The legacy of Professor Wole Soyinka is significant not just to Nigeria, the country of his origin, but also to a world that cannot deny his impact on it. It is for this reason that this year holds a special place in the hearts of those who have encountered him at different junctures as he turns 80 today. Assistant Life Editor, TERH AGBEDEH, chronicles the events celebrating Soyinka before, today and beyond his birthday…
Prof. Wole Soyinka
Professor Wole Soyinka will turn 80 today, and to celebrate the Nobel Laureate, an exhibition in his honour started counting down on April 25 in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
That showcase has since travelled to Osogbo, Osun State; Port Harcourt, Rivers State; and is currently at the Freedom Park in Lagos, where it opened on July 5 at Kongi’s Hall of the park.
The exhibition is part of the Project WS80/International Cultural Exchange, which is now in its fifth year and was set up to appreciate the contribution of the artist(e) to their society, using Soyinka’s iconic status and contribution as a template.
Curated and produced in partnership with the Olu Ajayi Studios on the platform of The Legend Series, the exhibition is expected to move to Ibadan, Oyo State, on July 15 through August 15 and to Jos, Plateau State, on August 19. Later, it will move to Igbale Aiye, Republic of Benin.
On July 5, for instance, art lovers, artistes, and patriots packed the Kongi Hall for the formal opening of the Lagos leg of WS80 Project exhibition. To highlight the importance of art education in Nigeria, artists as young as 11 years old were solicited for the project. Over 80 artists from all across the country submitted portraits and paintings.
This year’s edition, the organisers said, has been expanded to also include a gathering of renowned and wave-making spoken word artistes led by the iconic performer, Mutabaruka (from Jamaica), Javon Johnson from the United States of America, and Sage Hasson from Nigeria and 77 others in honour of Soyinka’s poetic essence.
Under the theme, ‘Freedom of Creative Expression’, the segment is with partnership of Artwatch Africa (the freedom-of-expression arm of Africa-based Arterial Network) for the World Poetry Month (WPM) on July 14 under the theme, ‘A Planet Free of Wars – For Peace, Justice and Poetry’.
The Soyinka International Conference, organised by the Wole Soyinka Society in conjunction with the University of Lagos (UNILAG), started on July 10 to end on July 14.
Convened by Professor Duro Oni and Dr. Bisi Adigun, the opening ceremony started about 9.30am at the Afe Babalola Auditorium of the university on July 11. Under the chairmanship of Professor Rahamon A. Bello, who is the institution’s vice chancellor, the conference held round the theme of The Soyinka Impulse – Art Humanity, Transitions and Performance: Calibrating Soyinka at 80.
The keynote address with the title ‘WS and the Nigerian/African Left: Clarifications and Reflections on that Jacobin Moment’ was delivered by Professor Biodun Jeyifo of the Harvard University.
In the afternoon of the same day, there was spoken word poetry presentation for conference guests at UNILAG, as well as a mentoring session and workshop for students.
Yesterday, the conference continued with sightseeing and travel for students, while the play, Oba Koso, directed by Isiaka Egunbunmi, was staged at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta about 2pm.
Today, at the same venue, there will be essay writing competition by 80 student finalists on the topic, ‘Education: Path to Freedom and the Future’. Cultural troupes from Osun and Ondo states will perform, while the preliminaries and finals for ‘Do Your Thing’ will take place, just like the grand finale for the spoken word performances.
The 80 finalists will visit Ogun State Governor, Ibukunle Amosun, on Monday, July 14, where the results of the essay competition will be announced. From there to Soyinka’s residence at Ijegba and then to the June 12 Cultural Centre for ‘Dialogue Through Spoken Words’. Just before the closing ceremony, Soyinka’s Dance of the Forests directed by Tunde Awosanmi will be staged at Ijegba Forest.
However, the celebration will not end this week, as there will be post-birthday events including the staging of Soyinka’s plays like Alapata of Apata by Crown Troupe of Nigeria, Madmen and Specialists by the Jos Repertory Theatre and Lanke Omuti by Tunde Kelani and Tunde Awosanmi.
The Thespian Family Theatre Troupe is producing two of Soyinka’s plays, The Trials of Brother Jero and The Lion and the Jewel. The first, directed by Olufemi Oka, was presented on July 9 at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island. There will be a repeat performance on August 16 at the same venue and before then at Freedom Park, Broad Street, on July 19. Showtime is 3pm and 6pm on the announced dates. The Lion and the Jewel, directed by Toyin Osinaike, will show at Freedom Park on July 26 and August 2 as well as at Terra Kulture on August 23 and 30 at 3pm and 6pm. This play will star Bayray McNwizu, Patrick Diabuah and Soibifaa Dokubo.
Also in Lagos today, the sixth Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series will hold to mark Kongi’s 80th birthday. Professor Abiola Irele will speak on the theme, ‘Wole Soyinka and the Moral Burden of Literature’ about 12:30pm at the Bola Akinyemi Hall of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos.
A leading African literature scholar and the provost of the College of Humanities at the Kwara State University and a visiting professor at the Harvard University, he will be joined by Ropo Sekoni, Odia Ofeimun and Dan Izevbaye to discuss the theme.
Sekoni is Wole Soyinka Centre of Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Board Chair and a Professor of English and Mass Communication; Ofeimun is a poet, playwright and social critic; while Izevbaye is Provost, College of Humanities of the Bowen University.
The tradition of holding the event on July 13 started in 2009 in WSCIJ’s bid to honour this illustrious Nigerian as well as draw attention to critical national issues.
Earlier in the year, the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) declared 2014 ‘The Soyinka Year’ and proclaimed the theme of this year’s edition of the Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF), which held in November, as ‘Freedom and the Word’.
“Every programme of CORA in 2014, including the Art Stampede, our quarterly conversation on the state of the arts and the administration of culture; the Arthouse Forum, our periodic symposium on interface between the lives/work of a distinguished culture producer and the social environment; the Booktrek, CORA’s outreach intervention focused on youth education; as well as the Lagos Book and Art Festival, an annual feast of celebration of the written word, and our contribution to turning Nigeria’s teeming masses into true human capital, shall reflect this honour,” CORA had stated.
What that means is that the 16th edition of LABAF, which will run from November 14 to 16 at the Freedom Park, will focus on conversations and programmes around the works of Soyinka.