Nwazuluwa Onuekwuke "Zulu" Sofola (22 June 1935 – 5 September 1995)Biography
, ′Zulu Sofola official website. was the first published female

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 ...

n playwright and dramatist. Sofola was also a university teacher and became the first female Professor of Theater Arts in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Biography

Nwazuluwa Onuekwuke Sofola was born in the former Bendel State to Nwaugbade Okwumabua and Chief Ogana Okwumabua who were

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

from

Issele-Uku Issele-uku is an ancestral city in Nigeria's Delta State and headquarters for the Local Government Area of Aniocha North. It is also the Episcopal See of the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Issele-Uku. It has its own post office and is s ...

, Aniocha North Local Government Area, presently in Delta State. She attended Federal Government Primary School in

Asaba Asaba is the capital city of Delta State, Nigeria. It is located at the western bank of the Niger River, in the Oshimili South Local Government Area. Asaba had a population of 149,603 as at the 2006 census, and a metropolitan population of o ...

and the Baptist Girls High School in

Agbor Agbor is the most populous city among the Ika people. It is located in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, in South-south geo-political zone of Nigeria, West Africa. Agbor is the headquarters of Ika South Local Government Area, in ...

all in Delta State. Due to her outstanding performance in school, she was awarded a scholarship to complete her high school education i
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Spending her adolescence and early womanhood in the US, she studied at Southern Baptist Seminary, earned a BA in English at

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

in Richmond, Virginia in 1959. She obtained her MA in Drama (Play writing and Production) from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

in Washington DC in the year 1965. She returned to Nigeria in 1966, and became a lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

, where she obtained a PhD in Theatre Arts (Tragic Theory) in 1977.

Career

Her plays "range from historical tragedy to domestic comedy and use both traditional and modern African setting". She uses "elements of magic, myth and ritual to examine conflicts between traditionalism and modernism in which male supremacy persists.""Sofola, Zulu", in Martin Banham, Errol Hill & George Woodyard (eds), ''The Cambridge Guide to African & Caribbean Theatre'', Cambridge University Press, 1994; p. 82. She was considered one of the most distinguished women in Nigerian literature. She remains a source of inspiration to young African writers. Sofola's most frequently performed plays are '' Wedlock of the Gods'' (1972) and
The Sweet Trap
' (1977), She died in 1995 at the age of 60.

Achievements

* Scholarly awards and distinctions both nationally and internationally. * Recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship. * Represented Nigeria at the first International Women Playwrights Conference.

Selected works

* ''The Deer Hunter and The Hunter's Pearl'' (1969), London: Evans Brothers. * ''The Disturbed Peace of Christmas'' (1971), Ibadan: Daystar Press. * ''Wedlock of the Gods'' (1972), Ibadan: Evans. * ''The Operators'', Ibadan: Ibadan University, 1973. * ''King Emene: Tragedy of a Rebellion'' (1974), Heinemann Educational Books. * ''The Wizard of Law'' (1975), Evans Bros. * ''The Sweet Trap'' (1977); Ibadan: Oxford University Press. * ''Old Wines Are Tasty'' (1981), Ibadan: Oxford University Press. * ''Memories in the Moonlight'' (1986), Ibadan: Evans Brothers. * ''Queen Omu-ako of Oligbo'', Buffalo: Paul Robeson Theatre, 1989. * ''Eclipso and the Fantasia'', Illorin, Nigeria: 1990. * ''The Showers'', Illorin, Nigeria: 1991. * ''Song of a Maiden: A Play'', Illorin, Nigeria: Heinemann, 1992. * ''Lost Dreams and Other Plays'', Ibadan: Heinemann, 1992.

References

External links