Postcolonial Political Manipulation of the Marginalized: A Critical Analysis of Ogbeche Frank Ogodo's Harvest of Corruption

Abstract— This study conducts a critical analysis of postcolonial political manipulation in Ogbeche Frank Ogodo’s play, Harvest of Corruption (2013). Employing postcolonial theory as a framework, the research examines how the play dramatizes the systemic exploitation of marginalized citizens by a corrupt political elite in a post-independence African state. Through a qualitative textual analysis, the study reveals that political corruption permeates all societal institutions, leading to economic devastation, injustice, and the moral degradation of both the powerful and the vulnerable. The analysis demonstrates that characters such as Chief Ade-Amaka, Ochuole, Aloho, and Justice Odili function as metaphors for the entrenched networks of corruption and the profound human cost they exact. The study concludes that Ogodo’s work serves as a powerful indictment of the neocolonial patterns of governance that continue to perpetuate oppression and social injustice long after the end of formal colonial rule.