INTRODUCTION

A STUDY OF CORRUPTION IN THE FABRIC OF NIGERIANS SOCIETY IN FEMI OSOFISAN'S

_"BIRTHDAYS ARE NOT FOR DYING'.

Human being has made corruption and greed as a cankerworm that they chew everyday as a food to quench their
hunger.

SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY

In Femi Osofisan's Birthdays Are Not For Dying, Kunle Aremo is heir to a large fortune at the center of which is a
business corporation. On his thirtieth birthday, he decides to assume the presidency of the company, in conformity
with his father's wishes in the latter's will. Which later led to pandemonium in the play and build the conflict of the
play.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan (born June 16, 1946), was born in the village of Erunwon, Ogun state, Nigeria, to
Ebenezer Olatokunbo Osofisan a school teacher, lay reader and church organist. Femi Osofisan or F.O., is a
Nigerian writer noted for his critique of societal problems and his use of African traditional performances and
surrealism in some of his plays. A frequent theme that his drama explore is the conflict between good and evil. He is
a didactic writer whose works seek to correct his decadent society. He has written poetry under the pseudonym
Okinba Launko.
Ọ̀ sọ́fisan, signifies that his paternal ancestors were artists and artisans who worshipped the god of beauty and
ornaments, Ọ̀ ṣọ́. Osofisan attended primary school at ife and secondary school at Government College, Ibadan. He
then attended the University of Ibadan (1966–1969), majoring in french and as part of his degree course studying
at the University of Dakar for a year, and going on to do post-graduate studies at the Sorbonne, Paris. He
subsequently held faculty positions at the University of ibadan, where he retired as full professor in 2011. He is
currently a Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts, Kwara State University, Nigeria. He has produced more than 50
plays.

THEMATIC PREOCCUPATION
The main theme of the play is:
_Theme Of Greed: this shows the upper crust of the ruling class in our society. Except Councillor Lekan Bamgbade,
each Board member is actively involved in siphoning into his personal account huge sums of company money
without the others knowing it. Honourable Fakunle fleeces the company of five thousand naira every week through
Odedare Enterprises. Chief Siminiy set up Ireti Stores five years ago for Feyisope, his mistress, probably with
company funds.
In the other hand Even marriages are contracted as a strategy for financial advancement by the parents, as in the
case of Kunle and Bosede Aremo. We witness the duplicity, the fickleness, the ostentation, and arrogance, all of
which thinly veil the greed of this class.
Nevertheless, Kunle is a calculating, greedy and ambitious young man. For two years, he had full proof of the wife's
infidelity which he tucked neatly into a drawer in his bedroom. He agonizes over it but he could not raise the issue
for fear of displeasing his father. Apparently Kunle was aware of the text of the father's will, the of which is
contingent upon his marriage to Bosede. Kunle tells us: He wanted to keep his words to an old friend. I was the
sacrificial lamb. I obeyed him because he was my father. I swallowed my pride. But all that is over now! Today is
for the burying of ghosts (p. 20).

GENRE OF THE PLAY

The play is a satirical play. A satirical play is a play written with the purpose of using humor or irony in order to
point out a human folly or an issue of ignorance in society. Satires can even ridicule or lampoon a specific person,
location, or country.
 Femi Osofisan's 'Birthdays Are Not For Dying' is a play that shows what is going on in our society. It shows the
depiction of the crave for wealth, greed and the oppression of the poor. in the society. As the rich one can do
anything to keep making more wealth.

ANALYSIS OF THE TOPIC

A STUDY OF CORRUPTION IN THE FABRIC OF NIGERIANS SOCIETY IN FEMI OSOFISAN'S
_"BIRTHDAYS ARE NOT FOR DYING'.

We define corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Corruption erodes trust, weakens
democracy, hampers economic development and further exacerbates inequality, poverty, social division and the
environmental crisis.
Corruption can be defined and categorized in different ways. The most common types or categories of corruption
are:
_Supply versus demand corruption,
_Grand versus petty corruption,
_Conventional versus unconventional corruption and
_Public versus private corruption.
The type of corruption category that is employed in this play 'Birthdays Are Not For Dying' is Public versus Private
corruption.
Public corruption involves a public official (whether domestic or foreign) as one party to the corrupt act, whereas
private corruption involves only individuals in the private sector (which is why it is sometimes called “private-to-
private corruption”).
It is private because everything happen in private not a public one. Everything that happened revolve around the
company of the late kunle's father.

Osofisan further pursues the issue of corruption in Birthdays are not for Dying (1990). His concern in this play is the
depiction of the craze for wealth, greed and the oppression of the poor. Kunle the focus in the play insists on
enforcing his father's will that empowers him to take over the leadership of his father's company on his thirtieth
birthday.

Mother warns him to give up the company matter because those who killed his father are very much around to do
the same to him too. To Kunle, mama is old fashioned. He is in a new world. Kunle thus concludes arrangement to
take over the company. All the necessary papers have been signed. There are oppositions especially from Major
Ajaka who insists that Kunle being a baby is incapable of taking over the company. The removal of Major Ajaka
from the Board of the company by Kunle worsens the situation. Even though Kunle receives many gifts on the
anniversary of his birthday, the celebration ends up in tragedy.
RELATING THE PLAY TEXT TO ONE OF THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN NIGERIA
The Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) was one of the major political parties that contested elections in the Nigerian
Second Republic. The party was made up of three major groups: the Lagos Progressives, Club 19, and the Nigerian
Council of Understanding. The Lagos progressives included some Lagos based NCNC politicians such as
Adeniran Ogunsanya, T.O.S. Benson and Kola Balogun. The National Council of understanding was led by Waziri
while Club 19 had Matthew Mbu, Solomon Lar, Omo Omoruyi, Paul Unongo, Antonio Fernandez and others as
members.

Though the party was formed to create a national outlook, the exit of Waziri Ibrahim, led to an erosion of politics
without borders. Waziri's exit was precipitated because he wanted to be the chairman and also the presidential
candidate of the party. The party later came to be seen as an eastern Nigerian party, though it had scores of support
in Plateau State, Rivers State and Lagos. The party tried to promote social justice and social change as vital
ingredients of its mission. In 1979, the party chose former president Nnamdi Azikiwe as its presidential candidate.
Waziri Ibrahim later go ahead to form another group that was led by him GNPP. Great Nigeria People's Party.