“A Very Lazy Writer”- How Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka Described Himself In A 2005 Interview

By Presh Bae

1986 Winner of the Nobel Literature Professor Wole Soyinka is not known for false modesty, after all, he once famously declared himself to be a ‘serial monogamist’; but in a 2005 interview ,’Kongi’ made the claim that he’s not a compulsive writer as his readers might think.

Speaking to Simon Stanford in a piece republished on the Nobel Prize website, Soyinka referred to himself as a ‘lazy writer’.

‘That’s a very good question’, he said when asked if he found it easy to start writing. ‘I think I’m a very lazy writer and by that, I mean that I do not battle, I don’t struggle too hard against it. If I have difficulties in the writing, I just go and do other things. I don’t feel a compulsion to write. Of course, when I start writing then it becomes a compulsive activity, because I’ve begun something and I want to continue, want to finish it. The characters in my play are crowding my head, demanding to be let out or demanding to be allowed to complete what they’ve set out to do, so there is compulsion there and of course, I can carry an idea with me in my head, it just is there for months, years.’

He went on to say

‘I know there are other writers who sit down religiously every morning, they take their espresso, they put a clean sheet of paper there and they sit looking at that paper until they’ve finished or covered at least a number of those pages. No, I’m not like that. I have to be ready. It has to gestate it for quite a while and then it’s ready to burst forth.’

Nevertheless, Soyinka is one of the most respected writers in the world. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986- the first African to do so. He has over 100 books to his credit.

“I Became A Chartered Account At 18” – Nigerian Teenager Who Graduated From University At 17 Lists Her Achievements

By Presh Bae

A Nigerian teenager has gotten the attention of social media users after she took to Twitter to detail the things she’s achieved and the age at which she achieved them. At only 19, she is done with NYSC and is working already after becoming a chartered accountant at 18.

Read what she wrote below:

‘I Had A Lot Of F9s In My First WAEC Result’ – Says LASU’s Overall Best Graduate Adopted By Governor Ambode

By Presh Bae

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has adopted a son, Fuad Adetoro Ogunsanya, who survived two eyes surgeries to emerge as the best graduating student of the Lagos State University (LASU) in the 2017/2018 convocation ceremony.

Ogunsanya, who bagged 4.78 Cummulative Gross Point (CGPA) in Business Administration to emerge best graduating student had earlier in the valedictory speech narrated his rag-to-fame story.

He also shared with the gathering his battle with cataract that affected his two eyes and how he underwent two surgeries at the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital (UCH) to have the eye defects corrected.

Ogunsanya who inherited cataract from his father. said he failed his first WAEC and NECO examinations due to health challenges.

This greatly affected his performance in the final examination in secondary school.

He said the cataract, which initially affected one eye, later spread to the other and this affected his academic performance.

“My parents helped me to seek medical help but the first operation I had was not successful,” he said.

“When my first WAEC and NECO came out, it was dotted with F9s, so I left home and went to stay with my uncle and his wife.

“My uncle and his wife also helped me to seek medical treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan and the operation was successful.”

Adetoro said following the treatment, he went back to secondary school to rewrite his WAEC and JAMB, after three years of staying at home.

“I was able to make four As and three Bs and scored 215 in JAMB to gain admission to LASU,” Adetoro recalled.

According to him, he had applied for Accounting at LASU but opted for business administration as because Accounting was not accredited at the time.

Adetoro noted that his academic journey was rigorous and herculean, even as he lost his father in 2015.

“But my doggedness and tenacity yielded a good result,” he added.

Apparently moved by Ogunsanya narration, Ambode said he would adopt him as a son. He also said he would be giving the best graduating student a scholarship to study at any choice school of his/her preference, anywhere in the world.

“Yours was a moving story and I’m assuring you that you can chose and study at anywhere in the world. And because you are also the best graduating student, I will be giving you, N5 million,” the Governor said.