Soyinka's Wife Opens Up On Their Love Story
Prof. Wole Soyinka's wife, Folake Soyinka, said she has enjoyed love because of him.
In a recent interview, she talked about how she met him and the objections she faced from her parents and relatives.
Prof. Wole Soyinka with his wife Folake
Speaking with The News Magazine, Folake said she met the Nobel laureate when she was in the University of Ife. She knew he liked her, but she was worried because she was still young while he was so accomplished.
She said: "After I left Ife and went to do my NYSC in Kaduna state, Dr Biodunjeyifo came to visit me and said Kongi (Prof Wole Soyinka) had been looking for me. After the service year, Dr Yomi Ogunbiyi who was at the Guardian got me a job there and one day, Wole stopped by."
According to her, their courtship was interesting. She explained that her parents and most of her relatives objected to her relationship with the professor but her siblings and his were in support of it.
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"There were objections from everywhere. My parents worried that he was too famous and too accomplished. But within a few months after we were married, my parents had changed their mind and they loved him until they passed away. His close friends didn't have a problem with it but also everyone had an opinion. Then came the Nobel Prize in 1986 and that derailed everything for a couple of years. More than a quarter of a century later, those opinions didn't count, we are still trudging along. I have enjoyed love because of him," she said.
Describing Soyinka as a true dramatist and a great cook, she cited an instance in California when their boys were still little and he called them into the kitchen and said he wanted to have a family meeting.
"He lined all three according to their heights and asked me to sit. He said he has something to tell us and he was only going to say it once. He whipped some cooking utensils, moved them around noisily in the pot, threw some up, caught them performed a few tricks and then told us to listen. He said there were only three people in the world who can cook pasta like he does; one is dead, the other is in Silica, Italy and he is the third one and he is going to cook something that we have never eaten. He cooked pasta that day and we truly enjoyed it. True dramatist," Folake said.
Related: Goodluck Jonathan Congratulates Wole Soyinka On 80th Birthday
Soyinka, who recently clocked 80, has been married to Folake, since 1989 and they have three children.
Wole Soyinka is well known throughout Nigeria and the rest of the world as a brilliant playwright, poet and political activist. With more than 50 pieces of work. He is the first person in Africa to win the Nobel Prize in literature, and is respected for his willingness to speak out against repression and corruption.
Source: Legit.ng
