Iyetade Verity Soyinka, a daughter of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and Mrs. Olayide Soyinka, will be buried on Friday, January 10 in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State. The late Ms. Soyinka died on December 28, 2013 at theUniversity Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, after a brief illness. She was born on June 5, 1965.
In a statement released today, the Soyinka family stated that Iyetade’s death had brought “great sadness and an overwhelming sense of loss,” describing the deceased as their cherished daughter. The funeral statement disclosed that Ms. Soyinka is survived by two children, a daughter, Oreofe, and a son, Adeoto.
The late Iyetade “will be laid to rest on Friday January 10 in Ibadan, after the funeral service at the Chapel of Resurrection, University of Ibadan at 11a.m.,” the family’s statement revealed. It added, “A short service of songs will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday 9 January.”
Ms. Iyetade Soyinka had her early education at the Staff School of the University of Ibadan and Queens School, Ibadan. She started her higher education at the University of Ibadan where she focused on science courses, but moved to England where, according to the family’s announcement, she “chose to leave the sciences altogether and explore the world of theater arts, culture and writing.”
On her return to Nigeria, she set up base in Ibadan where she raised her two children. She also began a vocation as “a poet and performing artiste who embraced the interior shores of life with an unusual depth of perception, courage and understanding.” The funeral statement revealed that the deceased’s volume of poetry, Stars, Fill My Skies, was scheduled for release at the end of 2013.
The Soyinka family stated that Ms. Iyetade Soyinka was a fervent Christian who “cared deeply and generously for those shunned by society,” “scorned the vain,” “discarded hypocrisies, rejected the limelight and sought to live a life of depth and truth.” The statement described her as one who “fought fiercely for those she loved and she touched our lives with her heart, her incredibly creative mind, her dreams and her wit.”
Apart from her daughter and son, Ms. Soyinka is survived by her father, Wole Soyinka, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in literature, her mother, Olayide Soyinka, a former university librarian at Ogun State University, her sisters and brothers—Olaokun, Moremi, Peyibomi, Ilemakin, Morenike, Amani, Tunlewa, Bojode and Eniara—as well as numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.
The family has set up a memorial website for Iyetade where funeral updates will be posted. Sympathizers may visit the website, which is www.iyetade.soyinka.muchloved.com, to register their condolences.
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