I have made arrangements for my death – Soyinka
Prof. Wole Soyinka
Published By: Kazeem Ugbodaga
By Nehru Odeh
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has revealed that he has made arrangements for his transition from life.
Soyinka, who turned 90 on 13 July, 2024, a milestone celebrated globally, made this statement in an exclusive interview with Larry Madowo, host of CNN’s African Voices Changemakers and Playmakers series.
The interview, first aired on CNN on Saturday, 21 September 2024, covered a range of topics, including Soyinka’s writing, activism, life in prison, and the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he won in 1986.
Towards the end of the interview, Madowo asked the literary icon, “Now that you have your own legal piece of earth here, what is your new future?”
In response, Soyinka, while hinting at his future, remarked that he had made arrangements for his transition. “I don’t want to be morbid, but my transition is my future. I’ve made arrangements for that within the estate.”
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Taken aback by the reply, Madowo laughed and responded, “That is the most morbid answer anybody has ever given me. ‘I have made arrangements for my death?’”
Soyinka replied, “Many people don’t like to hear it. As I say all the time, and I won’t go into detail here, in fact, CNN, everybody knows what we’re talking about. It’s where we are all headed. It’s a future for everybody.”
Madowo, still surprised, interjected, “But before you die…”
Later, Soyinka tempered his remarks, offering a more grounded response about his immediate plans.
“In terms of productivity, the immediate thing is to go on a vacation. Take a resolution — which will be attested judicially — not to grant any more interviews, certainly not writing, but to resume activities that gave me pleasure and that I consciously cut off to pursue my vocation. I’m not going to sit idle.”
He added, “I would also like to get into a vehicle, somewhere in the world, and sit for a week or two as a tourist. I’m looking forward to that.”
