Soyinka Faults Nigerian Leaders for Adopting Colonial Mindsets

Following Nigeria’s independence in 1960, government officials were keen to take on the roles of the colonizers, according to Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka.

Speaking as a guest at “A Conversation with the Nobel Laureate” at the Yoruba Tennis Club in Onikan, Lagos, as part of events commemorating the socio-cultural club’s 100th anniversary, Soyinka bemoaned the fact that, despite the happiness that followed Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the new government officials turned into yet another group of colonial overlords.

Soyinka emphasized the historical viewpoint of the play, pointing out in particular that it was inspired by events in the independence era, when asked about other of his plays, such as “A Dance of the Forests,” and what it would be like to revisit the themes behind the work.

The 91-year-old Nobel winner told the assembly, which included members of the Yoruba Tennis Club, secondary school students, and invited visitors, that the play would be more “cruel” if he had to rewrite it.

We were thrilled about the possibility of independence when we were studying overseas. We eagerly anticipated it and were eager to leave our studies and head home. We saw ourselves as the Renaissance, the individuals who would demonstrate to the colonists that we were aware of their secret and that we could surpass what they attempted to teach us. We were therefore thrilled.

However, we were also concerned about the liberation representatives’ words, demeanor, behavior during the apparent period of independence, and interactions with the general public. We came to the conclusion that, in the majority of cases, they were all too willing to take on the role of our colonizers.

“A Dance of the Forests” was about the idea that “the white man goes, the black man returns,” he explained.

“It was saying let’s not glamorize our past, lest we fall into the pitfall which the departing colonists had dug for us,” he continued. We were happy, thrilled, and eager to return home, but we shouldn’t be tempted to put ourselves in the position of our estranged conquerors.

“We warned you that if I had to redo that now, I would emphasize that part even more. However, you slipped into the hole despite seeing it. Therefore, compared to the original version, it would be significantly more severe.

In addition to denouncing the US intervention in Venezuela and Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Soyinka, an outspoken opponent of US President Donald Trump, cautioned the world audience against allowing tyranny to continue to grow in the name of rescue operations by international powers.

“What we are currently facing is nothing new. “You have the ability to deplete other people’s petroleum resources, which is a revelation of mammoth, not just theft, but robbery of other countries or coups by external powers, at the bottom of which is oil,” he stated.

He clarified that this did not imply that he felt sympathy for Nicolas Maduro, the US-captured leader of Venezuela, or “other enemies of humanity, who get their common match sooner or later, whether by what we call positive forces or opportunistic forces.”

However, he emphasized that eventually the people will be able to make their own decisions. He advised people, particularly young people, to use democratized technology, communications, and other accessible tools to organize themselves.