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The Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA), the country’s primary professional and academic body for theatre and performing arts practitioners, has conferred its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on Professor Taofiq Olaide Nasir, a distinguished scholar at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE).
The award was presented at SONTA’s 40th annual conference held at Lead City University, Ibadan. The honour recognises Professor Nasir’s more than two decades of pioneering contributions to theatre scholarship, applied drama, and the establishment of dramatherapy as an academic and clinical discipline across Africa.
Professor Nasir holds the distinction of being Africa’s first Professor of Dramatherapy. His research focuses on therapeutic drama techniques to address trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), child sexual abuse recovery, and substance abuse rehabilitation. He continues to advocate the formal inclusion of dramatherapy across Nigerian tertiary institutions to address the critical shortage of mental health specialists.
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A lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Media Arts at FUOYE, Professor Nasir is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Beyond his academic work, he is an accomplished playwright, director, and theatre technologist whose creative works explore social justice, anti-trafficking, and abuse prevention. His leadership roles include serving as Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Oyo State chapter; Public Relations Officer of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Ekiti State chapter; and as a founding member of the Association of African Dramatherapists. An active Rotarian, his career reflects a lifelong commitment to using the arts for community development and social transformation.
