Just over two years after the death of renowned novelist, playwright and filmmaker Biyi Bandele, new details have emerged about his death.
On August 9, 2022, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Bandele died in Lagos at the age of 54. Temi Bandele, his daughter, announced his death in a statement but did not reveal the cause.
In a report published on Sunday, The Guardian UK revealed that Bandele committed suicide in August 2022.
The newspaper further noted that Bandele ended his life one day after a conversation with his editor, Hannah Chukwu, about his novel, 'Yorùbá Boy Running', in early April 2022.
After their discussion, the newspaper said he sent his editor a revised version of the manuscript before committing suicide.
“The next day, the 54-year-old filmmaker, playwright and novelist took his own life,” the newspaper reported.
He continued: “He left behind an impressive and surprisingly varied body of work: the film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun, which took seven years to make; stage versions of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Oroonoko by Aphra Behn and Yerma by Lorca; poetry, screenplays and several novels, including 2007's Burma Boy, which told the story of his father's harrowing and brutal experiences as a British Army soldier in World War II.
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Bandele's 'Yorùbá Boy Running' chronicles the life of Samuel Àjà yà Crowther, who underwent a harrowing journey in the 19th century. Crowther's life spanned from kidnapping and slavery to abandonment in Sierra Leone, which eventually led him to return to Nigeria.
His journey culminated in a distinguished career in the clergy, where he made history as the first black bishop ordained by the Anglican Church.
Background
Bandele was born in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, to parents from Abeokuta, Ogun State. He pursued his passion for the arts by studying Dramatic Arts at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in Ile Ife.
His talent was recognized when he won the BBC playwriting competition, after which he moved to England, where he built a successful career as a writer.
Before his death, he directed and adapted the script for 'Elesin Oba: The King's Horseman' in 2022, a film based on Wole Soyinka's classic drama, 'Death and the King's Horseman'.
This adaptation was produced for EbonyLife Films and released on October 28, 2022. The film was produced by Mo Abudu, James Amuta, Judith Audu-Foght, Adeola Osunkojo and Heidi Uys, and distributed by Netflix.
The film featured a talented cast, including Odunlade Adekola, Shaffy Bello, Deyemi Okanlawon, Omowunmi Dada, Jide Kosoko, Kevin Ushi, Jenny Stead and Mark Elderkin, among others.
Prior to this, Bandele co-directed Blood Sisters, a four-part Netflix original drama series, also produced by EbonyLife Films.
Bandele's previous works include Half of a Yellow Sun (Shareman Media & State Films, 2013), adapted from the acclaimed novel of the same name by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Fifty (Ebony Films, 2015).
He also directed the hit television series SHUGA: What's Your Reality. Additionally, he directed the special television documentary FELA – Father of Afrobeat in 2018 for the BBC, as well as his self-produced television documentary, Africa States of Independence in 2010.
Bandele's work spans both fiction and nonfiction. Most notably, he wrote The Street, Burma Boy, a novel that recreates the experiences of his father and other World War II veterans who served in Burma and India.
His other written works include The Man Who Came in from the Back of Beyond, The Sympathetic Undertaker, and Yoruba Boy Running, which he completed and submitted for publication.