Elemoso

ABOUT THE PLAY

ẸLẸ́MỌ̀ṢỌ́ MUST DIE is the story of Elemoso, a 17th-century warrior of Old Oyo who was betrayed by his state and yet, still sacrificed himself for Oyo. In the 1650s, the Oyo Army confronted the Nupe Forces, in a bid to reclaim their capital city which had been sacked by the forces of the neighboring Nupe Kingdom.

The play unveils the bitterest battle between the old Oyo (Oyo Ile) and the Nupe Soldiers led by a female warlord: General Egunu, a woman passionate about defeating Elemoso on the battleground as a way of sealing her place as the greatest Warrior in the Nupe Kingdom.

Elemoso faces an inevitable death after being shot with so many arrows. Egunu needing the corpse of Eso as a prize of war finds herself in a dilemma when Eso suddenly wakes up alive in order to fulfill his last mission by the gods.

The escape of Eso from the Nupe warriors and a return to find his hometown desecrated and his mother abducted by the same Oyo he has sworn to protect turned him into a marauder in search of vengeance. Eso being a man of tradition and nobility will have to make a decision between what is right and what is just.