SIR: I ‘met’ Prof. Wole Soyinka at Queen’s School, Ede, Osun State in 1962. Our English teacher, Miss Ayanbule (now Mrs. Holloway) had told the class that she had invited a university don to talk to us on African literature. The class had received the news with the indifference that would be expected of any secondary school class. We were in for a number of surprises.
The university don appeared not stuffed in a three piece suit as would have been the order of the day, then. He breezed into the class in his now famous mbari shirt and sandals (years later, many lecturers at several universities tried to copy this look, they could match neither his casualness nor cleanliness!!!).
The second surprise, he spoke to us and not down at us. Finally, he read one of his poems, The Telephone Conversation to the class. Ever since that day, I have been “hooked” on the professor. I have read nearly all his works, watched most of his plays and have never missed any opportunity to listen to his public lectures.
Between 1966-70, Prof. Soyinka was involved in raising people’s consciousness to the uselessness of Civil War. At the University of Ibadan, he gave a lecture to draw staff and students’ attention to the wastage and carnage in “Biafra”.
At one point during this lecture, the man broke down and wept! Of course, this was most unusual where his generation must have been taught to keep the stiff upper lip. A Nigerian man, showing so much emotion in public was unheard of.
Then I ‘met’ Prof. Soyinka many times in his autobiographical book Ake: The year of childhood. I have read this book about four times, much more recently this year. No, I am neither a student nor a teacher of English literature. I am just a compulsive reader. The book has appealed to me on three levels:
His power of recall – there is no doubt that the man is a genius. I wonder how many of us can remember so vividly the incidents that occur in our lives at the age of three.
The importance of nature and environment in the upbringing of a child has been brought to the very forefront in this book. Young Wole Soyinka was a mail-runner between the Egba Women – the onikaba and aroso in their struggle against the oppressive taxation system. Also, his close association with the Ramsome-Kuti was bound to make him politically conscious.
Lastly, on a very personal level, his parents were almost representatives of many parents in that era and area. (My father was also a headmaster and mother ‘kept’ several shops) No wonder, I have had the pleasure of giving the book out as presenst to friends and relations.
In 1989, Tunji Oyelana was celebrating his 50th birthday at his home – Osuntokun Avenue, Bodija, Ibadan. A look into the sitting room, on the same level as the dance floor (not one of these inner sanctuaries) showed the Nobel Laureate, himself, eating eba and bush meat on the floor with a few friends. I almost turned back, I felt I was intruding. No, no I was invited back into the sitting room and the camaraderie and banter that went on can better be seen than imagined. There was so much traffic of people and he just carried on.
My most recent encounter was at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs at the Annual Obafemi Awolowo lecture this year. Yes. Soyinka, the man had not changed – the fire, enthusiasm, emotions, politics, humaneness, freedom fighting – everything was still intact. Except, I wondered to myself, why did he read his entire lecture. Is the man getting that old? Now that question has been answered. In a subsequent lecture which he gave under the auspices of Oxbridge alumni association, he was so thoroughly misquoted that he had to write a rejoinder in the dailies.
In this town when people’s preoccupation is pull him down) and at these times when there seem so many clouds in the horizon, thank God we have an excuse to celebrate our own W.S. (courtesy Yemi Ogunbiyi).
To those of us who do not belong to the inner caucus who call him kongi, I wish to say ‘Bon Anniversaire’, Prof.