ART AS A MEANS OF CHANGE IN THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT:“IGBARA NKITI” AS A MEDIUM OF ANALYTICAL CHANGE.

Art forms like music, poetry, drama and paintings are very useful instruments of aesthetics, communication, relaxation and sociopolitical change in the society. The relationship between art and politics is multidimensional and varied. Art can be quite intrusive and disruptive, yet providing basis for political discourse. Art can address some political questions or reinterpret various social structures by adopting specific genre of music or drama to reveal different power balances or inequities in the society, offering alternative considerations of certain events. The musical piece titled “Igbara nkiti” has been showcased as a typical example of how music and drama have been used to express the dissatisfaction of the people to the adverse socioeconomic and political situation in the country. There is the need to come to terms with the fact that art, in all its forms, has a voice in the political development of any country. Igbara nkiti is therefore, seen as a call to participatory politics. The effect of the song evoked and stirred up the emotions of the writer have been established as well as the use of the dramatic gestures and sounds to enhance meaning. Subsequently, the musical piece was used as comparison to a painting, which served the same purpose as a means of communicating adverse political situation. These various art forms, apart from entertainment, are intended to be political instruments of change.