Olaokun
Soyinka is a medical doctor and a former Ogun State commissioner for
health. He is the first child of Wole Soyinka, the first Nobel Laureate
in Africa. Here, he talks about growing up with his dad, what easily
upsets him and more.
Excerpts:
Daily Trust: How would you describe your father?
Olaokun Soyinka: He is an intellectual. He is also principled, consistent and humorous, a global citizen and a frequent flyer.
DT: What kind of father would you say he was when you were a child and now?
Olaokun:
He is not a disciplinarian in the usual sense. He never spanked us, but
he didn’t need to. One stern look from him was usually enough to call
us to order.
I
think he becomes more interested in children once they develop
personalities and individuality. He is not someone who imposes his views
on you but of course on behavioural matters such as honesty, kindness,
consideration and diligence at work, he is very clear.
He
was incredibly busy when we were kids growing up, so he was away a lot.
It didn’t help with him being jailed during the civil war.
DT: What fun childhood memories will you like to share?
Olaokun:
Growing up as the son of a respected and popular academic meant that
you were always being spoiled by friends and acquaintances. I used to go
visit him in the office when he was at the department of Theatre Arts
in UI and then go down to the carpentry workshop where the carpenters
gave me tools and let me make things.
Dad
loved unusual vehicles and we used to love to ride round campus with him
in the Mini Moke, an open car with no doors or sides. He was not much
into sports when we were young but I do have a memory of playing
football with him once. I fancied myself as a goalkeeper and set up some
goalposts in the garden and got him to take some shots. I thought he
would be no good but he surprised me with quite a mean and accurate
right foot.
Perhaps
my favourite memory is going with him shopping for a massive earthen
ware pot. We were having a party and he was going to bake a whole goat.
The building of the fire, preparing of the animal, stuffing and
seasoning it, getting it into the pot, sealing it up and putting it on
to bake, took hours. That was only matched by the hours of waiting and
then the delicious finale. I have been a goatmeat addict since then.
DT: At what point in your life did you realise that your father is famous?
Olaokun:
That is an interesting question because initially you don’t realise it
even though you are seeing the effects. It is natural for a child to
admire his or her dad. I therefore took it for granted that other people
would too.
After
a while however, people would talk to me and tell me what they thought
of him. I still didn’t realise he was famous in that sense. What made me
realise it was the books. For a kid, once you begin to read, you get a
feeling that only special people wrote books and had their name on the
cover. When I realised he was a published writer and saw his name on
books then I think I began to understand.
DT: Has being Wole Soyinka’s son opened any doors for you?
Olaokun:
Most definitely, although it has closed some too. He is very much
against nepotism so he avoids trying to personally give his children an
unfair advantage over others, however there are many indirect
benefits.
When I
went to school in the UK, it was quite daunting. I was worried about
racism on top of being a new kid who had joined late in the 6th form.
However, my fellow students who had done O’ level English had studied
‘Telephone Conversation’. When they discovered my name and mentioned the
coincidence I proudly informed them that it was my father who wrote it.
I
became the kid who was pretending to be the poet’s son. It was
surprisingly difficult to prove who I was, but once I did I was granted
an immediate pass to the ‘in-crowd’.
The
biggest advantage of being a Soyinka, and one that I still appreciate
and enjoy to this day, is the fact that I can gain people’s trust more
easily. When your motives are honest it is the most frustrating thing
not to be trusted and indeed in today’s Nigeria it is dangerous to trust
people with money or to stick to an agreement, or to go the extra mile
to do a good job. I have found, however, that in some cases where I
really needed a person to have that faith, to take a risk on me, I often
heard the phrase, ‘the fruit does not fall far from the tree’ as they
decided to take the chance with me. I have really appreciated that.
We
also say that to get on in Nigeria, it is who you know. Another
advantage of the name has been meeting or getting to know people. My
father knows many people and is known by many more. Often I meet people
that I don’t know but who know me, or know of me, perhaps because they
knew me when I was young or they knew my father had a son. That helps
too.
I am
sure there are many instances in which I was not even aware that
something went well for me because someone somewhere wanted to favour
the name. I know some people reason that since he has done a lot for
Nigeria, helping one of his offspring is the least they can do.
The
converse may be true too. There are probably situations in which I was
quietly side-lined from something because it might have been thought to
be too risky to have a Soyinka knowing about certain things.
DT: If he had not become a writer, what other profession do you think he would have excelled at?
Olaokun:
I think he would like to have been a mathematician or something equally
mentally demanding, or perhaps an actor or a musician. Many people have
tried to persuade him to go into politics but I don’t think he would be
a good politician. They say in politics there are no permanent friends,
only permanent interests. For him however, there are permanent felons
and I don’t think he would be able to compromise and work with certain
people who may have had a chequered past who he finds himself in a party
with.
When I
was younger I often saw him as too serious and used to wonder what he
would be like in a job that required the opposite qualities. I wonder
what he would have been like as a stand-up comedian.
DT: What easily upsets him?
Olaokun: When one intrudes upon his peace. Also these days, asking for a selfie with him.
DT: Was there ever any pressure to follow in his footsteps?
Olaokun:
I am always interested in the stories of the children of famous people,
especially achievers, it’s an interesting dilemma. He never pressured
me. I believe a lot of pressure can come from within when the child is
close to greatness and sets it as a target to meet or exceed. It can be a
great motivation but it can also create frustration or even a complex.
So I made up my mind early to enjoy his success but pursue my aims in a
different field, and as long as I do my best then I should be content.
So I
have no ambition to win a Nobel Prize. I am no poet but will definitely
write a book or two, but that would be for many other reasons than being
his son. I have embraced his social activism side and will happily
pursue that because I believe that Nigeria needs activists.
DT: What do you usually talk about these days when together?
Olaokun:
Those who know Wole Soyinka know that you can never have a dull
conversation. We have wide ranging chats. Nigerian politics is clearly
high on the agenda, but we talk about family, friends, the arts,
international affairs, science and medicine, and swap humorous
anecdotes.
DT: What’s the singular, biggest lesson he has taught you?
Olaokun:
He teaches by example. I think the most important thing I have learned
from him is the value of not being materialistic. It leads to peace of
mind and helps one to focus on what I believe are other important values
such as humanitarianism which I also see in him all the time.
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