Senior Lecturer

– What are the most important aspects of your job?

The most important aspects of my job are related to teaching and research. At the Obafemi Awolowo University, where I work at the Department of Dramatic Arts, notable scholars such as Ola Rotimi, Wole Soyinka, and Kole Omotosho have designed both academic and non-academic programmes that are useful for both the analytical and practical development of our students. To this end, one of the important aspects of my job—apart from teaching and training students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels—is to maintain town and gown relationships, in dialogue with community developments and artistic collaborations.

– What do you like most about your job?

My job enables me to share existing knowledge and create new knowledge. Another thing I like about my job is sharing the knowledge that I gained at the Centre for Ibsen Studies with my students. 

I was introduced to Ibsen by the late Nigerian playwright Ola Rotimi in 2000, in my second year as an undergraduate student, as he taught an introductory course titled “History of Theatre and Drama: From Classical to Modern Era.” Rotimi always discussed A Doll’s House (1879) and An Enemy of the people (1882) as examples of realistic plays in our class, but I did not know about many of the other prose plays such as Ghosts (1881) and Hedda Gabler (1890) until I was admitted into the master’s programme at the Centre for Ibsen Studies, which was then located at Observatoriet in Oslo. 

I have since then been invited as a dramaturge for a production of Hedda Gabler at Yale School of Drama in 2005 and I have introduced all published Ibsen plays to Nigerian academic societies through seminars, conferences, symposiums, and programmes for theatre, literature, creative arts, and performing arts in Nigeria.

– In what ways are the studies that you have undertaken at the Centre for Ibsen Studies/Faculty of Humanities relevant to your job?

The studies on Ibsen is very relevant to my work today. It enabled me to develop new approaches to teaching and conducting research on not only Ibsen, but August Strindberg, Anton Chekhov, and other dramatists. The courses at the Centre for Ibsen Studies served my academic journey immensely. I was also introduced to a course in international journalism during my years at the University of Oslo. This was one of the key factors that shaped my career as a journalist and producer at African Independent Television (AIT) in Abuja, Nigeria, before I became a lecturer at Nigerian universities eleven years ago. I am forever grateful to the University of Oslo for the opportunity to study with a generous scholarship. Without this support, I would not have been able to carve out a space for myself in academia.

– What is the best tip for students who are thinking about job opportunities after graduation?

Student should be patient and work hard to develop themselves academically. Steadfastness and dedication is key to personal growth and serves one well when job opportunities arise.

– What is your favorite Ibsen work and why?

An Enemy of the People, because it resonates with contemporary Nigerian societal issues. Pillars of Society (1878) is also very close to my heart.

Read more Career Interviews