Oluwatosin Enesi
Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has revealed how he once used a national honour as a form of protest against military dictatorship in Nigeria.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Soyinka recounted a dramatic moment during a pro-democracy march when he threw his national award on the ground and spat on it in defiance of former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, who had bestowed the honour on him.
The renowned playwright and human rights activist said the award, Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), was initially accepted under pressure. “I didn’t reject the one in the past. I was ambushed. I had no option, so I accepted it,” Soyinka said, explaining that the award was presented to him at the airport in a public setting, shortly after he received the Nobel Prize.
Soyinka clarified that accepting the honour served a strategic purpose: “One of the uses of these honours is that there comes a day when you can throw it back, use it as a weapon by declaring that you no longer want it.”
He described how that moment came during a protest march from the Labour House in Surulere to Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos. On arrival, the protesters found the venue barricaded by security forces. Enraged, Soyinka said he acted in protest: “I had brought along my CFR. I threw it on the ground and spat on it.”
Recalling the incident, he said he told the BBC afterwards, “There was something I wanted to do, but I didn’t want to be accused of indecent exposure. So I limited myself to just marching on it.”
The professor also addressed criticism over his decision to accept a recent national award from President Bola Tinubu. He explained that this time, the honour would be dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, a respected pro-democracy icon and human rights advocate.
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