Soyinka at 90: Five hidden facts you should know about Nigerian Nobel Prize winner

He was popularly known for winning the Nobel Prize for literature, a testament to the extent to which his creative works cut across boundaries and were accepted in many cultures around the world.

Soyinka is popularly known for his activism and for winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.

On October 16, 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work, which shows the struggle for freedom and the power of the human spirit from a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones. Soyinka was the first African to receive the prize.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos has described him as the biggest export Nigeria has ever produced to the world, congratulating him for his 90th birth on July 13.

There are other facts you should know about the Nobel Prize winner. Below are five important of them:

Is Wole Soyinka a musician?

The Nobel Prize winner has been described as a great composer who wrote the songs for most of his stage drama. He has two music albums, one of which was the popular “I Love My Country”, in which DJ Cuppy reproduced its chorus. His daughter-in-law and writer, Lọlá Shónẹ́yìn, while celebrating the 90th birthday of the global writer, extols his musical talent.

She wrote: “He’s best known for his activism and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1986), but Wole Soyinka is also an accomplished composer/ musician. He wrote the songs for his plays and wrote a two-track album which features the much-loved ‘I love my country’.”

See Shónẹ́yìn’s statement here:

He’s best known for his activism and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1986) but Wole Soyinka is also an accomplished composer/ musician. He wrote the songs for his plays, wrote a two-track album which features the much-loved ‘I love my country’. #WoleSoyinka90#GlobalGiant pic.twitter.com/R583jm8PiM

How many plays, poems, novels, others Soyinka wrote?

While he was known for his play across the globe, the Abeokuta-born literati published work cuts across all genres of literature as he had no less than 52 published works across all genres.

According to Open Country Magazine, Soyinka literature comprises 25 plays, 10 essay collections, seven poetry collections, five memoirs, three novels, and two translated works. (Publishers’ synopses appear in quotes).

The plays are The Invention (1957), The Swamp Dwellers (1958), A Quality of Violence (1959), The Lion and the Jewel (1959), The Trials of Brother Jero (1960), A Dance of the Forests (1960), My Father’s Burden (1960), The Strong Breed (1964), Before the Blackout (1964), Kongi’s Harvest (1964), The Detainee (1965), The Road (1965).

Other plays are The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite (1973), Camwood on the Leaves (1973), Jero’s Metamorphosis (1973), Death and the King’s Horseman (1975), Opera Wonyosi (1977), Requiem for a Futurologist (1983), A Play of Giants (1984), Childe Internationale (1987), From Zia with Love and A Scourge of Hyacinths (1992), The Beatification of Area Boy (1996), Document of Identity (1999), King Baabu (2001), Alápatà Àpáta: A Play for Yorubafonia, Class for Xenophiles (2011).

How many times was Soyinka jailed?

Wole Soyinka was jailed twice by the military government in Nigeria because of his activism. His experiences in prison significantly impacted his writing and political activism, and he has spoken out about the importance of freedom of expression and human rights.

In 1967-1969, Soyinka was arrested and jailed for 22 months during the Biafran Civil War for his vocal criticism of the Nigerian government’s handling of the conflict. He was detained in solitary confinement and subjected to harsh conditions.

Also, in 1994, the late General Sani Abacha arrested and jailed Soyinla for a short time for his activism and criticism of the government’s human rights abuses. He was later released and went into exile. President Bola Tinubu, in his epistle to the global giant on his 90th birthday, said Soyinka became the face of Nigeria’s political struggle for democracy because of his global stature. The president wrote:

“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 galvanised 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.” See the president’s tweet here:

I am pleased to join admirers around the world in celebrating the 90th birthday of Nigeria’s iconic son and the world-renowned Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde, famously known as Wole Soyinka.

How many Universities employed Soyinka as a lecturer?

Wole Soyinka has been a lecturer at several universities throughout his career. Some of the universities that have employed him include the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1960-1963); the University of Lagos, Nigeria (1963-1964); Cornell University, USA (1964-1966); and Harvard University, USA (1966-1967).

Others are the University of Cambridge, UK (1967-1968); the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria (1968-1972); the University of Lagos, Nigeria (1972-1984); University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA (1984-1988); Loyola University, Chicago, USA (1988-1991); Harvard University, USA (1991-1992); Oxford University, UK (1992-1993); University of California, Los Angeles, USA (1994-1996); New York University, USA (1996-2003).

Soyinka has also held visiting professorships and lectureships at numerous other universities around the world.

Has Soyinka been honoured by the Nigerian government?

Despite his global presence and recognition, Nigerian governments have never honoured the literary icon until the administration of the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, who named the train station at Laderin in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, after the Nobel Prize winner. President Tinubu has also honoured Soyinka by renaming the Arterial Road N20 from Northern Parkway to Outer Northern Expressway (ONEX) in Abuja after him. He had also renamed the National Theatre after the professor.