Interrogating Okose’s The Blood on Our Hands

The Blood on Our Hands by Nnamdi Okose is a tragic tale of love set against the perennial religious crisis between Christians and Muslims in Jos. It is a tragicomedy written in the context of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, depicting the deep-seated hatred between the families of Alhaji Idris and Chief Okafor whose children Sani and Amara are entangled in the web of love that leads to their death.

The depiction of uncommon love between the children of two opposing aristocrats attempts to problematise the dysfunctional state of the social relations and polarisation occasioned by religious bigotry, which often leads to disintegration. Whereas love serves as a unifying force, hatred fosters enmity and anarchy as succinctly x-rayed by the text. The play presupposes that hatred and crisis only lead to more pain and loss for the warring parties.

The above premise summarises the crux of Okose’s play, which is written in a simple style with lacerating messages for the larger society to learn from. The play suggests that hatred and crisis should not hinder the actualisation of love between people of opposing faiths.

For his love for Amara, Sani, Alhaji Idris’ son, secretly converts to Christianity and is wedded to Amara by a Catholic priest known as Father Peter.
It is this romantic affair between Sani and Amara that eventually leads to their death and the death of other relations of both families in the play.

Amara’s uncle, Stanley, upon discovering the love between his niece and Sani, attacks Sani and his cousin Yusuf and their father’s servants leading to the murder of Inusa by Stanley.

In retaliation, Yusuf forces him to reclaim the family and religious honour by avenging Inusa’s death. Yusuf makes Sani to light the fire that burns Stanley to death.

The highlight of the play is demonstration of love between Sani and Amara, the sheer irony of an Igbo girl falling in love with her father’s enemy’s son, is an unimaginable preposition of a utopian society in which love conquers all things. In affirming their love for each other even at the point of death- Sani was shot by the soldier while trying to escape with Amara out of Jos because of his role in Stanley’s death, Sani professes his love here,

“I had not lived life till I met you, Amara. Do not the wise men say that it is not how long a man lives but how well. In a land filled with hate, I have lived with love. In a land filled with war, I have found inestimable peace. I look into your eyes and I see children dancing. Will they be nameless just as us? I had not lived life Amara till I met you. Oh, how it grows darker…” (p.42)

Amara who seizes a gun and shoots herself in the stomach, professes profound love for Sani while holding unto him,

“My nameless, I did not live till I met you. Is it true that removed from this earthly pain, we will become stars. And the heavens will celebrate the wedding of two stars for I will marry you over and over again. I will be with you as you emerge into the next life. I will become what you become. A bug, a star, a rock, or dust.”

Together we will become invincible… unbeatable… unstoppable…” (p.43) Technically, the text is a four-act play with 16 scenes and is set in 1974 Jos. The language is accessible, and the scenes are well-described for maximum dramatic effects. The action in the play is commendable and the dialogue is also good. It tells an important story and overall, it is a play that deserves to be read.

I will become what you become. A bug, a star, a rock, or dust. Together we will become invincible… unbeatable… unstoppable…” (p.43) Technically, the text is a four-act play with 16 scenes and is set in 1974 Jos. The language is accessible, and the scenes are well-described for maximum dramatic effects. The action in the play is commendable and the dialogue is also good. It tells an important story and overall, it is a play that deserves to be read.
Amuneni is a poet and spoken word artist.