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By Oluseye Ojo
As the world celebrated World Environment Day on June 5th, the University of Ibadan in Nigeria took the observance to a whole new level.
In a creative and impactful display, the university’s Department of Theatre Arts staged a powerful production that not only entertained audiences but also delivered a crucial message about environmental conservation.
The play, titled: “Mammy Water’s Wedding,” was adapted from a book by renowned Nigerian playwright, Prof Bode Sowande.
Directed by a lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts, Olanike Bennett Onimisi, the production brought together students, faculty, government officials, and the local community to shed light on the pressing issue of waste management and its devastating impact on the ecosystem.
At first glance, Mammy Water’s Wedding astounds viewers with its magnificent beauty and grandeur. The installation showcases a vibrant underwater world, adorned with coral reefs, marine flora, and fauna.
Towering above this aquatic utopia is the majestic Mammy Water, a mythical goddess of water resources and protector of the environment, donned in a magnificent wedding-like outfit.
The symbolism is unmistakable and it symbolises a visual representation of the harmony and preservation of the delicate ecosystems. The thrust of the celebration was to address the alarming problem of indiscriminate solid waste disposal, particularly into rivers, which disrupts the natural balance of the environment.
Mammy Water’s Wedding prompts all and sundry to reflect on the adverse effects of their actions on the environment.
In the play, the installation depicts the fragility and delicacy of the planet’s ecosystems. The vibrant coral reefs and marine life represented in the artwork are viewed as a poignant reminder of the alarming rate at which the treasures are disappearing due to human activities.
Onimisi, who teaches education drama and children’s theatre, explained the rationale behind choosing this particular play: “I saw the book, Mammy Water’s Wedding on the shelf. I know of the play. I have always been an actor for Bode Sowande. When I was a student, I used to be part of the productions. I initially thought how the students would be able to act the play, even to do something tangible with it.”
The decision proved to be a wise one, as the play not only entertained but also sparked crucial conversations about environmental justice and sustainability – themes that deeply resonate with the recurring challenges faced in the region, such as flooding.
But the production’s impact went beyond the stage. The creative team took an innovative approach to set design and stage properties, repurposing over 10,000 discarded plastic bottles.
The demonstration of creative recycling would probably lead to reduction of wastes and woumd also serve as a powerful visual statement about the need for sustainable waste management practices.
“Of all things that pollute the land, plastic wastes are the most notorious because plastic doesn’t generate. They don’t break down. They don’t decay. So, for millions of years, you will always find plastic,” Onimisi explained.
“We did not want to push out the message of the play alone, but also the visuals on what the audience see. Then, we started collecting plastics bottles. We want sanity in the waste disposal methods. We want a situation, whereby everyone of us would say: ‘I will be responsible for how I dispose my wastes.”
The production’s innovative approach was not lost on the government officials who attended the event. The Commissioner for Environment in Oyo State, Abdulmojeed Mogbonjubola, sent a high-powered delegation to the event, which underscored the importance of the university’s efforts.
The Director of Environmental Health Services, Oyo State Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Bukola Areo, who represented the Commissioner, addressed the attending students during a pre-performance workshop.
She urged the pupils to become ambassadors of a clean and healthy environment, emphasising the importance of proper waste disposal, maintaining free-flowing drainage systems, and supporting tree-planting initiatives.
The play itself was a powerful exploration of the consequences of poor waste management. A character named Adagunodo, who made his fortune by collecting and dumping waste in the lagoon, was the embodiment of the greed and ignorance that often fuels environmental degradation. His actions disrupted the natural habitats of aquatic life, leading to the death and floating of fish along the river’s edges.
Professor Bode Sowande, the original author of the book, was present at the event and shared his insights on the play’s themes. “The dirt that we are talking about, once you feed it into waste management, then you will have a complete balanced environment. What we have today is due to poor waste management. In fact, people throw wastes into water channels and so on,” he said.
Sowande also drew attention to the importance of understanding the interconnectedness of the natural elements, such as water and earth, and how mismanagement of one can disrupt the delicate balance of the entire ecosystem.
“There is also the compatibility of elements; how water can be seen as being robustly compatible with the earth. If you don’t management your wastes, it appears as if there is no compatibility, whereas there is,” he explained. The playwright’s words resonated deeply with the audience, many of whom were already grappling with the environmental challenges facing their communities.
The play’s message also struck a chord, particularly in the context of Lagos, the coastal megacity that has struggled with waste management for decades.
“Just think about that,” Sowande continued. “Then, Lagos has a very small space created by the earth. The bigger space is aquatic. We give ourselves a lot of discomfort by squeezing ourselves to narrow space for the traffic flow, while the vast aquatic space is there wasting. I am talking about transportation now.”
The performance of “Mammy Water’s Wedding” was not just a one-time event; it was part of a larger initiative that spanned several days.
The production opened on June 4th and ran until June 8th, with the June 5th World Environment Day serving as the “Command Performance.” On June 6th, the production hosted a special workshop for public and private high school students, facilitated by The Waste Museum Africa and Walton Arts.
The 100-level students from the Department of Theatre Arts also played a vital role in the initiative, working under the supervision of The Waste Museum Africa. They successfully completed the cycle of the discarded plastic bottles, repurposing them to build a gazebo for the department.
“About 3,000 bottles have been repurposed to make the gazebo at the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan. The remaining will be sent out for recycling,” Onimisi proudly announced.
The University of Ibadan’s World Environment Day celebration was more than just a theatrical performance; it was a holistic, multifaceted initiative that engaged the entire community in a crucial conversation about environmental sustainability.
By combining the power of art, education, and hands-on action, the university has set a new standard for how institutions can leverage their resources to drive meaningful change.
As the curtain fell on “Mammy Water’s Wedding,” the audience left with a renewed sense of responsibility and a deeper understanding of the vital role they play in preserving the delicate balance of the shared environment.
Onimisi stated further: “It is a play that stirs public consciousness on the critical needs for environmental conservation. Environmental health is human health. The quality of our environment determines the quality of our lives as human beings. If the air is polluted, the land is polluted, the water is polluted, we ingest all those things to different parts of our body. So, it determines how we live as human beings.
“I considered the play as one that can make an impact on the World Environmental Day, which is every June 5.”
