CLOSE-UP ON FEMI LASODE

Obafemi Lasode is a Nigerian veteran musician, film director and producer, songwriter, music producer, and playwright.

He is the chief executive officer of Even-Ezra Nigeria Limited, the stable that produced an award-winning movie titled Sango in 1997.

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.

He attended St. Gregory’s College at Obalende in Lagos State, where he obtained the West African Senior School Certificate. He later obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business administration from Kogod School of Business, Washington, D.C. Thereafter, he obtained a Master of Science degree in Communication art from Brooklyn College, City University of New York.

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.

He produced the African music programme Afrika in Vogue on Radio Nigeria 2, which ran from the first quarter of 1989 for a year. 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.

He authored a book titled Television Broadcasting: The Nigerian Experience (1959–1992) currently in use in Nigerian universities.