Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has said that the Yoruba, a region in Southern Nigeria, is found all around the world.
He made this statement on Friday after being awarded a national honour by the President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Soyinka was presented with the Haydee Santamaria Medal at the Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba, on August 23.
During the ceremony, President Diaz-Canel praised Soyinka’s visit to Cuba, calling it “very significant.”
“It is the visit of a brother who has always fought for just causes,” Diaz-Canel said in his statement.
In response to the honour, Soyinka expressed his deep connection to Cuba. “Our ties with Cuba are not limited to art and literature, but also to liberation,” Soyinka said. “I grew up listening to Cuban music, in those days when there were gramophones, when there was no electricity.”
He added, “This has been a wonderful way to bring me back and remind me that Cuba is also my home. And it is proof that Yoruba is everywhere here, and that completes the spiritual aspect of people like me.”
Soyinka’s words reflect the cultural and spiritual ties between Nigeria and Cuba, showing how the influence of the Yoruba people extends far beyond their homeland.
