Professor Femi Osofisan says Nigeria’s democratic experience is responsible for the creative silence he has maintained in recent years.
Speaking with The Nollywood Reporter, the 80-year-old playwright said he has been unable to write for a long period, describing his current state as “numbness.”
Osofisan explained that he had expected civilian rule to correct the excesses associated with military governance, but those expectations have not been met. He said corruption, instability and a lack of accountability have persisted, despite the return to democracy.
According to him, the transition “from khaki to agbada” has not produced any meaningful change in leadership behaviour. “The locusts have merely shed their khaki uniforms for agbada,” he said.
He added that the sense of direction that guided writers and activists during the military era has become difficult to define today. The absence of a clear struggle, he said, has affected his ability to produce new work and weakened the conviction that once shaped his writing.
Although he has not published new material, Osofisan remains active within the arts community. He continues to attend theatre productions, participate in film adaptations of his work and maintain longstanding collaborations. He noted, however, that regaining creative motivation will depend on renewed confidence in the country’s political direction.
Osofisan is regarded as one of Africa’s most influential dramatists, with a career spanning more than five decades and works such as Once Upon Four Robbers, Women of Owu and Tegonni.