Prof. Wole Soyinka Biography: Real Age, Wives, Nobel Prize, Quotes, Net Worth

Wole Soyinka is a celebrated Nigerian playwright, poet, author, teacher, and political activist. In 1986, he became the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Who Is Wole Soyinka?

Born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, on July 13, 1934, Wole Soyinka was educated in both Nigeria and England. His Nobel Prize in Literature marked a historic moment, making him the first African to receive the honor. During his Nobel acceptance speech, Soyinka dedicated his award to Nelson Mandela.

Soyinka has authored hundreds of works, including drama, novels, essays, and poetry. Universities worldwide, including Cambridge, Sheffield, and Yale, have invited him as a visiting professor.

Early Life and Education

Wole Soyinka was born Akinwande Oluwole “Wole” Babatunde Soyinka. His father, Samuel Ayodele Soyinka, was a prominent Anglican minister and school headmaster. His mother, Grace Eniola Soyinka, known as “Wild Christian,” was a shopkeeper and local activist.

As a child living in an Anglican mission compound, Soyinka was exposed to both Christianity and Yoruba traditions. Known for his curiosity, family members often warned: “He will kill you with his questions.”

After studying at Government College Ibadan, he moved to England and earned a degree in English Literature from the University of Leeds in 1958. The university later awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1972.

Literary Career and Political Activism

In the late 1950s, Soyinka wrote his first major play, A Dance of the Forests, which criticized Nigeria’s political elite. From 1958 to 1959, he worked as a dramaturgist at London’s Royal Court Theatre. In 1960, he received a Rockefeller Fellowship and returned to Nigeria to study African drama.

He founded two theatre companies: The 1960 Masks and Orisun Theatre Company. Through these platforms, Soyinka produced and performed his plays, while also lecturing at global universities.

“The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.”

During Nigeria’s civil war, Soyinka called for a ceasefire in an article. For this, he was arrested in 1967 and imprisoned as a political prisoner for 22 months.

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Nobel Prize and Later Works

Awarding Soyinka the Nobel Prize, the committee noted how he “fashions the drama of existence in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones.” His works often mix satire and serious commentary on power and human rights.

Some of his notable books include:

• The Interpreters (1965)
• Season of Anomy (1973)
• The Man Died: Prison Notes (1972)
• Aké: The Years of Childhood (1981)
• Myth, Literature and the African World (1975)

Soyinka is known for expressing sharp political opinions. During Nigeria’s 2015 elections, he monitored reports of irregularities, technical issues, and violence. After Muhammadu Buhari won, Soyinka urged Nigerians to show a “Nelson Mandela–like ability to forgive” Buhari’s past military dictatorship.

Personal Life

Soyinka has been married three times:

• Barbara Dixon (1958)
• Olaide Idowu (1963)
• Folake Doherty (since 1989)

In 2014, Soyinka announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was cured after ten months of treatment.

Quick Facts

• Full Name: Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka
• Birth Date: July 13, 1934
• Birthplace: Abeokuta, Nigeria
• Nationality: Nigerian
• Occupations: Playwright, Poet, Author, Teacher, Political Activist
• Education: Government College Ibadan, University of Leeds
• Astrological Sign: Cancer

Famous Quotes by Wole Soyinka

• “A tiger doesn’t proclaim his tigritude, he pounces.”
• “Under a dictatorship, a nation ceases to exist. All that remains is a fiefdom, a planet of slaves regimented by aliens from outer space.”
• “Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.”
• “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.”
• Net Worth
• While there are claims of Professor Wole Soyinka’s net worth being over a million dollars, according to some online sources, there is no official confirmation of this figure.