This is a response to the creator of this thread https://www.nairaland.com/3229256/cyprian-ekwensi-plagiarized-hausa-story accusing the great Cyprian Ekwensi of plagiarizing an unknown Hausa author. What the great Ekwensi did was merely a remake of the said Hausa novel as An African Night's Entertainment just as several of Shakespeare's works have been remade in countless languages over the centuries and Shakespeare's descendants have not contemplated filing any suit against any of them.

If the logic of the creator of that thread is followed, then it can be said that Ola Rotimi plagiarized Sophocles' magnum opus Oedipus Rex in his 1968 play The Gods Are Not to Blame, because what Ola Rotimi did was basically translating the world-famous Oedipus Rex into the English language and changing the setting from Ancient Greece to Yorubaland. The plot, characters and everything else are the same.

Below is a Wikipedia entry on Ola Rotimi's remake of the 2500-year-old Greek classic Oedipus Rex into The Gods Are Not to Blame:


The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi.An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, the story centres on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only to somehow get caught up in a somewhat consanguineous trail of events by the gods of the land. The novel is set in an indeterminate period of a Yoruba kingdom. This reworking of Oedipus Rex was part of the African Arts (Arts d'Afrique) playwriting contest in 1969.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gods_Are_Not_to_Blame

.

It was copird from a book titled Heros or something I can remember. The book centered around Greek gods and their children.


@OP you are correct.

It was copied from a book titled Heros or something. The book centered around Greek gods and their children.


@OP you are correct.

It is simply referred to as adaptation and it is a recognized practice.

What's the essence of this thread?, Cyprain has been insulted so others should be insulted?....LOL.....Ola Rotimi did not illegally copy Sophocles's work, you only need permision from the author to make an adaptation of his work,if he is alive and I think less than 25 years after his death.I doubt Odipus Rex has a copyright because its a Pre 1900 book.John Tafidi was alive when Cyprain wrote AMT, Sophocles was long dead when Ola wrote his.Nevertheless, he aknowledged Sophocles when he submitted the work at the African Arts playwriting contest in
1969, Did Cyprain aknowledge the other author? .....anyways I dont know if Cyprain plagiarized African moonlight tales,I am not a legal expert,but this thread is Dead on arrival.

This op must be a thief, because someone said Cyprian plagiarized, so u wasted your time to also write ola rotimi plagiarized also, I can see that the south east/south are always intimidated by the Yoruba's.

Nnysher:
This is a response to the creator of this thread https://www.nairaland.com/3229256/cyprian-ekwensi-plagiarized-hausa-story accusing the great Cyprian Ekwensi of plagiarizing an unknown Hausa author. What the great Ekwensi did was merely a remake of the said Hausa novel as An African Night's Entertainment just as several of Shakespeare's works have been remade in countless languages over the centuries and Shakespeare's descendants have not contemplated filing any suit against any of them.

If the logic of the creator of that thread is followed, then it can be said that Ola Rotimi plagiarized Sophocles' magnum opus Oedipus Rex in his 1968 play The Gods Are Not to Blame, because what Ola Rotimi did was basically translating the world-famous Oedipus Rex into the English language and changing the setting from Ancient Greece to Yorubaland. The plot, characters and everything else are the same.

Below is a Wikipedia entry on Ola Rotimi's remake of the 2500-year-old Greek classic Oedipus Rex into The Gods Are Not to Blame:


The Gods Are Not To Blame is a 1968 play and a 1971 novel by Ola Rotimi.An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, the story centres on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only to somehow get caught up in a somewhat consanguineous trail of events by the gods of the land. The novel is set in an indeterminate period of a Yoruba kingdom. This reworking of Oedipus Rex was part of the African Arts (Arts d'Afrique) playwriting contest in 1969.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gods_Are_Not_to_Blame

obob