Greg Nnamdi Nnabike Mbajiorgu (NURESDEF Laureate) (B. A. (Hons) Dramatic Arts,
(Nigeria), M. A. Theatre Arts, (Ibadan) M. A. Mass Communication (Nigeria) is a
leading activist theatre and environmentalism and the poetics of climate change. He
is Nigeria’s first dramatist to publish a
play that squarely addresses the problem of climate change in Nigeria (Wake Up Everyone, 2011, 2014). He is
also the first African to publish a monodrama (The Prime Minister’s Son, 1991, 2000, 2014). His seminal play on
climate change, Wake Up Everyone won
first prize at the Inter-Universities Research and Development Competition
organized by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2012.
This well-researched ecological drama foresaw the
flood that ravaged most parts of Nigeria in 2012; a situation which we are also
experiencing currently. Beyond writing plays, poems and songs on
environmentalism and climate change, Mbajiorgu has also co-authored a
mainstream academic paper on Climate Change
studies in Arts and the Humanities (2015) with Prof. P. Okpoko and Prof.
Nnanyelugo as co-authors.
Wake Up Everyone was first performed for the African Technologies
Policies Network, Nairobi, Kenya at the award/dinner night of their
international conference in 2009. It was equally produced at Nsukka for the
University of Nigeria’s African climate change adaptation initiative (ACCAI) in
2010 and in 2014, the University of Nigeria, again, commissioned its production
as the core highlight for its 44th convocation ceremony on 23rd
January, 2015 at the institution’s Arts Theatre. After that, other universities
and higher institutions started to emulate UNN by producing the play for the
convocation as well. Among the latest are Bishop Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo
State which used it for its seventh convocation ceremony and College of Education
Special, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Wake Up Everyone is currently celebrated as a reference text in studies
of environmentalism and climate change in Nigerian universities. Teachers and
students of Theatre Arts, Linguistics, Music, Fine and Applied Arts, History,
Archaeology, Earth Sciences, Bio-resources Engineering and Agricultural
Sciences, are currently subscribing for it as a home-grown culture-oriented
material on the on topics in environmentalism, climate change mitigation and
adaptation in Africa.
Virtually
all major Nigerian newspapers have reviewed Wake
Up Everyone.
The
success of this environmentally-oriented drama and other ground- breaking works
of his have won him several prestigious awards and honours among which include
the following:
Awards
1. Most Innovative
Creative Artiste Award
Presented to him by the Department of English and
Literary studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 2005
2. First Prize for
Art and Humanities in the Arts and Humanities Research Awarded by the National Universities Commission at
their 2012 inter-universities competition at Niger State tagged NURESDEF
3. SONTA Achievers’
Award
Conferred on him by the Society of Nigerian Theatre
Artistes, 2013
4. Anambra State Literary Stars Award
Presented by the Nigerian Book Foundation with support
from Anambra State Government, 2013
5. Award of
Excellence in Solo Drama and Award of Distinction as a leading eco-dramatist in
Africa
Both conferred on him by Nigerian-Turkish Nile
University, Abuja, 2014
6. Award of
Excellence as an Exponent of Ecological Theatre and Monodrama in Africa
Presented to him by the Association of Nigerian
Authors in collaboration with Enugu State Broadcasting Services [ESBS] on his
50th birthday in 2015.
7. Award of
Excellence in recognition of his contribution to Arts and Heritage promotion
and preservation in Nigeria through Theatre.
Conferred on him by the Anambra State Book and
Creativity Network (ANBUKRAFT), 2016
8. Top 10 Most Popular
Lecturer Award
University of Nigeria Staff Awards, 2016
9. Shell-UNN CEMAC Sustainability Award
Conferred on him by UNN/Shell Center for Environmental Management & Control (CEMAC), 2017 in recognition of his outstanding contributions in Environmental Education.
Honours
1. In 2010, the Governor of Nassarawa State, His
Excellency (Dr.) Aliyu Akwe Doma (OON) presented a plaque of honour to G. N. N.
Mbajiorgu in recognition of his contribution to the role of theatre in Nigeira.
2. In 2014, the department of English and Literary Studies,
Nigerian-Turkish Nile, University, Abuja organized a conference in honour of G.
N. N. Mbajiorgu tagged “Forty-eight Years of Solo Performing Art in
Post-colonial Nigeria (1966-2014)”
Drama and Poetry
1.
The Prime Minister’s Son (Monodrama, 2000)
2.
Hands of Fate (Drama
co-authored, 2000)
3.
Wota na Wota (Drama
on water conflict and water-related issues, 2003)
4.
Water Monologue (Poetic
Monologue, 2013)
5.
Water Testaments (World’s
first Anthology of poetry on Water and Water-related Issues, 2008)
6. Beyond the Golden
Prize (Drama, 2013)
7.
Wake Up Everyone (Drama
on Climate change and environmentalism, 2014)
8.
Dancers from Africa (Drama,
2015)
Edited Books
1. Songs of Gold:
Fresh perspectives on J. P. Clarke
(Critical Essays, co-edited, 2011)
2. The Noisy World and other works (Anthology of Greg
Odo’s Poems and paintings, 2011)
