SPOKEN STORIES The State of Us, the theme-led collection of commissioned fiction currently running on Sundays at 7.30pm on RTÉ Radio 1 and also available as a podcast.
Sunday 17 November 2024:
Story title: Father, Let Thy Will Be Done on Earth by Melatu Uche Okorie and voiced by Gabriel Adewusi
About: In Father Let Thy Will Be Done on Earth a father and recent widower is reeling from the death of his wife and mother to their son, Odeke. He is a musician and songwriter, and in the tradition of his Igbo tribe of Nigeria, he turns to proverbs and symbols, to make sense of what has happened and to bring peace to him and his boy.
Quote from the author about her story: ‘I chose to present the state of us within a family unit. In the hierarchy of ‘states’, be it as the self or as a community, the family unit is by far the most important.
‘The theme, The State of Us, I felt was hilariously tongue-in-cheek and opened a plethora of plots for my imagination. One of the most common cultural traits of an Igbo person (I am from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria) is that we usually pepper our speech with proverbs and symbols which can be likened to the Biblical parables, and our stories usually have refrains or songs that call for an audience participation.
In the story, Father, Let Thy Will Be Done, I created songs (musings) for the main character, Odeke’s father. I also include a proverb about the lizard. If you look at a Lizard, its head is always moving as though it’s nodding. The Lizard, in the proverb, is acknowledging its personal feats – climbing, jumping, landing – general survival skills – when no one is doing so. Often, we find ourselves in environments that do not acknowledge our contribution or efforts. The Lizard, in the proverb, by nodding in self-acknowledgement symbolizes the importance of one taking time to celebrate themselves. In a wider context, the proverb also teaches self-reliance and self-sufficiency.’
