Nobel Laureate and celebrated playwright and nationalist, Prof. Wole Soyinka, got a big birthday present from President Bola Tinubu, Friday, as the National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos, was renamed in his honour.
This was made public by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale in a press release.
Says Ngelale: “President Bola Tinubu heartily congratulates Nigeria’s literary colossus and global icon, Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, famously known as Wole Soyinka, on his 90th birthday, July 13, 2024.”
Professor Soyinka, Ngelale recalls, is a globally celebrated playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, actor, singer, composer, and documentarian.
He is also a foremost advocate of good governance and of a fair and just society.
He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986 – the first African to win the Prize in that category.
The Nobel Prize Laureate is a recipient of many other reputable awards, such as the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature; Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award; Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, (Lifetime Achievement); and the Europe Theatre Prize – (Special Prize).
“President Tinubu describes Professor Soyinka as one of the finest minds of his generation; conforming to the highest standards of human enlightenment, but unyielding to injustice, oppression, and base impulses,” Ngelale adds.
“The President salutes one of Nigeria’s living repositories of history, knowledge, and courage, and commends him for his valiant efforts in the trenches for the nation’s future both as a pro-democracy champion and as a trenchant voice against corruption and maladministration over several decades.”
The Presidential spokesman quoted his Principal as saying: “Our paths crossed during our just struggle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria following the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election. When faced with a trial in absentia and death sentence by the military regime at home, he galvanized opposition in exile through NALICON and NADECO. His global stature made him the face of our struggle to validate June 12 and restore democracy in Nigeria.
“Today, I join the world to celebrate his profound influence on generations of writers, scholars, and activists who have been inspired by his work. I celebrate him for giving us the spark to fight and confront military dictators in our country.
“I am, accordingly, delighted to have the honour to announce the decision of the Federal Government to rename the National Theatre in Iganmu, Surulere, as The Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts,” the President states.
President Tinubu wishes Professor Soyinka many more years in good health and creative fulfilment as a global force for change.