LEARNING(wikipedia)

Learning is the act of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curve. It does not happen all at once, but builds upon and is shaped by previous knowledge. To that end, learning may be viewed as a process, rather than a collection of factual and procedural knowledge. Learning produces changes in the organism and the changes produced are relatively permanent. Human learning may occur as part of education, personal development, schooling, or training. It may be goal-oriented and may be aided by motivation. The study of how learning occurs is part of educational psychology, neuropsychology, learning theory, and pedagogy. Learning may occur as a result of habituation or classical conditioning, seen in many animal species, or as a result of more complex activities such as play, seen only in relatively intelligent animals.  Learning may occur consciously or without conscious awareness. Learning that an aversive event can't be avoided nor escaped is called learned helplessness.  There is evidence for human behavioral learning prenatally, in which habituation has been observed as early as 32 weeks into gestation, indicating that the central nervous system is sufficiently developed and primed for learning and memory to occur very early on in development.

Types

Non-associative learning

Non-associative learning refers to "a relatively permanent change in the strength of response to a single stimulus due to repeated exposure to that stimulus. Changes due to such factors as sensory adaptation, fatigue, or injury do not qualify as non-associative learning.”

Non-associative learning can be divided into habituation and sensitization.

Habituation

Habituation is an example of non-associative learning in which the strength or probability of a response diminishes when the response is repeated. The response is typically a reflex or unconditioned response. Thus, habituation is to be distinguished from extinction, which is an associative process. In operant extinction, for example, a response declines because it is no longer followed by reward. An example of habituation can be seen in small song birds—if a stuffed owl (or similar predator) is put into the cage, the birds initially react to it as though it were a real predator. Soon the birds react less, showing habituation. If another stuffed owl is introduced (or the same one removed and re-introduced), the birds react to it again as though it were a predator, demonstrating that it is only a very specific stimulus that is habituated to (namely, one particular unmoving owl in one place). Habituation has been shown in essentially every species of animal, as well as the sensitive plant Mimosa pudica and the large protozoan Stentor coeruleus.

Sensitization

Sensitisation is an example of non-associative learning in which the progressive amplification of a response follows repeated administrations of a stimulus (Bell et al., 1995). An everyday example of this mechanism is the repeated tonic stimulation of peripheral nerves that will occur if a person rubs his arm continuously. After a while, this stimulation will create a warm sensation that will eventually turn painful. The pain is the result of the progressively amplified synaptic response of the peripheral nerves warning the person that the stimulation is harmful. Sensitisation is thought to underlie both adaptive as well as maladaptive learning processes in the organism.

Associative learning

Associative learning is the process by which an association between two stimuli or a behavior and a stimulus is learned. The two forms of associative learning are classical and operant conditioning. In the former a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly presented together with a reflex eliciting stimuli until eventually the neutral stimulus will elicit a response on its own. In operant conditioning a certain behavior is either reinforced or punished which results in an altered probability that the behavior will happen again.

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behavior. Operant conditioning is distinguished from Pavlovian conditioning in that operant conditioning uses reinforcement/punishment to alter an action-outcome association. In contrast Pavlovian conditioning involves strengthening of the stimulus-outcome association. Elemental theories of associative learning argue that concurrent stimuli tend to be perceived as separate units rather than 'holistically' (i.e. as a single unit)^. Behaviorism is a psychological movement that seeks to alter behavior by arranging the environment to elicit successful changes and to arrange consequences to maintain or diminish a behavior. Behaviorists study behaviors that can be measured and changed by the environment. However, they do not deny that there are thought processes that interact with those behaviors. Delayed discounting is the process of devaluing rewards based on the delay of time they are presented. This process is thought to be tied to impulsivity. Impulsivity is a core process for many behaviors (e.g., substance abuse, problematic gambling, OCD). Making decisions is an important part of everyday functioning. How we make those decisions is based on what we perceive to be the most valuable or worthwhile actions. This is determined by what we find to be the most reinforcing stimuli. So when teaching an individual a response, you need to find the most potent reinforcer for that person. This may be a larger reinforcer at a later time or a smaller immediate reinforcer.

Classical conditioning

The typical paradigm for classical conditioning involves repeatedly pairing an unconditioned stimulus (which unfailingly evokes a reflexive response) with another previously neutral stimulus (which does not normally evoke the response). Following conditioning, the response occurs both to the unconditioned stimulus and to the other, unrelated stimulus (now referred to as the "conditioned stimulus"). The response to the conditioned stimulus is termed a conditioned response. The classic example is Pavlov and his dogs. Meat powder naturally will make a dog salivate when it is put into a dog's mouth; salivating is a reflexive response to the meat powder. Meat powder is the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the salivation is the unconditioned response (UR). Then Pavlov rang a bell before presenting the meat powder. The first time Pavlov rang the bell, the neutral stimulus, the dogs did not salivate, but once he put the meat powder in their mouths they began to salivate. After numerous pairings of the bell and the food the dogs learned that the bell was a signal that the food was about to come and began to salivate when the bell was rung. Once this occurred, the bell became the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the salivation to the bell became the conditioned response (CR). Classical conditioning has been demonstrated in many species. For example, it is seen in honeybees, in the proboscis extension reflex paradigm.

Imprinting

Imprinting is a kind of learning occurring at a particular life stage that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior. In filial imprinting, young animals, particularly birds, form an association with another individual or in some cases, an object, to which they respond as they would to a parent. In 1935, the Austrian Zoologist Konrad Lorenz discovered that certain birds will follow and form a bond with a moving object shortly after hatching. Under normal conditions, the object is the mother. Thus imprinting has a survival value because it ensures that the young birds will not wander off away from their mother's protection. Under experimental conditions, however, the young hatchling will imprint on just about any moving object (even human beings), particularly if the object makes sounds.

Play

Play generally describes behavior which has no particular end in itself, but improves performance in similar situations in the future. This is seen in a wide variety of vertebrates besides humans, but is mostly limited to mammals and birds. Cats are known to play with a ball of string when young, which gives them experience with catching prey. Besides inanimate objects, animals may play with other members of their own species or other animals, such as orcas playing with seals they have caught. Play involves a significant cost to animals, such as increased vulnerability to predators and the risk of injury and possibly infection. It also consumes energy, so there must be significant benefits associated with play for it to have evolved. Play is generally seen in younger animals, suggesting a link with learning. However, it may also have other benefits not associated directly with learning, for example improving physical fitness. Play, as it pertains to humans as a form of learning is central to a child’s learning and development. Through play, children learn social skills such as sharing and collaboration. Children develop emotional skills such as learning to deal with the emotion of anger, through play activities. As a form of learning, play also facilitates the development of thinking and language skills in children.

There are five types of play:

1. sensorimotor play aka functional play, characterized by repetition of activity
2. role play occurs from 3 to 15 years of age
3. rule-based play where authoritative prescribed codes of conduct are primary
4. construction play involves experimentation and building
5. movement play aka physical play

These five types of play are often intersecting. All types of play generate thinking and problem-solving skills in children. Children learn to think creatively when they learn through play. Specific activities involved in each type of play change over time as humans progress through the lifespan. Play as a form of learning, can occur solitarily, or involve interacting with others.

Enculturation

Enculturation is the process by which a person learns the values and behaviors that are appropriate or necessary in the culture by which he or she is surrounded. Parents, other adults, and peers shape the individual's understanding of these values.  If successful, enculturation results in competence in the language, values and rituals of the culture.  This is different from acculturation, where a person adopts the values and societal rules of a culture different from their native one. Multiple examples of enculturation can be found cross-culturally. Collaborative practices in the Mazahua people have shown that participation in everyday interaction and later learning activities contributed to enculturation which is rooted in nonverbal social experience. As the children participated in everyday activities, they learned the cultural significance of these interactions. The collaborative and helpful behaviors exhibited by Mexican and Mexican-heritage children is a cultural practice known as being “acomedido”. Chillihuani girls in Peru described themselves as weaving constantly, following behavior shown by the other adults.

Episodic learning

Episodic learning is a change in behavior that occurs as a result of an event. For example, a fear of dogs that follows being bitten by a dog is episodic learning. Episodic learning is so named because events are recorded into episodic memory, which is one of the three forms of explicit learning and retrieval, along with perceptual memory and semantic memory.

Multimedia learning

Multimedia learning is where a person uses both auditory and visual stimuli to learn information (Mayer 2001). This type of learning relies on dual-coding theory (Paivio 1971).

E-learning and augmented learning

Electronic learning or e-learning is a general term used to refer to computer-enhanced learning. A specific and always more diffused e-learning is mobile learning (m-learning), which uses different mobile telecommunication equipment, such as cellular phones. When a learner interacts with the e-learning environment, it's called augmented learning. By adapting to the needs of individuals, the context-driven instruction can be dynamically tailored to the learner's natural environment. Augmented digital content may include text, images, video, audio (music and voice). By personalizing instruction, augmented learning has been shown to improve learning performance for a lifetime. Moore (1989) purported that three core types of interaction are necessary for quality, effective online learning:

• learner-learner (i.e. communication between and among peers with or without the teacher present),
• learner-instructor (i.e. student teacher communication), and
• learner-content (i.e. intellectually interacting with content that results in changes in learners’ understanding, perceptions, and cognitive structures).

In his theory of transactional distance, Moore (1993) contented that structure and interaction or dialogue bridge the gap in understanding and communication that is created by geographical distances (known as transactional distance).

Rote learning

Rote learning is memorizing information so that it can be recalled by the learner exactly the way it was read or heard. The major technique used for rote learning is learning by repetition, based on the idea that a learner can recall the material exactly (but not its meaning) if the information is repeatedly processed. Rote learning is used in diverse areas, from mathematics to music to religion. Although it has been criticized by some educators, rote learning is a necessary precursor to meaningful learning.

Meaningful learning

Meaningful learning is the concept that learned knowledge (e.g., a fact) is fully understood to the extent that it relates to other knowledge. To this end, meaningful learning contrasts with rote learning in which information is acquired without regard to understanding. Meaningful learning, on the other hand, implies there is a comprehensive knowledge of the context of the facts learned.

Informal learning

Informal learning occurs through the experience of day-to-day situations (for example, one would learn to look ahead while walking because of the danger inherent in not paying attention to where one is going). It is learning from life, during a meal at table with parents, play, exploring, etc.

Formal learning

Formal learning is learning that takes place within a teacher-student relationship, such as in a school system. The term formal learning has nothing to do with the formality of the learning, but rather the way it is directed and organized. In formal learning, the learning or training departments set out the goals and objectives of the learning.

Non formal learning

Non formal learning is organized learning outside the formal learning system. For example: learning by coming together with people with similar interests and exchanging viewpoints, in clubs or in (international) youth organizations, workshops.

Tangential learning

Tangential learning is the process by which people will self-educate if a topic is exposed to them in a context that they already enjoy. For example, after playing a music-based video game, some people may be motivated to learn how to play a real instrument, or after watching a TV show that references Faust and Lovecraft, some people may be inspired to read the original work. Self-education can be improved with systematization. According to experts in natural learning, self-oriented learning training has proven to be an effective tool for assisting independent learners with the natural phases of learning.

Incidental learning

This type of learning is not planned by either the instructor or the student but occurs as a byproduct of another activity, which may be an experience, observation, self-reflection, interaction, unique event or common routine task. Learning which happens in addition to or apart from the instructor‘s plans and the student‘s expectations. Incidental learning is an occurrence that is not generally accounted for using the traditional methods of instructional objectives and outcomes assessment. This type of learning occurs in part as a product of social interaction and active involvement in both online and onsite courses. Research implies that there are un-assessed aspects of onsite and online learning which challenge the equivalency of education between the two modalities. Both onsite and online learning have distinct advantages with traditional on-campus students experiencing higher degrees of incidental learning in three times as many areas as online students. Additional research is called for to investigate the implications of these findings both conceptually and pedagogically

Wole Soyinka

Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: Akinwándé Oluwo̩lé Babátúndé S̩óyinká, pronounced [wɔlé ʃójĩká]; born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian playwright and poet. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African to be honored in that category. Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family in Abeokuta. After study in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went on to write plays that were produced in both countries, in theatres and on radio. He took an active role in Nigeria's political history and its struggle for independence from Great Britain. In 1965, he seized the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service studio and broadcast a demand for the cancellation of the Western Nigeria Regional Elections. In 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War, he was arrested by the federal government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for two years.
Soyinka has been a strong critic of successive Nigerian governments, especially the country's many military dictators, as well as other political tyrannies, including the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. Much of his writing has been concerned with "the oppressive boot and the irrelevance of the colour of the foot that wears it". During the regime of General Sani Abacha (1993–98), Soyinka escaped from Nigeria via the "NADECO Route" on a motorcycle. Living abroad, mainly in the United States, he was a professor first at Cornell University and then at Emory University in Atlanta, where in 1996 he was appointed Robert W. Woodruff Professor of the Arts. Abacha proclaimed a death sentence against him "in absentia". With civilian rule restored to Nigeria in 1999, Soyinka returned to his nation. He has also taught at the universities of Oxford, Harvard and Yale.
From 1975 to 1999, he was a Professor of Comparative Literature at the Obafemi Awolowo University, then called the University of Ife. With civilian rule restored to Nigeria in 1999, he was made professor emeritus. Soyinka has been a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In the fall of 2007 he was appointed Professor in Residence at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, US.

Life and work

Early life and education

A descendant of a Remo family of Isara-Remo, Soyinka was born the second of six children, in the city of Abẹokuta, Ogun State in Nigeria, at that time a British dominion. His father, Samuel Ayodele Soyinka (whom he called S.A. or "Essay"), was an Anglican minister and the headmaster of St. Peters School in Abẹokuta. Soyinka's mother, Grace Eniola Soyinka (whom he dubbed the "Wild Christian"), owned a shop in the nearby market. She was a political activist within the women's movement in the local community. She was also Anglican. As much of the community followed indigenous Yorùbá religious tradition, Soyinka grew up in an atmosphere of religious syncretism, with influences from both cultures. While he was raised in a religious family; attending church services and singing in the choir from an early age; Soyinka himself became an atheist.His father's position enabled him to get electricity and radio at home. He writes extensively about his childhood in one of his memoirs, Aké: The Years of Childhood.

His mother was one of the most prominent members of the influential Ransome-Kuti family: she was the daughter of Rev. Canon J. J. Ransome-Kuti, and sister to Olusegun Azariah Ransome-Kuti, Oludotun Ransome-Kuti and sister in-law to Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. Among Soyinka's cousins were the musician Fela Kuti, the human rights activist Beko Ransome-Kuti, politician Olikoye Ransome-Kuti and activist Yemisi Ransome-Kuti.

In 1940, after attending St. Peters Primary School in Abeokuta, Soyinka went to Abẹokuta Grammar School, where he won several prizes for literary composition. In 1946 he was accepted by Government College in Ibadan, at that time one of Nigeria’s elite secondary schools.

After finishing his course at Government College in 1952, he began studies at University College in Ibadan (1952–54), affiliated with the University of London. He studied English literature, Greek, and Western history. In the year 1953–54, his second and last at University College, Ibadan, Soyinka began work on "Keffi's Birthday Treat", a short radio play for Nigerian Broadcasting Service that was broadcast in July 1954. While at university, Soyinka and six others founded the Pyrates Confraternity, an anti-corruption and justice-seeking student organisation, the first confraternity in Nigeria. Soyinka gives a detailed account of his early life in his memoir Aké: The Years of Childhood.

Later in 1954, Soyinka relocated to England, where he continued his studies in English literature, under the supervision of his mentor Wilson Knight at the University of Leeds (1954–57). He met numerous young, gifted British writers. Before defending his B.A., Soyinka began publishing and worked as an editor for the satirical magazine The Eagle. He wrote a column on academic life, often criticising his university peers.

Early career

After graduating, he remained in Leeds with the intention of earning an M.A. Soyinka intended to write new work combining European theatrical traditions with those of his Yorùbá cultural heritage. His first major play, The Swamp Dwellers (1958), was followed a year later by The Lion and the Jewel, a comedy that attracted interest from several members of London's Royal Court Theatre. Encouraged, Soyinka moved to London, where he worked as a play reader for the Royal Court Theatre. During the same period, both of his plays were performed in Ibadan. They dealt with the uneasy relationship between progress and tradition in Nigeria.

In 1957 his play The Invention was the first of his works to be produced at the Royal Court Theatre. At that time his only published works were poems such as "The Immigrant" and "My Next Door Neighbour", which were published in the Nigerian magazine Black Orpheus. This was founded in 1957 by the German scholar Ulli Beier, who had been teaching at the University of Ibadan since 1950.

Soyinka received a Rockefeller Research Fellowship from University College in Ibadan, his alma mater, for research on African theatre, and he returned to Nigeria. He produced his new satire, The Trials of Brother Jero. His work A Dance of The Forest (1960), a biting criticism of Nigeria's political elites, won a contest that year as the official play for Nigerian Independence Day. On 1 October 1960, it premiered in Lagos as Nigeria celebrated its sovereignty. The play satirizes the fledgling nation by showing that the present is no more a golden age than was the past. Also in 1960, Soyinka established the "Nineteen-Sixty Masks", an amateur acting ensemble to which he devoted considerable time over the next few years.

Soyinka wrote the first full-length play produced on Nigerian television. Entitled My Father’s Burden and directed by Segun Olusola, the play was featured on the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) on 6 August 1960. Soyinka published works satirising the "Emergency" in the Western Region of Nigeria, as his Yorùbá homeland was increasingly occupied and controlled by the federal government. The political tensions arising from recent post-colonial independence eventually led to a military coup and civil war (1967–70).

With the Rockefeller grant, Soyinka bought a Land Rover, and he began travelling throughout the country as a researcher with the Department of English Language of the University College in Ibadan. In an essay of the time, he criticised Leopold Senghor's Négritude movement as a nostalgic and indiscriminate glorification of the black African past that ignores the potential benefits of modernisation. "A tiger does not shout its tigritude," he declared, "it acts." In Death and the King Horsemen he states: "The elephant trails no tethering-rope; that king is not yet crowned who will peg an elephant."

In December 1962, Soyinka's essay "Towards a True Theater" was published. He began teaching with the Department of English Language at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ifẹ. He discussed current affairs with "négrophiles," and on several occasions openly condemned government censorship. At the end of 1963, his first feature-length movie, Culture in Transition, was released. In April 1964 The Interpreters, "a complex but also vividly documentary novel",was published in London.

That December, together with scientists and men of theatre, Soyinka founded the Drama Association of Nigeria. In 1964 he also resigned his university post, as a protest against imposed pro-government behaviour by authorities. A few months later, he was arrested for the first time, accused of underlying tapes during reproduction of recorded speech of the winner of Nigerian elections. He was released after a few months of confinement, as a result of protests by the international community of writers. This same year he wrote two more dramatic pieces: Before the Blackout and the comedy Kongi’s Harvest. He also wrote The Detainee, a radio play for the BBC in London. His play The Road premiered in London at the Commonwealth Arts Festiva opening on 14 September 1965 at the Theatre Royal.At the end of the year, he was promoted to headmaster and senior lecturer in the Department of English Language at University of Lagos.

Soyinka's political speeches at that time criticised the cult of personality and government corruption in African dictatorships. In April 1966 his play Kongi’s Harvest was produced in revival at the World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal. The Road was awarded the Grand Prix. In June 1965, he produced his play The Lion and The Jewel for Hampstead Theatre Club in London.

Civil war and imprisonment

After becoming chief of the Cathedral of Drama at the University of Ibadan, Soyinka became more politically active. Following the military coup of January 1966, he secretly and unofficially met with the military governor Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in the Southeastern town of Enugu (August 1967), to try to avert civil war. As a result, he had to go into hiding.

He was imprisoned for 22 months as civil war ensued between the federal government and the Biafrans. Though refused materials such as books, pens, and paper, he still wrote a significant body of poems and notes criticising the Nigerian government.

Despite his imprisonment, in September 1967, his play The Lion and The Jewel was produced in Accra. In November The Trials of Brother Jero and The Strong Breed were produced in the Greenwich Mews Theatre in New York. He also published a collection of his poetry, Idanre and Other Poems. It was inspired by Soyinka’s visit to the sanctuary of the Yorùbá deity Ogun, whom he regards as his "companion" deity, kindred spirit, and protector.

In 1968, the Negro Ensemble Company in New York produced Kongi’s Harvest. While still imprisoned, Soyinka translated from Yoruba a fantastical novel by his compatriot D. O. Fagunwa, entitled The Forest of a Thousand Demons: A Hunter's Saga.

Release and literary production

In October 1969, when the civil war came to an end, amnesty was proclaimed, and Soyinka and other political prisoners were freed. For the first few months after his release, Soyinka stayed at a friend’s farm in southern France, where he sought solitude. He wrote The Bacchae of Euripides (1969), a reworking of the Pentheus myth. He soon published in London a book of poetry, Poems from Prison. At the end of the year, he returned to his office as Headmaster of Cathedral of Drama in Ibadan, and cooperated in the founding of the literary periodical Black Orpheus (likely named after the 1959 film directed by Marcel Camus and set in the favela of Rio de Janeiro).

In 1970 he produced the play Kongi’s Harvest, while simultaneously adapting it as a film of the same title. In June 1970, he finished another play, called Madman and Specialists. Together with the group of 15 actors of Ibadan University Theatre Art Company, he went on a trip to the United States, to the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre Center in Waterford, Connecticut, where his latest play premiered. It gave them all experience with theatrical production in another English-speaking country.

In 1971, his poetry collection A Shuttle in the Crypt was published. Madmen and Specialists was produced in Ibadan that year. Soyinka travelled to Paris to take the lead role as Patrice Lumumba, the murdered first Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo, in the production of his Murderous Angels. His powerful autobiographical work The Man Died (1971), a collection of notes from prison, was also published.

In April 1971, concerned about the political situation in Nigeria, Soyinka resigned from his duties at the University in Ibadan, and began years of voluntary exile. In July in Paris, excerpts from his well-known play The Dance of The Forests were performed.

In 1972, he was awarded an Honoris Causa doctorate by the University of Leeds. Soon thereafter, his novel Season of Anomy (1972) and his Collected Plays (1972) were both published by Oxford University Press. In 1973 the National Theatre, London, commissioned and premiered the play The Bacchae of Euripides. In 1973 his plays Camwood on the Leaves and Jero's Metamorphosis were first published. From 1973 to 1975, Soyinka spent time on scientific studies.He spent a year as a visiting fellow at Churchill College Cambridge University 1973-74 and wrote Death and the King's Horseman, which had its first reading at Churchill College (which Dapo Ladimeji and Skip Gates attended), and gave a series of lectures at a number of European universities.

In 1974 his Collected Plays, Volume II was issued by Oxford University Press. In 1975 Soyinka was promoted to the position of editor for Transition, a magazine based in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, where he moved for some time. He used his columns in Transition to criticise the "negrophiles" (for instance, his article "Neo-Tarzanism: The Poetics of Pseudo-Transition") and military regimes. He protested against the military junta of Idi Amin in Uganda. After the political turnover in Nigeria and the subversion of Gowon's military regime in 1975, Soyinka returned to his homeland and resumed his position at the Cathedral of Comparative Literature at the University of Ife.

In 1976 he published his poetry collection Ogun Abibiman, as well as a collection of essays entitled Myth, Literature and the African World. In these, Soyinka explores the genesis of mysticism in African theatre and, using examples from both European and African literature, compares and contrasts the cultures. He delivered a series of guest lectures at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana in Legon. In October, the French version of The Dance of The Forests was performed in Dakar, while in Ife, his Death and The King’s Horseman premiered.

In 1977 Opera Wọnyọsi, his adaptation of Bertold Brecht's The Threepenny Opera, was staged in Ibadan. In 1979 he both directed and acted in Jon Blair and Norman Fenton's drama The Biko Inquest, a work based on the life of Steve Biko, a South African student and human rights activist who was beaten to death by apartheid police forces. In 1981 Soyinka published his autobiographical work Aké: The Years of Childhood, which won a 1983 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.

Soyinka founded another theatrical group called the Guerrilla Unit. Its goal was to work with local communities in analyzing their problems and to express some of their grievances in dramatic sketches. In 1983 his play Requiem for a Futurologist had its first performance at the University of Ife. In July, one of Soyinka's musical projects, the Unlimited Liability Company, issued a long-playing record entitled I Love My Country, on which several prominent Nigerian musicians played songs composed by Soyinka. In 1984, he directed the film Blues for a Prodigal; his new play A Play of Giants was produced the same year.

During the years 1975–84, Soyinka was also more politically active. At the University of Ife, his administrative duties included the security of public roads. He criticized the corruption in the government of the democratically elected President Shehu Shagari. When he was replaced by the general Muhammadu Buhari, Soyinka was often at odds with the military. In 1984, a Nigerian court banned his 1971 book The Man Died. In 1985, his play Requiem for a Futurologist was published in London by André Deutsch.

Since 1986

Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, becoming the first African laureate. He was described as one "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence". Reed Way Dasenbrock writes that the award of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Soyinka is "likely to prove quite controversial and thoroughly deserved". He also notes that "it is the first Nobel Prize awarded to an African writer or to any writer from the 'new literatures' in English that have emerged in the former colonies of the British Empire." His Nobel acceptance speech, "This Past Must Address Its Present", was devoted to South African freedom-fighter Nelson Mandela. Soyinka's speech was an outspoken criticism of apartheid and the politics of racial segregation imposed on the majority by the Nationalist South African government. In 1986, he received the Agip Prize for Literature.

In 1988, his collection of poems Mandela's Earth, and Other Poems was published, while in Nigeria another collection of essays entitled Art, Dialogue and Outrage: Essays on Literature and Culture appeared. In the same year, Soyinka accepted the position of Professor of African Studies and Theatre at Cornell University. In 1990, the second portion of his memoir, Isara: A Voyage Around Essay, appeared. In July 1991 the BBC African Service transmitted his radio play A Scourge of Hyacinths, and the next year (1992) in Sienna (Italy), his play From Zia with Love had its premiere. Both works are very bitter political parodies, based on events that took place in Nigeria in the 1980s. In 1993 Soyinka was awarded an honorary doctorate from Harvard University. The next year another part of his autobiography appeared: Ibadan: The Penkelemes Years (A Memoir: 1946–1965). The following year his play The Beatification of Area Boy was published. In October 1994, he was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Promotion of African culture, human rights, freedom of expression, media and communication.

In November 1994, Soyinka fled from Nigeria through the border with Benin and then to the United States. In 1996 his book The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis was first published. In 1997 he was charged with treason by the government of General Sani Abacha. The International Parliament of Writers (IPW) was established in 1993 to provide support for writers victimized by persecution. Soyinka became the organization's second president from 1997 to 2000. In 1999 a new volume of poems by Soyinka, entitled Outsiders, was released. That same year, a BBC-commissioned play called "Document of Identity" aired on BBC Radio 3, telling the lightly-fictionalized story of the problems his daughter's family encountered during a stopover in Britain when they fled Nigeria for the US in 1997; her baby was born prematurely in London and became a stateless person.

His play King Baabu premiered in Lagos in 2001, a political satire on the theme of African dictatorship. In 2002 a collection of his poems, Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known, was published by Methuen. In April 2006, his memoir You Must Set Forth at Dawn was published by Random House. In 2006 he cancelled his keynote speech for the annual S.E.A. Write Awards Ceremony in Bangkok to protest the Thai military's successful coup against the government.

In April 2007 Soyinka called for the cancellation of the Nigerian presidential elections held two weeks earlier, beset by widespread fraud and violence. In the wake of the Christmas Day (2009) bombing attempt on a flight to the US by a Nigerian student who had become radicalised in Britain, Soyinka questioned the United Kingdom's social logic that allows every religion to openly proselytise their faith, asserting that it is being abused by religious fundamentalists thereby turning England into a cesspit for the breeding of extremism. He supported the freedom of worship but warned against the consequence of the illogic of allowing religions to preach apocalyptic violence.

In August 2014, Soyinka delivered a recorded of his speech "From Chibok with Love" to the World Humanist Congress in Oxford, hosted by the International Humanist and Ethical Union and the British Humanist Association. The Congress theme was Freedom of thought and expression: Forging a 21st Century Englightenment. He was awarded the 2014 International Humanist Award.

Personal life

Soyinka has been married thrice and divorced twice. He has children from his three marriages. His first marriage was in 1958 to the late British writer, Barbara Dixon, whom he met at the University of Leeds in the 1950s. Barbara was the mother of his first son, Olaokun. His second marriage was in 1963 to Nigerian librarian Olaide Idowu,with whom he had three daughters, Moremi, Iyetade (deceased), Peyibomi, and a second son, Ilemakin. Soyinka married Folake Doherty in 1989.

In 2014, he revealed his battle with prostate cancer.

Muhammed Sule: 'I wrote The Undesirable Element in Secondary School' (Interview)

Culled from http://everythinliterature.blogspot.com.ng/2007/05/i-wrote-undesirable-element-in.html

Muhammed Sule, author of The Undesirable Element, died in his sleep, Monday morning, 12th, Feb., 2007. Not many people, even within the literary circle, knew him as a person. I, therefore, present here an interview I had with him in my 'Nigerian Writers Talking' series, in 2004. It contains facts about him, his works and his experience during his 17-month detention by the Abacha regime.

NNW: Though your name is well known as a writer and the author of the popular novel, The Undesirable Element, not many people know you as a person. So let’s begin by knowing the man Muhammed Sule.
Muhammed Sule: I’m from Kano, I was born in Kano in 1957 and was brought up there. The schools I attended include Kofar Nasarawa Primary School and Bayero University, Kano. Then I went to U.K to study Motion Picture Production and Script Writing and Directing. I worked with the Kano State Television Service (later taken over by the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA) and then Kano State Ministry of Information. I retired in 1988 to set up my own business; Incorporated Links Films Limited. Presently I live in Kaduna.

How did you get into writing?
I was motivated by my love to communicate with people. I would have loved to have been a teacher. So as that opportunity did not avail itself to me, I ended up writing. And I think that has in some ways satisfied my zeal to communicate and contribute to the development of the society at large.

When did this motivation come to you, was it when you were a student?
Yes, I was a student when I began to write. I wrote The Undesirable Element in secondary school; Government College, Kano. I started it in Form One. And by the time I got to Form Four I had finished it and sent it to Macmillan for publication. It eventually got published after I had left secondary school. I was actually in London when it got published in 1977.

At what point did you write the second novel, The Delinquent?
I wrote it soon after I had finished writing The Undesirable Element. I think I wrote about seven chapters before I graduated from Government College. I completed it later on and gave it to Macmillan even when I was yet to know the fate of The Undesirable Element, whether it would be published or not.

How did you go about publishing the books?
I didn’t know how to go about it at that time. But fortunately, I took the right course without anyone telling me. You know, when you work on a book, eventually you get bored with it because you probably have read it over a thousand times. When I reached that level I felt I had done enough and wanted to get rid of it. So I sent the manuscript to the Northern Nigeria Publishing Company (NNPC) in Zaria. At that time Macmillan was running the NNPC as co-owners. The management was provided by the Macmillan. The NNPC then had no interest in publishing English works. So the MD, Mr. Taylor, a Briton, took the manuscript from me and gave it to his wife, who was teaching at the Government Girls Secondary School, Zaria, to go through. And when she had gone through she decided that since it was the first book in English they had received and since there were no such writings from the North, they would take it to London. Luckily, she took it to Macmillan office in London at the time when it was planning to start the Pacesetter Series. They decided to include it in the series.

Let’s look at The Undesirable Element closely. What messages is it meant to pass across?
One of the messages I intended to pass across is the importance of education. I’ve since realised that education is a key factor in every person’s life, so in all my writings you will find that in one way or the other the importance of education is the central theme. The Undesirable Element in particular is a reflection of what obtained in the Northern Nigeria of that period. The situation was that older men who were well-to-do were marrying young girls. And some of these girls were in school. They had to be brought out of school to marry. That was the social trend that time. It was money. Marriage were based on "I’m rich, I can marry young girls.’’ Once you were rich you could do anything in the North at that time. It was so

Is the trend increasing now or decreasing?

Socially the North is a bigger trouble now than that time. Now they are not marrying the girls, they are abusing them. The situation is compounded by the fact that the quality of education has collapsed. So even though many girls now go to higher institutions, they are not intellectually and morally sound enough to maintain self-discipline. And so they are more liable to the evil machinations of the rich men these days.

The Delinquent is centred more on how the children of the rich easily get spoilt by the riches. How would you compare the level of such behaviour in those days with these days?
It has reduced drastically because these days children from rich families no longer think they have automatic ticket in life. They no longer think they don’t have to go to school, their parents’ money would see them through life. That has changed over the years as a result of many instances where children from poor background become rich and influential through education. So it is only in isolated cases that such mentality still exists.

Apart from these two books, what other books have you published?
I have published two other books: The Infamous Act and The Devil’s Seat. And I’m writing another one which will soon be published by Macmillan. The working title is The Libertine.

Is the theme of this one different from your usual theme of corruption?

No, it cannot be different because the situation in the North is still very alarming. As long as the situation persists in the way it is, a committed writer will continue to pay attention to the social dynamics. We have numerous problems in the area of education, health and so on. And there is poverty everywhere due to the misuse of wealth. I have never seen a place where the rich of that area misuse their wealth like the North. It is a tragedy. You can’t see concrete investments that are capable of relieving the social tension as well as translating into a huge economic benefit to both the owner of the business and those who lean on the business in terms of working or trading in the product of that business. So the North is a human failure in terms of the wealthy Northerners utilising their wealth for the economic sustainability of the area.

Are these problems the theme of The Libertine?
Not exactly. It is still the same problem of social education. You can view The Libertine as an indirect sequel to The Undesirable Element, it is along the same line. But here we are not dealing with a secondary school girl. We are talking about a young lady in the university who has to drop out due to poverty. But not simply poverty, she also got herself involved in so many other things. Yes, she is also a delinquent, but in her own case she came from a poor family. And because the society is uncaring so many problems that would have been avoided happened. Nobody cares. And that is the most unfortunate thing about our society.

The criticism against most African writers is that they merely expose the problems rather than propound the right solutions to them. Is this new work in the same old expository style?
Well, whether a writer propounds solutions or not is not the issue. The most important thing is to expose the problem. When you expose a problem and people appreciate the fact that they have the problem, you have achieved about fifty per cent towards getting the solution. People must be made aware of the problem before they can solve it. So I think anyone who exposes the problem has done a good thing. The process of bringing about a solution is vast, everybody will play a part in bringing about the solution. In The Libertine I’m very critical of our society’s lack of respect for merit, where very hard working people could not make it anywhere because of certain reasons. Charlatans, idiots, praise-singers and bootlickers can succeed to no limit because they know the people in the power circle. And the real people could be dammed because they don’t have any link-up to who is who. It is very unfortunate. A situation where the best could not take his or her right place is a terrible situation and we will continue to be in the loo. But the moment we are able to find our way, whereby people will be given their due, so many of the problems will adjust themselves.

Given our reading culture in this country, where those who are creating these problems have little or no time to read, how could the writers really change the ills.
The people who are causing the ills are in the minority while those who are reading are in the majority. So if you are able to reach the majority, if you are able to reach about a million people, they may have different perspectives about the book, but your preaching will get through. And then we are moving forward. Of course, I’m also aware of the poor reaching culture. When I was in primary school, we had a library where we could read. It was the same in secondary school. And we read a lot. But these days, even some university graduates hardly read. So it is a fundamental problem. But I don’t believe the problem cannot be solve if all those concerned wake up to their responsibilities.

To be able to write novels while you were in secondary school, you must have read hard and wide.
Of course, we used to read a lot those days. We were dedicated to our studies and were always thinking of what we wanted to be in life. From the start I have always wanted to be a writer. And I was able to commit myself, and God in His mercy has made me realize my dream. You see, it is important to have a plan. As at the time you put down the plan there maybe no prospect of achieving your goal. But if you diligently and patiently dedicate yourself to it, someday you will be near it, one day you will be in it and one day you will go higher above it. But young people of these days don’t want to strive. They just want the money. But I don’t know how you can get the money without working for it. Some people say there is no such thing as success in life because you have to work every minute of everything you want, so that by the time you achieve it, it is not success, it is what you are due for. Unfortunately our own society don’t encourage that. But still that is not enough reason not to strive. It is just like when you are on a journey and you need a free ride. You don’t stand by the roadside, hoping that one of the motorists would just stop and give you a lift. You have to keep on moving, displaying a placard announcing your destination. Eventually someone will recognize your effort and stop to offer you a helping hand. That is how the world operates.

Did you read literature in school?
Yes, I did. But that is not enough motivation for one to become a writer. You see, writing is very difficult, you need to have very strong motivating factors to be able to write. It is so demanding that with simple commitment you can never write, the commitment must be very overwhelming, and there must be interest, pleasure and other factors. The Libertine, for instance, I started writing it since 1993. I planned it for over one and half years, then I went to Jos to write it, and I was able to write it within a month. I should have published it by now but my editor wasn’t comfortable with some aspects so I had to change it.

What was wrong with the aspect; was it against the government?

It was not against the government. It was against social order, according to my editor. And the publisher agreed on that. And he decided to send me just the chapter involved. Unfortunately, the chapter got lost in transit. For me to replace that chapter, it took me seven years.

Seven years?
Yes. Because I have other things to do, and when I decided to write it, I wrote two chapters instead of one. Now I have finished it. The reason why it is yet to be published is because I want a particular person in U.K. to go through the new changes and she hasn’t got the chance yet.

So how soon are we expecting it?

I hope to go to U.K. soon and get it published.

Were your subsequent novels published in the same way The Undesirable Element and The Delinquent were published or they were self-published as it is the vogue these days?
It is the same way; not self-published. I can understand those who do self-publishing. If you don’t have the opportunity of being published in the traditional way, why not. But if you have a publisher you are likely to reach out to a wider audience than when you do self-publishing.

How have your efforts in writing been rewarded?

The Undesirable Element and The Delinquent were among the best-selling novels in the Pacesetter series, and they still are today abroad where the series are still being sold. And I do receive my royalties regularly from the sales. So, definitely I have benefited from the books. Though the benefit is not as much as I used to get before due to some problems. One of the problems is that of the inability of Macmillan to bring the books here due to the problem between the headquarters in U.K. and the Nigerian office. Secondly, the economy has restricted the importation of books; the cost of the books have gone so high due to high foreign exchange. So, even if they are imported here, readers can hardly afford them. And thirdly, piracy has wrecked havoc on the book industry so much that the benefits that should have gone to the writer have been diverted into the pockets of the pirates.

Popularity is one of your major benefits. But you would have been more popular especially in the academic circle if you had got your works into the school syllabus. Why were they not read in schools?
So many schools had The Undesirable Element and The Delinquent on their reading list. Sometime ago Ambassador Kabiru Rabiu who was a commissioner in Kano State during the Third Republic tried to see that my books, as a Kano indigene, is put in the syllabus, at least, in Kano State. Well, I didn’t know what went wrong but somehow that initiative fizzled out when he left the Ministry of Education. But all the same the books have found their levels as best-sellers. So many people I meet tell me they have read the books.

I read them while I was in secondary school.
We thank God for that.

Some writers talk a lot. But it seems you let your works speak for you. Is that a deliberate policy?
Well, by nature, I’m a very private man. And I feel if one has taken the trouble to write, he should let the writing do the talking and create the desired impact that would change the society for the better.

Are you saying that though you are a radical, a moral crusader, you are not an activist?
Well, I don’t know what you mean by an activist [laughter]. But I am a man who simply wants to live in a very good surrounding, and who likes to contribute to his society the little he can. I think it is a sacred duty. If you are in a society where there is a lot to be done you have to contribute the little you can. At least that will console you. But if you are always getting angry at all sorts of things happening and you are not doing anything to advance any course toward the realisation of the solution, then you are part of the problem. And that is what most of the activists in this country are - part of the problem. They are just noise makers. But sometimes it doesn’t require noise, it requires positive actions. If we were making more positive actions than noise we would have changed the society by now.

Does this mean your encounter with the Abacha regime some time ago has nothing to do with activism?
Well, it was in the line of business. Since my leaving the civil service I have been running the business of television documentary. So, what happened was that I was arrested while I was doing a documentary on the political and socio-economic aspect of Nigeria. I was interviewing the late General Musa Shehu Yar’adua when I, together with five others, was arrested.

When did this actually happen?
It happened on the 8th of February, 1995. You see, the documentary is not only on the politics of that time. I had shot materials from way back; the Shagari period to June 12. Abacha regime was not the only government I was trying to portray. And I was fair. I allowed everybody a say. Whatever is said against a personality I would go to that person for his own side of the story. The producers who sponsored the project made it clear that they wanted something very objective, and I tried as much as possible to do just that.

Who are these sponsors?
My friends in the UK. I had a sponsorship and support from an organisation in the UK. A friend of mine called Neil, who is a media expert and has a radio station there is the man behind it. He insisted it has to be objective. And like I said, that is what I tried to do. So my arrest was a surprise to me. However, I won’t go into details about it.

But let’s…
No. I’m not going into much details because I have been making my own notes. So at a later date, God willing, I will be able to write a substantial account of what happened. But all the same I must say I was shocked by what I saw that day and the days after. Violence and brutality was brought into a matter which could have been simply sorted out. We had to spend 17 months in detention.

What were the allegations leveled against you?
There were so many allegations, some of them very wild. So you don’t know which one to believe. The main thing is that they thought I was being sponsored by Yar’Adua to portray the regime in a bad light abroad. But it was share stupidity, for Yar’adua didn’t even know when the production started. His only relevance to the documentary was that he happened to be a political actor at that time.

Seventeen months in detention is definitely a hell of time. Does it mean all these while none of your friends came to rescue you?
Which friend can rescue me from Major Hamza Al-Mustapha? (the Chief Security Officer to Abacha). Mustapha was responsible for it and he was like a tin-god; nobody could talk to him about anything of that nature.

Who were those who stood by you in your days in detention?
So many people and organisations readily come to mind. Military police cell guard Corporal Oneya now Staff Sergeant who received me at Yakubu Gowon Brigade of Guard’s camp, my detention centre with human courtesy. And who a week later outrightly refused to take over duty because I was not given access to medical treatment for my uncountable open bleeding wounds by no other person than the officer in charge of the Guardroom, Military Police Major Adamu Argungu, who has since been retired for his excesses during the alleged Diya coup. I was destined to survive the rigour of those unfortunate days when, by some twist I met police S.P. Dr. Charles Ugbomah also detained for something to do with late Chief M.K.O. Abiola. Dr. Charles saw the state of my bleeding wounds and warned me that I need Anti-tetanus injection. He agreed to write prescription for me but refused to inject me. I got injected with ATS a week later through the intervention of Corporal Oneya. Only then did Major Adam came in person to escort me to the next door clinic for the treatment. I cannot help but compare the incivility of the great Professor of Law, Awalu Yadudu, who was then Legal Adviser to late Gen. Abacha. Yadudu was brought to the ceremonial gate of the Aso Villa where I was kept after my baptism with brutal torture on the expressed order of the CSO Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, CSP Abba Suleiman, who I did not recognize then brought me before Prof. Yadudu, the human right gladiator of that regime. My disappointment to date was that the Professor of Law could not even ask me why I was there? My pleasure of seeing him in my very woeful condition was shortlived as he looked at me with hatred and disgust, saying, "shine wannan?" meaning "is he the one?" in Hausa. Abba Suleiman confirmed in affirmative. As we stood there his eyes were smouldering as though he would spit on my face or I believe if he had a dagger in his hand, he would have mercilessly stabbed me to death, going by his expression. Only for me to meet Corporal Oneya, the following day and see the difference between a decent man of the other rank, not an officer, yet behaving unsavagely. That episode was an eye opener to me in my behaviour towards all people ever after. I must thank people like General Magashi; he really showed interest in helping us out. But, of course, the power-that-be did not allow him even though he was senior to those people.
Also Mandy Ganner in collaboration with Babara traba of SWISS-German Ren Centre that arranged for me to leave through the NADECO route for exile. And also Civil Liberties Organisation contacted Toucher International Switztland who provided tickets for me and my family to leave but I did not.
Olu Akerelle, late Chief Abiola’s Personal Assistant joined us at Yakubu Gowon camp detention centre and we remained together for months. He was later to shoulder so much burden for me and many others. My professional associate in the UK Mr. Neil Kenlock was a formidable support. So was my publishers, Macmillan, who approved so much money as advance for me at that time, apart from their moral support. Mandy Ganner of international Pen London was a source of enormous inspiration and support to my family in my absence. Most of the awards I received came through the activities of Mandy Ganner. So was Mr. Innocent Awachukwu of Centre for Law Enforcement, Mr Richard Akinola, Tunde Rahaman of Centre for Free Speech, which I am in its Advisory Board, Clement Nwankwo of Constitutional Right Project, Barrister Okoye of Human Rights Law, Umaru Apai, Kabir Yusuf Ali and a host of other great humanitarian minds that I will ever remain grateful and thankful to. And finally I must mention a man of tremendous courage and guts, Umar Faruk Musa, former B.B.C Abuja correspondent now with the Bureau Chief of VOA Hausa Service, as the man who brought me out of the doldrums to the real world. This is a man I cannot find words to ever thank.

In general, who were those responsible for your succeess in life?
First of all, I am thankful to Allah for being alive and in good health and the many more of His endowment to me as a person and the humanity. I am also indebted to my parents for all their good work towards making me a decent person; their sacrifice, their endurance at difficult times and their patience had all rubbed on my person. We were so close that I will certainly never free myself from the nostalgia of missing them until my own death. May Allah grant them eternal rest from an appreciating son. My teachers at all the levels of my schooling are also worthy of mentioning.
Career wise, I recall the wonderful contribution of Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahimn, former NTA Director-General. He is the traditional ruler of his area now. He employed me as the then General Manager of Kano State Television Service and he was instrumental to my winning Kano State scholarship to study abroad. There was also Alhaji Mahmoud Yazid, my Director of Information in my days at the Kano State Film Unit and Mr Edet Uno, the then state director of Information who gave my career a real push. It was a rare privilege to work with Alhaji Ibrahim Ismail, a post Second Republic Information Commissioner. I have learnt a great deal through the confidence he had on me as we worked very closely at that time and even afterwards.
In terms succeess as a writer, my family has most of the credit for their support and understanding, especially my wife and children who were deprived of my company due to my chosen passion to write. Over the years I have also built good relationships with a number of good people in the Macmillan outfit. My friend and co-writer, former executive of Macmillan Nigeria, Mr Agbo Areo. Ms. Lizmet, the first Macmillan official I met in 1976 to discuss my royalty contract, Ms. Ann Price who edited The Undesirable Element and The Delinquent. Ann is still a good friend who was so kind to come to London to greet me after my ordeal with the Abacha regime. The MD/CEO of Macmillam, Mr Christ Harrison, a kind man and a long term supporter of relationship with his company, and indeed Mr. John Weston who took so much trouble to locate me in my most difficult days. Aman, who makes it a point to meet with me whenever I was out there in the UK or when he comes round here. And he does that often. I remain grateful to all of them.

How would you describe the literary scene especially in the north?
I think there is progress. All over the country new writers are coming up and many of them are doing well. There are a lot of potentials. There are so many writers in the North also. But many of them will never get published in the system we operate now. Things can only get better when the system is changed and the big publishing companies come back to play the roles they used to play. But for now, writing is only an aspiration to so many young people. It is unfortunate. The most terrible tragedy of writing in the North is that there are so many educated people; professors, doctors etc who would have at least by now flooded our schools with their works, but because of lack of organisation what we read in the North come from outside. If the system were working, local governments could decide to introduce in primary and junior secondary schools syllabuses books by writers in the locality. And this would have impacted positively on our children because their understanding would be enhanced as there is an interelationship between the writer and the reader. The benefit is all-round. The writers will benefit, the local publishers and bookshops will benefit, and the students too.

Amidst this chaotic situation, what is your advice for young writers?
Well, it is good to have the ambition. It is good to write. I’m sure soon the situation will improve. Nothing is forever, change will come somehow. And it is better to be found there waiting for the change. So writers must find a way of nursing their talents.

Peter Abrahams

Biography
 Abrahams' father was from Ethiopia and his mother was classified under apartheid in South Africa as a mixed-race person, a "Kleurling" or Coloured. He was born in Vrededorp, a suburb of Johannesburg, but left South Africa in 1939. He worked first as a sailor, and then as a journalist in London.
Hoping to make his way as a writer, he faced considerable challenges as a South African, as Carol Polsgrove has shown in her history, Ending British Rule: Writers in a Common Cause (2009). Despite a manuscript reader's recommendation against publication, in 1942 Allen and Unwin brought out his Dark Testament, made up mostly of pieces he had carried with him from South Africa. Publisher Dorothy Crisp published his novels Song of the City (1945) and Mine Boy (1946). According to Nigerian scholar Kolawole Ogungbesan, Mine Boy became "the first African novel written in English to attract international attention." More books followed with publication in Britain and the United States: two novels --The Path of Thunder (1948) and Wild Conquest (1950); a journalistic account of a return journey to Africa, Return to Goli (1953); and a memoir, Tell Freedom (1954).
While working in London, Abrahams lived with his wife Daphne at Loughton. He met several important black leaders and writers, including George Padmore, a leading figure in the Pan-African community there, Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast and Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, both later heads of state of their respective countries. In 1956, Abrahams published a roman à clef about the political community of which he had been a part in London: A Wreath for Udomo. His main character, "Michael Udomo", who returns from London to his African country to preside over its transformation into an independent, industrial nation, appeared to be modeled chiefly on Nkrumah with a hint of Kenyatta. Other identifiable fictionalized figures included George Padmore. The novel concluded with Udomo's murder. Published the year before Nkrumah took the reins of independent Ghana, A Wreath for Udomo was not an optimistic forecast of Africa's future.
Abrahams settled in Jamaica in 1956. In 1994 he was awarded the Musgrave Gold Medal for his writing and journalism by the Institute of Jamaica.
One of South Africa's most prominent writers, his work deals with political and social issues, especially with racism. His novel Mine Boy (1946), one of the first works to bring him to critical attention, and his memoir Tell Freedom (1954) deal in part with apartheid. His other works include the story collection Dark Testament (1942) and the novels The Path of Thunder (1948), A Wreath for Udomo (1956), A Night of Their Own (1965), the Jamaica-set This Island Now (1966, the only one of his novels not set in Africa) and The View from Coyaba (1985). He also wrote This Island Now, which speaks to the ways power and money can change most people's perspectives.

Works

• Dark Testament (1942)
• Song of the City (1945) 179p, novel, published by Dorothy Crisp & Co Ltd London
• Mine Boy (1946) published by Dorothy Crisp & Co Ltd London - his seminal novel, the first author to bring the horrific reality of South Africa's apartheid system of racial discrimination to international attention.
• The Path of Thunder (1948)
• Wild Conquest (1950)
• Return to Goli (1953)
• Tell Freedom (1954)
• A Wreath for Udomo (1956)
• A Night of Their Own (1965)
• This Island Now (1966)
• The View from Coyaba (1985)
• The Black Experience in the 20th Century: An Autobiography and Meditation (200

Pacesetters

Pacesetters Novels are collection of 130 fiction novels written by notable African authors. The series was started in 1977 with the first book called "Director!" by Agbo Areo.
Titles

• 1. A Picture Of Innocence
• 2. Agony In Her Voice
• 3. Angel Of Death
• 4. Anything For Money
• 5. The Betrayer
• 6. Bitter Consequences
• 7. Bittersweet
• 8. The Black Temple
• 9. Blackmailers
• 10. Bloodbath At Lobster Close†
• 11. Bonds Of Love
• 12. Border Runners
• 13. Camera Never Lies
• 14. Cherished Dreams
• 15. Child Of The Rainbow
• 16. Child Of War
• 17. Christmas In The City
• 18. Circle Of Betrayal
• 19. Coup!
• 20. Cross-Fire
• 21. The Cyclist*
• 22. Danger Express
• 23. Dangerous Inheritance
• 24. Dangerous Waters
• 25. Dead Of Night
• 26. Deadly News
• 27. Dealers In Death
• 28. Death Is Woman
• 29. Dela Boya-African Detective
• 30. The Delinquent
• 31. Desert Storm
• 32. Director!
• 33. Double Dating
• 34. Double Trouble
• 35. A Dream Called September
• 36. The Equatorial Assignment
• 37. Europeans Only?
• 38. Evbu My Love
• 39. The Extortionist
• 40. Felicia
• 41. Finding Francis
• 42. Finger Of Suspicion
• 43. For Better For Worse
• 44. For Mbatha And Rabeka
• 45. Forever Yours
• 46. Forgive Me Maryam
• 47. Fran Molala/Merc Affair
• 48. A Fresh Start
• 49. Frozen Fire*
• 50. Give Me Money
• 51. Gun Merchant
• 52. Harvest Of Love
• 53. Have Mercy
• 54. Hopeful Lovers*
• 55. The Hornet's Nest
• 56. The Infamous Act
• 57. The Instrument
• 58. A Kind Of Marriage
• 59. The Last Aloe
• 60. Life Is A Lottery
• 61. Lost Generation
• 62. Love
• 63. Love Letters
• 64. Love Match
• 65. Love On The Rocks
• 66. Love's Dilemma
• 67. Mark Of The Cobra
• 68. The Mating Game
• 69. Meet Me In Conakry
• 70. The Money Doublers
• 71. Money Road
• 72. Moses and the Gunman
• 73. Naira Power
• 74. Nanasi Girl
• 75. Night Of Full Moon
• 76. On The Road
• 77. Operation Rhino
• 78. The Other Side Of Town
• 79. Pains Of A Maid
• 80. Poisoned Bait
• 81. The Politician*
• 82. Possessed!
• 83. The President’s Son
• 84. Race Against Rats
• 85. Rassie
• 86. Remember Death
• 87. Rich Girl, Poor Boy
• 88. Runaway Bride
• 89. The Schemers
• 90. Sea Running
• 91. Second-Hand Love
• 92. Secret Blood
• 93. Shadow Of A Dream
• 94. Shadow Of Death
• 95. Shameful Sacrifice
• 96. Sisi
• 97. Small Affairs
• 98. The Smugglers*
• 99. Something To Hide
• 100. South African Affair*
• 101. Spears Down
• 102. State Secret
• 103. Stone Vengeance
• 104. Stop Press: Murder!
• 105. Stranger’s Son
• 106. Sunset At Noon
• 107. Sweet Revenge
• 108. Symphony-Destrst
• 109. Teardrops At Sunset
• 110. Tell Me No More
• 111. The Legacy
• 112. Thorns Of Life
• 113. To Have & To Hold
• 114. Tobacco Smoke
• 115. Too Cold Comfort
• 116. Too Young To Die*
• 117. Treasure
• 118. Truth Will Out
• 119. The Undesirable Element
• 120. Vicious Circle
• 121. Wages Of Sin
• 122. What The Future Holds
• 123. When Love Dies*
• 124. Where Children Play
• 125. Who Killed Mohtta?
• 126. Who Really Cares
• 127. Women For Sale
• 128. The Worshippers
• 129. You Never Know
• 130. Zero Hour

Chinua Achebe

A Love Rekindled by Myne Whitman (Author)

When Efe Sagay receives a transfer to the branch of a prestigious hotel chain in the Nigerian capital, she accepts it, happy to return home to family after years in the United States. Also, Nigeria is a big place, right? There should be nothing about her new city, Abuja, to remind her of the heartbreak of her relationship with ex-fiancé, Kevwe Mukoro.

However, Efe is facing Kevwe across an office seven months later, swamped by emotions she'd thought were dead. When Kevwe claims he's never stopped loving her, and asks why she abandoned him, Efe stomps off, incensed. It was the other way around!

But they are unable to stay away from each other, and buried desire flares. Ultimately, passion is no match for the bitter memories of broken promises. Efe and Kevwe have to resolve the traumatic events of the past before love can be rekindled.

The Famished Road

Culled from wikipedia

The Famished Road is the Booker Prize-winning novel written by Nigerian author Ben Okri. The novel, published in 1991, follows Azaro, an abiku or spirit child, living in an unnamed most likely Nigerian city. The novel employs a unique narrative style incorporating the spirit world with the "real" world in what some have classified as magical realism. Others have labeled it African Traditional Religion realism. Still others choose to simply call the novel fantasy literature. The book exploits the belief in the coexistence of the spiritual and material worlds that is a defining aspect of traditional African life.

Plot synopsis

Azaro is an abiku, or spirit-child, from the ghetto of an unknown city in Africa. He is constantly harassed by his sibling spirits from another world who want him to leave this mortal life and return to the world of spirits, sending many emissaries to bring him back. Azaro has stubbornly refused to leave this life owing to his love for his mother and father. He is the witness of many happenings in the mortal realm. His father works as a labourer while his mother sells items as a hawker. Madame Koto, the owner of a local bar, asks Azaro to visit her establishment, convinced that he will bring good luck and customers to her bar. Meanwhile, his father prepares to be a boxer after convincing himself and his family that he has a talent to be a pugilist. Two opposing political parties try to bribe or coerce the residents to vote for them.

Characters

• Azaro is the story's narrator. He is an abiku, or a spirit child who has never lost ties with the spirit world. He is named after Lazarus, of the New testament. The story follows him as he tries to live his life, always aware of the spirits trying to bring him back.
• Azaro's father is an idealistic load-carrier who wants the best for his family and the community. He suffers greatly for this, eventually becoming a boxer and later a politician. Azaro's father loves him deeply, but is often bitter at having an abiku and occasionally goes on angry violent tirades.
• Azaro's mother works very hard selling anything she can get her hands on for the family. She cares for her family deeply and constantly gives up food and security for her family and their ideals. She is proud that Azaro is her son and goes to great lengths to protect him.
• Madame Koto is proprietress of a local bar. She has a liking for Azaro, though at times is convinced he brings bad luck. She starts out as a well-meaning woman, trying to get along with everyone else. However, as the story progresses, she becomes richer, siding with the political Party of the Rich, and is often accused of witchcraft. She tries to help Azaro and his family on numerous occasions but seems to try to take Azaro's blood to remain youthful.
• Jeremiah, the Photographer is a young artist who brings the village to the rest of the world and the rest of the world to the village. He manages to get some of his photographs published, but practices his craft at great personal risk.
• The Landlord supports the Party for the Rich and is angry with Azaro's family for causing troubles to him and his compound.

Legacy

The novel was the inspiration behind the lyrics to Radiohead's single "Street Spirit (Fade Out)".

MYNE WHITMAN

Myne Whitman is the author of two romance novels, ‘A Heart to Mend’, and ‘A Love Rekindled’, and, if I may be so daring as to say so, the resurrector of the romance genre in modern Nigerian literature. Her achievements go far beyond being a Kindle UK bestseller, as in years since her inspired contributions on the Narialand forum – where I first chanced upon her – she has helped aspiring Nigerian writers find an audience through her websites, Mynewhitmanwrites and Naijastories. As she launches volume one of the Naija Stories anthology: ‘Of Tears and Kisses, Heroes and Villains’, Myne takes time out to share her thoughts on how she’s spectacularly exceeded her modest forecast of  selling a hundred copies of her first book; the hi-falutin minds of the Nobel Prize panel; and The Road that, sadly, remains famished despite having claimed the Booker Prize.

Which of your major characters would you like to be trapped on a desert island with?

I find Kevwe, the main character in my second novel, A Love Rekindled, very intriguing. He’s strong and at the same time is very open with his emotions, not afraid to admit he’s sensitive, something most men are loath to do. I’ll definitely like to spend some more time with him.

What is the first thing you remember writing?

Apart from the usual compositions in primary school, I remember writing short stories about two girls getting into adventures during travels with their parents in Nigeria. I must have been between 10 and 13 then. Unfortunately, since we moved cities and homes, I don’t know where those early writings are now.

Where/when or with whom have you been most impressed to see a copy of your work?

Since I sold more than 100 copies of my first book, A Heart to Mend, I’m impressed each time I find that another of my books has sold. That was the number of followers on my blog, and the figure I gave my partner when he asked for a realistic estimate before we embarked on the publishing journey. Since then AHTM has gone on to become a Kindle UK bestseller with over 20,000 copies downloaded. Now that is amazing!

What one book by another author do you wish you’d written?

I’m lucky not to have that feeling about books. I thrive on variety and on prisms. I crave different sides to many views, but I have only experienced so much, or know so little. So for me, books are a way to reach out and embrace the world through the eyes and minds of various authors. The book wouldn’t be same if I had written it, and I don’t wish I had.

Name one author that you consider overrated.

This seems disrespectful, but did The Famished Road really win that award?

Achebe or Soyinka?

I may be a bit biased since I recently met Wole Soyinka at the 2010 Garden City Literary Festival. Anyway, it’s been years since I read any of their literature, and it was mostly for school coursework. I’ve read their essays more recently, and both are minds we need to pay attention to. In terms of what each is doing, I’ll say they are on different sides of the divide; Soyinka is more political while Achebe stays truer to the pen.

Sell a million copies or win the Nobel Prize for literature?

Definitely sell a million copies. I’ll rather influence and touch the minds of a million people, shape their world view and affect how they understand and perceive life occurrences. Titillating the hi-falutin minds of the few people on the Nobel Panel sounds nice, but I want more than personal aggrandizement. The agenda is world domination. LOL…

Write one classic or have a sustained career of good books?

Similar to the above, I’ll like a sustained career of good books. What is a classic by the way, something that stuffy collars in an ivory tower somewhere decide to put in the curriculum? There’s also that I won’t like to be defined by just one work, something like a one trick pony.

Best perk of being a writer?

Having the opportunity to give rein to my imaginations, to create and be more than I am.

Worst thing about being a writer?

The discipline that is actually required, and how little in real money terms it usually pays.

Remember your best and worst reviews? Let’s hear them.

The best was from the very first review from a person who did not know me at all, not even my blog. The worst is the only one star I have on Amazon. Also by someone I probably don’t know. The beauty in all is realizing they weren’t personal in any way.

If you could exchange your writing for another creative talent what would it be?

Painting and drawing. I used to be able to do that but haven’t tried in a long while.

On a scale of one to five, how much would you say the characters in your books are based on real people? Could you give an example? Particular real people?

Maybe one, if that. Can I find examples of people who share characteristics with my characters, very possible.

What book are you ashamed to admit that you haven’t read?

I read pretty voraciously growing up, and I’m lucky I have the time and inclination to still read now.

What is your guilty reading?

Reading when I’m supposed to be doing something else? LOL…

What’s the most challenging part of your creative process?

Starting a new project.

And the most pleasurable?

Writing a scene with lots of drama, dialogue, emotion. It can be pretty satisfying.

What are you likely to be most critical about in other authors’ work?

Too much philosophy stuffed in the mouth of characters.

If you could bring something back from the past what would it be?

I try to remain carefree but it’s hard not to wish for childhood and not worry about all the little things as an adult.

What’s next?

A new book soon, and a publishing company.