Addressing Restiveness through Theatre-for-Development: the Gbuji Paradigm

Abstract

The government’s failure to pay ample concern to the educational sector in Nigeria, particularly tertiary education is becoming greatly alarming and the consequent industrial disharmony between the government and the university lecturers leave the students in a quandary. Consequently, the problem of this research is anchored on the search for appropriate means of addressing the issue of industrial disharmony in Nigeria especially between ASUU and FGN. It was aimed at addressing the issue of industrial disharmony in Nigeria especially between ASUU and FGN using “Gbuji” Theatre-for-Development (TfD) workshop experience. Hence, it encouraged collective participation in decision making with the use of “Gbuji” production workshop, as the realities of the state of Nigerian universities are pressing demands for all hands to be on deck in order to get it redeemed. The study interrogated the use of strike actions by ASUU in confronting the Federal Government of Nigeria on issues that affect the Ivory Tower. It adopted Gene Sharp’s “Theory of Power” (the theory and principle of Non-violent action) and Paulo Freire’s “Teaching Theory” (Critical Pedagogy)”. It discovered that theatre can always be taken as an alternative means of conflict resolution, as “Gbuji” graphically demonstrated efficient and effective ways of attaining peaceful resolution between the ASUU and FGN without any blood bath or closure of the universities for a second. The research therefore recommended that henceforth Nigerian government should take the issue of funding university education seriously, as constant nose-diving of her budgetary provisions in this sphere will forever portend doom.