Wale Ogunyemi

Wale Ogunyemi
Born	(1939-08-12)August 12, 1939 Osun State, Nigeria
Died	December 17, 2001(2001-12-17) (aged 62)
Nationality	Nigerian
Citizenship	Nigerian
Alma mater	University of Ibadan
Occupation	playwright
Years active	1963–present
Known for	The Lion and the Jewel Kongi's Harvest Sango Langbodo[1]

Chief Wale OgunyemiListen^ⓘ, OFR (12 August 1939 – December 17, 2001) was a Nigerian veteran seasoned dramatist, film actor, prolific playwright, and Yoruba language scholar.^[2][3]

Early life

Ogunyemi was born on 12 August 1939 at Igbajo, a city in Osun State, southwestern Nigeria to Samuel Adeosun and Mary Ogunyemi.^[4] He attended the University of Ibadan in 1967 for a year course in drama, the same year he was appointed as a research assistant at Ibadan Institute of African Studies where he later retired.^[5][6][7]

Career

Ogunyemi began his acting career as a seasonal actor with the new western Nigerian television service in the early 1960s.^[8] He later worked with professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate and became a foundation member of Soyinka Orisun Theatre.^[9] His credible performance made him a choice for the role he played as "The bale" in The Lion and the Jewel^[10] and Dende in Kongi's Harvest by professor Wole Soyinka.^[11] He also featured in The Beatification Of Area Boy, a play by Wole Soyinka premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 1995.^[12] He had written and co-scripted several drama before his death in December 2001.^[13][14]

Filmography

• Thunderbolt: Magun (2001) as Herbalist
• The Lion and the Jewel
• Kongi's Harvest (1970) as Dende
• Sango: The Legendary African King (1997)
• The Beatification Of Area Boy^[15][16]
• The Ijaye War (1970)^[17]
• Kiriji (1976)^[18]
• The Divorce (1975)^[19]
• Aare Akogun (1968) and Everyman *Eniyan, published in 1987)
• Langbodo (1979)^[20]

Awards

• Member of the Order of the Niger awarded in 1982 by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
• Majeobaje of Okuku, a chieftaincy title conferred on him by the Olokuku of Okukuland^[21]

References

1. "Set to battle demons on mount Langbodo". The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
2. "Wale Ogunyemi - Library of Congress". id.loc.gov. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
3. Lindfors, Bernth (2003). Black African Literature in English, 1997-1999. James Currey Publishers. ISBN 9780852555750. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
4. Boscolo, Cristina (2009). Ọdún. Rodopi. ISBN 978-9042026803. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
5. Gérard, Albert S. (1986). European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins. ISBN 9630538326. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
6. George, Olakunle (February 2012). Relocating Agency. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780791487761. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
7. Owomoyela, Oyekan (21 October 2008). The Columbia Guide to West African Literature in English Since 1945. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231512152. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
8. Osofisan, Femi (2001). The Nostalgic Drum. Africa World Press. ISBN 9780865438064. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
9. "WHY WALE OGUNYEMI STILL LIVES ON NIGERIA'S STAGE-DIRECTOR OF LANGBODO". thenigerianvoice.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
10. Meyer-Dinkgrafe, Daniel (20 May 2003). Who's Who in Contemporary World Theatre. Routledge. ISBN 9781134767861. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
11. Jones, Eldred D.; Jones, Marjorie; Gikandi, Simon; Gibbs, James Morel (1998). Childhood in African Literature. Africa World Press. ISBN 9780865436732. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
12. "Obituary: Wale Ogunyemi". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
13. Deandrea, Pietro (2002). Fertile Crossings. Rodopi. ISBN 9042014784. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
14. Killam, G. D.; Kerfoot, Alicia L. (2008). Student Encyclopedia of African Literature. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780313335808. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
15. Jeyifo, Biodun (13 November 2003). Wole Soyinka. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139439084. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
16. "Menacing Shadows Greet Dawn In Nigeria". The New York Times. 11 October 1996. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
17. Falola, Toyin; Genova, Ann (2005). Yoruba Creativity. Africa World Press. ISBN 9781592213368. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
18. Ogunyẹmi, Wale (1976). Kiriji. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
19. Banham, Martin (7 March 1996). The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521446549. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
20. Losambe, Lokangaka; Sarinjeive, Devi (2001). Pre-colonial and Post-colonial Drama and Theatre in Africa. New Africa Books. ISBN 9781919876061. Retrieved 18 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
21. "Wale Ogunyemi, eminent playwright dies". World News. Retrieved 18 January 2015.