Why I Avoid Drinking Water—90-Year-Old Wole Soyinka
Nigerian noel prize winning writer Wole Soyinka is now 90 years old and is opening up in a new interview about some things that are frankly surprising a lot of people. In one of the interview’s most shocking moments, Wole Soyinka reveals that he avoids drinking water as much as possible (WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR ANYONE EVEN CONSIDERING IT). He expressed why he avoids water, and also opened up about how his writing has changed over time, including why he doesn’t have a love for talking computers (like Siri) and where he gets his inspiration from. Here is what Wole Soyinka had to say.
**Before reading on, please make sure to sign up for my newsletter below so you don’t miss out on any new and interesting lists, articles, and stories that I post every single day. At the end of each week, I’ll compile all the best stories from the week and send them right to your inbox, so you don’t miss out on any of the hottest things that have happened throughout the week. Sign up now so you always get alerted!
During the interview, the interviewer pointed out that Wole Soyinka wasn’t drinking water and sent away the water brought for him saying “I am drinking water, you are drinking wine, and you sent away the water,” to which Wole Soyinka replied:
WOLE SOYINKA: That’s true. Water just takes up space unnecessarily y’know. It belongs to other commodities. So I’m not keen on water. I avoid water as much as possible.
“And wine is a good alternative?”
WOLE SOYINKA: A good robust wine that either sends you to sleep right away or inspires you to work. You never know which way it’ll work.
“How has your writing changed over time?”
WOLE SOYINKA: I no longer can write on a piece of paper, except maybe scraps of poetry. I moved from the typewriter, the first one I owned was one of those heavy Remingtons. It belonged to my father. You don’t make an attempt to be up to date with everything because after a while, it gets too much. And the next thing, you have a machine which talks back to you. I said “shut up, I’m the one doing the writing” when it was correcting my writing. What kind of nonsense is that?
“So no TikTok for you?”
WOLE SOYINKA: No no no.
“Where do you get your best ideas?”
WOLE SOYINKA: Let me put it this way: in isolation. And that isolation includes even being in a plane where nobody is talking to me. My space is total isolation.
What do you think about what Wole Soyinka had to say?
Thanks for diving into this story with me! Btw, every time you read, support, and share my work, it fuels my hunger to keep bringing you the latest news on your favorite Nigerian celebrities, movies, music and more. Your thoughts also matter to me, so please share them in the comments below, or on my Jide Okonjo Facebook post. Let’s keep the conversation going and I can’t wait to see your thoughts on this.
