Soyinka criticizes South Africa at 90th birthday event

By Innocent Raphael 

Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has sharply criticized the South African government for its adversarial stance towards Nigeria and its citizens.

He argued that this confrontational attitude undermines the fraternal relationship between progressive forces in both countries.

Soyinka made these remarks on Saturday at an event titled “An Evening with Professor Wole Soyinka at 90,” organized by The Metropolitan Club, Lagos, to celebrate the renowned writer’s 90th birthday, which falls on July 13, 2024. The event took place at the Main Hall of The Metropolitan Club in Victoria Island, Lagos.

“I mention this deliberately because we have a problem with South Africa. There is this kind of complex, I haven’t quite figured it out, which distorts what I consider a fraternal relationship of progressives between Nigeria and South Africa,” Soyinka said.

He continued, “I am saying this as a message to South Africa. Please don’t do that sort of thing again. We don’t know whose turn it is going to be.”

Soyinka’s criticism was particularly pointed regarding the negative actions of South African representatives that sabotaged Nigerian activists’ efforts to oust the late dictator Gen. Sani Abacha.

He recounted an instance when Nigerian activists, including himself, planned to hold a conference in South Africa during Abacha’s regime, only to be thwarted by South African officials. These officials had requested the activists’ passports to process visas, only to obstruct their efforts. 

The South African government later claimed they did not want to be seen as harming the Nigerian leader.

Soyinka also shared personal experiences of humiliation at the hands of South African immigration authorities, highlighting several instances, some public and others not, which have caused him to question the relationship between the two nations. “I want to use this opportunity to pose this as a challenge to South African progressives,” he stated.

The event was filled with intellectual discourse and revelations, as Soyinka reflected on various aspects of his life, including his childhood, the formation of the Pyrates Confraternity, his role during the Nigerian Civil War, his involvement with NADECO, and the impact of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.

Notable attendees included Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former General Secretary of the Commonwealth; Dr Kayode Fayemi, former Governor of Ekiti State; Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi, former Managing Director of Daily Times Nigeria Plc; and Mr Kunle Ajibade, Executive Editor of TheNEWS and PM NEWS.