Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma attended L.A. School and St. Enda’s College (now Agbarho Grammar School) all in Agbarho, Delta State. He read Theatre Arts at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, graduating with a second class honours (upper) division. This was followed with a Masters degree from the University of Ibadan, and a doctorate degree from the University of Port Harcourt, also in Theatre Arts. His area of specialisation is Directing/Film Studies.
Ayakoroma had a stint at Prof. J. P. Clark-Bekederemo’s PEC Repertory Theatre, Lagos in 1985 before moving over to the Rivers State Television (RSTV Channel 22 UHF) Port Harcourt, Rivers State (1986-1992), where he held various positions such as Operations Supervisor, Head of Programmes, and Head of News and Current Affairs. He has written, acted in, and directed many plays on stage and TV.
He is the author of Dance on his Grave, A Matter of Honour, A Chance to Survive & other plays, Castles in the Air, Once Upon a Dream, and A Scar for Life. His other works include, “Strangers in the Land,” “The Chief Engineer,” “A Night Out,” “One Wife Two Husbands,” and “The Odi Saga.” His screenplays include, “Master in the House,” “Castles in the Air,” “Hidden Agenda,” “No Hiding Place,” “Ikemefuna,” and “From Grace to Grass.”
Ayakoroma, until recently, a Lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, was a Consultant with the Living Earth Nigeria Foundation (LENF) where he pioneered the Bayelsa Community Theatre Programme. His collaboration with Arikpo Arikpo formerly of LENF produced three collections of plays: All for a Canoe & other plays, The Golden Goose & other plays and Our Forest, Our Future & other plays.
Ayakoroma also collaborated with Arikpo Arikpo and Dr. Emma Emasealu, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Port Harcourt to handle the MPP3 Enlightenment Campaign through drama, under the consultancy of LENF. The play, “Once Upon a Letter,” which the trio scripted has been performed in many communities in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States. He directed the production in the Bayelsa State programme, as the Consultant for LENF. Two of his plays, A Matter of Honour and Dance on his Grave are recommended texts in Bayelsa State Junior Secondary School syllabus.
He was appointed the Executive Director of the Bayelsa State Council for Arts & Culture in August 2000, and contributed immensely to the development of the State Arts Council as its chief executive.
Dr. Ayakoroma was the leader of the Bayelsa State delegation when the Egbelegbele Cultural Troupe of Amassoma participated in the 2002 edition of the International Children’s Festival of Culture & Art in Tianjin, China. The troupe also had performance engagements in Beijing and Yanbian before returning home. He had also led the Bayelsa State Troupe in performance tours to London, Paris, and Algiers.
Dr. Ayakoroma is a member of many professional bodies, which include the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists (SONTA), Institute of Corporate Administrators of Nigeria (ICA), Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), and Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), among others. One of his plays, The Rejected Ones, in A Chance to Survive & other plays, took the second prize in the 2003 edition of the ANA organized NDDC/J.P. Clark Prize for Drama.
On the approval of the former President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Dr. Ayakoroma was appointed the Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Abuja, on November 3, 2009, and has positively changed the fortunes of the Institute. He is a member of the Governing Board, National Orientation Agency (NOA) and Visiting Senior Lecturer, Department of Theatre & Cultural Studies, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa State.