Title:   THE ENLIGHTENED GUILE: EXPLORING THE POTENTIALS OF DISGUISE/IMITATION INSECURITY SURVEILLANCE AND MANAGEMENT THROUGH THE LENS OF TWO SELECTED AFRICAN PLAYS

Abstract
The issue of security and the challenges associated with it in Nigeria especially in the
contemporary times is rather alarming and the impact quite devastating. This study examines the
relevance and the surreptitious utility of the art of the theatre in security management. The
dynamics of theatre have gone beyond the trendy teaching method which includes medical
therapy, entertainment and other nominal relevancies, to incorporate emerging trends in the likes
of application of element of disguise and imitation in security surveillance and management which
is latent and surreptitious in nature. The above-mentioned areas of discovery have been assumed
by many to be the limit of the relevance of theatre to the society, but beyond all these functions,
theatre has broken new grounds in its services to humanity especially in the area of security
operations in the 21st Century through the infusion of disguise and imitation. Over the years, this
theatrical method has been successfully applied in different security operations, but has not been
accorded its due recognition as an academic discipline. The aim of this study therefore, is to
suggest that Theatre Arts should be adopted as one of the prerequisite studies necessary for
employment of security personnel with a view to boost security surveillance and management in
Nigeria. The study adopts the theory of Enlightened Guile as a framework for the study, using
Ngugi WaThiong’O’s play The Trial of Dedan Kimathi and Femi Osofisan’sMorountodun. The
study concludes that security challenges in Nigeria could be brought to the barest minimum with
the incorporation of security personnel with at least certificate study in Theatre Arts.
Keywords: Enlightened Guile, Theatre, Security, Surveillance, Potent, Morountodun.

Citations:

Publication Date: 2021-07-09