Fémi Òsófisan in Yorùbá: Ònà Òmìnira Ònà Èjè and Yéèpà Sólàárín n Bò

Although originally written in English as Red is the Freedom Road and Who is Afraid of Solarin, these two publications, which were meticulously translated by Adémolá Àrèmú on the one hand, and Dòtun Ògúndèjì and Fémi Òsófisan on the other, are clear demonstrations of the passion of the author, the translators and the publisher (this contributor), to make some of Òsófisan’s works more visible in his mother tongue, Yorùbá. The theme of Ònà Òmìnira Ònà Èjè remains relevant today in our perennial struggle to be completely free from the clutches of imperialism. On the other hand, Sólàárín’s battle with Nigerian societal vices of embezzlement, bribery and corruption; incompetence at work, soliciting for and acceptance of kickback, siphoning funds from the national treasury to foreign accounts and other forms of capital flight, hoarding of essential products in order to charge exorbitant rates and giving preferential treatment to certain individuals in society for whatever reasons, etc., are the main thrusts of Yéèpà Sólàárín n Bò.This article affirms that Òsófisan’s original assertions more than forty years ago remain relevant to our situation in Nigeria today, as they were when he first penned the ideas. I have endeavoured to tease out the relevance of the contents of these plays to the current generation of Nigerians and recommend that more of Òsófisan’s works be translated, not only to Yorùbá, but also to other Nigerian languages, and more widely to other languages beyond Nigeria and Africa.