Kole Omotosho
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Bankole Ajibabi Omotosho, known as Kole Omotosho or Kole Omotoso (born April 21, 1943), is a Nigerian writer and intellectual known for his dedication and commitment to fusing a socio-political reappraisal of Africa and respect for human dignity into most of his works.
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[edit] Early life and education
Kole Omotosho was born into a Yoruba family in Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. He was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents after the death of his father. Though the lack of a father figure could crush a young Nigerian boy, the events of his early childhood contributed a great deal to his development as a man and also as a writer. Omotosho was educated at King's College, Lagos and the University of Ibadan and then undertook a doctoral thesis on the modern Arabic writer Ahmad Ba Kathir at the University of Edinburgh.
[edit] Later life
Omotosho returned to Ibadan to lecture on Arabic studies (1972–76), then moved to the University of Ife to work in drama (1976–88). He became a writer for different magazines (including West Africa) in the ’70's and was well known among Nigeria's literate elites.
His 1988 historical novel about Nigeria, Just before Dawn (ISBN 9789782460073) was controversial and led Omotosho to leave his native country. After visiting professorships in English at the University of Stirling and the National University of Lesotho and a spell at the Tawala Theatre, London, he became a professor of English at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa (1991–2000). From 2001 he has been a professor in the Drama Department at Stellenbosch University. He has also appeared as the “Yebo Gogo man” in television advertisements for Vodacom mobile phones.[1] Omotosho is married with three children.
[edit] Themes
Omotosho grew up during the rising tide of radical nationalism and was enamored by the potential that lay in the future of his country. His fiction ranges widely over the human condition, and themes include intergenerational and interracial relationships. Fella's Choice is an early example of Nigerian detective fiction. However, with the ascent of social and political decay, a few years after independence, he became deeply interested in writing about fiction. Fiction was an avenue that exists apart from the decay of real life and where deep reconstructions about life and ideas come true. It was also an avenue to experiment on social and political ideas for societal change and advancement. Omotosho’s non-fiction is wide-ranging in subject matter.
[edit] Works
[edit] Fiction
- The Edifice (1971)
- The Combat (1972)
- Miracles (short stories) (1973)
- Fella's Choice (1974)
- Sacrifice (1974, 1978)
- The Scales (1976)
- To Borrow a Wandering Leaf (1978)
- Memories of Our Recent Boom (1982)
- Just Before Dawn (1988)
[edit] Drama
- The Curse (1976)
- Shadows in the Horizon (1977)
[edit] Non-fiction
- The Form of the African Novel (1979 etc)
- The Theatrical Into Theatre: a study of the drama and theatre of the English-speaking Caribbean (1982)
- Season of Migration to the South: Africa's crises reconsidered (1994)
- Acehebe or Soyinka? a study in contrasts (1995)
- Woza Africa (1997)
[edit] References
- Uko Atai, African Writers Vol. 2 1997
- ^ Posthumus, Carol. Yebo! Gogo (Yes! Grandma). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
