By Balogun Kamilu Lekan
Biography
Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan fondly called Femi Osofisan, or F.O. is a Nigerian educationist and author.
He was born on June 16, 1946, in Erunwon, Ogun State, to Phoebe Olufunke Osofisan, a school teacher, and Ebenezer Olatokunbo Osofisan, a lay reader and organist.
The renowned author is famous for his critiques of societal problems and the use of surrealism and African traditional performances in several of his plays. He is the author of the famous play, The Women of Owu.
Education
Femi attended Ife Primary School for his elementary education and Government College, Ibadan, for his secondary education.
He later pursued a French major degree at the University of Ibadan. Femi spent a year in Dakar, Senegal, as part of his degree program and later pursued postgraduate studies at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Career
In his early years, Femi Osifisan worked as a lecturer at the University of Ibadan. He also advanced to the position of professor. Before becoming a Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts at Kwara State University in Nigeria, he retired as a full professor in 2011.
Femi Osofisan is one of the best playwrights in Africa. He has an impressive academic background. He had previously instructed in drama at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He edits and writes newspaper columns, directing plays, performs, and writes reviews, poems, and novels.
More than sixty plays, five collections of poetry, four novels, and numerous essay collections have all been written and produced by Osofisan.
Osofisan additionally worked as a drama consultant for the Cultural Olympiad, the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, and the Movement for Mass Mobilization, Social and Economic Recovery (MAMSER), Abuja, Nigeria (1989).
He also intermittently held the positions of General Manager and Chief Executive of the National Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria.
Additionally, he has received teaching or research fellowships from nations such as China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Lesotho, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and South Africa.
He was the artistic director of Kakaun Sela Kompani (1979), the founder of CentreSTAGE-Africa [the Centre for Studies in Theatre and Alternative Genres of Expression in Africa], and the editor of the poetry chapbook Opon Ifa (1974), which later became Opon Ifa Review, a quarterly journal of the arts, primarily for creative writing.
He was also a founding member and literary editor of The Guardian’s first editorial board in Lagos (1983–1984).
Osofisan has written and produced more than 60 plays. He also wrote the four books Ma’ami, Abigail, Pirates of Hurt, and Cordelia. The Daily Times and The Guardian both first published them as newspaper columns.
Osofisan also emphasizes gender strongly in his works. He presents women as both objects of social division due to transient customs and enduring traditions and subjects capable of thought, endowed with consciousness and will, able to make decisions and carry out actions.
Marriage
Femi is married to Nike Osofisan, a Professor of Computer Science
Net worth
NewsWireNgr cannot independently verify Femi Osifisan’s net worth
Achievements
Femi Osifisan’s Publications
- Kolera Kolej. New Horn, 1975.
- The Chattering and the Song, Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1977.
- Morountodun and Other Plays. Lagos: Longman, 1982.
- Minted Coins (poetry), Heinemann, 1987.
- Another Raft. Lagos: Malthouse, 1988.
- Once Upon Four Robbers. Ibadan: Heinemann, 1991
- Twingle-Twangle A-Twynning Tayle. Longman, 1992.
- Yungba-Yungba and the Dance Contest: A Parable for Our Times, Heinemann Educational, Nigeria, 1993.
- The Album of the Midnight Blackout, University Press, Nigeria, 1994.
- “Warriors of a Failed Utopia?” “West African writers since the 70s” in Leeds African Studies Bulletin 61 (1996).
- Tegonni: An African Antigone. Ibadan: Opon Ifa, 1999.
- “Theater and the Rites of ‘Post-Negritude’ Remembering”. Research in African Literatures 30.1 (1999).
Femi Osifisan’s Books
- Women of Owu
- The Oriki of a Grasshopper and Other Plays
- The Nostalgic Drum: Essays on Literature, Drama and Culture
- Who’s Afraid of Solarin?
- Aringindin and the Nightwatchmen
- Birthdays are Not for Dying and Other Plays
- Esu and the Vagabond Minstrels
- Kolera Kolej (Opon Ifa Readers)
- Literature and the Pressures of Freedom: Essays, Speeches, and Songs
- Two One-act Plays: Oriki of a Grasshopper AND Altine’s Wrath
- Yungba Yungba and the Dance Contest: A Parable for Our Times
- The Album of the Midnight Blackout
- The Chattering and the Song
- The Engagement: A Play
- Excursions in drama and literature: Interviews with Femi Osofisan
- Farewell to a Cannibal Rage
- Midnight Hotel
Femi Osifisan’s Awards and Nominations
- The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) literature award
- Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service [WNBS] Prize for Independence Anniversary
- Officier de l’Ordre Nationale de Mérite, Rep. de France
- Nigerian National Order of Merit in the Humanities (NNOM)
- Fonlon-Nichols Prize for Literature and the Struggle for Human Rights
- Fellow, Nigerian Academy of the Arts (FNAL)
- PAWA Membership Honorary Award
- Thalia Prize from the International Association of Theatre Critics
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. NewsWireNGR or its editorial team cannot independently verify all details.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for Live and Entertaining Updates.
Always visit NewsWireNGR for the latest Naija news and updated Naija breaking news.
NewsWireNGRLatest News in Nigeria
Send Us A Press Statement/News Tips on 9ja Happenings: [email protected].
Advertise With Us: [email protected]
