The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) has felicitated with the first African Nobel Laureate in Literature, Prof Wole Soyinka on his 91st birthday, on July 13 2025.
In addition to his immense contributions to the global intellectual landscape, PAWA is particularly appreciative of the formidable role played by Wole Soyinka in the association’s formative years.
History has it that the Union of Writers Of African Peoples (UWAP) which was formed by Soyinka while in exile in Ghana in 1975 together with other famous writers such as Tasmir Niane, Ayi Kwei Armah, Taban Lo Liyong. Kole Omotoso, Kofi Awoonor among others, was the precursor to PAWA, an organization which Soyinka has correctly described as ‘’one of the few resilient products of the tattered Pan-African vision’.
It is for this reason that PAWA considers Soyinka’s 91 years as not just a measure of time, but a testament to the inspiration he sowed in the association as well as in the hearts of everyone whose lives he has touched.
At 91, the literary savant still redefines beauty with a blend of grace, strength, and the kind of boldness that only comes from a life of scholarship and integrity.
It is also a thing of joy to know that despite his advanced age, Prof Soyinka is still in high demand on the global intellectual lecture circuit for his profound academic sagacity and immense international social relevance. For him, there is no slowing down, as each new day brings a horizon filled with endless possibilities.
