Fosudo Emerges as Winner at 4th Beeta Playwright Competition

Yinka Olatunbosun

Escaping from the
snarling Lagos Traffic, Temilolu Fosudo made it to the grand finale of the
Beeta Playwright Competition at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos on August 4. His
mother arrived at the hall before him and gladly received the prize on his
behalf. Temilolu had to interrupt her acceptance speech in sheer excitement as
he rushed in.

Fosudo had won the
first prize in the competition with his play titled ‘Black Dust’ while Kalayingi
John-Africa and Ibukun Fasuhan won second and third prizes
respectively. John-Africa who hails from Bayelsa state entered the
competition with her play titled, ‘Orchid’ and Fasunhan, who had been a stage
manager for major theatre productions including Saro the Musical 1 & 2.

The Founder, Beeta
Universal Arts Foundation, Bikiya Graham-Douglas thanked Union Bank for the
unflinching support and revealed how the winners were selected this year in her
welcome address.

“We received 538
entries from across the country and in the diaspora and are thrilled that many
young voices are taking this opportunity to share their stories with us. Our
past winners Paul Ugbede, Abdul-Qudus Ibrahim and Achalugo Chioma Ezekobe have
since had their plays published and produced to audiences of over 30,000 people
in different parts of the country thereby introducing their work to the next
generation. We have also seen tremendous success among our finalists with one
of them, Dr. Soji Cole going to win the prestigious NLNG prize for Literature.
We are pleased to be able to holistically impact the value chain of the
performing arts industry in Nigeria by empowering all players to include the
writes, directors, actors and other professionals in the eco-system.

“At Beeta, we are
passionate about telling contemporary organic stories and understand the
responsibility that comes with this. It can be daunting putting competitions
and productions like these together but we believe it is our responsibility and
are committed to doing so,’’ she said.

Fosudo who spoke
briefly with the media after the ceremony revealed that the winning work is
rooted in his interest in social-political issues.

“Black Dust is about
corruption; it is about the situation in Nigeria how corrupt leaders and
megalomanias seize freedom from the people. There is a character that is an
activist in the pay who challenges the authority- the villain who was a chief
judge of the country. That is the plot. The hero is Oko Orin- a musician and an
activist. I try to model him after Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

“I like to write
about social issues. The previous play was about identity. One of our problems
is that we don’t appreciate our identity and we have borrowed identity from the
west. That is what makes us scattered and confused as a people. It’s about
finding our identity but this play focuses on corruption and abuse of power. I
have written nine plays and produced three of them. I look forward to producing
more,’’ he said.

Fosudo acknowledged
his father’s role in shaping his writing career. He wrote his first play at age
18. His father got it typed and presented it to him.

“That really
encouraged me. He sent me to the university of Ibadan to meet one of the
lecturers there, Dr. Tunde Awosanmi who took me under his wings and trained me.
This gesture helped to shape my career. I can’t help myself. In fact, I am
going to write tonight,’’ the winner of N1m cash prize said with a hint of
humour.

The filmmaker and
a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the
United States, Femi Odugbemi commended the effort of organisers of the
competition in rewarding true craftsmanship.

“Right now, we are
drowning in the sea of bad stories or badly told stories. So, those who have
the talent and skills to create stories that inspire deserve to be
recognised,’’ he said.