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Tag: nobel laureate

  • Wole Soyinka remains an inspiration, says Tinubu

    Wole Soyinka remains an inspiration, says Tinubu

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has poured encomiums on Nobel Laureate and elder statesman, Prof. Wole Soyinka on the 89th birthday of the literary icon.

    In a statement by Presidential Spokesman, Mr Dele Alake, Tinubu described Soyinka as a veritable source of support, inspiration and encouragement.

    The president called Soyinka a brother and comrade in the struggle for the restoration and entrenchment of democracy and good governance in Nigeria.

    He commended the literary icon for his immense contributions to the country’s development.

    “Today, I celebrate Nobel Laureate, elder statesman and pro-democracy activist, Prof. Wole Soyinka on his attainment of 89 years.

    “Renowned playwright, poet, novelist, Prof. Wole Soyinka has done a lot for Nigeria. In the literary world, he remains a giant, an Iroko.

    “Importantly, his contributions to the struggle for the restoration and institutionalisation of democracy and good governance in Nigeria are indelible.

    “Together, along with other activists, we fought for democracy under the aegis of NADECO at great risks to our personal lives.

    The president said that Soyinka remained a beacon and source of inspiration and support to many.

    Tinubu prayed for long life and strength for Soyinka to continue to contribute to national and international discourse.

    “We pray that God almighty grants him more years and strength so he can be around to witness the new Nigeria we are building in line with our agenda for a renewed hope for the country, where security, prosperity and economic development will reign supreme.”

     

  • What Peter Obi told Wole Soyinka when they met

    What Peter Obi told Wole Soyinka when they met

    The presidential candidate of the Labour party in the just concluded presidential election in the country, Mr Peter Obi has paid a courtesy visit to  Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka.

    Recall that Soyinka’s post election comment against Obi’s running mate Datti  generated a lot of reactions from obidients fans on social media.

    Obidents, a dubbed description for the supporters of Peter Obi, had dragged Playwright Soyinka over his comment condemning the Vice Presidential candidate of LP, Datti Baba-Ahmed.

    However, Obi, through his Twitter handle on Sunday, lauded Soyinka over his achievement on the world stage and his struggle for a better Nigeria.

    According to Obi, Soyinka’s fight for justice would never be ignored.

    He explained that the visit was to erase the needless misconceptions concerning Soyinka and the Obidients movement.

    “I cherished this Sunday’s visit, which was intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the Obidient family”, he posted.

    Obi, who came third behind the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25th Presidential election, is currently challenging the polls at the Tribunal billed to commence on Monday, 9th May, 2023.

  • Wole Soyinka loses younger brother, Prof Femi

    The Soyinka Family of Ake/Isara, Ogun State has announced the passing of Femi Soyinka, a Professor of Dermatology, Venereology and Clinical Immunology.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Prof Femi, who was a younger brother to renowned playwright and first black African Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka died aged 85.

    According to a statement released by the deceased’s son, Ayodele Soyinka, on behalf of the Soyinka’s family, Femi died in the early hours of Tuesday, 14 June 2022 at his home in Kukumada Village, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    Born in 1937  Professor Femi Soyinka received a  Medical degree in Medicine and Surgery MBchB from University of Heidelberg, 1964;  and  Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the same University in 1965. He  specialised and practised as a  Dermatologist, Venereologist and Allergologist at the University of Giessen,1969.

    In 1972, he obtained a  Master of Public Health degree from Hadassah Medical School, (MPH) Israel.

    He worked in the academic field for 30 years, holding various positions from Chief Medical Director to Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Provost of College of Health Sciences of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.   He was also involved in ex-tensive research work on Tropical Skin Diseases and Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in collaboration with the Federal gov-ernment,  international donor agencies and organizations such as the World Bank, UNDP, DFID, the British Council; and the International Development Re-search Centre, Canada.

    He pioneered several researches in the field of HIV/AIDS and worked as consultant to various international and local agencies in-cluding the World Health Organization, DFID, UNDP and Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health based on his extensive experience on the subject in various parts of the country.

    Prof. Femi Soyinka was in the forefront of mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. By translating the outcomes of his researches into clinical practice. He impacted significantly not only in the lives of numerous individuals and families living with the disease, but also on the nation as a whole.

    He initiated the Ambassador of Hope program in Nigeria, encourag-ing people living with HIV/AIDs (PLWHAs) to speak up, thereby bringing the much-needed public awareness to the disease at a time when knowledge was low and stigma was high. He also demonstrated technical knowledge and was involved with many other HIV/AIDs related programs including HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, ARV programs, voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and home-based care for PLWHAs in Nigeria.

    Subsequently, he contributed significantly to capacity building of indigenous organizations across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria through his non-governmental organization – New Initiative for the Enhancement of Life and Health (NELAH) previously known as; Network on Ethics/Human Rights, Law, HIV/AIDS-Prevention, Support and Care (NELA).

    He was a past president of Society for AIDS in Africa and he successfully coordinated the International Conference on AIDS and STIS In Africa (ICASA) in Abuja, Nigeria in the year 2005.

    He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Burial arrangements would be announced by the family later.

  • 2023 Elections: I didn’t congratulate Tinubu-Wole Soyinka

    Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on Friday debunked reports that he paid tribute to the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.

    This was contained in  a statement issued by Soyinka’s  spokesman, Abiola Owoaje and it’s titled ‘I did not pay tribute to Tinubu – Soyinka’.

    There were reports making the rounds  entitled Prof Wole Soyinka’s tribute to Sen Asiwaju Tinubu’, supposedly written by Soyinka praising Tinubu on his political accomplishments, had gone viral on various WhatsApp platforms shortly after the former Lagos State governor emerged as APC’s presidential flag bearer on Wednesday.

    However, Soyinka has come out to describe the trending post as the handiwork of indolent identity thieves whose preoccupation is to deceive the public in a bid to gain prominence.

    Soyinka emphasized that he doesn’t operate or own social media accounts.

    The statement read in part, “The literary luminary reiterated his position on the 2023 elections and the issues surrounding it, noting that he has no business meddling in the struggle for power by political parties in the country.

    “Soyinka enjoins the general public to be on alert to the antics of faceless cowards spreading falsehood, adding that they should not partake in the despicable action of the authors by spreading the cocktail of lies.”

    Wole Soyinka had earlier in the year stated that he doesn’t have a preferred candidate for the 2023 presidential elections.

    Wole Soyinka,  distanced himself from media reports linking him to candidates running for president in the 2023 general election

    in his words “For the avoidance of doubt, I have not even thought 2023, much less inserted candidates into coveted positions.”

    “Here we go again, the same boring, illiterate public interlopers who lack the courage of their conviction and must steal the identities of their betters,” Mr Soyinka, a professor of literature, said in the statement he titled ‘Season of Fakery Galore.’

    “One can only hope that the public has learnt to identify fake news and join in the urgent task of exposing and disgracing these despicable touts.”

  • Emir of Bichi, Soyinka, others to honour Ibrahim Attahiru

    Emir of Bichi, Soyinka, others to honour Ibrahim Attahiru

    The emir of Bichi, Kano State, Nasiru Ado Bayero, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and others have been scheduled to attend the one-year memorial of Nigeria’s immediate past chief of army staff, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru.

     

    Apart from the emir of Bichi, also expected to grace the event, which is scheduled to hold in Abuja today (May 21) is leading environmentalist, Newton Jibunoh.

     

    Others expected at the event, where the foundation will be formally launched, are top serving and retired military officers, captains of industry, members of the diplomatic corps, political leaders, members of the academia and associates of the late General.

     

    This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the programme coordinator of the General Ibrahim Attahiru Foundation (GIAF), Titus Orngu.

     

    According to the statement, Soyinka would deliver a short tribute titled: “To All, who give their All for All.”

     

    “Apart from the launch of GIAF, there will be the premiere of “Ibrahim Attahiru, a Soldier’s Soldier,” a documentary on life and times of the late army chief, produced and directed by Adeola Osunkojo.

     

    “The foundation will also present Attahiru’s posthumous biography, The man, the soldier, the patriot, biography of Lt Gen Ibrahim, written by Niran Adedokun, at the event. It is published by Cable Books, an arm of Cable Newspapers Limited,” Orngu added.

    Emir
    Nigeria’s immediate past chief of army staff, Lt. Gen Ibrahim Attahiru

     

    He explained that the documentary and biography are in celebration of the exemplary life of the late military officer and an opportunity to introduce the ideals that guided his life to Nigerians, “especially when the country needs the virtues of patriotism, selflessness and fellow feeling.”

     

    GIAF said it intends to advance strategic leadership on the African continent with core values centred on the public good, integrity and accountability.

     

    Priority areas for the foundation, superintended by a governing board of trustees, include strategic leadership; peace-building, human, environmental, and social development; mental health and psycho-social support; research and defence advocacy.

     

    TheNewsGurucom (TNG) recalls that Attahiru died in a plane crash in Kaduna, alongside 10 other military officers and men on May 21, 2021.

     

  • I was disappointed by Achebe’s comment on my Nobel prize – Soyinka

    I was disappointed by Achebe’s comment on my Nobel prize – Soyinka

    Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has said he was disappointed by a comment made by the late renowned novelist, Prof Chinua Achebe, shortly after he (Soyinka) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.

    In a conversation with an American-based Nigerian novelist, Okey Ndibe, which was aired on Channels Television’s Book Club, Soyinka said he considered the particular remark by Achebe uncalled for and disappointing.

    Ndibe had, during the conversation with Soyinka, recalled how Achebe, at one time, said, “The Nobel Prize did not make one the Asiwaju of African Literature.”

    He then asked Soyinka how he took that statement at the time.

    Responding, Soyinka said, “The subject was not even literature when he (Achebe) made that statement and so I was disappointed that he created a nexus between my normal sociopolitical life and my normal way of articulating an opinion.

    “It was almost like because I won the Nobel Prize, I have no right to offer, to do what I used to do before all my life. I responded to it, even though I wanted to make light of it. I was a little bit disappointed and I didn’t see the necessity; that particular subject, which was under contention, didn’t relate to literature. So, it was like, oh, am I now to carry this burden for the rest of my life? That people will think I am doing what I used to do before simply because I now have a Nobel Prize.”

    Asked what he felt about how literary enthusiasts often segregate themselves into either Soyinka camp or Achebe camp, Soyinka said it boiled down to “ignorance”.

    “Everybody feels they have a right to pronounce authoritatively, not only on the products but on the producers of the products and their positions in society,” he said.