WOLE SOYINKA OR BISI ALIMI, WHO IS THE AFRICAN HERO?

                   

Please note that this is not an attempt to compare both men.

Below is a very brief profile of this popular African men.

Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Babatunde Soyinka (PICTURE ON THE LEFT)

Was born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian playwright and poet. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize In Literature, the first African to be honored in that category.

Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family in Abeokuta. After study in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theater in London. He went on to write plays that were produced in both countries, in theatres and on radio. He took an active role in Nigeria's political history and its struggle for independence from Great Britain. In 1965, he seized the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service studio and broadcast a demand for the cancellation of the Western Nigeria Regional Elections. In 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War, he was arrested by the federal government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for two years.

Soyinka has been a strong critic of successive Nigerian governments, especially the country's many military dictators, as well as other political tyrannies, including the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. Much of his writing has been concerned with "the oppressive boot and the irrelevance of the colour of the foot that wears it". During the regime of General Sani Abacha (1993–98), Soyinka escaped from Nigeria via the "NADECO Route" on a motorcycle. Living abroad, mainly in the United States, he was a professor first at Cornell University and then at Emory University in Atlanta, where in 1996 he was appointed Robert W. Woodruff Professor of the Arts. Abacha proclaimed a death sentence against him "in absentia". With civilian rule restored to Nigeria in 1999, Soyinka returned to his nation. He has also taught at the universities of Oxford, Harvard and Yale.

BISI ALIMI( PICTURED AT THE RIGHT)

Alimi was born in the Mushin district of Lagos to parents Raski Ipadeola Balogun Alimi (a Nigerian police officer) and Idiatu Alake Alimi (a university clerk). Alimi was raised in Lagos where he attended primary and secondary school. He was the third in a family of five children from his mother and sixth from a family of ten children from his father. He later changed his name to Adebisi Alimi.

Bisi attended Eko Boys High School, in Lagos, and graduated in 1993. He led his school cultural dances both at primary and secondary school to many awards and honors. He was a member of his secondary school literary and debating society and a Social Prefect (in charge of organizing social activities) in his senior year. Also, in 1993, he gained admission into Ogun State Polytechnic, and would later study Creative Arts, majoring in Theatre at University of Lagos.

 It was during his university education that his sexuality attracted media attention after Campus Lifestyle, the university’s magazine outed him as a gay man. Prior to the magazine outing, Bisi had experienced much discrimination within the campus, including facing a disciplinary committee on the accusation of his gay status. Although he did graduate, he was almost denied his certificate as it was believed that his morals were unacceptable for an alumnus of the university.

He was admitted at Birkbeck College, University of London in 2011, where he earned his Master’s degree in Global Governance and Public Policy.

Prior to his public self-outing, Bisi Alimi began his advocacy career in late 1990s in Nigeria when a number of his friends died from HIV/AIDS. After 2 years of community mobilization work (including condom distribution and safe-sex education) for Gay men and Men who have Sex with other Men (MSM) in Nigeria, he joined the Alliance Rights Nigeria (ARN) in 2002 as a Program Director, developing and providing HIV/AIDS and sexual health services and supports. In his capacity as ARN Program Director, He was at the heart of developing Nigerian MSM HIV prevention framework in 2004.

 He was trained by the International AIDS Alliance in 2004 as HIV project Designer, Community Mobiliser, Care, Support and Treatment. In 2005, he co-founded The Independent Project (later, The Initiative for Equal Rights) working as its Executive Director.

On April 12, 2007 he was forced to flee Nigeria following threats to his life. He was granted asylum in 2009 where he has been resident since. On December 8, 2014 he was conferred with British citizenship. From 2007 to 2011, Alimi worked as African MSM Project Co-ordinator at Naz Project London. Alimi is currently the Executive Director of Bisi Alimi Foundation and a co-founder and director of Rainbow Intersection, as well as co-founder of The Kaleidoscope Trust where he served as Director for Africa from 2012 to 2013. He has been a visiting lecturer at Freie Universitat Berlin and still a lecturer at Humboldt University of Berlin.

Alimi gained notoriety in 2004 when he became the first Nigerian gay man to appear on Nigerian national television as a guest on Funmi Iyanda's show New Dawn with Funmi, a talk show on the NTA .That same year, Bisi had been diagnosed with HIV, and on the show Alimi confirmed his sexuality as a homosexual and asked for social acceptance from the public.

 His decision to come out of the closet generated both admiration and death threats. Consequently, Alimi was disowned by his family and most of his friends - including some in the gay community - and ejected from his home. Also, New Dawn 's live format was cancelled. Future guests on the pre-recorded version were screened by NTA executive producers to avoid what was considered "causing public offence"

Wole Soyinka stood for Good Government , true Democracy, Equality, Quality education in Africa , and other significant works ,mostly by airing his views through his famous books, and lectures . As a result of his outstanding achievements, he is the first African to be honored with the noble price in Literature award.

While Bisi is a Voice to the Voiceless, gives courage to men who cannot fit into the society as a result of being seggregated by their primary and secondary community, and even their families.

There is no doubt that they are both known and respected for what they stand for, but who do you think is a bigger hero, Wole Soyinka or Bisi Alimi?

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA