Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has issued a 30-day challenge to those questioning his academic credentials, urging them to provide evidence to the nation’s investigative authorities.
Professor Soyinka released a statement yesterday addressing the allegations made by one Prof. James Gibbs in an online publication. Gibbs had questioned Soyinka’s First Class degree in Literature from Leeds University, UK.
Soyinka distributed the statement to various recipients, including journalists, the Academic Staff Union of Nigeria, the Pan-African Writers Association in Accra, the Nigerian Association of Authors, the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, the University of Leeds, the alleged Bristol Primary Source, and his school.
He said,
Joseph Dahip, in an article from 1998, pointed to a 1996 report where Prof. James Gibbs was cited for his analysis of claims linked to Soyinka.
Moreover, in recent time, the article has been making rounds online, with many netizens posting it on X (Twitter) has proof that the Nobel Laureate never graduated with honours from Leeds.
It is important to note that Soyinka lately has been in the eyes of social media storm due to his recent position on the last election, which many deemed controversial.
The internationally acclaimed playwright said that the dissatisfaction expressed by the opposition regarding the previous election is not based on the actual facts.
He further stated that the opposition was trying to use “Gbajue” (a force of lie) to foist their narrative that they won the election on everyone else.
The article accusing Soyinka of lying about his academic credentials reads in part,
The report quoted Gibbs as saying that he relied on a variety of sources, including contemporary Leeds publications, archival material, Soyinka’s work and “interviews I had with him” in arriving at the facts he had on Soyinka’s academic records
Soyinka attended Leeds University from 1954 to 1957 and received an honours degree in English Literature.
