Tinubu celebrates Wole Soyinka at 92, hails Nobel laureate’s enduring legacy
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on his 92nd birthday, describing him as a global literary icon, fearless advocate of justice, and one of Nigeria’s greatest national treasures.
In a personally signed message released on Sunday ahead of Soyinka’s birthday on Monday, Tinubu praised the renowned playwright, poet and activist for his remarkable contributions to literature, democracy and good governance.
The President described Soyinka as an exceptional figure whose life and work have inspired generations across the world.
“Exceptional individuals like Professor Soyinka do not come often in a generation—men who illuminate the paths for humanity to follow across diverse endeavours, who are not afraid to go against convention, and who do not let the man die in the face of oppression and injustice,” Tinubu said.
He congratulated the literary icon, describing him as a “globally celebrated playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, actor, singer, composer, documentarian, and irrepressible advocate of good governance.”
Tinubu recalled Soyinka’s historic achievement as the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, noting that he had also received several prestigious international honours, including the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature, the Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Europe Theatre Prize Special Prize.
The President also paid tribute to Soyinka’s role in Nigeria’s democratic struggles, particularly his resistance to military dictatorship and participation in the June 12 pro-democracy movement.
“I also recall Professor Soyinka’s valiant struggle against military dictatorship for decades, and his efforts in the June 12 struggle, for which we were both in the trenches,” he said.
