Nobel laureate resigns from chairmanship seat of Centre for Black Culture

fuad lawal

October 12, 2015 9:11 AM

Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has tendered his resignation as Chairman of the board of the Centre of Black Culture and International Understanding.

Wole Soyinka

The 'Ake' author made his frustration and embarrassment known at the continued reference of a court suit involving Olagunsoye Oyinlola, a former governor of Osun State, and the CBCIU as a leadership tussle, Premium Times reports.

The Professor said in a July 14 letter:

”This is painful reductionism. In any case, I am left with no choice but to openly demand of the governor of Osun State the immediate and formal acceptance of my resignation letter from CBCIU chairmanship.”

Soyinka and Oyinlola had been engaged in a war of words over the leadership of CBCIU, a category 2 facility under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO established in 2009.

Last month, Prof. Soyinka had commented that Olagunsoye Oyinlola’s parading of himself as the head of CBCIU was “unlawful and unethical.” ‎

In 2008, while he was governor of Osun State, Oyinlola signed into law the CBCIU Act which stipulated that he would be the Chairman of the Board for life.

However, four years later, the Osun State House of Assembly amended the law to state that the Chairman of the Board shall be ‎”the Governor or anyone appointed by him for that purpose".

The current Governor, Rauf Aregbesola appointed Mr. Soyinka as Chairman of the Board in August 2012. Then Mr. Oyinlola headed to court to challenge the decision.

fuad lawal