Description

Hamza Saidou’s My Father and My Education is a pioneering work in Cameroonian dramaturgy in English, particularly as it emerges from the country’s predominantly Francophone Far North Region. Hamza writes as a patriot who embraces Cameroon’s bilingual status. He aims at inspiring change in a society grappling with illiteracy, unwanted pregnancy, forced marriages, corruption, drug addiction, and Boko Haram terrorism.

The play falls within the domain of educational theatre, drawing from traditions like Shadrack Ambanasom’s ‘education of the deprived’ and Victor Anomah Ngu’s ‘education for life’. Its central theme is the role of responsible parenting in a child’s education, which is presented as a panacea for the community’s predicament. A key conflict in the play is between Western and indigenous Koranic education. The custodians of Islamic society reject Western education due to the trauma of slavery and colonialism, which inflicted profound injury on Muslim traditions. This conflict is ultimately resolved by community leaders and non-governmental organisations who clarify the distinctions between haram (forbidden) and halal (permissible).