10/08/2026
CHARACTER OVER CONVENIENCE: ABC EXTOLS THOMAS MORE'S MORAL COURAGE.. As Child Author Donates Book Copies to Club
There is a test of character when state power clashes with individual conscience. Joseph Umanah's review of Robert Bolt's historical drama, A Man for All Seasons, at the August session of the Abak Book Club, reminded participants of their moral responsibility to uphold truth and justice in a society that seems to have lost its ethical foothold.
Central to the play is the courage of Sir Thomas More to decline taking an oath, as demanded by King Henry VIII, as an expression of consent for him to divorce his queen, Catherine of Aragon, and marry Ann Boleyn, contrary to the church's position. More, a man of deep faith and integrity, believes that taking such an oath would amount to a violation of his religious beliefs. He resigns his position as Lord Chancellor, insisting that a man's soul is his own and that he must answer first to God before any earthly king. More is eventually tried for treason and executed but certainly not without honour.
The themes of the play include:
a) conscience vs state power;
b) law and morality
c) the corruption of power
d) integrity and martyrdom.
The play offered a moment of reflection and generated robust interaction among the participants, as many speakers weighed the courage of More against the easy virtues and integrity deficit in today's society.
Th day's session peaked with a donation by Godsgrace Ekop of copies of her recent publication, Inimfon, to the club. Miss Ekop, a child author, who was accompanied by her father, Ututofon Ekop, and sister, expressed her pleasure to identify with the club. Her father, a management staff of Topfaith International Secondary School, Mkpatak, pledged his membership and that of his children to the club and commended the ABC for sustaining the valuable culture of reading in Abak.
Receiving the donation, the Coordinator of the ABC, Mary Jonas, appreciated Godsgrace's thoughtful gesture and pledged the club's commitment to sustaining a healthy book culture in the area.
©IAP
