Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde "Wole" Soyinka CFR (/ˈwoʊleɪ sɔɪˈ(j)ɪŋkə, - ʃɔɪˈ-/ WOH-lay s(h)oy-(Y)ING-kə; Yoruba: Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé "Wọlé" Ṣóyíinká, pronounced [wɔlé ʃójĩnká]; born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "wide cultural perspective and... poetic overtones fashioning the drama of existence", the first sub-Saharan African to win the Prize in literature.
In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu renamed the National Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos, after Soyinka. Tinubu announced this in a tribute he wrote to celebrate Soyinka in commemoration of his 90th birthday.