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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has paid tribute to Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka as the celebrated playwright turns 92, describing him as a “global icon” and “one of our nation’s living repositories of history, knowledge, and courage.”
In a State House statement he personally signed ahead of Soyinka’s birthday on July 13, the president praised the literary giant’s wide-ranging achievements and his long record of activism against military rule.
“Today, I celebrate a global icon and our nation’s literary star, Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, on his 92nd birthday,” Tinubu said. “Exceptional individuals like Professor Soyinka do not come often in a generation—men who illuminate the paths for humanity to follow across diverse endeavours, who are not afraid to go against convention, and who do not let the man die in the face of oppression and injustice.”
The president listed Soyinka’s many roles, calling him a “playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, actor, singer, composer, documentarian, and irrepressible advocate of good governance,” and recalled his historic receipt of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature. “I recall his winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, becoming the first African to win the Prize in that category,” the statement said, noting other honours including the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Lifetime Achievement).
President Tinubu also highlighted Soyinka’s political activism, saying he “valiantly struggled against military dictatorship for decades” and referenced their shared involvement in the June 12 struggle, noting “we were both in the trenches.”
“Today, I salute one of our nation’s living repositories of history, knowledge, and courage. That he is with us is a gift we will always treasure,” the president added, thanking Soyinka “for his undying faith in the Nigerian project and wise counsel.”
Concluding his message, Tinubu extended birthday wishes: “As he marks this birthday, I join the world in celebrating his profound influence on generations of writers, scholars, and activists, as well as his sacrifices for our nation. I wish ‘Kongi’ many more years in excellent health.”
