D o fagunwa

Adebayo faleti
Akinwumi Isola was a Yoruba playwright, novelist, actor, dramatist, culture activist and scholar.
Akinwunmi Ishola was born in 1939 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

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Akinwumi Ishola: Touching is the death of an honest man

The passing away of legendary scholar, writer and dramatist, Prof. Akinwumi Ishola, shakes the arts and culture community, AKEEM LASISI writes

When acclaimed broadcaster and dramatist, Adebayo Faleti, passed in July 2017, this correspondent tried to reach Prof. Akinwumi Ishola on phone. Based on how close the icons were, wanting to get his reaction on Faleti’s demise was a natural thing. Apart from the fact that they were both writers of repute and committed promoters of Yoruba, nay African culture, they were among the few intellectuals who identified with Nigeria’s contemporary film industry, especially what is informally referred to as Yoruwood – meant to be a branch of Nollywood.

Instead of the easy-going scholar to answer the phone, it was his wife, Mrs. Adebola Ishola, who spoke with the journalist. According to her, ‘Baba’, as she fondly called him, was a bit indisposed and had to rest. She noted that the family had deliberately kept the news of Faleti’s departure from him.

“You know they are very close,” sh

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By Rebecca Joneson •

This post is the first in an occasional series of writer profiles, looking especially at those working in African languages.

Akinwumi Isola

For readers and speakers of Yoruba, Akínwùmí Ìsòlá [pronounced Ishola] needs little introduction. A charismatic and stern-looking figure affectionately nicknamed ‘Honest Man’ for his predilection for speaking his mind, and with a fearsome list of occupations spanning playwright, film director, screenwriter, novelist, academic, literary critic, translator, actor, language activist and poet, Isola is one of the most renowned figures in contemporary Yoruba literature.

Now that film versions of his novels directed by Tunde Kelani are available (see more on this below), and with his historical dramas, Efúnsetán Aníwúrà and Olú Omohaving recently translated been into English by Pamela J. Olubunmi Smith and into French by Michka Sachnine, the time is ripe for Isola’s work to reach an even wider audience.

Pamela J. Olubunmi Smith’s translation of Isola’s Efunsetan Aniwura and

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Akinwunmi Isola

Nigerian playwright and actor

Akinwumi Isola
Born	(1939-12-24)December 24, 1939 Ibadan, Nigeria
Died	February 17, 2018(2018-02-17) (aged 78) Ibadan, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian
Alma mater	University of Ibadan
Occupations	Playwright novelist actor scholar
Known for	Writing in and promoting the Yoruba language
Awards	National Merit Award Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters

Akinwumi IsolaListen^ⓘ(24 December 1939^[1]^[2] – 17 February 2018) was a Yoruba playwright, novelist, actor, dramatist, culture activist and scholar.^[3] He was known for his writing in, and his work in promoting, the Yoruba language.^[4] As an actor, he was known for;

Agogo Eèwò (2002) as Ifa Priest
Sawo-Segberi (2005)
The Campus Queen (2004) as Professor
Thunderbolt: Magun (2001) as Professor
Brass Bells (1999) as Babalawo
Efunsetan Aniwura (1981)
Efunsetan Aniwura (2005).

Early life and career

Isola was born in Ibadan in 1939. He attended Labode Me