The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism. Nigerian author Wole Soyinka.
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, or simply Wole Soyinka is well known across the continent and beyond for his ability to use literature to critique governance.
Soyinka was the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, back in 1986.
Born in a Yoruba family in Abekouta, Soyinka studied in Nigeria and later the UK. His passion for writing saw him write plays that were produced by both countries, in theatres and radios.
Soyinka is well known for taking a very active role, albeit from UK, in Nigeria’s struggle for independence and political history.
Soyinka has been a very vocal critique of successive governments, especially the country’s many dictators as well as other political tyrannies, including Mugabe’s Zimbabwe regime.
Because of the nature of his line of writing, Soyinka has occasionally fled his country into exile, mainly the US.
Soyinka has also served as a professor in his Native Nigeria as well as the US.
The Nigerian has published a lot of books in his career, including ‘Poems from Prison’, ‘Kongi’s Harvest’, ‘The trials of Brother Jero’, ‘The Interpreters’, ‘You Must Set Forth at Dawn’, ‘The Man Died’ among many others.
Notably, during the production of his ‘Murderous Angels’, Soyinka travelled to Paris to take the lead role as Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo.
As he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Soyinka was described as one “who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence”.
Soyinka has been married thrice and divorced twice, and has children from the three marriages.
In 2014, the iconic author revealed that he had prostate cancer.
