SATIRE IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN DRAMA: A CASE STUDY OF HARVEST OF CORRUPTION BY FRANK OGODO OGBECHE AND DEATH AND THE KING'S HORSEMAN BY WOLE SOYINKA

In this present world, many follies are in existence. Literature, however, is one of the ways in which the follies present in our respective worlds can be overturned. One of those ways is through the use of Satire. Satire, being a form in art or writing which ridicules either a person, government, or an institution, often through the use of humour. This project investigates satire in contemporary African Drama, using Franck Ogodo Ogbeche’s Harvest of Corruption and Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman. The research design adopted for this research work was descriptive research. The population of the study involved all the dramatic works of the two playwrights. Four (4) research questions were formulated to guide the study. A detailed literary analysis of both texts were conducted to identify the significant messages of the two (2) texts. The findings revealed that literature is an effective weapon for shaping the conditions, awareness of the people as well as a way to bring back right behaviours, as corruption and other follies have permeated our immediate environment. The study also revealed that satire is a vital weapon through which the ills of the society are exposed. Nonetheless, the study also identified challenges that need to be addressed in order to sustain and succeed in the implementation of satire as a revolting medium of significant change in our society. It was therefore recommended amongst others that individuals have to take themselves up as models of significant change, only through that way can the society collectively thrive and develop.