Title of Book:  The Flames of Discord

Author:             Emma Chukwudifu Uzoma

Publisher:         Stephanie Bright International

Genre:               A play

Synopsis

The story is about an undergraduate, Kanene Dikenta, who is expelled from the university but refuses to tell his parents why he could not go back to school.  Instead he begins to mingle with the youths of his village. His village has oil which is harnessed by some oil companies.  Unfortunately,  the people of the oil rich community are living in abject poverty.  Spillages from the oil pollute the land and their river making the land infertile and the river uninhabitable for fish and other aquatic beings.  Kanene organises his clan youths to plan  on how to make demands on the oil companies in order to redeem his people from poverty.

Theme

Theme of poverty: The play shows how the entire village lives in abject poverty.  The people are poverty-stricken.   They live in huts and cannot not afford good meals. Their means of livelihood which is farming could not thrive due to land and water pollution caused by oil spillage.  Kanene’s mother, Nkorjiugo is described as having shrunken skin.  There is no electricity in the village. 

Theme of Resistance: This is the major theme of the play.  The story is being weaved around the youths’ plan to resist government’s and oil companies’ oppression.   They milk oil from the village to enrich themselves and provide social amenities in the other parts of the country but refuse to take care of the village and the villagers.

Theme of Cultism:  This is another theme identified in the play.  Kanene is expelled from school because of his cult involvement.  In fact, his mother discovers that he was called Mr Macho King because he was the head of their cult.  In their plan to meet and get the oil companies to meet their demands, Kanene suggests that the youths be subjected to take oath .  This is an indirect way of forming another cult in the village.

Setting

The story is set in a village called Ndijiuno.  This is a Nigerian story.  Ndijiuno symbolises villages in oil producing states which host crude oil which Nigeria relies on for its revenue.   But the villages that host the oil are neglected and the people suffer the consequences of oil extraction such as river and land pollution and so are poverty-stricken. The story is contemporary as such as happened in the play is also happening in some oil communities in Nigeria.

Characterisation

Kanene

A cultist:  Kanene engaged in cult activities while in school.  When he returned to the village, he also wanted to form another cult by suggesting the youths be made to swear an oath before they execute their plan.

Disillusioned:  Kanene is disillusioned by cult activities and promises.  He thinks being in cult will help him fight his oppressors.   Even as he is expelled from school, he does not learn any lesson from it.  Other people who were in cult with him were not expelled because they were children of the rich while he from a poor home with no one to speak for him was expelled.