Written by: Elusanmi Kolade
For a long time, Africa continent has paraded bestselling authors that have used their creative minds to write the narratives of Africa way to the understanding and effective impact on the global society. Their literature has been pivotal in corroborating the fictions of the book with the realities that culminate in our daily lives. Some of these writers might have passed away albeit, but their intuitive works are still evergreen, as they still speak volumes of uniformity, thereby connecting the past with the present to get the future pitched. Here are the top five most influential authors Africa has ever produced.
Wole Soyinka (Nigerian)
Born in 1934 in Abeokuta, Nigeria, Wole Soyinka is the first African author to win the Nobel Peace Prize Award in Literature in 1986. Some of his plays have been an adaptation in radio and theaters across the world. As a major critic of the Nigerian government, he was also detained for about two years for allegedly participating in a military coup in 1966. Soyinka escaped from Nigeria during the Military administration of Late General Sani Abacha, and currently resides in the United States. Some of his great works include “Death and the King’s Horseman,” “The Lion and the Jewel,” “Ake: The Years of Childhood,” and “You Must Set Forth at Dawn.”
Mariama Ba (Senegalese)
Mariama Ba was born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1929. She is celebrated as one of the original and influential African authors of all time. A large scope of her literature focused on power, inequality, and gender. In her works, she often criticized African traditions that she described retrogressive, particularly since she was raised from a Muslim background. Mariama died in 1981 before the release of her second novel, “Scarlet Song.” Although her writings were done in French, they have since been translated into several languages.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o (Kenyan)
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o stands out as one of the most-influential African authors since most of his writings cut across the African sociopolitical sphere. Born in 1938 in a village called “Kamirithu” in central Kenya, the 78-year-old author now lives in America and works as the Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, where he also serves as the director of the International Center for Writing and Translation. Some of his popular books include “The River Between,” “Weep Not Child,” “A Grain of Wheat,” and “Ngaahika Ndeeda” (I Will Marry When I Want).
Chinua Achebe (Nigerian)
Born in 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria, Chinua Achebe works are still speaking life for him as one of the Africa greatest in the world of literature. He died in 2013 in the United States at the age of 82. Before his death, Achebe was a Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. Some of his notable works include “Things Fall Apart,” “Arrow of God,” “No Longer at Ease,” “Anthills of the Savannah,” and “A Man of the People.”
Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghanaian)
Born in 1942 in Saltpond, Ghana, Ama Ata Aidoo is widely adored as African author with majors in comparative and post-colonial literature. She holds the coveted Commonwealth Writers Prize of 1992. Aidoo has also served as Ghana’s Minister for Education under John Jerry Rawlings’ administration. She has authored a number of influential works, including “Our Sister Killjoy,” “Changes,” “Someone Talking to Sometime,” and “The Dilemma of a Ghost.”
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