Alake of Egbaland asks FG to adopt July 13 as Wole Soyinka Day

Adedotun Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland, has asked the federal government to adopt July 13 as a national day to celebrate the contributions of Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, to Nigeria’s development.

Speaking in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun state, on Tuesday, Gbadebo asked the federal government to honour Soyinka with the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON) award to mark his 90th birthday.

Soyinka will be celebrating his 90th birthday on July 13.

The traditional ruler announced that July 13 would henceforth be Wole Soyinka Day in Egba land, where the literature icon hails from.

Gbadebo highlighted the series of events lined up to celebrate Soyinka’s 90th birthday.

He added that the theme of the celebration is ‘Defiance and creativity: A celebration of Soyinka’s artistic ingenuity and impact on Nigeria, Africa, and the entire world’.

The monarch said Soyinka deserves to be celebrated for being the first African Nobel Prize winner in literature and for his positive impact on the new generation of youth.

“It will be appropriate for the federal government to adopt July 13 as a national day to celebrate Professor Wole Soyinka, given his contribution to literature and humanity globally,” Alake said.

“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?

“The federal government should also, in addition to this, confer on Wole Soyinka the second highest national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of Niger because of his contribution to register our dear nation on the global map.”