In celebration of Professor Wole Soyinka’s birthday, Olongo Africa made the documentary on the Nobel Laureate, Ebrohimie Road: A Museum of Memory, free to watch on its website. The free online screening was set to begin on July 7 and end after Soyinka’s birthday on July 13, 2026.
The documentary centres the story of Soyinka’s life around his residence at 8 Ebrohimie Road, University of Ibadan, a decision the Professor himself seems to approve of as he recounts the lengths he went to secure the house: “I not only chose it, I campaigned for it. I lobbied for it. I cheated for it. I beat people up for it, to make sure I had that particular house. Anything it took.”
Director Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún’s decision to hinge both biography and autobiography on a single residence was ambitious and remarkably well executed, considering the foreseeable limitations of making a house a character in its own right and sustaining nearly two hours of storytelling around it. Yet, beyond the architecture and anecdotes, memory, and its reliability, is one of the documentary’s strongest thematic threads.
The film reveals that Professor Soyinka had to be persuaded that the now-iconic photograph of him seated on the staircase of his house, taken during an interview after his release from prison, was indeed taken at his Ebrohimie residence. Whether or not he was eventually convinced is almost beside the point. The more compelling question is whether it is possible to forget the setting of such a defining moment in one’s life. The documentary tells us that Soyinka left for prison from that house and returned there two years later upon his release. Could someone truly forget that the interview following such an experience took place on that very staircase? Or does memory, with the passage of time, become selective enough that even landmark moments lose the precision of place? The documentary wisely leaves room for these questions, reminding us that memory is rarely as straightforward as history would like it to be.
Still on memory, Soyinka’s reluctance to speak extensively about himself allows the audience to encounter him through the recollections of his children, siblings, extended family, friends, and colleagues. One particularly memorable revelation comes from his son, Dr Olaokun Soyinka, who recalls his father’s love for wood carvings. According to him, the Professor arranged the sculptures along the staircase and visitors sometimes found them strange as they entered the house. Whether intentional or not, this anecdote provides delightful context for the famous staircase photograph, especially for people who may have wondered if the wooden figurines were placed on the staircase for the camera.
Some notable people in literature and the arts interviewed in the documentary include Niyi Osundare, Femi Osofisan, Femi Raji, Femi Euba and Dan Izevbaye. Assembling these voices helped to show that Wole Soyinka was not influential in isolation. He valued an intellectual community.
Beyond Soyinka’s personal story, solitude, community, nature, and art are all presented as elements that shape an artist. In doing so, the film quietly argues that place itself weighs as much as an artist’s craft.
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