Professor Wole Soyinka is a literary icon whose works have gained him recognition for decades. He is the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. The achievements of the playwright, poet and essayist have spread across nations in the world.

Early years
He was born on July 13, 1954 and recently clocked 88 years on earth. He attended Government College, Ibadan, Oyo State and University College, Ibadan. Thereafter, he attended University of Leeds in England.

Books
He is the author of The Lion and the Jewel, Kongi’s Harvest, The Trials of Brother Jero, The Man Died, The Interpreters, Ake: The Years of Childhood, You Must Set Forth at Dawn.

The pride of Ogun state
Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, praised the literary icon on his 88th birthday. He said, “Ogun is proud to have a son who studied a language; began to teach the owners of the language the language; and invented words for the language, which the owners of the language have never heard of. And now, it has become regular lexicon of their language.

“Professor Wole Soyinka, an emeritus Professor of Comparative Literature and the Black race’s first Nobel Laureate in the Arts of Beautiful Letter (Literature) means many things to different people. he literary world and the academia celebrates him as Kongi, the wordsmith.

“To the dictators and enemies of democracy, he is a fiery civil fighter. To lovers of democracy, he represents the best in the promotion of people’s rights and good governance. He is a leader, mentor, hunter and connoisseur of best brewed wine to his buddies.”

https://newsroundtheclock.com/wole-soyinka-a-literary-icon-par-excellence/