PERFORMANCE POET, DIKE CHUKWUMERIJE STAGES MADE IN NIGERIA

One year after it was unveiled on stage, the “Made in Nigeria” performance poetry production makes a final stop at the Merit House, Abuja on October 1 and the show’s architect, Dike Chukwumerije has revealed that the essence of the show is to highlight the fact that there really is someone called a “Nigerian”.

“From day one, the ‘Nigerian’ identity has been a hotly contest one. Even today, it is still fashionable to deny the authenticity of that identity, due to the event of 1914.

“But all socio-political identities are artificial, as every socio-political entity is a human construct. For this reason, identity is not fixed for all eternity, but evolves constantly. It is the same in Nigeria. With the constant flow of interaction, migration, inter-marriages, displacement etc., our identities are in a flux, and MADE IN NIGERIA captures this fact – that over the years it has in fact become more and more credible to refer to oneself as ‘a Nigerian’,” he said.

The show which was first performed on stage in Abuja over the Independence anniversary holidays in 2016 in Abuja has also been performed before audiences in Lagos, Benin, Enugu and Ile Ife. The upcoming show on October 1 and 2 will be the “last” leg of this tour, but certainly not the last time the show will be performed.

“We have shared experiences, histories, stories, songs, trauma, and aspirations. These things make it inaccurate today to simply refer to the country as a straightforward division into North and South, or East and West, or Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. We have become much more nuanced than that. So, yes, the show has a message. And the message is ‘though tribe and tongue may differ’ there is indeed a shared brotherhood, and sisterhood, rooted in the years we have shared as Nigerians, and the many points of convergence this has given to us.”

Dike went further to situate the importance of his show as Nigeria celebrates another Independence anniversary, against the backdrop of ethnic tensions in the country in recent months.

“We may choose to ignore our points of convergence and continue pressing down on our well know pressure points, but then that is what it would be – a choice.

This show encourages us all to make other choices – to choose empathy, love, tolerance; not to judge people based on their tribe or faith, but on who they themselves are. And this is why people should come and see this show. It is not mainstream narrative, or conventional thinking. If these things worked, they would have worked already. We clearly need new narratives. And that is what MADE IN NIGERIA is,” he said.


Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com