Charlatanism in the Trial of Brother Jero and the Road by Wole Soyinka

ABSTRACT: This study is on charlatanism in the trial of brother Jero and the Road by Wole Soyinka. The research endeavour focuses on charlatanism which critically expose religion corruption, social and political evils prevent in African societies with the view of correcting them thus making the society a better place to live using to texts from renounced Nigerian writer; Whole Soyinka’s The Trial of Brother Jero and the Road.  Again, psychoanalysis approach is employee and library research method is uses with secondary data collection to bring out element of charlatanism as evils which morally degrade our society and the community at large. These elements are religion hypocrisy, moral decadence, marital imbalance and corruption pliable a savage portrait of group of doctrinal African leader in our text of study. It has also been recommended that the society should pointy out to the leaders whenever they go contrary to the norms and ethics of the society.  

 

Charlatanism in the Trial of Brother Jero and the Road by Wole Soyinka

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background to the study

Charlatanism is an act whereby a person falsefully pretend to know of be something in order to deceive people, make elaborate fraudulent and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge, quack or fraud.  Charlatanism in this research work in coined out is a fact that indicates religious hypocrisy, moral, societal and political decadence, fake prophecy, prevalent nature of church leader, cunning church dwiners using Christian superstition for their own salvation, derive for much wealth possession, power, exploitation of the congregation by the character religious leaders for their own selfish financial gains.

Soyinka in The Trial of Brother Jero protoans Jeroboam as charlatan prophet who turns church to a business venture. This is deduced from his statement;

I am glad I got here before any customers. I mean worshipers …. I always get a feeling everything that an a shopkeeper waiting for customer (20).

The authors user the above statement to point whom the religion leader and the charlatan prophet commercialized churches by turning the church to business venture in steal of spirit place for salvation. Again the author observe that all the activities of Jero and actions are deceitful but the deceit know to Jero done while the worshipers believe that they are in the right peace to worship but unknown that they are simply being used.

Furthermore, Charlatanism is a means employed in this context to satirize the Christian churches and their leaders thereby bringing information to the society. It is therefore in this regard that this study is carried out to express the questionable liver of the religious leaders for example prophet Jeroboam who granted Chume to beat his wife;

After all, Christ himself was not averse to using the ship when occasion demand it…. In that care since, Brother Chume  your wife, seems such a wicked, and willful sinner, I think ….. you must take her home tonight and beat her….. remember, it must be done in your own house. Never show the discard within your family to the world (31-32).

Indeed, Charlatanism this context point out the bad aspect o church institutions in our society so as to give solutions to prevalent problem of religious corruption in the society.

Charlatanism in the Trial of Brother Jero and the Road by Wole Soyinka

1.2  Statement of the Problem 

The problem of this study is to expose the religion hypocrisy, malaise in leadership, subterfuge, religious corruption and its negative effect on the church members.

The research study is also to pope in the literacy works with view to identifying ad exposing the charlatan preachers that are misleading the nonnegative to poverty and hardship. That the charlatan nature of religion leaders which wolves round religious extremism is a serious problem in Nigeria as it also transcends in Christianity and Islam.