You Must Set Forth At Dawn (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
I expected a master piece from a mastermind in You Must Set Forth at Dawn, and I was not disappointed. Indeed, I got value for the money and time I spent on this engaging memoir by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka.The author has been one of the prominent actors in the political and socio-economic journey of Nigeria. He was a leading player in the western Nigeria uprising of 1964-65 in which he hijacked a radio station in Ibadan. He was active in the Nigerian civil war, for which he was imprisoned. And he was a thorn in the flesh of several military and democratic rulers in Nigeria.However, the book is not only about Soyinka's political battles and rascality particularly in Nigeria and Africa, but also about his core beliefs, such as justice, freedom, honor, and merit. And he is passionate about true friendship, as illustrated by his profuse dedication and homage to a late friend, Olufemi Babington Johnson (OBJ). Soyinka is intellectually mischievous and intelligently deviant. The book is filled with riveting episodes and anecdotes about his student days in England; acquaintance with literary giants, including British philosopher Bertrand Russell; falling in love with a dancer in Havana, Cuba; clandestine diplomatic shuttles around the world; dinners with world leaders in many countries, including with Nelson Mandela and Francois Mitterrand in Paris; an encounter with President Bill Clinton; and a quiet lunch in Israel with Shimon Peres, when he was no longer Israeli Prime Minister.However, as I read the book, these words continue to ring in my head: Whose spy is Wole Soyinka? Which foreign governments are his paymasters? His connection with security agents is mystifying. Often, he is ahead of people who are after his life, thanks to his informants in government and security agencies. Sometimes, he is so comfortable strolling on the streets of major world capitals, and at other times, he is undercover because members of a roving death squad are after him all over Europe and America.How did Soyinka know of a secret telephone in the wardrobe of Olusegun Obasanjo, then Officer Commanding Western Zone of the Nigerian Army in the 1960s? Obasanjo, who later became Nigeria's military head of state, and a democratic president, never knew the telephone existed in his own bedroom until Soyinka called him on the telephone box. That shows the level of Soyinka's influence even in the military intelligence corps.But as I immersed myself in the book and followed some daring sagas and daredevil acts by the author, the answer unfurled. Soyinka is nobody's `spook.' Whether he is on a fact-finding and exploratory visit to Bekuta, a slave settlement in Jamaica inhabited by descendants of the Egbas who might have migrated from Abeokuta in Ogun State, western part of Nigeria; or in Bahia, Brazil to retrieve a stolen artifact; Soyinka exhibited a kamikaze mind-set difficult to comprehend superficially. But as I reflected deeply, I understood that he follows and holds tenaciously to any cause he truly cherishes. I call that, passion. My best chapter in the book is, Olori-Kunkun and Ori-Olokun. The chapter is vintage Soyinka. For me, this encapsulates his nature. Ori-Olokun is a "long-lost" bronze head of a principal Yoruba deity stolen from a courtyard in Ife, the cradle of Yoruba civilization. Soyinka traced the relic to Bahia in Brazil, with the intention of stealing it from the home of a private art collector and returning it to its due place in Africa. But a surprise awaited him.The book has vivid plots, characters and dialogues. And I wonder if Soyinka wrote in a diary many of the events and people he described profoundly in the book. But that is not so, because he explained on the acknowledgement section that he didn't keep such a diary. I was so sucked into the scenery which came alive as he ran from Oyo State in Nigeria to the Republic of Benin through the bush on the way to exile. As I read this divine escape, I was transported to the thick forest, dodging the branches of trees which lashed and lacerated the author as he sat precariously on a motorbike on a moonless night.I was able to follow the entire book without being lost in some sections which have winding details and numerous digressions. Soyinka used digression copiously to create suspense, to espouse his beliefs or engage in reflective thinking. I am not sure if this style will not put off some impatient readers. Despite this, I truly enjoyed the book. Not only once, but twice, I read it.
I knew of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. The highly respected and prodigious poet, playwright, novelist and essayist was in self-exile when I first came to Nigeria in 1995. It wasn’t until the despotic dictator, Sani Abacha, who put a price on the professor’s head, died, and the nation was restored to the democracy it barely had an opportunity to foster since the colonial state became a sovereign country in 1960, that Soyinka dared set foot in his homeland again.The controversial scholar became a symbol of freedom to Nigerians living too long under the oppressive rule of tyrant after dictatorial tyrant. Just as the man was a symbol, so became his trademark white afro and beard, to the man himself. Soyinka steadfastly refused to cut the thing that made him most visible to his detractors – his hair.Yet, in order to travel during his exile, the professor resorted to wearing different disguises to fool Abacha’s henchmen who were constantly on a global search to secure Soyinka’s permanent silence. He had several different personas he replaced himself with. Using elaborate costumes and make up, he was, at different times a diamond merchant from Sierra Leone, a heavy rasta character and a turbaned Malian.I met Wole Soyinka in a most serendipitous way. In late June, 2006, I was flying on Air France’s daily flight from Paris to Lagos. Sitting in front of me was a distinguished looking African gentleman. He had a big white Afro and, at least from behind, reminded me of the pictures I had seen of Soyinka. Then, as I turned the page of the June 26, 2006 international edition of Time that I was reading, I saw a photo of the man himself. He and the gentleman sitting in front of me were the same person.Folding my magazine so his story was on the outside, I approached him and asked, “Would you please sign my magazine. My wife will never believe I met Wole Soyinka if you don’t.”Mr. Soyinka smiled, waved away my offer of a pen, took the magazine and autographed the top of the page with the pen in his pocket. As he handed me the Time back, I told him it was an honor and he replied, “Nice meeting you,” or words to that effect. A brief meeting with one of the world’s greatest living writers, but it had a profound effect. To my shame, I don’t recall ever reading any of Soyinka’s works. But the man exuded an invisible essence that made me feel he’s lived experiences I never will nor would ever want to. He also looked like a sage, someone with wisdom far greater than any I will ever boast.When I arrived home in July, I showed my prized Time to my wife, who is a journalist and writer. A few days later I tried to locate Soyinka’s newest book, You Must Set Forth at Dawn, a memoir that covers much of the author’s adult life. I finally had to have Barnes & Noble order it.Wole Soyinka has penned one of the most extraordinary memoirs I ever read. In his writings, a giant of a man is revealed, one who, in his 70s, could yet change Nigeria for the better. Twenty-one years ago, Wole Soyinka became Africa’s first Nobel Laureate. That honor was celebrated by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) in a literary fiesta at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, on August 25 and 26, 2006. This international colloquium, designed to celebrate Soyinka’s Nobel Prize, also examined trends in Africa’s contemporary literary exploits.The nobel Prize has brought much honor and respect not only to the recipient but to the country he was born in. Nigerians, at one time, seriously wanted him to run for the highest office in the land, the presidency. He has always refused to run for election for any office. Soyinka does wield a lot of weight both inside and outside politics and government and his opinions are highly sought.
What do You think about You Must Set Forth At Dawn (2007)?
Wole Soyinka is a Nobel Prize winner in Literature. Much of the book is about Nigerian political history and the author's part in it, but the part I enjoyed the most involved his cross cultural experiences in the USA. On roadkill: "The Chicago experience remained my introduction to the wastrel habit of American drivers after they have been victims of assault by rampaging game. A little more education, and such drivers would know that there was only one explanation for such 'accidents' -- they are a gift from Ogun and should be honored as such, atop a funeral pyre to the accompanying music of popping corks and roasting peppers." p. 289
—Amy
It drags at times, and a bit at the beginning I admit, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. There are some really intense but also humorous points, the the spaces in between construct an enjoyable narrative and memoir. To me, the only thing missing was a commentary on Nigeria's place as a neo-colonial territory in a post-Cold War scene (i.e. the role of global capital/finance in legitimizing dictatorships like those in Nigeria). I guess there's a backhanded shot at the US anytime he praises Canada :-) But then again, this is a memoir, not an essay.
—Jason Williams
So, this is a wonderful book written by my countryman, Wole Soyinka, the brilliant, lyrical, and the first African to receive the Nobel prize in Literature. This book is essentially a history of Nigeria. It was amazing to know that Wole Soyinka has been part of the changes Nigeria has experienced, pretty much from the beginning. He includes maps of Nigeria, from when it was made up of regions, then states, then even more states. It also details how he escaped death from the hands of our ex dictator, Abacha, among other interesting info. It is a wonderful read. The only issue is language. I am a native English speaker, but I had to refer to the dictionary multiple times to understand what he was saying. It slowed my reading. This is something Wole Soyinka is known for. He does not write in simple English that's easily accessible to the common man. He writes on a very advanced level and I think that it could deter others from reading.Overall, great book and actually Reference material for the history of Nigeria.
—Amaka Lily
