Wole Soyinka is 81! Happy Birthday Sir

Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka is 81! He turned 81 yesterday, 13 June, 2015 and the Connect Nigeria team won’t let one more day go by without celebrating a great Nigerian Playwright, Author, Poet, Political activist as well as the only Nigerian and the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. An advocate of his indigenous culture and social order, most of his best works such as Ake: The Years Of Childhood, The Lion And The Jewel, Death And The King’s Horsemen and many others convey these beliefs. After studying in Nigeria and the UK, he wrote plays that earned him early recognition in the world of literary art. Soyinka also became an active critic of military dictators in Nigeria as well as political despotism in some other African countries. His speeches also often criticized corruption, hence most of his creative works focused on the political, economic and cultural plight of African countries. Because of his unrelenting criticism of the Nigerian government, he was imprisoned several times but that did not deter him. In 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and his admiration for the late South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, Nelson Mandela, was evident as his Nobel acceptance speech was nothing short of a bold criticism of apartheid and the politics of racial segregation. His creative works are greatly admired for their literary language distinguished by his great scope of knowledge and the richness of his words. Even at 81, after receiving several awards and honours, Wole Soyinka continues to be a great source of inspiration to youths all over the world. He has also remained politically active as he spent the 2015 election day monitoring reports of voting irregularities, technical issues and violence. We love this man! Happy birthday, Wole Soyinka. We wish you more years filled with good health and continuous laudable service to Nigeria and the world!  

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This article was first published on 14th July 2015

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