I am a fundamentalist of freedom^*

* This is the transcript of a welcome speech given at the opening ceremony of the 41st African Literature Conference on “African Futures and Beyond: Visions in Transition”, which took place on 3 June 2015.

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Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka, born Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, is a Nigerian playwright, poet, author, teacher, and political activist. He was born on 13 July 1934 in Nigeria and educated in England. Soyinka has published hundreds of works, including drama, novels, essays, and poetry. In 1986, he became the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is currently Professor Emeritus in Comparative Literature at Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, a Fellow of the Black Mountain Institute, University of Nevada and Hutchins Fellow at Harvard University. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bayreuth.