Facts About Wole Soyinka

ABOUT WOLE SOYINKA

Wole Soyinka was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria. His father was a priest in the Anglican Church and principal of a school. His mother owned a store and was active within the women’s liberation movement. His family belongs to the Yoruba people, whose culture has influenced Soyinka’s works. After studying in Nigeria and the UK, Soyinka worked at a theatre in London. His pointed criticism of Nigerian political regimes has contributed to his living mostly abroad, primarily in the US, where he has held professorships at several universities. Soyinka has six children.

WORK

Wole Soyinka is best known as a playwright. Alongside his literary career, he has also worked as an actor and in theaters in Nigeria and Great Britain. His works also include poetry, novels, and essays. Soyinka writes in English, but his works are rooted in his native Nigeria and the Yoruba culture, with its legends, tales, and traditions. His writing also includes influences from Western traditions—from classical tragedies to modernist drama.

DARK REALITIES OF WOLE SOYINKA’S EDUCATION – WRITTEN BY Nze Nwanochiriobii

In the University of Ibadan where Wole Sonyinka graduated from, we have the following blocks dedicated to men and women of value to the great institution: Queen Elizabeth Hall of residence. Queen Idia Hall of residence. Awolowo Hall of residence. Bello Hall of residence. Kuti Hall of residence. Teder Hall of residence. Balewa Hall of residence. Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall of residence. Melamby Hall of residence. Independence Hall of residence. Kenneth Dike library. And so on…. But you will never find a single block dedicated to Wole Sonyinka. The reason is because of his well-known anti-social activities in the university, ranging from cultism to championing of violent protests against the school authority. Though academically brilliant, but he was so rascal to the point that points were deducted from his academic scores to curtail his recklessness and social excesses. In the end, he was given 3rd class and allowed to leave the school. A certificate he received and tore to shreds before proceeding to University of Leeds where he read English language. Now i ask, is that the man you guys want to listen to or even respond to? Before my graduation from the university in 2008, Wole Sonyinka was invited to the university to deliver a lecture, he left what was on the topic, and was advising the student cultists to leave their fellow students and go after stubborn lecturers. A blatant endorsement of cultism, gangsterism and violence with so much arrogance. I doubt if the university of Ibadan has granted him such privilege of a guest speaker to any of their events ever after. Those of us who went to the University of Ibadan are very much privy to this information and to a large extent, do not take the likes of Sonyinka seriously, because morally, he lacks the capacity to make a reasonable social statement.