Efúnṣetán Aníwúra’s Author, Prof Ishola Dies

Ronke Kehinde/

Celebrated playwright and culture activist, Prof. Akinwunmi Isola is dead.
NewsmakersNG learnt that Prof. Ishola, who wrote the historical Yoruba play, Efúnṣetán Aníwúra, died during a brief illness.

Moyo Okediji, a Professor at the University of Texas, Austin, describes the late Prof. Ishola in a facebook post as: “One of the greatest. The only Honest Man.

The late Prof. Ishola was born in Ibadan in 1939, attended Labode Methodist School and Wesley College. He studied at the University of Ibadan, earning a B. A. in French. He also earned an M.A. in Yoruba literature from the University of Lagos in 1978 before commencing academic work as a lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University. He was appointed Professor at the same University in 1991. Isola wrote his first play, Efúnṣetán Aníwúra, , in 1961 and 1962 whilst still a student at the University of Ibadan.

This was followed by the novel O Leku. His play proved popular, and one performance in Ibadan was watched by forty thousand people. Also, in 1986, he wrote and composed the college anthem that is currently being sung in defunct Wesley College Elekuro, Ibadan.