{{Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has dismissed age-long speculation that he acquired a third class degree from university and declared he had actually a second class upper.}}<\/p>\n
Soyinka was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. However, there has been wide speculation that he had poorly performed while at university and had prefered to remain incommunicado on the matter.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the Nobel Laureate spoke at his private residence, when he hosted 79 secondary school students across the country as part of activities marking his 79th birthday.<\/p>\n
He explained that he had kept silent over the years on the matter but decided to open up for the sake of the children as a mark of respect for them.<\/p>\n
Soyinka, fielded questions from all his 79 guests who participated in an essay competition to commemorate his birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be satisfied with failure but rather strive to excel in all your endeavours,\u201d he said.
\nWhile advising students not to be discouraged by certain negative happenings in the country, Soyinka urged them to draw inspiration from the life of a 16-year-old Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head on October 9, 2012 by Taliban fighters over her campaign for girl-child education in Pakistan.<\/p>\n
On his non-believe in any religion, Soyinka said he believes religion should be a private thing. He stressed the need for inter-religious tolerance among all Nigerians.<\/p>\n
On his role model, Soyinka, described his first teacher (one Mr. Olagbaju) as his role model, even as he explained that there was no mystery behind his grey hair.<\/p>\n
On his aspiration in life, the literary giant pointed out that he would have loved to become an architect, musician or a pilot. \u201cI would have loved to be an architect, or a musician, but not an amateur, a trained one. <\/p>\n
When I left school, I wanted to be a journalist. I actually sat for an exam to be absolved in Daily Times, but after the exam, I was told that I wrote a short story and not a news story. So, I was not taken. Thank goodness, I did not become a journalist,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The event, tagged: \u201cMemoirs of our future\u201d, was organised by a Lagos-based multimedia company, Zmirage, in conjunction with the Ogun State government.<\/p>\n
patrick@igihe.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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