Professor Soyinka wins Europe Theatre Prize for his work in bridging the divide between continents

NIGERIA'S Nobel laureate  Professor Wole Soyinka has been named the winner of the 2017 Europe Theatre Prize in recognition of his contribution to global literature and attempts to bridge the divide between Europe and Africa.

Alessandro Martinez, the general secretary of The Europe Theatre Prize, said Professor Soyinka won the special prize category of the award for his consistency as a proponent of an ideal bridge between Europe and Africa in a deeply delicate period for the present and the future of our continent. Professor Soyinka was praised for his deep commitment to combining at the highest level his own cultural political experience with those of others in different climes for peace and civil co-existence among peoples of the world.

Following his being named the winner, the award will be conferred on Professor Soyinka on December 17 this year in Rome, Italy, during the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome and the G7 meeting. Former winners of this prestigious award included Vaclav Havel, one of the most important European writers and a former president of the Czech Republic.

Established in 1986, the Europe Theatre Prize was a pilot project of the European Commission under the presidency of Jacques Delors. It is awarded to personalities of theatrical institutions that have contributed to the realisation of cultural events that promote understanding and exchange of knowledge between peoples.

Mr Martinez, said: “As a matter of fact, on the occasion of the last award ceremony, there were participants coming from more than 50 countries in the world and about 400 journalists and theatre critics from Europe and other parts of the world.”

Asked whether the prize has anything to do with the collaborative work he has been undertaking with Italian and other European authorities over the immigration issue, Professor Soyinka explained that the two events have nothing to do with each other. Of late, professor Soyinka has been working to address the issue of Nigerian migrants dying while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Italy.

Professor Soyinka added: "I shall take the opportunity to advance some initiatives in which I’ve been involved, which happen to be largely in Italy. For instance, I’ll be attending a meeting with one of our principal collaborators in Milan before heading back.

"We’ve been on this for a number of years, you know. Africans and mostly Nigerians, have been dying in droves, either through drowning in Mediterranean or perishing in the midst of the vastness of the Sahara, en-route Libya mostly, while some have been butchered by the forces of Daesh, the so-called Isis along the coast of embarkation."

He added that this has involved the would-be migrants separated, with Muslims on one side and unbelievers on the other. According to Professor Soyinka, the latter were then mowed down in cold blood.