A great weekend with our son the minister

Enter Our Son the Minister.

A great weekend with our son the minister Pulse Nigeria

The award-winning play, which got the whole town talking, was put together by Beeta Universal Arts Foundation and came alive for a second time at the Terra Kulture Arena in Victoria Island from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th, November 2018.

Some scenes from the Our Son The Minister Play at Terra Kulture on the 9th of November 2018 Pulse Nigeria

Written by Paul Ugbede, produced by award-winning actress, Bikiya Graham-Douglas and directed by Kenneth Uphopho, the play, which won the first edition of the Beeta Playwriting Competition in 2017 was sponsored by the MTN Foundation as part of its Arts and Culture Initiative.

Some scenes from the Our Son The Minister Play at Terra Kulture on the 9th of November 2018 Pulse Nigeria

In Our Son the Minister, Doctor Makoji Ejembi, a young medical practitioner, is caught in a dilemma when the President, acting on a recommendation from Ejembi’s kinsmen, appoints him as a federal minister and his family goes haywire dreaming how they will participate in their son’s share of the ‘national cake.’

It was full of laughs, drama-filled moments, and valuable lessons for society at large. These are our favourite five.

Badass quotes

Our Son the Minister was full of colourful characters who said some wonderful things. For example, Dr Ejembi’s best friend, who appointed himself as ‘Special Assistant to the Minister on Finance, Enjoyment and Logistics,’ said in response to a question from the minister about why he was hiring a crowd to escort him to his inauguration, "He who has the biggest crowd gets the biggest portfolio." Think that one was crazy? The minister’s Aunty told the entire family that her "best friend is the blood of Jesus" and promptly proceeded to spray everyone with what we imagine is holy water.

Some scenes from the Our Son The Minister Play at Terra Kulture on the 9th of November 2018 Pulse Nigeria

A hilarious family

Our Son the Minister probably boasts the funniest Nigerian family to hit the stage in recent times. After the minister told his family that he was rejecting the appointment, telling his family that "to serve Nigeria is not by force. I am going to play tennis;" his family promptly told him "it is by force!" In a concerted effort to prevent Makoji from leaving the house after taking the ‘insane’ decision of rejecting a ministerial appointment, the family swiftly tied him to a couch with a rope; then proceeded to call a psychiatrist, a juju man and a very handsy Founder/CEO of 'Church Pumping' Incorporated to heal their mad son.

Some scenes from the Our Son The Minister Play at Terra Kulture on the 9th of November 2018 Pulse Nigeria

We did not make this up.

Lessons, lots of lessons

Where do we start? Our Son the Minister taught us that success has too many friends. A child belongs not just to his family, but the entire community. The play also reveals the decadence in our society. Abnormality has been normalised such that those who seek to uphold the right values are considered insane.

We can go on and on with this.

Masterful acting

The acting was excellent. We’ll simply let the pictures do the talking.

Some scenes from the Our Son The Minister Play at Terra Kulture on the 9th of November 2018 Pulse Nigeria

The power of partnership

L-R: Nonny Ugboma, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation; Bikiya Graham-Douglas, COO, Beeta Universal Arts Foundation and Abasi-Ekong Udobang, Senior Manager, Program Implementation, MTN Foundation at the premiere of the MTN Foundation sponsored Our Son The Minister at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos. Pulse Nigeria

Our Son the Minister was made possible thanks to talented and amazing guys at Beeta Universal Arts Foundation, especially Bikiya Graham-Douglas and the MTN Foundation who sponsored the show as part of its Arts and Culture initiative. Under this initiative, the packed fourth quarter of 2018 featured such great productions as Fela and the Kalakuta Queens, two runs of Legends, the Musical, the Life in My City Art Festival and Oba Esugbayi.

Our Son the Minister was time well spent. The next great show can’t come soon enough.

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