NOBEL Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Sunday counseled Nigerian children not to be discouraged by the recent killing of 46 school children in Yobe State by suspected Boko Haram members, but to strive for knowledge so as to “conquer ignorance”.
Soyinka who spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, also charged the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government as well as the state governments to eliminate barriers and create conducive environment for every Nigerian child to have access to qualitative education.
The Nobel Laureate spoke at his private residence, when he hosted 79 secondary school students across the country as part of activities marking his 79th birthday.
The event, tagged: “Memoirs of our future”, was organised by a Lagos-based multimedia company, Zmirage, in conjunction with the Ogun State government.
While advising students not to be discouraged by certain negative happenings in the country, Soyinka urged them to draw inspiration from the life of a 16-year-old Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head on October 9, 2012 by Taliban fighters over her campaign for girl-child education in Pakistan.
Soyinka, who fielded questions from all his 79 guests who participated in an essay competition to commemorate his birthday, said Nigerian students must not allow themselves to be overwhelmed by negative happenings in the country but should see it as a stepping stone to strive for excellence at all times.
“Don’t be satisfied with failure but rather strive to excel in all your endeavours,” he said.
The literary icon also asked the federal and state governments to obtain the speech of Malala and make it available to all libraries, schools and archives to serve as reference point for upcoming generations.
His words: “It (situation) looks very negative and hopeless. We must not allow ourselves to be discouraged. And the fact that people are still going to schools in those areas (violence-prone areas of northern Nigeria) shows that we should not be discouraged. You are not a complete human being if you are not educated, schooled or cultured.
“No matter what goes around you, you (students) must insist on your education. I am demanding from governors and the federal government to obtain the speech of that young girl (Malala), burn it into CDs (compact discs) and make it available to all libraries, schools and archives.”
On his non-believe in any religion, Soyinka said he believes religion should be a private thing. He stressed the need for inter-religious tolerance among all Nigerians.
He also used the occasion to debunk age-long speculation that he got third class in the university, declaring that he actually had Second Class Upper and not third class as widely believed, explaining that he had kept silent over the years on the matter but decided to open up for the sake of the children as a mark of respect for them.
On his role model, Soyinka, described his first teacher (one Mr. Olagbaju) as his role model, even as he explained that there was no mystery behind his grey hair.
On his aspiration in life, the literary giant pointed out that he would have loved to become an architect, musician or a pilot. “I would have loved to be an architect, or a musician, but not an amateur, a trained one. When I left school, I wanted to be a journalist. I actually sat for an exam to be absolved in Daily Times, but after the exam, I was told that I wrote a short story and not a news story. So, I was not taken. Thank goodness, I did not become a journalist,” he added.
Earlier at the Government House, Abeokuta, Governor Ibikunle Amosun urged the students not to relent in their educational pursuits.
The governor, who described Soyinka as “a world citizen,” also advised the participants in the essay competition to emulate the life of Soyinka and to be more studious. Amosun commended the organisers and restated the commitment of the state government towards supporting the celebration of the life of the nobel laureate.
He later presented prizes to five winners of the essay competition, which was held on Saturday at the Freedom Park, Lagos. The first winner was Motolani Akinpelu of Oladipo Alayande School of
Science, Oke Bola, Ibadan, while the second prize went to Andrew Adedero of Mount Saint Gabriel Secondary School, Makurdi, Benue State.
Tomisin Adebisi and Chukwu Winke of Lead City High School Ibadan, Oyo State and Dority of International School, Aba, Abia State jointly emerged third while Odiakosa Alfred of St. Charles Secondary School Onitsha, Anambra State, came fifth.
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