Iyorwuese Hagher is a professor of theater and drama and former chair of the Department of Theater and Communications Arts at the University of Jos. A scholar, diplomat, and activist, he was Nigeria’s ambassador to Mexico, the high commissioner to Canada, and a former Nigerian senator and minister. He is also a playwright, poet, and the founder and head of the African Leadership Institute in Dayton, Ohio.
Professor Hagher reveals and analyses these theatrical performances with keen insight and deep knowledge. A wonderful addition to the literature on African masquerade and theater. -- Herbert Skip Cole, author of Ideals and power in the Art of Africa This book is an occasion for anyone who cares about theater, scholarship, and cultural survival. -- Don Rubin, York University, Toronto, editor of the six-volume World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theater Hagher's trenchant defence of the Kwagh-hir's collective capacity for community well-being and social change makes this study important and highly significant for practitioners of applied theater in the globalized twenty-first century. -- Michael Etherton, author of The Development of African Drama and author with James Reed of Chikwakwa Remembered: Theater and Politics in Zambia 1968-1972 The authenticity of this book is the result of a combination of lived experience and rigorous research that has spanned over three decades. It is a unique book that will continue to be an asset to scholars and students of culture, and especially for those who want to understand the interface between culture, voice and change. -- Oga Steve Abah, professor of theater and culture for development, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria