What is the summary for Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again by Ola Rotimi?

In short, Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again by Ola Rotimi is a very humorous play about the political struggles of modern Africa. The main character is Lejoka-Brown who is a member of the military and who has contracted many wives (unknown by his first wife) over the years.

Early in the play, we learn of Lejoka-Brown’s wives. Mama Rashida was his brother’s wife. Lejoka-Brown had to marry her according to tradition and due to his brother’s death. Sikira (the second wife) married Lejoka-Brown in order to advance him politically and, literally, to help him win the women’s vote. Then, of course, there’s Lizzy who (like the others) thinks she is the only wife. She comes back from the United States after completing her medical degree. It is here that the real comedy begins.

Lizzy’s plane lands earlier than usual in Nigeria, so she simply finds Lejoka-Brown’s father’s house and makes it her own. Lejoka-Brown, at that point, is on his way to the airport in order to prevent that very thing. After living in America for some time, Lizzy has adopted the Western view of “traditional” marriage and isn’t afraid to “chase” her husband, even after the three wives learn about each other. Many comic incidences ensue. Most notably, the title incidence, where Sikira runs from the house shouting, “Our husband has gone mad again!” This is her exit-line in that Sikira leaves the marriage once and for all here. It isn’t long before Mama Rashida does the same thing and, by the end, Lizzy has obtained her desire: Lejoka-Brown all to herself. Lizzy is now Lejoka-Brown’s one and only wife.

In conclusion, it’s important to note that as the play goes one, the watcher/reader learns that Lejoka-Brown is obviously not as educated as his wife, Lizzy, but that his political prowess puts them on the same level in Africa.