Adire:Truth about church and humanity

 

Whoever came up with the Adire movie concept deserves a pat on the back not because there are no flaws in it, nah! But because it enthusiastically balances individual realities with societal-cum-religious expectations. 

Here is the gist!

By the perception of the society (which religious lots are a part), church people are supposed to be 'perfect' in all spheres because of the many man-made doctrines they have subjected themselves to. However in reality, that isn't always the case. Somewhere deep down in these hyper-religious church people are strife, cravings and fantasies they unconsciously birth into reality when triggered by enabling circumstances.  

How do I know this? 

Well, let’s start with Deaconess Folasade the fanatic whose holier-than-thou attitude is a façade for the untoward bitterness locked on her inside. Hence, she uses the scriptures to wrongly combat any perceived threat however insignificant until it reached a crescendo where Tunde, her puppet, tries to kill Adire/Asari by setting her house on fire using the name of God. In contrast, we see Adire, a used-to-be sex worker, exhibit magnanimity. She's accommodating and supportive (like we see her do in Salewa's cake making and adire bra gifting situations). Other than the wayward life she leads and the negative influence that triggered it, she's got a good spirit. These are qualities a devout Christian like Folasade does not have. 

Though many have argued that the theme of the play is cliched, I believe from a rare angle that it clearly challenges the overrated purity of religious fanatics. It also exposes the real life many church goers live outside the church which we see through the husband of Salewa a.k.a Baba Segun and other men who frequent bars and clubs and chase after women other than their wives. Likewise, it also propagates the truth that the church is not outside the society and the people who make up the church are the same members of the society. That's why it's not out of place to see things the church frowns at happen in the church. So when Simi, Pastor Mide and Deaconess' daughter get pregnant out of wedlock, Deaconess reaches her boiling point. 

That being said, let it resound that though the church is a holy place and a hospital of a sort where many sick people go for healing. While some get healed, some don't because they don't wish to and they contaminate the atmosphere with their aura, infecting those who were never sick.

Reviewer: Olumide Labulo