Soyinka
Ayodele Ojurongbe: The advice Prof. Wole Soyinka gave me at age 13 has been a light to my path
THE ADVICE PROF. WOLE SOYINKA GAVE ME WHEN I WAS AGE 13 HAS BEEN LIKE A LIGHT TO MY PATH
I began to grow more intensely aware of his reputation and life path as a writer, dramatist, teacher and an activist from as early as when I was about 9 years old.
I had many times at the time heard of him in the news so much that when I stumbled on his book, THE MAN DIED, in my late Father’s motley collection of books that served as my first library, I had been excited at that first ‘contact’ with him.
The size of the novel did not faze me. It was obvious that the spine was much thicker than the books I had been reading before then.
My story books at this time were mostly the simplified English versions (also called abridged versions) of some of the classics like IVANHOE, KIDNAPPED,TREASURE ISLAND, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, OLIVER TWIST, and some African classics such as KOKU BABONI, SUGAR GIRL, EZE GOES TO SCHOOL, THE DRUMMER BOY and many others.
Thinking that reading THE MAN DIED by ‘Wole Soyinka at that age was going to be another walk in the park seemed like daring the impossible. Even though I tried, I never got past a few pages of perhaps the first chapter, and several tries before I gave up!
But not totally.
From my third year in secondary school (high school), my vocabulary had increased tremendously and I had graduated to novels and bigger texts.
And perhaps most auspiciously, my Literature in English set books at school had included ‘Wole Soyinka’s THE LION AND THE JEWEL and some of his poems such as, ‘Telephone Conversation’ and ‘Abiku’, all of which I had to study this time to pass my exams.
From my pocket money, I had bought a copy of his play, KONGI’S HARVEST(which I read countless times, until I could recite the Prologue word for word),THE TRIALS OF BROTHER JERO, AND OTHER PLAYS, which I remember included ‘The Swamp Dwellers’ and other short plays.
After my immersion in these works, there was no doubt that I had become a star -struck teenager,with a ‘Wole Soyinka fixation, and that Prof ‘Wole Soyinka was my first celebrity.
He got me hooked on the Literary world and I was beginning to dream that some day in the future, I would end up like him because I had also developed a growing passion for writing poems, plays, and for acting.
I had done my research on him and known at the time that he was a teacher at the then University of Ife, (now Obafemi Awolowo University). I also had a high school best friend who shared a few of these passions with me.
And so, we thought of a way to let our icon know that he was already raising some ‘literary lilliputs’ in one corner of the world! We were 12/13 years old. We had done a few things which we thought were a bit far beyond our years at the time. We dared to write a letter to Professor ‘Wole Soyinka! We went from daring to doing.
By the time we were done, we had completed the drafting of a 3 page letter to our idol! We mentioned our ages, our class, and explained how his works had influenced us to believe we were already learning at his feet from a distance, and being prepared to be like him! We wanted him to advise us on how to go about it!
We sent the letter by post, addressed to the University of Ife Department of Dramatic Arts and we went about our studies. After a while of waiting, we had begun to imagine that our idol would not think of us as important ‘subjects’, to dignify us with a reply!
About two months later, we each got a reply from ‘Wole Soyinka! He was that thoughtful to know that even though we wrote one letter to him as a pair, we would be excited to receive a letter each!
He must have figured that we needed the individual bragging rights to show the world, (our classmates and families) that ‘Wole Soyinka wrote a letter to us with our names on each letter!
We were both gob smacked at this ‘achievement’! We showed our classmates! My parents, especially my mother looked me in the eye like what(?), when I later showed her the letter and she had read it. For a while, I became a mini celebrity at school!
I was able to keep this letter for about 3 years after this, until some time when I looked for it and could not find it anymore!
But even though the letter was now nowhere to be found, from constant reading (much like my Bible at the time), all of the words in the letter had been stored in my biological computer like a file that I may never be able to delete from my memory. His letter was gone ,but not his words!
Most importantly , the guiding light of the counsel in the letter, became an inescapable part of my life from then, till now. The letter was brief, (unlike our epistle to him😁), and it went thus:
“Dear Ayodele,
I received your letter.
I have been rather absent from base, hence the lateness of my reply. I only wish I had the time to reply to all such correspondence.
However in brief, I would rather say, it is far, far better, to explore one’s own creative and social inclinations, and develop them in a positive and socially productive manner.
Do not bother yourself with those who appear to have achieved some kind of notoriety in society. Just concentrate on discovering and being yourself.
Very best wishes
‘Wole Soyinka”
(signed)
From the moment I received the letter, I was hoping and praying that someday I would meet with him personally.
The closest I got to him after this time was when I began my higher school certificate studies-A LEVELS (in the same school where I had met his then youngest son who was also schooling), and used to follow a big cousin(who was friends with Prof. Soyinka’s first wife) to his first wife’s (?)university residence in Ebrohime road, at the University of Ibadan.
He had lived in that same house when they were a couple. And I remember how I used to busy myself with photo albums from his younger days with all the faith and hope, that I was getting closer to meeting my top celebrity.
I will not forget the more profound impression of him that I took away from watching the film adaptation of KONGI’S HARVEST,(which had been shot and produced perhaps long before I was born!), in my second year of studies at the University of Ibadan, and the awe- inspiring spectacle of seeing the icon play the Lead.
I will always remember a scene in the movie, where he was addressing the people, and from a long camera shot, I saw him in full length, and beheld some of his striking features, and me leaving the UI Arts Theatre that night with a deepened dream and desire to meet him in person.
Did that day come in early April 1998?
It was in far away Cincinnati, Ohio airport when it appeared nature made our paths cross. I had spent a few days in Cincinnati and was getting ready to board en-route to Los Angeles.
It was the time the Late Military leader, President Sani Abacha was on his trail. Even though he was thoroughly disguised with a pony tail hair- do that made him look like a hippie, he must have been shocked that I recognized him. (I already had a bright mental picture of his striking features from the movie ,KONGI’S HARVEST, and it was not hard to figure this was my idol!)
I quickly concluded that that was not the time for a long conversation or photo opportunities. I wished I had had the time and atmosphere to tell him how he had affected the course of my life with that experience at 13 when he sent a reply to my letter! I wished the time was there for me to recite word for word to him the content of his carefully worded letter to me.
But all I could do was walk closer to where he sat around me at the boarding gate and courteously ask (even though I was sure that was him!) ‘Good day, Sir. I hope you are, and if you are, this is my card’ I had slipped my business card into his hand.
In that moment, I was transfixed by the brilliance of his expressive eyes which seemed to have said, ‘How on earth could you have broken the walls of my disguise!’
With a thumps up, and a bright smile which undoubtedly expressed, ‘Boy you’re right, I am’ he slipped my card in the front pocket of his army green jacket, while I quickly walked to my seat and waited for boarding time.
I sensed he had his own security apparatus around him and did not want anyone thinking I was a spy.
Even after about 5 hours when we had landed in LA airport until he was picked at the airport, I was still watching him from a distance, with all the abiding memories of my first and forever earthly celebrity, and the words of his counsel, like a tapestry of treasures before me.
Will I be fortunate to see him again? I pray so. And this time, he will hear the full story!
Ayodele Ojurongbe
Friday, 6th December, 2024