A-ARTs: Soyinka at 90...reflection on Maya Angelou, superlatives of Nobel Prize

Prof Wole Soyinka speaking at Africa Centre, UK, during one of the Soyinka@90 events.

WHEN Prof Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka was given the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, American author, Maya Angelou (1928-2014), had predicted the event a year ahead. In 1985, Angelou nominated Soyinka to win an international literary prize of which she was pained that her expectation was not met after a German picked the award.

And as Africa celebrated Soyinka's 90th birthday, there have been facts and fictions flying around in search of superlatives to honour the literary icon. And the real victim is the 'first' superlative, which has been wrongly used in some sections of the media. Soyinka's literary works and activism, as a great writer, was crowned in 1986 when he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In a tribute to Angelou, ten years ago, Soyinka recalled how his failure to win a particular prize was disappointing to her. In fact, Angelou, according to Soyinka, broke down in tears after the prize went to a German. Soyinka, in the tribute tracked the role of Angelou in highlighting the atrocious regime of late General Sanni Abacha, and more importantly, the inspirational support that the late American author gave him before he won the 1986 Nobel Prize. Soyinka disclosed his cherished memory of Angelou. "She had nominated me for that prize but, finally, it was a German writer who carried it off - I think it was Gunther Grass, but am no longer sure," Soyinka wrote in the tribute. "Well, at the formal event of the announcement, Maya Angelou was so disappointed, she burst into tears. Our sole contact till then was through our writing."

However, unknown to Soyinka, perhaps to Angelou too, the 1986 Nobel Prize was predicted by her. "During reception afterwards, when she was being teased/consoled or whatever, she said something like: No, it's all right, I know he'll win a bigger one. A year later, I was accorded the Nobel Prize," Soyinka wrote in his 2014 tribute to Angelou.

Soyinka was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature for what was described as his broad perspective in poetry and drama, among others. The Nobel Academy noted that Soyinka's style of writing include “wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones" from which he "fashions the drama of existence.” Deservedly, Soyinka has been receiving measured and appropriate accolades, particularly in celebrating his 90th birthday, which was on July 13, 2024.

However, there have been some superlatives about the status of Soyinka's 1986 Nobel laurel, which require to be placed in proper context. Among such accolades is that Soyinka won the Nobel Prize "as the first African" to be so honoured. Is Soyinka the first African to have won Nobel Prize in Literature? The context, in understanding who is an African at a given period, perhaps would provide a better understanding of the 'first' superlative. Before Soyinka won the prize in 1986, there was Algerian-born author, Albert Camus who got the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature, but as a French citizen. Also, there was Claude Simon, awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Literature – a year ahead of Soyinka's Nobel honour. Simon was born in Madagascar in 1913, but won the Nobel Prize as a citizen of France after moving to Europe at a young age.

The difference between Soyinka's Nobel Prize and that of Gamus as well as Simon's is the citizenship factor. From 1975 to 1999, Soyinka had been Professor of Comparative literature at Obafemi Awolowo University, southwest of Nigeria. Perhaps, he would have been an American citizen if there were widespread 'japa' (Yoruba word for asylum or migration) syndrome in the Nigeria of the 1970s. Yes, Soyinka 'japa' to study at University of Leeds (1954-57), and also worked for Royal Court Theater, both in the U.K. But his courage in 'japada' (return) to Nigeria and contribute to his native country's development, perhaps, earned him more honours. Soyinka has added to the growing list of Nobel Laureates in Africa. In fact, Soyinka is the only Nobel Prize pride for Nigeria till date.

Soyinka lectured in U.S, at institutions such as Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles; Institute of African American Affairs, New York University; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Harvard, Emory, Loyola Marymount, and Yale. In 1993 Soyinka was awarded an honorary doctorate from Harvard University, U.S.

Also, some publications, especially on social media, have wrongly described Soyinka's Nobel Prize as the "first" for Africa, across professional status. In fact, a Wikipedia profiling of Soyinka described him as Africa's "first Laureate," based on the 1986 Nobel Prize award. Is Soyinka the first African Nobel Laureate? The facts: South African Albert Luthuli received the 1960 Nobel Prize for Peace, the first African to be so honoured. Later, another South African, Bishop Desmond Tutu won Nobel Prize for Peace, in 1984.

However, if the superlatives of 'first time' or 'first person' to receive the award matters to anyone in the Nobel Prize list of Africa, Soyinka has a record not achieved by any person of black African descent, within Africa and the diaspora. Ahead of any black person in the world, Soyinka's 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature was the first. The next black writer after Soyinka to have been so honoured was American, Toni Morrison (1931-2019), who won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Academy described as “novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import."

In celebrating the rare achievement of Soyinka, the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco presented a Gold Medal to the Nobel Laureate as part of activities scheduled for his 90th birthday in the north African country. Soyinka was physically present in Rabat, Morocco on July 9, 2024 to receive the medal. The event themed themed “Africa Celebrates Wole Soyinka in Morocco,” was organized by Royal Academy of Morocco and Pan African Writers Association (PAWA).

In his home country, Nigeria, Soyinka received the biggest honour for any living or departed culture professional. On July 12, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu renamed Nigeria's first and biggest cultural edifice, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, after Soyinka. Briefly recalling the celebrant's literary sojourn and his survival against prostrate cancer, President Tinubu declared that "I am, accordingly, delighted to announce the decision of the Federal Government to rename the National Theatre in Iganmu, Surulere, as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts."

Although the Nobel Prize stands as the most prestigious honour, there are other prizes from across the world that also celebrated the exceptional playwright and essayist in Soyinka. Such awards that Soyinka received, among others include The Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature; Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award; Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, (Lifetime Achievement); and the Europe Theatre Prize - Special Prize 2017.

Among Soyinka's works of over 20 plays are Keffi's Birthday Treat (1954), The Invention (1957), The Swamp Dwellers (1958), and Kongi's Harvest (1964). His Novels include The Interpreters (1965), Season of Anomy (1973), and Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth (2021). -Tajudeen Sowole is a Lagos-based writer on The Arts.

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