President Bola Tinubu has congratulated 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 is a globally celebrated playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, actor, singer, composer, and documentarian. He is also a foremost advocate of good governance and a fair and just society. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, becoming the first African to win the Prize in that category.
The Nobel Laureate is a recipient of many other reputable awards, such as the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature, the Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Lifetime Achievement), and the Europe Theatre Prize (Special Prize).
President Tinubu, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media & Publicity Chief Ajuri Ngelale, described Professor Soyinka as one of the finest minds of his generation, conforming to the highest standards of human enlightenment while remaining unyielding to injustice, oppression, and base impulses.
The President saluted Soyinka as one of Nigeria’s living repositories of history, knowledge, and courage, commending 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.
“Our paths crossed during our just struggle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. When faced with a trial in absentia and a 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 in celebrating his profound influence on generations of writers, scholars, and activists 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,” President Tinubu stated.
President Tinubu wishes Professor Soyinka many more years of good health and creative fulfilment as a global force for change.
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