Unveiling the Mask of Oppression and Revolutionary Aesthetics in olu Obafemi’s Naira Has No Gender

Revolutionary ideology has its aim in ensuring a social order in our dystopian society and negating the evils that are traceable to colonialism, imperialism, capitalism and neo-colonialism. Revolution is the most extreme but necessary social alternative to use when other avenues to achieve reform are exhausted. Most writers focus on the aesthetics of the art and not on how the art can drive societal relevance. This study expatiates on the view of revolution, and how Olu Obafemi uses his play text, Naira Has No Gender to reflect the aesthetics, and tendencies of revolution to sensitize his audience. Using Marxist ideology, Georg Lukacs' Reflection Model was adopted as a theoretical tool in expounding the social realities of class consciousness and struggles. The model with relevant derivatives was utilized in processing the specimen play to reflect the motivating ideology of quest for freedom in a society bedeviled by oppression and social inequality. Various African revolutionary writers have used their writings to conscientize Africans and educate them on the subject of colonialism and neocolonialism. In an ill-structured society like Nigeria and Africa as a whole, committed writers should see revolution as an instrument of change and not of violence.