In what should naturally be an obligation, which many of his age could not do because of lack of means, Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka said he had made “arrangements” for his burial.
THE CONCLAVE reports that the nonagenarian did not give an indication, let alone an inkling of his imminent transition to the “hereafter”- the coinage by the late Prof Ali Mazrui, which he didatically deployed in his classical novel: “Trial of Christopher Okigbo.”
This is because “Kongi” has wittingly or unwittingly provoked the intellect to interrogate the possible intercourse between death and vacation.
Validation of the intellectual rigour: he is at the same time talking about death and plans for a vacation.
Death? A necessary end. Vacation vis-a-vis death? Puzzles galore!
At 90, the playwright, essayist, novelist, and poet discussed everything from his artistic inspirations to his plans in an interview with CNN.
Soyinka shared his unconventional way of marking birthdays: retreating into the forest to embrace solitude.
He said: “Usually what I do on my birthdays is disappear into the forest. I enjoy my solitude enormously.
“The annoying thing also is that I don’t feel 90. I think I just have taken birthdays for granted.”
His home in Abeokuta, filled with modern art and artefacts, reflects the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria, as well as his need for peace.
Soyinka, as quoted in a report by THE NATION, admitted: “Maybe secretly I long for company, and that’s why I accumulate all these.”
According to the renowned literary figure, his home “is more than a sanctuary,” but also a testament to his environmental activism.
The conversation with the CNN report also touched on Soyinka’s love for nature, an effort to recreate the natural landscape that once surrounded him, especially his reforestation project on the estate, which he refers to as “the autonomous republic of Ijegba.”
“When I moved in here, it was entirely forested. All these were my hunting grounds.
“I really felt I was in a different country, and I could just stay here and cut off the rest of society,” he said.
Asked about his future, Soyinka responds with a characteristic blend of wit and gravitas.
“Future? I don’t want to be morbid, but you know what the future is, and I have made arrangements for that within this estate.
“It’s where we’re all headed; it’s the future for everybody.”
But before that inevitable future arrives, Soyinka disclosed he had some plans.
“The immediate thing is to go on a vacation; take a resolution which will be attested judicially, not to grant anymore interviews.”
Disappearing into the forest for his birthday has been his own way of celebrating his anniversary. This is uniquely characteristic of the man who refused to keep mute in the face of tyranny. And, he speaks for his subsistence.
THE CONCLAVE prays for many more years in the “herebefore” to accomplish this annual episodic venture in good health, especially for the prodigious intellect that undergird his prolific mind.
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