WOLE Soyinka is a critic per excellence. Criticism can be said to be his life because it is both a vocation and profession to him. And he has been involved in this for a long span of time – for the past five decades to be precise. Fortunately for him, unlike some others, this has been appreciated nationally and internationally. Some may argue that he is worldly acclaimed for his literary prowess and not for his criticism. But to this it is important to state that both are related and work hand-in-hand. They are like snail and its shell or better put, two-sides of a coin. Wherever the snail is going its shell is bound to follow. Hardly can one be mechanically separated from the other. Even though when it comes to prioritizing, he is a guru in one which was the very reason he was honoured with a prize in Nobel Laureate in Literature and a few people might contest this fit when it comes to ‘Soyinka as a critic’ despite his contributions now and his past heroic sacrifice.
Soyinka could not be said to be partisan in his politics as he has not been interested in political office but his membership of Peoples Redemption Party in the second republic was his closeness to partisan politics. But hardly can one identify any of his works that was not influenced by political consideration.
The Soyinka we know is a teacher of teachers at both levels as aforementioned. There are many evidences to substantiate his ‘Tigerism’ in this intertwined professions and vocations of his life. Permit me to limit myself to a few instances to substantiate this point at hand. As a literary guru, he taught literature at Universities of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) for a long period of time before he went into exile to continue his teaching job at a University in U.S.A. So, he has been teaching literature for over six decades. He is a dramatist and poet of a great repute. He is a pride to Africans and Blacks across the world. He has been actively involved in the work of drama, where he has written many books of drama that include Mad Men and Specialists, The Swamp Dwellers, A Dance of the Forests, Opera Wonyosi, From Zia with Love, Death and The King’s Horseman, A Play of Giants, Kongi’s Harvest, Trial of Brother Jero and the Lion and Jewel. In the field of drama, he is a practicing dramatist, author as well as a producer. He is a specialist in this area of literary genre. His exceptional quality and proficiency in this field started unfolding in 1960 when his play “The Invention” was acted in Britain to commemorate the anniversary of Nigeria independence. His value as a guru of the future period that will have to contest the leadership position in the field of literature with anybody in the world started at this time. As it is common to say that what we are likely going to be in the future is a product of what we are today; while what we are today is the result of our yesterday.
So, what Soyinka is today, his attainment in life and literature is the result of his work right away from his youthful age. Some are like that and this bears a resemblance to Chinua Achebe, another guru in literature whose subsequent works till date could not match his first novel written over fifty years ago as an undergraduate of University of Ibadan.
Both literary icons, Soyinka and Achebe were both students of Faculty of Arts, Literature Department at the University of Ibadan. When Soyinka finished with his first degree in 1952, he proceeded to University of Leeds for a specialist and professional course in drama. He later returned to Nigeria to pick up a job with the University of Ife at its temporary campus, Ibadan. Not only this, Soyinka’s work also exemplified its first class category at world cultural festival that took place in Nigeria in 1977, what is commonly referred to as FESTAC ’77.
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Beyond drama, his literary works also covered prose, poetry, and autobiography. His novels include among others, Interpreters, Season of Anomy, Forest of Thousand Demons (translation of Fagunwa’s works). He has been very well known for his prison note, The Man Died. Many Nigerians especially those that are not that keen in the world of wordsmith and for this reason, could not follow up with Soyinka in his literary life; knew Soyinka for this particular work. This remains the most popular work Soyinka will be remembered for, in popular readings just like Achebe will be best remembered for his first prose, “Things Fall Apart”. Though, ‘The Man Died’ was not Soyinka’s first literary work; before this work, his collection of poetry and plays were already published in London and Ibadan. These include Idanre and other Poems which was published while he was in detention and others that include A Shuttle in the Crypt and Mandela’s Earth and Other Poems. His life experience in detention he later narrated in great details in his book – “The Man Died”. Soyinka’s critical and theoretical writings include: From a Common Black Cloth (1963), The Writer in a Modern African State (1967), Cross Currents, the New African after Cultural Encounters (1982), The Climates of Art (1985). But he is well known for his published essays in this area titled “Myth, Literature and the African World.”
It is pertinent to state that his future role as a political activist and literary icon could be traced to the period of his childhood as one that usually accompany his mother, a school teacher (also a trader) to a women rights association led by Mrs. Funmilayo Ramsome-Kuti that was composed of women elites to fight against women oppression and other rights abuse in the community of Abeokuta.
The man Soyinka is also a musical artist. He will forever be remembered for his protest music which is a class on its own in the history of this country. As Fela would say, this is “direct revolution.” He waxed a record in the second republic to expose the degeneration of politicians of the second republic when they were leading the country to a state of precipice and doldrums.
A translation of the song’s lyrics goes as follows:
“I love my country I no go lie
Na inside am I go live and die
I know my country I no go lie
I love my country I no go lie
Na inside am I go live and die
When he turn me so I twist am so
Na inside am I go live and die.”
He also wrote series of autobiographical books that gave account of his activities and participatory observations in the politics of the day that spanned from his youth till date at the age of about 80 years while still active as ever before. These include other books such as his childhood memoir – Ake, Ishara, The Penkelemess Years: Memoirs 1945 – 1965 and Wole Soyinka: The Dawn. The books exhibit the literary fineness of a man of letters in capturing the events of the communities such as Ake-Abeokuta, Ishara, Ibadan where he had his youthful age and issues of importance nationally and internationally.
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It is pertinent to state that his future role as a political activist and literary icon could be traced to the period of his childhood as one that usually accompany his mother, a school teacher (also a trader) to a women rights association led by Mrs. Funmilayo Ramsome-Kuti that was composed of women elites to fight against women oppression and other rights abuse in the community of Abeokuta. The influence that this had on an innocent young Wole could not be quantified as he later became a non-conformist early in life at Ibadan while a student of Ibadan Grammar School and thereafter at University of Ibadan in 1952. The organization, Egba Women Union was noted to have challenged and confronted the King of Abeokuta for constant disruption of their activities to provide adult and civic education to mass of women in the community. The revolt ended in the removal of the Alake from his prestigious position as the King while his lieutenants and supporters that composed of the traditional Ogboni Confraternity and the Colonial District Officer became objects of scorn, ridicule and attack.
Arts and in particular literature have been looked at from various perspectives. While some tend to view this from the narrow prism of art for art sake that is within the perspective of aesthetics only that is to bring about beauty and attraction either in form of impression or feelings to the recipients. It has been argued on the other hand that Arts is a vehicle for political objectives. The later view might be necessitated because the creators of arts themselves are part of society that could not do away with how they are organized and governed themselves. Even in this circumstance not all politically inclined artists, dramatists, poets or novelists are in partisan politics. Some are only political to the extent of their works that are used to express their political opinions and how they would like society to be in reality. Soyinka could not be said to be partisan in his politics as he has not been interested in political office but his membership of Peoples Redemption Party in the second republic was his closeness to partisan politics. But hardly can one identify any of his works that was not influenced by political consideration. This is why the common themes that run through his entire works are issues such as: brutality, corruption, repression, assault, injustice, human greed, violence, vulgarity, dishonesty, parasitism, contradictions, conflicts, betrayal, freedom, hypocrisy, establishment, hope, protection, reactionary, consolidation, decadence, status quo, self-seeking, etc.
Various governments have always seen him as trouble maker, eccentric and someone that is dangerous to the system. This classification of Wole Soyinka was not borne out of his theoretical posturing like other intellectuals of his period but because of his being a man of principle and “action” in the course of his fight against the Nigerian state.
As a son of an elementary school headmaster, he created keen interest in literature early in life. Out of consistency he was able to pursue this to the end. Apart from Nobel Prize Award to his credit, he was granted prestigious John Whiting Award thereafter. These titles mentioned are just a tip in the iceberg of his literary achievements. To recount all his works will amount to writing a voluminous book of bibliography. This is because his essays, articles are so numerous that it becomes difficult to recount all within a short essay as this. But one can only say that one can be sure that Soyinka will always comment on issues of political importance at every juncture of our political history while in crisis.
Such times were not few in our history. These include the Civil War period of 1967-70 when millions of lives were lost, 1978 Ali-Must-Go Protest when Obasanjo’s government (as a military Head of State) went wild and lost all decency and civility that resulted in killing university students on protest against hike in the price of feeding, Shagari’s police state and of course unashamedly open fraudulent election malpractices in 1983 did not go without attack from Soyinka. He also did air his critical views in the short period of Military ruler – Mohammed Buhari and also of the period of Ibrahim Babangida, the man known for high level of scheming until he manoeuvred himself out of power as against his wish. Before Babangida finally threw in the towel and left the corridor of power, it would be recalled, his nine years in power was one of woes, of strikes, of religious riots, of student protests, of political manipulations. So, he received much bashing from the man Wole Soyinka probably next to Abacha in ranking.
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Various governments have always seen him as trouble maker, eccentric and someone that is dangerous to the system. This classification of Wole Soyinka was not borne out of his theoretical posturing like other intellectuals of his period but because of his being a man of principle and “action” in the course of his fight against the Nigerian state. It will be recalled that during the first republic in Western Region under Akintola’s leadership, Soyinka reacted against the fraudulent election of 1964 whereby Akintola was declared elected. Soyinka in a militaristic manner forced the broadcaster in the Western Region Television Station to replace the clip for broadcasting the rigged election with that of his where he rejected the manipulation that took place in the course of the election and declared Akintola Government null and void as it did not win the election and that it did not represents the mandate of Yoruba and people of Western Nigeria. This action caused the unpopular government serious embarrassment in the region and no doubt brought confidence into the minds of many people as a result. He was later arrested and detained for his action but subsequently released.
This is the very reason not a few people best associate him and Dr. Tai Solarin with anarchist and populist schools of thought in revolutionary movement led by Michael Bakunin (Russia) and Joseph Proudhon (France) respectively. Anarchism as a trend in revolutionary movement may not be popular in Nigeria because of the dominance of Marxist tendency. But it is a potent force in South Africa for instance and Europe and America.
Under Gowon’s regime during the civil war, Soyinka pitched his tent with Nigerian people. He neither recognized Gowon nor Ojukwu leadership but supported the third force led by Col. Banjo that stood for equity, justice and humanism that was meant to turn the war into people’s war against the class of the oppressor as a whole. He was unable to achieve this objective before he was arrested and detained for false claim that he was in support of Biafra and he was not released from detention until the end of the war.
It might be said that Babangida was in a class of its own in rulership when compared to his immediate successor, Abacha, who outsmarted him in all respects. Abacha’s period and circumstances under which it operated could not be compared to any period in our history. It was a period when ‘madman’ was at the helm of affairs. So, what should one expect apart from ‘mad’ rule? After Soyinka exhausted all his intellect and critical mind to see how he could influence and persuade the man in power as he used to do in the past by his writings, it dawn on him later that the regime was an unconventional one that could not be treated with a therapy common for a conventional government. He decided to check out of the country through unconventional means when his life was threatened. He passed through what was commonly referred to as ‘illegal’ ‘NADECO’ route because he was already under surveillance by the brutal secret security officials of Abacha. This was how he left the shore of the country to contribute to the struggle while in exile.
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When the history of that event will be written, Soyinka will be in the fore front of those that made enormous sacrifice to address and fight on the side of justice against the annulment of June 12 election by Babangida, and the military autocracy as a whole. For the first time ever, as against the tradition of print media that we were used to in protesting against injustice, electronic medium – Radio Kudirat was introduced to reach out to more audience that could not be reached through conventional print media. And with the practice of closing down of press houses this alternative came handy as a useful opposition’s platform. So the radio operated under ground, broadcasting from unknown destination against the military and Abacha’s government.
This is just a summary of Soyinka’s work in the world of protest. His remarkable role in maintaining a balance between his literary works and that of his protest project would ever distinguish him in the history of political activism in the country. His protest has been that of creativity, initiative, and purposefulness. And fortunately, he has been successful and accorded necessary recognition for this purpose.
In accomplishing this, he was not short of forming political organizations to pursue his agitations and the struggles he believes in. These organizations include Pyrate Confraternity, Seadog, The Committee of Writers for Individual Liberty (CWIL), Organisation for Solidarity Home and Abroad (OSHA), Socialist Action Black Africa (SABA), African Democratic League (ADL) and others. Unlike other organizations with ideological contents that were out to mobilise mass of the working class with the ultimate goal of achieving total liberation of the working people but his were platforms to interrogate and serve the purpose of pressure group. And these were short lived.
This is the very reason not a few people best associate him and Dr. Tai Solarin with anarchist and populist schools of thought in revolutionary movement led by Michael Bakunin (Russia) and Joseph Proudhon (France) respectively. Anarchism as a trend in revolutionary movement may not be popular in Nigeria because of the dominance of Marxist tendency. But it is a potent force in South Africa for instance and Europe and America.
As a typical populist that he is, he achieved a great deal in road traffic management that he initiated to control the spate of road accidents and with the support of the government of the day this was institutionalized as Federal Road Safety Corps was established to sanitise and regulate the use of the roads since 1980s as a follow up to the same project before it in Oyo State Government in the 1970s. However remarkable progress made in this respect but it remains a reform as it could not be extricated from the various diseases such as corruption, ineptitude and bureaucracy afflicting the system and drawing back the progress that would have been made by the project. This is the very reason there is no alternative to a revolutionary option over the decadence that the system of capitalism represents however lofty a reform might be.
Comrade Olamosu writes from the Centre for Social Policy and Labour Research, Signs and Wonders Shopping Complex, Ekotedo-Iyalobe Street, Dugbe Ibadan.
