President Bola Tinubu has paid tribute to Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka on the eve of his 92nd birthday, describing Africa's first Nobel Prize winner in Literature as one of Nigeria's living repositories of history, knowledge and courage.
In a message dated 12 July 2026, Tinubu celebrated Prof Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, whose birthday falls on 13 July, as a rare generational figure whose life and work have illuminated paths for humanity across diverse endeavours.
The President acknowledged Soyinka's towering achievements across multiple fields, describing him as a playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, actor, singer, composer, documentarian and advocate of good governance.
He recalled the professor's landmark 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first ever awarded to an African, alongside other distinguished honours including the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature, the Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Europe Theatre Prize Special Prize.
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Tinubu also drew on shared history, recalling Soyinka's decades-long resistance to military dictatorship and his role in the June 12 struggle for democracy.
"For which we were both in the trenches.
"Today, I salute one of our nation's living repositories of history, knowledge, and courage.
"That he is with us is a gift we will always treasure. I thank him for his undying faith in the Nigerian project and wise counsel," Tinubu said.
He closed his message by joining the world in celebrating Soyinka's influence on generations of writers, scholars and activists, wishing "Kongi," the playwright's popular nickname, many more years in excellent health.
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