Iyayi-Osazeme Chinyelum Odigie-Oyegun, aka Lobuhle, aka Chichi, born in Lagos, Nigeria to a Nigerian father and British mother. She grew up all over the globe, making her an Afropolitan; not a citizen of any country but an African of the world. Number 5 of 6 daughters she is a jewel in the Oba's crown, holding all things African very close to her heart from the cuisine to the couture right up to the ever changing custom.
She is a recent graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University. She double majored in Africana Studies and Human Rights Studies, a choice of study she feels is the best way to maintain a tangible connection with her beloved, Mama Africa even beyond her collegiate experience. Her chosen interdisciplinary approach to study has exposed her to an array of subjects during her undergraduate experience, giving her a keen desire to follow the story, wherever it may lead. Her undergraduate senior thesis explored the use of Ceebu jen, the Senegalese national dish, as a uniquely female tool used by Senegalese women to nourish and inform the Senegalese nation building enterprise.
Her love and affection for Africa, and its many nations, runs deeper still. Iyayi has been writing and performing poetry since her early teens, focusing her writing on issues of femininity, blackness, motherhood, womanhood, sexuality and religion within an African context. Her love for the power of words was fostered under the tutelage of her radical (almost jailed) lawyer mother and a turned feminist pastor father, whose influence is too enthralling to escape, even if she tried. Iyayi writes under the alias Lobuhle, a siSwati name meaning the essence of beauty, because that is what she strives to acheive through her art. She has received awards for her poetry, and most recently she published an anthology with her friend and colleague Sonya Shadravan, about the middle passage experience.
She speaks over 5 languages and her repertoire is ever increasing. Iyayi has a profound passion for communication as a means to obtaining truth, particularly in relation to economic justice, women’s rights, and children’s rights. Her past work in the theatre, with various NGO and community based organisations in Africa and Central America has enabled her to appreciate the utility and value of performance arts. In her work, Iyayi has witnessed the power of theatre and dance as a vehicles to inspire social change, particularly in relation to women's activism. At these crossroads, she has decided to channel all her creativity, skill, talent, academic experience and passion into a new venture, film making. Through this new endeavour, she is eager to explore the use of film for the same purposes as in her previous work, and anticipates using this medium to reach a wider audience beyond Senegal. Her work on this project will segway into the next phase of her academic career, a graduate degree in Journalism and Communications.
Iyayi O
'Mayibuye Afrika!'
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