HISTORY AS A TEXT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF OLA ROTIMI’S OVONRAMWEN NOGBAISI AND AHMED YERIMA’S THE TRIAL OF OBA OVONRAMWEN

This study conducted a comparative analysis of Ola Rotimi’s Ovonramwen Nogbaisi and Ahmed Yerima’s The Trial of Oba Ovonramwen, focusing on their representation of Oba Ovonramwen and the fall of the Benin Kingdom. Although both plays depicted the same historical events, they presented different interpretations influenced by the playwrights' narrative choices and socio-political contexts. The study examined how each playwright reconstructed historical realities and the implications of these portrayals on historical memory and postcolonial identity. A descriptive qualitative research method was adopted, with textual analysis as the primary approach. The analysis revealed that Rotimi emphasized resistance and precolonial grandeur, while Yerima focused on the psychological trauma and aftermath of colonial conquest. Findings showed that both playwrights engaged with postcolonial discourse, challenging colonial narratives and offering alternative perspectives on Nigerian history. The study contributed to the understanding of how literature served as a tool for historical reconstruction and identity formation in postcolonial Africa.