Ola Rotimi's 84th Birthday

Emmanuel Gladstone Olawale Rotimi, also known as Ola Rotimi, was in the spotlight for more reasons than one. Today’s Doodle celebrates the renowned Nigerian playwright, director, actor, choreographer and designer, who used his art to reflect on Nigeria’s rich culture, diversity, and local traditions. 

Ola Rotimi was born in 1938 and grew up in a family of artists: His mother managed a traditional dance group and his father organized a community theater. His father also directed and produced a play where Rotimi would show up on stage for the first time at only four-years-old. His family’s passion for the arts, as well as his mixed parentage—an Ijaw mother and Yoruba father—greatly influenced his future work. He would later attend Boston University to study theater and earned an M.F.A. degree at Yale University in playwriting and dramatic literature. 

Throughout Rotimi’s career, he wrote and directed dozens of plays and short stories that poignantly examined Nigeria’s ethnic traditions and history. He was known to have a larger-than-life vision and embraced dance, music, and even mime within his productions. Rotimi’s plays pulled back the curtain to unveil traditional Nigerian rituals, songs, and dances to audiences all over the world. Some of his most celebrated and award-winning works include The Gods Are Not to Blame, Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again, and Kurunmi.

Happy birthday to “the father of Nollywood” and one of Nigeria’s foremost dramatists, Ola Rotimi.

Special thanks to the family of Ola Rotimi for their collaboration on this project. Below, his children—Enitan, Biodun, Oruene and Kole—share their thoughts on their father’s legacy:

Though Ola Rotimi had four biological children, countless others consider themselves his child. Ola Rotimi, a.k.a. Papa, "father of Nollywood" was a giant. A pillar of morality and virtue, his philosophy was always, "Get the job done, and no stories." 

Growing up as Ola Rotimi's child was not easy. Though he always stressed that each of us follow our own path, society always expected us to be like him. Papa did not believe in material things and would rather channel his resources back into society than accumulate worldly possessions. Most find it hard to believe that he only owned two cars his whole life. The first a 1968 Peugeot 404, followed by a 1986 Peugeot 504. We kids can remember his refrain for the next 10 years, "New Car Sweet O!" Also, there was the fact that it took him over 30 years to build his house, a simple 5 bedroom bungalow (Kurunmi's Hideout). This is classic Papa, giving everything he had to all his children, to Nigeria, and more broadly to Africa, and the world. 

Today, so many years after Papa's departure, we still hear him in our hearts, minds, and our actions. We remember that "The day a people lose their tradition is the day their death begins -- weeds, they become, climbers, sea-weeds floating they know not where to. Doomed." (Kurunmi)

Pictured: Ola Rotimi, Haze Mae Rotimi
and children Enitan, Feyikunmi and Biodun