Alienation and Loss of Identity in Cameroon Anglophone Drama: The Convergence of History and Politics in Bate Besong's Change Waka and his Man Sawa Boy
Ekpebisong George Otu1,Ekangaki Tabe2,Bisong Clara B.A, Mbuoben3
Citation : Alienation and Loss of Identity in Cameroon Anglophone Drama: The Convergence of History and Politics in Bate Besong's Change Waka and his Man Sawa Boy 2018 , 4(1) : 81-89
Literature as an expression of society cannot ignore the sociological forces of its society. Such sociological forces include socio-political, economic as well as cultural forces. Anglophone Cameroon literature has been conditioned by such forces, as well as, its history which dates back to 1961 following the re-unification of the two Cameroons to form one nation with different cultural and historical leanings. These has over time, given way for the dominant culture to alienate and become repressive to the less dominant one with the resultant consequence of loss of identity. Exploring the concepts of alienation and identity in the play Change Waka and His man Sawa Boy opens up the internal complexities and contradictions inherent in contemporary Cameroon society today, especially with regards to the selection of its leaders through the electioneering process. Using the lens of the playwright, the paper argues that political alienation in Cameroon is traced to historical roots of the two entities that re-unified in 1961 and that political exclusion in any society is dangerous to its progress, development and national cohesion. Hence, any society that plays pranks with its manner for selecting leaders can easily destroy the collective destiny of a people. The artistic horizon of Be song as a writer bears links with the future which makes the play to swing on the dynamism of time.