Soyinka At 90 part one

The works of the youth shall follow them when they re old and if it be evil sticks like immortal evil and if it be good sticks like immortalized good.Hence what do you do with your time when you re young so you can get the accolades alone when you re old.

I was impressed with my childhood hero when the president Bola Ahmed tinubu paid a glowing tribute to Nobel laureate Professor WOLE Soyinka when he turned 90 and named national theatre at iganmu in Surulere after him.The national theatre however was renamed WOLE Soyinka Centre for Culture and The Creative arts.

The tribute signed by president on Friday was made available to the media.He noted this national treasure should be celebrated while he is still with us ."We do not only celebrate Soyinka's remarkable literary achievement but also his unwavering dedication to the values of human dignity and justice"

"When he turned 80 I struggled to find words to encapsulate his achievements because they were simply too vast .Since then he has added to his corpus with his series of interventions which have been published in many volumes."He was also lucky to have beaten prostate cancer and a fitting testament and he said as the first African to win Nobel prize in 1986 Nobel laureate prof wole Soyinka deserves all the accolades for this significant milestone.

Professor WOLE Soyinka "is a colossus a true renaissance person blessed with innumerable talents .He is a playwright actor poet human rights and political activist,composer and singer.

"He is a giant bestriding not just the literary world but our nation Africa and the world 

"He remains the shining light of our the gadfly that pokes our national soul decrying tyranny and oppression urging us to become better as a nation 

"He is one nigerian whose influence transcends Nigerian space and who inspires people around the world.Since his youth he has  been a vocal critics of oppression and injustice wherever it exists from apartheid in south Africa to racism in the united states.Soyinka always speaks truth to power."Beginning from his 20s he took personal risks for the sake of our nation.His courage was evident when he attempted to broker peace at the start of the civil war in 1967 . Detained for two years for his bravery he narrated his experience in his prison memoirs,The Man Died.

"Despite deprivation and Solitary confinement his resolve to speak truth to power and fight for the marginalized was further strengthened .His early writing such as The Lion And the jewel ,Death and the king's horseman not only testified to his mastery of language his innovative short story telling but also his unflinching commitment to enthroning a fair and just society.

Then he said"Our paths crossed during our just struggle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria following the annulment of June 12  1993 presidential election.When faced in trial .........."Take a look at the source of the story on the pages of Tribune page 5,to complete the story.

I think Soyinka singlehandedly made Tinubu president of Nigeria and the success of anti abacha in which the main hero of the struggle was nadeco and soyinka most influential member of nadeco.That success catapulted tinubu into power first as Governor and now president.