Femi Robinson

Femi Robinson (September 27, 1940 – May 20, 2015) was a Nigerian film and television actor, famous for his lead role in The Village Headmaster, where his stage name, "Village Headmaster", was coined. Chief Eddie Ugbomah, former Chairman of the Nigerian Film Corporation, called him "an icon of the industry".[1]

Femi Robinson
BornSeptember 27, 1940
Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria
DiedMay 20, 2015(2015-05-20) (aged 74)
Lagos, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Occupation
  • actor
  • producer
  • director
  • theatre administrator
Years active1968–1988
Notable work
The Gods Are Not To Blame (1968)
The Village Headmaster

Early life

Robinson was born on September 27, 1940 at Bodo, a village in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria, into the family of an Ifá priest. He obtained a bachelor's degree in botany from Obafemi Awolowo University in the early 1960s before joining the Nigerian film industry.[2][3]

Career

He began his acting career playing the lead role of Odewale in The Gods Are Not To Blame, a 1968 play by the Nigerian playwright Chief Ola Rotimi. The play was an adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex.[4] He also played the lead role in The Village Headmaster, Nigeria's longest-running television soap opera from 1968 to 1988, scripted by Olusegun Olusola.[5]

On October 11, 2012, Robinson called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to ban Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart in Nigerian schools, following the publication of Achebe's controversial memoir There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra.[6]

Death

Robinson died of a heart attack on May 20, 2015 at Ayodele Hospital in the Ifako Ijaiye local government area of Lagos. Robinson's death drew the attentions of many notable Nigerians.[7] According to Vanguard, a veteran Nigerian film actor, Prince Jide Kosoko, said in his tribute, "Femi Robinson was a true professional. He has contributed immensely to the growth of the entertainment industry in Nigeria".[8][9]

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, conveyed his condolences to Robinson's family in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.[10]

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References
  1. "More accolades for late Femi Robinson". The Guardian Nigeria. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  2. "I prayed for another chance". My Newswatch Times. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  3. "Nollywood actors mourn Femi Robinson former `Village Headmaster'". News Agency of Nigeria. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  4. "'Village Headmaster', Femi Robinson Dies At 75". P.M News. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  5. Evelyn Osagie. "The return of The Village Headmaster". The Nation. Nigeria. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  6. Information Nigeria. "Femi Robinson Calls For The Ban Of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart In Schools". Information Nigeria. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  7. "Village Headmaster, Femi Robinson, is dead". Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  8. "My dad tried to change his environment, entertainment industry, says Femi Robinson's son". Vanguard News. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  9. "Village Headmaster actor, Femi Robinson dies at 75". DailyPost Nigeria. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  10. Our. "Jonathan condoles with Femi Robinson's family". The Nation. Nigeria. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
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