Violative Representamina in Frank Ogodo Ogbeche’s Harvest of Corruption

Abstract

Nigerian literature has, over the years, reflected different aspects of the law. Existing studies on the law in Nigerian literary scholarship have focused on morality, crime and punishment, with little attention given to socio-political failings, and representamina (words and actions) which are agents contributing to violations of the law. Hence, this study examines the literary representations of contravention of law in Frank Ogodo Ogbeche’s Harvest of Corruption. This study applies aspects of the Postmodernist and Peircean Semiotic theories to account for characters’ defiant words and actions which breach the law. In the text, most of the characters subvert, and defamiliarise actions governed by law through their words and actions and often suffer quandary and paranoia in expressing fears of the unknown. With their naive followership, these common characters become victims of the depraved oligarchy. Elitist characters whose duty it is to ordinarily make laws, interpret them and enforce them are presented as agents of the contravention of the law. They break the law with impunity and lure innocent characters like Aloho to follow in their deviant footsteps. Through his use of satire, the playwright foregrounds this misdemeanour, advocates obedience to the law and cautions against iconoclastic attitudes which are capable of compromising the rule of law.