Awoyinfa, Veteran journalist recalls encounter with Soyinka 41 years ago

Soyinka and Awoyinfa during the interview 41 years ago

Mike Awoyinfa, a renowned journalist and author, has recalled his encounter with Nigeria’s literary icon, Professor Wole Soyinka 41 years ago at the then University of Ife, where he interviewed him for defunct Sunday Concord magazine story.

Awoyinfa recalled the encounter as he joined the global community in celebrating Soyinka, on the occasion of his 90th birthday

He described Soyinka as a “Giant of Literature” who he had made an indelible mark on the world.

“41 years ago, I met him at the then University of Ife where I interviewed him for the Sunday Concord magazine story published on February 27, 1983.

“How time flies! We sat there for almost one hour talking about his life as a writer.

“Among the things he talked about was his undergraduate days at the University of Leeds where he was lucky to study under literary giants like Wilson Knight, Arnold Kettle and Fisher.

“It was a formidable team of lecturers, Soyinka said, and the atmosphere was really conducive for any student to drink deep from the Pierian Spring of knowledge in the field of English literature.”

According to Awoyinfa, after Soyinka’s first degree, he did not feel like going for any post-graduate degree.

“Soyinka claimed bored.

“He felt that he had grasped enough of what he wanted from literature studies.

“He just wanted to get out and write, he believed that the student period of one’s existence should be short but intense. Soyinka’s time was very intense.

“After the three years, he felt he should go out and enlarge from his own perspective on what he had absorbed from his literary discipline.”

Awoyinfa said that Soyinka was of the view that even if he had not gone to study at the University of Leeds, he would still had made his mark anywhere he went.

He said that before he ever went to Leeds, he had written the first ever play for the then Nigerian Broadcasting Service.

Awoyinfa said: “In terms of style, Soyinka is generally perceived as being opaque, impenetrable.

“I asked if his style of making his literary work hard to understand deliberate. He replied that it was the fate of anybody who uses the public media in any form to be misunderstood.

“According to him, some people find it difficult to understand his literary works because of the reputation he had acquired in other areas outside literature.

“On the dinner table, Soyinka regaled me with stories as he sipped his red wine.

“He said he gets embarrassed and irritated when people think he is a millionaire on account of his fame.

“Soyinka told me that even though his books are translated in different languages of the world, he is deprived of his royalties.

“And even when the royalties come, the amount could be very small. There was a day he got ten naira as his royalty.

“Soyinka said he finds himself “totally unmoved” when his works are being pirated at a hideout in Ajegunle in Lagos.”

Awoyinfa described Soyinka as a shining star in the literary firmament whose works continue to inspire generations of writers, artists, and thinkers.

“Soyinka’s intensity, passion, and wit left an indelible mark on me.

”He is a true legend, and his contributions to literature and humanity are immeasurable.

“As Soyinka celebrates his 90th birthday, I wish him many more years of good health, happiness, and literary excellence,” Awoyinfa said.

(NAN)