Wale Ogunyemi Explained

Wale Ogunyemi
Birth Date:	12 August 1939
Birth Place:	Osun State, Nigeria
Nationality:	Nigerian
Citizenship:	Nigerian
Alma Mater:	University of Ibadan
Occupation:	playwright
Yearsactive:	1963 - present
Known For:	The Lion and the Jewel Kongi's Harvest Sango Langbodo^[1]

Chief Wale Ogunyemi, 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]

Notes and References

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