Patriot Of All Seasons

By Sylvester Asoya

Wole Soyinka represents an interesting mix of intellectual ideals and sustainable activism. Respected for his literary and intellectual sagacity, the Nobel Laureate through the years, has built a reputation as one of Nigeria’s biggest and longest contributors to the fight against oppression.

•Prof. Wole Soyinka

Unlike other human right activists, Soyinka uses the arts as a veritable instrument in his campaign against unpopular regimes. His romance with activism began officially on the eve of Nigeria’s independence with his play, A Dance of The Forest, which was adopted as the nation’s Independence play. Quite expectedly, the play announced a new era that was not likely to offer the goods and warned of an impending danger. Less than seven years after, the country witnessed a major crisis which eventually led to a bitter civil war.

During the war, Soyinka who was in sympathy with the secessionist Biafra, suffered many arrests before he was eventually detained for his strong views concerning the war. At the end of his detention, he came out with The Man Died, his prison notes which covers his experiences during the war.

The Nobel Laureate later returned to the University community but remained committed to both social and political issues. During this period, he wrote numerous plays and essays that drew substantially from the socio-economic, political and religious realities of the day. He also engaged political leaders by regularly drawing attention to the many contradictions in the society, even at the risk of his life and personal comfort.

After the Gowon era and the Shehu Shagari days, Soyinka again returned to a familiar turf once Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon became head of state and chief of staff, supreme headquarters, respectively. He came down heavily on the duo for invoking a retroactive law on two young Nigerians who were executed during the period for drug trafficking. Before the Buhari/Idiagbon administration, Soyinka had fought and protested the murder of a certain Adepeju, a student who was killed at the University of Ibadan in 1971. He was also a familiar face during the Ali-Must-Go struggle of 1978 which left many Nigerian students dead.

Ironically, Ahmadu Ali, the minister whose unpopular action triggered off the violent protests under the regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo, returned during Obasanjo’s second coming as chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

But the Nobel Laureate had good reasons for being critical especially under past military regimes. So it was not difficult for him to easily recognise and support a good programme when he saw one. For instance, the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC as known today, was his idea in the late 1970s. In fact, it later became his pet project during the tenure of the late Chief Bola Ige who was the then governor of Oyo State. He also supported the establishment of People’s Bank, a masses bank which would have provided empowerment for the poor, but for Babangida’s constant intervention in the day-to-day activities of the bank.

However, Soyinka’s biggest moment of glory came in 1986 when he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. For him, it was a defining moment both for his arts and activism. It was also a moment of glory for his nation since he was first black African to be conferred with such honour.

As it turned out, the years following the Nobel Prize incidentally became the most active for him. For instance, when it became evident that Babangida was not in any hurry to leave office, he joined forces with progressive elements in the struggle to chase the dictator out. The struggle was further bolstered by the criminal annulment of 12 June 1993 Presidential election which was believed to have been won by Chief Moshood Abiola.

He later intensified his campaign against the military and the puppet Interim National Government headed by Ernest Shonekan. Eventually, when the heat became unbearable under General Sani Abacha who succeeded Shonekan, he fled into exile and remained there until the despot’s death in 1998.

Soyinka’s patriotism, both as a committed writer and activist, is significant in many ways. He could easily have remained fulfilled as an academic but chose the more exciting and turbulent life of leading the charge against unpopular governments. In fact, he voluntarily decided to punctuate his entire adult life with patrioctic services targeted at the common good.

Even after attaining the ripe age of 70, the Nobel Laureate is still a regular feature on Nigeria’s activism menu.

For instance, aside lending his support for the Pro-National Conference Organisations, PRONACO, a group that favours the convocation of a sovereign national conference, Soyinka was also a relentless critic of the last regime headed by Obasanjo.

The writer will always be remembered for his patriotism and commitment to noble ideals. But he is also largely misunderstood, especially by those who have little or no knowledge about his activities. He is more self-reflective now, no doubt. And this may have inspired You Must Set Forth At Dawn, an autobiographical writing that provides information on his life’s adventures.

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