Wale Ogunyemi
Wale Ogunyemi was a prominent Nigerian dramatist born in 1939 in Igbajo, Osun State, distinguished for his contributions to English-language theater in Nigeria. He is regarded as a significant figure in Nigerian drama, second only to Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, and played a vital role in breaking the stereotype that English drama was limited to elite academic circles. Ogunyemi's early life was deeply influenced by his Yoruba heritage, which informed much of his writing and allowed him to weave traditional beliefs and rituals into his plays.
After a varied early education and work experience, Ogunyemi began writing plays in the mid-1950s, initially in Yoruba. His career flourished in the 1960s when he became involved in theater production, collaborating with notable figures like Soyinka and co-founding the Orisun Theater Group. He emphasized the importance of accessibility in playwriting, asserting that formal education was not a prerequisite for success in the field. Ogunyemi's work extended beyond the stage; he was innovative in adapting scripts for television and radio, highlighting his diverse talents. He passed away on December 18, 2001, leaving a lasting legacy in the Nigerian theatrical landscape.
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Wale Ogunyemi
Playwright
- Born: August 12, 1939
- Birthplace: Igbajo, Nigeria
- Died: December 18, 2001
- Place of death:
Biography
Wale Ogunyemi rose from humble beginnings to become an English-language Nigerian dramatist second only to Wole Soyinka, the country’s Nobel Laureate in Literature. Ogunyemi shattered the notion that English drama in Nigeria could find a home only in the academic theater of the elite. His success raised the hopes of young Nigerian playwrights.
Ogunyemi was born in 1939 to Adeosun and Madam Ajayi Ogunyemi in Igbajo, a village in the state of Osun about 150 miles northwest of Lagos. His father was a farmer and his mother was a merchant. Although his mother was a Christian, the young Ogunyemi was thoroughly schooled in the native Yoruba religion and language. Yoruba beliefs and practices are integrally reflected in much of his drama.
Because his grandmother was an influential figure in the Yoruba community, Ogynyemi had access quite early to the shrines of the religious people of Igbajo. He knew intimately the tribal taboos of his people and frequently witnessed the drama of their religious rituals, which sometimes included masquerade performances like those found in some of his subsequent dramas.
The young Ogunyemi attended primary school in Oke-Ado, Ibadan, between 1949 and 1954 and then became an office boy at the Ibadan Baptist Mission. In 1957, he entered the Oke-Ado Commercial Academy, where he pursued secretarial training until 1960. He worked between 1960 and 1964 as secretary to the Baptist Mission’s education officer.
Ogunyemi showed an affinity for playwriting as early as the mid-1950’s, and in 1960 he submitted one of his scripts to a drama competition sponsored by the government to commemorate Nigerian independence. His early plays were written in Yoruba, but after 1960, he seldom wrote in that language. The young Ogunyemi signed on as an actor with the Western Nigerian Television Station (later called the National Television Authority) in 1962, and in that year he completed his play, The Vow, which was performed in 1971 and published in 1985. A heavily revised version of the play won the 1971 African Arts Award from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Around 1964, Ogunyemi met Soyinka, who enticed him into becoming a founding member of the Orisun Theater Group. Ogunyemi subsequently acted in a number of Soyinka’s plays, developing a productive and enduring professional relationship with Nigeria’s most celebrated playwright.
Ogunyemi did not pursue any formal instruction in the theater arts until 1967, when he enrolled in the University of Ibadan’s school of drama. A staunch believer in the democratization of playwriting, he went on record as saying that one does not need academic credentials and degrees to write successful plays. Ogunyemi was unique because he valued writing for television over writing for the stage. He sometimes adapted his television and radio scripts for presentation on stage and vice versa. He was consistently a conservative in his social, professional, and religious views. He died on December 18, 2001.