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Tag: Prof. Wole Soyinka

Nobel laureate playing the ostrich, says Presidency

Jonathan’s Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, described Prof. Wole Soyinka’s allegations as ”sad and unfortunate”.

The Presidency said it had observed that the close relationship between Soyinka and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has beclouded Soyinka’s contributions to national discourse.

“Our eminent professor also sadly plays the ostrich as he failed to reprimand Governor Amaechi, who is the ‘national champion of impunity and official recklessness’.

“The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan prides itself as the most liberal, keeping faith with adherence to rule of law and tolerance,” Okupe added.

He said Soyinka chose to ignore what he termed the immoral, indefensible and unlawful attitude of House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal after his defection.

He accused Soyinka of maligning Inspector General of Police Abba who, he said, only discharged his lawful duties.

December 3, 2014
The reign of impunity

After a criticical appraisal of the unfolding developments in the country, Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka says the solution to the country’s problems will come at a price. He spoke yesterday at a press conference at the Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos. Below is the full text of his speech:

I shall not insist that the historic/biblical figure of Nebuchadnezzar is uniquely apt for the pivotal figure of the ‘democratic’ history in the making at this moment – for one thing, Nebu was a nation builder and a warrior. One could argue even more convincingly for the figure of Balthazar, his successor, or indeed Emperor Nero as reference point – you all remember him – the emperor who took to fiddling while Rome was burning. However you should easily recall why I opted for King Nebu –the figure that currently sits on the top of our political pile himself evoked it, albeit in a context that virtuously disclaimed any similarities, even tendencies. Perhaps he meant it at the time when he claimed: ‘I am no Nebuchadnezzar’. Perhaps not. One judges leaders on acts however, not pronouncements, which are often as reliable as electoral promises. King Nebu remains relevant – and not only for leadership. We, the citizens, are beginning to feel the heat. Without any claims to prophecy – unlike Shadrach and company, we wake up each morning to a sensation that we have been cast in the furnace together with those who at least committed the crime of dissent or criticism. No divine miracle appears to be at hand for a last-minute rescue. In desperation, one is reduced to hoping that the evocation of his own biblical reference point will resonate somewhere in the mind of one who is so ostentatiously humble and pious, kneels at the feet of a priest who could easily be mistaken for an office worker, and cultivate the high and holy company of acknowledged spokesmen of God.

So, here goes. Gentlemen of the press, let’s not beat around the bush: the line has been drawn. The people must decide – whether to submit or resist. We may be no-count plebeians in the sight of the new-born patricians of Aso Rock and their apologists but – must we revert to the Abacharian status of glorified slaves? Of course, it is up to any people to decide. The praetorian guards have been let loose – to teach the rabble their place. The recent choice of a new leader for the Guard was clearly no accident, and this hitherto unknown enforcer, on Suleiman Abba, has wasted no time in inaugurating a season of brutish power. When a people’s elected emissaries are disenfranchised, cast out like vagrants and resort to scaling fences to engage in their designated functions, the people get the message. However, the choice is always there, and each choice comes at a cost. It is either we pay now, or pay later. The latest action of the supposed guardians of the law against the nation’s lawgivers is an unambiguous declaration of war against the people. I am glad that a commentator has referred to it as an attempted coup-de-tat. And it nearly worked.

Legislators are not elected for their athletic powers, and such endeavours should not be demanded of them. There are even presidents and prime ministers who were elected despite physical handicaps. The brain is where it matters, the vision and commitment to service. Our legislators however have been made to perform over and beyond the call of the Olympics. I don’t understand why some media have described their action as a show of shame – this is a very careless, easily misapplied designation. The act of scaling gates and walls to fulfill their duty by the people must be set down as their finest hour. They must be applauded, not derided. If shame belongs anywhere, it belongs to the Inspector-General of Police and his slavish adherence to conspiratorial, illegal, and unconstitutional instructions – to undermine a democratic structure, and one – to make matters worse – convoked in response to an emergency of dire public concern.

What sticks to this policeman is worse than shame, it is infamy. Such a public servant deserves to be publicly pilloried, tried and meted a punishment that is appropriate to treasonable acts, if only to serve as a deterrent to others in positions of responsibility under the law. To demand less is to reduce ourselves below the status free citizens of a free nation. It means we endorse violence against our representatives that we are content to submit ourselves to the jackboots of named forced. It is to annunciate the era of the brute as the current fundamental modality of governance.

For this latest outrage, one in an escalating series of impunity, the buck stops yet again at the presidency, and that incumbent, Goddluck Ebele Jonathan, continues to surprise us in ways that very few could have conjectured. Peaking at his own personalized example where he set the law of simply arithmetic on its head – I refer to the split in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and his ‘formal’ recognition of the minority will in a straightforward, peer election – democracy has been rendered meaningless where it should be most fervent exemplified. Nothing is more unworthy of leadership than to degrade a system by which one attains fulfillment, and this is what the nation has witnessed time and time again in various parts of the nation, the recent affront against the legislative chamber being only the most blatant and unconscionable. We know of course that this is not the first of its kind in the nation’s history, but precedents are not binding. Each leader selects his or her own model for emulation or avoidance, and that choice is certain indication of the true nature of such a leader, and a clue to the kind of conduct that a people can expect of him. It is a warning. His choices for the occupancy of crucial public positions – such as the protective arm of the nation-constitutes an even more immediate and constant public alert. The signals are ominous – for and beyond 2015.

These, to state the obvious, are not ordinary times. The menace of Boko Haram hangs over the corporate entity called a nation and over individual, citizen or mere bird of passage. The cliché ‘heating up the polity’ may grate the ear-drums with its banality but I think that we have a right to demand of a leader not to stoke up the furnace in which events have cast its citizens. Every day records a new violation of our humanity. The atrocious targeting of the great mosque of Kano has rendered any lingering doubt of impending national imposition an invitation for collective suicide, preferably through piecemeal dismemberment. The theories of cause and effect can wait, or continue – it does not matter – the omniscient in such matters continue to pontificate, some of them blithely forgetting that they indeed contributed to policies that landed us in this brutal cleft. What does matter is an awareness that the nation is only part of a global eruption of fundamentalist delusions whose staple diet consists of destabilization and dehumanization – all summed up as an ideology of hate for the different. For the defiant. This should form the basis of understanding by which an implacable enemy is confronted. And it should form the basis of leadership awareness. It should have led, by now, to national mobilization on an unprecedented scale, one that may even impinge, however temporarily, on those liberties that you and I consider non-negotiable in our rights as citizens.

However, imagine, just imagine that today’s leadership were of such a cast of mind, one that makes demands of sacrifice from the citizens. The response would be outright rejection. And deservedly so, because any such motion would be distrusted. It would be seen as an act of insincerity, an opportunity to acquire even more powers for citizen enslavement. This is the price you pay for encroaching on the precincts and entitlement of others with whom you share a structure of authority. You lose the trust of the other legs of –in this case – a governance tripod. Every act, especially in abnormal circumstances, would be viewed with extreme suspicion, and the gates, open wide, without any strenuous effort on its part, to the triumphal progression of the enemy. That is the collateral damage that the abuse of power attracts to whatever should be a collaborative undertaking. Where governance has degenerated to such a level that any individual, on account of his uniform, can stop an elected representative of a people, in this case a governor, from going about his legitimate duties or exercising his basic, elementary right as a citizen – as happened during the recent Ekiti elections – we do not need to guess what happens in a situation that calls for general mobilization, on which, needless to say, the good will and trust of all arms of governance depend in a crisis. This of course requires the capacity for forward thinking.

The shambles that punctuated a presidential campaign visit at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State a few days ago merely underline the total alienation of President Jonathan from the reality that has engulfed the nation. Yes, political campaigns are part and parcel of the bloodline of the democratic process. We know that they never stop. However, that a national leader should go campaigning on the platform of ethnic support at a time when priorities dictate a united national engagement for survival, is a grotesque undertaking that was tragically rebuked in the massacre of worshippers and desecration of the Kano mosques, almost simultaneously with alienated gathering of selected crowned heads and journeymen at the OAU campus, a macabre echo of Balthazar’s feast. Long before Nyanya, long before Chibok, long before the mildest of the now innumerable violations of our basic right to exist as free citizens, the march of a nation towards implosion has dominated the landscape, but an obsession the pettiness of power has obscured remedial vision and thus, the creative options constantly open to any prescient leadership.

If Somalia was too far away as instruction, then surely Mali remains sufficiently close warning. With the invasion of Mali by al Qaeda and its clones and surrogates, we moved from mere portents, from mere distant rumblings, to the wake-up knock right against our gates- and yet leadership slumber remained unbroken. Mali was retrieved, a breathing space created, but it would appear that this was when complacency took over and snoring attained its highest pitch. The few waking moments have been spent on sterile, tawdry intrigues and consolidation on the marshes and quick sands of power. That failure in the aggressive destablisation of the enemy is the cross that the nation bears today- but we must concede that this gross dereliction applies not only to Nigeria but to her neighbours- indeed to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – and the collective failure for concerted action.

Leadership counts however, and it was Nigeria that took the lead in that critical and timely mission that was spearheaded by France.

The lesson of Mali was completely lost on complacent leadership however, leaving time and space for alien invaders to make common causes with the internal, unleashing destruction at will and dancing around a nation whose armed forces have acquitted themselves creditably on foreign missions. The architect of that initial policy of containment was the recently deceased Gbenga Ashiru, then a Foreign Minister, unceremoniously removed for the ends of premature politicking, before the logical development of that initiative. Now of course, the very manipulators of Ashiru’s removal are falling over one another to heap praise on the quality of his achievements of office, skirting – who can blame them!- the tawdry reasons for his removal from office. Petty, retaliatory calculations that placed the interests of the nation, the very security of its people in acute jeopardy from unfinished business. Ashiru’s presence in that position had become a fly in the palm wine of Balthasar’s Feast. Caution: no one dares predict that the plight of Nigerians would be any rosier had his ideas been pursued till the very end. The point is simply this – a process was interrupted, truncated without thought, petty politicking being made to override substance. I wrote Ashiru to commiserate with him and to bolster his morale. He replied in only two words: USE AND DUMP!

Defend yourselves! This is what the perceptive have preached and groups like the so-called junior Task Force translated into action, the real heroes of the defence of the tattered “Nigerian sovereignty”, Among them, a hitherto unknown, a woman, has become one of the symbols of resistance, an ordinary woman turned extraordinary, one of the hunters who routed the diabolical hordes who appear to rout our military even before their appearance. Does it sound today as whimsical as it may have sounded to some when l urged the organisation of willing survivors of Boko Haram into local defence corps, their women especially, proposed that they be kitted out fully, and formally inducted as auxiliaries. Ladi, it would appear, needed no such urging from any direction. It was obvious to her, and others like her that it was futile to await salvation from a centre that is so self-obsessed with power that it no longer sees even the danger to its very existence. A people must defend itself. These are no ordinary times, and we have moved beyond orthodox solution. “Where two of three are gathered together…” I shall complete those words my own way- “they must anticipate, organize, obtaining or improvising the wherewithal as circumstances dictate. Fascism is the eternal enemy of freedom, and it comes both in internal and external forms.

Today, it would be premature to claim that Suleiman Abba and the many incarnations of Shekau are cut from the same mould but, remember, we have been here before. Who can forget Sunday Adewusi, the original Robo-Cop! And so, consider this; the ripples from the fascistic eruption of a Suleiman Abba may actually result in far greater casualties and inhuman degradation of society than those so far recorded even at the hands of Shekarau and his cohorts. That is the real and present danger. This is why the call for vigilance is real and urgent, and a need to clip the wings of predatory bird before it devours society, they call becomes paramount.

Beset by external and internal threat to liberty and dignity, abandoned internally by a do-it-yourself government on the one hand, and externally by (claimed) impediments from cynical allies – as we are made to believe in the media- let no one cry anarchy when the people respond to that historic cry of liberation, to which one leader after another – the most recent being the Emir of Kano and the Ulama leader, Yahaha Jingir – have felt moved to urge upon their people:

“Citizens Defend yourselves!”

December 3, 2014
Jonathan is Nigeria’s Nebuchadnezzar – Soyinka

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Tuesday likened President Goodluck Jonathan to the Biblical Babylonian autocrat, King Nebuchadnezzar.

He said Nigerians have been cast into a “furnace” in the manner of Shedrack, Mishak and Abednego.

Unfortunately for the citizens, no divine miracle appears to be at hand for a last-minute rescue, Soyinka said.

The three biblical characters where cast into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to an image made by the despotic king, but they were miraculously rescued.

Soyinka while speaking at a media briefing at the Freedom Park in Lagos, with the theme: “King Nebuchadnezzar – the reign of impunity,” said Jonathan’s administration has become known for lawlessness.

“You should easily recall why I opted for King Nebu – the figure that currently sits on the top of our political pile himself evoked it, albeit in a context that virtuously disclaimed any similarities, even tendencies.

“Perhaps he meant it at the time when he claimed: ‘I am not Nebuchadnezzar.’ Perhaps not. One judges leaders on acts however, not pronouncements, which are often as reliable as electoral promises.

“King Nebu remains relevant – and not only for leadership. We, the citizens, are beginning to feel the heat. We wake up each morning to a sensation that we have been cast into the furnace together with those who at least committed the crime of dissent or criticism,” he said

Soyinka praised the House of Representatives members who scaled the fence into the National Assembly on November 20 when the police shut the gate and teargassed them.

He said it was wrong for the media to describe their action as a “show of shame,” saying it was rather the lawmakers’ “finest moment.”

Soyinka said the police action is like a declaration of war on Nigerians. He criticized the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, for exercising what he called “brutish power.”

According to him, it is left for Nigerians to either resist such abuse of power or accept it.

December 2, 2014
Before The Siege

A play written by Sam Omatseye in celebration of Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka’s 80th birthday will be staged tomorrow at MUSON Centre, Lagos. FEMI MACAULAY, a member of the Editorial Board, writes a preview of the production

It began as a poem but became a play, by the playwright’s account. So, it has both poetic and dramatic qualities. The Siege, a new play by Sam Omatseye, which will premiere on July 24 at MUSON Centre, Lagos, promises the audience an intense experience of both genres, which means double edutainment. The portmanteau word is appropriate because this is a thinker’s play as well as a thinking play. It is informed by historical reality and intended to promote a fundamental socio-political understanding.

The play’s director, Wole Oguntokun, captured the historical inspiration in an interview. He said: “Charles Gordon was a British Army General, who was in charge of Sudan, Khartoum in the 19th century. He was asked to leave Sudan by his government, which felt they couldn’t hold Khartoum anymore but he thought he could hold it for his country. So, he refused to leave. Unfortunately, he met a man who was as zealous and strong as him in the person of the Mahdi, who fought to hold his country back from the British. The play is about the siege laid on Khartoum with Gordon unwilling to give up the city. It led to the death of Gordon during the face-off between Gordon and Mahdi’s men. The play is about people who hold and believe in their own ideologies; the two men fundamentally believed in the cause they were fighting. It’s based on a true-life story.” Still on history, the drama doesn’t end with Gordon’s defeat and includes the British reprisal attack spearheaded by Lord Kitchener.

It is intriguing that Omatseye, who is also a poet, novelist and journalist, was captivated by this grim sequence of events that happened long ago in a distant land. Remarkably, his mind drew parallels between Sudan of past times and Nigeria of today in particular. “A historical play chides us out of our historical and anti-historical mindset. It also reminds us that we are not as far apart from our past as we think,” said Omatseye in a prefatory note. He added: “I could not have realised in the course of writing that I was influenced more by the various stories of religious angst in Nigeria in recent memory. The Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria has brought to the open the danger of faith on both sides of the Christian and Islamic extremities.”

Indeed, an undercurrent of religious radicalism runs through the play; and his reference to the Islamist guerilla force that has continued to terrorise the country since 2009 is instructive. However, the play’s overriding thrust embraces all philosophies of exclusion, especially what Omatseye described as “fanaticism of faith and country.” In other words, The Siege is both literal and metaphorical. Figuratively, it is about self-promoting ideologies that deny the relevance of diversity.

Notably, the play’s colonial setting and the implications take the issue beyond the spiritual realm and address its physical and materialist dimension. In this connection, the idea of political subjugation is spotlighted in all its intolerant glory. Omatseye referred to “zeal, powered not only by a murderous zealotry but also a fiery nationalism.”

There is an interesting angle that the play offers as food for thought. It can be formulated as a question: What role does individual ego, or self-promotion, play in the psychology of bigotry? Or put differently: How many expressions of hostility have been triggered by personal pursuits?

Omatseye’s script has a decidedly international colour; and it is a testimony to the impressive professionalism of Oguntokun, who has been in the theatre business for a decade and runs a company called Renegade Theatre, that the international complexion is treated with striking fidelity. To achieve a compelling interpretation, the director has four UK-based British actors in the cast, Sam Quinn, Angus Scott-Miller, John Glynn and Paul Garayo. One of them, Quinn, is no stranger to the country and has been around twice before. He said: “Being Gordon is an interesting role to play. Colonialism is not something I’m proud of as an English person. It’s a dark chapter when you consider what happened to local people. It’s a difficult role to play being the bad guy.”

In addition, Oguntokun said of the production, “It’s challenging because it deals with another culture, and we have to be careful that we stay true to the Sudanese culture in terms of dresses, music and mindset that existed at the time.” So, the serious issues will be spiced with spectacle, what Oguntokun called “a fusion of play and dance.”

Without being frontally didactic, the play nevertheless drives its message home through subtleties that underline its artistic strength. Despite the dramatist’s obviously strongly felt conviction, his skillful handling of the material escapes the stamp of propaganda. Through an imaginative use of creative license, he succeeds in achieving a believable presentation of a “truthful lie”, meaning that he gives a fictional spin to history that is at once realistic and fantastic.

Of particular significance is the drama’s contrived ending. A triumphal Kitchener, having routed the Sudanese and avenged Gordon’s death after the Mahdi’s peaceful passing, orders the desecration of the Mahdi’s resting place and demands his skull which he turns into an improvised “ink bottle.” However, two defiant locals break into Kitchener’s office with another skull which introduces uncertainty about the Mahdi’s skull. So, in the end, it would appear that the Mahdi is unconquered, especially as Kitchener has to discard the skulls following a royal order from his homeland. The play ends on this note of open-ended interpretation.

Essentially, The Siege, Omatseye’s debut play, is a statement on human freedom and the man-made encumbrances that often complicate its flowering. In this sense, it represents a fitting contribution to the celebration of the milestone 80th birthday of the 1986 Nobel laureate in Literature, Wole Soyinka, on July 13. A legendary symbol of justice and freedom, he was garlanded by the Nobel Committee as a playwright and poet “who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence.” It may be a passable hyperbole to see The Siege in this context.

July 23, 2014
An encounter with Kongi

Founder, Rainbow Book Club and Project Director, Port Harcourt UNESCO World Book Capital 2014, Mrs Koko Kalango recalls her encouter with Prof Wole Soyinka

From my vantage point on the balcony of the theatre, I could see the speaker clearly. The Hall in East London was full on that cold evening in January 1999. I had left my office on Brompton Road earlier than usual to get to the venue well before the doors opened at 7pm. The seat I had secured afforded me a good view of the event’s proceedings. A Nigerian band, Tamayan, played highlife, just before the writer took to the centre of the stage. The light from the ceiling made his bushy white head of hair appear silver. His beard remained grey. Wole Soyinka was casually dressed in a grey, sleeveless jacket with a white band around its arm, over a black jumper and a pair of black trousers. He began to speak, but there seemed to be a problem with the microphone. He muttered something which I did not quite catch. I don’t think anyone else in the audience did either. We all burst into spontaneous applause anyway!

I had travelled across town to attend The London Festival of Literature where three literary legends would be under one roof, on one night. I was not about to miss this lifetime opportunity to see, hear, and perhaps even meet, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Derek Walcott.

After Soyinka gave his Lecture, Alastair Niven, then Director of Literature at The British Council, had an interview with Achebe and, following an interlude, Walcott read some of his poems.

At the end of the programme I joined the queue to get Soyinka’s autograph. In anticipation of this meeting I had purchased a copy of his 1972 memoir The Man Died: Prison Notes of Wole Soyinka. I shuffled patiently in the line, every step inched me closer to meeting the man. After about 20 minutes, I came face to face with Wole Soyinka. In the little time I had, I managed to get my book autographed and to take a picture with the author.

Seven years later, I found myself seated in a four-wheel drive beside Prof. Soyinka, riding from the Port Harcourt International Airport to the British Council office. We were going to meet with over 100 eager young students who had studied Ake: Soyinka’s childhood memoire, and were waiting to interact with the writer, as part of the Rainbow Book Club’s 2006 ‘Get Nigeria Reading again!’ campaign. Soyinka had turned 70 a couple of years before and his latest memoire You Must Set Forth at Dawn was being launched at this time. As we made plans for the second Rainbow Book Club national reading campaign, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate for literature was our natural choice for guest writer.

When I met WS at the Airport, he was obviously very tired; he had, only the day before, come in from Finland. In spite of his fatigue, the Professor came across as easy going, warm and kind. During the 70 minutes ride into the Garden City, I could not help noticing how the faces of people we passed lit up when they recognised the man with the trademark bushy grey afro.

In the car, I intimated WS of the programme for the day and informed him that I would be interviewing him before the audience at the dinner that evening. “You?” he asked, surprised. I looked him straight in the eye and replied “Yes, me”.

Someone had warned me: ‘you don’t just get up and interview Soyinka. You have to do a lot of study and preparation. He could get irritated if he senses that you have not done your homework.’ I was not initially billed to interview him and had approached a couple of literature scholars to conduct the interview; each of them turned down the invitation. I suspect that they dreaded the thought of confronting this literary lion, who had a reputation of taking his prey apart, effortlessly. As the organisation of this event rested largely on my shoulder, and I could not find anyone with the courage to face Wole Soyinka, I had no option but to take on the giant myself. I must confess that when the hour did come I really felt like a David before a Goliath. But it was too late for me to back out… without thinking too deeply, I shut my eyes and took a leap of faith!

That event would mark the beginning of the association between WS and me. Now an honourary member of the Rainbow Book Club, Prof. Soyinka has not held back on his goodwill, personal participation or counsel whenever we have reached out to him. At our instance he has read to children, taught aspiring writers, taken part in various interactive sessions and ofcourse he delivered the keynote address at the historic occasion of Port Harcourt’s assumption of the prestigious title of World Book Capital 2014!

When we put in the bid to UNESCO for a city in Nigeria to be World Book Capital, Prof. was not very optimistic but he encouraged me all the same. When UNESCO contacted me to say Port Harcourt had been nominated World Book Capital 2014, beating cities like Oxford, Lyon, Sharjah and Moscow, I was ecstatic. Naturally, Prof. was one of the first people I informed. Prof. threw his weight behind our preparations and even came all the way to Port Harcourt to make his input and offer his assistance.

Today, a decade and a half since my first meeting with Prof. and almost a decade since we first hosted him in Port Harcourt, Prof. has become, easily, one of my favourite people. I enjoy chatting with him as we often have during the long rides to or from the Port Harcourt International Airport or the University of Port Harcourt. Over the years, in the course of my work, i have related with many people but Prof. has stood out tall amongst others. I recall that when we invited him to the maiden edition of the Garden City Literary Festival (now the Port Harcourt Book Festival), in 2008, I inquired what honorarium I should give him. Prof. never responded to my emails. I went ahead to propose a sum that was a real sacrifice to Rainbow but nothing near what he would usually accept. I waited in anxious anticipation for his feedback, not sure if he would feel I was taking his goodwill for granted. Rather, Prof. reverted to say what I was offering him was ‘too much’ and that he did not want ‘to empty the coffers of the Rainbow Book Club’. That is vintage Prof., ever ready to go the extra mile for a cause he believes in! Prof. belongs to the endangered specie that is the de-tribalised Nigerian. His tribe is any tribe in trouble. Like a chameleon he takes on the colour of the oppressed and when their problem is solved he assumes the pigmentation of the victimised.

A man of courage, Soyinka remains a voice for the voiceless. A typical example is the now world famous Bring Back the Girls campaign which grew out of a passionate plea he made at the opening ceremonies of the Port Harcourt World Book Capital programme on World Book Day (April 23rd) this year. I quote him “Today, we shall not even be so demanding as to resurrect the slogan BRING BACK THE BOOK – leave that to us. It will be quite sufficient to see a demonstrable dedication that answers the agonising cry of BRING BACK THE PUPILS!”

As I write, my mind still goes back to that evening, in 2006, when I took the stage in an interview with Wole Soyinka, at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt. I survived the encounter and the audience seemed to have enjoyed it as much as I did, even if, at the beginning, I had felt like David and, in my eyes, Soyinka was like Goliath. Unlike the biblical Goliath, however, Soyinka did not fall down. Infact, at 80, he still stands tall.

In my few years of relating with WS, I have found this giant to be gentle, young-at-heart, giving, fearlessly loyal and fiercely intelligent. My prayer for Professor Wole Soyinka, on his 80th birthday, is a promise God has made in Psalm 91 verse 16, ‘with long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation’.

•This article is a revised edition of an article written by Mrs Kalango and published in WS A LIFE IN FULL (Bookcraft.) Mrs. Kalango is the founder of the Rainbow Book Club and the Project Director of the Port Harcourt UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 programme.

July 16, 2014
Jonathan, others salute Soyinka at 80

Jonathan applauds Soyinka’s contribution to arts, mankind

President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated Nigeria’s most famous living literary giant and Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, as he attains 80 today.

Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, felicitated with the globally-renowned academic, dramatist, poet and literary icon.

It reads: “As he enters the elite club of the world’s highly revered octogenarians and very special people who have made very significant and indelible contributions to their countries and humanity, the President joins Prof. Soyinka, his family, friends, associates, readers and fans across the world in giving thanks to God Almighty for his glorious life of service to the arts, his nation and mankind at large.

“On the happy occasion of the Nobel laureate’s 80th birthday, President Jonathan applauds his life-long dedication and indefatigable commitment to using his acclaimed genius and talents, not only in the service of the arts, but also for the promotion of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in Nigeria, Africa and beyond.”

The President assured Prof. Soyinka that he will always be celebrated and honoured by his proud countrymen, women and children for his famed literary works and for his exemplary career which, he noted has inspired others to take up a life of selfless service to humanity.

He wishes Prof. Soyinka very happy 80th birthday celebrations and prays that God Almighty will grant him many more years of good health and strength to continue with his devotion to making the world a better place for his people and all who live in it.” It stated.

Soyinka, a gift to humanity – Aregbesola

The Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has described the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, as a rare breed and a precious gift not only to Nigeria but also the Black continent and humanity as a whole.

Aregbesola made the remark as mark of honour to Soyinka, who celebrates his 80th birthday today.

In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the governor said Soyinka represents for the country and every black man a beacon of hope.

He described the Nobel Laureate as a poet-prophet, prodigious playwright, freedom fighter, political activist and creative enigma.

According to the governor, Soyinka has been fearless in his fight for a just society, democracy and return of military to the barracks.

He said: “Professor Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka is, undoubtedly, one of the icons of the African continent. He is a gift not only to Nigeria but also the whole world. A cerebral academic, prolific playwright, poet-prophet, essayist, conversationalist, political activist, human rights crusader all rolled into one.

“A lot of people paid the ultimate prize for the democracy we enjoy today, but Professor Soyinka was lucky to come out of the bloody struggle alive. He believed in and fought for oneness of the Nigerian nation state and was jailed during the civil war.

“In the fight for the return of military to the barrack and the de-annulment of June 12 Presidential election won by the late MKO Abiola, he was almost assassinated had he not had a rapid dialogue with his legs (apology to him).

“As he celebrate his four scores of existence on earth, we could not but wish him many more prosperous years and may the ink in his pen never run dry,” Aregbesola said.

Akume felicitates with Soyinka on 80th birthday

SENATE Minority Leader, Chief George Akume, has congratulated Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

In a press statement signed by Akume, he described the literary icon as a statesman, social critic who is neither swayed by money nor intimidation, adding that Soyinka’s life has been filled with many successes that have made him a household name throughout the world.

The statement reads in part: “It is a thing of immense joy to me and I wish to on behalf of my family and the good people of Benue North-West Senatorial zone felicitate with our literary icon and a Noble Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, as he celebrates yet another milestone. His has been a life filled with many successes as he has conquered in everything he chose to do.

“He is a statesman, a social critic who is neither swayed by money nor political intimidation. He is always on the side of the people and justice. Above all, his humility even in unrivalled successes sets him apart. Therefore, it is an honour for me to associate with him as he turns 80.

“Worthy of mention is the zeal with which he has continued to promote the African culture, unity and progress in all he does. He is indeed different in many ways and that is why he is WOLE SOYINKA. As he celebrates, we should also celebrate because he is a voice against corruption, oppression, unpopular government policies, poverty and all that is not for the good of the general populace.

“As he marks this milestone today, it is my earnest prayers that the Almighty continue to keep him in sturdy health, provide him with the strength to continue his great contributions to nation building as well as grant him many more fruitful years ahead.”

July 13, 2014
Soyinka at 80: I am going to celebrate in the forest

There was poetry. There was music. There were tributes, reflections and speeches on the state of the country. The grand finale of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature drew the literati to the prestigious Civic Centre on Victoria Island, Lagos. It was also a night of revelations – Soyinka announced where he would celebrate his 80th birthday. Evelyn Osagie writes.

Prof Wole Soyinka will be 80 on Sunday. Ever wondered where the Nobel laureate would be celebrating this year’s birthday?

“I am going into the forest to celebrate my birthday. I invite you all. But bring your own weapons, because most of them are in the wrong hands,” Soyinka told guests at the grand finale of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature held at the Civic Centre, Lagos.

The event drew eminent personalities, particularly from the academia, the literati and the theatre. They include renowned playwright and poet, Prof John Pepper Clark; former presidents of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Prof Femi Osofisan, Prof Olu Obafemi, who is one of the prize’s judges and ace poet Odia Ofeimun; Prof Akin Oyebode, who gave the keynote address; University of Lagos (UNILAG) Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof Duro Oni; Founding President, WRITA, Mrs Mobolaji Adenubi and Prof Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo.

Others were Rivers State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi; Delta State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Richard Mofe Damijo and human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana.

This year’s prize was dedicated to the drama genre. And it was no surprise that the Lumina Foundation, organisers of the prize which seeks to promote excellence in the literary arts on the continent, chose to hold the event eight days to Soyinka’s birthday.

In fact, it was deliberate, and the Nobel laureate knew. “This is not when they run their show but they meant to bring it around Wole Soyinka’s birthday,” he said.

And as in most events featuring the eminent scholar, what was meant to be a night announcing the winner for the fifth edition of the prize turned out to be one of revelations, reflections and well-crafted speeches on the state of the country, in addition to accolades, poetry by Crown Troupe and Dr Promise Ogochukwu as well as music by the Steve Rhodes Orchestra and Glo ambassador, Bez.

No doubt, the state of the nation has remained a topical issue in the public space and at intellectual events. This event was no different.

Indeed, if it were to be a dramatic piece where naming of the title were open to the audience, given the speeches of Soyinka, Prof Oyebode and Governor Amaechi, guests would have forenamed the script; “Our Military has Gone Mad Again”; “Stop bullying us”; “Role of the Military in Nigeria’s underdevelopment”; and “The Travail of Nigerians in recent times”. “The Constitution has outlived its usefulness”; or perhaps “The National CONFAB: Nigeria’s last stop before final descent into anarchy”, and not forgetting “My Only regrets as Soyinka turns 80”.

Soyinka’s argument

The Nobel laureate condemned the killing of Youth Corps members after the last Presidential election, expressing regrets over the Chibok girls, adding that the older generation has failed the present. He also spoke against the burning of BRT buses and public harassment by soldiers in Lagos last Friday. He described the soldiers’ action as an act of “madness”, likening the pandemonium that ensued after the death of an army officer in an accident involving a BRT bus, to the late playwright Ola Rotimi’s play, entitled: Our Husband has Gone Mad Again.

“When Oyebode catalogued some of the woes of this nation, I think he forgot one item. Our lives are exposed to political hazards as listed by him but he forgot one of them, and that is the military. Our military have gone mad! How many people die every day in this nation? How many citizens have we lost because of the lunacy of Boko Haram? We haven’t gone in the streets, burning down buses, terrorising the populace simply because we’ve lost one of us. Go and study how the military behaves in other societies and stop bullying us. What makes you different from the ordinary people: because you carry guns?”

While noting the efforts of the military in fighting the Boko Haram insurgency, Soyinka, however, demanded that the culprits in the Lagos incident be brought to book.

He said: “I have been in support of the indomitable role the military have been playing in the fight against the most horrendous menace that has besieged our existence in this country. But when they turn around, simply because of one of them accidentally killed on the road, I now consider these, as allies of Boko Haram. And so, I demand of the Commander-in-Chief himself, we want an example made. Somebody somewhere is guilty for this assault on our security. We take enough every day…we take enough!”

Oyebode’s musings on the nation

From how Nigeria came into its present state to the consequence of military intrusion into its political space, which he referred to as “the years of the locust”, to the need for a new constitution that would “capture the spirit of the age” and the responsibilities of leaders and the led, Prof Oyebode called for a complete overhaul of the system.

While urging the government to take drastic proactive steps and establish legal frameworks that would curb corruption, insurgencies and kidnappings, the scholar said salvaging the country from descent depended on all. He described the on-going National Conference (CONFAB) as Nigeria’s last resort from anarchy.

“There is a universal consensus that things cannot continue the way they have been. With an enlightened and forward-looking leadership in place to formulate policies and ensure the implementation of same, the overall progress and development of society is guaranteed. Also, the quality distinguishing dictatorship from democracy is the ability of the populace to reject all mouth-teasers of public office holders and insist on full compliance with due process. People must constantly keep the leaders on their toes; and ensure that laws and due process, accountability, transparency and good governance are strictly observed in the polity.”

Amaechi’s regret

Eulogising Soyinka, Amaechi described him as “man of great policy”. As he marks his 80th birthday, Amaechi said: “I have only one regret and it derives from the fact that while we all know you’re a connoisseur of wines, I do not drink alcohol – in whatever form. And, therefore, I cannot even drink to toast to your good health. But I give you my word, sir, that when next you go hunting for wildlife, I will accompany you. I salute you sir and wish you well and a happy birthday in advance!”

Adenuga’s words

In his goodwill message read by Globacom Head of Corporate Sales, Kamaldeen Shonibare, Globacom Chairman Dr Mike Adenuga, said Soyinka’s contribution to the development of Literature in the continent serves as inspiration to all, including the brand. “As a teacher, role model, social activist and advocate, Soyinka has directly impacted millions of lives on the continent of Africa and beyond. We are deeply honoured to be part of a project like this, which celebrates this living legend and seeks to encourage the coming generation to aspire to attain such academic excellence in the literary world,” Adenuga said.

The prize is sponsored by Globacom along with Macmillan Nigeria Publishers Limited, SAPETRO, among others.

And the winner emerges…

And like a dramatic piece, the foregoing scenes at the grand finale added to the suspense of the air as guests waited patiently for the announcement of the eventual winner. But that part of the script came towards the end of the event.

After months of rigorous assessment by the five-man panel, Obafemi announced former Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Oyo State Branch Chairman, Mr Akin Bello winner of the prize. He was crowned by Soyinka, assisted by the organisers, Governor Amaechi and Globacom Head of GloWorld, Titi Ebinisi.

His work beat those of Othuke Ominiabohs, Toyin Abiodun and 160 others to the $20,000 prize money and the prestigious trophy made up of a matchet handle with a pen as its blade, resting on a scroll.

And in waiting for the announcement, joyous Bello said: “It was more of a wait and see game: while waiting for the announcement, I had said may the best entry win!”

Winning the prize, he said “felt great!”

“Next to being published, recognition brings joy and buoys up one’s confidence as a writer. At my being nominated people’s reception to the book changed: it’s heartening that people are noticing and talking about the book again. Now as winner, I can only imagine what is to come,” he said.

Other guests in attendance were ace actresses Taiwo Ajai-Lycett and Abiola Atanda; members of the Lumina Foundation board, Mrs Francesca Emanuel (Chairperson); Lumina Foundation Founder, Dr Ogochukwu, Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi; Mr Akin Ajayi; Mrs Oyebola Adetola; Mr Jahman Anikulapo formerly of The Guardian and Mr Toyin Akinosho of CORA, among others.

July 9, 2014
Three presidents for Soyinka’s literary prize award

Three Heads of State have confirmed their attendance at the fifth edition of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature, which coincides with the 80th birthday of the Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka.

The event is being sponsored by national carrier, Globacom.

The leaders, who are also expected at the presentation of a book in Soyinka’s honour three days after the prize award are Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia) and John Dramani Mahama (Ghana).

The presentation is slated for Accra, Ghana on July 8, three days after the prize award on July 5 at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Other distinguished individuals expected at the event include former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and renowned Ghanaian author, Prof Ama Ata Aidoo.

The Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature is a biennial event to recognise the best literary work produced by an African. It was established by the Lumina Foundation in 2005 to promote literary excellence in Africa and has since become the African equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

The organisers of the award have announced a long list of 10 African authors from a total of 163 entries submitted from 17 African countries in the genre of Drama, which is the focus of the 2014 edition.

A shortlist of candidates for the prize is expected to be announced shortly, while the ultimate winner is expected to emerge on July 5.

As part of the activities to make the event colourful, Globacom has concluded plans to invite some of its subscribers as guests of honour. To stand a chance to be invited, the subscribers are encouraged to increase the usage of airtime on the Glo network by 50 percent before June 24. Subscribers chosen will receive special perks from the operator in addition to being celebrated on the special night.

For this edition of the prize, entries were invited from authors of any published play or collection of plays by the same author of African descent, published within the last two years (that is, a play published between 2012 and 2013). Globacom was also the main sponsor at the last edition.

June 18, 2014
Kofi Awoonor: Poet’s pen goes dry

In 2008, when the founder of Rainbow Book Club, Mrs Koko Kalango was scouting for master class facilitators at the maiden edition of Garden City Literary Festival, now Port Harcourt Literary Festival, one name that readily came to her mind was the late renowned Ghanaian poet, Prof Kofi Awoonor. And with less effort, she secured his consent to be one of the facilitators at the creative writing master class. Awoonor was in Port Harcourt on schedule and handled the master class with passion alongside Prof Wole Soyinka. Some of his works such as Songs of Sorrow, This Earth, My Brother were reference materials for participants. Like an elder statesman, he was at the festival throughout the duration providing answers to every question from participants and journalists.

The festival was held between September 24 and 28, 2008. At the University of Port Harcourt, there was excitement in the air among young and aspiring writers who were eagerly waiting to attend their different sessions. In fact, there was clapping and shouting at the English Studies Department, University of Port Harcourt, on September 8, 2008 when Prof. Soyinka’s visit to Port Harcourt for the literary festival was announced. For these young students meeting the author of the The Lion and the Jewel, their current study, was a dream comes true.

On Thursday, September 25, Prof Soyinka had a special session where he taught Drama while on the following day Awoonor taught poetry for which he is well known. Elechi Amadi handled the novel. The ‘classes’ of these master writers were filled to the brim because it was a rare privilege.

Other guest writers were Petrina Crockford, a young American writer; Okey Ndibe, national columnist and author of the bestseller Of Arrows of Rain was also at the writers’ workshop. Kaine Agary author of Yellow Yellow and Ibim Semenitari, publisher of Business Eye were also guest writers at the festival.

Awoonor’s contributions and masterly input to the creative writing workshop during the festival were commended by the organisers and the participants at the workshop. The late Awoonor’s attendance at the festival was not only a motivation for the younger writers, but it was also a reassurance that the festival has kicked off on a strong note.

With barely a month to this year’s Port Harcourt Literary Festival, which has helped Port Harcourt to win the UNESCO World Book Capital for next year, the Nigerian literary community will miss the scholar.

The Ghanaian poet and diplomat, Awoonor, died at the weekend from injuries sustained when terrorists attacked the WestGate Shopping Mall in Nairobi Kenya. Some Nigerian literary giants described the death as demise of a big chunk of humanity. An online publication, Poetry Genius wrote a poem, titled: Harlem on a winter night, as a tribute. .

“Huddled pavements, dark,

the lonely wail of a police-siren

moving stealthily across

grey alleys of anonymity

asking for food either

as plasma in hospital jars,

escaping fires in tenements

grown cold and bitter,

or seeking food in community garbage cans

to escape its eternal nightmare.

Harlem, the dark dirge of America

heard at evening

mean alleyways of poverty,

dispossession, early death

in jammed doorways and creaking elevators,

glaring defeat in the morning

of this beautiful beautiful America.”

Nobel Laureate, Prof Soyinka, who was at the 2008 literary festival in Port Harcourt with the late Awoonor said: “Rage, rage, and rage is all I feel”. A very good friend of Awoonor, it was learnt that he would have been with Awoonor in Nairobi since he was also invited to the Storymoja Hay Festival by Peter Florence. Soyinka couldn’t go to Nairobi because he had to give a lecture in Tunis.

Prof Ahmed Yerima, of the Redeemer University, and former Director-General of the National Theatre and National Trouope, said Awoonor’s death was a great loss to African literature.”He was one of the first generation writers that guided the African literature. He inspired the next generation of writers, people like me. His works in the African Writers’ Series and his poems are what opened our consciousness towards the existence of African literature. He would be greatly missed,” Yerima said.

President, Association of Nigerian Authors, Prof Remi Raji, said: “It is, indeed, sad. He was very influential. Just like Leopold Senghor, he was also a statesman who became a Ghanaian diplomat. He was very influential, especially to students of my generation. He changed his name from George Awoonor Williams to Kofi Awoonor. His novel, The earth is my brother, is known for its poetic style. His poetry was very accessible drawing from his Ewe poetic traditions.”

Poet, playwright and former General Manager, National Theatre, Prof Femi Osofisan, also said he was saddened by Awoonor’s death.

“It’s tooo sad for, as you know, he was already an old man deserving a dignified and glorious exit. But he was in Kenya for a literary event and we take that as a consolation that he fell in the line of action. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.

Former president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Wale Okediran, said he met Awoonor through his works several years before he actually met him in person in 2008 during one of the Pan African Writers Asociation (PAWA) meeting in Acrra, Ghana.

“I was captivated by his literary dexterity and humility. For more than 30 minutes, he held the audience spellbound with his elegant poetic rendition. That same year, we were to meet again at the Garden Literary Festival in Port Harcourt where he again gave a good account of himself. Now that he has left us even though in a very tragic circumstances, our solace is that his work wll continue to live after him,” said Okediran.

Prof Adebayo Lamikanra, essayist and poet, said in his tribute: “The violent death of one of Africa’s leading poets, Kofi Awoonor, brings to mind the saying that whilst a leper is not able to milk a cow, he retains the ability to make milk produced by another’s labour through a petulant kick at a vessel containing milk or simply by washing his stump in the milk.

“There is no doubt that the loss of Awoonor has engendered feelings of great silence, frustration and rage in the hearts of those who have had the privilege of partaking of the rich milk of poetry which flowed from the pen of this man of letters. Those responsible for his death must be regarded as lepers who, as was the case in antiquity, should be denied the fellowship of other human beings. Awoonor is dead but his works live on in the hearts of all lovers of the word.”

In his tribute, Festus Iyayi, said: “It’s tragic and sad. The terrorists have crudely torn a most valuable and an illuminating page from Africa’s unfolding book of promise and disappointment. His cruel murder in the Kenyan tragedy is one more reminder about the danger of surrendering our independence to the new slave traders spawning the neo-liberal market of greed, profit, clash of civilisations and African among others. Kofi Awoonor stood against these base values in his life and his writings.

“It is ironic that he and others should lose their lives to the authors and practitioners of these base values. His family has lost a son, a father, a brother, an uncle, a husband and will miss him sorely but Africa and her writers have lost as much, if not more. We will miss his warm and his re-assuring laughter.”

Awoonor was a poet whose works combine the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during the process of decolonisation.

Poet and essayist, Maxim Uzoatu, said Awoonor can never be written about in the past tense. “He is an ever present ancestor. His immortal poem, Songs of Sorrow is a classic in excelsis. His novel, This Earth, My Brother, is an existential tour de force. Not even death can kill Kofi Awoonor, let alone the moronic mullahs of terror,” he said.

Writers and poets from around the world also joined in mourning the late Ghanaian poet and diplomat. Prof Awoonor, who was 78, was in the Nairobi to participate in the Storymoja Hay Festival, a celebration of writing and storytelling. He was due to perform last Saturday evening as part of a Pan-African poetry showcase.

A statement by the festival said: “We were honoured to be graced by his appearance at Storymoja Hay Festival, and deeply humbled by his desire to impart knowledge to the young festival audience. Prof Awoonor was one of Africa’s greatest voices and poets and will forever remain a beacon of knowledge and strength and hope.” The festival was brought to an end on Saturday evening “in sympathy with those who have lost their lives or were injured” and for the safety of attendees.

Prof Awoonor was joined by his countrymen at the four-day event, in what he called “the best representation of Ghanaian authors that we have ever had”. Among them were poet Nii Parkes and writer and film-maker Kwame Dawes. Both paid tribute to Prof Awoonor on Twitter, with Parkes writing: “I muse on gifts given and swiftly taken away. I waited my whole life to meet my uncle, Kofi Awoonor, and two days later he is gone.”

Dawes posted: “Kofi Awoonor’s death is a sad sad moment here in Nairobi. We have lost one of the greatest African poets and diplomats. I’ve lost my uncle.”

September 25, 2013
The beauty of literature

It was George Bernard Shaw, an American writer, who observed: “Imagination is the beginning of creativity.” Indeed, literature is a mirror through which we see the realities of life. This is considered to be true because life is creatively embellished in any piece of literary work, be it prose, drama, or poetry.

The aesthetics of literary works lie in the artistry of the artist, especially in relation to the work’s delivery and presentation. Doing this involves the use of language and culture.

Relating literature as a branch of art, Prof Jasper Onuekwusi of the Imo State University (IMSU), defines literature in his book titled: The prose in literature as “any imaginative and beautiful creation in words, whether oral or written, which explores man as he struggles to survive in his existential position and which provides entertainment, information, education and excitement to its audience.”

Literature belongs to the same category as other forms of art such as music, sculpture, film, painting, dance, photography and the like. This, therefore, explains the nexus between literature and beauty. In other words, art is any beautiful creation whether in words, wood, sound, plastic, stone, or any other medium, which has the ultimate objective of entertaining and granting relaxation by creating beauty as well as expressing truth as perceived by an artist, and provides pleasure. Literature is art and art speaks remote truth.

It is important for us to see literature as a slice of life that provides curious man with vivid knowledge of aspects of life, which he could not have known and, to subsequently imbibe the lesson to live a more fulfilled life. Little wonder then that early African writers such as the late Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa’thiong, Prof Wole Soyinka, Chris Okigbo, Ayi Kwei Armah and Laye Camara, among others, manifested literary aesthetics and sensibilities in their writing.

The first time I read Things Fall Apart, the popular work of Achebe, I was surprised to see my culture in a story. I was to confirm those oral stories told by my grandmother, which vividly described the life of my people in the East. For instance, how the elders in my village sat and discussed the affairs of village; how the maidens used to sing at the marriage of one of their own; how the children used to gather around a bonfire to listen to stories by elders; and how the masqueraders entertained villagers during festivals and ceremonies.

All these underscore the aesthetics, value and beauty of literature. Then, I came to the understanding that literature is, no doubt, a reflection of the socio-culture, economic, political and religious sensibilities of a people. It recreates people’s way of life as well as projects their yearnings and aspirations. Being a mirror of the society, literature responds effectively by promoting the dialect of the people.

Literature also responds effectively to cultures as portrayed in Achebe’s novel, Arrow of God. It is in this regard that we should view literature as a means of social engineering. The society cannot do without literature and vice versa.

As Denise Escarpit, a French critic of children literature, argued, “literature is a product of social funding; its subject changes according to changes in society and literature usually has no meaning outside society.

Prof Onuekwusi, during his inaugural lecture last June titled: A nation and her stories: Milestones in the growth of Nigeria, fiction and their implication for national development, observes: “A people who neglect the story, especially those that came from their cultural lives and backgrounds ultimately get into avoidable courtship of instability, rootlessness and indeed personal and community disaster.”

This evidently illustrates the facts why our nation is suffering from diverse moral decadence. The writer choice of words, techniques, devices, inventions, images and other literary paraphernalia which is creatively embellished into the beautiful piece of any literary work is certainly the artist’s effort to reach a certain distinction and excellence expression.

Longinus in Critical theory since Plato (1970) notes: “A work survives a first hearing or reading disposes the soul of high thoughts and leaves the mind more food for reflection than the words communication.”

Wole Soyinka, a literary icon enunciated the beauty of literature in his poetic engagement. This is explored in his poem Abiku, a powerful poem that brings out the beauty of African imagery and promotes the black culture. It is full of aphorism, paradoxical expression and also enriched with the aesthetics of metaphors.

In fact, the poem explained a primitive belief that a child is possessed by evil spirit, which can torment the mother with a painful experience of persistent death at birth. The line such as: “In vain your bangles cast charmed circle at my feet I am Abiku, calling for the first and repeated times” demonstrated this.

The poem explores the Abiku myth, which has occupied the centre stage in traditional African belief. Soyinka, through his creative ingenuity as a poet, recreates life with words in a written form. There is no doubt that a certain distinction and excellence in expression were achieved through the poem, invention of images and metaphors through which he presented a picturesque and description of an Abiku in the poem.

It is indisputable that literature is the mother of all human endeavours. Literature is perhaps God’s greatest gift to man for his peaceful and harmonious relationship with his fellow men. In other words, it is God’s means of presenting pleasantly an enduring roadmap for all manners of development of man. Indeed, literature is beautiful because it shares with other arts the quality of being beautiful.

Chidiebere, 300-Level English and Literary Studies, IMSU

September 6, 2013