Wole Soyinka
The author and political activist promotes African culture as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
Wole Soyinka’s diverse career spans from poet, author, playwright and political activist to professor in the US, Great Britain and Nigeria.
Born in the western region of Nigeria as the second of six children, his writings as a young student won several prizes for literary composition and supported his interests in history, religion and literature.
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Some of his earliest short stories were broadcast on Nigerian radio stations prior to his college studies in London.
As his writings evolved and attracted the attention of audiences worldwide – in theatres and in books – Wole Soyinka also became increasingly involved in the destabilising political situation of Nigeria and was imprisoned several times for his powerful criticisms.
In 1986, he became the first African Nobel Laureate for his prize in literature as one “who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence”.
This episode of One on One can be seen from Saturday, July 30, at the following times GMT: Saturday: 0430; Sunday: 0830, 1930; Monday: 1430.