The Alake of Egba land, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to confer on Wole Soyinka the second highest national honour of Grand Commander of Order of Niger.
Wole Soyinka, a poet and writer is the first African to be awarded the Nobel laurel in Literature. The Ogun-born novelist will clock 90 years on the 13th of July, 2024.
The Punch reported that Alake of Egba land, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo stated; “It will be good to henceforth adopt his birthday which is July 13 as Wole Soyinka Day. In fact, New Orleans in the United States of America has already adopted a day to celebrate him, so why can’t we do so to honour our own too?"
He added; “The Federal Government should also in addition to this confer on Wole Soyinka the second highest national honour of Grand Commander of Order of Niger because of his contribution to register our dear nation on the global map.”
Reacting, the convener of Soyinka’s 90th birthday, Paul Bankole, said; “I believe that people like Prof Soyinka should be celebrated while they are alive. We must not wait till they are gone before we begin to pour accolades on them. Let them understand that we value them and acknowledge their unique contribution towards having a better world,”
The recent statement by the traditional ruler of Egba land, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, which was shared by The Punch on its verified Twitter page has generated a lot of reactions from many Nigerians on the social media platform.