Welcome to the official website of Zulu Sofola, a widely celebrated historical matriarch of Theatrical Arts in Africa. A modern pioneer in her own right, Dr. Sofola was the first female Nigerian published playwright and dramatist. She is also recognized as the first female Professor of Theater and Arts in Africa. Zulu Sofola’s writing embodied the rich African Traditions as portrayed through the culture of her people. Her work captured the perceived conflicts at the intersection of western culture, Christianity and African value systems.

Professor Sofola was a renowned international scholar, and one of the most prolific writers on the African continent. She was also an accomplished musician and theater director. She produced numerous plays for stage and television. Her academic prowess underpinned her appointment as the first woman Head of Theatre Department at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Zulu Sofola received many scholarly awards and recognition in Nigeria and internationally. She was a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship at the State University of New York in 1988. In the same year, she represented Nigeria in the first International Women Playwrights Conference, sponsored by the University of Buffalo in New York. Sofola was a former Ford Foundation Fellow, and a recipient of the prestigious Literary Award of the International Book Fair of the University of Ife, Nigeria. She was listed in the World’s Who’s Who of Women in Education.

Professor Sofola held a number of other leadership positions and was an active participant in the educational reform of Nigeria, and Africa at large. She advocated for and spearheaded the Nigerian education reform to include the African perspective in the arts and sciences. Sofola was a former President of the Nigerian Association of University Women, the National Treasurer of the Association of Nigerian Authors, among numerous other committees and panels in the education sector of Nigeria.

In addition to her other numerous critical works and presentations, Zulu Sofola had about 15 published plays. Sofola used some of her plays to criticize the social injustices against females in society. Some of her critics portrayed her as a ‘liberal feminist’, but credited her as a writer who sought justice for all. In her play, ‘The Wedlock of the Gods’, Sofola questions the outstanding tradition that reduces women to chattels, the view that ‘a man’s daughter is his source of wealth’. Through her dramatic satire, she addressed other social ills, such as the political savagery of military dictatorship, that tries to clean up corruption among the population, while turning a blind eye to the politicians. While Sofola’s writing strongly focused on the plight of women in society, she was not a hard core feminist who preached women’s independence from men. Rather, her views emphasized the fair treatment of all individuals regardless of their gender. Above all, Sofola espoused some of the African and Christian family values like humility, and wives honoring their husbands.

Zulu Sofola’s writing style was simple and humorous but provocative. Her knowledge of self and pride in her heritage is demonstrated in her plays, some of which portrayed Issele-Uku culture and names. She used her plays to share her extraordinary knowledge of her country’s history, traditions and present circumstances, particularly as they related to women. For example, Sofola used her native icon like ‘mother Mkpitime’ and several other indigenous Issele-Uku names like, ‘Andigwu’, Akuagwu, Diokpa, Jigide, Odu, Olinzele, Odibei, Ogoli, Onowu, Ogbelani, Okeibunor, Omu, etc. This is not suggest that the social ills Sofola criticized in her plays were unique to her native town, but rather, it was her way of creating relatable characters to her audience. Zulu Sofola’s plays are popular worldwide, and her message of fair treatment of all humans and the preservation of human dignity is at the center of all human rights advocacy effort today. She left a potent mark on theatrical arts and social injustice.

“Sofola forges a link between her religion (Christianity) and her culture, seeking to interweave traditional practices with Christian doctrines. In the play (The Disturbed Peace of Christmas), Titi, who is playing the role of Mary for the community’s Christmas play is pregnant by Ayo, who is playing the role of Joseph. The entire Christmas programme for the community is threatened by the adolescent’s “sinful act” which in turn threatens the message of peace for the period as both families are initially tense and poise for conflict.“

Excerpt from Kenneth Efakponana Eni’s 2009 article titled, “Zulu Sofola and the Nigerian Theatre Influences and Traditions