Famous Nigerian Playwrights

This ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

Buchi Emecheta

(Nigerian-born Novelist)

Birthdate: July 21, 1944

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Yaba Department

Died: January 25, 2017

Nigerian-born novelist Buchi Emecheta OBE, who was based in the UK since 1962, gained critical-acclaim and recognition for her literary works with themes including child-slavery, female independence, motherhood and freedom through education. Notable works of Emecheta include novels like Second Class Citizen, The Bride Price, The Joys of Motherhood and The Slave Girl. The latter won her Jock Campbell Award.

Ola Rotimi

(One of the Most Important Playwrights of Nigeria)

Birthdate: April 13, 1938

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Ilesa, Nigeria

Died: August 18, 2000

Ola Rotimi was a Nigerian theatre director and playwright. Counted among the most important playwrights of Nigeria, Rotimi also worked as an actor, choreographer, and designer. Ola Rotimi also contributed as a teacher as he taught at the Obafemi Awolowo University, where he established the Ori Olokun Acting Company.

J. P. Clark

(Nigerian Playwright and Poet Who is Counted Among Africa's Most Important Authors of All Time)

Birthdate: April 6, 1935

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Kiagbodo, Nigeria

Died: October 13, 2020

J. P. Clark was a Nigerian playwright and poet. He is credited with founding the PEC Repertory Theatre alongside his wife Ebun Odutola. Counted among Africa's most important authors of all time, Clark won many prestigious awards including the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award. J. P. Clark also contributed as an editor of magazines like Black Orpheus.

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Kola Ogunmola

(Noted Nigerian Dramatist and Actor Known for Developing Yoruba Culture Into a Significant Theatre Form)

Birthdate: November 11, 1925

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Okemesi, Nigeria

Died: 1973 AD

Nigerian dramatist, mime, director, actor and playwright Kola Ogunmola, counted among most remarkable actors in Africa during the 1950s and ’60s, is best-remembered for developing Yoruba culture, particularly folk opera, into a significant theatre form. He did so by travelling extensively and staging his works through his Ogunmola Travelling Theatre. His popular plays include Love for Money and Palmwine Drinkard.

Kole Omotoso

(Nigerian Intellectual and Writer)

Birthdate: April 21, 1943

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Akure, Nigeria

Kole Omotoso is a Nigerian intellectual and writer. He is best known for his fictional works. Omotoso is also known for appearing in a series of TV advertisements for Vodacom mobile phones in which he portrayed Yebo Gogo man in the mid-1990s and 2010s.

Sankie Maimo

(Writer and School Teacher)

Birthdate: 1930 AD

Birthplace: Unknown

Died: September 4, 2013

Sankie Maimo was a Nigerian writer and school teacher. He is credited with founding a journal called Cameroon Voice in 1955. Sankie Maimo is also remembered for writing a children's book titled Adventuring with Jaja, which promoted the adoption of European values in order to put Africa on the world stage.

James Ene Henshaw

(Playwright)

Birthdate: August 29, 1924

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Calabar, Nigeria

Died: August 16, 2007

James Ene Henshaw was a Nigerian playwright best remembered for his simple yet popular plays. Many of his plays have been widely read and staged in Nigeria. James Ene Henshaw's works have also influenced several writers and playwrights in Nigeria.