. The unique sad irony of her case is that sexual sadism is found predominately in males and usually onsets in puberty although sadistic behavior may be evident earlier in children. In cases of female sexual sadism, onset is often later and often triggered by relationships with men who want to be dominated. Although some researchers like Money J. (1990) have suggested that sexual sadism is a brain disease evidence to support this is not conclusive since most paraphiliacs do not show evidence of brain damage or disorder. However, sporadic reports of brain abnormalities in those sexual anomalies (especially fetishism) have been reported from time to time e.g Marshall, D.R (et al) (eds) (1990) www.forenscpsychriaty.ca/.../sadism.htm. In a related critique of her sadomasochism, Okey Okwechime in Adeoti (ed) (2010:53) submits that; Queen Amina’s self-centered seclusion from normal sexual passion creates an irresistible urge pushing men around her to speedy ruin-end. Notwithstanding all the positive qualities she is endowed with, the fact that a narcissistic spirit seems to stand beside and within her; thereby making the quest for her love perilous, shows that her life is without human sympathy.

What is life to man, when in an attempt to live he destroys life? If Queen Amina’s sadomasochism was to reinforce, energize and prolong her own life, then what is the worth a leader’s life when that life s sustained by the death of the ruled, and anybody at that?

Conclusion The success story of an historical play should not rest on how faithfully the playwright retold the story as much as the license to retell the story constructively and to the relevance of our today. In Ben Tomoloju’s Aminatu Queen of Zazzau lies an attempt to retell the Queen Amina story in a way that the reader can now take another look at the mirror (the play) and assess all

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over the person of Queen Amina, the society that produced her, how she lived to the challenges of her time and of course what improvements we can do today to her shortcomings. Amina’s dying words in the play suffices here thus: “Indeed, I have moved, but to the other side of the river. A time comes when even the valiant crosses the line that separates the living from the dead. I have crossed… only to reside in the memories of the living. Go, loyal subjects…improve on the legacies I have left behind.” While glamourising her virtues as a pragmatic leader of her people, we should not forget the lessons to learn from those vices that should be accommodated within the limitations of the confrontations of her time and also reassess them towards improving our today and tomorrow. In conceptualizing and affecting such lessons, a people are said to have experienced development. Little wonder therefore, that Ifatimehin submits in A.D Menegbe and Emmy I.U Idegu (2016:75) that contemporary playwrights have attempted to use the medium of the play text to communicate development. Though it could be argued that the conception and creation of a play text is largely isolated from the ‘forum’ approach required for greater participation, it is no less effective or ‘popular’ as long as a playwright hints on the nerve centre of society’s issues from the, albeit remote seclusion of his creative pen. His creative work provides a forum for readership and interrogative or active spectatorship by invoking critical consciousness. Ben Tomoloju’s Aminatu Queen of Zazzau provides such elements therein.

References Adeoti, G (ed) (2010) “ISALA,,Ife Studies in African Literature and the Arts”, Ile-Ife, Journal of the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University. Menegbe A.D and Emmy I.U Idegu (2016), Synergising Theatre Practice: An Introduction, Calabar, University of Calabar Press, Avraham, Oz (ed) (2000) “JTD, Journal of Theatre and Drama”, Vol.5/6, Haifa- Israel, Haifa University Studies in Theatre and Drama, Department of Theatre, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel. Chaim Shoham (ed) 1995, “JTD, Journal of Theatre and Drama”, Haifa- Israel, Haifa University Studies in Theatre and Drama, Department of Theatre, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel. Embu, Reuben & Idoko O. Festus (2019) Issues and Themes in Emmy Ikanaba Unuja Idegu’s Oeuvre, Jos, Jos University Press. Idegu, E (2004) “Between Globalisation and Identity Promotion: An Appraisal of Select Nigerian Theatre Practices” Unpublished PhD Dissertation submitted to the Department of English and Drama, Ahmadu Bello University, Idegu, E. (ed) (2009), Feminist Aesthetics and Dramaturgy of Irene Salami-Agunloye, Jos, A Publication of the Department of Theatre and Film Arts, University of Jos. Irene Salami-Agunloye (ed) 2006, Women, Theatre and Politics Contemporary Perspectives, Ibadan, SANIEZ Publishers Langevin, R (et al) (eds) (1990) Handbook of Sexual Assault; Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender, New York: Plenum press. Marshall, D.R (et al) (eds) (1990), Handbook of Sexual Assault; Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender, New York, Plenum press. Money J. (1990) Forensic Sexology: Paraphitic Serial Rape (Biasrophilia and Lust murder (Erotophonophilia). American Journal of Psychotherapy. Okwori (ed) (2004:143. Nigerian Theatre Journal, Abuja, A Publication of the Society of Nigerian Theatre Artistes Tess Onwueme Women:Osofisan’s New Hero for Modern Nigeria Drama in Hagher Harry (ed) Nigeria Theatre Journal, Vol. 2 No 1, 1988 Tomoloju, B. (2005), Aminatu Queen of Zauzau, Lagos, Orbit Multimedia Publishing Ltd.

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Tunde Babawale (ed) 2011, “Journal of Black and African Arts and Civilisation”, Vol 5,No 1, Lagos, A Publication of the centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization CBAAC Yerima, A. (2005:58), Ameh Oboni The Great, Ibadan, Kraft Books Limited, Yerima (2003) April, 03 In an interview with the writer WEBLIOGRAPHY http://oxforddictionaries.com http://gray.intrasun.tcnj.edu http://www.mamiwata.com/news.html. hhp://en m.wikipedia.or www.forenscpsychriaty.ca/.../sadism.htm

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