Joe Okei-Odumakin felicitates Wole Soyinka at 89

As Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka marks his 89th birthday, President, Centre for Change (CfC), Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has felicitated him, describing the elder statesman as one whose genius of poesy captivates everyone in its gripping hold, not once not twice but lifelong.

Okei-Odumakin paid this glowing tribute in a short statement titled: ‘Kongi: still solid into time’, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday, saying that the grace of waking up was beyond knowledge, but waking up to share the earth with some extremely rare humans like Prof. Soyinka, popularly called Kongi, was a grand privilege to be cherished every moment.

“For those who understand, the Grace of waking up is beyond knowledge, but waking up to share the earth with some extremely rare humans is a grand privilege.

“Every such cycle is then cherished for seeing and the spectacle.

“We again celebrate Kongi whose genius of poesy captivates us in its gripping hold, not once not twice but lifelong,” she said.

She, therefore, prayed to God to grant the Nobel Laureate long for him “to be here much farther into your literary royalty,” in good health, while also wishing the literary giant a happy birthday and many happy returns.

“We pray for ourselves, nay, for you to be here much farther into your literary royalty.

“That you, Kongi, being already eternal in text, will experience your ‘eterna’ in health, with more generations into your living ancestry.

“Happy birthday KONGI. Many happy returns Professor Wole Soyinka,” Okei-Odumakin prayed

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE 

• More reforms coming, Tinubu assures manufacturing, service sectors

• SOS: The Mmesoma metaphor

• How Toyin Abraham’s ‘Ijakumo’ made me —Lola Okusanya

• This is not a gun, but a camera holder

• VOXPOP: What can you remember as your JAMB/UTME experience?

• Thoughts of not graduating with First Class gave me hypertension —Shukroh Adeyemi, LASU’s first class English graduate