ENCOMIUM
WHEN IS MY BROTHER NOT MY BROTHER?
- Folabo
No, I am not questioning our parents. Far from it, so don’t even go there!
Still, I agree it is an unusual line of enquiry, but why do I not refer to this brother of mine as my brother? Rather, I call him, usually at informal social settings, by his popular sobriquet, “Kongi.” It is much easier, and less complicated. Sixteen years in age difference is not easy to hop over. Of course, in academic discourse, I give him his due title of “Wole Soyinka.” .... more​
“You are, for me, a guiding light. Your courage. The ease with which you inhabit your skin, speaking your mind, unburdened by apology. Your kindness and humour. Your utter coolness.”
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
“You don’t see things the same way when you encounter a voice like that of Wole Soyinka.”
- Toni Morrison,
Nobel Laureate for Literature, 1993, USA.
“Soyinka is Beethoven, inward-looking yet thunderous; he is Armstrong’s fierce solo. He is also the twentieth- century inventor of African tragedy. His words have captured our imaginations, transformed our thinking, moved us to action, and fed out souls. He has made African Literature, in all of its vastness and beauty, possible.”
- Henry Louis ‘Skip’ Gates, former student, fellow writer, literary critic, professor, and filmmaker.
“A MAN OF MANY PARTS:
"consummate artist, eminent scholar, playwright of distinction, poet, novelist, essayist, polemicist, excellent satirist,
Nobel laureate, road marshal extraordinaire, a committed advocate for freedom, justice and fair-play, activist of rare conscience,
eloquent speaker, an avid hunter of wild game, a connoisseur of fine wines, a fine patriot and a deeply sensitive and responsive human being.”​
- Bankole Olayebi, Editor, WS Life in Full
“I am reminded once again, of Soyinka’s uncommon generosity, his genius for kindness, his largeness of spirit, and his boundless, layered humanity.”
- Okey Ndibe, 2011.
“We have had many writers in Africa who have been moved to act physically as well as write, but Soyinka is the supreme and splendid example of the writer meeting the demands of his time beyond intellectual obligations as they are generally understood.”
- Nadine Gordimer, Nobel Laureate for Literature, 1991, South Africa.
Happy birthday to Eni Ogun himself. The founder and ruler of autonomous city of Ijegba, the red wine connoisseur ,The sage, the revolutionary, our father and my cousin……. THE PROFESSOR WOLE SOYINKA. Happy 90th birthday sir. We love you.
- Seun Kuti
PROFESSOR WOLE SOYINKA AT 90: TRIBUTE TO A NATIONAL TREASURE AND GLOBAL ICON
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
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.....more
Kongi at 90
- Louis Odion
Yes, take a glimpse at this photograph. You would probably imagine, momentarily, a model among the bevy paraded by, say, the popular ritzy GQ magazine.
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If so, well, you just fell for a disguise.
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Now, take a closer look. Strip that bucket hat and you will behold, in its luxuriant bloom, that familiar hoary mane complemented by no less immaculate goatee to which folks around the world have long grown accustomed as evocative of no other than Kongi in any gathering, anywhere.....more
Funso Adegbola.
For Bola and Tinuke Ige’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
Happy 90th birthday Uncle Wole, Prof, Kongi, WS- my dad’s true friend in life and after death!​
I have known the Nobel Laureate, Prof Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka, who we fondly call Uncle Wole, Kongi, Prof and WS, for almost as long as I have known myself. He and my dad, Bola Ige were very close friends. They must have met at University College Ibadan, UCI- now University of Ibadan. They acted plays together in UCI and later Orisun Theater with Uncle Femi Johnson and others. Uncle Wole himself did document some of their more dangerous political escapades in his memoir ‘Ibadan; the Penkelemes Years’.​......more
90th Birthday Tribute to Nobel Laureate and Literary Colossus, Prof. Wole Soyinka
Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State
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On behalf of my family, and the government and people of Lagos State, I extend verywarm felicitations to Professor Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka, on his 90th birthday.Professor Soyinka, Nobel Laureate, and our very own "Kongi", has been a strong moralvoice and towering presence on our landscape for many decades. Not just as a writer,but also in various direct and significant interventions in the unfolding of the Nigerian -and African-socio-political and cultural trajectories.
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Prof. Soyinka has earned his stripes one of the world's loudest and most committed voices against dictatorial and poor governance, religious extremism. But he is defined not only by what he stands against, but even more importantly by what he stands very boldly for: the ideals of justice, intellectualism, tolerance, democracy, road safety, among many others....more
A Tribute To “A Godfather Extraordinare,” Professor Wole Soyinka @ 90
-Sir (Arc) Muyiwa Ige,fnia,ksc
In his tribute on the 90th birthday of Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, Sir (Arc) Muyiwa Ige, son of the late Chief Bola Ige (SAN), the first Executive Governor of old Oyo State and former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation reiterated the enduring relationship between his family and the literary icon.
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Noting that Soyinka had been his godfather since his Anglican baptism in 1967, Muyiwa described Soyinka as a trustworthy, dedicated, loyal, and faithful friend to the late Chief Bola Ige and his family, and has been a strong pillar of support....more
For Wole Soyinka at 90
- By Ladipo Adamolekun
Hearty congratulations on your 90th. “Your mental and physical energy at 80 hint that Nigeria and humanity will continue to benefit from your contributions for another two decades, at least!” I am delighted that the hope that I expressed in my brief message to you ten years ago became reality. Your ongoing annual teaching and mentoring stint at New York University (NYU) in Abu Dhabi is a highly commendable intergenerational knowledge transfer at the international level. May Nigeria and humanity continue to benefit from your contributions for another decade! ...more
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Wole Soyinka at 90: A personal reflection
- By Kingsley Moghalu
Wole Soyinka is an inspirational global icon who brought great pride to our country with his contributions to literature and the arts in the world. I am proud to call him, with humility, my friend.
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“Wole Soyinka would like to have lunch with you”, the book publisher Bankole Olayebi, CEO of Bookcraft Africa Ltd, told me one bright day in Lagos sometime in 2018. I was startled. “Really, why?” I asked. “He read your book, BIG,” Bankole replied. “He liked it, and I think he would like to discuss the ideas you expressed in it and get to know you more.”...more
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Celebrating Wole Soyinka: A literary icon and advocate for human rights
By Abayomi Fawehinmi
As we commemorate the birthday of Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, we honor a remarkable Nigerian playwright, poet, and political activist. I join the global community in celebrating the 90th birthday of world-renowned Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde, famously known as Wole Soyinka or WS.
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Professor Wole Soyinka is a man of many parts. He is an artist, dramatist, poet, essayist, musician, philosopher, teacher, human rights activist, and scholar who ranks as one of the finest writers we have seen. Born on July 13, 1934, in Abeokuta, Nigeria, Soyinka has left an indelible mark on literature, culture, and human rights advocacy. Soyinka’s journey has been about brilliance, courage, and unwavering commitment to the good of humanity....more
Tribute to WS at 90
by Kayode Fayemi
The name Wole Soyinka aka WS evokes sundry emotions across the spectrum. Regardless of where one stands on the spectrum, we can all agree that Wole Soyinka is one of Nigeria’s most celebrated personalities, certainly Africa’s most iconic literary maestro and one of the world’s most influential citizens. Even though I know him to treat public celebrations of his birthdays with studied indifference and a hunter’s disdain, it is still almost unbelievable that WS is 90, given his frenetic pace of work and travels. And whether he likes it or not, this is one celebration he cannot stop!
For me, WS is not the unfathomable mystery that many perceive from a distance and he is not the mythological pantheon that exists in the realm of the gods in the imagination of many. He is a mentor, a role model, a father figure and a thought-leader with whom I have had the rare privilege of communing and sharing great moments of significant historic importance in my life....more
Soyinka and his enemies
by Sam Omatseye
When an avatar turns 90, it should evoke a universal hurrah, especially if that personage is Professor Wole Soyinka. We can say that more people are rejoicing than those who are in pain. Yet the best writer this country has known is at odds with a certain mob of dark conscience.
This essayist is more concerned about the young ones who have mutated into a monster of a generation and are even trying to deny him the name of a writer.
I will ignore the older ones, some of my generation who have melded into that raucous chorus. Those are men and women, some of them prominent, who extol tribe instead of conscience, trump civility with imprecations, can’t act without cant, cloak the law with impunity. This tribe of men and women will not clap as Soyinka turns 90 but will fill the air with claptrap, with long-winded essays and pretensions to scholarship, erudition and inflammatory law......more
Kongi! A decade short of a century and the wonderful ‘drama of existence’,
By Omoniyi Ibietan
​​Early in July 2005, just a week before Professor Wole Soyinka turned 71, my boss and mentor, Dapo Olorunyomi, recalled me to Lagos from Port Harcourt, where I was serving as the Regional Media Researcher for Freedom House. Freedom House was founded in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt and some other persons. It is America’s oldest non-profit NGO established to promote and defend democracy and freedom all over the world through the instrumentalities of advocacy, monitoring, and research. Dapo was the director of Freedom House Nigeria Project, the only one of such in sub-Saharan Africa....more
Dear Prof Wole Soyinka, Kongi @90!
By Osi-Apagun Lai Labode, Ph.D.
Dear Prof Wole Soyinka, Kongi @90!
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Standing proudly on the shoulders of my father's tribute (High Chief Layi Labode), I echo his sentiments and weave my own verse into the symphony of praise for a legend like you. Your life is a shining testament to the power of art, wisdom, and unwavering resilience.
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Just as "Kongi’s Harvest" sowed seeds of critical thinking and social commentary, your life has yielded an abundant harvest of inspiration, challenging us to confront the complexities of our world head-on. Your satirical pen has pierced the veil of hypocrisy, your commitment to justice has emboldened generations, and your voice has been a clarion call for truth in turbulent times...more
I have thought about Wole , his work and his commitment to justice and to what is right more often than I can say. I have read him, studied him, taught him, admired him, been awed by his intelligence, his eloquence, his humanity, and certainly his charm. Soyinka is Beethoven, inward-looking yet thunderous; he is Armstrong's fierce solo. He is also the twentieth-century inventor of African tragedy. His words have captured our imaginations, transformed our thinking, moved us to action, and fed our souls. He has made African literature, in all of its vastness and beauty, possible. In a life which has been richly blessed, knowing Wole Soyinka has been a blessing beyond compare. On this occasion of his birthday, we offer praise and thanks in equal measure, for the model of humanity he has given us in both his work and his life.
Greatest Way To Honour Wole Soyinka Is To Honour His Journey
Femi Odugbemi:
Nigerian Filmmaker, Femi Odugbemi has said that the greatest way to honor Nigeria’s first Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka is to honor his journey and to help young people understand the things that he holds dear.
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Odugbemi made this comment during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday while discussing the recent special premiere of the movie “The Man Died,” which is an adaptation of Soyinka’s activism and time in prison.
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He said, “Professor is perhaps one who doesn’t care very much about those symbolisms and symbolic gestures of naming things after him. I think the greatest way to honor him is to honor his journey. In the hearts of young people, for them to understand the things that he holds dear, the things that he spent his life pursuing, the expansion of knowledge, the honor of culture, his spirituality, his capacity for his creativity to address issues of human rights, of humanism.”....more
