BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR

Emmanuel Gladstone Olawale Rotimi, better known as Ola Rotimi, was a distinguished Nigerian
playwright and director born on April 13, 1938. His rich heritage, with a Yoruba father and an Ijaw
mother, deeply influenced his artistic expression. Rotimi's works are celebrated for their unique blend of
Nigerian linguistic and cultural elements, reflected in both his personal life and professional
achievements.

Family and Early Influences

Ola Rotimi's upbringing was steeped in artistic tradition. His father, who served as the principal of the
Engineering Training School of the Ports Authority in Lagos, had a penchant for directing plays, while his
mother led a dance troupe. Rotimi’s exposure to the arts began at a young age, participating in amateur
plays under his father's direction, making his debut at only four years old. His passion for drama was a
family affair, shared with his wife, Hazel Mac Guadreau, whom he met at Boston University. Hazel, an
accomplished musician, contributed to his productions both on stage and behind the scenes, while their
son, Kole, took on leading roles in his father's works. Hazel's death in May 2000 deeply affected Rotimi,
who passed away just a few months later.

Education and Linguistic Prowess

Rotimi's educational journey took him from primary school in Port Harcourt to the Methodist Boys High
School in Lagos. His linguistic capabilities were impressive, mastering English, Ijaw, Yoruba, and Pidgin.
This multilingual talent enriched his literary works, as he embedded these languages into the fabric of
his plays. Although English was the primary medium, his dialogue resonated with the vibrancy and
rhythms of Nigerian speech. Over time, his plays increasingly incorporated African languages, alongside
a distinctive form of Nigerian Pidgin, broadening their cultural depth.

Academic and Professional Pursuits

In 1959, Rotimi embarked on a transatlantic academic adventure, studying in the United States until
1966. He attended Boston University on a Nigerian Federal Government scholarship, focusing on
playwriting and directing, and later received a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship to study at Yale,
where he earned his master's degree. Returning to Nigeria, he joined the University of Ife's Institute of
African Studies as a senior research fellow. Living in the heart of Yorubaland, Rotimi immersed himself in
Yoruba oral traditions, which greatly influenced his writing. As director of the Ori-Olokun Players, he
gained international recognition when the troupe was invited to France for the World Festival of Theatre
in 1971.
SUMMARY OF THE GODS ARE NOT TO BLAME

The gods are not to blame is a tragedy adopted from Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, and Africanised to suit the
setting in the Yoruba town of Kutuje. The play was written by Ola Rotimi in the year 1968 and recounts
the land of Kutuje plagued by series of calamities following the coronation of King Odewale. Everybody,
including the king, begins to look for remedy to the problem. This triggers King Odewale to send Prince
Aderopo to Ile-Ife to seek divination from the Ifa Oracle. The Priest puts it succinctly, “We have sent
Aderopo to Ile-Ife, the land of Orunmila, to ask the all-seeing god why we are in pain.” (p. 12).
Unfortunately, Aderopo returns and refuses to unravel the information received from Ile-Ife. Following
this event, Odewale requests for the Ifa Oracle diviner, Baba Fakunle from Oyo and upon his arrival, he
declines to solve the riddle. This enrages Odewale who suspects that the diviner has teamed up with
Aderopo, his (Odewale’s) perceived enemy. Tensions between the duo of Odewale and Fakunle
degenerate into physical assault which is a demonstration of hubris (i.e. hot temper) in the king.

At this stage, the play hinges on a flashback that eventually reveals Odewale’s past as the accursed child
who would kill his father and marry his mother. Having been caught in this web, Odewale realizes that
he has brought misfortune upon his people. He, therefore, blindfolds himself and abdicates the throne
for an unknown destination while Queen Ojuola (Odewale’s mother and wife) commits suicide.

CHARACTERIZATION IN THE GODS ARE NOT TO BLAME

Odewale:

The king of Kutuje, who had risen to power by unknowingly murdering the old king, King Adetusa,
whom, also not to his knowledge, was his father. The manner in which he kills his father is revealed in a
flashback when his childhood friend, Alaka, comes to Kutuje to ask him why he was not in the village of
Ede as he said he would be when he departed at age thirteen. Similar in nature to the Greek play,
Oedipus Tyrannus his royal parents receive a prophecy from Baba Fakunle that Odewale would grow up
to kill his parents.[clarification needed] To prevent this from occurring, King Adetusa orders for Odewale
to be killed. Instead, he is wrapped in a white cloth (symbolizing death) and left in a bush far from
Kutuje. He is found and picked up by a farmer hunter Ogundele and raised by him along with his wife
Mobe. Odewale is confronted by Gbonka, a messenger, who tells of the event that lead to King
Adetusa's end. Along with the Ogun Priest, it is revealed to him that the old king was his father, and that
Ojuola was his mother.
Ojuola

Wife of the late King Adetusa, and current wife of King Odewale. She is the mother of six children: two
under King Adetusa (Odewale and Aderepo), and four under King Odewale (Adewale, Adebisi, Oyeyemi,
Adeyinka). She was given a prophecy, along with King Adetusa, that their child, Odewale, would one day
grow up to usurp the throne, killing his father and marrying his mother. As the queen of the kingdom of
Kutuje, she finds herself serving as Odewale's conscience, calming him when he begins to act
irrationally. When it is revealed by the Ogun Priest that Ojuola is, in fact, Odewale's mother, she goes to
her bedroom and kills herself.

Aderopo

Brother of Odewale, and son of King Adetusa and Ojuola. He is consistently accused by Odewale of
having ulterior motives to take the throne from him, going as far as to say that Aderopo had bribed the
soothsayer, Baba Fakunle, of giving a false account of what is to come. Aderopo is also accused of
spreading the rumor that Odewale was the one who murdered the old king, Adetusa.

King Adetusa

Former king of Kutuje. Despite his best efforts to curb the prophecy that his child, Odewale, would grow
up to take the throne by murdering him, he is inevitably slain when he encounters his son, now fully
grown, in the village of Ede.

Baba Fakunle

A blind, old man, Baba Fakunle serves as a soothsayer to those who seek him. He is summoned by
Odewale to ask of a way to rid the suffering of his kingdom. Baba Fakunle tells him that the source of the
kingdom's ails lay with him. After a dispute, Baba Fakunle calls Odewale a "murderer," alluding to the
assault that occurred on the yam patch in Ede, in which Odewale kills King Adetusa, unknowingly his
father.

Alaka

Odewale's childhood friend. Alaka hails from the village of Ishokun. He comes to Kutuje to tell Odewale
that the man he called father had passed two years prior and that his mother, though old, was still in
good health. It is during the course of the play that Odewale reveals to Alaka why it was that he left the
village of Ede, where Odewale said he would live after leaving Ishokun when he was thirteen.
Gbonka

The former messenger of the late King Adetusa. Gbonka was present when King Adetusa was slain at the
hands of Odewale. Near the play's end, Gbonka retells this event to Odewale, which leads to the
discovery that Odewale was in fact the son of the former king, and the son of the current queen, and his
birth mother, Ojuola.

THEMES IN THE GODS ARE NOT TO BLAME

Incest is Cancerous

Incest is one of the key themes in the play. The calamity was caused by an abomination committed by
King Odewale. It may be argued that it was the will of the gods ,but in another sense the effect on the
community was very detrimental and resulted in Odewale plugging out his eyes and banishing himself
together with his children, not forgetting the suicide by Queen Ojuola.

Predestination

Predestination communicates the idea that man’s struggles is in vain or futile because He cannot do
anything to change his fate.

Odewale is fated from birth by the gods to kill his father and marry his mother. Every effort by men to
thwart this destiny only brings Odewale even closer to the trajectory of that destiny.

After the divination about his future, the Crown orders Gbonka to take Odewale to the evil groove
where he would be killed. In the evil bush, Gbonka’s emotions get the better of him and he spares him.
Many years later, Odewale’s fear of killing his father and marrying his mother makes him flee from his
foster parents. It brings him to the farm where he kills his real father and to Kutuje where he marries his
real mother. This indeed shows that there is no escaping the bad destiny set for him by the gods.

The gods manipulate the innate qualities of man so Odewale fulfills his destiny: fear in King Adetusa and
his wife; compassion and kindness in Gbonka; and in Odewale’s case, a combination of fear, curiosity,
ethnic bigotry, hot-temperedness, violence, and impatience.

Patricide

Patricide refers to the act of killing one’s father. This is the central emphasis of Odewale’s birth
prophecy: “He would kill his father, and marry his mother”.
Odewale kills an old man on his farm in Ede, at a place where three paths meet. The old man turns out
to be his biological father, King Adetusa.

Odewale therefore fulfils a core part of his destiny. The idea of a son killing his father as revealed by the
priest’s prophecy and its fulfilment highlights the issue of patricide in the text.

Anger and Pride

Anger and pride triggered most the fall of King Odewale. It is this tragic flaw that leads to his downfall.

Baba Fakunle confirms this during his encounter with Odewale: “Your hot temper like a disease from
birth is the curse that brought you trouble”.

Odewale can never be controlled when he is angry. Nothing holds him back. He goes all-out to do
regrettable things on impulse. His easily triggered anger makes him kill a man who would later turn out
to be his real father when he was humiliated

Alaka, his childhood acquaintance also agrees to the fact that He is hot-tempered.

He says ” Odewale, I didn’t teach you got temper” though! Pg(44)

Besides, his pride shows in his relations and encounters with his chiefs, Aderopo, Baba Fakunle, and
even Alaka whom he manhandles for his reluctance to set straight the details of Odewale’s origin. He
attacks the old seer with impudence.

With his relationship with his half-brother Aderopo. At the tail end of this confrontation, He fails to
swallow his pride and swears by Ogun that may he never see Aderopo with his two eyes. And true to his
words, the next time the two meet, Odewale has lost his [Link] qualities lead him to his tragic end.

Good Leadership

Although Odewale had anger issues and trust issues, He still possessed some level of good leadership.
He is epitome of good leadership.

Odewale is the kind of leader that listens to the clamors and complaints of his people; the kind of leader
that identifies with their fate. He is a problem-solver, a goal-getter, and an efficient, proactive leader.

The people of Kutuje owe their victory over the Ikolu warriors to Odewale’s good and efficient
leadership. The quick unraveling of King Adetusa’s murderer is also a demonstration of the kind of
leader he is – elsewhere, such a case would have taken forever to unearth.
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