Once Upon An Elephant

 The play "Once Upon An Elephant" looks at the problems/issues associated with leadership in Nigeria and the African society at large. Leadership is one of the major problems that has plagued Nigeria for years due to the dictatorship that comes with it. The play shows the tendency for people wanting to take power by all means and for democracy to be restored in a dictatorial nation, it will require the collective will and effort of sane and same minded people. The play dramatizes the evils of dictatorial power and the intrigues, secrecy and by extension the diabolic dimensions often associated with it. Most times all forms of dictatorship ends suddenly and abruptly, as it is depicted in the play. But this only happened because characters like Iya Agba, Desola, Odekunle and Delani, who were tired of being hurt, came together to resist the tyrant elephant Ajanaku on the throne. SETTING OF THE PLAY The play "Once Upon an Elephant" is set in an unnamed traditional African village that has a Yoruba origin. The people in the village live simple lives with no indication of any interference of foreign culture. However, the dynamics of the setting places the play in the Nigerian and African political context and also mirrors contemporary political issues. PLOT The play is written in fourteen (14) acts and no scenes.  



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