Declare July 13 Wole Soyinka Day, Alake tells govt

The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, has called on the Federal Government to declare July 13 a national day to honour the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, for his contributions to literature, unwavering commitment to justice and unrelenting passion for Nigerian culture.

This, the monarch said, will further promote Soyinka’s ideals and excellent scholarship disposition in the coming generation.

Prof. Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, studied at the Abeokuta Grammar School briefly before moving to Government College, Ibadan, in 1954 and University College, Ibadan, before proceeding to the University of Leeds in England.

Oba Gbadebo said if New Orleans, US can set aside every November 1 as Wole Soyinka Day, what of his country of birth?

The monarch, who spoke yesterday at his palace in Abeokuta, also urged the Federal Government to confer the second highest national honours, Grand Commander Order of Niger (GCON), on Soyinka in recognition of his contributions and to mark his 90^th birthday.

Oba Gbadebo noted that Soyinka, being the first African Nobel Prize winner in Literature, and an international playwright wanted in every part of the world, deserves to be so honoured back home.

He described the Nobel Laureate as ‘a literary giant, quintessential essayist, dramatist, playwright and a globally respected elder statesman, who is also the Akinlatun of Egbaland’.

According to the royal, Egba land has already decided that July 13, which is Soyinka’s birthday, would henceforth be celebrated as Wole Soyinka Day.

He said: “It is said that honour should be bestowed on whom honour is due. It is for this reason and many more that I, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland, on behalf of all Egba sons and daughters, all over the world, announce that henceforth, July 13, shall be celebrated as Wole Soyinka Day.”

In celebrating Soyinka the monarch said there would be art exhibitions by pupils of St. Peters School, Ake; Abeokuta Grammar School and Ogun State Chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SONTA); book exhibitions by Spectrum Publishing Company, exhibition of documentaries on Soyinka, poetry recitals, cultural performances and hunting expedition by hunters from Egbaland.

These activities, with the theme ‘Defiance and creativity-A celebration of Soyinka’s artistic ingenuity and impact on Nigeria, Africa and the entire world’, according to the traditional ruler, will hold at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Kuto, Abeokuta, on July 12 and 13.

Recalling his childhood memories of Soyinka in Ake, Oba Gbadebo said: “I grew up in Ake like Soyinka. We used to call his mother mummy. She had a shop at the Ake roundabout. Soyinka is older than me, so I related with his younger ones then. He wrote one of his greatest books on Ake.”