Exploration of Moral Corruption and Yoruba Religion through Wole Soyinka's Philosophical Plays

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Wole Soyinka's dramatic works are written on Yoruba myth that respond to the changing times in Nigeria. I here present an overview of Soyinka's religious position and how this position develops in the light of his writings. The article examines Yoruba religion and how it fulfills religious and political purposes by revealing what cannot otherwise be seen and, through new formal representation, interrogates and expresses varied meanings of contemporary Nigerian political, religious, and social realities. The article aims to illustrate through a social narrative the role and function of the evils and sacrificial heroes and their affiliation with the sacred and the profane in the regions of Nigeria. The article argues that though the religious evils are subject to moral opprobrium, they are able to breach both the sacred and the profane because of their close relationship to power and money.