User:Oluwafiropo

Oluwafiropo Olasunkanmi Ewenla is a media administrator, a stage and screen actor, and a social justice activist. A man of many parts, he is also a scholar, playwright, and producer.

Ropo Ewenla has his family roots in Ayetoro Ekiti, Ekiti State, but the Renaissance man was born in Ibadan, Oyo State. He spent most of his formative years in the city, and attended Apata Community Grammar School. It was during those youthful years that Ropo Ewenla’s passion for performance, literature, and African culture grew, alongside his passion for resisting all forms of social injustice.

Ropo Ewenla studied English and Literary Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. During his undergraduate studies, his leadership qualities quickly became evident to his peers. He was elected President, Awovarsity Literary and English Students Society, and he was Chairman, Students Union Government, Obafemi Awolowo University from 1994 to 1995. He rose to become President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in 1996, during the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha.

After his first degree, Ropo Ewenla proceeded to the University of Ibadan for his postgraduate studies. He received an M.A. in Literature in English from the university in 2006. His Ph.D. research interests straddle the domains of identity and popular culture.

Ropo Ewenla has worked as Research Officer, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Lagos, and as the pioneer Public Relations Officer of Wesley University of Science and Technology, Ondo. He has also been Director, Programmes and Projects, Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA); Head, Documentary Desk, Precizion Creative Events; Resource Person, African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA); and Part time Lecturer, Lagos State University, Lekki Campus.

Ropo Ewenla is a major figure in the Nigerian theatre and film industries. His scores of accomplishments on stage, TV, radio, film, and in arts management include a lead role in The Beatification of Area Boy under the artistic directorship of Professor Wole Soyinka; actor and associate producer in several of Tunde Kelani’s films; and scriptwriter for the British Broadcasting Corporation’s radio drama Story, Story: Voices from the Market. He has worked with other respected performance industry stalwarts  like Niji Akanni, Dr Tunde Awosanmi,  Professor Femi Osofisan, and Peter Badejo (OBE), to mention a few. Ropo Ewenla is the secretary-general of the Nigerian chapter of PEN, the oldest writers and human rights organisation in the world.

To revive the waning tradition of theatregoing in Nigeria, Ropo Ewenla founded the Ibadan Playhouse January in 2016. The non-profit theatre company produces at least one play a month in Ibadan and Lagos. In addition, the Ibadan Playhouse has as part of its mission the goal of taking free shows to hospitals, prisons, orphanages, and other such institutions for the underprivileged.

Oluwafiropo Olasunkanmi Ewenla is currently the Deputy Director, University Media Centre (UMC), University of Ibadan. He is married to Mrs Molara Oyewunmi-Ewenla, and is a doting father to their two lovely children Díẹ̀kárá and Díẹ̀kọ́lá.