Final Curtain Tor Thespian
His dimples got you first, deep on both cheeks making them the most distinguishing features on his face, especially when he smiled. And he had such a good smile, not the counterfeited glee of someone faking it to please but a genuine one straight from the gut.
Wole Oguntokun (1967-2024) had more than a smile to give the world in his 56 years. Though a lawyer by profession, he was a thoroughgoing professional in the theatre where left an indelible footprint just like his compatriot Biyi Bandele who died unexpectedly in August 2022. Oguntokun’s demise on 26 March has left many experiencing something close to déjà vu in Canada and Nigeria, cruelly bringing to mind the untimely death of the dreadlocked Bandele. Oguntokun’s passing has brought about that sinking feeling in us when young and extremely talented people depart the world too soon.
Both were gifted, productive and on the path of greatness in the theatre on the national and international stage. Both died after a brief illness. And their death literally took the breath away from colleagues, friends and family because of the unexpectedness, eliciting something like “But we saw yesterday and even made plans to meet somewhere.” “He looked fit as a fiddle the last time I saw him.”
Called Laspapis by his close friends, Oguntokun was already so many things to so many people. With a Bachelor and Masters’ degree in law, Oguntokun would have made a brilliant lawyer had he chosen to practice. But it was on the stage he made his mark as a playwright and director, earning respect from senior colleagues. One of them has written that Oguntokun’s “intellectual prowess was matched only by his artistic fervour.”
During the 2022 Stratford Festival, he was dramaturge, culture consultant and dialect coach for Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman. He was also dramaturge and played the lead role of Elesin Oba in the production of the same play for Soulpepper Theatre/ Stratford Festival’s Canadian production in 2021. Of course, Oguntokun had his own theatre troupe Renegade Theatre which he has used to direct and produce plays, notably Chibok Girls: Our Story, first at MuSon Centre Onikan in Lagos in 2015 and then at the Cross Currents Festival Washington DC in 2019.
In February 2021, Oguntokun won the Young-Howze award for Dramatic Writing of the year with his drama The Emancipation of Yankee Oluwale based on the death of a Nigerian David Oluwale, a migrant who was killed by two English Bobbies.
Oguntokun’s death was announced by his colleague Kenneth Uphopho for Jasonvision who let it be known on behalf of Guild of Theatre Directors of Nigeria. “Laspapi, as he was fondly called, was an inspiration to many of us and his revolutionary contributions to the renaissance of theatre in Nigeria can never be overemphasized,” Uphopho wrote. “Words can’t describe how much we’ll miss him.”
Ever since his untimely death, Nigerians have continued to pay their respect. “The theatre world is shrouded in sorrow at the passing of Wole Oguntokun, a distinguished Nigerian playwright, who drew his last breath on March 26, 2024, in Canada. Fondly known as Laspapi, Oguntokun’s legacy as a visionary of the dramatic arts, whose brilliance illuminated stages across Nigeria and beyond, remains etched in the hearts of many as can be gleaned from the outpouring of emotions on X in the wake of his untimely departure,” publisher and PR man Toni Kan wailed in a tribute to the Thespian in last Sunday’s The Lagos Review.
For fellow writer and journalist Molara Wood, Oguntokun made the theatre so chic that young men and women began to use it as a venue for dating. Writing @molarawood, she reasons that “It’s thanks to Wole Oguntokun that young Lagos guys/girls started to think of theatre as perfect for a date. This scene we have now where Nigerians of every age now see theatre as a nice day out; it’s why resurgent musicals have become big box office. RIP @laspapi my friend.”
Lawyer, lyricist and polemicist Deji Toye took Oguntokun’s death for a joke, insisting he is shock over the news. Recalling what the dramatist said about reawakening the theatre in the country, Toye quoted Oguntokun thusly: “Sometime between the 80s and the 90s, a bridge collapsed [in the Nigerian theatre culture], and I think we’re looking for a way across that bridge” Wole Oguntokun says, as he prepares to take an adaptation of A Winter’s Tale to Shakespeare’s @The_ Globe in 2012. #RIP @laspapi…I hope this news remains unconfirmed. I hope someone says it was an unfounded rumour, a bad joke!” echoes in the hearts of many who loved Laspapi.”
Writing @onyekanwelue, the novelist felt deeply the sudden loss of a theatre giant in Nigeria. “I was about 16 years old when I first met Wole Oguntokun. His name splashed over posters. He was the King and he’s still the King of Theatre in Nigeria. He has been fighting this battle for a long time. Now, he has transitioned. I am pained.”
Dan Baker @dan_baker83 was equally pained by Oguntokun’s passing, saying that he is “devastated to hear that Wole Oguntokun @laspapi has passed. I was lucky to meet him through @ISPA global and he was brilliant, inspiring human whose smile and warmth could power the world. Rest in Power, my friend. His impact wasn’t confined to the stage alone. Oguntokun’s commitment to nurturing young talents and promoting Nigerian arts was evident in his establishment of the Theatre Republic in Lagos.”
“Beyond his directorial feats, Oguntokun’s influence extended globally. Not only did he run a popular blog, he played a pivotal role in international collaborations, notably directing Nigerian plays at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival Fringe, showcasing Nigeria’s rich theatrical heritage on a world stage
Another mourner observed that the late playwright was a world figure. “Beyond his directorial feats, Oguntokun’s influence extended globally. Not only did he run a popular blog, he played a pivotal role in international collaborations, notably directing Nigerian plays at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival Fringe, showcasing Nigeria’s rich theatrical heritage on a world stage.”
Oguntokun may have died prematurely, still the world, especially the theatre in which he committed so much of his life will forever remember him. “As the whole world bids farewell to this titan of the stage with shock and disbelief,” Toni Kan opines, “we are reminded of his enduring legacy—a legacy that continues to inspire generations of playwrights, directors, and performers to dream boldly and create fearlessly. Wole Oguntokun’s brilliance may have dimmed with his passing, but his spirit shines eternally through Nigerian theatre. Rest in peace, maestro.”
Monday Wisdom needs regular power in his metal workshop in Sokoto, north-west Nigeria. But, unable to rely on the public grid, he depends on a diesel generator, at significant personal expense, pollution and noise.
“I spend no less than 4,000 naira (about US$5) to purchase diesel on a daily basis,” he says. “What’s more, I still have to pay the power distributor’s bill for what I didn’t consume at the end of month.”
Due to power failure in the state, many of his colleagues in the welding profession have resorted to menial jobs for survival such as bricklaying and commercial motorcyclists, he said.
Most Nigerians living in cities also experience regular power cuts, while a majority of rural Nigerians remain without access at all. One solution is off grid solar systems like rooftop solar and rechargeable solar powered systems, and Chinese firms have been increasingly active in meeting Nigeria’s growing demand.
Grid collapses
The reliability of Nigeria’s national grid has been deteriorating. In 2011, there were 13 complete grid collapses, and 6 partial outages. By 2022, the number had risen to 22 collapses and 20 partials. In March of that year, the grid collapsed twice within 48 hours, plunging millions into darkness.
In terms of electricity access, in 2020, 55.4% of the country’s population had access, according to World Bank data. That’s far lower than the global proportion of 90.4%, though higher than the sub-Saharan African figure of 48.2%.And of course, the regular grid failures mean electricity is frequently curtailed.
In August last year, the Nigerian government launched its Plan, which maps out measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2060. The plan aims to ensure electricity provision to all Nigerians by 2030, which is in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 7.
During the launch, then vice president Yemi Osinbajo said the plan also targets, by 2060, a complete phase-out of diesel and petrol generators, which are widely used by households, businesses and industry.
Renewable energy renews hopes
A renewable expert and team lead at Prime Renewable Energy Solution Ltd, Lagos, Nigeria, Nikki Adams says the Nigerian solar off-grid market is among the fastestgrowing in Africa, having increased at a 22%average annual rate in both Nigeria’s rural communities and the cities over the past five years. This, he puts down partly to the strong need for alternatives to the faulty power grids, and recent government policies favouring solar installations
In 2021, Nigeria and Power China signed a memorandum of understanding to boost renewable electricity supply to rural communities across Nigeria.
Few months later, as a result of the pact, Yunnan province’s Department of Commerce donated 200 sets of off-grid photovoltaic equipment to rural Nigeria under the ‘Green Energy Africa, One Belt, One Road lightening Up of Thousands of Households’. Speaking to THEWILL, Magaji Shehu, 83-year-old head of Gidan Yunfa community in Sokoto, north-west Nigeria, a recipient of solar panels under the project, described their impacts as a dream to most community members, who had lost hope of living in an electrified environment.
Prior to the solar energy supply, he said, the villagers used to go to bed early, but now children play around the street lights provided for the village.“We are very happy to have this electricity project in our domain.”
Garba Ali, a 34-year-old farmer from the community, said that the community is happier with off-grid solar than a connection to the national grid, given the unreliability of electricity in cities.
Meeting demand
It is far from just donations that have found a place in Nigeria’s solar system. Business is booming too. “The presence of Chinese solar firms in Nigeria’s energy markets is making households’ hope a reality,” says Amadi Joshua, an electrical engineer with AY Global Energy, an Abuja-based renewable distribution company.
“They are providing affordable solar panels, solar street lights, energy-saving bulbs, rechargeable lamps and fans, among other clean energy products, to Nigerians, “he adds. Nuhu Isaac, a sales representative with Beebeejump Technology, a company based in Shenzhen with multiple offices in Nigeria, in an interview said: “Solar power is what matters to all Nigerians now irrespective of their economic status.” The company says it sells off-grid solar products across Nigeria’s 36 states, using flexible billing and payment solutions to reach more customers. Beebeejump Technology says it hopes to solve the power supply issues for 3 million people in areas vulnerable to blackouts.
In 2020, another Shenzhen-based company, Kang Ming Sheng Technology, says it has helped in providing alternative sources to millions of Nigerians especially those in remote hinterlands. “Our rechargeable bulbs and solar bulbs serve millions of poultry farmers as well as shop owners,” said Nnaji Collins, the company’s customer service manager for Nigeria.
Collins also explained that their power banks and solar power kits power agency banks ‘point-of-sale machines and phones.
Opportunities and challenges
Babatunde Fashola, former minister of works, power and housing, is optimistic about solar power development in Nigeria. “The prospects of clean energy leapfrogging conventional sources are certainly within reach for Nigeria, particularly in light of rising diesel costs, and partly due to the increased market penetration of renewable energy solutions,” Fashola said.
Toyin Ilo, executive director of Gennex Technologies, one of Nigeria’s leading solar companies, says that despite the great progress made over the last several years, “one of the major challenges include the proliferation of experienced and unequal solar installers who unethically advise commercial, industrial and even residential customers on solutions design, sizing, and choice of input.” Ilo said.
With grid collapses and blackouts a frequent reality for all Nigerians, off-grid solar developments offer one route to better and cleaner power connectivity for the people.
•This work was produced as a result of a grant provided by the Africa-China Reporting Project at the Wits Centre for Journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. The views of this report are of the authors.