Soyinka will live on, says Prez Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has stated that Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka is immortalised through his literary works and activism. Professor Soyinka will never die. Long after he is dead, our children and grand-children will continue to read his works,” President Mahama predicted.

He said Prof. Soyinka's works transcended ethnic and national boundaries, adding “hate or love him, Prof. Soyinka will always speak his mind.” The President made these comments at the launch of a book, 'Crucible of the Ages: Essays in Honour of Wole Soyinka at 80,' in Accra. The book is co-authored by Ivor Agyeman-Duah and Ogochukwu Promise.

Present at the launch in the Banquet Hall of the State House were President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, Prof. Soyinka, Prof. Atukwei Okai, Secretary-General of Pan-African Writers Association (PAWA) and other dignitaries.

President Mahama said Prof. Soyinka was not only a writer but was always a social and political activist who fought in support of the oppressed. He said the novels, plays and poems of Soyinka's generation encapsulated “the wisdom of our people,” stressing that “we cannot underestimate what the literary arts has done in our lives.”

He said writers of Soyinka's generation foresaw the downward slide of Africa's leaders in the immediate post-colonial era into dictatorship and demagoguery, leading to some of the writers enduring self-imposed exile or imprisonment. He recalled that the literary works of these writers spurred interest in African studies, resulting in “a Pan-Africanism of writers everywhere in Africa.” He added that their “works showed the relevance and familiarity of the times.”

The guest speaker, President Kagame, praised Soyinka for his courage and solidarity with the Rwandan people during the genocide. “We need Soyinka's message now than ever,” he stated. He commended Soyinka particularly for his “rejection of politics of division.” He also lauded General Henry Kwami Anyidoho and the Ghanaian military contingent for saving many lives in his country during the genocide.

He said there was hope and renewal for Africa, and Africans should, therefore, compete globally and become prosperous. He observed that Africa needed a confident leadership based on innovation and accountability. According to him, it was important for the continent to have stable governments and institutions as well as obtain its goals collectively. “Integration of our economies is a necessity,” he said, pointing to the infrastructural development and removal of barriers in East Africa. He revealed that citizens of any African country could get a visa on arrival in Rwanda without burdensome processes and procedures.