Obafemi Lasode

{{Short description|Nigerian actor and film director (born 1955)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Obafemi Lasode

| image =

| imagesize =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1955|12|04|df=y}}

| birth_place = Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

| othername =

| nationality = Nigerian

| citizenship = Nigerian

| alma_mater = Brooklyn College, City University of New York

| occupation = Musician
songwriter
playwright
film producer
director

| parents =

| relatives =

| yearsactive = 1983–present

| notable_works = Sango

| website =

}}

Obafemi Lasode {{Audio|Yo-Obafemi Lasode.ogg|Listen|help=no}} (born 4 December 1955) is a Nigerian veteran musician, film director and producer, songwriter, music producer, and playwright.{{cite web|url=http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p%3D55453 |title=Femi Lasode set to raise the bar with Stolen Treasures |work=The Sun News|date=9 March 2014|accessdate=17 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118004029/http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=55453 |archivedate=18 January 2015 }} He is the chief executive officer of Even-Ezra Nigeria Limited, the stable that produced an award-winning movie titled Sango in 1997.{{cite web|url=http://starconnectmedia.com/2014/01/26/lasode-returns-to-nollywood-builds-nigerias-first-film-village-with-n25million/|title=Lasode Returns to Nollywood, Builds Nigeria's First Film Village with N25million.|work=Starconnect Media|date=26 January 2014|accessdate=18 January 2015}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7tILKOSn0qYC&q=Albert+Aka-eze&pg=PA141|title=Ṣàngó in Africa and the African Diaspora|editor1=Joel E. Tishken |editor2=Toyin Falola |editor3=Akíntúndé Akínyẹmí| publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington and Indianapolis|page=141|date=2009|isbn=978-0253220943|accessdate=18 January 2015}}

Early life

Obafemi Bandele Lasode was born on 4 December 1955 in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, Nigeria but hails from Abeokuta, a city in Ogun State southwestern Nigeria.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOgm9GtCzW4C&q=Sango,+the+legendary+african+King+movie+Distributor&pg=PA1|title=Nigerian Video Films|editor=Jonathan Haynes|publisher=Ohio University Center for International Studies|date=2000|isbn=9780896802117|accessdate=18 January 2015}}

He attended St. Gregory's College at Obalende in Lagos State, where he obtained the West African Senior School Certificate.{{cite web|url=http://m.thenigerianvoice.com/movie/4436/3/femi-lasode-speaks-on-sango-the-legendary-afrikan-.html|title=Femi Lasode speaks on SANGO The legendary Afrikan King at 10|work=The Nigerian Voice|date=5 July 2008|accessdate=18 January 2015}} He later obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business administration from Kogod School of Business, Washington, D.C.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-2wyFaU_FVkC&q=Television+broadcasting:+The+Nigerian+Experience+(1959+-+1992).&pg=PA37|title=Afro-optimism: Perspectives on Africa's Advances|editor1=Ebere Onwudiwe |editor2=Minabere Ibelema|publisher=Praeger|page=37|date=2003 |isbn=9780275975869|accessdate=18 January 2015}} Thereafter, he obtained a Master of Science degree in Communication art from Brooklyn College, City University of New York.{{cite web|url=http://www.nigeriatell.com/news/only-advancement-of-technology-can-curb-piracy-femi-lasode#.VKnUAMXgHa8|title=Only advancement of technology can curb piracy -FEMI LASODE|work=nigeriatell.com|accessdate=18 January 2015}}

Career

He joined the services of Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, New York City, in 1983 as a Promotions Coordinator, where he hosted Sonny Okosuns in 1984 at the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem.{{cite web|url=http://www.africanfilmny.org/2013/obafemi-bandele-lasode/|title=About the director — Obafemi Bandele Lasode|publisher=African Film Festival New York|accessdate=18 January 2015}}

He produced the African music programme Afrika in Vogue on Radio Nigeria 2, which ran from the first quarter of 1989 for a year.[http://www.songcollections.com/peace/obafemi.htm "Obafemi Lasode"], International Contest 2000 – Artist's Page, A Song For Peace in the World. In 1995, he established Afrika 'n Vogue/Even-Ezra Studios.

In 1997, he produced and directed an award-winning African epic titled Sango, a film that was selected to open the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival in 2002.{{cite web|url=http://www.punchng.com/entertainment/arts-life/femi-lasode-life-after-sango/|title=Femi Lasode: Life after Sango|work=The Punch – Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper|accessdate=18 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118052922/http://www.punchng.com/entertainment/arts-life/femi-lasode-life-after-sango/|archive-date=18 January 2015|url-status=dead}} He authored a book titled Television Broadcasting: The Nigerian Experience (1959–1992),Obafemi Lasode, [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Television-broadcasting-Nigerian-experience-1959-1992/dp/978316533X Television Broadcasting: The Nigerian Experience (1959–1992)], Caltop Publications (Nig.), 1993, {{ISBN|978-9783165335}}, at Amazon. currently in use in Nigerian universities.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/viewingafricanci0000unse|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/viewingafricanci0000unse/page/24 24]|quote=Television broadcasting: The Nigerian Experience (1959–1992).|title=Viewing African Cinema in the Twenty-First Century|editor1=Mahir Saul |editor2=Ralph A. Austen|publisher=Ohio University Press|date=2010|accessdate=18 January 2015}}