Dimensions of Participation in Theatre for Development: Lessons from Mubi and Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

Participation has become the cornerstone of any Theatre for Development (TfD) exercise. In whatever form, the involvement of communities in the process of engaging theatre for their development has come to be seen as the surest guarantee of the success and sustainability of any project. Participation is crucial because people need to own the process and determine its outcome for any TfD project to be considered meaningful. This fundamental criterion has shaped the perception of participation into a bifurcated view; participation in development and participatory development. While the latter is seen as the ultimate approach, in the sense that communities take control of the process of their development, the former is considered a cosmetic involvement of a community in order to drive them to preconceived goals. This would suggest that participation in development is merely a mechanical device for initiating pretentious participation. This paper, however, highlights the advantages of such an approach, drawing from two case studies in Adamawa and Kano States, Nigeria, while considering its characteristic strategies for genuine participation. It uses the qualitative method of participant observation and interview to underscore the effectiveness of participation in development in community mobilisation and action. The study finds that although participation is crucial in TfD, development is not necessarily an intrinsic outcome; participation does not guarantee development. There are solutions that can only come from outside of the limits of a people’s knowledge and knowledge systems and leading people towards such information does not make them any less in control of their lives. The following is the framework of the relationship between participation and development: while participation may not automatically guarantee development, development can hardly be achieved without it. The paper argues that, irrespective of where development originates, people's participation is important for its acceptability and sustainability. It recommends that communities participate in development processes, whether from within or without, as they stand to be the beneficiaries of such interventions.