You’re probably thinking of Wole Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, playwright, and poet who is considered one of the most important African writers of the 20th century. He was the first black African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Soyinka’s work is often focused on themes of colonialism, postcolonialism, and the effects of Western influence on Africa. He has also been a vocal critic of human rights abuses in Nigeria.

Soyinka in 2015. Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, becoming the first African laureate. He was described as one “who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence

The 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka (born 1934) “who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence.” He is the first African recipient of the prize.