Nobel Prize winner Prof. Wole Soyinka reveals that being the first sub-Saharan African to win the Nobel Prize in literature put him in danger.
The renowned author was honored in 1986 for his unique cultural perspective and poetic style.
In a recent interview with CNN’s Larry Madowo, Wole Soyinka discussed how his involvement in Nigerian politics led to threats from those in power.
Winning the prestigious award made him feel even more isolated and exposed.
“I felt isolated when I won the Nobel Laureate and I felt much relieved when another African won it. I felt isolated because so much was demanded of me overnight. It was like your constituency was expanded simply because you’re from Africa. At the same time, especially in a society like ours, it exposes you more.
“So it exposes me also to very great danger because I refuse to back down on my beliefs and activities simply because I became a Nobel Laureate,” Soyinka said
Giving insight into such danger, he explained that the late military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, would have died a happy man if he (Abacha) had been able to hang him.
He said, “I always remind people that the most brutal dictator we ever had here, Sani Abacha, would have gone to his grave a happy man if he hanged a Nobel laureate. If he had been able to put on his CV that he hanged a Nobel laureate. As it was, he had to be content with hanging an activist and writer, Ken Saro Wiwa.”
During the despotic regime of Abacha between 1993 and 1998, Wole Soyinka escaped from Nigeria on a motorcycle via the Benin border.
Abacha later proclaimed a death sentence against him ‘in absentia’. Soyinka returned to the country in 1999 when democracy was restored.
Reflecting on how he celebrates his birthdays, the literary icon said he doesn’t fancy birthdays.
“Well, that’s the annoying thing. I don’t feel 90. I feel I just have taken birthdays for granted. “Usually, what I do on my birthdays is disappear into the forest. That is my normal way of spending birthdays,” Wole Soyinka, who turned 90 on July 13, 2024, said.
