Femi Robinson (September 27, 1940 – May 20, 2015) was a Nigerian film and television

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, famous for his lead role in ''

The Village Headmaster ''The Village Headmaster'' (later renamed ''The New Village Headmaster'') is a Nigerian television drama series created by Olusegun Olusola and produced by Dejumo Lewis. Originally a radio drama series, the programme was Nigeria’s longest-runnin ...

'', where his stage name, "Ife Araba, The Village Headmaster", was coined. Chief Eddie Ugbomah, former Chairman of the Nigerian Film Corporation, called him "an icon of the industry".

Early life

Robinson was born on September 27, 1940, at Bodo, a village in

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding a ...

, the capital of

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to th ...

, southwestern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, into the family of an Ifá priest. He obtained a bachelor's degree in botany from

University of Nigeria The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has th ...

Nsukka Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo. The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively re ...

(1962-1966) in the early 1960s before joining the Nigerian film industry.

Career

He began his acting career playing the lead role of Odewale in '' The Gods Are Not To Blame'', a 1968 play by the Nigerian playwright Chief

Ola Rotimi Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, best known as Ola Rotimi (13 April 1938 – 18 August 2000), was one of Nigeria's leading playwrights and theatre directors. He has been called "a complete man of the theatre – an actor, director, choreograp ...

. The play was an adaptation of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

classic '' Oedipus Rex''. He also played the lead role in ''The Village Headmaster'', Nigeria's longest-running television soap opera from 1968 to 1988, scripted by

Olusegun Olusola Chief Olusegun "Segun" Olusola (Ṣẹgun Oluṣọla; 18 March 1935 – 21 June 2012) was a Nigerian television producer, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the writer and executive producer of '' The Village Headmaster'', Nigeria’s longest r ...

. On October 11, 2012, Robinson called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to ban

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and '' magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

's novel ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the ...

'' in Nigerian schools, following the publication of Achebe's controversial memoir '' There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra''.

Death

Robinson died of a heart attack on May 20, 2015, at Ayodele Hospital in the Ifako Ijaiye local government area of Lagos. Robinson's death drew the attentions of many notable Nigerians. According to ''

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

'', a veteran Nigerian film actor, Prince

Jide Kosoko Jide Kosoko (born 12 January 1954) is a Nigerian actor, director and producer. He was born into a royal family, hence his traditional title of prince or "omoba" in the Yoruba language. Early life Prince Jide Kosoko was born in Lagos on the ...

, said in his tribute, "Femi Robinson was a true professional. He has contributed immensely to the growth of the entertainment industry in Nigeria". The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to ...

, conveyed his condolences to Robinson's family in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.

References

2015 deaths 1940 births Nigerian male film actors Nigerian dramatists and playwrights Yoruba male actors 20th-century Nigerian male actors Male actors from Abeokuta Obafemi Awolowo University alumni 20th-century Nigerian dramatists and playwrights Nigerian male television actors Actors from Ogun State University of Nigeria alumni {{Nigeria-actor-stub