Professor AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye was born in the late 1960s to Mr. and Mrs. Musa Adeoye of Agbeye town in Odo-otin Local Government of Osun State, Nigeria. His Father is the scion of Ojomu dynasty of Agbeye while his Mother is a princess of Ahunloye ruling house of Okua, another agrarian and hybrid community in Odo-otin Local Government Area. He was formerly known as Rasheed Abiodun Musa and he changed his name on 12th June 2008 to AbdulRasheed Abiodun Adeoye.
His primary education took place at Baptist Primary School, Kano, Nigeria between 1974 and 1980. Kano afforded him the opportunity to learn the best of Christian doctrines in School, and Islamic ethics at home and at the neighbourhood. He attended Agbeye Community High School, Agbeye for his secondary education between 1980 and 1985. Agbeye Community High School also prepared him for the prospects and challenges in literary and debating activities. He was taught the history, culture, ethics, mores and cosmology of Yoruba people during festivals, marriage ceremonies and other social events in his town. He was the Social Prefect of his secondary school and he was the best student in Literature. He read Performing Arts and he received the Senate prize for the best graduating student in Performing Arts at the Department of Performing Arts, University of Ilorin, Ilorin during the 1996/1997 Academic Session. He was at the University of Ibadan, between 1999/2000 and 2006/2007 for his Postgraduate Programmes. During these periods, he bagged M.A. Theatre Arts (2000) and Ph.D. Theatre Arts (2007) degrees. He specialised in Play Directing. He also has a Master Degree in Public Administration from the Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin.
He started lecturing at University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria in 1997. He has, however, been teaching Play Directing, Playwriting, Dramatic Literature and Criticism, Acting, Theatre History, Media Arts, Performance Theories and Theatre Practical/Workshop courses in the Performing Arts Department, University of Ilorin, Ilorin since 1999 to date. He has published in revered local, national and international journals. To access some of his publications, please visit http://www.arts.unilorin.edu.ng/index.php/2014-03-24-11-05-49/performing-arts/122-dr-abdulrasheed-adeoye-abiodun. In the last six years, he has contributed to the edition of three major Nigerian academic journals as Production and Assistant Editor. He edited The Dramaturgy of a Theatre Sociologist: Festschrift in Honour of Ayò Akínwálé in 2012. He co-edited Culture, Identity and Leadership in Nigeria, a Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists’ book with the former SONTA President, Emmanuel S. Dandaura in 2010. Also, he has edited eight volumes of The Performer: Ilorin Journal of the Performing Arts, the official journal of the Department of Performing Arts, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. He was promoted to the rank of Professor of Performing Arts in 2015. On the professional plane, he has directed many plays in the American, European and African traditions. The recent ones were: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Tewfik Al-Hakim’s Fate of a Cockroach, Wale Ogunyemi’s Queen Amina of Zazzau, Bode Sowande’s Tornadoes Full of Dreams and Kola Ogunmola’s The Palmwine Drinkard. He has served as national judge to Nigerian major festivals such as NAFEST, Abuja Carnivals and NYSC annual events. He is also serving as External Examiner to some Institutions in Nigeria.
Professor Adeoye belongs to the following professional and academic organisations; Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA), National Association for the Promotion of Studies in Arts and Sciences (NAPSAS), International Federation of Translators (IFT), Nigeria English Studies Association (NESA), International Theatre Institute (ITI), Academic and Non-Fiction Authors’ Association of Nigeria (ANFAAN), International Research and Development Institute, Performance Philosophy, Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA), International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) and others.
He has also been privileged to serve, and still serving in various administrative and academic positions in the University of Ilorin. He was Ag. Head of Department of the Department of Performing Arts between 2012 and 2014, Postgraduate Coordinator, Level Adviser, Assistant Hall Master, Member, Unilorin Ceremonials Committee; Chairman, Credit Committee of Multipurpose Cooperative Academic Society; Faculty of Arts Representative on the Board of Education and Engineering, Final Year Project Coordinator, Staff Adviser to Man ‘O’ War, Performing Arts Students Association, Faculty of Arts Students Association. Presently, he is a member of the Governing Council, University of Ilorin.