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Chief Mrs Olayide Soyinka, first wife of the legendary Professor of Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka shared their youthful days and how they met and got married.
Exactly 11 years ago, Chief (Mrs.) Laide Soyinka, the eldest wife of the first African Nobel laureate, an iconic playwright and renowned writer, Professor Wole Soyinka almost rejected an offer to comment on the personality and social life of her husband.
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Her reservation, in certain quarters, was interpreted as an attempt not to be one of the critics of the world acclaimed writer and first African Nobel laureate, who as at then turned 79 years precisely on Saturday, July 13, 2013.
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As usual, the world was agog to celebrate the priceless value of this gem, who has influenced his world with his rare literary talents as a lecturer, writer, dramatist, critic among other engagements.
However, this reporter, who vowed never to miss the greatest opportunity of the scoop, stopped at nothing to explore the situation. He did not spare Soyinka’s eldest wife to escape from the 30 minutes exclusive interview where she unleashed the untold stories behind the making of the world’s celebrated Kongi.
According to her (the wife), the moment she ever felt proud of her husband, was when the famous professor received the highly coveted Nobel Laurel award in Stockholm, Sweden, 1986, just when an equally famous Nigerian journalist, Dele Giwa, first Editor-In-Chief of Newswatch magazine, was bombed through the infamous letter bomb.
“That was the crowning glory of his literary achievements. That was the international stamp of authority that he is the King of Literature in Africa, indeed, in the Black World,” she said.
Though some of his age mates, colleagues, friends and students would attribute the tender look of the 90-year-old literary giant to his upbringing and social fitness, Laide, in the interview, did not deny how romantic her husband was. She traced the genesis of the romance between her and Soyinka to their old days in the University College, Ibadan, UCI, where they met for the first time.
“We met at the University College, Ibadan,” she said. “I had been admitted to read Arts.”
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She explained that Soyinka was a contemporary of the late Health Minister, Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, both of whom were years ahead of her in academia. She also related that her husband didn’t finish his Bachelors programme at UCI, since the college had not been upgraded to the level of a full-fledged university at that time.
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“University College, Ibadan had facilities for intermediate and not full degree. So, Wole didn’t complete his full degree programme at Ibadan, he went over to Leeds to do that.”
Along with academic pursuits, there was a flourish of romance at the premier university, where a good number of successful Nigerians met their spouses. For instance, she said, late Professor Chinua Achebe got his heartthrob, Christiana, from the University College, Ibadan, just when Professor Wole Soyinka was wooing her.
“Christy (Achebe) and I were colleagues at U.I. We both resided at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Christy was a lovely girl, very pretty girl and my good friend.
“All the people who later became important in Nigeria had attended the University College, Ibadan at that time. One of such people is Gamaliel Onasode, who read Classics, and Emeka Anyaoku. I think, he also read Classics. So, also did late (Chief) Bola Ige.
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At that time, it was a community where the who’s who in Nigeria today blossomed in the romance of undergraduate days. There was also Emmanuel Ifeajuna, who was eventually killed in the coup. His own girlfriend was Rose. There was this gentleman who was killed by Ogoni people, whose wife was a sister to Ken Saro-Wiwa’s wife. He was Edward Kobani. He was fondly called Eddy. They were all there. Although they were my seniors, they were my brother’s colleagues, Olu Akaraogun. So, a whole lot of notable Nigerians picked their future partners from the University College, Ibadan. So, Wole and I were also caught in this fever of romance.”
She noted that Professors Soyinka and the late Olikoye Ransome-Kuti were cousins and enjoyed some kind of intimate relationship, which rubbed off on the rapport, which their families enjoyed.
“My grandchildren would call him Uncle Koye, because of the familiarity. But, he didn’t mind, although this would not be tolerated in Yoruba culture.
Credit: Yemi Adebisi
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