Soyinka Speaks on What He Hopes To Achieve Before Clocking 100

• Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Prize winner, has said he wished to travel to Stockholm before he clock 100 years to celebrate another Nigerian winning the Nobel Prize for Literature
• Soyinka, in an interview, urged that young writers should not just publish once and relax, adding that consistency is key to getting to the world stage
• The octogenarian posited that the writing world is a competitive one and that the females are taking the lead

Legit.ng journalist Bada Yusuf is an accomplished politics and current affairs editor, boasting over seven years of experience in journalism and writing.

Professor Wole Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, has expressed optimism about seeing another Nigerian winning the highest prize in the literary world before he clocks 100 years.

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The octogenarian stated this in an exclusive interview with Channels Television.

Soyinka said there are "remarkable competitions between Nigerian writers, males and females and writers in the African continent."

Soyinka noted that Nigeria is flooded with talents in the Arts and that he felt the country has "an unfair size of candidates qualifiers" to win the noble prize

The playwright made the assertion while responding to a question on how he felt, considering the fact that he had won the Nobel Prize in literature 40 years ago.

Soyinka: Nigerian women taking lead in writing

He commended Nigerian women writers for taking the lead in ditching out creative works.

He added that he had always informed his male colleagues that the women were taking over, beating them and that they needed to buckle up.

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Soyinka warned writers that managing to publish once, self-publish in particular, did not translate to being a "starling writer", and that consistency is the key to getting to the world stage in creativity parlance.

His comment reads in part:

"You just got to keep working and working, and hopefully, before I’m 100, I’ll be going to Stockholm to celebrate another Nigeria."

Soyinka opens up on Peter Obi

Legit.ng earlier reported that Soyinka debunked reports of purported reconciliation between him and Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate in the February 25 presidential election.

The literary giant said he knew Obi and the Labour Party and had nothing to reconcile with the duo.

He, however, denied having the knowledge of the Obidient family, who was popularly known as Peter Obi's supporters.

Source: Legit.ng