International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2.

(Special Edition); December, 2019

Terrorism and Depression: A Psychological Reading of the Female Characters in

Ahmed Yerima’s Pari
By
Abiola Olubunmi Adumati
Department of Performing Arts
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko
Ondo State, Nigeria
Email: [email protected]

Abstract
The Nigerian society is ravaged by plethora of terrorists’ activities which have posed
threats to properties and human lives, especially those of women. Although, the federal
government of Nigeria and non-governmental organizations alike are embarking on a ‘No to
Terrorism Campaigns’, however, there seems to be no solution to the dreadful issue. It is on
this premise that this paper analyzed Ahmed Yerima’s Pari and psychoanalytically examined
the female characters in the play to justify the fact that women are mostly the victims of
terrorism. Hence, the paper explored Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis which
relates to the mind, instincts and sexuality and is based on the hypothesis that human behavior
is driven by unconscious process. The study discovered in the process of research that
terrorism is one of the causes of depression in women in Northern Nigeria, and in fact, all
over the world. Thus, the paper recommended that dramatists should join forces with the
federal government in their quest for lasting solution to terrorism and violence in Nigeria,
Africa and the world at large while the government should endeavor to provide security for
the citizens.

Introduction
The word ‘terrorism’ is derived from the Latin and French words – ‘terrere’ and
‘terrorisme’ which mean to ‘scare or terrify’ and ‘a state ruled by terror’ respectively. It is
an act of killing, threatening and attacking governments, private business and innocent
citizens; and also creating terror and fear among people. Romaniuk (2016, p. 279) describes
terrorism as a “state of terror”, he also provides a brief background information on the
evolution of the term “terrorist” and “terrorism when he avers that it originated during the

French Revolution of the late 18th century, it became popular in 1983 after the
Beirut barracks bombings in the United State of America during the presidency
of Ronald Reagan. It later gained more popularity after the 2001 September 11
attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the same United State of
America. The United State “response to 9/11 gave significant prominence to
multilateralism and also engendered consensus, (Romaniuk, 2016, pp. 283-
284).

Although, the 11th of September 2001 terrorist attack in the United State of America
popularized the act of terrorism worldwide, it has always been in existence globally. Alao
and Atere (2012, p. 1) assert this succinctly that “terrorism is globally becoming a household
word as there is no nation that is completely absolved from its effects.” Little wonder the
news of terrorists’ activities besmear the social, print and screen media on daily basis.

- 133 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

Terrorism does not only imply an attack by a religious sect against another, or against
a community to submit to their religious or philosophical belief, it also implies the killing
and maiming of innocent people in a war situation or in an unrest and chaotic environment.
Some causes for which terrorists fight include poverty, government negligence towards the
development of the nation, religious intolerance, insecurity and on. For example, Leon
Trotsky, a communist leader during the Russian Revolution, “justified the use of terror by
the Red Army as a necessary evil to promote the worldwide cause of workers and as a
response to the military actions of counter revolutionaries and Western powers.” (retrieved
from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-20/what-is-terrorism-and-is-it-
getting-worse). The irony of these hideous and repugnant activities is using an awkward
deadly approach to bring about their “sane society”. How does one justify this malevolence
approach as a means to getting the best from the people?

Thus, most terrorist believe they are doing the right thing by responding to a greater
wrong or promoting a greater good despite the fact that they end up damaging peoples’ lives
and properties. In fact, it is ridiculous that some terrorists are fighting for a cause they do not
understand or cannot explain. This is why Yerima (2007, p. 18) avows that “most of ‘killers’
and ‘destroyers’…feel they have been wronged, but find it difficult to pinpoint who in
particular has brought on their hardships, so they allow their anger to rage and burn wildly.”
A terrorist is therefore, like a cancer or tumor in the brain of any nation which has the
tendency to cause serious psychological and mental illness such as coma, cardiac arrest,
trauma, depression and even total collapse of such nation. The Anti-Terrorism Act 20011
section 1(1) as cited in Nwaze, 2011, p. 237) describes a terrorist as a

person who knowingly does, attempts or threatens to do an act in

preparatory to or in furtherance of an act of terrorism, or omits to do
anything that is reasonably necessary to prevent an act of terrorism or
assists or facilitates the activities of persons engaged in an act of
terrorism.

Nwaze (2011, p. 238) continues by categorizing terrorist activities under the following:

i. Armed robbery
ii. Kidnapping
iii. Oil Bunkering and Sea Piracy
iv. Bombing, Murder and Assassination
v. Aircraft and Ship Hijacking
vi. Arson and Vandalisation
All these but ‘Aircraft and Ship Hijacking’ have been done by one terrorist group or another
in Nigeria.

From the pre-colonial days, Nigeria has been bedeviled by different forms of terrorist
attacks and another. The country has recorded quite a number of terrorist activities which
range from the communal clashes of the Owu-Ipole and Ife people; to Ife and Modakeke
people; to Zango and Kataff people; and so on. In fact, there have been cases where
traditional rulers terrorized their neighboring villages in order to subdue, capture and enslave
them with a view to expand their own territory and become more powerful. For many years,
the Ugbo people of Ugbonla in Ikale land of Ondo State terrorized the Ile-Ife people

- 134 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

kidnapping their men, enslaving their women and carting away their properties. They left the
people in jeopardy until Moremi, the queen of Ile-Ife intervened by allowing herself captured
by the Ugbo people. After learning their secret, she ran back to Ile-Ife and taught her people
the secret.

In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed series of kidnapping across the country, while
interreligious crises are on the increase - claiming innocent lives and vandalizing properties.
Other forms of terrorist attacks in Nigeria include the killings of the Benue farmers by Fulani
herdsmen in the middle belt, and the most worrisome of them all which is the continuous
killing and shedding of Christians’ blood by the Muslims or vice-versa is the Northern region
by a religious sect called Boko Haram. As a matter of fact, Nwaze (2011, p. 244) traced the
emergence of terrorism to “Boko Haram and the Niger-Delta Militant Groups” in Nigeria.

Onuoha (2014, p. 3) avers that the Boko Haram sect is known as “Jama’atu Ahis
Sunna Liadda’awati wal-jihad (people committed to the propagation of the prophets’
teaching and Jihad).” They are members of a religious group that are preaching against
Western education. In fact, the meaning of the two words explains it all, ‘Boko’ means ‘book’
while ‘Haram’ means ‘abomination’, these give us ‘book is evil’ or ‘book is an abomination’
– Boko Haram. Imhonopi and Urin, (2013, p. 146) describe the Boko Haram as a sect that
has

shown itself to be a radical Islamic fundamentalists organization that

opposes Western ideologies and beliefs. Built on Islamic faith, the Boko
Haram and its members project the belief that, the breakdown of law
and order, the endemic moral, social, political, and economic problems
facing the country could only be eradicated through the establishment
of an Islamic state.

Whereas, it is expected that religious houses are places to teach people peaceful coexistence
and national unity, the case seems to be different with the Boko Haram group. Ayodele
(2014, pp. 2-3) opines that “religion should serve the as the conscience of the nation, uphold
public peace and harmony, morally, social justice and liberty…however, these ideal had
remained elusive, or put differently, religion had not always played these roles flawlessly”.

Boko Haram has become a household word in the Northern region of Nigeria. Akpan
et. al. (2014) opine that

the Boko Haram Fundamentalist Islamic group is the first insurgent

organization in Nigeria to be classified as a terrorist organization by the
United States of America and its allies. Since 2009 the violence the
group has unleashed on the Nigerian State is unprecedented in the
history of insurgency in the country.

The emergence of Boko Haram is traced to the activities of some Islamic scholars in the
North-East since 1960s to 1970s. Wole Soyinka, quoted in Abdullahi (2017, pp. 56-57)
explains that one of them who was

very particular to Sheik Abubakar Gumi and Ibrahim El-Zakizaki (an

expelled student from Ahmad Bello University, (ABU) on the 14th

- 135 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

December, 1979), Zaria. Soyinka noted some of their provocative

statements against Christianity and the Nigerian state such as:
“Christianity is nothing” and “… a Christian President for Nigeria,
that will happen over my dead body” bu Gumi. In addition, El-
Zakizaki led a group of Islamic fundamentalists against Nigerian state
on the 4th of May, 1980 with the following inscription on their buses
“Damn with the Nigerian constitution, Islam only.”

Suffice to say at this juncture that the activities of Boko Haram sect and other terrorist
attacks have devastating effects on the lives and properties of their victims. As a matter of
fact, the physical effects on the surviving victims are nothing compared to the mental and
psychological damage they suffer. One of the consequences of terrorism is a mental illness
called depression. Depression is a serious medical illness that has damaging and negative
effects on its victims. (George, 2009, p, 379) avows that depression can “lead to problems
with pain, mood disorder depression, heart disease or cancer” especially in women. It has
also been confirmed that depression occurs when people experience death of loved ones, loss
of properties, rape, wars, loss of job, sickness, robbery, poverty, failure, and emotional abuse
and so on. Thus, terrorism activities are not only traumatic and depressing to the victims but
also dreadful and deadly. Sadly, the Nigerian government is yet to find a lasting solution the
scourge of terrorism in the country.

However, theatre as an art which goes beyond storytelling and entertainment plays a
pivotal role in the healing process of the traumatized and the depressed. Therefore, theatre is
a great tool in the hands of dramatists to explore in the healing process of the victims of
terrorism. In other words, theatre plays a crucial role in psychotherapy. It is on this premise
that this study examined the distressing effects of terrorism on the female characters in
Ahmed Yerima’s Pari. The study further investigated the dramatic conflicts and crises in the
consciousness of these female characters and also probed these conflicts as they develop in
the female characters’ minds, causing depression. The paper concluded by proffering
solutions to the prevalent issues of terrorism and depression in the Nigerian society and the
world at large.

Literature Review
Terrorism is a serious threat to life, properties, peace, security, stability, tranquility
and so on. According to section 1(2) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 2011, as cited in Nwaze
(2011, p. 237), an act of terrorism may

seriously damage a country or an international organization, unduly compel a

government or international organization to perform or abstain from performing
any act, seriously intimidate a population, seriously destabilize or destroy the
basic political, constitutional, economic, or social structures of a country or an
international organization or otherwise influence such organization by
intimidation or coercion and involves or causes as the case is also an attack
upon a person’s life which may cause serious bodily harm, kidnapping of a
person, destruction to government or public facility, transport system, an
infrastructural facility …

- 136 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

Considering the possible damages listed in the above quotation, there should be no
justification for any terrorist attacks, be it on ideological or religious ground. Salguero et. al.
(2011, p. 2014, retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3120744/on
the 12/11/2019) avow that “terrorist attacks are traumatic events that may result in a wide
range of psychological disorders for people exposed.” Thus, Terrorist activities are
cankerworms in the fabric of any nation that must be quickly condemned and seriously
frowned at in any sane society. This is why Ibitoye (2018, p. 616) opines that terrorism “must
be condemned, resisted, fought, and eliminated at all levels, local, regional, states and
national. Conditions necessary for wiping out terrorism must be cultivated and strengthened
at all levels.” (Retrieved from https://iasexamportal.com/mag/vol-3/article/Imapct-Of-
Terrorism on the 12/11/2019)

Sadly, women are mostly the victims of terrorist attacks because they are usually
defenseless and vulnerable. According to UNIFEM cited in Hough et al (2015, p. 52), it is
said that the “acts of violence causes more death and disability among women aged between
fifteen and forty five than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined.” The World
Health report (NIMH) www.nimh.nih.gov., also has it recorded that “depression is more
common among women than men, likely due to certain biological, hormonal, and social
factors” that are distinctive to girls. Consequently, women have the tendency to be
traumatized and depressed if they fall victims of war, terrorism, kidnapping, violence, fight
and so on. Corroboratively, the World Bank (1993) estimated that “violence was as serious
cause of death and incapacity among women of reproductive age as cancer, and a greater
cause of ill health that traffic, accidents and malaria combined” cited in (Hough et. al., 2015,
p. 52).
Depression as one of the many aftermath effects of terrorists’ activities, according to
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders have two main categories and
levels: the major depressive disorder and dysthymia and a group of other, less common types.
There are also a number of other mental ailments that can lead to depression. Aside from the
level of depression, there also exist three major stages of depression, they are listed as follow:

(i) Major Depression

(ii) Chronic Depression
(iii) Manic Depression
(iv) Psychotic Depression (retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-
mood/six-common-depression-types on the 12/11/2019)
Based on the explanation above, this paper examined the causes of depression in the
female characters of Ahmed Yerima’s Pari. The paper also examined the possible solutions
or healing for the traumatized victims of Boko Haram terrorist attacks and their relatives in
Pari, with particular reference to Pari and Ama as representatives of other women and
daughters in the play.
The study is premised on Sigmund Freud’s (1856-1939) psychoanalytic theory. This
theory is employed to examine and interrogate the female characters in Ahmed Yerima’s
Pari. Sigmund Freud, a neurologist propounded the theory of psychoanalysis in the 1890s.
He introduced what is later referred to as “structural theory” of psychoanalysis in his book,
The Ego and Id (1923). The structural theory divides the mind into three agencies or
“structures”. Ojoniyi (2012, p. 32) listed the following as are embedded in Freud’s
psychoanalytical theory of consciousness otherwise called the personality theory:

- 137 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

a. The “Id” — “The id represents the human primary process of thinking,

b. The “Ego” --- “the ego meditates between the id, the superego, and the external
world to balance man’s primitive drives, moral ideals and taboos and the
limitations of realities”;
c. The “superego”–This means over, above or higher. “The superego represents the
values, customs or theraditions (the conscience) of the society and counteracts the
id with moral and ethical implications of its demands or drives” and
d. The elements determine the behaviour of human beings in relations to their
minds. (Ojoniyi, 2012, p. 32)
These elements determine the behaviours of human beings in relations to their minds.

Psychoanalytical theory is further defined as (retrieved from

https://quizlet.com/78565948/psych-3375-chapter-14-flash-cards/ on the 13/11/2019) as the
theory of “personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that guides
psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology”. This theory recognizes that
its victims can go into mental derailment or getting out of sanity occasionally and that, they
could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus
gaining "insight". The purpose of psychoanalysis therapy is to ease repressed emotions and
experiences, that is, to make the unconscious conscious. Hence, this study examined the
characters of Pari and Ama, the two major female characters in Ahmed Yerima’s Pari in
relations to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. The study also employed textual
analysis method which was complemented with related materials such as articles, books and
journals.

Synopsis and Analysis of the Play

Ahmed Yerima’s Pari is set in Askari Uba, Northern part of Nigeria. The play is a
historical reconstruction of the tragic story of the over 200 kidnapped boarding students of
Federal Government Girls College, Chibok, Borno State of Nigeria. The story vividly
captures the distressing catastrophe of the abduction of the girls which was carried out by
some Boko Haram religious terrorists’ sect on the 14th of April, 2014.

Hylepari (Pari), the only daughter of Ama Agnes Shettima and Deacon Jacob Tada
Shettima has been kidnapped for two years. The psychological limits and endurance of Ama,
the mother of Pari are stretched after her husband- Tada impregnates and marries another
woman. The emotional ramifications of this experience become near damning as she runs
from one prayer house to another not minding the religious background of the place. The
government, according to her has not done anything about the issue except for the sharing of
displacement money to the families affected. However, Ama’s only wish is for her daughter
to come back home alive. Surprisingly, Pari is brought back home by the Local Government
Chairman, however, not as the old Pari but as a new Pari who has now become a mother and
murderer.

Theme of Terrorism and Depression in Ahmed Yerima’s Pari

Ahmed Yerima’s Pari succinctly brings to the fore the effect of insecurity in Nigeria
which comes in form of terrorism from the deadly terrorist sect called the Boko Haram. This
evil act is further aided and made possible by the governments’ negligence towards some

- 138 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

pivotal social amenities which are lacking in the country. Examples of these are: electricity,
water, good road, hospital and so on. In Pari, power outage is one of the factors that aided
the kidnapping of the girls both in reality and text. Although, the girls took their torch lights
to the dormitory to read, but their lights were not bright enough to see their kidnappers when
they gained entrance to their school. Consequently, power outage gave them the perfect
ambience and enabled them to invade and penetrate the setting of their crime without being
noticed.

Sadly, the female teenagers are left in the hostel without adequate security in place.
This makes them vulnerable to any form of threats. This is typical of many government
schools in Nigeria. Lawal (2017, p. 44) avers that the Nigerian

government is historically, always responsible fundamentally for security

challenges in Nigeria. For example, the brutal Nigerian Civil War (1967-
1970) was as a result of unnecessary rivalry between political/military powers
to manage their differences.

Apart from kidnapping in schools, people on the street and highway are also being kidnapped
almost every day in Nigeria. Thus, inadequate security in the Nigerian society is absolutely
an awful menace that needs urgent attention.

The act of terrorism in Ahmed Yerima’s Pari was also aided by religious bigotry.
The question is: why do people force other people to worship their (G)gods? There is no
justification for this domineering and evil act of religious intolerance which leads to the
infringement of people’s fundamental human rights; abduction of people; killing and
massacring of innocent lives; butchering and murdering people like animals; threats which
make people live in perpetual confusion and fear and so on.

The Effect of Terrorism on Pari’s Female Characters: A Psychoanalytical study

The experience of the kidnapped girls in Ahmed Yerima’s Pari could be traumatic
and life- threatening for anyone. Not only is the experience harrowing for the teenage girls
to bear, it is also distressing for their parents and members of the community. This changes
Ama’s life totally as she becomes angry, weak, desperate, and confused. She devises several
means of finding her kidnapped daughter. In her conversation with her husband, Tada, Ama
narrates her ordeal:

AMA: I accept it. Remember, as the elders say, play begets play, madness and
fear beget bad fear, the type that makes a woman desperate, empty … ready to
give up anything for her child. Those who took my daughter have plunged a
spear of painful fear into my soul … forever. (p. 8)

AMA: Leave me alone, let me talk. Our people say that, a dead child is better
than one that is missing. So as long as Pari ...my only seed …is out there, I am
desolate … like the cursed arid desert. (p. 8)

She also has the following conversation with Ibrahim and Tada:

AMA: … It was my daughter he kidnapped, it was my daughter he raped, and

now with a bastard twin son, it is my daughter that is returned broken. All she

- 139 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

does is stare at the shattered pieces of her life. So let me ask, I want to know
why he came back. I want to know what he wants from us. We have no money,
dignity or even pride left. When they point at us in the streets of Askarau-Uba.
They whisper … there goes the woman whose daughter was kidnapped by
hooded cursed wolves. (pp. 50-51)

Ama is described as a pious Christian woman with Agnes as her Christian name. She
holds on to her Christian faith until her daughter is kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist.
Due to her desperation, she dumps Christianity for Islam, bearing Khadijat- named after the
first wife of the Prophet. Ama doubts the Christian God because she cannot see the miracle
‘He’ promised her. She continues to wonder why God will let “two years past, with nothing
happening, not one glimpse of home” (p. 13). Talking to her husband, she queries the
Christian God by asking Him how He can sit still and watch her daughter plundered. She
goes: “How can I be patient when your God is watches my daughter roams the forest, hungry
like an orphan? How can?” (pp. 13-14).

Ama believes that converting to Islam will make Allah (SWT) respond to her prayers
and release her daughter from the bondage of the terrorists. She thinks it is wise to convert
to Islam so as to know why Allah allows his followers to be callous to the point of kidnapping
and killing innocent people. In her words, she says “I want to know the language your god
understands…when he sleeps…what he eats. I just want to know what humanity they stand
for…” (p. 9). She just wants to find her daughter. However, her depressed mind fails her as
she quickly yields to the advice of her friend, Kwacheche who introduces her to the priest of
the mirror god, Shagu the seer. This explains Ama’s desperation to finding her only child
that is lost. In one of her lines, she declares that

AMA: … from now on, I swear by Allah, this is what I want to do. I believe it
is the right thing to do. If you take what is mine forcefully, and claim that it is
right in the sight of a god … your god ... and you get away with it, then I want
to know why? I want to know what language your god understands … when he
sleeps … what he eats. I just want to know what humanity they stand for. (Close
to tears.) I just want to know, Jacob. Am I wrong, Husband? Am I in the wrong?
(p. 9)

Ama as a strong woman holds on to the belief that her kidnapped daughter will arrive
someday. Although, her husband accepts their fate and moves on by impregnating another
woman, Ama holds on still. The negligence of the Government towards insecurity and
violence in the play contributes to Ama’s trauma, however, she feels traumatized and
depressed more by the recklessness and insensitivity of Tada towards her feelings. Tada
torments his poor wife not only by impregnating Jiga but also spending the displacement
money from the local government on his concubine and burukutu palmwine drink. Ama also
blames her in-laws for advising her husband to sleep with his concubine, Jiga who is now
pregnant.

Pari, the daughter of Ama and Tada is another character who goes through a chronic
type of depression. The WHO cited in Albert (2015, p. 219) describes major depression as a
“chronic illness with a high prevalence and is a major component of disease burden… major
depression is growing in overall disease burden by 2030, and it is already the leading cause

- 140 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

in women worldwide.” Having been kidnapped, beaten, married off and raped, her soul is
psychologically tormented by depression and shock. Like her mother, Pari is an ardent
Christian; however, her faith fails when she is raped by Ibrahim, one of the Boko Haram
members at the Sambisa forest where she and other kidnapped teenagers are camped. She
expresses her ordeals in the lines below:

PARI: I was saved by the cross for a long while until God got tired of looking
after me. He must have walked away to tend the souls of our dead friends
when it happened. I was like the lone cactus in the desert of death (p. 36)

Pari is highly disappointed in the Christian God, and since the terrorists forced them (she and
the other girls) to deny their faith, she decides to convert to Islam. Along the line, Pari and
Ibrahim get along and she gives her heart to him.

Pari could have taken her own life so she could stop fighting. However, she continues
struggling, believing and trusting the cross that it will deliver her from the custody of Boko
Haram. Haven gone through all life’s hurdles at her tender age, Pari becomes depressed. This
is evident in the play when she is delivered of a set of twins – a boy and a girl, but could not
handle the fears that the girls could be kidnapped and raped like her, that she could go through
the same experiences as she, her mother. Thus, Pari thought of killing the girl so she would
not have to face the traumatic experience as her. She strangles the baby to death and had her
buried all by herself. This is a sign of psychological and mental disorder, a sign of chronic
depression - having to kill someone because of the fear of the unknown, the future. Pari
eventually arrives home, but with extreme and chronic depression, this makes Ama, her
mother worried. She complains that perhaps it was wrong for her and her husband to have
prayed to God to bring her back as she now appears like a shadow of her previous self.

Healing for the Traumatized and Depressed in Ahmed Yerima’s Pari

Ama and Pari find themselves in the realm of psychological violence which is
described as the “injury or harm done to the human psyche” (Irele, 1993, p. 5). In her
traumatic state, Pari’s heart yearns for only one person, the man who understands her -
Ibrahim one of her captors who eventually becomes her lover. Pari’s decision to follow
Ibrahim despite his condition, her preference for him over her parents, over their warm and
comfortable home - a place where they are ready to show her endless love is bewildering.
However, that seems to be the appropriate way for the playwright to provide healing for her
depressed mind.

Ama wonders why Pari would choose Ibrahim, one of the terrorists and who once
raped her over her and her father. She wonders why she would not love to stay with her- her
mother who has missed her for good two years. She is more confused when she realizes that
there is nothing else to do than to allow her follow her mind, to follow the love of her life.
That is what she needs to get her healing. In Psychoanalysis, it is said that a victim of
depression needs love to get healing.

Ahmed Yerima also creates relief for Pari through the woman that help her to escape
at the refugee camp, he further helps her by allowing the Local Government Chairman and
his team member to locate her and take her home to her parents. It is also believed that Pari’s
emotional and psychological attachment to Ibrahim makes the playwright allow her to follow

- 141 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

him at the end of the play. Psychologists have argued that traumatized and depressed patients
need love to heal. Ibrahim therefore, is planted in the last scene of the play to play the healing
balm to Pari. The dramatic devices used by the playwright therefore, are the coming back of
Ibrahim to be therapeutic for Pari who has been attached to her by marriage, sexual
intercourse and the child. Ama also gets her own relief and healing from the fact that her
child returns home, even with a baby. Although, she is angry with Ibrahim but she decides
to let her daughter go with him if that is what she needs for her healing.

CONCLUSION
This study examined the plights of women and girls in Nigeria, Africa and the world
at large in the face of terrorism using the characters of Ama and Tada in Ahmed Yerima’s
Pari as representatives. The paper has also been able to point out the act of terrorism as one
of the factors that lead to depression in women. The study also interrogated the root causative
factors of terrorism, the need to strengthen local capacity and to counter terrorism in the
Nigerian space. In this paper, we were also able to proof that by the biological and
psychological construction of the female gender, she is prone to trauma, depression and other
psychological ailments in the time of distressing situation than the male folks. The research
work is also able to prove the significance role of the theatre in the therapeutic treatment of
depression and other mental disorders that are caused by any form of trauma or threat such
as war or terrorist attacks. The study therefore, recommends that war, violence, bombing,
kidnapping, and terrorism should be avoided if there must be a sane society and healthy
people.

RECOMMENDATIONS
This paper recommends the following:

i. that theatre arts should be explored by medical practitioners in the African health
sectors and the Government for collaboration towards the protection, security and
healing of victims of depression and trauma;
ii. that playwrights should seek lasting solution to terrorism and violence in Nigeria,
Africa and the world at large through their art;
iii. and that, the government should provide security for the citizens and ensure that
every child (girl-child) has access to education early enough so that they can be
occupied positively in future rather than becoming terrorists;
iv. Nigerian Government should join forces with other nations of the world in
declaring a war against terrorism and direct meaningful resources toward ending
terrorism in the country and beyond; and
v. that war, violence, forcefulness, intimidation, radicalism, extremism, bombing,
kidnapping, assassination, terrorism, sabotage, bullying and so on should be
avoided in order to develop a sane society with healthy people both male and
female.

References
Akpan, F. Ekanem, O. Adeoye, A. Boko Haram Insurgency and the counter-terrorism policy
in Nigeria’ Canadia social sciences Vol. 10 No. 2, Retreived from
http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/css/article/view/4259 on 11/10/2019

- 142 -
International Journal of Humanitatis Theoreticus. Vol. 2. (Special Edition); December, 2019

Alao, D. O. and Aterem, C. O. (2012). Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria: The challenges
and lessons. Singaporean journal of business economics, and management studies 1(2): 1-
15
Albert, P. R. (2015). Why is depression more prevalent in women? Journal of Psychiatry 40
(4). Pp. 219-221
Ayodele, C. O. (2014). The jihad in Hausaland and Borno. Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Hough, P. et al (2015). International security studies: Theory and practice. Routledge,

Taylor and Francis Group. London
Imhnopi, D. and Urim, U. M. (2012). Sociology, culture and social problems: Essays and
insights. Institute of Communication and Entrepreneurship Development. Lagos, Nigeria.

Irele, D. (1993). The violated universe: Faron and Ghandi on violence Ibadan. Critical
Forum: Ibadan
Lawal, A. (2015). Nollywood and the question of insecurity in State of Emergency. A Journal
of the society for Nigeria theatre artists. Vol 15. (ed) SONTA. Akoh A. D.

Nwaze, C. (2011). Corruption in Nigeria exposed…with cases, scams, laws and preventive
measures. Control and Surveillance Associates: Lagos, Nigeria

Ojoniyi, B. (2012). Ä comparative study of the crisis of consciousness in selected plays of

Zulu Sofola and Ahmed Yerima”. An Unpublished Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Department
of the Performing Arts, University of Ilorin. August.

Onuoha, F. (2014) “Why do youths join Boko Haram?” United States Institute of Peace
Special Reports. Retrieved on the 15/10/2019 from http://usip.org/.../default/files/SR348
why.do.youth.join.Boko.Haram.pdf,

Parveen. A. and Yasmin, S. (2016). A psychoanalytic study of Okonkwo by Chinua Achebe

and Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Imperial journal of interdisciplinary research. IJIR.

Vol 2. Issue 9. ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

Romanuik, P, (2016). Responding to terrorism. The UN Security Council in the 21st Century.

Salguero, J. et. Al. (2011). Major depressive disorder following terrorist attacks: A
systematic review of prevalence, course and correlates. (Retrieved
fromhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3120744/on the 12/11/2019)

Sebastian Vol Einsiedel, David. Malone, Bruno Stagno Ugarte

Yerima, A. (2016) Pari. Kraftgriots, Kraft Books Limited. Ibadan.

- 143 -