Nike Campbell

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Nike Campbell
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Writer
  • author
  • budget and finance professional
Notable workThread of Gold Beads, Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon, Saro

Nike Campbell is an American author, finance management professional, executive producer and philanthropist.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Campbell is the second child in a family of four children. Born in Lviv, Ukraine, Campbell's parents are Nigerian and she spent most of her growing-up years in Nigeria with her maternal grandparents.[1][2]

Campbell had her secondary school education at Queen's College, Lagos, after which she started her university education at the University of Lagos. She completed her university education at Howard University in the United States, where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in economics. Campbell has a Master's degree in International development from the American University in Washington DC.[3][4]

Career[edit]

Nike Campbell has worked in the international development sector and as a budget and finance manager and fiscal director in the United States.[4][5] She is an author with three published books, including two works of historical fiction.

Her first historical fiction, Thread of Gold Beads, was published in 2012 by Three Magi Publishing.[2] It tells the story of Amelia, the last daughter of King Gbehazin, and the hurdles she faced escaping from Dahomey during the French-Dahomey war. King Gbehazin was the last independent king of Dahomey.[6] According to Campbell, Amelia's character was motivated by the life of her maternal great-grandmother.[7][8]

Campbell's second work, Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon, is a collection of short stories published in 2016 by Quramo Publishing.[9] Its themes cut across the immigrant experience, mental health, religion, domestic violence and more.[10]

Her third book is a historical fiction titled Saro. Saro was published in 2022 by Narrative Landscape Press.[11] It tells the story of a king of Egba, Şiwoolu, who was captured with his wife, Dotunu, and transported to Sierra Leone before finding their way back to Abeokuta. Spirituality, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, love, betrayal, and family ties are some of the themes explored in the book.[12]

Adaptations[edit]

Three of Campbell's stories have been adapted as plays and short films. In 2014, Thread of Gold Beads was performed as a stage play by the Publick Playhouse for the Performing Arts in Cheverly, United States.[13]

Two of the stories from Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon: Apartment 24 and Losing my Religion, were adapted as short films in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Losing my Religion was adapted in 2018. It is directed by Damilola Orimogunje (director of For Maria Ebun Pataki) and features Nollywood stars like Toyin Oshinaike, Omowunmi Dada, Fred Idehen, Ihiechineke Anthony and Brutus Richard.[14][15][16]

In 2019, Campbell's Apartment 24 was made into a short film. It is directed by John Uche and stars Olawale Ajao, Kiki Andersen, Dumebi Egbufor and Kike Ayodeji.[17]

Philanthropy[edit]

Nike Campbell founded the non-profit organisation, Our Paths to Greatness, with the intention of breaking the myths about Africans.[1][4]

Awards/recognition[edit]

Campbell was a finalist of the 2018 Red Hen Press Award for Fiction.[18]

Bibliography[edit]

  • 2012 – Thread of Gold Beads
  • 2016 – Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon
  • 2022 – Saro

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Nike Campbell-Fatoki: The activist, storyteller". The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News. August 27, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Osei, Afua (December 5, 2012). "A Tale of Faith, Love, Life & Betrayal! Nike Campbell-Fatoki Spins a "Thread of Gold Beads"". BellaNaija. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "Nike Campbell-Fatoki". Culture Intelligence from RED. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Odegbami, Omobonike (November 18, 2019). "How I Got My Breakthrough Career-Wise In The US – NIKE CAMPBELL-FATOKI Tells City People". City People Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  5. ^ Prince George's County, Maryland, Office of the Sheriff. "Nike Campbell-Fatoki - Budget Management Analyst...and author?". Prince George's County.
  6. ^ Twomey, Aisling (February 17, 2022). "Enter the Time Machine With These Books About Precolonial Life". BOOK RIOT. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "Channels Book Club Features Writers; Nike Campbell Fatoki, Uzor Ngoladi". Channels Television. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Webmaster (December 14, 2014). "'We can learn so much from historical fiction'". Daily Trust. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  9. ^ BellaNaija.com (August 9, 2016). "BN Prose – Book Excerpt: Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon by Nike Campbell-Fatoki". BellaNaija. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "Cambell-Fatoki reads from Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon today". The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News. July 24, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  11. ^ Murua, James (September 29, 2022). "Book Digest: Binyavanga Wainaina, Monique Severin, Nike Campbell, Yessoh G.D". James Murua's Literature Blog. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  12. ^ "Narrative of marginalisation, dehumanisation of black man must be changed — Nike Campbell". The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News. November 27, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  13. ^ Brall, Susan (October 6, 2014). "'Thread of Gold Beads' at Publick Playhouse of the Performing Arts". DC Theater Arts. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  14. ^ BellaNaija.com (September 6, 2018). "Here's your First Look at Short Film 'Losing My Religion' starring Omowunmi Dada, Toyin Oshinaike & Fred Idehen". BellaNaija. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  15. ^ Oguzie, Adaeze (September 6, 2018). "Watch The Teaser For Damilola Orimogunje's New Short Film, "Losing My Religion"". The Culture Custodian (Est. 2014.). Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  16. ^ Orimogunje, Damilola (November 15, 2018), Losing My Religion (Short, Drama), 3Magi Productions, retrieved February 12, 2023
  17. ^ Uche, John (October 23, 2019), Apartment 24 (Short, Drama), retrieved February 12, 2023
  18. ^ "Nike Campbell's Saro is a 19th Century West African Tale of Love and Political Intrigue". brittlepaper.com. Retrieved February 12, 2023.