CORA Declares 2014 the Year of Wole Soyinka for 80th Birthday

One of Nigeria’s most respected authors Professor Wole Soyinka will be 80 on Sunday 13th July 2014.

The Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA) has declared 2014 the year of the Nobel Laureate.

In a statement signed by CORA’s Secretary General Alfred Toyin Akinosho and Program Chair of CORA Jahman Anilukapo, they announced the decision, also disclosing the theme for the Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF).

Themed “Freedom and the Word“, they shared via City Voice that “Soyinka has worked towards the unshackling of our freedom of expression for all these years and in the year of the 25th anniversary of the Fall of The Berlin Wall; 20th anniversary of South Africa’s democracy and the 15th year of Nigeria’s end to military rule, it is fitting to honour a landmark birthday of a man whose life-long career irrepressibly dotes on concern about human Freedom(s) with a year-long programme that interrogates our quest for freedom, especially through the letters.”

Activities for the year to reflect the honour for Soyinka include art stampede, arthouse forum and the booktrek.

In a recent interview with Soyinka, he calls on President Jonathan to show leadership.