List of awards and honors received by Wole Soyinka

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Wole Soyinka in 2018. Wole Soyinka in 2018 (3x4 cropped).jpg
Wole Soyinka in 2018.

Nigerian writer, playwright, and poet Wole Soyinka (1934) was honored by universities, literary organizations, government agencies, and special interest groups. His honors include the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "wide cultural perspective and poetic overtones fashioning the drama of existence" [1] and the Special Prize category of the Europe Theatre Prize in 2017 for his consistency "as a proponent of an ideal bridge between Europe and Africa in a deeply delicate period for the present and the future of our continent". [2]

Contents

In 1986, Soyinka was confered the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), a national honour of Nigeria, by Ibrahim Babangida. [3] President Muhammadu Buhari renamed a train station at Abeokuta after Soyinka. [4] President Bola Tinubu renamed National Art Theatre in 2024 [5] and the Arterial Road N20, which runs from the Northern Parkway to the Outer Northern Expressway in Abuja, after Soyinka. [6]

Awards

YearHonorNotesRef.
1983RSL FellowElected by the Royal Society of Literature. [7]
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award For his autobiography, Ake: The Years of Childhood . [8]
1986 Nobel Prize in Literature For Soyinka's literary works. [1]
Eni Enrico Mattei Prize for the HumanitiesFunded by Agip. [9]
Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic Awarded by Ibrahim Babangida; The award is the second highest national honour of Nigeria. [10]
1999 Benson Medal Awarded by the Royal Society of Literature. [11]
2009Golden Plate AwardGiven by the American Academy of Achievement, this award was presented to Soyinka by Archbishop Desmond Tutu at an awards ceremony at St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town, South Africa. [12]
2013Lifetime Achievement AwardPart of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. [8]
2014 International Humanist Award Awarded by International Humanist and Ethical Union (presently called Humanists International). [13]
2017"Special Prize", Europe Theatre Prize Given by the European Commission to a person, according to them, who has "contributed to the realisation of cultural events that promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge between peoples". [2]

Honorary degrees

Other awards

References

  1. 1 2 "Soyinka, Nigerian Dramatist, Wins Nobel Literature Prize". The New York Times. 17 October 1986. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  2. 1 2 Ajibade, Kunle (12 December 2017). "Wole Soyinka Wins The Europe Theatre Prize". PMNews Nigeria. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  3. ↑ "NIGERIA HONORS NOBEL PRIZE WINNER". The New York Times. 18 October 1986. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  4. ↑ Oyero, Kayode (27 July 2020). "Buhari names railway stations after Tinubu, Saraki, Soyinka, others". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  5. ↑ Ekugbe, Gilbert (12 July 2024). "Tinubu names National Theatre after Wole Soyinka". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  6. ↑ "Tinubu inaugurates, names Abuja road after Wole Soyinka". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  7. ↑ "Wole Soyinka". The Royal Society of Literature. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 Long, Karen R.; Dealer, Special to The Plain (19 April 2012). "Playwright Wole Soyinka and historian David Blight win Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards". cleveland. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  9. ↑ Gibbs, James (1988). "Prize and Prejudice: Reactions to the Award of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature to Wole Soyinka, Particularly in the British Press". Black American Literature Forum. 22 (3). St. Louis University: 449–465. ISSN   0148-6179. JSTOR   2904309 . Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  10. ↑ Lindfors, Bernth (1988). "Beating the White Man at his Own Game: Nigerian Reactions to the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature". Black American Literature Forum. 22 (3). St. Louis University: 475–488. ISSN   0148-6179. JSTOR   2904311 . Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  11. ↑ Okamgba, Justice (25 November 2022). "Globacom to celebrate Soyinka @90". Punch Newspapers – The most widely read newspaper in Nigeria. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  12. ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  13. ↑ "Wole Soyinka wins International Humanist Award". British Humanist Association. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Harvey, A. D. (2013). ""Does the Queen know about this?" Wole Soyinka and the British Government 1969–1973". The Journal of Commonwealth Literature. 48 (3): 327–329. doi:10.1177/0021989413496178. ISSN   0021-9894.
  15. ↑ "Yale honours Okonjo-Iweala for fighting corruption, fiscal transparency". Vanguard News. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  16. ↑ Breon, Robin (3 November 2001). "A clear voice out of Africa". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  17. ↑ "Harvard University Honorary Degree Recipients 1990-2015" (PDF). Harvard University. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  18. ↑ Thomas, John D. (13 July 1934). "Emory Magazine: Spring 1997: Wole Soyinka". magazine.emory.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  19. ↑ "SOAS Honorary Fellows". SOAS. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "Fellow of the world". the Guardian. 6 August 2002. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  21. ↑ Quiñones, Eric (31 May 2005). "Princeton awards six honorary degrees". princeton.edu. Princeton University . Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  22. ↑ "FUNAAB to honour Soyinka, others with honourary degrees". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  23. ↑ Edeme, Victoria (23 June 2022). "Soyinka, nine others receive Cambridge varsity honorary degrees". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  24. ↑ Okogba, Emmanuel (31 July 2018). "UI renames Arts Theatre after Wole Soyinka". Vanguard News. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
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