Sunday Ododo

Sunday "Sunnie" Enessi Ododo, is a Nigerian professor of performance aesthetics, theatre practice and theatre technology. He is a writer and has served as the General Manager/CEO of the National Arts Theatre from 2020 to 2024. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters and he is the current Vice President of the Academy (2025-2027).

Early life and education Ododo was born on 21 October 1962 in Maiduguri, Borno State. He hails from Okene in Kogi State. Ododo attended Nurul Islamic Primary School, Okene from 1970 to 1975. He then attended Fatima Community College, Ekan-Meje from 1975 to 1980. Ododo gained admission to the University of Ilorin in 1982 to study Performing Arts. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree (2nd Class, Upper Division) in 1986.

Administrative service He served as head of department of Theatre Arts, University of Maiduguri from 2012 to 2015 and again from 2019. On Sunday, 3 September 2023, “The Road” a play by Wole Soyinka was staged at the National Arts Theatre in collaboration with an NGO, the African-Israeli Stage, during Ododo's tenure.

Fellowship and membership Ododo became a Fellow of Nigerian Academy of Letters in 2019; Fellow of the Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (fsonta), 2013; Fellow of Theatre Arts (fta) awarded by Nigerian Association of Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), 2021; Fellow of the Society of Nigerian Artists (fsna) awarded by the Society of Nigerian Artists, 22 September 2021; Fellow of Association of Nigerian Author (fana) 6 November 2021; Fellow of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (fnipr), 2022; Fellow of Africa Academic Network (faan),2023, and, Fellow, Council of Research Scholars and Administrators (fcrsa), 2023.

Editorship of journals Ododo is the pioneer Editor of Scene Dock: Journal of Theatre Design and Technology; editor of Alore: Ilorin Journal of the Humanities; The Performer: Ilorin Journal of the Performing Arts; Sino-US English Teaching Journal; Liwuram Journal of the Humanities, and, US-China Foreign Language Journal. He is the pioneer editor-in-chief of the National Theatre Monograph Series (NATMOS).

Recognitions Ododo is a recipient of the Time Africa’s Who’s Who Africa Award for Exceptional Leadership, Integrity, and Relentless Commitment to public Service in Africa, 2023-2024; his play, Hard Choice, won the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Drama Prize, 2012.

Television drama The Revelation by Sunnie Ododo (1987); Political Reveries by Sunnie Ododo (1987); and, African Man by Sunnie Ododo (1987) were all screened by Nigerian Television Authority, Yola. Ododo, S. E. and Osakue S.O. (2017) Theatre, media, and cultural re-engineering in Nigeria : an ovation of excellence to Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma (BFA). Ibadan : Kraft Books Limited. Ododo, S. E. (2008). "Facekuerade: The transformational duality in Ebira-Ekuechi festival performance”, Cultural Studies. 22 (2): 284–308. Ododo, S. E. and Akoh, A.D. (2016). “ Performative kinesis: theatre, media and national security Responsibility”, Maiduguri, Nigeria: Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA). Ododo, Sunday E. and Musiliyu Olorunnishola Sanni. (2021). “Scenographic Conception and Dramatic Action in Olu Obafemi’s Plays” in Larger than His Frame II: Further Critical Studies and Reflections on Olu Obafemi. Oni, Duro and Sunday Enessi Ododo (eds.) pp. 426–432. (Lagos: National Theatre, Nigeria). Ododo, Sunday E. 2023. “Technology and the Future of Film Distribution” in Regulating Nollywood in a Ritual Cultural Space. Rasheedah Liman and Victor S. Dugga (eds.) pp. 113–130. Abuja: National Film and Video Censors Board. Ododo, S.E. and Patricia Oguntoye. 2023. “Managing Reality Television Show in Nigeria: A Case Study of “The Next Movie Star” in Critical Nationalism: Orature, Literature and Language- A book in Honour of Idris OO Amali. Adam Al-Amin et al. (eds.) pp. 391– 402. Lafia: Federal University Lafia Printing Press. Ododo, S.E. 2024. “Spatial Temporality and the Poetics of Space Liminality in Ebiran Ekuechi Facekuerade Performance” in Kene Igweonu (ed.) Routledge Handbook of African Theatre and Performance, pp. 136– 144. (London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group).