Zulu Sofola

Nwazuluwa Onuekwuke "Zulu" Sofola (22 June 1935 – 5 September 1995) was the first published female Nigerian playwright and dramatist. Sofola was also a university teacher and became the first female Professor of Theater Arts in Africa.

Biography

Nwazuluwa Onuekwuke Sofola was born in the former Bendel State to Nwaugbade Okwumabua and Chief Ogana Okwumabua who were Igbo from Issele-Uku, Aniocha North Local Government Area, presently Delta State in the south-southern region of Nigeria. She attended Federal Government Primary School in Asaba and the Baptist Girls High School in Agbor all in Delta State. Due to her outstanding performance in school, she was awarded a scholarship to complete her high school education in Nashville, Tennessee. She obtained her MA in Drama (Play writing and Production) from The Catholic University of America in Washington DC in the year 1965.

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." 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).

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. Gikandi, Simon (2002), Encyclopedia of African Literature, Routledge. - p. 502 Gilbert, H. (1996), Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics, Routledge. - p. 183 (on Sofola's use of proverbs). Kolawole, M. E. M. (1999), Zulu Sofola: her life & her works, Caltop Publications (Nigeria). http://www.critical-stages.org/15/nigeria-the-challenge-of-and-for-the-female-playwright/