Nigeria, May 28 -- There was something familiar about the laughter that filled the RF Garden in Ikoyi, Lagos State during the staging of the performance, Hope Dealer on Saturday, 23rd May.

On stage, the actors reenacted a common Nigerian reality - the quiet tension between parental expectations and personal dreams. In that enactment, a young personae struggled under the weight of a future already designed for him, while trying to discover who he truly wanted to become.

This inspired intermitent moments of exhiliration, and then quiet reflections in the audience. Many actually could see slices of their lives play out in the story.

The Hope Dealer was staged as part of the 60th birthday celebration of lawyer, playwright, leadership educa...