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| Title: | The Writer and the Road: Wole Soyinka and Those Who Cause Death by Dangerous Driving |
| Author: | Gibbs, James |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Periodical: | Journal of Modern African Studies |
| Volume: | 33 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Pages: | 469-498 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Nigeria |
| Subjects: | transport policy road transport literature Literature, Mass Media and the Press Miscellaneous (i.e. Demography, Refugees, Sports) Politics and Government Health and Nutrition |
| About person: | Wole Soyinka (1934-) |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/161486 |
| Abstract: | Particularly since 1977, the Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka has decided to devote part of his energy to reducing the death toll on Nigeria's roads. In an article entitled 'National Road Slaughter' (Sunday Times, 31 July 1977) he called for the mobilization of the people against the appalling standards of driving in the country, and for 'enforcement saturation' on the notorious Ibadan-Ife road. He demanded that the existing safety campaigns be abandoned in favour of a more effective approach. Thus began an involvement which has led to the production of writing of various kinds - some directly related to road safety campaigns, some satirical or in other ways more obviously removed from the simply expository. This article describes the background to this work by examining Soyinka's experience as a special marshal in the Oyo State Road Safety Corps, 1977-1983, and the inauguration of a Federal Road Safety Commission in 1988, followed by his appointment as chairman. Episodes which generated particular conflicts, such as the Okuwa affair (1978-1979), allegations of opportunism and financial malpractice, and the National Driver's Licence Scheme, afford insight into how Soyinka operated. Notes, ref. |
