Wole Soyinka is well known throughout Nigeria and the rest of the world as a brilliant playwright, poet, and political activist. He is the first person in Africa to win the Nobel Prize in literature and is respected for his willingness to speak out against repression and corruption. But beyond all of that, there are still many things you may not know about Wole Soyinka.



Wole’s father, Samuel Ayodele Soyinka, was an Anglican minister and headmaster of St. Peters School in Abẹokuta. His mother, Grace Eniola Soyinka, owned a market shop, was active in the women’s movement in her community and also was a practicing Anglican. Wole, on the other hand, was an atheist. His beliefs contributed greatly to his writing.




While pursuing a degree in English literature, Greek, and Western history at University College in Ibadan, Wole helped found the Pyrates Confraternity with six others. It was built as an anti-corruption and justice-seeking student organization, themes that would play into much of his later work.


He was the first African to be honored with a Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1986 when he was been awarded, he was described as one “who in a wide cultural perspective, and with poetic overtones, fashions the drama of existence.” His Nobel acceptance speech was devoted to South African freedom-fighter Nelson Mandela and was declared a humane and characteristically outspoken criticism of apartheid and the politics of racial segregation in South Africa at the time.


Some of Wole’s most famous works were written during his 22-month imprisonment. He smuggled in materials such as books, pens, and paper. Much of his work at this time, unsurprisingly, was focused on criticizing the Nigerian government that was restricting his freedom.





He has been married to his third and current wife, Adefolake Soyinka, since 1989 and has three children with her, Adefolake is a former student of Wole Soyinka




Wole is well known for making contentious statements against other nations, including European nations where he lived in exile. It demonstrates his commitment to exposing injustice regardless of the location, and his willingness to make unpopular moves.






The laureate has also received several honorary degrees, from such prestigious universities as Harvard (1993), Princeton (2005) and the Franklin Humanities Institute of Duke University, where he was appointed Distinguished Scholar in Residence in 2008.










Despite his amazing body of work, Wole’s long history of criticizing the Nigerian government and taking action against corruption are among his greatest legacies. He remains an influence on writers and activists in Nigeria and across the world.







Contrary to widespread opinion, Wole Soyinka and the late literary icon Chinua Achebe were friends. Following Achebe’s death, He said: “For us, the loss of Chinua Achebe is, above all else, intensely personal. We have lost a brother, a colleague, a trailblazer and a doughty fighter."


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Poor write-up without pragraphs and numbering of the ten points.