The Nigerian Literary Society (NLS) and The Book Section of the Port Harcourt Club are organising a lecture in honour of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, on his 90th birthday.
In a joint statement, the Curator of the NLS, Mr David Chukwueke, and the Captain of The Book Section, Port Harcourt Club, Mrs Judith Obomanu, said the theme for the lecture is “Wole Soyinka @ 90: The Nexus Between Literature and Justified Activism”.
According to them, the core focus for the birthday lecture is “to honour and also appreciate Professor Wole Soyinka’s immense contribution to literature and his ‘Justified Activism’ which he has stood for over the years which still stands till date.”
They described Soyinka as a writer, novelist, poet and human rights activist per excellence.
They also noted that “he is the first African to earn the Nobel Laureate for Literature,” adding, “He is a figure that does not keep quiet in the face of intimidation, humiliation of humanity and its environment and political turbulence.”
“Therefore, it will be an honour and immense pleasure and value for the Nigerian Literary Society (NLS) and The Book Section Port Harcourt Club to hold this birthday lecture in honour of our own literary statesman to show our love for Literature especially, as our sole concern.”
The event will take place on July 27, 2024 at the Port Harcourt Club, No. 31, Forces Avenue, Old GRA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The guest speaker is Dame Ibim Semenitari, a former Commissioner of Information and former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The organisers said: “Our choice for Dame Ibim Semenitari, a trained journalist per excellence and a Commissioner of Information and former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), is as a result of her being a literary enthusiast and as an academic she would be able to make and create a justification on the said theme.”
