As the wave of social change hits every corner of the world, Nigeria’s Ifeoma Fafunwa steps forward with the core goal of improving society and empowering women.
Fafunwa is the Creative Director and Chief Executive Officer of iOpenEye Limited, which preaches change to improve society through the performing arts. She is a fellow of the Aspen Institute.
Like most artists in the field of storytelling, the beautiful and brilliant personality wanted to bring depth and purpose to her craft.
Ifeoma Fafunwa was born and raised in Lagos. She fled to Accra with her family during the civil war between Nigeria and Biafra.
She attended Holy Child College in Yaba Lagos where she won an international competition leaving the coast of Nigeria.
Fafunwa studied architecture in America. Side by side, she took acting classes. During her acting training in Los Angeles, she felt a passion for telling a unique kind of story. This time it wouldn’t be the same old tale from a western perspective, but a true representation of where it came from.
This passion led her to write stories inspired by her Nigerian culture that resonated with people.
While juggling architecture and acting, she also dabbled in graphic design and fashion.
When Fafunwa returned to Nigeria, she used her architectural skills. At that time, Lekki, Lagos was developing and she was one of the top experts charged with various constructions.
She met with Nollywood’s famous actress, Joke Silva, who challenged her to do her first play. From there, her journey into Nigeria’s performing arts gained weight.
As a Fellow of the Aspen Institute, you will be asked to lead a project that has a positive impact on the community.
Fafunwa, an avid observer of Nigerian business and political development, aimed to influence social change through the performing arts rather than sitting still and complaining about what was wrong with society.
See also: Africa’s leading women entrepreneurs
AUDIO WORD! – A theatrical production was created aimed at empowering women.
The Hear Word theatrical performances grew out of her observation and understanding of women and their place in society when she returned.
Rather than the somewhat gender inequality that most people would choose, she narrowed the problem down to women’s lack of positive attitude and striving for greatness.
Hear word rocked Lagos theaters and appealed to many inside and outside the country. For her, feedback from women was the gratification she wanted.
The play has been performed in several stages and open spaces in Lagos.
Fafunwa draws inspiration from the always busy and lucrative city of Lagos. In her opinion, there are enough sources for her creative art content in the liveliness.
Ifeoma Fafunwa addresses the lack of patriotism in Nigeria and sees the need for every Nigerian to be concerned about the future of the nation that gives them their identity.
She compared corruption in Nigeria to capitalism in America. She describes them as uncontrollable beasts that wreak havoc on the system and condition everyone to their specifications.
In her most recent interview with HERstory Inc., Ifeoma Fafunwa expressed her delight that women are beginning to wake up to the call to change the world around them.
While noting that there are fewer women, she is pleased that more women are championing the cause of business these days. A journey of a thousand miles is supposed to begin with just one step, and women have taken that first step with several more steps that follow it.
She remains committed to women’s causes to this day, and most recently performed a play at Harvard University. Hear Word: Naija Woman Talk True on February 9, 2018. For approximately 100 minutes, the audience watched with rapt attention, occasionally clapping and giving a standing ovation as the play concluded.