The Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, spoke this week at the Hay Festival in Mexico. In an extract from his talk, he tells Peter Godwin that now is the time to tackle militants in Nigeria
Professor Soyinka, youre not an ivory-tower kind of writer. You are not a stranger to danger, and in fact youve been imprisoned on at least two occasions, once in solitary confinement. Can you tell me what that was like?
Writing in certain environments carries with it an occupational risk. When I was imprisoned, without trial, it was as a result of a position I took as a citizen. Of course I used my weapon, which was writing, to express my disapproval of the [Biafran] civil war into which we were about to enter. These were people whod been abused, whod undergone genocide, and who felt completely rejected by the rest of the community, and therefore decided to break away and form a nation of its own.....Read MORE »
Professor Soyinka, youre not an ivory-tower kind of writer. You are not a stranger to danger, and in fact youve been imprisoned on at least two occasions, once in solitary confinement. Can you tell me what that was like?
Writing in certain environments carries with it an occupational risk. When I was imprisoned, without trial, it was as a result of a position I took as a citizen. Of course I used my weapon, which was writing, to express my disapproval of the [Biafran] civil war into which we were about to enter. These were people whod been abused, whod undergone genocide, and who felt completely rejected by the rest of the community, and therefore decided to break away and form a nation of its own.....Read MORE »